Wreath Making 101

Ricky's mom has enough Christmas decorations to decorate three houses. She gave us so much stuff since this was our first Christmas together and we didn't have anything. One of the things she gave us was this wreath. Pretty right? You should have seen the before. It was to say the least atrocious! When she gave me the wreath her exact words were "All you have to do is pull all of this off and put new stuff on." With the help of my sister Malena we made it pretty again. One day I will be as crafty as she is but until then I think I will just continue to use her talents.

Perfect Night

For some reason this year we were not meant to see the Forgotten Carols. I bought tickets for us and I kid you not we had five things scheduled on that day a week later. As soon as I moved the tickets to a different day something else came up and we had to switch them and then the same thing happened once more. So when last Thursday came and we were getting ready to leave for the show I don't know why I was surprised when we got a phone call being invited to the Mo Tab Christmas concert. Those tickets are hard to come by and I just couldn't refuse so we went.



It ended up being one of the best nights out. The concert was beautiful. After it was over we strolled through temple square. The picture doesn't do it justice but the way the moon looked above the temple with the clouds barely there, was gorgeous.









The night wasn't too chilly so Ricky and I took a carriage ride around down town. So romantic! We snuggled under the blankets and talked. We even learned some interesting history facts about down town. It really was a perfect night!

Cuddle bug

Before I tell my story you have to know a few things. I had a dog before Ricky and I got married and he wasn't against having one he just didn't want one right away because we are newly weds and newly weds don't need that kind of responsibility so when my sister was moving and couldn't take Lucy (my dog) with her he wasn't very keen on the idea. He set two ground rules for me the night we picked her up 1: She is NOT sleeping in our bed and 2: he was not taking care of her she was my responsibility. I said fine. The first night I tried to make her sleep in her kennel but ever since I have had her she has slept in my bed. (That's right I am a pushover and can't stand to hear her cry.) She cried and barked for an hour and a half. Every time I thought she would stop she would hear one of us move and would start right back up again. I grabbed her and put her in the bed and Ricky said "just for tonight she can't sleep here tomorrow." Ever since that first night she has slept in our bed. It took Ricky a couple of days to warm up to her and maybe a week or two before he told me he loved her and that he liked having her.

On to the reason I am writing this post there have been numerous times like this but it was the first I thought to grab my camera and take a picture. I walked into our bedroom the other night and found the two of them cuddled up together. Lucy was sleeping and Ricky was reading his book. They looked so cute there and my heart just melted when I saw them. So here is the picture after all that blabbing.

Apple pie anyone?

For Thanksgiving we went to my mother-in-law's home. I asked her what she wanted me to bring and she told me anything I wanted. I was so excited to make something that I went a little over board. I told her I wanted to bake homemade rolls which I have never made before, an apple pie also which I have never made before, and bless his heart Ricky doesn't like pie and wanted cheese cake so I said I would make that also and again I have never made that either. I got started late as usual and half way through realized I was missing a few items I could have sworn I bought. I made what I thought would be a quick trip to walmart (boy was I ever wrong. I stood in line for fifteen minutes when it took me all of five seconds to grab what I needed) After getting everything done that I possibly could and cleaning the kitchen it was 2 o'clock in the morning. I was exhausted to say the least but I have learned my lesson for next year. The bright side of it all was the apple pie was a huge success everyone who tried it loved it and I will definetly be baking it in the future.

Rock Climbing

Each week Ricky and I take turns planning a family home evening. He recently had one of his mission companions move here from Brazil and invited them to join us. We drove down to Provo to meet them and had dinner at cafe' rio and then went rock climbing. Can I just say what a work out it is. My arms were dead at the end of the night but we had a blast.



This is us just before we sign our lives away.


Ricky almost at the top.

Me at the top.

Nephews

When Ricky and I got married
I inherited the cutest
nephews. We had them over at the house one day and
they found Lucy's kennel and decided to play in it. They took turns locking each other in it. It was histerical.

Allergies

This past year has been the worst year ever for my allergies. I have never been so stuffed up, itchy, and just plain miserable. After suffering for months I finally listened to Ricky and went to the doctor to be tested. It wasn't much of a surprise when I tested positive to almost everything. I always have my camera with me so Ricky took some pictures so I could see what my back looked like. Have you ever seen a bear rubbing it's back against a tree? You could say I wanted to do just that. If you have never been tested for allergies here is how it works. They take a solution and put a drop of it on your back then they prick you with a needle and wait for a reaction, if any.


This is what happened right afte she has just finished poking my back.

A few minutes after that.

This was ten minutes after she has poked me. They told me that they usually wait 20 minutes to read the results but at ten minutes I was ready.

The final result. By this point I was itching like crazy. The medical assistant put some cortizone cream on but it didn't kick in for about twenty minutes. If I was ever in the torture business you can bet I would use this.

A Visit From Grandma

Ricky's grandma and two aunts visited from El Salvador. What a great time we had. I have never been fed so much in my life. Any time we went up to Ricky's dad's house they always made us food, even if we had just eaten. They taught me how to make pupusas (delicious!). Hopefully with a little more practice I will be a pro at making them. On the last night they were here we had a bbq and took some pics.


Ricky and his sweet grandma.




We were taking a family picture but I don't know what happened to Ricky, Fredy( his dad) and Fredy Jr (his brother) but I managed to get in there with the three nephews: Tyson, Dominick, and Jordan with Norma, Grandma, and Angelica. We should do this every year.

Our first home

We bought our first home in May. We had to do the normal stuff like clean and paint. It was such a great blessing to get the house. We love it!




Ricky Learning to paint.



This is no laughing matter.



Cleaning...

more cleaning...

and still more!

There was a lot to do before we could move in but we have wonderful families who were willing to help with anything and everything. And when I say everything I mean it. Thanks for all your help!