pre-Christmas pics

Here are a few of my favorite pre-Christmas pics:

A couple of weeks ago, we had a sleepover with my niece and nephews. It was so fun having them over on a school night and getting to help them with their homework. This is Cole & Clay asleep in our guest bedroom. Clay is the one hanging over the side. Every time I checked on them, he was in a new crazy position on a completely different part of the bed. Way funny.

Here is Faith sleeping on our couch with her "night-night dolly" that is almost as tall as her. Faith is even pretty when she sleeps.

Here's Cole singing in his 1st grade Christmas program. He is the one on the top row in stripes. He knew every single word to every song. "Must Be Santa" was my favorite. Clay was playing sick that day so that he wouldn't get embarrassed singing in front everyone. :)

And our Christmas decorations. Scott got to pick the tree this year--Charlie Brown tree with large colored lights. It's quite different from the full tree (or as Scott would call it "bush") with white lights that I picked last year, but it has really grown on me. It feels vintage. And I've decided this year that I really like vintage Christmas decorations (if I even know what that means).

One of my favorite decorations we have is this paper Santa that Scott made in 3rd grade. Totally vintage.

And last but not least, our ginormous wreath. It didn't look nearly as big in the bin at CostCo...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Gobble Gobble

I didn't take many pictures, but we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We ate dinner with my Mom's huge extended family, and then we ate another dinner a few hours later with Scott's family. We were stuffed, but it was all delicious! All but one of my sisters were in town, and all but one of Scott's sisters were in town, so we did our best to split the time between our families. Here are the only pics I took:

My family made the trek to Salem Pond to feed the ducks the day after Thanksgiving. Scott and my nephew Joseph preferred to throw bread at the ducks... Too bad I didn't get a picture of us all playing with the huge parachute in the gym at my mom's school. Super fun!

Scott's nephews and nieces. Even though the Carter adults don't like to have their pictures taken, they are pretty darn fun to play games with! I especially enjoyed my brother-in-law's impersonation of me playing games. :)

Scott and I attended the BYU vs. Utah game on Saturday. It was cold, fun, and very intense. Go Cougs!

Scott was right, I was wrong

There. I said it. And it isn't the first time. (And I'm not talking about In N Out.)
Let me back up by saying that about a month ago, Scott asked me if we had anything planned for November 14th. I said no, and he said to keep it open. He then told me that he had made an impulse buy and thought I might hate it. I started to imagine a few things he may have planned for my birthday gift, but I couldn't figure it out. Well, a few days before my birthday, I picked up the mail and saw an envelope addressed to Scott marked "artTix." Being the good wife I am, I didn't open it but took it inside and then pestered Scott to let me open it early. He gave in, and I tried not to feel too disappointed when I saw that he was going to take me to Bravo Broadway with the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall. He said (again) that he thought I wouldn't like it and that it could just be his Christmas gift from me. (He didn't explain until many days later that he originally bought the tickets thinking that it would be fun to hear one of the original actresses who played Elphaba in Wicked sing some of the songs from the play because Scott and I started having stronger feelings for each other on a trip to CA to see Wicked.) Anyway, at first I tried pretty hard not to feel or act disappointed. But as the evening wore on, I let my thoughts run wild about how sad it is for me that Scott can't think of things that I would really like to receive as gifts (I won't go into the history there). I think I'm a pretty easy person to shop for because I am always expressing my opinion about what I do and don't like or want. And I really don't care about the size or cost of a gift. I just like it to be thoughtful. Anyway, I moped all weekend, and then I decided that we needed to compromise. I don't want to have to tell Scott exactly what to get me, but I shouldn't just expect him to catch all my hints. So we decided that we will each make a wish list, and then we can choose from that list. This way, we will both get what we want and still have an element of surprise. I hope it works...
So how did I like Bravo Broadway, you ask? Well, that's the part I was wrong about. I really liked it. Scott initially thought I might like it, and I did. It was fun to hear different songs from different musicals by famous singers/actors and a great symphony. But it was more fun to get dressed up and spend the evening with Scott. I really love that I LOVE to just be with him.

Before the show, we ate dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake. Yum! Scott had never eaten there before, and I hadn't been in years.

Scott and me in front of the funky sculpture in the lobby of Abravanel Hall.
I love Scott! And for the record, he is very thoughtful.

