Snow Buddies and other random things

(Corresponding photos below)

1. I got my wisdom teeth out. I tried to stay awake and tell the doctor that I really shouldn't have an IV because when I had Luke the nurses had to try, like, 5 times to get it right and by the time they were done I was traumatized. Yeah, I didn't stay awake long enough. I saw the doctor for maybe 2 seconds. I need that laughing gas stuff for nighttime. Anyway, I'm fine now; there was no bruising or swelling.

2. Christmas! This was Luke's first Christmas and even though he didn't really understand what was going on, I think he had a blast. We were at the Peppers for this Christmas and Luke got lots of great toys from his grandparents and great-grandparents.

3. Drew and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 29th. Craziness. We went and saw Avatar and ate at Cici's Pizza (that was Drew's idea--feel free to mock him to your heart's content) on Monday and then on Tuesday we tried to go to the temple but Drew forgot his recommend so we ended up going and seeing New Moon and eating at the food court. Not the fanciest anniversary we've done, but I GUESS that's not the point.

4. It snowed here on our anniversary! It snowed and it stuck! And then the next day it was about 60 degrees. Texas weather is the craziest thing of my life.

5. Drew has been home for the past week and a half! It has been AMAZING! We've been hanging out and doing basically nothing. We've also been having a slumber party out in the living room, just because it's more fun. I wish he could work from home. Now that would be bombdiggety.

1. Me with my wisdom teeth bandages in my mouth. I was trying to see if my cheeks looked as big as Luke's. I lost.

2. Santa came (AKA Dad Pepper) but I don't think Luke realized who it was. He had a worried look on his face the whole time.

3. I don't have a picture of us celebrating our anniversary so this one will have to do.


4. Snow Buddies! Isn't his face priceless? It's still pretty new and it makes Drew and I crack up every time.


5. This is just to show that our bed is in fact in the living room. Drew loves throwing Luke on the bed and then he wriggles around trying to get out (Luke, not Drew).

Advent Loveliness

I made this advent calendar with the help of my friend, Melissa. I switched it up a little bit, but I'm pretty pleased with the results! It's actually super easy, so if you want to do it, you CAN!

Materials needed:

1 mini cupcake pan (must have 24 slots)
Magnetic sheets - I found them at Wal-Mart in the craft section. I needed two of their packages (super cheap)
Fun Christmas scrapbook paper
Glue
Numeral stickers or you can just write the numbers on it yourself

Directions:

Melissa and I used a magnet as the tracing object for the squares. Cut squares out of the magnetic sheets and then out of the paper. The magnetic paper I found was sticky on one side, so I was able to just attach the paper right to it. Cut out circles and glue them onto your squares and then number each square! And the more creative the better!

Christmas is just around the corner

I love Christmas time. I was feeling a little sad because in Utah you know it's Christmas time when the snow comes, but to my surprise, we got snow here in Texas! Not a lot, but enough to actually see! Now I know Christmas is officially almost here. I'm so excited for Luke's first Christmas! He's going to be so fun.















Can you see the snow falling? Oh yeah, that's our tree! It's fake, which makes me sad because it doesn't smell as nice, but it is convenient (no needles and no throwing the whole tree away later).

















At the Nativity our stake does every year. We love to dress up for the pictures! We're Mary, Joseph, and a little shepherd.

Spotlight: Fred Grazzini

While I was attending BYU, I was blessed with the AMAZING opportunity to work at Cougar Creations. Cougar Creations is the main copy center at BYU and is located at the social hub: The Wilk. I made some friends that I will never forget (quick shout out: Renae, Kyle, Kristin, Kara, Nathan, Glenn, and more). However, I could never forget our awesome supervisor/boss: Fred Grazzini. He has been the best person to work with ever. That's saying something; I've had a lot of jobs. Anyway, he is nice and funny and super sarcastic, so of course we got along great. Come to find out, Fred's a songbird! Like, a legit singer/songwriter! Who knew? We sure didn't! So, he shared with the Facebook community that he made his first CD ever and it's a Christmas CD, so it's just in time for the holidays. If you're looking for a great present that everyone can enjoy, shoot on over to this website and grab yourself a CD! And don't forget to read the bio and reviews!!

The Bachelor!

I just learned that Jake from the last Bachelorette will be the Bachelor next season. And that season starts Jan 4!! He claimed he was the "nice guy that always finished last." We'll see if he can score himself a good girl like himself...or maybe he's not as good as he proclaims.

Luke's First Thanksgiving

Crawling to Grandma and Grandpa Pepper.


A relative at Thanksgiving dinner. He was very interested in Luke.


Being handsome.


Luke's Thanksgiving outfit courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Salas


Happy Birthday, Dad Pepper!


The turkeys after they played Turkey Bowl. I told them to act like they just won.


This isn't Thanksgiving but I love this picture. Me and my sweet boy.

The Latest.

Luke is nine months old! Craziness. Here a few pics of what's been going on recently.

