Another FABULOUS present

Patrick's mom and step-dad gave this to us for Christmas. We've been needing a little bit more storage and counter-space in our little kitchen. This is the perfect solution to both needs!

THANK YOU Jana!!!!! :)

Our Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas Day. Patrick brought me with him to the shop where he works so he could finish making his mom's present. He hand-made a trough bird feeder that will be mounted under her kitchen window so she can watch the birds come eat. Ever little fold, bend, twist, etc. was done by Patrick. He's so talented! It was fun to watch him weld and grind his creation.

...something about my man with a welding mask, working on hot metal....mmmm.....

This is the finished product. Jana might paint it, and she might leave it as raw metal. Either way, there are some cool details. And it only took Patrick a handful of hours to make.


Jana LOVES it. :)

This is Patrick's Grandma Claire, his mom, Jana, and his step-dad, Jerry.

Patrick's sister, Lissy and her husband, Dan.
Very cute picture.

This is what we had to drive home in. It was a long and not-so-fun ride home from Brigham City.

After we got home, we decided we should shovel the walks since it was still snowing pretty hard. It's easier to shovel less snow twice than a huge amount once. So, I grabbed our neighbor's shovel, Patrick grabbed ours, and we went to town. I shoveled the neighbor's walk and by their car to be nice, and in front of another neighbor's house. This picture was taken after we were "done."

As you can see, it kept snowing, and there was already a new layer of snow when we walked into the house. When we got up the next morning, you couldn't even tell that we had shoveled anywhere. Our neighbor, Shay was out shoveling the sidewalk, so Patrick got out there and shoveled our walkway again. (And he got all the snow off of my car...what a sweetheart!)

It snowed about 12 inches on Christmas day, on top of a previous 2 weeks of snowing every day. I was gone for most of the two weeks, thank goodness. My body was not meant to live in the snow. By far, this was the whitest Christmas I've ever experienced.

Merry Christmas!

We've been having a great week...

I got back from Denver on Sunday, and Patrick picked me up from the airport. He greeted me with a rose and a CD of love songs by the Rat Pack. He can be such a romantic sweetheart. When we got home, Patrick ran downstairs and started up our new dryer...a Christmas surprise for me. Yeah!!! I am so excited to have a dryer again!

The 22nd was our 1 year Anniversary. We went to a little dinner at Noodles & Co., saw RocknRolla, then came home to enjoy the evening together. It was nice to spend an evening focused on each other and our relationship.

Last night, the 23rd, I finished Christmas shopping, and when I got home, I was super antsy to give Patrick his presents. He had mentioned that he had one more gift for me, besides the dryer. So, I set up his presents on the dining room table, near the little blue Christmas tree I bought to take with me to Denver. He came into the room, and we exchanged gifts.

I got him a Simpsons 2009 calendar, the book 101 Nights of Romance (we need a little spice), a frame for a sweet picture he bought at Speed Week, a jar of pickled herring from Ikea, jam, juices, and soda from Ikea, and I have another gift of the vintage and vehicular nature that isn't quite finished. Also on the list to do as soon as possible is heated gloves so his hands don't freeze while he's riding his Triumph throughout the winter.

Patrick pulled out a 4GB memory card and handed it to me. Funny...my camera is dead... Then he pulled out a box that has a new camera!!!!!!!!! It's a really nice camera. Really, really, really nice. I am so excited to start taking pictures again. Sunday night we watched a movie, and Patrick had stuck the box with the camera with all of our DVDs and VHS. It blended in so well that I didn't even give it a thought. He wanted me to see it and ask about it, but I didn't even give it a look. Turns out, his sister and brother-in-law bought us the dryer for Christmas. They're going to Mexico for the Peace Corp, so they wanted to to do a bigger present to make up for the next couple of years that they won't be here.

What a great Christmas! I know we did presents way early, but we were both too excited to spoil each other. Tonight we're going to make dinner with a bag of Ikea meatballs I bought, and we'll probably rent a movie, read Luke 2, and enjoy a nice quiet Christmas Eve. Christmas morning, we're driving up to Brigham City to spend the day with Patrick's mom and step-dad, sister and brother-in-law, and maybe his step-dad's kids.

It's been snowing for 2 weeks here in Utah. It is most definitely a White Christmas. I love it. I really don't love the snow, but I love how it makes it feel like Christmas. Some years in Phoenix, we'd play outdoor racquetball on Christmas day and it was WARM. That can make it feel less like a wintery snowy holiday. :) So, I feel blessed to be spending the last handful of Christmases in Utah where it really feels different.

One thing we did during Christmas when I was a kid was tons and tons of service projects. We baked for neighbors, did 12 Days of Christmas for older single people at church, dropped off boxes of Christmas goodies, food, and presents to families that needed a little help, and just gave when and where we could. I am so grateful for parents that raised me that way.

