The Wonderful Month of December

What a wonderful month it has been. We enjoyed many fun activities and festivities with family and friends! I was quite anxious to attend the festival of trees having heard many good things about it.... for those of you who don't know about the Festival of Trees it is a charitable celebration where people create and decorate a tree and donate it to the Festival of Trees where they auction each tree off and all the proceeds are donated to the Primary Childrens Hospital which I think is totally sweet! Our sister in law decorated and donated a "Fancy Nancy" tree... it turned out SO SO cute!! Thanks Sari and Mckell for joining us at the Festival of Trees!!

My sister Amber and her husband Glenn invited us to spend a weekend with them in Park City @ the Westgate Resort @ the Canyons. It is a beautiful Resort and we had lots of fun! When Andrew and I woke up the next morning we found Tyce sprawled out on his daddy... we walked out for a few minutes and went back into their room where we found Tyce this time sprawled out on his mommy. ha! Amber says its a riot sleeping with him! Thanks Amber and Glenn for the invite! We had a great time!

In the last few months I have become addicted to a show called studio 5... People around salt lake and utah valley share their ideas, crafts, recipes, and much much more on this show. I DVR the episodes and sit and watch in my spare time to learn something new! They sometimes have a question they have us watchers answer on the studio 5 website. I decided I would go online and respond to the question, it being... "where to you find great deals or bargains?" A few days later I was called and informed that for answering the question I was randomly chosen to win 4 tickets to the Forgotten Carols along with the storybook, cd, and dvd of the live performance! Andrew and I invited our friends Braden and Mandy Boyer to come with us and had a jolly ol' time! Thanks for coming along!! It was so nice to see the two of you!!

A couple of my former roommates along with friends Laurel and Amy and I got together one evening and made gingerbread houses! We had a blast! Thanks for coming over girls! :)

A couple of my favorite roomates Rachel and Alexis

Laurel, Amy, Alexis, Rachel, and Me

Thanksgiving

Here it is December 27... Christmas day has already come and gone and I am just now posting about the FANTASTIC Thanksgiving Andrew and I had. My side of the family all met in Vegas, where we all enjoyed one another's company and ate lots of good food, as well as treated ourselves to a movie at the theater... BLINDSIDE (an absolutely fantastic movie which I recommend all to watch)! It was a wonderful weekend and I am grateful for my family and the wonderful people they are!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Oh how I love the holiday season! Christmas lights, decorated trees, family togetherness, bundling up on a cold winters night, cuddling next to the fire and drinking hot chocolate, gingerbread houses, lots of goodies, giving to those in need and just giving to give, fun movies such as Elf, A christmas Story, The Grinch, and many more, and MOST importantly... remembering the birth of our Savior! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Andrew and I put up our first and only Christmas decorations last night, which included a few mini lit trees and our stockings... looks like I have some shopping to do to get our house FESTIVE!! We would like to go cut down a real tree, but unfortunately the forest people have already given all of their permits away! WHAT to do?! Be rebels and go cut one down anyways, without a permit?! TEMPTING!!! :)

Well to all of you folks out there, I just want to say Happy Holidays to you all!! It is indeed a wonderful time of year!

Vote for LIZ!!! The biggest Loser...

So we are down to the final four contestants of the biggest loser and it is up to America to decide who the final 3 is. It is indeed between Amanda and Liz, and I myself, have put my vote in for Liz to stay! I think Amanda is great, but have come to really like Liz. She is a hip southern woman! To all of my blogging friends and anyone who reads this, PLEASE log onto nbc.com and vote for LIZ!!!! If you watch the biggest loser than of course vote for who you think should stay.. but definately consider Liz! :) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do this! It's really easy!! The max votes per email is 10... so go on, cast your vote! Thanks :)

SURPRISE!!!

I indeed have the sweetest husband!! .... Andrew calls me from work on Friday and says "I have a surprise for you... It'll be tomorrow (saturday) and its up north and will probably take all evening." Of course in my mind I get all anxious and excited and try to think of whatever this surprise may be! I kept begging him for hints but he held strong not to ruin the surprise! Finally it came time to head "north"... We ate at the Salt Lake Burger Co. in Sandy then headed to the tracks where we parked our car and took the trolley to Downtown Salt Lake. The anticipation was killing me! I wanted to know where on earth we were headed!!! I began to guess hoping that I would figure it out! He told me no, no, no, and nope! I began to catch on as all these cute little girls were getting on the trolley dressed in their disney princess and thats when I remembered, DISNEY ON ICE is in town!! I turned to Andrew and asked. "Are you taking me to Disney on Ice?!" with a big smile on my face! He then once again told me no. Ha the little bugger was pulling my leg!!! We arrived at the Energy Solutions Arena where he pulled out 2 tickets for Disney on Ice! I was SOOO excited... ha you would think I'm 5 years old again :) He knew I had been wanting to go, but I just came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to happen this year. What a SWEET surprise!! I loved it and enjoyed every second of being there with my husband right beside me singing the Disney songs as the characters danced on the ice! Haha... really he was singing at the top of his lungs :) Baby... i love you!! Thanks for a night I'll always remember!

