Little Painting Mainiacs

My littlest sister Crystal loves to paint. So one of the things Santa gave her this year was a paint center like the ones they have at her school.

My little sisters (Rachel & Crystal) ... painting, of course!

Our Crazy Ski Trip

So my family decided to take the day yesterday and go skiing. I have skiid ever since I can remember and so has the rest of my family so it is really fun for us to go on ski trips. However, yesterday was more of an adventure. First, we decided to take the old red van since there were 9 of us on this trip. That was the first problem in a string of problems that day. The second problem was that we put the chains on too early so they started to break about half way up the snowy mountain. We pulled over 6 times on our way up to fix the chains with twine. To add to the craziness of it all, the second time we pulled over, the battery died right in front of a little old ladies house. She let us use her chains and luckily a guy with a nice truck pulled over to help and that got us jumped pretty quick. However, that meant that for the other 4 times we pulled over we had to have someone jump over to the driver's seat and hold the accelerator so that the battery would not go bad again. We made it up finally in time to be able to ski about 5 or 6 hours. It was loads of fun and we decided that even all the car problems we had was worth the trip!

I took this shot half way down one of the slopes. Too bad I caught a skiier in it! The mountains were beautiful though!!! The snow was awesome too... fresh powder!


Just me and my honey.

Here's all our group.. except my dad who took the picture. I am on the far left with my legs spread (I was started to slide as he took the picture) and Brandon is third in from the right (the only one with a snowboard!).

My Latest Creations

1)
This is a book for Brandon's parents that I put together for them for Christmas. It has letters and pictures from all of their children assembled in it. Thanks to Brandon's siblings, I was able to put this one together a lot quicker than the one I put together for my family.

2)
This is a board that I made for myself to hang above my snowflake craft on a rod in my living room.

3)
This is a board I made for Brandon's father. He already has one that says "DAD" and "I have a hero he's my" on it so I made one with "MOM" and "I have an angel she's my" on it to match it.

4)
This is a name board that I am giving to my sister Sharon as a wedding present. She is getting married on Tuesday.

Playing in the Snow

I do not have a good camera like some of my friends do but I still enjoy taking shots. This one above was one of my favorites this last week and I have tried to turn it the other direction but it will not turn.. so you can imagine.

Check out how deep this stuff is!!

My little sister Crystal spent most of her time in the snow making what she calls"snow cakes" on top of a frisbee.
Sadly, this is the best shot I got of my two little sisters making their snow angels. It is watching things like this that make me wish I were a kid again! It just isn't as cool when you make them as a grown-up.

Our Gingerbread House

Yes, we are STILL HERE in Moscow and it is snowing like crazy. I am thinking we will never make it out of this place in time for Christmas but Brandon keeps trying to comfort me and tell me that we will. I have to work tomorrow (lame, I know!) so that is why we are not leaving for Walla Walla until Tuesday morning.

Last night we did get to go over to our friends' house and watch the BYU bowl game. During half time we had a gingerbread house making competition. I will admit, our gingerbread house is pretty ugly because it is pretty much a hodge podge of stuff but it was fun anyway!

You Have a Birthday, Shout Hurray!

Brandon had his 25th birthday YESTERDAY! Some of the highlights from the day include, taking his last final exam for the semester, getting a haircut, going out to dinner, and finally a small surprise party. We did not take any pictures last night (weird!) but it was a fun night and I know Brandon was very tired at the end of the night. His parents gave us the movie Wall-E for his birthday and we have never seen it so we put it in and it didn't take very long for Brandon to fall asleep. Anyhow, Brandon hardly ever reads our blog (which is fine) but I hope he know how much I love him. I am so grateful he is a part of my life.

Peppermint Toes!

At "beauty night" last Thursday, I saw my friend Lara painting her nails this peppermint stripe and I thought it was so cool so I asked her to do mine. She generously accepted. Thank you Lara for making my toes beautiful. I really have felt pampered... got my nails done on Wednesday night and toes done on Thursday night. It has been so fun thanks to a few of my girlfriends.

Thank you Michelle!

This evening my friend Michelle did my nails and I absolutely LOVE them! They are so much fun and I really think Michelle should start a business. Thank you Michelle!

This guy makes my day, EVERY day!

My Latest Craft.. Well, Almost

This is my latest craft, EXCEPT... I don't like the ribbon I used.. or the bow.. and I totally forgot to sand the edges of the blocks.. so I am going to take it apart and fix it up, but you get the gist.

Gingerbread Women

So these are the gingerbread people I made last night. I love this time of year for many reasons and this is one of them. I don't make gingerbread very often but I love to make them during the holidays and dip them in milk!

And Now For the Rest of the Story...

About a week ago, I did a post on some bread that Brandon made. It was all huge and lopsided. So to make up for that post, I am posting a picture of the bread he made just yesterday that is absolutely DE-LISH! Seriously it is like the best bread I have ever had. Thank you Brandon!

Wreath Making with Friends

This last Tuesday night a bunch of us friends got together to make some homemade wreaths. I just loved how they turned out! I think the girls had a pretty good time too. Sorry about the duplicate pictures in this collage - this is my first one and I am still trying to figure it out.