New Website and a Trip to College Station

Well, I would like to announce that I started a new blog with some of my buddies:

booyahbeautifulbookreviews.blogspot.com

It's where we go and review books for each other. Mainly it's because that's all we do with our time these days, but I also realized it's kind of cool to see all the books I've read (recently). So, if you want a good book but you're unsure what direction you want to go, check out our blog. It may give you some inspiration.

Also, Drew, Luke, and I took a trip to College Station to check out Kevin and Martha's new pad! We loved it; it's so fun and original. It was built in the 60s or 70s, so it's definitely not a cookie-cutter type of house. And we went and explored Texas A&M, where Kevin is going for his Ph.D. And then we headed for Austin so Drew could work a couple of days! It was a fun little adventure.Luke loves hangin' at Kevin and Martha's crib!

He also loved their chair that converted into a baby bowl.

Hey, Uncle Kevin, what are you looking at?

Breakfast Debacle

Our little family is in Austin right now because Drew had to come down here and work a little bit. Yesterday I noticed there is an Einstein Bros. Bagel shop close to our hotel. I immediately made a mental reminder to go there later because I LOVE their bagels. So this morning we get up early and head over there before going to an area Drew has to work. Drew orders the two bagels (99 cents each) and then asks for cream cheese on them.

"Okay, the total will be $5.something at the first window."
"Okay, thanks," says Drew. Then he looks at me. What the heck did we just order?! We decided there must have been a mistake with our order. I mean, we could buy half a dozen bagels for that much!

We get up to the window and again he tells Drew the amount.

"Um, what did I order?" Drew asks.
"A plain bagel with cream cheese and a cinnamon sugar bagel with cream cheese," the employee responds.
"How much is the cream cheese?"
"A bagel with cream cheese is $2.something"
"The junk you spread on top is $2.something?" Drew asks incredulously.
At this point I tell Drew to skip the cream cheese. We'll eat them plain. We drive off laughing. Who can afford to spend nearly $6 on two bagels? Who would want to? Granted, their Schmear is delicious, but for goodness' sakes. Maybe tomorrow we'll just grab the complimentary breakfast from the hotel. Maybe we should have done that today.

To see their tasty menu, click here.

CRAZY weekend

Not only was this weekend Luke's first Halloween, but it was Drew's birthday! There was so much to do (and too much money spent!) ! So, Friday night was Trunk or Treat and we got there a little late so we didn't get to pass out any of our candy. We opted for promenading Luke around the string of cars instead. Then Saturday I made Drew cinnamon rolls (Pillsbury) for breakfast and then he tried to get the oil changed in the van but it was too long of a wait so we ended up wandering the mall for a little bit and then we went to TGI Friday's for lunch because Drew got a gift card there. I asked the waitress to sing him happy birthday and when they came over Drew told them he was turning 21. What a dork.

Sidnote: Why is Halloween the time for girls to dress like ho bags? Seriously! The waitresses at TGI Friday's were GROSS. Mean Girls was right: it's a time for girls to dress in lingerie and get away with it.

Anyway, then that night we went to Mansfield's Fall Festival and walked around there and then hit up Taco Bell and got a Black Jack taco for free. Then we went home and had ONE knock on the door for candy. That's it. That's what I get for living in an apartment complex with a gate. I was soooo sad! And now we're stuck with all that dang candy! Blast it all.

THEN, on Sunday it was Drew's birthday! 26!!! Although it was fast Sunday, so he didn't get breakfast. But for dinner I made bratwurtz and potato salad and smoothies and his parents came over and we played games and hung out and it was FUN. All things Drew likes. And he got a cookie cake and lots of presents. For all the awesome pictures, go to Facebook.















The Pepper baby and Mama.















A flying Pepper and an extremely handsome cowboy.















Happy Birthday, Drew! I love you soooooo much!!!

Does it get much CUTER than this??

Here are some recent shots of my beautiful boy. Enjoy.















Look at those curly locks!















Bathing Beauty
















Um, yes, I have a question.
















Luke's Fortress of DOOM















Just chowing down on some 'naners.

Weekend Fun

This weekend was actually pretty fun! Usually our weekend consists of laundry and organizing Drew's work stuff while he watches football. (LAME). But this weekend was better. On Saturday morning, Mama Pepper and I went to an unofficial Relief Society craft shindig and it was FUN. Mama Pepper signed me up and PAID for me to do all the stuff! She's so awesome! Anyway, we learned how to make a seasonal quiet book, a matchbook advent calendar, gift pails, rice soothing bag thingys, jars of goodies, and the best of all were the paper boxes:














Aren't they CUTE??? And we learned how to make the bow too! I made another one that night so I wouldn't forget but I didn't use as cute of paper, so I'm not going to post that one. Anyway, I had a lot of fun and I met some really sweet girls.

