I did it again...

Today I got almost 3 inches cut off of my hair!! What do you think?

2007 has come to an end!

Wow, I can't believe that the year has already come to a close! This year went by SO fast, probably because so many exciting things happened.

Here are some highlights from the year...they aren't in any specific order...enjoy!!

First, X and I got engaged...here is a picture. He was so sweet on this day. I, as usual, was being a brat because things weren't going my way. I wanted to go shopping but X told me we had to go do something else. He drove me up to the perfect spot on Monte Sano(he made me close my eyes clear till we got there, and i tripped over so many twigs.) It was kinda dreary out that day and had been sprinkling all day, but when we went it cleared up and actually ended up being really pretty with the clouds over the mountains. He made the sweetest slide show of us with pictures of us from 7th and 8th grade until the present, and at the end of the show he asked me to marry him. It was perfect. =)

Then, of course, we were married on July 31! I know that X is my better half. We may not get along all the time, but I am so very thankful for him. He is such a huge help with Chase and around the house and he is always there to make me feel special and beautiful. I love him so very much and I do not know where I would be without him!
I found out that I really like to ride bikes. I posted on other posts about the "pink bikes" that you can rent around here. I tell ya, Mom, X, and I had a lot of good times on these bikes. There were times where we would ride 7 or so miles on these bikes with Chase hooked on the back.
I went to my first BYU game. In fact, this was the first big football game I had ever been to besides high school games. It was a lotta fun!
I discovered my love for concretes...(unfortunately!) Haha.
We celebrated Chase's SECOND birthday!! Can you believe how big he is?
I have been to the zoo more times this past year than I have in my whole life! We live about 15 minutes away from the Tulsa Zoo. I have also been to the Oklahoma Aquarium quite a few times this year too, because we live about five minutes from it.

I learned that it is possible to live without power for 3 days during an ice storm! (Although, it is not very fun...)

This year I got to see Chase get really excited about the different holidays. He actually somewhat understood what was going on and got in on the fun.

I have battled potty training a hard headed extremely hyper 2 year old boy. Man oh man, has this been a battle!!! Just when I think we got it down, it turns out that, in fact, we don't quite care enough to tell mommy all the time when we need to go potty, especially when something fun is going on. We will have 2 weeks of absolutely no accidents, then we will go on a bad spell and have accidents left and right! I never though potty training could be so challenging! But we are slowly and surely getting the hang of this potty going thing.

I have also learned that I will NEVER have HUGE trees in my yard when I get my own place. I mean they are pretty and everything, but it is not fun raking the leaves up once a week and ending up with bags upon bags of leaves and twigs and acorns. I do not much appreciate the squirrel bombers either. (These are the squirrels that live up in the trees and when ever a human walks in the line of fire they bomb you with acorns...and it hurts...) And these stinkin squirrels are constantly leaving nice little piles of orange poop on the tramp. Gross. I mean it's fun to have piles for Chase to jump in and all...but I think we can do without all the mess...

Wow! Those are just a few of the things that I decided to post pictures for. Like I said they aren't in any order. Upon all these things many more things have happened and I have learned so much over the year.

I got a new brother in law in February. Carly married Mike, and he is just great. I think I am pretty much his favorite sister in law. =) Also, Carly and Mike had baby Avery on December 4! I have a new beautiful little niece!

Jarom and Beth had Addison on November 30! That makes for 2 adorable nieces (that I have yet to see, and it is KILLING me!) They are both darling!

Another HUGE thing that happened this year was our move here to Tulsa. I had a really hard time accepting the fact that I was leaving good old Alabama and leaving Alisha and Jaroms family behind. Moving out here has been a very good thing for all of us. I have made a lot of new friends herre and I am so thankful for them and how welcoming they have been towards us. It is hard to be here without family just down the street, but it makes it 100 times more exciting to be able to see them when they come to visit.

X graduated from high school and was able to complete a college course at the technology center! Yay for him!

I completed my first year of college...wahoo!! Just a few more to go! =)

And last but not least, I have learned so much about the miracle of forgiveness. I am so thankful that the Lord did all that he did to save us so that we may return to him. It's no secret that X and I made decisions, but we are on the path to getting sealed in the temple. The Bishop told us this past Sunday that in one year we will be able to be sealed in the temple together for time and all eternity. How awesome is that? It is something that we both wanted and we are both working for. As I said, I am so very thankful for the power that our Father in Heaven has to forgive each and everyone of us so that we may return to Him one day. It has always been my dream to be sealed in the San Diego Temple...maybe that might get to come true!!

Wow! This has been just a few of the things from our very eventful year...I hope I didn't bore you all to death!