Question

I have a question that has recently come to my attention. What in the world is so amazing about IN-N-Out Burger? I know there are a lot of people out there that think it is the best burger place int he world, my wife being one of those. I for one don't get it. They have recently opened a few locations along the Wasatch front and I hear reports that the people slept outside just to be one of the first to eat at these new stops. It is a mystery to me what about IN-N-OUT is so amazing. I think their food is maybe a little above average for fast food, but it is certainly nothing to get too excited about. I have never understood Mary Ann's constant need to eat there whenever we have been in Las Vegas, St. George or anywhere else that might have an
IN-N-OUT. I pretty much thought that she was a special case and that most people were not nearly as obsessed, I guess I was wrong. Anyway I guess I might be in the minority. For those of you out there who love IN-N-OUT please explain what is so wonderful about it, and why so many people are so thrilled to have one close.

Birthday = Good Times

Well, I turned 33 on Monday, but I spent the entire weekend celebrating...

Friday: Lunch with several friends (former co-workers) and Red Mango with a couple of friends that I've known since elementary school.

Saturday: Dinner at the Pizza Factory with my fam to celebrate my twin nephews' birthday which is actually today. I know the celebration wasn't really for me, but it feels like it's for me whenever I get to spend time with cute Cole, Clay, and Faith.

Cole & Clay with their gifts. I know, they don't look like twins.

Saturday night: Karaoke party with friends and siblings. Rock on!

Friends & fam at the karaoke party. All of our friends are from our former singles ward or from my mission.

Scott thought he wasn't in the picture. Ha ha.

Stacey, Melissa, & Carla gave me an AMAZING gift--replacing some Cubs treasures that got stolen along with my car.

Sunday: Dinner & cake & ice cream at my parents' house in Salem. The highlight of the evening: Faith, Cole, and Clay putting on an amazing show for me. Really wish I had pics/video of that.

Monday (my actual birthday): I slept in, watched the Price Is Right, read, went to lunch with a friend (former co-worker), read some more, avoided doing any work, played with my gifts, got a great visit from my niece and nephews, ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Scott and our good friend Carla, and spent the evening watching the first season of Alias (our weekly date with Carla).

Yeah, we had to take our cheesecake to go, but we did eat it that night.

It was a GREAT birthday! Thank you for all the fabulous birthday wishes!

Weekend o' Halloween

Here are some pics from our weekend of Halloween fun:

On Thursday afternoon, I got to help out in my nephew Cole's 1st grade classroom for his Halloween party. So much fun!

Then I got to watch the school parade. This is Cole the Red Power Ranger.

And Clay the race car driver.

And Faith the Egyptian princess. This is how she posed every time she said "trick or treat."

This is me as Brigitta Von Trapp (for the 3rd year in a row). I dressed up Thursday for our ward Halloween party, Friday for a fun Halloween party thrown by Scott's brother and his wife, and also on Saturday to go trick or treating with Faith, Cole, and Clay. Scott hates to dress up and just wore a straw hat to the party on Friday night and said he was a drunk Mexican. Don't worry--he's not racist. There's a story behind it...

Halloween night I carved my pumpkin, and Scott cut up his pumpkin and another one to cook and puree to freeze for use in lots of yummy pumpkin soup this winter. No, Scott isn't stoned or drunk--just tired.

Here's my amazing pumpkin (can you guess what C is for) next to our spooky haunted house. We spent the rest of Halloween evening roasting pumpkin seeds, watching a dumb "scary" movie, and not getting a single trick or treater. I guess next year we should make sure we replace the burnt out bulb in our porch light.

My Semi-Brunette Self

A couple of weeks ago I finally did what I've been thinking of doing for quite some time. I had my hair dyed darker instead of having my normal blond highlights done. I decided to do this for a couple of reasons. First, I'm trying to cut down on the cost of having my hair weaved every few months. Second, I've wondered for a long time what my natural color really is these days. So I asked my hairdresser to match the dark blond hair at the top of my neck. It ended up quite dark, and I felt like a brunette for the first time in my life (even though the dye color was actually called dark blond). Unfortunately, it was a pretty ugly dishwater blond color, and the ends seemed to have a greenish/grayish tint to them. Fortunately, that color only lasted a few days. My hair has rebelled against being brunette and has become blonder and blonder as I wash it. It's still not nearly as blond as it was, but I like to think that it is looking more natural and less ugly. I guess only time will tell what my natural color really is. I'm really hoping for dark ash blond. Without further ado, the before and after pics:

This is right after my haircut and color a few months ago.