The ride on the trolley!!

Aladdin!

Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs

Cinderella

US

M-I-C-K-E-Y MOUSE! and Minnie!

GOOD NEWS!!

My husband and Love of my life has been going through the hiring process at Midvale Fire Department. It's been QUITE the process over the last few months!! After receiving letters in the mail informing us he's past the 1st and then the 2nd and then the 3rd parts of testing, we FINALLY received the last letter!!! (Now in the beginning there were tons and tons applying for this job, and people were getting eliminated after each process) But in the end... Andrew MADE the hiring list, which means.. eventually he will get hired which is fantastic!! He is still working hard to complete the Paramedic program and will finish by next spring around april/may. So we are crossing our fingers and hoping the hiring comes before then! Good job babe and thanks for ALL your HARD work!

Good ol' Rexburg

I had the opportunity to make a trip to Rexburg last weekend to see and visit with some past roommates whom I love dearly! We had a fantastic time together! Poor Jen was super sick from pregnancy, but she was indeed a trooper for spending the day with the girls while feeling poopy! Thanks Jen I love you!! I also met some roommates of my roommates who were wonderful as well! We enjoyed a soccer game in the FREEZING cold... Went to Applebee's for dinner, Chit chatted and caught up on life, watched She's the Man (hilarious!) while painting our nails... Enjoyed Alexis talk and Rachel's musical number in sacrament meeting... and ate yummy buttermilk pancakes! Thanks for a wonderful weekend girls! :)

Little Tyce

I get to hang out with this little boy quite often and I LOVE it! Last night when I was baby sitting him... I noticed he was being very quiet, so I peaked around the corner from the kitchen, as I was making dinner, and this is what I found (pictured below) quiet as can be just looking at story books....

He loves to read books!! :)

As soon as he noticed I was taking a picture... He stood up and reached to hand me the books so I could read to him! I love this little guy... He brings much joy in our home, Andrew and I love it!

FREE giveaway!!

My dear friend Whitney and former roommate is doing a Christmas Card giveaway! She is very creative and has some cute stuff! Click on the button on my sidebar (Your Card Bakery) to read more about it and enter to win!!

Halloween Season!!

The month of October was a fantastic month... it was full of fun and wonderful time spent with friends and family! Here are a few things we did......

NACHOOOO!!!!!

Costume party- Andrew's sister Sara and husband Stewart

Everyone LOVED Nacho... everywhere we went we would hear someone yell... NACHOOOO!! and then want their picture taken with him... Andrew had chics crawling all over him! Too bad he's taken by the one and only... Encarnacion! :)

Dinner with friends at P.F. Changs

SLC REAL Soccer game Halloween day with friends Jessica and Garrett

Carving some sweet pumpkins with Amber and Tyce... Glenn was there to support us in our carving pumpkins but was too pooped from all his hard work to carve one of his own.

Attended Savannah's Halloween Harp Recital.. It was totally sweet!

And last but not least... a little update on Andrew's spider, living at the front door of his parents house (and has been for months and months now). It is huge!! and is enjoying life as Andrew feeds him when needed. It was the perfect touch for the scenery at the front door Halloween night. It was out crawling on its web above and too the side as Trick-o-treaters made there way up the stairs for their treat!

Draper Temple

"You are never lost when you can see the temple. The temple will provide direction for you and your family in a world filled with chaos. It is an eternal guidepost which will help you from getting lost in the “mist of darkness.” It is the house of the Lord. It is a place where covenants are made and eternal ordinances are performed."

-Elder Gary E. Stevenson

People think we're crazy!

So Amber and I went to Wal-Mart to do some price matching... we got super excited about getting pumpkins for $.15/lb. which was posted in Macy's ad rather than $5 a piece. They ended up being around $1.75... much better price for us! Well in the process of looking for the perfect pumpkin... Amber somehow dropped her phone in the mountain of pumpkins! Of course we weren't going to leave it behind so we took as many pumpkins off the top needed for Amber to crawl on in and then she dove in for it. People were wondering what on earth we were doing... you could tell by the looks on their face. I thought it was quite funny! What a good day! Amber... Thanks for the laughs and for saving me money and time by price matching!

My WONDERFUL husband!

I have to brag a bit about my husband and the wonderful person he is :) Everyday when I get off work I kinda stress about what I should make for dinner. I enjoy cooking, but trying to figure out what to make is my downfall. I do fine with breakfast and lunch, but for dinner, I feel like I make the same things over and over again. It seems easy right?... just open a cookbook and wa-lah! Why do I make things harder than they are?! I dont know?!... So the last three evenings I've come home from work to my WONDERFUL husband cooking dinner. How SWEET is he?! TOTALLY SWEET!!!! Tonight he made stuffed bell peppers and they were unbelievably YUMMY!!!! I gobbled it down without a pause to even realize my stomach was full at halfway. OH WELL!! I have no regrets, it was delicious! THANK YOU MY LOVE, for always being so thoughtful and for relieving my stress of what to cook for dinner! You are the best and I LOVE YOU!

P.S. If any of YOU have yummy recipes for DINNER... PLEASE SHARE!!! :)

Mr. Chef (MY HOT HUSBAND)

We are family!