This year, my mom and dad asked that instead of giving them a present, we do some sort of service and tell them about it. Yesterday when I was at Barnes & Noble, they were doing a book drive for the Sandy Boys & Girls Club. So, I bought a few books for them to donate. I think donating something like a book is a valuable gift. Reading is such an important part of life, so I was happy to participate in the book drive. Patrick thought it was pretty cool, too. :)

Well, Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy life's blessings, show gratitude, and bless the lives of others. :)

Sweetheart

Patrick,

I just wanted to let you know how much I love you. Denver is great, and I'm having fun with this new experience opening up the restaurant, but I miss being with you. I miss snuggling up next to you when we go to bed. Extra pillows could never replace your warm embrace. I think about you throughout the whole day, wondering what you are doing and hoping that you are happy with whatever you are working on. (dishes??) :D I'll see you soon, but not soon enough.

All of my love,

Alison

A Day in the Park

Here are some pictures that my sis-in-law took when we were visiting them the day after Thanksgiving:

Here is my dad with Braedi and Kendall. He is such a cute grandpa, especially when it comes to being a total sweetheart with his granddaughters.


Something about being in the Arizona sun again... That was a great nap!!
And thank you, Christy, for the candid shot. :)


We were playing Keep Away with a kick ball, which was fun. The kids loved it until their turn in the middle took too long. Then you had to kick it close enough that they could get it and get out of the middle.

Thanksgiving in Phoenix

I am grateful for family!!

This Thanksgiving we spent with my family in Phoenix. We haven't been down to visit since last Christmas, so this visit was overdue!

Before we left, we desperately needed to get new front tires on my car. Patrick found a pair at the shop where he works and put them on the car. I needed to get them balanced before the long drive, so on Tuesday before Turkey Day, I went to Discount. They balanced one tire, then pulled the other one off and noticed a huge bubble. They wanted to charge us $190 for one pair of new tires, so we left and Patrick put on a new-old tire at the shop. Wednesday morning, he went to Big O Tires and bought 4 new tires for a much better deal. So, YEAH!!!, I have all new tires on my car!! This winter will be so much more pleasant with some traction.

It was so rainy on Wednesday. 2/3 of our trip was in rain. We opted to drive through Vegas to have nicer roads to tolerate the weather. We stopped in Mesquite to eat a $4.99 Prime Rib meal only to find out that the super sweet deal started at 4pm. Well, it was only 2:30pm in Nevada. We still ate pretty good food, though.

We stopped and bought some firecrackers. :) Fun!

We waited patiently through rush hour in Las Vegas. Not fun.

And we pulled in around 11:30pm at my parents' house in Phoenix.

Patrick was starting to feel like he was getting sick at the beginning of the drive, and by the time we got to Phoenix, he was definitely sick. Poor guy had to deal with that during the whole vacation. It stinks to be sick at someone else's house. It's so much nicer to lay on your own couch, use your own toilet, and leave your tissues on your own floor. :) Fortunately, we stayed in my parents' pop-up trailer in the driveway, so we had privacy and space as needed.

My mom made an awesome Thanksgiving meal. We had sweet potatoes, stuffing, peas, mashed potatoes (that my dad makes, and they are awesome), turkey, my mom's heavenly rolls, a big veggie tray with some veggies from their garden, cranberry sauce, pumpkin-cream cheese pie, pecan pie, and a butterscotch pie and chocolate pie that my brother made with silken tofu.

I ate waaaaaaay to much!

Friday, we went to one of my brother's house in Surprise. We ate lunch at his place with my parents, Patrick and me, my brother Jeremiah's family, and my brother Jonathan's family. The grandkids made a couple bottle rockets, and we went to the park to launch them and play. It was a fun day. One of the things I hate the most about living a state away from a majority of the family is missing out on the grandkids growing up. They are so incredibly cute.

After the park, we went back to Jeremiah's, ate dinner, put on a movie for the kids, and we adults played a game. It was so fun to hang out with my brothers and their wives and my parents. We had a riot playing the game.

Saturday, my parents, my brother Philip, Patrick and I went to the cafe where Philip works and ate lunch. It's a vegetarian and vegan place called Chakra 4 Herb & Tea House. I LOVED the food. The herb selection is huge, and it's just a great place with great energy. (That's the hippie in me!)

We spent the evening with Jonathan and Ashlee. We ate dinner over there, played with the kids for a tiny bit, had family prayer with them, then watched The Bucket List and drank mate. I seriously LOVE my family to death!!

After that, we went over to my good friend Jenny's house and spent a couple hours with her, catching up and sharing a ton of laughs.

Sunday, we packed up our stuff, ate my mom's yummy cinnamon rolls, and left Phoenix around 11:30am. Later than we wanted to leave, but it was good to not be rushed.

We drove to Winslow to try to find an old friend of Patrick's. We couldn't find her, which is a bummer, but the drive was beautiful. Then we headed to Flagstaff to get on the 89, which we took to Page, then drove to Kanab, then up the 89 to the 40 or 70...I'm not sure as I was dead asleep. Then over to I-15 and home to SLC!! We rolled in around 2:30am. What a long day. I love my car, but I'm currently quite sick of her. :)

So, that was our trip. Patrick's health is much better, and my body was able to fight off his cold until the drive home. Now I'm congested and dealing with sinus pressure. I wish sharing colds was more difficult. Smooching a sick hubby doesn't help, I'm sure.

Now, for December and Christmas...