And this is me about 9 days after becoming a "brunette." I know it's not that dark, but it's definitely a change for me. Maybe I'll dare go truly dark one of these years, but I think in my heart I'll always be blond.

More pics, less words--Go Cougs!

Well, since my last couple of posts have been WAY too wordy, here are some pictures of a road trip we took last weekend. Good times.

Scott and I drove to St. George on Friday night with our good friends Carla and Emily, stopping in Beaver for dinner at our favorite pizza place (We toss 'em, they're awesome!). We stayed the night at my sister Melissa's house. This is a picture of the sleepover Scott and I had with Mikayla, Kyler, and Rylan. Loved all the snoring. :)

This is where Kyler actually slept. Um, I think the smile gives him away...

Saturday morning, Carla and Emily went to the temple, and Scott and I went on a mini-hike with Melissa and her family. It was super fun, and the view was fabulous!

The four adorable Nielsen kiddos--Katelyn, Mikayla, Rylan, and Kyler. Love them!

We drove the rest of the way to Vegas after a quick stop for lunch at In N Out, and we spent the afternoon visiting with Scott's sister MaryAnn and her family and Scott's cousin Tyler. We also enjoyed some yummy Mexican food. Too bad I didn't get pictures of Scott's nieces playing princesses. Super cute.

Us fans at the game--me, Scott, Emily, and Tyler (Carla went to a movie with a friend). It was a fun game (thank goodness for that cotton candy), and I even ran into my uncle there. Go Cougs!

We drove home Sunday after sacrament meeting, and we stopped at Carla's sister's house in Parowan for dinner. I just love a good road trip with great friends!

Good-Bye to Gold's

It is bittersweet to be ending my 4-year relationship with Gold's Gym. It has really been there for me during some tough times. My sister Jana and I joined just over 4 years ago on my 3rd wedding anniversary with my ex-husband (we were separated at the time). It was the beginning of me truly caring for myself and my health. And it was a great outlet for my anger and pain.
So, I was a dedicated gym-goer that first year, and I lost 35 pounds to show for it. I fluctuated slightly the 2nd year because life got busier. Then 2 years ago, my sister dropped her membership, and I convinced Scott to join my account (it was in exchange for me getting football tickets with him). We went fairly regularly while we dated and were engaged--after all, I was trying to look good for my wedding. But then we slacked off a bit after we got married. Due to that and also Scott's amazing cooking, I gained the "first-year 15" during our first year of marriage. I've re-dedicated myself to the gym these past few months (since I quite my full-time job), and I have been able to shed most of the extra pounds. Unfortunately, Scott hasn't had the same benefit because I now go in the mornings when he heads off to work. Trust me, Scott's not too heartbroken about it.
Anyway, the end of Gold's had to happen in the name of trying to be frugal or to pretend that we have a budget. Plus, it didn't make sense anymore (or ever really) to pay $50 a month when Scott gets a family Rec Center pass through his work for just $20 a year. No brainer, really. Unfortunately, I have become a bit of a gym snob and have resisted the change. It's not really about the facility itself--I just can't stand the smell of the air freshener they use. It's the same one they use in WalMart bathrooms, and I first became familiar with it when I worked for a summer at an inpatient facility for severely mentally ill adults (not my favorite memory to have triggered).
Scott and I finally went to the Rec Center on Tuesday night to get our little keychain passes. I did NOT love their ellipticals, but I guess I'll have to adjust. Scott LOVED that they close at 10pm--no more late nights at the gym. Last night I dragged Scott to Gold's Gym with me to use their pool and hot tub for the first time. I just couldn't stand the thought of having a membership there for 4 years and never using them. I know, I'm a weirdy. I liked the pool and the hot tub, and I LOVED the steam room (I never realized they had one or I would have gone much earlier). But I didn't like all the strange men lurking around (glad Scott was there). Plus, one of the guys yelled at me for turning on the light in the steam room (I couldn't see where to sit, for crying out loud), and one guy was making creepy groaning noises in the corner of the steam room.
This morning was my last visit ever to Gold's Gym. I will miss having my own TV while I work out. I will miss the cute little old ladies (although I'm sure there will be many at the Rec Center). And I will miss the proximity to Macey's. I won't miss the cocky men. I won't miss the anorexic women. And I definitely won't miss the cost.
Thank you, Gold's Gym for four years of supporting my quest for better physical and mental health. Good bye to Gold's, and hello to the Rec Center!
**Sorry no pics--Scott would not allow me to take a camera along last night/I forgot.