Hawaiin Haystacks

Today we had one of my all time favorite dinners that mom makes. They are called Hawaiian Haystacks. Now, if you've never had them they may seem a little weird, but don't judge them till ya try 'em! Here's the recipe: (they really aren't hard at all.)

Heat and mix together:

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 can Chicken Broth

2 cups cooked chicken.

4 cups cooked long grain rice (Do not include this is your chicken gravy...just cook this seperately. It will be the first thing you put on your plate to start your Haystack!)

Toppings:

3 medium tomatoes dices

1 cup shopped celery

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup green onions

1 cup pineapple chunks

1 cup mandarin oranges

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup coconut
9 oz. chow mein noodles

Soy Sauce (if you like it---i personally like spicy things so I put Tiger Sauce on my Hawaiian Haystacks and it gives them a little kick...yumm!)

It's supposed to serve 8, but it just really depends on how much of each thing you wanna top your haystack with...so adjust as needed!

What you do is get your rice and then top it with your chicken gravy. Then, pile on the toppings however you want! I typically put my cheese on first (on top of my chicken gravy) then, just put whatever else on. I really like everything on mine. It gives it a yummy sweet and salty taste!

Also, for dessert today, Mom made a delicious key lime pie!

Concretes and Popsicles!!

Of course, when anyone comes into town, we have to take them to get a concrete. (Jarom and Beth, we still owe you guys...so you better come visit soon!!) We actually took Kiara to two different places on 2 different nights...I mean it is the holidays right?! So we can eat a little too many sweets for now. The first night we went to Freddy's and ate out concretes. While we were there Chase was eating his and I was sitting right next to him. He went to get a bite and ended up accidentally flicking a huge spoonful all over me! A big glob plopped on my nose and they rest splattered all over me and a little but on Kiara. I was laughing so hard I started to cry. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me to get the after effect. It was so hilarious, we all just sat there and laughed for a good while.

A few nights later, we went to another place, called Freckles, to get concretes. Here I got a sweet and salty concrete that was SO good!!! It was vanilla custard with pretzel chunks, hot fudge, and caramel all mixed together. Man, it was good. As we were on our way, we had to stop and get gas. We stopped at QT (which is a gas station and then the most amazing convenience store I have ever seen). Chase loves to get popsicles from here, so as we were getting gas I ran in to get him a popsicle. (It's cheaper and I knew he'd eat it better, and he had to have one then and there and couldn't wait for ice cream.) Anyway, below are some pictures of him eating his popsicle and being a goober, and also of us enjoying our concretes!

I have news (possibly bad news) for everyone...

I have officially fallen back into the trap. I have gotten myself re-addicted to playing the Sims. Don't ask me why or how...just know that if you don't see or hear from me for a while...it is because my sims family is more important... =)

Peppermint Mountain Range

Cake:
1 package (18 1/4 ounces) white or yellow cake mix without pudding in the mix
1 package (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Red food coloring
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Glaze:
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies (I used 20.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.
2. Beat cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, and water in large bowl with electric mixer at low speed about 1 minute, or until blended. Increase speed to medium; beat 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth.
3. Combine 1 1/2 cups batter, peppermint extract, and 16 drops red food coloring in small bowl-mix well! Stir chocolate chips into remaining batter. Spread half of chocolate chip batter in prepared pan. Spoon peppermint batter on top. Spread remaining chocolate chip batter over peppermint batter.
4. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert cake onto rack; cool completely.
5. Blend powedered sugar and 2 tablespoons milk in small bowl until smooth. Add remaining 1 tablespoon milk if necessary to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake. Sprinkle with crushed peppermints!
6. ENJOY! =)

Makes 16 servings
(that's if you eat little pieces...)
There ya go Dana! Unfortunately, this cake is NOT fat free, but who cares?! It's the Holidays!!

Happy Holidays!

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas! We really had a wonderful Christmas. It was our first Christmas together as an official family. =) Our Christmas festivities started on Friday evening with our ward Christmas party, where Chase got to sit on Santa's lap. And yes, that is a huge wet spot on his pants because, on this particular day, we had a hard time making it to the potty. This was like the 4th time he peed on himself in an hour and we didn't have any more clothes to chase him into...I know, we're such bad parents...

On Saturday Kiara came into town. Chase was so excited and totally showing off for her. The first few days she was called Aunt Carly, but now she is either Aunt Chila or Aunt Carly-Chila. Too funny. He was showing off when she finally made it to the house. Chase had her by the fingers and was dragging her to his room to show her his toys, and then to show her mommy and daddys room. What a goober he is! This is him showing off his muscles for Aunt Chila. =)

On Sunday, we had our big Christmas dinner. Mom made a yummy rib roast, we had twice baked potatoes, a holiday fruit salad, garlic and parmesan green beans, and Mom's homemade rolls. It was a very yummy meal. I made the dessert. It is called Peppermint Mountain Range and was really yummy!