My Latest Idea

I made this craft over the Thanksgiving break. At first, I was just going to make one for Brandon's grandma and grandpa but then I decided to make one for myself too!

We Must Be Related...

Everyone says my brother Kyle and I look a lot alike. Our voices are also similar. Growing up people always got us confused when we would answer the telephone.

At the very end of the Thanksgiving break, Brandon and I had the opportunity to drive up to Tri-Cities, WA to spend the day with my oldest brother Kyle who will be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shortly. He leaves for the missionary training center in Provo, UT on December 31st and will be serving in the Denver, Colorado mission. We are so proud of him and will miss him dearly these next few years! Right to left: Brandon, me, Grandpa Rhoten (my mom's father), my brother Kyle, my mom, my dad

One Sexy Tree

This is our 2008 Christmas tree. The lighting isn't super great in this picture so you can't really see the ornaments but they are there. This year we got to put our tree in front of our big window in our living room and it has been so fun to see it glowing when we come home each day!

Who Says Men Can't Make Bread?!

So Brandon decided to make homemade bread the other night and it was the funniest thing. I heard this "Oh no!" coming from the kitchen when the timer went off. I first thought he had burnt it... instead, it just kind of cooked into HUGE loaves! I love the one on the left because it looks like a hot air balloon. The funny thing is that they both tasted soooo good! And the only reason they got huge is because I forgot to tell him that a full batch usually does four loaves, NOT TWO! I am glad he messed up though because it certainly made my night.

Thanksgiving Trot

I know this post is a little late but it is tradition in our family to go on a Thanksgiving jog on Thanksgiving morning. This year we took Brandon's parents' dog Bodacious or Boe. He keeps us going at a good pace that is for sure!

Sweet Escapes

Brandon and I spent the majority of our Thanksgiving break with his parents and family. One of the highlights of our week was taking his mom to get a a pedicure, hair trim, and style. We went to a place called Sweet Escapes and hopefully it was a literal sweet escape for Teresa, my mother-in-law.

My Christmas Cards are OUT!

Front Design #1: Front Design #2:

The Inside:

It is tradition that Brandon and I drop our Christmas cards in the mail on Thanksgiving day. This can become especially difficult because we both come from somewhat large families (I think we sent about 100 this year to family and a few friends). Then we always write a letter, send a picture of us, and write a more personal message in the card. And this year I even took on the challenge to design homemade cards. Wow was a I crazy or what! Thanks to Brandon, I was able to get everything put together on time!

The Taming of the Shrew

Brandon and I had the opportunity to go see my brother Tom perform in The Taming of the Shrew at the Walla Walla High School last weekend. He played the part of Lucento and did such an amazing job! He really is such an actor and I love watching him. I'm so glad we got to go!

So Proud of Myself

A few of our good friends just got married yesterday. It was a beautiful sealing in the Idaho Falls, ID temple and I am so glad we got to go! Just last weekend I had my friend Lacey get me a board and cut the vinyl for their gift. I am pretty proud of it since I sanded, painted, applied the vinyl and picked out the ribbon all by myself! Thank you Katelyn for the ribbon idea. I think it turned out wonderful!

What Is Your Biggest Pet Peeve?

This is Peeves. He wants to know your biggest pet peeve. My biggest pet peeve lately when I get left out or when someone tries to hide the fact that they may be going to hang out with other people and they are afraid to invite me to come along. Sometimes I will hear about stuff going on (after it went on, that is) and I wish that I could have been there. I love hanging out with people... so... when I miss out on something it makes me sad and that is my latest biggest pet peeve. For those of you who may think I could have left you out on something, never hesitate to ask to come along! You are always welcome. Now it is your turn to share...

No Sweets Diet

So I am on a no sweets diet right now. That means I eat a moderate amount of sweets only on the weekends. However, I have learned one thing from this and that is that it is very easy for your brain to sweet talk you into just having one piece of a candy that is not a really bad candy for you. I have a candy jar at my work. Right now there is mostly hard candy in it. The sad thing is that hard candy is not really that bad for you.. like not as bad as a cinnamon roll or something gooey like that and full of lots of fat. However, I still have to tell my mind "no" like twenty times a day. The good news is, I have already lost a pound or two and I hope to continue so that I can beat my husband in the amazing weight loss race. I have to lose 5 pounds and he has to lose 10! Whoever loses their pounds first, wins the choosing of a $20 date night and the other person has to go along with whatever it is. We started about a week and a half ago. I diligently worked out last week. This week I have not been feeling so well so I have not exercised much but I am staying away from the sweets and that is a BIG accomplishment for me!

1 Rose, Lots of Kisses, and 1 Amazing Husband

Friday afternoon I came home from work in a super bad mood! I told Brandon it had been a really long day and that it was just that I needed some time. So I took off and went to the gym. Little did I know while I was at the gym with the car, he walked to the grocery store form our house to by me this long stemmed red rose. The next morning I woke up and he had scattered kisses all over the table with the long stemmed rose in the center. What a sweet husband I thought and so I just had to take a picture. He really does know how to cheer me up!

Couples Night Out

This last weekend we had a few of our friends come over to play some games. This one was the shaving cream game (a classic). I am not sure who won but it was fun anyway!