Bad luck comes in 3's, right?

Well, Scott and I have had our fair share of bad luck these past few months. First my car was stolen. Then my computer crashed in the middle of trying to start my business. And last but not least, I lost 3 teeth last month. The fateful event leading to the loss occurred on Sunday, August 30th. I was happily eating an ice cream bar at Scott's parents' house when I bit into something REALLY hard--like a rock or piece of metal or something--it was way too hard to be a nutshell. And I heard an unnerving crack. Anyway, I decided to keep my cool because we were in the middle of a discussion with a large crowd of family, and I just swallowed whatever it was along with the ice cream. Well, I was in pain and couldn't chew on the right side of my mouth, so I made an emergency appointment with my dentist for Tuesday morning. The dentist told me that, yes, a small piece of my tooth had broken off, but the tooth in front of the chipped tooth looked badly bruised (tooth #5 in the middle of the upper right side). He said that the tooth might die and need a root canal and that I had to wait 3 weeks to know for sure. He also actually told me that unfortunately I would "have to live with some owie for awhile." Seriously? Am I 2? So I left his office truly believing that my tooth just had to get better because I never have dental problems. Well, it didn't get better. I still couldn't eat on that side of my mouth, and a week-and-half later I accidentally bit into a soft tortilla which resulted in shooting pain in the entire right side of my face. The shooting pain continued off and on through the weekend, so I went back to my dentist a week earlier than planned. He confirmed that the tooth was in fact dying and would need a root canal. I felt bad enough about that, but then halfway through the root canal my dentist said that he thought the tooth was fractured in half and would need to be removed. At this point, I texted my visiting teaching companion to let her know I wouldn't be making it to our appointment. I was already on laughing gas, but they gave me a break so that I could sign an agreement to pay $852 for a bridge (and that's WITH insurance). Back on the gas, I had to get 10-15 shots to get numb. The dentist seemed genuinely shocked that it took so much to get me numb, saying that it normally only takes 2-3 shots. Super. Well, he finally gets me numb and yanks the tooth in 2 separate pieces (see picture below). He then proceeds to shave the 2 teeth next to the gaping hole down to basically nothing to prepare them for the bridge. I was seriously depressed at this point. I was already upset about losing one tooth to a root canal, but now I had basically lost 3 teeth. Seriously traumatic for me. And then the shots wore off "much more quickly than usual," leaving me in great pain. I might have cried a little at that point. The dentist and hygienist were empathic and at least didn't refer to my pain as an "owie." I left the dentist's office after 4 1/2 hours with a temporary bridge and huge sobs for Scott. I was a little delirious and insisted on driving myself home even though he urged me to pull over so that he could come get me. I dropped off my prescription for Lortab (bless those pills!), and Scott picked it up and brought it to me at home. I slept and read for two days and finally felt some relief. A couple of weeks ago, I got my permanent bridge put in. It's pretty hard to tell a difference, so I guess that means they did a good job. I'm trying to forget the part where the hygienist and the dentist couldn't for the life of them get the dental floss threaded above my bridge, resulting in many pokes and much bleeding of the gums. Once again, they commented on how "unusual" it was. I just love being special.
Wait. One bright note. My dentist told me that I must have a very high tolerance for pain, which I think is probably true. I believe it makes up for my wimpiness over having blood drawn, etc.
And finally, some pictures:

The culprit. Don't worry. I have filed a claim with Fat Boy's insurance company to hopefully get some compensation.

The damage. Yeah, it split clear down below the gum line.
I was a little disappointed that I forgot to take some before and after pictures of my mouth, but I think I'll be glad to forget my white trash mouth. Nonetheless, it was fun to pop out my temporary bridge and gross out Scott. I think my in-laws will be scarred for life after seeing that.

