Thanksgiving and Christmas

I keep forgetting to take my camera everywhere we go....We stopped by Nampa, ID for Thanksgiving at Sally's (Joe's mom) and Phillip's (Joe's brother) home. It was so nice to be with them and enjoy having the chance to get to know them better. Boy, is Phil becoming a great cook!! And Sally's turkey was to die for. Gary (Joe's dad) who brave the harsh weather to come. He is so fun and enjoys talking about his ranch and cowboy experiences. We missed his brother Mark due to the bad weather, but all in all, we were so grateful to be able to see them again.


We had Christmas in Utah. My parents came down and stayed at Stephanie's for Christmas Eve.




The kids dressed up in their Nativity costumes and even some of us adults chipped in. It is always one of my favorite things about Christmas, watching the excitment of the kids as they take on their special part in the story of Christ's birth.

Jenna-Angel

Alyssa-Shepard

Joe-Joseph

Krystell-Wiseman

Jared-Wiseman

Aimee-Mary

Grandma H.-Narrator

The kids also opened their traditional pajama presents.

Joe and I woke up to the old school Nintendo and leather coaches (from the wonderful KSL.COM). loads and loads of fun. We chitchatted with Joe's family on the phone and enjoyed our first Christmas together. We also had Christmas dinner at the Bares, very yummy!! We were able to talk to Kevin's family on the phone; they all seem to be so happy. We feel so blessed to have such a great family that is close and are such great examples.

A Christmas Wreath

I made this Christmas Wreath, a majority of it I made from paper. I entered it into a contest of 15 other wreaths in the ICU, and won the most creative award. I really like it...

HaLlOwEeN!!

This year my friend from cosmotology invited us to a Mystery Dinner Friday night....SoOo MuCh FuN!! It was based in the roaring 20's and taken place in Chicago.

Joe was the District Attorney S. Treighton Harrow...slightly shady and devels in some dirty playing....a suspect in the murder of "Hal Copone"....

And I was the lovely Ms. "Silky" M. Adams, owner of a luxurious private gentlemans club...a very close friend of the deceased...and at the end of the night was the seductive murderess....

It was so much fun!! Absolutely a must do for the next year. Joe's experience in the drama classes helped out a lot!! Needless to say we stole the show ;0)

Then Halloween day we were part of the ward's activity committee so we dressed up as a "Pirate and his Wench" and thoroughly enjoyed the fun and games for the kids...

Yes, that is a fake earring, and yes that is eye liner on Joe...and yes, the Bishop was fully aware of our appearance...And he laughed. Yes, we are always up for fun =0)

BYU Football

I got two tickets from a friend at work, and was beyond excited to surprise Joe. He loves, loves, loves the BYU Cougars, and we have wanted to go for awhile now. They played University of Wyoming Cowboys, and it was an intense game!! But Cougars came out triumphant, to Joe's excitement, and we went home happy.

Fun times at Lagoon...

In September we went to Lagoon and Lagoon-A-Beach...I guess we just hadn't gotten over the amusement park fever from California. My family use to go every May for clogging competitions. I have returned to Lagoon a couple of times since those elementary days, and I will NeVeR get sick of it. There are still the old classics like Collosus....

The Tidal Wave...

The Haunted House...

And the Screamer and then add on the new Wicked and Cliffhanger...and we are like a bunch of kids running from the end of the ride to get back into line. That's one thing that I absolutely lOvE about Joe, life is always fun. Joe was in heaven!! He absolutely loves the rollercoasters and can't get enough of them. Life is just way too fun to slow down ;0)

Dinner at LaCailles

Joe's work at APX alarms too the office employees out to LaCailles, a french restaurant in Murray. They were celebrating a fantastic year of sales and they were able to bring their spouses. LaCailles is a very nice restaurant, one that is pretty pricey. Joe and I were excited to be there. We have never been to a place so nice. Here are some pictures Joe took from his phone, hopefully they aren't too blurry...

Honeymoon to Southern Cali...Part 3 Huntington Beach...

Our last day we decided to RELAX!! LOL, we were so tired from walking and walking, trying to figure out maps that we decided to take the last day off and spend it on the beach...









Huntington Beach was a lot busier than Coronado, but the waves were so much more fun!! We absolutely loved it and found that four hours passed away so quickly...so quickly that we got roasted and didn't even feel it coming!!

SO that night we were completely miserable. In fact miserable can't even begin to describe the feelings we had!! We were in so much pain and we felt like we had the flu. These are a few of the blisters we had. These are Joe's...poor guy!! You can see how huge the one was...


Mine...


But we can laugh about it now, and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat...maybe just be a little more careful to use sunscreen!!

Honeymoon to Southern Cali...Part 2 Anaheim...

...So we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and go to Disneyland!! We were so excited. We were able to see Joe's Uncle Pat and spend the night with him and his wife. It was so fun to meet them and hear about Joe and his family. They are all so great!!

