It's Christmas Eve!

I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve! Erik and I have a long "to do" list but I'm so excited I don't have to go to work today! My whole family is coming over for Christmas dinner, which I'm super excited about! It doesn't happen very often where my entire family hangs out so I'm looking forward to it.

Dan.. you will be missed but we are thinking of you!

Merry Christmas Eve to everybody!
I hope your day is blessed.

Merry Kipcas!

Today I got to spend some time watching my little sister's kids. And, I have to say, it was the first time so far I've been slightly excited for Christmas. Because, the cute little Audrey kept saying "Merry Kipcas!"

So cute...
It made my day...
and gave me a little Christmas spirit...
which I was deeply lacking...

It's amazing how much joy spending a few hours with my beautiful Victoria, Audrey, Ellie, and handsome Brayden gave me.

Thanks April for sharing your kiddos with me..
xoxo

H

Chicken, Tomato & Corn Salad and a game of Murder!

When I woke up this morning I had no idea I would be eating Chicken, Tomato & Corn salad for dinner, followed by a suspense-filled game of Murder!

My hubby was out with his hunting friends so I was hanging out by myself when my sister called me and invited me to dinner. She made a fabulous Chicken, Tomato, & Corn salad, which was really healthy and very tasty!

After dinner, she asked if I wanted to stay and play a game of Murder! Her kids seemed super excited to play so I decided to try it out. Basically, each person draws a card and whoever gets the specific card, in our case the "draw two" Uno card, is the Murderer. Then, you turn off all the lights in the house. The goal of the murderer is to touch each person. When each person is touched, they are out of the game. The goal of everyone else is to "catch" the murderer touching someone else. Then, you run to a certain location, in our case the laundry room, and yell out who the murderer is.

I had a chance to be the murderer a couple times and I sucked at it! But, when I wasn't the murderer, I had so much fun faking out my sister and her kids by chasing them like I was the murderer. Twice during the game, I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants! And, I got scared a couple times and screamed at the top of my lungs.

I had such a good time and was bummed when I had to leave. Thanks H for one of the funnest nights I've had in a while! I'm up for Chicken, Tomato, & Corn salad and a good game of murder anytime!

Inspirational Reading

I've just finished reading two books that I think everyone should read if they get a chance.

What is the What by Dave Eggers is about a boy (Valentino Achak Deng) who was one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Although I had heard the term "Lost Boys" before, I didn't realize the trauma and suffering they experienced at such young ages. It's amazing the experiences people have outside of the U.S. and that most people in the U.S. have never heard these stories. We live such a cherished life. It's hard to appreciate it until you learn about the difficulties people have in other countries. I love living in this country and these books made me appreciate it even more. All of the proceeds of this book go to the Valentino Achak Deng (VAD) Foundation, which is building schools in Sudan and helping Sudanese immigrants in the U.S. obtain college education.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ismael Beah is about a boy who survived the civil war in Sierra Leone only by becoming a boy soldier. It recounts the trauma of Ishmael running from the rebels, being threatened by village people who were fearful that he was a boy soldier, to actually becoming a boy soldier who thrived on drugs and killing the enemies who killed his family. He also talks about how UNICEF withdrew him and many other boy soldiers from the war, which they weren't happy about. And, how hard it was to rehabilitate into "normal" society again. Fortunately, he had an uncle alive who took care of him after he withdrew from the war. But, it wasn't long until the war came back to him again. I'm amazed at the strength these boys had to maintain some sort of sanity amidst the insanity. Click here to learn more about the book.

Both of these books inspire me to be more grateful for the comforts of my life and my family. If you get a chance to read them, maybe they can inspire you too!

Happy Birthday Makayla!

Happy 3rd Birthday Makayla!

I can't wait to celebrate with you on Saturday!

We love you,

Aunt Heidi & Uncle Erik

Halloween 2009

I had a FANTASTIC Halloween this year. It was very busy but I got to spend it with family, which made me very, very happy!

First, I started the day off with Victoria's baptism. She was so gracefully beautiful and I was in awe at how much she's grown. I was so happy to be there to support her and am jealous of my little sister's beautiful family! I only hope that I can be as lucky as she is! :)








Later in the day, while Erik and Geir were at the soccer game, I went trick-or-treating with Makayla and Annie. Makayla was Snow White and Annie was Cinderella. They were both so beautiful and princess like. It was fun to see how excited Makayla was to go up to the door and get candy. She is growing up so fast!







Afterwards, Erik met me over at Heather's house so we could do some more trick-or-treating with my nephews. Erik dressed up as Beaker so he and Torey could be Beaker together. Austin dressed up as a strikingly look-alike to Harry Potter and Dallin dressed up as the cutest dragon I've EVER seen! I had so much fun hanging with the kids. It makes Halloween worth while because otherwise, it's one of my last favorite holidays. Thank you kids!









The night before Halloween, Erik and I went to a friend's Halloween party. I went as Beaker (he gets around!) and Erik went as a Mexican Luchador wrestler.








Overall, I had a fabulous holiday! But, I realized the only thing that really makes it fabulous, is spending time with family and friends. Thanks to everyone I had a chance to hang out with! I love you all very much! Until next time...

Happy Birthday Dallin!

Dallin...

Happy 3rd Birthday!

We love you very much and can't wait to celebrate with you tonight!

