Dancing Diva's

Gracie, Aniston and Lauren all take dance together. They had their Christmas program and here are a few pics. Santa came and they were able to wear their Pajama's. It was darling.

Only the Best Christmas Party EVER!

Every year Jake and I host a Christmas party for a fun group of friends. It's an adult party and we exchange white elephant gifts. This is the 4th year its been going on. I hope this Christmas tradition never ends. I make a big dinner and cocktails and everybody brings something to share. This year we had about 25 people.

I made a couple of roasts, a tri-tip, Jake and Daniel fried a turkey, we had rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes, and an amazing salad... thanks to Mark. I attempted a signature cocktail without trying it first... it was horrible. I made peppermintini's from a recipe off the Internet. BIG MISTAKE! After trying a couple of them, we knew they were not going to work out... so, we added some delicious chocolate syrup to them and VIOLA... they were fabulous! But we had to change the name to MOCHA MINTINI! They were so cute and festive with crushed candy cane around the rim and a mini cane for garnish... I wish they tasted as good as they looked.

So, the party was supposed to start at 7:00... it didn't. I should have known to tell everybody an hour early, because I think some of the goods got cold. It was a success nonetheless.

As people started trickling in, conversations were going on all around. One particular conversation stands out to me. I was talking to Jake's (and now my) cousin, Jenny Butterfield. and here's how it went:

Jenny: "There is a surprise coming"
Me: "who? You have to tell me." I am so dumb and didn't realize what I had just said, so then I said this... "Oh my gosh, it's Jason, Is Jason coming?"
Jenny: "No, that would be so awesome though. I wish he was coming.... it's someone else but I am not going to tell you" Note: she said this with the saddest look on her face... I was convinced it WAS NOT JASON.
Me: "Please, Just tell me" "Jenny, I thought it was Jason and I almost pooped my pants" "Now, you have to tell me."
Jenny: "I am not telling, you will just have to wait. "
Annie: "Ok, you don't have to tell me" ... as I reluctantly changed the subject and forgot about the whole thing.

About 20 minutes passed and I was busy doing who knows what when in walks the surprise....

Jason was here!

I screamed... I didn't know what else to do. He was not supposed to be here. He was in Kansas and leaving for Afghanistan in 2 days. WHAT IS GOING ON? Jenny Lied... I am mad! Not really... but that was the BEST SURPRISE EVER!

We all had the greatest time. I didn't make it to bed until 6 am. WOW! I am still tired.

We ate dinner and cleaned up a bit and sat down to exchange white elephant gifts. I was soooo excited because I had been planning mine for 3 weeks. It was amazing. I had made a poster size picture of Jake on Halloween in his speedo. Funniest thing ever. Jake gave Jason a going away "dance" and that was the highlight of the night. It may show up on youtube... you never know. Jeff professed his love to his "best friends" and we all cried for Jason.

This was one of the better nights we have had... and we have a lot of great nights with this group of friends. It almost seems not real.

I don't have my camera at the moment but will post pics when I get it back. Can't wait.

SLEEPING.THROUGH.THE.NIGHT!

Garrett is finally sleeping through the night.

HALLELUJAH!

It only took him 8 months... he actually has been sleeping through the night at least 4 times a week for that past few weeks but I didn't want to jinx myself by blogging about it.

Needless to say, I am one happy momma!

STAIRS...

So, this morning I was working on the computer while the kids were playing on the floor. Gracie came into my room and was there with me for about 10 minutes playing her Leapster. She said, "Mom, I am going to check on Garrett." What!!!!!! I totally forgot about Garrett....At that point I realized how quiet the house was. I jumped up and started running frantically through the house searching for him...I had forgotten to put the baby gates up so he could be anywhere. Gracie ran up stairs while I searched the main floor. Much to my dismay, he was upstairs... he had climbed up 16 stairs all by himself. When we found him, he was in the playroom playing with the toys as happy as can be. Wow! That scared the crap out of me. I am just glad he made it without falling. Silly Boy!

This is a perfect example of Garrett's Personality. He is determined and Strong. He has tried to climb the stairs before but we usually stop him before he gets too far. Now we just have to teach him how to get down the stairs safely.

NO CAVITIES...YAY!

Gracie was in the South Valley Journal this month... How cute is that. She won the no cavity contest at her dentist. Dr. Johnson's office gave her a HUGE stuffed Hippo and an electric princess toothbrush. Gracie was super excited but she keeps asking why people are calling her about it. Isn't she the cutest little muffin? I think so.

