Turtle Neck Twins

Tonight was our first Christmas party of the season. The Rockwoods had everyone over to their home for dinner, games, and an ugly Christmas sweater contest. Ricky and I spent close to four hours looking for the ugliest sweaters we could find and in the end we settled on these beauties.

I guess all the hassel was worth it because in the end, even though it was a tight race with the Tanner family,  we won. I think what really made it the ugliest was the holly and ivy turtle necks under the sweaters. I don't know why any store would sell something so hidious but I am glad they did. Here is the Tanner family who took a very very close second. (When I say close I mean we won by one vote.)

Both of their sweaters lit up. So cute. Even little Gracie had on an ugly sweater.

We also did a white elephant gift exchange. The two snuggies seemed to be the hot item this year. I guess now I know what to bring to my next Christmas party.

This was most of the girls in our ugly sweaters. I see a Christmas card in the future.

Ghosts and goblins and ghouls oh my!

For Halloween Ricky and I went to Corby and Lindsay's house for a costume party. We went as romans. We did a pot luck dinner and Lindsay made the best chicken soup. After dinner came the pumpkin carving contest. Once all the pumpkins were carved we voted. Ricky and I unfortunately didn't win but we tied for last. After the pumpkins came the games. Instead of bobbing for apples we bobbed for tug boats. This is how we played. One person would have to grab the boat then give it to their partner using only their mouth. Their partner would then have to drop it in the bucket. Once you had all your boats in the bucket you would switch places with your partner and start again. The team who got all their boats in the bucket the fastest won a prize. Sounds easy huh but there was one small problem, from all the splashing around the boats would take on water and sink and then came the hard part of trying to get them out without soaking yourself. The pictures that follow will show you how hard it was to stay dry. After the games it was time for a movie but there were so many of us we ended up sitting around talking. It was so much fun and both Ricky and I think the Hogans need to make the Halloween party a tradition. 

Some of us girls.

Cute Shell with her bun in the oven.

A couple of the boys.

Carving our pumpkins. Notice all the girls doing the carving. Where are the boys?

Waiting to be judged.

Lindsay trying to get her boats. They were all sitting on the bottom of the tub and the only way she could pick them up was to stick her whole head in.

Kelsey and her hubby racing to beat Lindsay and Corby.

We had such a wonderful time at the Hogan's. They know how to throw a good party. Next year Ricky and I will have to step up our game so we can win the costume contest.

Pooped

Lucy had a REALLY REALLY rough day.

Love

I just have to say how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE being married. On top of being spoiled rotten and taken care of constantly Ricky is always there for me. Last night I had a bad dream and after I woke up from it I couldn't fall back asleep. I laid there for a while and then I woke Ricky up and asked him to hold me. No hesitations or grumblings came from him he instantly said yes and turned over and cuddle up behind me. He is a sweet heart and I love him to death.

Ensenada, Mexico

Ricky and I went to Disneyland last year with Justin and Laurie and had an absolute blast. So when they talked about going somewhere this year I automatically said yes. We ended up picking a cruise to Mexico and again we had a fabulous trip. We shopped, ate, layed out, ate, played games, ate, went to shows, ate, and got to see some pretty amazing karaoke singers, and then ate some more. We probably gained ten pounds while we were there but how can you resist the buffets?

This is us getting ready to leave. Can you tell how excited we are.

Out on one of the many decks they had. It seemed the longer we were there the more secret places we found. We stumbled upon many good places to lay out.

The grand stair case. The picture doesn't do it justice.

Laurie and I in Ensenada. They have hats of every kind and we tried almost all of them on.

Love the pink!

On almost every corner someone was selling little kid masks with capes attached. We tried to put batman and superman on in one store but the owner yelled at us and told us they were for children and to put them down so we went to another shop and found these beauties.

Down main street.

Ricky and Justin gettin' fresh with the monkey lady.

In Ensenada

My favorite was coming back to the room every night to see what animal was left on our bed. I forgot to take a picture of the seal we had but I got the others.

The last night we came back and found this seductive bunny laying on our pillow.

This is us on the plane home.

