Hot Air BALLOON ride

Right before Christmas, our friend's husband invited us up on his hot air balloon.. COOLest thing EVER!! 

We look like ANTS inside the balloon!!

We were just around my parents area of town, but there were no clouds or smog and we could see out to Lake Mead!!

On our landing, we ACCIDENTLY ran into a yucca tree and almost decapitated..

 I had never seen the inside.. Pretty cool!!

I had such a FUN time with my MOMMA!!

Husky Meet Up

Today we met up with our HUSKY family to go up to the mountains for the snow.. It was Domino's FIRST time in the snow.. I'm not so sure how he liked it.. Diamond was hilarious in the powder snow her FIRST time with a GIANT smile.. He played in it, but it was more packed..

We had 5 HUSKIES.. Diamond's mom, Lana,  her sister, Renesme, Domino's brother, Kato, Domino, and Diamomd.. This was not an easy picture to get..

They are all soooo FUN with each other.. I really wonder if they know they're related..

Of course, we had to get a FAMILY picture!!

As we were driving down the mountains and FINALLY got phone service, we saw that are friend Diana had driven up there to meet us.. It took about 20-30 minutes to find her with our HORRIBLE phone reception.. I'm so glad we found her and her cute PUPPY Bailey.. The dogs played for another hour or so.. We worked on sit and stay with Bailey.. He did a great job!!

The dogs were ZONKED on our car ride home.. Domino even slept through the hour we spent on the side of the road after witnessing a motorcyclist completely lose control and TOTAL his car as he flipped and tumbled on the FREEWAY.. Thank GOD he was okay other than a broken collar bone.. It could have been HORRIFIC!!

****P.S. I have some SUPER exciting news I'm dying to spill.. Ill post about it as soon as I'm allowed!!****

Holiday Party

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!! We LOVE our small group!!

Our small group decided to do a holiday/fellowship night and take a break from our study..

Ben and I brought the food this week.. White and green (spinach) tortellini with marinara.. I had to do CHRISTmas colors lol.. And we cheated bringing pizza.. We also brought these ADORABLE desserts I saw on several Pinterest boards..

So easy and cute!! To make these REINDEER DONUTS , all you need are small chocolate donuts, pretzels, M&Ms, and white pearl sprinkles.. I MIGHT be making these for CHRISTmas!!

 We're volunteering next week at our church for a Headstart special ed pre-k holiday party ( right up my alley.. And how perfect that I'm on track break!).. We're going to have a penguin bowling alley and give away CANDY CANE REINDEER any time they bowl.. We had A MILLION reindeer to make so we got to work..

Even though most of the small group are  working and unable to join Ben and I at the actual party, we are so THANKFUL for all the help with the reindeer!!

We also had a White Elephant gift exchange.. You NEVER know what you'll get haha.. 

Of course I had to do something crafty.. I used to make these WHOPPER POOPING REINDEER all the time as a kid.. I found this cute TOILET PAPER SNOWMAN somewhere on Pinterest (sorry I don't know how to link it through my phone!).. They though thy were so cute!!

Finally we played CRANIUM boys vs girls.. And guess who won?! OF COURSE THE GIRLS!! Even after all the boys cocky-ness!!

X-Mas Decorating 2013!!

I LOVE decorating for the holidays.. Especially Christmas.. Growing up we switched decor almost EVERY month for any and every holiday..

This is our first Christmas as a MARRIED couple and couldn't wait to decorate!! Unfortunately, Ben wasn't able to come home for Thanksgiving weekend so we had to WAIT to decorate until this past weekend.. Well WORTH the wait!!

We pulled out all of our Christmas bins.. I know it's not much yet!!

We started unpacking some of our x-mas stuff.. I think I may make a cute table runner to match the stockings and the tree skirt I want to make..

We also had to include DIAMOND.. Do you think she LOVES these??

Our friends gave us their old pre-lit tree.. Sadly, when our water heater leaked, it fried the top part and it wouldn't light up.. RIP..

We went out and bought our FIRST tree that should last us FOREVER!! We decided not to buy a pre-lit tree.. 1) because they are EXPENSIVE.. 2) we don't want to have to buy a new tree every time the lights stop working.. We spent last night decorating it.. I LOVE it.. It needs a little more LOVE and personalized ornaments, but I know with TIME it will become FABULOUS!!

Can't wait to post MORE pictures of our FINAL xmas decorations!!

Thanksgiving 2013

Things I am THANKFUL for:

1. My husband.. He has made me so happy and is such an AMAZING, uplifting BEST friend.

2. My family.. They are always there and are some of my BEST friends.

3. My dogs.. They keep me COMPANY while Ben is away at work.

4. My friends.. Though they are few, they are such an AWESOME part of my life.

5. My job.. I can FINALLY say that I LOVE my job!

6. Health.. Everyone around me is HEALTHY and kicking with all they have.

This year for Thanksgiving, my parents went to see my sister and her hubby in Destin, FL.  That left Grandma K, Grammy V, my hubby, and I to CELEBRATE Thanksgiving together.  Ben and I decided to have the grandmas over for a small DINNER feast.