Now I'm just hoping bad luck doesn't strike a 4th time. We're at our max with 3, and I didn't even count car repairs or ongoing fertility problems. Please tell me we're done for a long, long time!

Whoo! Whoo!

Who in this great land of America has never been to a baseball game? Well, we found out a few weeks ago that Scott's cousin Jacob (22 years old) had never EVER seen a baseball game. So we took him to his first game a couple of weeks ago--an Owlz game. It was strange but fun to teach him the rules of baseball. And Jacob was a great sport and sat through all 9 innings with us. He even said that it was fun, although he admitted that the company was the best part. What can I say? Scott and I are pretty darn fun. :)

Scott and Jacob enjoying the game.

While I'm on the subject of baseball, I just have to say how much I love Owlz games. I was curious and just counted in my planner that I have been to 17 Owlz games this summer, and their season didn't start until the end of June and ended last week. For those of you who don't know, the Owlz are the rookie league affiliate of the Anaheim Angels (that's lower than single A). They play at UVU, and they have some pretty good concessions (minus the raw polish sausages we once started eating). We especially love how close to home they are. They are super cheap games, and let's just say that Scott and I are creative and haven't had to pay for parking all season. We also didn't have to pay for several of the games because we sometimes went really late after I got home from running my evening groups. The ticket office usually closes at 8:30pm, so we would get in free to see the 2nd half of the game. One time we got there at like 8:45pm, and the ticket office still wasn't closed. We waited around for nearly 15 minutes for it to finally close, and we were just a little embarrassed when Scott's cousin and his family walked past and wondered why were weren't inside. Well, uh, it's because we're too cheap to pay $4 each for one hour of baseball. It's our little way of budgeting.
Here are some pictures of our Owlz fun this summer:

Nothing beats baseball with mountains in the background--except maybe baseball with Chicago in the background.

This water bottle saved us quite a bit of money on pop and water.

Three of my adorable nieces (and sister Melissa) at an Owlz game. I LOVE when Faith calls the Owlz mascots "ball-headed chickens!"

Four of my handsome, silly nephews at the same game (with Scott and my brother-in-law Braydon in the background--I guess they're handsome too).

Scott's sister Diana and her husband Sam attended several games with us this season.

And the icing on the cake? Last week we were at the last game of the season, and my RS president texted me to say that they were sitting behind Luis Gonzalez. He played for the Cubs back in 1995-96 and more recently for the Diamondbacks and Marlins. He was very nice and let me get a picture with him. I might have been a little nervous, and he noticed. He said, "You're shaking. You don't have to be nervous. I'm a normal guy." Kind of embarrassing, but what do you expect? HE PLAYED FOR THE CUBS, and he's not bad-looking.
Go Owlz!!

While the cat's away...

What does the average husband do while his wife is gone overnight? Eat, sleep, and watch sports, right?
What does my not-so-average husband do while I'm at a fabulous Relief Society retreat at Heber Valley Camp? He eats, sleeps, watches sports, AND cans tomatoes. I know, I know. You're all jealous that I have such a well-rounded husband. :)

21 quarts for Scott to work his cooking magic with this year.

And here's our most recent harvest of Topsy Turvy tomatoes. We've already used half of them to make salsa, and I think Scott will use the rest to make bruschetta this week. Yum!

Long Live Labor Day!

Yeah, yeah. I'm super late posting about Labor Day weekend. Scott and I went camping Friday night up American Fork Canyon with some friends. Highlights included: roasting wienies, eating fire-baked potatoes, doing Mad Libs (with some great potty humor), playing spoons (dangerous), watching Melissa caress the tent (see above picture), surviving a rainy morning in our newly almost-waterproofed tent, and making breakfast at Carla's place (out of the rain).

Me, Carla, and Emily posing with our cards. Carla's a cheater!

Yup, that's right. Scott LOVES hanging out with all us girls!

Labor Day we woke up early to have breakfast in the canyon with the Carters.

We also played a little softball in the beautiful canyon.

Scott and I then headed to Salem to have a BBQ lunch with my family. Afterward, I played baseball with my adorable nephews. This is cute Clay.

And this is cute Cole.

Later that day, Scott and I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" with my parents. I liked it. On the way home from the movie, my odometer hit 77,777 miles. I couldn't resist taking a picture. Lucky 7, right?