It Snowed Real Snow!

On Wednesday, December 29th, it snowed real snow here. Kristen woke up and opened her blinds. When Gracie saw the snow she said, "It nowed, WOW!." Then she kept saying WOW over and over again...she was so excited! She hurried and got her coat and snow pants on and went outside to play. She wanted to go outside all day long...it was pretty cute!!!

This is a snowman she built with Grandma Wendy...we didn't have a carrot so they had to use a green onion instead. :-)

Some New Toys

Gracie loves pretending and is very good at it. She got a new kitchen set from an old neighbor. She loves cooking anything for anyone! She also loves "feeding" her baby. She has seen our cousin feed her baby and has done it ever since. We can't figure out why she thinks she needs to cover her head, too.

All Shopped Out

We usually go shopping on the day after Christmas, but this year we didn't because that was a Sunday. However, we did find some pretty good deals on Monday. We were shopping all day and Gracie was pretty good, but was pretty pooped and by the time we were done at the last store. :-)

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so exciting with Gracie here. She loves opening presents and had a ton of them to open. We had to keep passing her new ones because she wanted to stop and play with each one as she opened them. After opening presents, we went to Brent and Susan's for a Christmas brunch. It was a very enjoyable Christmas.

One of Gracie's presents was a Hello Kitty blow dryer. She loved it and wanted to do everybody's hair with it (including Uncle Chad's hair).

A Visit From Santa on Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve celebration was a little different this year. Craig, Meg, and Scott (one of my dad's brothers and his kids) were not able to make it. It was sad to not have them here, but we were able to see Craig on Christmas Day (unfortunately, Meg and Scott were not able to make it then either as they live in Portland, OR). However, we did have a few special visitors come to visit...Santa, Mrs. Claus, and an elf came to say hi and bring candy canes to all of us. Gracie wasn't quite sure at first, but warmed up enough to go stand by Santa. Bella, Blake's girlfriend's daughter, was so excited and couldn't believe that Santa would actually come visit while we were all awake...it was so cute! We all had to sit on Santa's knee for a picture. It turned out to be a very nice night!

Gracie and Santa

Bella and Santa

Rick, Kristen, Gracie, and Santa

Becca (Blake's girlfiend), Blake, Santa, and Bella

Brent, Santa, and my dad (Santa doesn't look too happy in this one) :-)

The Elf, Santa, and Mrs. Claus

The next few are just of us opening presents after Santa left.

Curley, Moe, and the Reindeer

On Friday morning (Chirstmas Eve), we drove down to Swanson's Nursery in Seattle. They have a couple of Santa's reindeer down there for everyone to see. They do a reindeer feeding a couple times a day. They let the kids feed one of the reindeer, but there was no way we were going to get Gracie that close. They also have a camel named Curley and a miniture donkey named Moe. It was fun to see Gracie talk to the animals and say hi to them. She doesn't like to get too close though. ;-)

Snowflake Lane

I flew into Seattle on Thursday, December 23rd. We ran some errands, went to sushi for lunch (one of my favorite things to do when I get here and one of Gracie's favorites too), ran some more errands, and then met some fabulous people for dinner. Those fabulous people included the Kwocks, the Eggers, the Hogans (including Rick who had just flown in), the other Romneys, and my parents. We missed Chad (who had not flown in yet), Blake (who had to work), and the Johnsons (who stayed home for Christmas this year). We ate at the Cheesecake Factory in Downtown Bellevue and then watched the program they put on down there called Snowflake Lane. They have drummer boys, reindeer, and fairies that dance down the sidewalk. They also make it snow using bubbles. It is a magical time for all!

Miss Attitude!

I am lucky enough to be here in Seattle for Christmas. It has been a fun one with Gracie here. Here is a video of her. She tells a story over and over and over again about a lady walking on the sidewalk. This was after about 10 minutes of telling that story and "checking her email" on her new "laptop." She shows a little of her attitude at the end...so funny!

P.S. I couldn't get the video to rotate...sorry! Oh and pause the music so you can hear her...she is so cute!

My New House

As many of you know I sold my townhouse in Draper in May. I have been living with my grandparents since then. I finally found a house in Herriman to buy and moved in last weekend. I was able to just move my stuff in and I will be able to unpack when I get home from Christmas...I can't wait!

Painted It...But Not a Fan!