Baby Tooth #3

Garrett got another tooth. Bottom right... just next to the first bottom right, but this one is righter.

He He, I crack myself up!

He Pee's, He Pee's

This is a quick story that I don't want to forget. Kim reminded me of this the other day and I thought it hilarious and very blog worthy.

I was in the hospital the day after Garrett was born and Kim and Lauren were visiting. The girls were playing in one of the rocking chairs and Garrett had pooped that disgusting black tar. So, Jake equipped me with a diaper and wipes and all the neccessary tools to complete the task. I began to change the diaper and get him all cleaned up when the poop began to ooze again. This time it was a lot of poop. So, I started yelling while trying to stop it from getting everywhere and Kim and Jake jumped up to grab more wipes and another diaper. These diaper changes were a team effort so luckily Jake and Kim were right there to assist. During all the chaos, Kim started to walk across the room to grab something more to help (I think a clean blanket, but I am not sure). As she was walking and talking, Garrett started to pee and the stream ended up directly in Kim's open mouth. Poop and pee was everywhere. We laughed for days. The girls kept saying "Baby Garrett peed in your mouth" while laughing as hard as they could at Kim.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2008

What a wonderful holiday. There is nothing better than getting together with the people you love, eating perfect homemade food, sitting and just enjoying the company. I must say we had a perfect day! We had 2 turkey dinners. YUMMY!

First, we woke up, had our morning coffee, and Jake started watching the Titans Football game as soon as it started. The Titans killed the other Team... I am not sure who it was but I do know that the Titans won again... strengthening their one loss record. Jake was happy, but it made for a lighthearted argument about him being slow because he was so into the game. Grrr! Our goal was to arrive early to Jake's grandparents house so we could visit with Jason before dinner (who was only in town for the short weekend). We were "on time" for Thanksgiving dinner to say the least. Luckily, Jason didn't show up early either.

I was able to get myself and both the kids ready and in the car after making 2 platters of Meat Pickle (Pickles rolled in Ham that has cream cheese spread on it)... Sooo Yummy! Jake helped make the dish and for that I was "Thankful".

Our first stop was the Thomas family dinner. The food was as good as ever. We were able to visit with the whole fam and the kids played outside in the sunshine.

Then we went to my family's dinner at Auntie Ya Ya's and ate AGAIN! It was fabulous! We played with the wii and even got my mom playing... she loved it! Tennis, of course!

We got home late and I still hadn't had a chance to look at the ads for Black Friday. I put the kids to bed, set my alarm, and online I went. There is something about Black Friday that I LOVE. I think it is all the chaos, but I am not sure... I get a kick out of people watching and seeing how they fight over everything.

I woke up at 4:08 am the next morning and off I went to shop. Rena drove because she has the biggest car. We picked Kim up and started at Walmart then moved on to Target, JCPenney, The Buckle, and Famous Footwear. Somewhere in there we stopped the shop to eat at Village Inn. We were home by 10:30 with a car full of wonders.

Later, we had dinner plans with Jason and many friends at Tsunami. Love the Sushi! Love the Friends! We had an all night sitter, thanks to my sister in law, Becky, and brother Eric. My son was a shit (as usual) and Gracie choked on 3 pennies... Lovely!

After dinner we ended up at Club 90... enough said! I love to people watch and this just may very well be the perfect place. It was a great time. Jeff reserved us a table and gave several lap dances to perfect strangers! Steph was a good sport about the whole thing... the things she puts up with to give us a good laugh. Thanks Steph! Oh yeah, Jake got hit on by a super cute girl... I am so lucky to have him!


Saturday was amazing. We picked up the kids in the morning went to the store to buy baby gates and stayed home the rest of the day. I was able to watch 5 episodes of Prison Break before our company showed up for a friendly game of Texas Hold 'em. Good Times.

Sunday I watched 4 more episodes of Prison Break (I am finally caught up) and made my own turkey dinner. I was impressed with myself. Here's what was on the menu: Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, stove top, green beans, and rolls. It was pretty good. I really love to cook. Have I mentioned that Rena and I made the most fabulous Fish Tacos last week. I think I am obsessed with them. Jake may argue with me on this one, but I think they were Rubios good!

FISH TACOS: JUST ONE MORE THING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR THIS THANKSGIVING!