Brandon's Big Day

Last weekend was crazy!! Brandon had a birthday. I successfully threw him a little surprise party (a big thanks to everyone who helped to make that happen). Then the next day we did some traveling and then came home so that my family could travel to come visit us for a special event. Brandon recently got called to be on the Stake High Council in our area. This will be a new adventure for us but I am really excited for him. My parents came up so that my dad could set him apart as a high priest. My little sisters also came up for the fun of it. We made homemade pizza at our place afterwards but hurried things along, as they had to get on the road before the roads got any worse that night. I feel so blessed to have family that lives so close. Every time we get to see them, I just soak it up because it is always too short!!

Thanks Babe!

So last weekend my dear husband helped me sand close to 200 pieces of wood late into the night, when he could have been studying for finals. He just finished his finals for the semester. He works so hard to make me happy and still somehow finds the time to study. Only 3 more semesters to go. Thanks babe for being so strong!

Christmas Treats!

Brandon and I made LOTS of treats on Sunday. We started in the early afternoon just after church and thought we would be done in a few hours.... haha! I think we both forgot how long goodies can take to make, but we had fun. We made lots of caramels, fudge, gingerbread, sugar cookies, dipped pretzels and peanut butter rice crispies. A lot of our friends leave for the Christmas break to go home to visit family. So we decided to get our plates out early.

Oh! And not to forget the rolls! Brandon kept the bread machine going and made some of these roll circles. The rolls turned out great too. Brandon is my little baker boy... haha! I used to get so frustrated because he always makes way better bread and rolls than me but now I have just accepted the fact and I let him do the bread.

Mmmmmm... these have got to be one of my favorite holiday treats. So I thought another picture of them deserved to be in this post.

And here's me, dipping pretzels (don't judge... I was totally in my scrubs and not lookin' too pretty). These are definitely my weakness. I snitch them way too much because anything dipped in chocolate is delicious, right?!

Last Weekend

Last weekend, Brandon and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Spokane, WA temple to do an endowment session with some of the members in our ward. I always enjoy being in the temple and am grateful that there is a temple within 2 hours of our home. It does still consume half (and sometimes all) of our day to go but it is so very worth it. I am grateful that my husband made it a priority last weekend. I feel blessed.

There is a nativity set outside the temple that I think is beautiful. I especially love it in the evening when it is dark and the lights of the temple shine on it.

Later in the evening, after our visit to the temple, we headed to downtown Spokane for dinner. I never realized that the Spokane mall put up such a large tree! It is massive and I could not even get the full spectrum of it with my camera.

Turkey Trotting in 2010

Do we look cold here or what? It was SO cold Thanksgiving morning but my family were real troopers and they came out for the Walla Walla 5k and 1 mile walk Turkey Trot! I couldn't believe it. I have really enjoyed the fact that a lot of my brothers enjoy running. Stewart was so excited and that made it even more fun. They all did great and I am so proud of them.

More Thanksgiving Activities

My little sisters are always begging me to bring crafts when I come to visit. One of the things I brought over the Thanksgiving weekend was card making supplies. They made some really fun cards too. I love how they just keep growing. Seems like the older they get, the more fun they become.

And here is my littlest brother Stewart with his $50 sled. It was a black Friday special and is suppose to be made by some company that also designs snowmobiles. He was so excited about it and even though the snow was days old and not so great to sled in anymore, he still made it work.

Friends & Pretzels

Last week, before the Thanksgiving weekend, a couple of my friends and I got together to do dipped pretzels. They turned out a bit whacky but I still had fun. I am really going to miss these two girls, as they are BOTH leaving me for their homes in Utah for a month or so... I am so jealous!