Our White Christmas

Our Christmas Festivities in Utah...

Friends party....

Alex, Dave, Kyle, Blair, Matt, Grady (plus the wives of course)

The Nutcracker by Ballet West at Capitol Theater with Nicole....

Family Time & Early Christmas

Andy

Aaron

Aaron and Dave

Mary (Aaron's wife) and Lori (me and Mary's mom-in-law)

The checker board Alex and I made Aaron and Mary

Cuddling with Danny the dog

Whobilation

Warning...this is a long blog with a lot of pictures....

I am on activities committee in our ward (and alex is unofficially). The committee had talked earlier in the year about each picking one activity to be in charge of, and I picked Christmas with the brilliant idea of doing a Whoville theme. While it was brilliant, it was a lot more work than I had planned. A couple days before the big day my dad asked me if I had "bitten off more than I can chew." I told alex later that I could in fact chew it, but it turned out to be more like chewing over-cooked steak when I had expected fall-apart-in-your-mouth salmon.

It really really was really fun to do, make, and plan. Not going to lie...it was just nice to be busy and involved with something creative and time consuming. The party included: breakfast, decorations, and a program (requested by bishopric). So I figured: bright colors and fun shapes, and the Grinch play...which was previously done in the Foothill Ranch Ward back in CA.

Breakfast was planned and taken care of by our friend on the committee, and I took on decorations and putting the program together. Decorations were easy, fun, and simple. But the play was another story. I might have gone overboard for a ward party Christmas program. Considering the only stage experience I've had is a couple of stake roadshows, I was nervous. But time, work, and some stress made it all work out. Here's what went down......

Decorations:
Pretty much just focused on the tables. I planned, got supplies, made samples, then let committee members make different crafts.


-Tinsel trees from Dollar store, hot glued glitter star on top, dipped brads in paint then glitter for tree ornaments.
-Candy Cups. I got clear plastic cups from the grocery store, dipped rims in paint then glitter, filled with rock salt and stuck in colorful candy canes (also from dollar store).


-Table runners. Cut wrapping paper into long strips. Size and number per roll will change depending on the amount of paper (and size of it) on each roll. With this paper I got 12 out of each roll. Each runner about 13in x 6ft long.

-Whoville-tree shirt at Target, just for fun
-Heart Ornaments. One for each family. Made dough with 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water. Cut with heart cookie cutter, poked holes for ribbon, baked at 325 degrees for 20 minutes until hard, but not brown. Then painted, stamped with darker red for design, and added tag that said "Welcome Christmas, while we stand, Heart to heart, and hand in hand." Someone from the committee explained the hearts to audience, said something about service and making ourselves grow through service, etc... (sorry picture is bad quality and not rotated)
For the Play:
-2 backdrops, one "Outside scene" one "Inside scnene." We projected the Grinch movie onto 2 rows of butcher paper taped together. We'd pause the movie on the cave, paint, pause on the trees, paint, then the village. Same with the inside one's archway. And we definitely improvised a few times.
-Props like fireplace, sleigh, heart reader, roast beast
-Grinch costume. Green sweats, socks, and gloves. Furry green yarn wrapped around wrists and neck. Face paint and hair spray color. Santa costume red long sleeve t-shirt with white fluffy fabric sewed on openings. Hat $1 at Walmart.

A few Christmas Miracles that came with this event:
-We did a read through once mid-Novmeber, then one run through Friday night which was a mess considering it was our first time through it. So we met Saturday morning before the breakfast to practice again and it went amazing. Absolutely. Then the actual program was just great. Amazing. Still kinda can't believe it pulled together.
-We have a lot of sky lights in the cultural hall so I wasn't happy with how the lighting wouldn't be as dramatic, etc...but the sky that morning was dark and overcast, and it snowed...for the first time after a few weeks of bright sunny days. Definitely set a nice mood for us.
-I am sure there were other ones along the way, like finding sales, getting a free small christmas tree and wrapped present props from work, etc.

I really couldn't have done it without our ward members that participated. The only actor a part of the committee was Max the dog. Also, Alex for all his help and support and for holding me when my hormones/stress got the best of me. Thanks Alex.

(We're trying to figure out how to do video....so stay tuned)

Baby Drake is....

A BOY!