The red part of the cake was peppermint flavored, and the yellow is yellow cake mix with mini chocolate chips. All of the cake mix was yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding, and sour cream, and of course the usual eggs, water, etc. The icing was just powdered sugar and milk and then I crushed peppermints on top. It made for a yummy Christmas cake!

We finished up all of our shopping on Christmas Eve (finally). Every year on Christmas Eve we have snack type foods for dinner. This year we had hot wings, cheese and crackers, a veggie tray, chips and dips, and a thousand other things. It was almost too much to eat. For dessert, I made peppermint tarts and muddie buddie chex mix. They were both really yummy! The peppermint tart didn't quite turn out like the picture, but I think they turned out cute. Mom said they looked like they needed to be on the Grinch!

Then, the real festivites started. We did our usual tradition where we act out the Nativity Scene and sing the songs that go along with it. We usually have too many people for our play, but this year we were a little short. Chase was Joseph, but you could not call him that because he is "Chasey", and Abby was Mary. Baby Jesus was a snowman statue...I guess that is what happens when you don't have little girls around anymore...I was the angel. Lexi was the 3 wisemen, Sam was the shepards, and Dad was the innkeeper. Mom was the coordinator and played the piano for the songs, X narrarated, and Kiara filmed. Chase was doing good as Jospeh, but then, halfway through decided to switch roles and to become a wise man with Lexi. He brought about 10 presents from under the tree to baby Jesus. =)

Finally, the best part of Christmas Eve came...we got to open our pajamas!! Chase was super excited and he could hardly stand himself. When he first opened the gift up and saw that it was only clothes, he threw them to the side and looked at his slippers, which light up. He got spider-man slippers with matching pajamas and after we put them on he was running and hopping all over the place to watch his slippers light up!

It finally came time to go to bed and Santa's little elfs (Lexi, X, Kiara, and I) got to work organizing stockings and setting out presents!

Morning came, and we all gathered around and opened up our Christmas presents. Chase, of course, made out like a bandit. We got him a basketball goal, a Diego scooter, Diego's Rescue Center, a Diego Knows Your Name Doll, and some other things. Each year our family draws names and this year Jarom and Beth drew Chase's name. They got him a Lincoln Logs set and a Diego mega blocks set. He loves them both! Thanks guys! I was lucky and the Mayfields drew my name. I got a Noel pin from Emma to wear on my shirt, and Carden got me a glittery snowflake ornament. They are so sweet. From the Mayfields, I also got the most BEAUTIFUL nativity set...that was all handmade by Alisha. I absolutely LOVE it! Also, they sent me a fastenator for scrapbooking which I am super excited about. X got me an absolutely beautiful purse. It is huge and red. I love it! X got a new pair of jeans and shoes, some curve cologne that he has been wanting, and the movie The Kingdom. Together mom and dad got us a really super nice pots and pans set and 2 sets of dinnerware. I am super excited about these because we are getting ready to move into our own apartment. The pots and pans are tri-steel and heavy duty and they dish sets are from target. They are black and white and the salad and dinner plates are square. They are so cool! Sam got an i-touch and accessories and some new shoes, Abby got a nintendo DS and accessories/games, Lexi got a trip to Utah for the break along with shoes and a coat, Kiara got her trip here and a gift card to Victoria's Secret and a picture frame with a really pretty picture of all the girls in the family, Mom got 2 books about Eve and a new purse from us, and Dad got an i-home and we got him a new drill and chocolates. And, for the family gift, we got a 13 foot square trampoline with a safety net! We had a really good Christmas!

My sweet little boy..and more...

The other night, Chase and I were laying in bed and I was trying to fall asleep when all of the sudden he kept flicking my nose. I was laying there with my eyes shut and i told him to stop. Well, this continued about four more times and was really getting on my nerves. Finally I decided to open my eyes and tell him to stop. When I opened my eyes, he was laying there looking at me with his lips puckered up and he whispered..."mommy, gimme a kiss". It made my day.


Here are a few cool pictures I got after our first snowfall...










We laughed about the snow in X's hair because it looks like dandruff...but I promise it is snow!

clean up crew.

Chase loading up all that firewood.
Chase and Abby outside as we were cleaning up the yard.

X cleaning up the yard.

I had to post this picture of the logs becuase Chase and I were on the back of Dad's truck loading up all the firewood Dad had cut and as I picked up this log with the brown ring in the center and set it on the pile, Chase looked at me and said in his growling voice..."good job mommy!" He just makes me smile!

Dad and Lex working hard to cut the firewood.

Just ONE of our huge piles of twigs and broken branches. At least we got a whole bunch of good free fire wood out of all this!!