Our Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. We are truly blessed with a wonderful family. We had a huge surprise on Christmas, Gary's brother Scott bought us tickets to Disneyland. We have been saving for several months, so now we can go! What a great guy! Thanks Scott! We love you!



The day after Christmas we went to Monterey to see the "fishies" as Jill said, with Gary's parents and brother. It was beautiful there. It was such a nice day.

Our sad Gingerbread house

Don't tell my creative and artistic sisters about this. Jill, Gary and I tried, but I would rather just get it done, then it look perfect. Jill ate so much of the candy. And Gary was critiquing my building strategies (you can tell he is a boss) Anyways, it was fun and memorable evening.
And another thing...... something cute and frustrating at the same time, with my sister-inlaw out running errands and my brother taking a quick shower, my niece and nephew preceded to open all of their presents this morning. When asked by my brother, "What are you doing?" They said, "Nothing." Priceless.

the new room and a cute kid

I was cleaning my bathroom and came out to find this. She stood all of them up. So funny. These are Jill's favorites. A few go with us everywhere we go. If these were the only toys we had, Jill would be a happy girl.

Well We are finished moving the office and cleaning it up. We have yet to decide where we are putting the pictures that are on the walls. But it is sooo nice in here. As you can see someone didn't want his picture taken

The "new" room

Gary is self employed with his own Lath and Plastering business (you know the cement on the outside of your house?) Since 2004 he has rented a shop to keep his thousands of supplies in, this place had and office. Yet he never bothered to turn on the electricity there, so the office part of the shop was never used. Recently he has purchased a new office and yard area. And yesterday was a day of celebration. He began moving the "office" out of our house! I hear "hallelujah" in the back round right now. So now we have space, actual space in this extra room in our house!!! Can't wait to move things around and use this room!!!
As you can see below, this room was quite packed. The file cabinets will be moving into the closet, one chair is gone, and Gary's desk (a folding table) is GONE!!!

Can you see the clutter behind us??

Below is some of the new space!!!! Yeah!

Crazy weekend

Well Gary and I and our committee got through the ward party. We figured we fed 260 people. We decorated on Friday, then got up early Saturday to go cook for our christmas breakfast. It took longer than expected to cook the food, so that wasn't fun. But everyone said it was a great party. Everyone loved Santa. So over all it was great. During the week prior to the event, I was a bit stressed and didn't sleep much, and came down with a cold. Then it just got worse yesterday after the party was over, thankfully! I slept a little while yesterday, then got up, and with Gary's help, cleaned out my car which was FULL of stuff from the party. I went to bed, gary let me sleep in, and I woke up feeling worse. So we opted to stay home from church today. I am still feeling lousy, but a bit better after some rest and relaxation. We even got some carolers!!! It was wonderful! I just hope that this isn't a trend for ward parties..... you know, stressing out, not sleeping, then getting sick. ;-)

Thanksgiving catch-up

The morning of Thanksgiving, we went out to Knights Ferry to kill sometime. It was so fun. Just to walk around, see the old buildings, see the falling leaves, and look for the salmon. Jill loved running through the covered bridge, Gary kept looking for salmon, and I just loved being outside where it was quiet and peaceful. Here are some pictures of our day:

Tuesdays are the best

I work on Tuesday nights, so Jill and Gary have so much fun. Yesterday I "suggested" they rake the leaves, put them in the trash, and have fun in the meantime. Well they had time. Even after the bath, Jill was ready to put on her boots and go out for more.

Prayers needed

Karlie, Gary's Cousin Kelly's little girl, has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Please remember her and her family in your prayers. http://www.maxfamily4.blogspot.com/

Thankful to be a wife and mother

How I love being a wife and a mother. I can't remember not being one! It has only been 6 years (W) and 2 years (M). And I am so grateful for the opportunity. My two favorite times of day is when Gary gets home from work. We rush out to see him or hide and he comes to find us. My other favorite time of day is when Jill wakes up and comes and gets in bed with me (gary is already gone to work). How blessed we are to know that we will be together forever. I am so thankful for that!

