Another Snow Day

I slept HORRIBLY last night because I kept waking up to big loud crashing noises.  I looked outside to see what was going on and saw that tree branches were starting to brake and fall off the trees!  The ice added a lot of weight to all the tree branches and then we got more snow on top of all the ice.  The tree limbs just couldn't handle all the added weight.  And for those of you who live out here know how many trees there are everywhere.  So, this morning we went out to investigate all the damage.  Here are some pictures of what we found...

Both of the trees above were ones that I heard brake and fall last night.  They are both right outside our bedroom window.  

This tree  was a few feet down from those other two pictures.  It is a huge tree and a big portion of it broke off.  

And this is what is under that huge tree that fell.  It's one of our neighbors SUV.  You can barely see it hidden under there!  Crazy

I just thought this little tree looked pretty.  It has little frozen berries on it!

Someone made this little snowman.  It was only like 2 feet tall.  Don't you just love the little frozen branches used for the arms...

Snow Day

Today we were lucky enough to enjoy a SNOW DAY!  Last night we got a few inches of snow, but we also got freezing rain.  Classes got cancelled and they even closed the Dental Clinic which hardly ever happens.  It literally has rained ALL day today and it is still coming down (it's like 10 pm right now).  It's cold so the rain turns to ice pretty quickly.  I know ice storms can be very dangerous when you are out driving and can cause things like power outages and stuff, but they make things look so beautiful!  Everything is coated with ice; sidewalks, cars, snow, and all the bushes and tree branches.  Here are some pictures that I took today...

Our frozen sidewalk!  Our poor neighbor totally ATE IT while walking on it today.  Now when you see him walking to his car he goes straight through the snow!

Some frozen branches.  Look how thick the ice is!

Some more frozen branches

Brad went out to clean off the car.  It had a thick layer of ice on top of the snow and you could break it off in big chunks.  

Family Pictures

Before my little brother left on his mission to Brazil we had some family pictures taken.  My mom gave them to me for Christmas so I decided to post them.  It was just kind of spare of the moment so it's totally casual and we don't have a color scheme or anything, but I thought they turned out so cute!  I don't have any pictures of my whole family so I was very excited to get these!

This is me with my sisters, brother, and Mom and Dad.

This is the whole clan!  

Even though it is the middle of January, I decided that it would still be ok if I posted some pictures from our Christmas vacation.  We were able to go back to Utah to visit our families!  I was so sad when I realized that I had left without packing my camera, so I relied on others taking pictures for me and then waited until they were e-mailed to me.  I was so excited to get to Utah and see family and friends.  We had a fabulous time staying up late and playing games and then sleeping in until 10 in the morning.   It was awesome!  Here are some of the pics that I have so far...

On Dec. 18, Brad and I had our 4 year anniversary!  He knew how much I love the show "Good Things Utah" and miss being able to watch it since we don't live in Utah anymore, so he took me to it and we were guests in the audience.  It's LIVE and they have fun segments like cooking and crafting and things like that.  Brad was a little self-conscious since it is a "girl show" but he was a great sport and we had a ton of fun.  Here I am with the hosts of the show: (L to R) Necia, Marti, and Reagan (yes we are on a first name basis)!

 

This is me, my sister Kim, and my niece Aubrey.  We had the fam over to Kim's house and made Chinese food and devoured it!  Kim makes the most delicious orange chicken.  The chinese food dinner is something that I look forward to when I come to visit!

Alison, Lauren and Ella hanging out on Lauren's bed.  What cute cousins!

Ella with her "happy" face during dinner.  Notice the big blob of ketchup on her plate.  That girl sure loves her ketchup.  She will eat anything if she can dip it in ketchup....is that weird?

Ella and her terrifying encounter with Santa Clause (notice I'm not the one taking her up to see him--people in costume just freak me out!)  When we told her that Santa would give her a present she wanted to go up and see him, but as she got closer the more nervous she got and burst into tears when it was her turn to see him.  When he said he had a present for her she immediately stopped crying and very carefully took it from him and then wanted nothing else to do with him.  It was pretty cute.

Ella showing off her new PJ's and her cute boots that she got from Grandma Sharon.  She loves those boots!

Brad, Ella, and I at the Joseph Smith Memorial building.  The tree behind us was beautiful.  We also looked at the lights at Temple Square.  It was so cold and there were sooo many people, but the lights were gorgeous and you can't help but have a wonderful feeling when you are near the Temple!

Free Stuff

Check out this website.  You can get free stuff, and they advertise a different free item every month.  You just have to pay $1 for shipping.  I am not sure of all the rules, but I do know that I've gotten a silicone muffin tin, silicone spatula set, and silicone cookie liner all for $1 each, so see what you think.  Just go to www.easybakeware.com and click on the "freebies" tab. 

Ella is 2!

This week we celebrated Ella's 2nd Birthday!  We didn't do too much, but we tried to make it a special day for our special little girl!  Ella got a kitchen for her birthday and has loved opening and closing all the cabinets and putting together all sorts of imaginary concoctions!  I see a chef in the making!  Here are a few pictures:

Ella enjoyed a scrumpcious Happy Meal from McDonald's.  They made the crown for her at school.