So I forgot one more thing I've done in the last week. I painted an NFL logo on my friend Laura's son's wall. Unfortunately, Austin really likes the Broncos. I am NOT a Broncos fan, but had fun painting the logo and am so excited that he likes it!

Easter and Birthday Celebration

Easter was combined with some birthday celebrations this year. Gracie was born on Uncle Brent's birthday and Scott has an April birthday too. I made a Spongebob cake for the celebration because he is one of Gracie's favorites. She loved it! She got some fun stuff...like the cute party dress that she's wearing in one of the pictures from Aunt Susan and Uncle Brent. She also got some fun coloring stuff from Uncle Craig...she loves to color and draw. I am grateful my extended family is as close as they are, and it's always fun to get together for celebrations like this!

Michael Buble Concert!!!

I was fortunate enough to go to the Michael Buble Crazy Love Tour concert in Seattle with my good friend, Kim. It was on April 3rd at Key Arena. I had been looking forward to this concert for a long time and it was definitely worth the wait!

The concert started out with this awesome a cappella group from New York called "Naturally 7." As with all a cappella groups, all of the sounds were made vocally. "Feel It" (originally by Phil Collins) was the song they came out singing. It was amazing how they could make their voices sound just like "real" instruments! They have an album coming out on June 15th and I will definitely be looking for it!

Then the guy we came to see came out! He sounds just as amazing live as he does on his album. This was the first Michael Buble concert I have been to, but wouldn't hesitate to go again! I love all of his songs! One cool thing about the Seattle concert was that his whole family was there. He is from Vancouver, B.C., so they all traveled to Seattle to see him there. It was fun to be there while he was also performing for his family. There was such a range of people in the audience...from young girls to crazy old ladies drooling over him and from men who chose to come to men that were dragged there by their ladies. We had a few crazies around us that kept us even more entertained (if that was possible). There was also a lame lady that stood in front of the stage the entire time. Michael referred to her as his "crazy a** fan" and I'm sure she loved that. However, I am pretty sure he was very annoyed by her. It was a great night and I am so glad I got to share that experience with such a great friend! :)

April Trip #1 to Seattle with Gracie

I am off-track right now. I love being off-track because I get to come home to Seattle. This time was even better because Kristen and Gracie got to come too! Here are some fun pictures of Gracie from this trip.

She loves getting in her doll's stroller...so cute!

Here she is riding Topper...named after Papa Richard's horse that Gracie loves!

She's also a good little mommy to her doll with Aunt Vanda's shoes on (this girl LOVES shoes!).

Sweet Tooth Fairy...YUM!

As many of you know, I love cupcakes. I don't know why...I just do! I am not big on cake, but give me a cupcake and I melt. Well, a new cupcake bakery recently opened in Draper. Kristen, Gracie, and I visited there. We got a chocolate/peanut butter cupcake, a vanilla cupcake, and some lemon cake bites. They were all good, but the vanilla cupcake was by far the best...it had a great flavor and just melted in your mouth! The chocolate/peanut butter cupcake was kind of dry and the lemon cake bites were just okay. I can't wait to go there again to try some of the other treats!

Birthday Party #3

I had one more birthday celebration. A few people in my family came over to my grandparents to help me celebrate one last time...I am so spoiled! :)

Fun With Gracie!

I love it when Gracie comes to visit! We have so much fun! I'm not bragging or anything, but she really does love her Aunt Vanda!

My Birthday Surprises!

So...back to my birthday. I know it was forever ago, but I never finished sharing about my wonderful weekend. You all know how it started (with the wonderful surprise party from my students), but it just kept getting better! A few hours after I posted about my party at school I got another great surprise. Kristen and Gracie were coming for my birthday weekend, but they brought another fabulous person...my mom! Can you believe that? My mom flew in just for my birthday! Isn't she just the best mom? I know...you are all jealous! Anyway, they came to school and visited for a bit and then went to my grandparents. I met them there after school. We were planning on going to dinner. They brought up Mimi's Cafe (home of the BEST grilled cheese sandwich). I had been there twice already that week with an awesome friend, but I was ready for more. Kristen said she had to go to the mall to get me my birthday present so we were going to meet her, my grandma, my cousin, and my two aunts there at the restaurant. My mom and I drove up with Gracie and, being the weird person that I am, I noticed a few cars that I recognized (they were not the cars of my family members). I walked in to a group of friends and family yelling "Happy Birthday" and "Surprise." My favorite sister, Kristen, had planned a surprise party for me. She had contacted my friend Tina (who is also the head secretary at my school). Tina got her a list of some of my favorite people. I am not a big fan of surprise parties, but I had so much fun...thanks Kris! Here are some pictures of the fun night!