We went to my Aunt Jen's house last night for dinner and took a quick trip to her OBGyn office to see if we could get a sneak peek. At first baby didn't cooperate, but after some poking around, we found a shot looking up at the bum. She said it looked like a boy, it could be the cord she was seeing, but she was 90% sure so she kept looking. Eventually we found a few more shots and saw the same thing... and the 90% turned into 95!

We also saw the heart pumping. We saw him flip, and kick, and move his legs. My favorite part, we saw the bottom of one of his feet and it was so so so cute.

I am soooo thrilled! I thought it would be a girl, I had a bunch of cute ideas for girl bedding, and clothes, etc. But then yesterday at church I started getting ideas for boys, and this weekend hanging out with Alex and his brothers I enjoyed being with all the boys, so I think a small part of me knew it would be a boy. Plus, I always wanted an older brother, so this way my girls can have one! (I am still holding out hope for a girl, a little worried because Alex is from all boys!) Alex said he was impartial and is excited, but I think he's really excited.

This pregnancy thing is kind of crazy. When we got the positive home preg test it seemed unreal yet really real at the same time, then I get used to the idea. It seems like that's the pattern; I get used to the idea, then something happens and it's unbelievable again. Like the first time I went to the doctor, my first ultrasound, hearing the heartbeat, then finding out what it is and seeing his feet! It's unreal again, I can't believe we're actually having a baby! I can't stop smiling, it's so crazy.

Well, here's the picture. We didn't get a good profile shot because after we saw he was a boy, he flipped face down and hid from us. But here he is:


I'm about 17.5 weeks. We have the official, fancy 3-d one December 8th! I am finally feeling better! This last week has been really good, I think I can eat pretty much whatever I want, and I actually feel hungry occasionally! Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Today was...

...one of those days where you can't help but be happy. I woke up and it was SO SUNNY outside, and it made me happy. My shampoo smelled SO GOOD, and it made me happy. My belly is starting to stick out just a little bit which means baby is growing, and it made me happy. I got a CD of new music from my mom, and it made me happy. I HAD A CAFE RIO SMOTHERED BURRITO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 3 MONTHS, and it made me happy. Now Alex is getting off work any minute to come home to me, and that makes me VERY HAPPY.

It's good to have days like today.

Ode to Sophie

Prettiest cat ever, right? She even matched our apartment.

We had a cat and her name was Sophie. She made little bird noises when talking to us, she loved to cuddle, she'd follow me around in the mornings, and she wasn't scared of visitors. At night when we went to bed, I'd put my arm up by my head, she'd curl up there for 10 minutes, then go sleep in her own bed.

She was a stray kitten that roamed around our apartments. We had her for a good 8 months before she fell weird on her leg, broke her thigh, and we had to put her to sleep. :(

I admit, I was never ever a cat person, in fact, I feel weird posting about this little animal, but here it is. People around us keep getting little cats and it makes me (and Alex) want another. But, instead we are holding out for our Kiddy in April who will be more cute, more cuddly, and more fun. Then maybe, maybe we'll get a Sohpie 2.0.

Why Can't I?

Or, Why don't I?

This is about a post I found while blog stalking. It's all about being able to make the mundane, everyday things more exciting and enjoyable. Check this out right now.

Why don't I take the time to do things like this?

Because I am not a scenic-route person. I try to do everything fast and efficiently, just to get them done and over with. It's one of the many differences and frustrations between Alex and me. For Alex, for little Bean-on-the-way, and for me, I want to refocus my energy from efficient to enjoyable. I'm giving myself these next 5-6 months to get into the habit of making the "normal, or even less-than-normal things something more."

PS if you have time, check out the rest of the Katie Did blog. She is absolutely amazing. Chrissy, check out the clothes she makes for her girls!

Oh and...

1) New music for the month of November (Look! -->)
Also, there are always songs not available on playlist.com, so I created a list below my playlist so you can check them out on itunes. They are worth it.

2) I sold my chair (here). I couldn't get the smokey smell out, we didn't really have room, so...it's gone. We sold it for what it cost us to fix because we couldn't charge a lot for a stinky chair. Sad, but definitely worth having something to do and be excited about!

3) I found this picture when loading the Halloween ones onto the computer. These are pillows I made with Alex's cousin Jenna! Cute huh? All her idea! I want some. Add these to the list of reasons I want a girl (ok, at least eventually??)