However, when Ben went to work the shift before Thanksgiving, he found out he was being forced to stay the shift he normally has off.. That left just the grandmas and me for Thanksgiving.. And him working 14 DAYS straight :(

Thanksgiving day, I threw a TURKEY roast in the rotisserie, the STUFFING on the stove, and waited until after I picked Grandma K up to make the VEGGIES, heat the mash POTATOES, and warm the BREAD (we TOTALLY cheated and made it SUPER EASY on us!!)

 There wasn't much, but my grandmas eat the SMALLEST portions EVER!!

I am in LOVE with all the AMAZING serving trays/bowls/dishes we got from out wedding!! I use them whenever possible!!

The grandmas and I enjoyed our delicious meal!! 

We played a short game of cards when we were done, ate some pie, and then it was time to get Grandma K home before dark.

I had so much FUN hosting my FIRST Thanksgiving dinner and am so thankful it was such a SUCCESS!!! Next year, I just HOPE my hubby will be able to join us!!

After I dropped Grandma K off, I went over to my friend Karissa's for her Thanksgiving.. I am so THANKFUL to have friends that are like FAMILY near us!!

**UPDATE: My AMAZING family threw a SURPRISE Thanksgiving for Ben once he was finally home.. 

Alright, we cheated and made chicken this time.. We couldn't FATHOM eating more turkey!!

But he LOVED it!!

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween Day is always SCARY as a teacher!! Especially when you have AM and PM pre-k classes.. Which means TWO parties with super-hyped kids!!

 The best part is how stinkin' ADORABLE they all look.. Here was my costume:

I had jury duty the day before and still haven't been excused so I wasn't even sure I'd be at school for Halloween (I forgot Halloween is also Nevada Day, which meant I got to work).. It was a last minute- dig through my mom's Halloween costume bin.. I thought it turned out cute.. The hat was PERFECT for pre-k!! (Don't mind my SCARY desk.. I organize at least once a week but always ends up looking like that.. Oops!!)

Later that night, I had my small group's fellowship night.  We were each bringing part of dinner.  Since it was Halloween, I tried to be festive..

I mean, I REALLY tried to be festive.. but I think these could have gone onto Pinterest FAIL!!! I saw so many CUTE versions of these deviled eggs when I was browsing through Pinterest, so I thought I would give it a shot.. Of course, my small group was sweet enough to say they looked "fine" and "cute", but they looked NOTHING like the pictures I had found!!

These were super-easy, hard to mess up!! I peeled  the clementines and added a small piece of celery as the stem.

Unfortunately, Ben had to work so he missed out on our group shot..

 And then to be SILLY, everyone switched it up..

This small group has really been such a blessing in our lives.. We are learning so much through them and they are all such great models of being there for their spouses and each other!!

Day Date

Since Ben and I FINALLY had a weekday off together (Happy birthday Nevada!!), I decided to plan a "day date".  It was such a fun day and so nice to be able to spend the day DATING my honey again!!

I started the date off by putting Red Rock or Mt Charleston on folded pieces of paper in his hat.  He chose Mt Charleston.  

It would be our first time going up since we were supposed to get married up there (it was evacuated due to fire within 48 hrs of our wedding day).   The weather was GORGEOUS to go along with the scenery!!

We drove around for a while enjoying the time together and looking for burnt areas.. We chose to go to our favorite area, "Deer Creek."

At home when I went to make a picnic, I realized our bread had gone moldy... SAD day!! 

We bought Subway and enjoyed our sack lunches.   When we were hiking up to find us a picnic table, Ben wanted to set up someone's picnic blanket and food  to surprise them when they got back to it. We decided not to since it was a little bit late for lunch... but were TOTALLY going to if it was still there when we got back down.. The basket was gone by the time we were done with out lunch..

There was a little bit of SNOW already (the picture on the left)!! But sadly, there was barely any water in the stream (right picture). 

 

Of course when you're up in Mt Charleston on a chilly day, you HAVE to stop in the lodge for hot chocolate.. MMMMmmm mmm!! A great FAMILY tradition!!

We got back in the car and I added Netflix, RedBox, and Movie Theater to the hat.

We ended up going to watch "Gravity" in 3D.. It was a pretty good movie..

After the movie, we came home, cooked dinner, and played LOTS and LOTS of cards.. It was not my day for winning!!

I have the GREATEST husband.. I cannot wait for more memories!!

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

As most of you know, I teach Early Childhood Special Ed.. As part of my job, I hold IEP (Individualized Education Programs) and sit in on them as an LEA.. This past week I sat in as an LEA.. 

When the parents arrived to the meeting, they brought this DELICIOUS, amazing, HUGE cookie cake!

  

They had it decorated in honor of our IEP and  Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

I could not STOP eating this cookie!! I ate probably half of it.. No joke!! 

Yay for October & Canadian Thanksgiving!