Cabin Fever

The day after we got home from Mexico, we went and stayed overnight at the cabin! The next day we went four-wheeling with Jennie and Tyler. It was awesome breathing fresh, cool air and taking in all the beautiful scenery! We had so much fun, especially laughing at all the funny things Makayla was saying. She even took some of the pictures below.. what a great, little photographer she is!

Grandma trying to read Makayla a bedtime story, while Makayla brushes her teeth and teases Erik


Picture of Erik taken by Makayla


Picture of Erik and Margaret taken by Makayla


Makayla dressed for four-wheeling


Makayla's ride with Tyler








Tyler and Jennie on the trail

We had such a great time and I can't wait to go back. It was such a nice, relaxing way to end our vacation week!

San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

I had a fantastic time on my trip to Mexico with my sisters and their husbands, and of course, my hubby too. I wanted to share some pics and fun times from the trip!

Great Food
We ate a lot of really good food while we were there! I held a Tortilla Soup (my favorite!) contest to see if I could find out which restaurant had the best. I found it at three restaurants:

Jazmine's
Molly's
Cabo Wabo

There was a close tie between Jazmine's and Molly's but the winner is JAZMINE'S! Definitely better than any Tortilla Soup I've had in the States!

We also ate at a taqueria called El Fogon. This tequeria had the best Mexican food, especially tacos, I've ever tasted. We had to go back the last night we were there because we all loved it so much!

And, we also ate at Baan Thai and La Dulce Italian.. both were awesome! Nothing like trying foreign food in a foreign country!

I heard horror stories about getting sick in Mexico so we were all a little nervous about having ice cubes in our drinks and stuff. Unfortunately, Sean and I both got really sick during the vacation, which totally sucked! But, I guess that's to be expected in a foreign country!

Free Stuff
In Mexico it's impossible to go anywhere without getting sold on a timeshare presentation. And, I was hit hard at the Avis car rental shop. But, he promised us $400 of our rental car, which covered the whole cost, and 4 snorkel tour tickets, which cost about $45.00 each. Since Erik just stood back quietly, I hesitantly agreed hoping that it wasn't stupid to do! The car rental guy said he would meet us at our hotel so we could follow him down to Cabo San Lucas, which is like 25 minutes away. Now, he must be getting a good commission from this if he's willing to show us how to get there! Or, I'm stupid and getting duped!

So, the next morning, an Avis girl was outside our hotel and actually paid a taxi driver to show us how to get to the timeshare presentation. This was our first day in Mexico so we weren't used to the driving yet, but Erik did an awesome job keeping up, especially on all the one-way roads down in Cabo when the taxi wasn't making it easy to follow him. I'm sure Erik just wanted to ditch out anyway cuz he wasn't thrilled about doing it anyway!

We finally made it safely to the presentation, and after convincing the hostess that April and Alan were married because she didn't have ID with her, we were on our way. We got a tour of the most AMAZING resort I have ever seen. It was way nicer than a 5-star hotel. Then, they gave us breakfast and took us to see the different room options. Of course, they start with the nicest room, which has it's own swimming pool and hot tub! It was NUTS! Every room faced the Pacific ocean with the most amazing view.

So, while attending these things aren't usually very fun, this was not too bad. We got to see a nice resort, awesome views, and we weren't pressured at all. The best part of it all, we got our $400 and 4 snorkel tour tickets, which means we didn't have to pay for our rental car.. Awesome!

Pictures

The taxi we followed to the timeshare presentation


Our resort


The view from our room


The party beach with all the annoying vendors who tried to sell us something every 30 seconds!


A handicapped sign with Erik's name on it! :)


Heather, Sean, April, & Alan after they finished a day of kayaking. Erik and I are not present because, yes, we tipped our kayak out in the freakin' ocean and couldn't get back in. That was a sad, sad, annoying, stupid day that we wish we could get back! But, everyone else had fun!


Lover's beach.. this is where we were "attempting" to kayak too.. Funny enough, the next beach over is called Divorce beach.. sad!


Sea Lions resting on the rocks off the Arch


Erik and I on the snorkel tour boat, awesome views, not so awesome snorkeling (Hawaii is much better!)


April enjoying the sun


April and Alan (at a restaurant before we headed to the "party" beach)


Heather and Sean at Baan Thai restaurant


Our group photo at our resort on the last day

Happy Birthday G&T!

I can't believe it.. The big 30!

Happy Birthday G & T.. I hope you had a great birthday!

Touchdown Torey

Today, my nephew Torey got his first touchdown playing flag football! And, yes, I was jumping up and down screaming, "Go Torey, Go!" I never thought I would be one of those crazy side line Aunt's who freak out. But, it was an awesome touchdown, deserving of lots of screaming.

Sorry if I embarrassed you Torey! I try to remain the "cool" Aunt at all times, but sometimes it's just not possible.

Keep up the hard work!

San Jose del Cabo-3 More Days!

Only 3 more days until E and I leave for San Jose del Cabo with my sisters and their husbands! It will be the first time we've ever vacationed together without our parents.. and, really, the first time we've vacationed together in a long, long, long time.

I know both my sisters are looking forward to some "kid-free" time and I'm so looking forward to spending time with them.

Birthday Bliss!

Today we went to my Sister's house and celebrated 4 birthdays!

Happy 31st Birthday Alan!
Happy 7th Birthday Austin!
Happy 8th Birthday Victoria!
Happy 2nd Birthday Audrey!