My Fantastic Day!

So, my birthday is tomorrow and my students have been so excited. I love my birthday, but I couldn't figure out why they were so excited. I had heard a few things and thought they were planning something, but I didn't know what was in store. My friend Lauri (who works at my school) took me out to lunch yesterday. We went to one of my favorite places, Kneaders, and I had my favorite sandwich, Turkey Bacon Avocado. It was nice to get out of the school for a bit and visit with an awesome friend! Little did I know, my students were back at the school decorating my classroom for my surprise party. I got back and had to let the 5th Grade classes in from recess. My students went in before me. When I opened the door they all yelled "surprise." It was very chaotic, but I tried so hard to step out of the teacher role and let them have a little fun. I found out later that they had been planning this for quite a while. One of the students collected a dollar from every student to buy a cake (which another good friend, Amy, purchased and brought to the school. Thanks Amy!!!). One student brought drinks, and others brought ice cream, balloons, streamers, etc. They plugged my laptop into the classroom sound system and turned on my favorite songs. Every detail of the party had been thought out and planned. Needless to say, I've always known I have the best class and this just goes on to prove it! They are awesome and I LOVED my party!!! Thank you to all of my fabulous students and friends who helped with my fun party! (We got some really cute pictures, but I can't show student's faces. Here are some that are okay.)

They got me a fun hat to wear. They made sure it was red, my favorite color.

Here is the cute and yummy cake!

Kori's 40th Birthday Gift

My friend Kori turned 40 on January 26th. Another one of my friends had a party for her on Friday the 29th. We had a ton of fun! My plan for her present was to make forty dollar roses. I am so glad that my friend Tina was willing to go in on it with me. We realized how long they were going to take so we recruited some help (a huge thanks to Laura, Tamera, Sherry, and Lauri...we wouldn't have gotten all the roses rolled without them). I'd have to say that the bouquet turned out pretty cute. I forgot to take pictures of it until we got to the party and Kori didn't want to take the cellophane off so the roses are kind of hard to see. Here they are anyway:

Christmas/Las Vegas Trip

It's been a while since I posted last. I was able to go home for Christmas and had a great time. Chad was home from Christmas Eve until the 27th. Kristen, Rick, and Gracie came on the 31st and I left to go back with them on the 5th of January. I didn't get any pictures while I was there...terrible, I know!

I was also able to go visit cousin Jen and her family in Las Vegas. I think I've said this before, but Jen's family and my family lived about a block away from each other from the time I was six. Because of this, Jen and her brother Blake are more like siblings to Chad, Kristen, and me. We feel very fortunate to be so close to them! Well, I was supposed to go alone, but Kristen, Gracie, and my mom were able to come as well. My great-aunt on my mom's side passed away on January 7th. She had Down's Syndrome and was 67 (a pretty long life to live with Down's if you ask me). They held her funeral in L.A. on January 16th (which would've been her 68th birthday). My mom flew in to Salt Lake to drive with my grandparents to the services in L.A. Kristen and Gracie came, too. They stopped in Las Vegas and Kristen and Gracie stayed while my mom, uncle Mark (who lives in Vegas), and grandparents went to L.A. We had a ton of fun. Carter had his birthday party while we were there. He had a pirate party and I was able to make the cupcakes. I didn't take pictures, but I am borrowing some from Jen's blog (thanks Jen).

The kids were pretty goofy as you can see from the next pictures.

Gracie ran around trying to be one of the big kids and had a lot of fun with her cousins the whole weekend. The three kids were sitting on the floor watching T.V. and Gracie got down there to be part of the bunch.

I didn't get any pictures of Kate (their new baby...born November 4th), but luckily Jen had another one I could borrow. :)

Drew left to go to Haiti for the Air Force while I was there. He was called Friday and left by Monday. It was hard for Jen and the kids to say goodbye, but it will be a wonderful experience for Drew. Please remember to keep him and the other people over there in your thoughts and prayers.