Vacation!

Going here:

& here:

Then here :)

That's Philadelphia...we're going to visit Ben, Alissa, Claira, & Dylan!
Updates & pictures when we get home in 2009.
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas :)

Butterfly Surprise!

I kidnapped my hubby, sister, brother, and his girlfriend on Monday. They didn't know where they were going...but guessed it on the way there :)








We had fun! :)

3rd Grade Christmas Program

The talented Mr. Stillens accompanying the 3rd graders of May Grisham!

This is Lorenzo Papworth, his family is in 2nd Ward. Isn't he ADORABLE?! I hope Lindsay has kiddos that look like him :)

That's Mrs. Botello on the right, she put the whole thing together. I remember her from Joe Nightingale! She taught us music and always said, "You can remember my name like this: Mrs. Botello plays the cello!" It worked ;)
She was so amusing, after every song when the audience would applaud, she would turn around and give a huge smile to the crowd! I don't think the performance is just for the kids!

This picture is priceless! He grabbed the microphone and it popped out of its stand. He was so scared like it was the end of the world. Look at his little worried face!

This is the boy I spend most of my work days with. It's amazing how innocent he looks in this picture ;) As stressful as those hard days can be, he really is a sweetheart! I'm totally attached to him, Lindsay says I talk about him too much. That's pretty much my work day though - and he does say some hilarious things.

He Gets Me Through

Look at this handsome guy! So lucky he's mine.

I had a rough day at work on top of finals stress...and look what was waiting for me in the car!

Gotta love his art. It reminds me of the funny things we'd draw each other when he was on his mission :)

Sandy Stuck

I caught her like this on Sunday.
She loves to slip her jewelry off, and when I walked back by her bed - she was sitting there with this look on her face!
I love when she puts her ears to the side...she looks like a little cow.
Love you Sandra bear truffle shuffle!

NEW CAR!

We got a sweet new ride!

It's a 2002 Volvo S60.

We went to Castro Auto on Grand Ave. in AG. We HIGHLY recommend them! My cousin, Rachel, got her car, Barney, there :)
We love that they don't have paid salesmen on commission. We were able to walk around and browse cars without having some sleaze-ball try to shove a car down our throats! When I shop, I will ask for help when I need it. I know what I want - so leave me alone until I need you!
We saw an Accord first that was in our price range. Turns out that bad boy had 200,000 miles on it! So we passed. Then we saw a beautiful Volvo behind it. We thought it had to be WAY out of our league, but it didn't have a sticker on it. So I asked the girl on a whim how much it was. Turns out, it was only $1,000 more than the Accord - but with 100,000 less miles. And WAY more bells and whistles!!!
We test drove it and were hooked. When I was driving, Matt looked over at me and said, "Aww you look like a little momma. I can picture car seats in the back!" That sold me right there :)
I took it into a mechanic on Friday and he said it was a great car! We bought it that day.
Here comes the good part...
We bought the car on Friday. We've been driving it everywhere and showing it off...it's our new baby!
We drove down to Santa Barbara yesterday for Travis' homecoming and showed it to all the fam down there.
We came back from SB and went to dinner at my mom's. We always park in the driveway. Last night, my mom had to go help out with cookies for the Nativity. I was on the phone with Bobba and my mom came walking in. I said to Matt, "Oh, we need to move the car." Then looked at my mom. Her eyes said it all. I said, "You backed into our NEW car?!" And she nodded. I was like, "Love you bye!" To Bobba on the phone and we went outside. She usually doesn't go anywhere Sunday night while we're over there. Also, we usually have the 4Runner parked there which is higher and easily visible. Shoulda, coulda, woulda! We'll be parking on the street from now on :)
The damage isn't that bad...just a square mark in our bumper from her tow hitch. And the whole bumper is shifted. Her insurance is covering to get it fixed up. Soooo yeah. The irony!

Thanksgiving 2008!

A little late, but all of the pics are on my sister's camera and she's being stingy with them! Ha ;)
. . .
We had a wonderful, relaxing day down in Santa Ynez. The Taylors (Alma & Ed Carson's daughter & her fam) invited our whole family down for the feast. They are pretty much family anyway :)

I made the Lion House rolls for last year's feast and my grandma asked me if I'd make the rolls again this year. I was telling Sean, my little brother, and he said, "Whatever happened to Nana's rolls that melted in your mouth?" He then went on to say how you just had to breathe on them and they melted, and I had no idea he cared so much about food! If you know Sean, you know he's not one to get passionate or outspoken about many things. I thought it was too cute that he loved these rolls Nana used to make, so I had to make them this year.
Here's the trick - dipping them in butter before rolling them up!

Alma's orange rolls on the left, Nana's buttery ones I made on the right.




We took some family pictures in the Taylor's gorgeous backyard. Lindsay's Rebel is so nice that Matt & I decided to get one for Christmas too! :)

When we came home and were divvying up leftovers, Sean was standing in the kitchen looking around. He then said, "I'm just gonna take some rolls." Grabbed a bag of them, and walked out! Love ya Sean!

Why Matt is Going to Teach Our Babies French

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.