The first day we spent it all at Disneyland. This is us at the entrance with the castle in the background...


This was the very first ride that we went on...we had no idea what it was but it looked like fun!! I thought it was Splash Mountain, but it was the Matterhorn Bobsled ride. And it was fun...but the lines were brutal!! We had to wait forever. But what can you expect, right? Welcome to Disneyland in July!!


This was us in Toon Town. We were pretty clueless and didn't plan very well...but we had so much fun and we were beyond excited just to be in the "Happiest place on Earth"...




Fantasyland...my Knight in Shining Armor ;0)


Joe by the Pinocchio Whale...


Thunder Mountain Ride in Critter Country...


Splash Mountain Ride(Joe's favorite)...


Joe and I waiting in the line for Splash Mountain...



We spent our second day in California Adventure. This is the front entrance...


One of our favorite rides was the Screamer!! We LOVED the first part of the ride when you shoot up the hill...totally unexpected and fun. A definite MUST!! We ended going on it again and again...


One of our favorite rides was the Tower of Terror. Absolutely couldn't get enough of the free fall. I have never seen the Twilight Show, but it is now on my to do list...




The third day we spent time at our favorite rides: Splash Mountain (Joe's favorite), Space Mountain, Screamer, and Tower of Terror. It was DEFINATELY worth it. We are both so glad that we went, and talk about it all of the time.

Honeymoon to Southern Cali...Part 1 San Diego...

Joe and I were so excited to go for nine days to Southern California...we left the 3rd of July for San Diego. I was there when I was eight years old and Joe had never been there. You can imagine our excitment!! We spent a couple of evenings at Coronado Beach (I kept leaving my camera...so frustrating!!). I absolutely LOVED the beach. Oh my goodness...it was beautiful and the waves were crazy fun. We went there our first evening. What ended up just dipping our feet in the water came to a full fledged swimming fest. LOL we couldn't help ourselves. It was way too fun!! The sunset was beautiful there...we spent the next couple of days there. I really wish I would have remembered the camera!!

Sunday we decided to visited the Mormon Battalion Center. They had just remodeled it and opened up in January. It was really neat how they portrayed the lives of the men who joined the U.S. Army under the counsel of the prophet Brigham Young. The sacrifices of leaving their families, sicknesses, hunger and sufferings. But through it all the prophecy of Brigham Yound came true. That if they went they would not face battle. Most of the money they made went to their families and helped the Saints travel West to Salt Lake Valley...


We went to the San Diego temple. We both have always loved that temple and we were beyond excited to see it. However, it was under construction :0( The scaffolding covered all of it except for the west tower. But it was still beautiful and we were so grateful to do a session there. Joe and I agreed that it was one of the prettiest temples we have ever been in. I want to see it sometime when the construction is over. I can't begin to imagine how pretty it would be...






We went to the San Diego Zoo. We have heard such great things about this Zoo. And it lived up to its reputation. LOL, we loved seeing the elephants, but 15 elephants later we realized that they were a common thing ;0)


We saw so many different animals!! I have been to the Hogle Zoo in SLC, which is small but fun. I went to Cincinnatti with my brother's family, which I thought was the best. But wow, San Diego is definately one of a kind...

Joe's favorite animal in the whole zoo...who wouldhave guessed that it was the camel?! LOL, he makes me laugh ALL OF THE TIME!!



Joe by the hippos. I don't know why, but I absolutely LOVE this picture!! It makes me laugh every time. Isn't he so stinkin' cute?!


We saw our first Panda cub (I guess they are pretty rare). She was two years old and so adorable...



Joe and I by bamboo trees...


Joe and I riding the Skyfari from one side of the zoo to the other...



We went to Seaworld. We were like two little kids in paradise!! The first thing we ran into was the Sesame Street rides. We had to ride the Abby Sea Star Spin...


One of the first Seaworld animals we saw were the Beluga whales. I personally thought they looked funny, but Joe thought they were beautiful. But looking at these pictures, I might have changed my mind...


The polar bears...


These walrus's cracked me up with their whiskers...



Joe HAD to see the flamingos. They were so pink and pretty!! And there were so many...


And what would Seaworld be like without the dolphins?


Or the killerwhales?



Joe and I were very excited to find out about a ride there, Journey to Atlantis. We went on it again, and again, and again!! We had a BLAST!! It was such a fun drop off at the very beginning were you got soaked, and then you continued on a rollercoaster ride. It was the perfect mix!!



We had gone on Shipwreck Rapids (where you got soaked on a raft) and the Wild Artic Ride (they simulate a helicopter ride where you see wildlife and experience the thrill of the flight) but our favorite had to be Journey to Atlantis. Look how wet we are!!



And we loved every minute of Sea World!! We had so much fun. And with the little taste of a rollercoaster with Journey to Atlantis, we got hooked!! We couldn't help but decide we wanted to have more...