 

This little apron came with her play kitchen and looks so cute on her!  My very own little Betty Crocker!

Yummy birthday cake.  She was so nice to share with me!

It is hard to believe that two years ago we had the surprise of our lives when Ella decided to come 13 weeks early!  Every time I look at her I am reminded that she truly is a miracle.  We feel so blessed to have her part of our family!  Ella, we sure love you and enjoy watching you grow more and more every day.  I'm so proud to be your Mom!

Ella, 2 weeks old

Tag

I was tagged by Jamie Shepherd and since I've never done one before I thought I'd give it a try!

RULES

1- Post Rules on Your Blog

2-Answer the Six "8" Items

3-Let Each Person Know They Have Been Tagged by Leaving Them A Comment

8 Favorite Shows

1. That's So Raven 

2. So You Think You Can Dance

3. Amazing Race

4. American Idol

5. What Not To Where

6. The Mentalist

7. Jon and Kate Plus Eight

8. Flip This House

8 Things I did Yesterday

1. Took Brad and Ella to work and school

2. Went to school

3. Took a test

4. Removed calculus from my classmate's teeth (It was Awesome!)

5. Went to lunch with my cute husband

6. Took Ella to the Park

7. Made dinner (that was quite the accomplishment!)

8. Watched The Hulk

8 Thinks I look forward to

1. Graduating

2. Brad Graduating

3. Having an income

4. Getting out of Debt!

5. Seeing our Families for Christmas

6. The end of this semester!

7. Ella's Birthday

8. Hearing if Brad got into Dental School

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Panera Bread

2. Paula's (mexican rest. in St. George)

3. Pizza Factory (in Cedar City)

4. Toast (in Ky, I highly recommend this place!)

5. Melting Pot (I've never been, but I've heard it's good and it could be a fav.)

6. Tucanos

7. Olive Garden

8. My Mom's house (she's a good cook!)

8 Things on My Wish List

1. Brad to get into dental School

2. Owning a home

3. Ella's nose to stop running!

4. Traveling, I want to go everywhere!

5. A shopping spree for Ella, Brad, and myself

6. For everyone to stop smoking!!!

7. Settle down somewhere I love with great neighbors and family closer than a 24 hour drive away

8. Getting an A on my next Head and Neck test (that's a long shot, but oh well.)

8 People to Tag

1. Jami Cowan

2. Hayley Kartchner

3. Angela Robinson

4. Tiffany Haggerty

5. Heather Mills

6. Erin Brown

7. Nichole Hiatt

8. Whoever wants to do this tag

8. 

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet

I love the fall season!  The leaves are gorgeous, the air is crisp, and of course we get to go around to peoples homes and get candy just by saying "trick or treat."  It's fantastic!  This year was Ella's first experience trick-or-treating and she loved it!  It took her a while to get the hang of it, but after a few houses she was pointing to her "peet" (pink) princess dress, saying "trick-or-treat", "thank you" and "bye-bye" to anyone who handed her candy!  Needless to say, she was having the time of her life.  I was about to have a nervous breakdown watching her ingest so much sugar, but she was just so stinking cute and excited that I just let her have whatever she wanted.  That's what Halloween is for isn't it?

Our weekend started off with a party at Ella's school.  Brad and I were able to come and spend a couple of hours with Ella.  We got there a little early and were so impressed at how well the kids behave there!  They were just getting up from their naps and they all just sat there and waited as the teachers went around to all of them and changed their diapers.  Then when it was time, they all walked over to the table and sat down and enjoyed the yummy snacks that all the parents brought (we brought grapes and I don't think any of the kids touched them!  I guess grapes just can't compete with cookies and fruit snacks, oh well).  It was so cute to see them all sitting in their little chairs and eating so good!  Here's a few pics: 

Ella was So ExcIteD to see all the goodies on her plate for snack time!

All the kiddos being so well behaved sitting in their cute little seats!

Next, everyone got into their costumes and went trick-or-treating around the school.  They made little baggies for them and we made a loop around all the classrooms.

Princess Ella receiving her crown!

Trick-or-Treating

These are Ella's teachers Ms. Tristan and Ms. Megan.  Ella LoVed her teachers and they adored her.  It's hard for me to drop her off each day, but these girls made it so much easier!  This was Ella's last day at her school and we are sure going to miss it there!  If you ever need a great place to take your kids for daycare or preschool check out Providence!

Next are just a few pictures from a fun Halloween party that we went to on Saturday.  The Estrada's threw an awesome party with delicious food and amazing decorations.  It was so fun to be with good friends and enjoy the beautiful evening!

Since we are kind of party poopers we weren't going to dress up, but at the last minute we decided that we would be a family of kitty-cats.  Creative, I know :)  

Ella loves "cat-kitties" (that's what she calls the stray that lives by our apartment) and was so excited to pretend to be one.  She would lick her hand and say "neow neow".  Too cute.

Oh, Tessa and Ella.  These two are so funny together.  They had a blast running around!

You could definitely tell that all the sugar from the past couple of days had really begun to kick in.  These girls were dancing like crazy to the music that was playing at the party.  Ella would get so dizzy from running around in circles she could hardly stay on her feet.  I was really starting to wonder if someone had spiked the punch!  She had so much fun and was sad to leave!