Valentines Treats

I took treats to our adoption agency this week for an Expenctant Parent group and a Post-Placement group. I made our favorite sugar cookies and thought strawberry milk would be yummy too.


I also made some brownies for a dinner we had at our neighbors' house last sunday.

I am planning to make some fun valentines cupcakes this weekend to take to the Agency next week. Pictures to come soon.....

And After....

House Projects

Pic shelf that Branden and I made, primed and painted on Saturday. I LOVE IT!


Before paint.....

Christmas

So, our camera that Branden bought me when we were dating in 2003 died on Christmas of course. I have a whole bunch of Christmas Eve pics that I can't get off of my old camera. Good thing Santa brought us a new camera. Below are pics of Christmas Day.

We went out to Branden's grandma's for lunch and presents. Blake was a tiny bit grouchy for his first Christmas (he's getting teeth!).

Branden's family openning presents.

Our new camera has a cool panoramic picture setting. You take 3 pictures and it puts them into one. This is what our living room looked like on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day night, we watched Blake. He and Branden and Little Buddy watched How To Train Your Dragon.

Christmas Time Prep

Before we left for Vegas for Thanksgiving, I watched Blake for a little bit. He loved the familiar sound of Modern Warfare on Braylee's Ipod :)

When in Vegas, you must go to the Strip. Here are some rules: 1) Don't take any flyers, booklets or cards that people hand out on the street 2) Don't look down on the sidewalk 3) Don't go to the "pirate" show Treasure Island, it is dirty and is not about pirates

us @ the Eifel Tower

We went to the top of the Stratosphere to ride rides, we snuck fluffy in too.

My dad, Braylee, Max, Max's friend Sorun, and Scott all went on this crazy chair ride that extends you out over the side of the building and spins you.

Branden went on a teeter-totter-like ride the puts you in a rollercoaster car and then when the track tips, you get suspended over the side of the building about 886 feet above the ground. He is over the edge in this pic.

This is right before the track tipped down. He is the 3rd person back.

Back: Branden, Mel's Dad Kris, Mel's Brother Braylee, Mel's Uncle Scott

Front: Mel, Cousin Max, Max's friend Sorun

This weekend, our pretend kids (The Shreiner Kids), came over to "help us" put out our Christmas decorations. I gave them the Kitchen doors to put some Stickees on.

Then we all headed over to the church for our ward Christmas Party. We had a "Night in Bethlehem". Caesar sent a notice that we have to come to be taxed (one can per person for the Utah Food Bank) and counted. We got some coins to buy food and other things at booths set up inside.

Then we all sat on blankets that we brought in the cultural hall and ate the food we bought with our coins.

The Young Men's booth was fruit and nuts. (Ahhh, isn't Branden a cute shepherd)

After we ate our dinner we played dradles (made by a guy in our ward) and watched the story of Jesus' birth be acted out by members of our ward. Branden built the stable where Baby Jesus was born.

And, we invited my mommy to come with us.

2 Halloween Parties 2010!

Disclosure: These pics posted SO OUT OF ORDER...sorry, too lazy to fix!

5th Annual College-Friend Halloween Party
So, Every year (for 5 years) I have hosted a Halloween Party with my friends from college and their spouses (& now there are kids too!). We had Pumpkin breadbowls and everyone brought some soup to share. (and we had YUMMY stuffed mushrooms). Then, after dinner we always carve pumpkins. Below are some pics from the night (I was bad with the camera and didn't get ANY pics of my friends).

I LOVE this little guy!

My pumpkin is the Owl and Branden's is the scary fire dude.

Chocolate trees for my Halloween Haunted Castle (pic comes later)

Owls pre-hair

LtoR: My cousin Amanda, My Aunt Ann, and my momma helped me start my cupcakes the night before the party!. Always so much fun to be able to the the Jensens

(notice there is no apostrophe in "Jensens"....nothing belongs to the Jensens...there's just more than one of them.......PLEASE notice since it's almost time for people to start handing out Christmas neighbor gifts....please do not write "Merry Christmas from the Wilson's"! (cringe) It drives me freaking crazy!!! THERE IS NO APOSTROPHE (I am reading a punctuation book written by me in my former life. She totally gets me....I'll have to blog about my extreme HATE for the incorrect use of apostrophes later)...Back to the parties........

1st Annual Work-Friend Halloween Party

So, I wanted to spread the Halloween Party love to my new co-workers (the ones that happen to be my friends)...only one problem....they all live in Davis county and some (I'm not naming names) refused to make the long drive to Eagle Mountain....so THANKS to the ECHOLS for leting us crash their house for the party! Same Party M.O. as the College-Friend party....pumpkin breadbowls (Thanks Lehi Bakery!) and then pumpkin carving!

RtoL: Bruce, Carter, Branden, JD, Spencer, Zak, and Erin
carving their pumpkins in Arron's basement

Cookies that Arron's one-armed-wife (that he lovingly has named "The One Armed Bandit") made for the party. She actually has 2 arms....but she had shoulder surgery this week (I know, you are thinking how nice of her to let us have a party at her house just days after shoulder surgery!)

Me in my "I kissed a ghoul and liked it shirt" from Wal-mart with my mini haunted castle (no time for doors and windows this time). I hate almost all things holiday...so the cupcakes and the shirt are all you are getting for me :)

Spencer & Zak (JD's boys) and Carter (Bruce & Mitzi's)

OK, so Carter has more energy than any 2 year old I have ever seen. His mom says that he "was born knowing how to dance." I know...you're thinking what a sterotype, problem is...this time it's true. This kid honestly dances while walking! Mitzi says 3 year-old hip hop classes are in his future. He was running around, dancing, break dancing on the floor, wrestling Zak and Spencer, rolling his arms 70s style, "raising the roof". And everytime the camera gets close to him......he hams it up big time. No one knew he was doing this until the flashes went off on the cameras....and of course....laughter ensued.

us :)

Can I just tell you how much I love Branden?? He is the best person! JD's boys needed help with their pumpkins (and spencer wanted to do 2 of them)...so Branden helped Zak carve his pumpkin while JD carved the coolest pumpkin of the night....a howling wolf on a white pumpkin.

The boys loved the haloween glasses I bought for their treat bags (thanks again to the One Armed Bandit who put the bags together).

One Armed Bandit (Miss Lisa Echols), Giggly Cheeks Gabers (Baby Gabe), and Daddy (Arron)

See, I told you the kids loved the glasses. Carter was convinced he needed to wear them while carving. You can;t tell in this pic, but when I brought the camera over by him, he sawed his knife back and forth as fast as he could while at the same time turning to look at me with extreme cheese smile. SUCH A HAM! Their pumpkin looked like it had a stroke because carter insisted on carving the mouth on one side :)

The whole gang. Carter seriously knows how to pose for a pic.

Gotta Love Conference Weekeknd!!

Branden with Blake a few weeks ago. So glad Blake and Manda are coming over tomorrow for a BBQ after conference!


Branden and Little Buddy during the 2nd Saturday Session of conference :)