Thanksgiving Break

We get a whole week off for Thanksgiving Break!  So nice!  But at the same time, I wish we got a whole week off for Fall Break and then just Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving Break or something.  It is an inconvenient time of the year to have a whole week of school off, considering we go back for just a couple more weeks before finals!

We started off the week right, with an early Thanksgiving lunch at my grandma's house!  It was an incredibly enjoyable day.  I went in the morning to help set up and make cheesecake, then everyone came over for lunch, and we hung around the entire day.  We didn't worry about homework or anything, we just chatted, played games, and did puzzles.  All while fighting over this sweet baby.

It was so nice to not worry about school!  We took the time to catch up on some homework, to sleep, and to spend time together.  I love the game Bananagrams, even though I think the 11 year old I nanny didn't teach me to play the correct rules when introducing me to the game.  Oh well.  I like her way better.

If you don't start off Thanksgiving with a proper breakfast, your stomach won't be sufficiently stretched out for the following meals!  Bailey made me some homemade poptarts so I wouldn't have that problem.

Brandie hosted Thanksgiving lunch and it was insanely delicious!  Jason, her husband, deep fried the turkey and I would have to say that that was a great choice.  Bailey and I pitched in by bringing homemade cheesecake, peach pie, and apple pie.

Of course, we couldn't leave Persephone out of the Thanksgiving festivities.  We frisbeed out some tortillas for her after we noticed some blue spots on them!

I picked up extra hours at work since I had school off.  But as always, work was lots of fun!  The kids and I went to Temple Square to watch some episodes of Meet the Mormons, then ended the day watching the new movie Trolls which I highly don't recommend.

We finished off the week with a trip to see the Temple Square lights with Allie, Austin, Kess, Traedon, Ethan, Seiji, and Kylie!  It was so fun to be with everyone, and the lights were of course beautiful.  Just as beautiful was the Sodalicious trip that followed.

An excellent week indeed!  I'm not super excited about going back to school now, but hey, we're almost done!

It's Christmas Now!

Thanksgiving is over so it is Christmas now, right?  Wrong - it has been Christmas since before Halloween!  At least, that's when I started listening to Christmas music (by the way, you may be shocked to hear that I don't recommend She & Him's new Christmas album).  But the Christmas decorations are a new addition to our little abode (well, just our room because that's the only place I go other than the kitchen) as of a week or two.

No, you're eyes do not deceive you.  We are basically done with Christmas shopping!  Gift shopping is pretty much my favorite thing, and Bailey has a new love for Wish.com (okay me too), so we are well prepared this year.

A present from Bailey to me.  His wrapping job cracks me up!

Not all of our ornaments went on our tree.  Grandma gave me some which I displayed on our bedframe, and I still haven't found the perfect spot for our travel ornaments so they're just hanging out on our map for now.

We cheated and bought these online this month after realizing that we should have been collecting these sorts of things.

And we can't forget stockings!  Bailey and I can't agree on what sort of stockings we want, so 98 cent stockings from Walmart will do for this year.

It is so freaking cozy in our room!  We keep our door closed all day so the heat gets trapped in our room (the rest of the house stays at 67 degrees) and OUR SCENTSY SMELLS OF PINE.  We are obsessed with that smell!

Ironically, we will actually be in Mexico this Christmas.  But then again, all the more reason to start celebrating now!

November So Far

Working on China paperwork.  Did you know that the Health Clinic gives out free juice?  All you have to do is pass out on their floor after getting a typhoid vaccination!

Getting used to the campaigning life... driving all over the place putting brochures on doorknobs.  Working on someone else's campaign right now, but it won't be long until we are out there telling people to vote Holmes!

Life is craziness!  It gets dark so early so getting home at 8 feels like getting home at midnight.  Luckily Wendy's is open super late.  Their chili is my go-to.

