G.N.I.

What's a G.N.I.?... a Girl's Night In, of course.

Jaime, Marianne and Bethany came over for a GNI. We frosted/decorated sugar cookies (thanks for making them Jaime) and then got our snacks and headed upstairs for a Christmas movie.

Yum!

Marianne the cookie artist.

Jaime the beautiful baker.Bethany the ferocious froster.

Thanks for PLAYIN' girls.

ONE Word Tag

Here's a fun tag that I copied from my cousin Melanie's blog. Thanks Melanie.

Rules: Answer the questions with only ONE word.
Where is your cell phone? Bag
Where is your significant other? Downstairs
Your hair color? Brown
Your favorite thing? Autumn
Your dream last night? Weird
Your life dream/goal? Happiness
The room your in? Upstairs
Your hobby? Crafts
Your fear? Death
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
Where were you last night? GNO
What you're not? Skinny
One of your wish list items? Skinniness (nice word, eh?)
Where you grew up? Boise
The last thing you did? Blog
What you are wearing? Pajamas
Your TV? On
Your pet? Fishy
Your computer? Frustrating
Your mood? Ok
Missing someone? Ya
Something you're NOT wearing? Socks
Favorite store? Clearance
Your summer? Wedding
Love someone? Yes
Your favorite color? Undecided
When is the last time you laughed? Dinner
When is the last time you cried? GNO
Your significant other's hair? Coarse
You in one word: Alisha


It was a challenge for me to use only ONE word. See if you can do it. Copy and paste if you want to PLAY.

Choir Boy

Monday, Treyson took part in a Christmas program, at school. He sang with the 2nd graders while some 5th graders played orchestra instruments. They all did a great job. I'm always so impressed by the music teachers who put on these programs. They do so well to get all the kids on task and doing what they're supposed to be doing. Seems like a big job to me. :o) Treyson is located far right, top riser, second one in (kind of a purplish shirt). He barely took his eyes off me and kept waving throughout the whole program. On one of the songs, I could hear his voice above all the other kid's voices. He knew that song well, and wanted me to hear him for sure. He asked me after the concert was over, "Mom, did you hear me singing?" Yes I did!
This was a tree right outside his classroom. They has all sorts of handmade ornaments from all over the world. They have been learning about different world holiday customs.

Good job Treyson! I'm proud of you!

"Snow Village"

This evening, my family and I went to go see the "Snow Village".

It all started with a little white plastic church. As a child, Lyn, would look at this little church and imagine the little town it was a part of. She loved this family Christmas decoration and spent many hours looking at it.

As an adult, becoming a mother for the first time, she found this same little plastic church at a rummage sale. The church flooded her with wonderful childhood memories. She had to have it. It cost all of .25 cents!

One day, as she was shopping, she found a little house and thought, "This would go well with my church." The rest was history! Her collection has expanded over the last 25 years, finally creating a whole village.

At first, she would make little vignettes around her house. When her collection expanded to a village, her husband said, "Why don't you set it up in the garage." So that's what she did. (It takes her about 100 hours to completely set everything up!) This year, for the very first time, she has opened up the viewing to the public. The entrance fee is a non-perishable food item (per person) or $1 (per person) to go to the Idaho Food Bank. She's open EVERY night from 5:00-7:00pm through Dec 23rd.

I would highly recommend going to see it. She said that it's been pretty slow, so here's my part in letting more people know about it and supporting a great cause.

Location: 2017 E Lochmeadow Ct
Meridian, ID

Directions: N on Locust Grove (from Fairview), E on Chateau (light), go 2 blocks and turn Left on Laughridge, go to the end of the road, turn Right on Lochmeadow St, go 1/2 block and turn Right on Lochmeadow Ct. It's the 1st house on the Right. Look for the cardboard box signs and the signs on the garage.

Fine print: No public restrooms. Children must be accompanied by an adult. No touching. Not responsible for accidents or injuries when attending.

Go see the "Snow Village" and let me know what you think.

PS-I thought about taking some pictures, but got side-tracked and forgot to ask if it was ok. If I go again, I'll try to remember to ask, so you can see some of the cute detail.

Young Womens...Really???!

Can you imagine this sweet little baby going to Young Women's? Ya, me neither. Last Wednesday, I dropped Rylee off for her very first "Mutual Night". It felt so weird, but I was WAY excited for her too. I started to reminisce about all the fun I had when in YW. I wanna go!

Last night, she helped serve dinner at our Ward Christmas Party, with the youth. It was fun to watch her interact with her friends and be a part of the group.

Wow, this is a new stage of life... for all of us. :o)

The Real Birthday, Day

Saturday was Rylee's official birthday, so we had her favorite dinner (macaroni and cheese) and then she opened her gifts from the family. She received a soft, fluffy, warm robe and. . . . . An Ipod!!! Well, actually it's a Phillips MP3 player, but it functions just the same. She was SOOOO excited. She's been talking about wanting one for at least 3 years. We told her that she really didn't have a need for it, being so young. We thought 12 was a good age, old enough to care for it and use it, so we broke down and got one for her.
(Plus, it was an AWESOME deal at Walmart, on Black Friday.) :o)

She's very happy with her new gifts, but she'll have to keep pining for a cell phone and a lap top computer. (Other things that have been on her list for the last several years.)

I know, I know, we're SO "old-school". I just don't think a 12 year old (or younger) NEEDS a cell phone and computer. She'll have to live in the "dark ages" for the next little while. Poor kid.