Thankful for siblings

My sisters are oh so talented. Katie is a wonderful mother, fabulous artist, and wonderful decorator. Katie was gone this weekend, and we missed her and her cute family so much. Glad you're back!

Christy is keen on laughter, baking, creating, and frosting everything so life is all sweet. Christy works in Sac town, so today my parents invited Jilly and I to go see her and her work. We ate lunch with her then got to try her fabulous "babycakes" They were de-lish! Thank you! Can't wait for you to be home this weekend!


And of course my brother is awesome! Rod makes you laugh and is a true entertainer. He can quote movies even after he has seen them once! He is so motivating and positive, and always a true friend. Love ya, bro. So glad you are my little, big brother!

Jill loves animals

We went to visit Uncle Donny's chickens on Friday and then to a dog show on Saturday. Jill had a ball at both places. This kid loves animals. I keep telling Daddy that she is going to need a puppy soon!!!!
The mastiff named Brody, in the top pic loved Jill, he just kept following her back and forth. Jill was more interested in his neighbor, Jimmie, who was laying down. I think Jimmie wasn't as intimidating as Brody.

Baking, Friends and Fun

Jill has discovered the art of baking. (thanks to Grandma Gayle who has had the kiddies helping her baking cookies and pies) So she wants to help me all the time. So we made cookies on a boring friday night.

Enjoying the almost finished product

Our friend Hailey came over to play and they played dress up! So fun!


Relaxing with some Lil' Einsteins after a hard day. Love this girl so much!!

Happy Halloween

Such a cute expression here!


Never mind........



Our little princess was Cinderella this year. And I being one of those in charge of the Halloween party this year, felt it was my duty to dress up. So as you can see..... I was the Fairy Godmother. It was a fun and crazy night, due to a rainy forecast, and then no rain!!! Oh well. We had fun and out little princess finally conquered saying trick or treat.

Husband tag..... your turn!

Where did you meet your husband? Don't remember....we were two, his family moved to Oakdale from So. Cali, we grew up together but never dated until after his mission.
How long have you been married? 6 years last June
What does he do that surprises you? Lots of stuff, cutting his beloved hair way short this summer, doing the dishes without being asked, he sends me flowers randomly!
What is your favorite feature of his? His smile, his tan skin, his thick hair, his great butt! (TMI??)
What is your favorite quality about him? His dedication to his family.
What is his favorite food? Curry, anything from his mission, as he says often, American food just doesn't do anything for me! He wishes he was in Malaysia and Sri Lanka everyday just for the food!
What is his favorite sport? Dirt biking, fishing, hunting ....the better sports as he likes to say
When and where did you first kiss? July 14, 2001.....I wrote it in my journal and have never forgotten the day. We had been dating almost 4 months. I made him a nice dinner at this great house where are used to house sit all the time. We were sitting on the couch talking and he made his move!
What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? dates, but it has been a while!!! be with our families, spend time in bed late at night talking, going places together with Jill.
Does he have any hidden talents? Gary has about every tools imaginable and with those tools he can fix anything, build anything. He is very into his clothes and how he looks, (is that a talent) I always ask him if things look ok.
How old is he? almost 31
Who said I love you first? I did, it was about a week before he proposed!
What is his favorite music? rock, alternative....Pearl Jam, Metallica, Rage,
What do you admire most about him? how much he loves and takes care of us and his family. His ambition and dedication. His service to others
What is his favorite color? Blue.
Random silly things about him: He has to maintain his "gig line" where your belt, tie, center of your shirt, all have to line up. He hates it if we match, like if we both have on blue jeans and brown shirt.
Anything embarrassing? Gary cannot sing very well. It is so funny to listen to.
Would he read this? yes he will, I will send it to him!