Ricky and I had such a good time. Although it was tough to leave we are getting some plans together for a future trip with the Vincents. Can't wait!

Horseback riding

Ricky's stepbrother came to visit from California in July. We went horseback riding at Sundance with the family. I have been horseback riding several times but never in the mountains. It is a completely different experience from trails. It was a nice escape from the hot weather and the scenery was beautiful.

Ricky and his horse

The view from the trail.

Family Pictures

We had family pictures taken for my dad's birthday. My cousin Amanda did such a wonderful job. These are just a few.






My sister Malena and her husband Kevin.

My brother Steven and his fiance Misty.

My sister Alyssa and her husband Boone.

We had a good time romping through my aunt's cow pastuer to get these pictures. A big thanks to Amanda for taking so many great photos. I can't wait to get them hung up in my house.

Car windows? What's next

Last night as Ricky and I were driving home Lucy decided she wanted to stick her head out the window so she rolled it down all by herself. At first I thought Ricky had done it but then I realized she had done it. I was laughing hysterically. It's not like it is really hard to roll down the window all you have to do is push the button down. She was standing in the absolute right place and as soon as it got to where she wanted it she jumped up and stuck her head out. I guess it may have been one of those things you have to be there for. None the less I had a good chuckle.

Technology

I absolutely HATE technology today. The other day I sat down at the computer and did my random blog stalking and I was getting ready to add some new posts when I opened up our pictures on Ricky's laptop and to my surprise (not a good surprise but the kind like you take your car in for a routine oil change and they find 1500 dollars worth of repairs kind of surprise) there were no pictuers. All of our pictures are gone. And to make matters worse guess who had not backed them up yet? Yep that would be me. I was so upset I wanted to bawl. I called for Ricky to come look but he couldn't find them either. So all of our pictures from our honeymoon, Hawaii, Moab, California, and anything that we have taken pictures of for the last two years are gone. We had a brother-in-law take a look at the computer to see if he could find them but no luck. I am still tempted to take it to one more person and see if they can find them but I am told that they are probably a lost cause. I had to learn the hard way so hopefully I can serve as a good example of what not to do and everyone else will back up their pictures.

Summer lovin'

What better describes summer than bbq's? But how can you have a bbq without a grill? You can't, that's why we bought a grill. I was so excited. I have been wanting one for a long time and finally my whinning paid off. Since we bought it we have grilled probably 3-4 times a week. The best part about it is it makes clean up easy and Ricky loves to bbq so I don't have to do much for dinner. Now we just need to invite our friends over so they can enjoy it too.

Rainbows

One of the days when it was raining there was a beautiful rainbow. But not just one, two of them came out. It was so pretty.

Hawaii

To celebrate our one year anniversary we wanted to take a trip but we couldn't decide where. We ended up going to hawaii in the end cuz we found AMAZING deals. Ricky's mom worked for delta so we fly stand-by. There are pros and cons to this the pros being the flights are about a 1/4 of the cost the cons being you don't always make the flight. We flew from here to LA where we got stuck for a night due to hawaiian air's plane breaking and all their passengers taking our seats on delta. Our first day in hawaii we hung out on the beach and got familiar with our surroundings. We went to the famous international market. You can find some really good deals there.Our second day there we went to the polynesian cultral center. I would highly recommend going if you have never gone and get the chance. The scenery is beautiful They put on an excellent show. And the food isn't half bad.

Their landscaper needs to come visit my house and give me a few pointers. This guy climbed the tree in all of two seconds.
Dinner?

What a traditional hawaiian meal looks like. And yes the rolls are purple its from some fruit that grows there. Surprisingly it tastes the same.

We visited the temple grounds. We didn't get to do a session because the temple is being renovated. I told Ricky that we would just have to make another trip over there so we could next time.

We enjoyed the night life. Once the sun goes down everyone and their mother comes out. Even the animals.

I thought this guy was going to take a chunk out of me.

We both got fried in the ocean. At least we had a blast doing it.

All in all the trip was relaxing and so much fun. The hardest part is coming home and going back to work. I can't wait to go back again someday.