My new glasses are FLORAL by the way!! And only cost $40! (eyebuydirect.com)

Bailey and I visited the Payson temple together!  I love Bailey and I loved spending time with him in such a special building!

Grumpy Ayla is a rare sight.  She's generally a super smiley baby!  But you have to admit that grumpy Ayla is still pretty freaking adorable.  Look at that tummy!  I'm baby hungry!

It is fun having a niece who is practically my age!  Chelsie was in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and I had too much fun attending such a play.

I stumbled across this painting by Remedios Varo and I don't think I can even think of anything more fabulous.

Speaking of paintings, here is my latest!  A tribute to one of my favorite places, the Ashton Gardens.

SARAH IS BACK and I'm so excited!  We've caught up a few times over Roxberry smoothies, creepy fruit, and Harmons crunchy spicy California rolls.

With November comes the Buddhist Temple's fundraiser boutique which I always like to visit.  While we were in the area we stopped by the governor's mansion and the Cathedral of the Madeleine.  I like to check up on that cathedral every now and then to apply my ever growing art history knowledge (I added art history as my minor!!)

Friends, I'm pretty sure I have tendinitis.  After raking for an evening, I woke up the next morning with my wrist in so much pain that I couldn't drive to school or work or do anything at all!  Bailey had to hold a cup of milk to my mouth to help me swallow an Ibuprofen, then it was back to bed for me.  And this isn't the first time it has happened!  It runs in the family so there is no hope.  Anyway, I then had a surprise day off which resulted in eating ninjabread cookies with my mom, aunt, and cute cousins.  It wasn't cool to be hurting, but it actually ended up being a well needed break from real life!

Christmas is in the air!

The Farm Life

We have been living at Wace's for almost a month now!  He has been so kind to let us move in with him on Grandpa Bud's property.  It is the most amazing piece of land - 12 acres of orchards, pastures, Bailey's great grandma's abandoned house, and of course, our house.  With us lives cows, horses, a goat named Persephone, a donkey named Selma, a peacock named Kevin (he showed up at the house several years ago, and Kim gave him a slice of bread and he's stuck around ever since), an outdoor dog named Cinch, and a wiener dog named Copeland.  I also saw a cat run across our yard yesterday morning, so maybe add that to the list.  We definitely have a lot of company, which I really like!  And the best part - even though we are living there, none of those animals are our responsibility!  Lec takes care of them all!

The farm life: looking out your window and seeing your husband being chased by a horse.

I do love coming home to this sweet friend every night.

I feel like we are in our own little world on our little farm, it's really magical.  You'd never know it exists, you'd think it was just a dead end on the end of a subdivision.  But once you pass through the gates, there's our abode!

Leaving the property... Persephone has had a thing for laying right in the middle of our path, and not moving until we are literally 2 inches away from her.

Though it is beautiful, it's been an adjustment living here.  The hardest thing for me is all of the poop!  Persephone is a free spirit, and wanders wherever she pleases including our front porch.  She is left to wander, because the last goat Lec tied up had her throat chomped out by a mystery animal.  And Copeland doesn't much enjoy being let out to go to the bathroom, so she just does her business on the front porch as well.  Ew.  So you have to be really careful walking up to our house.

Also, I stepped on a sticker (one of those sharp things from those one weeds) IN OUR HOUSE.  Like what?!  I grew up in a house where sticker weeds were nowhere near.  It's definitely a shoes-on kind of house.  Especially because Copeland is injured and can't control her bladder super well.

About the inside of our house...our cowboy house.

I guess I forgot to mention that Bailey has lived in this house before.  His dad built the house and they lived there for about six years before they moved to the house his parents are in now.  So Kim did the decorating, and all of her vinyl stickers crack me up!  She's the best.  Wace, a professional bull rider by the way, has since added decor of his own, like this buckle shelf display.

Today when we came home from church, Bailey decided we should go for a little ride on a side-by-side around the property.  How fun is that!?  I think I can get used to this farm life.

Especially with a view like this!