It is finally October.. This school year is FLYING by!!

EXCTING THINGS ABOUT OCTOBER:

1. I got to put up my monthly wreath.. My mom made this ADORABLE wreath a year or two ago and gave it to me when I decided I want a MONTHLY wreath..

2. I have now been MARRIED for 3 months!! And I am loving every single moment of it!! He has been such a good partner in crime!!

3. Canadian Thanksgiving.. Our friends moved here a few months ago and invited us to their first Canadian Thanksgiving as a married couple (they got married in December) & their first Canadian Thanksgiving away from his Canadian mom.  

I was given a dessert to bring.  I wanted to find a Canadian dessert.. So thanks to Pinterest I found these Nanaimo Bars.. They required a double boiler and I didn't have one.. So I improvised..

Ahh I need some new pans.. They photograph TERRIBLE!

The end result was sooooooo DELICIOUS!! Everyone loved them.. Including his Canadian mom.. It was a proud baking moment for me.. I guess I can follow a recipe lol!

The bottom crumbled a little bit.. but they tasted so YUMMY!

4. Ben's schedule is AMAZING this month!!

5. Halloween is around the corner.. Which mean fun projects with my kiddos at school & seeing their ADORABLE costumes.. They always melt my heart!!

NEGATIVES of October:

1. Parent Conferences.. NEVER a fun time!!

2. I'm not on track break yet..

Easy Peasy Clipboards + ALMOST dead dogs!

I know most of you have seen or made these EASY clipboards, but I woke up in a crafty mood!! 

I have WAY too much scrapbook paper.. I always PRETEND I'll make a scrapbook.. years later it still has never happened!! 

I got out scrapbook paper, tulle, ribbon, mod-podge, and 99cent Store clipboards (I bought them when I had the urge to make them sooner but ran out of time).

Luckily, through all the different books, most of the papers MIX and MATCH.. I had the tulle from an ADORABLE diaper bouquet I made and am killing myself that I didn't take a picture!!

I cut the papers to fit the clipboard, added mod-podge to the clipboard, smoothed the paper on, and wrapped the paper around the edges.  SOOOO EASY!! 

I like to ADD ribbon sometimes, but I don't always like it because it makes it hard to write on.

I used the tulle to make the clips more fun!

Here's my final products!!

They're all ready for my Thirty-One party :)

On a side note: I ALMOST KILLED MY DOGS during this craft.  As I was crafting, they decided to play and TEAR UP our grass!!!! I learned my lesson to check on them every 5 SECONDS!!

I just LOVE that they ran through the whole house!!!

Between giving them both baths, sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping, it took me almost TWO HOURS!! Oh and by the way, my house was all cleaned up for my party BEFORE this little incident.

Our GROWING Family!!

Right after our wedding, we decided to add to our family.. 

Diamond's mom was pregnant again and we knew we wanted a new friend for her!!

We've gone over everyday since the first day they were born and we were FINALLY able to bring him home. We debated and debated on which day we would pick him up based on my husband's schedule. We decided he would go pick him up on my birthday (Monday) while I was at work.  I had other plans in mind.. I picked him up Sunday night while I told him I was on a "Daddy Daughter Date".  

We gave him a bath to make him just PERFECT!

His last shot at home with his MOMMY.. He just makes my HEART melt!

 

On his way to his NEW home! I was so excited to bring him home, but SOOO nervous driving with him.  He sat there so nicely!

He was quite a handful that night! I had to put the baby gate up for a bit to separate the 2 dogs while I let Diamond out..

Ahhhh!! He's too CUTE for words!!!

The next morning, when my husband got home from work, he came in our room SINGING me "Happy Birthday." He only made it  through the first or second word before his SURPRISE face lit up the room.  He was SHOCKED I was able to pull it off (I'm TERRIBLE at keeping secrets from him!).

We brought him with us to my birthday CELEBRATION.. More to come about that later..

He's such a SNUGGLE bug.. Or super rambunctious with his sister!!

We LOVE our new addition!! He keeps Diamond busy and we can already see the LOVE they have for each other!!

My "Wedding" Burlap Wreath

I have been in this MOOD where I just want to make a WREATH and a fun outdoor decoration for each holiday!! I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how to make one, but I have definitely PINNED about a MILLION!!

My mom, who is FABULOUSLY crafty, started my collection for me recently.  As you know, I just got MARRIED and I had made most of the decorations for my WEDDING.  I just couldn't bear throwing out all of the hard work so I kept my fabric flowers.  She took my flowers and added them to the wreath.

I was DEVASTATED when I couldn't find this fabric at ANY Hobby Lobby within 300 miles when I went back for more!! It was the CUTEST navy chevron!!

I had searched EVERY WHERE for a cute wooden/metal F.  I didn't know it would be so hard to find.. I looked at 3 different places and NO LUCK!! Finally, my mom found a glittery silver foam F.  I had spray paint left from my wedding decor.

I think my mom did an AMAZING job.. I LOVE my FIRST wreath!!