Dearest Amy and little Maddy,

We sure enjoyed your visit here and hope its not long before we get to see you again... along with the rest of your family! It was absolutely wonderful to meet you for the first time Maddy, at 4 months old! You are a doll and your chubby little legs make me smile! :) Amy thanks for baring through the alien movie with us! :) We love you!

Love,

Andrew and Jena

Girls just wanna have fun!

Because I forgot to take pictures of our day full of fun and shopping over the weekend, I found this one ^ from a few months ago when we went and got pedicures together! Meet Savannah... :) I have the privilege of working at her house 2-3 times a week, whether it be running errands such as costco trips, grocery shopping, washing vehicles, etc. as well as yard work, helping with homework, and spending time with the wonderful Smith family! Savannah is a very fun and spunky girl who enjoys scaring the heck out of me whenever she finds the chance! She is very talented on the harp and I was lucky to have her play at my reception here in Utah! This last friday we were able to spend the day together which involved lots of shopping, finding cute clothes, and to end the evening... dinner at Texas Roadhouse! It was an absolutely fantastic day! We had such a fun time together! Thanks Savannah for a wonderful day!

Ryan and Alyssa

Well today is our friends Ryan and Alyssa's 2 month anniversary and I'm finally getting some pictures up from their wedding day! It was indeed an exciting and happy day! Alyssa, you looked beautiful!! Congrats you two on 2 months of marriage and many more to come! We hope all is well up in Logan!

The Biggest Loser

So my sister-in-law Sara persuaded me into watching the T.V. show The Biggest Loser. It didn't take much since the season of More to Love is now over (in which I was very pleased with the ending results) and I was without a show to look forward to! Andrew and I had recorded the episodes and watched the 2nd episode of The Biggest Loser on Monday. SOOOO good!!! I cried and cried. The story of Abby... loosing her husband and 2 kids in a car accident just 5 miles away from her home... I don't know if I'd be able to handle that! By the end of the show I was VERY emotional. It is so sad what America has come to... the rate of obesity is outrageous! Giving these people a second chance at life... to gain their health back as well as their confidence is incredible! It is very motivating seeing these 16 players on the show push themselves and work so hard! I love it!!

A little behind!!

So I've been quite the slacker on blogging these days! But now I'm all caught up to date with 8 new posts... so enjoy!!!

Andrew has been super busy with school and work... He is well into his first semester out of the 2 for the Paramedic program. His first week of school he brought home needles to practice putting in people. I am terrified of needles and couldn't stand the thought of one being poked into my skin... So he practiced on his mom and dad instead! Thanks mom and dad lewis! :) He is enjoying school and is always anxious to learn more! He does so well and studies hard! He recently tested for a job at Midvale Fire Department, did well, and was asked to come back for the physical testing... So he did and was 2nd best out of 20 I believe! Now the next step in getting hired is the Firefighter skills assessment. He received a letter informing him of his date and time to do this... October 23, seems like forever away, but im sure it'll come quickly! I am so proud of the hard worker my husband is! He not only does well in school and works hard at work, but is always willing to help around the house! I love him and am very grateful for the wonderful man whom is my companion and Best friend through all eternity! Thanks babe for being the person you are!!

I was recently hired to work for another family as a nanny. So I now Nanny full-time for the Smith and Fairbanks Families. They are both absolutely wonderful families and I enjoy spending hours on end with them at their homes. I do many things such as yard work, grocery shopping, errand running, babysitting, homework helper, organizing, etc. It is indeed the sweetest job ever and great experience for when Andrew and I have a family of our own! Andrew and I have been blessed in many, many ways and having work and a job I enjoy is one of our many blessings! A month or so ago I was called to be the 6-7 year old Primary teacher... I am enjoying it and learn so much from the cute kids in my class... They are so smart!!!

This week is an exciting week! We have family and friends coming from Arizona, Las Vegas, and other far away places for General Conference this weekend. For years my parents have made it a tradition to make a trip to salt lake every six months for Conference... I have learned to appreciate it through out the many years and now look forward to attending conference and hearing the words and receiving guidance from our Prophets and leaders! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Conference weekend and am counting down the days when it arrives!

I'm so glad when dad comes to visit, glad as I can be!

My dad flew to utah a couple weekends ago for the BYU vs. Florida state game. I had no idea he was coming til the day he arrived! I had a list of errands I needed to get done that day.. it being my only day off from work that week besides Sunday of course... but instead I spent the day with my dad! His all time favorite place to eat while he is in Utah is Zupa's... also a favorite of mine! So my dad, Amber, Glenn, Tyce, kalicia, and I.. (my husband was stuck at work all day/night) :( met up at Zupa's for lunch! The food was wonderful as always! A few hours later my dad and I went to the game together! Kalicia and my brother Jared were also there but had seats in totally different sections. We had a good time together even though we did get destroyed by Florida! Bummer!

Me and my Padre at the BYU game!

Glenn and Tyce at Zupa's!

Tyce was sure enjoying running around Zupa's giving people high

fives and knuckles. This little boy isn't shy at all! :)

At Zupa's waiting for others to arrive!!