ALSO, Luke went to his first PUMPKIN PATCH!!! He looked so cute next to all the pumpkins! He also wanted to taste them, but that really wasn't an option. After the pumpkin patch, Drew and I found a coupon for a buy one, get one meal deal at a Mexican restaurant so we went there and then came home. But then we got to hang out and just relax, which we don't do nearly enough. That's about it! Oh, and this Sunday was the Primary Program in our ward: Best Sunday of the YEAR. Anyway, here are some sweet pumpkin pics:

How to make curtains for under $40

Well, I did it. I made curtains for my living room. And let me tell you: I was pretty dang proud of myself afterward. SO, how can I do it for $40, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Fabric: $25 (From JoAnn's AND bought during their Columbus Day sale--half off)

Curtain Rod: $8 (From Ross. Always a great deal)

Thread: $1.something (JoAnn's. I go for the cheap stuff)

Ribbon: $1 (JoAnn's. Once again, 1/2 off)

Sheer fabric: $2 (Ross. Amazing)

And I HAD to make mine a reddish color, since my couch is a weird shade of red, but I believe you can do this for any color combo you need. Now I just need to do this for the rest of my bedrooms.

Nobel Peace Prize? Really?

I have never been a huge supporter of President Obama nor a huge opponent. I respect him as the president of our country and I look to him as the leader of the future for America, at least for the next four years. What I mean to say is, I am pretty impartial to his politics, although I tend to lean to the critical view of Obama. However, this morning when I heard he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first word that came to my mind was "Why?" Honestly, he was nominated 11 days after he was President. How many changes to international diplomacy could he really have changed in that short amount of time? I'm not against him getting the prestigous award, but this early into the presidency seems a tad silly. Maybe once he got our troops out of Iraq like he said he would or once he really did anything that he said he would, then maybe I would be more likely to say, "Hey, he's president, he's done a lot: he deserves this." He hasn't even had time to implement any of the policies or changes he has spoken about! He's still struggling with his health care policies.

In short, I guess I'm saying I oppose the timing of the award. I know in many peoples' eyes President Obama is a Godsend, but can we say he has done as much as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Dr. Martin Luther King, the (14th) Dalai Lama, Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Elie Wiesel, Nelson Mandela, or any of the other outstanding peoples who have done extraordinary things with their lives? Not yet, Oslo, not yet.

The Craft...

Not the creepy movie! I've just been feeling super crafty lately and these are some projects I found on YouTube. One is a composition notebook and the other is a clipboard. Next up: CURTAINS.

Conference Weekend

What a wonderful conference this time through! Isn't it always wonderful, though? I think so. Some of my favorites included: David A. Bednar (More Diligent and Concerned in Our Homes), Kent D. Watson (Temperance), Henry B. Eyring (I'm Trying to be Like Jesus), and Dale G Raglund (Heart Transplants). And as always, I love hearing the prophet address. He is a wonderful man full of love.



Well, the weekend started off a little different than anticipated. I had been planning on taking Drew on a date Friday night and I was really excited to figure out something fun. Well, after taking a walk with my friend Melissa that morning, I came home and had really bad pains in my pelvic region. It hurt so badly that I called and set up a doctor's appointment for that day. Drew had to come home early to take me. After THREE hours at the doctor's office and a sonogram, they found out that I had a ruptured cyst on my ovary and I still have a hemorrhaging cyst on my right ovary. The doctor said it is pretty normal and nothing to really be concerned about (TOO LATE) and that I should just take a week or so to recuperate. Well, that put a slight damper on our date night since I hadn't had time to plan it like I thought I would. So we just went to a Mexican joint called Habanero's and walked around a little strip mall area.

I feel fine now! We hung out at the Pepper's for General Conference and on Sunday there was a family dinner and as usual the Thorpes, Guys, and Sis. Conger came over. It was fun!

Drew at Habanero's. He got a burrito called The Homewrecker. Yes. It was huge.

In between sessions on Saturday we went to the park and Luke loves the swings! He also adores his daddy.


Luke liked the singers. He's a big MoTab fan now.

Cutest Kid EVER

A little traipse down memory lane

I recently cleaned out my old laptop I used in college of all the photos because I want to trash it and I found some amazing photos in it. Then I started feeling nostalgic and I became really obsessed with BYU and sad because I miss my friends. Texas is wonderful, but I really do miss my friends--and I made some of my best friends at BYU. Just to recap:

Liberty: What can I say? We basically became best friends as soon as we met each other. We just had a special bond that I to this day can't really describe. We could make each other cry from laughter and we knew how to make each other mad. But we became almost inseperable (sorry again Chrissy and Bec).

Becca: She's not really my friend, she just followed me around. JUST KIDDING. Becca and I are SUCH good friends. We kind of had a slow start even though we had been in the same ward since we were 10, but once we became friends, there was no turning back. Bec and I have seen each other through lots and lots of crazy random things and you know what? She's pretty dang awesome.

Chrissy: This girl can make me LAUGH. Like really laugh. She had me rolling on the floor (literally) on one of the worst nights of her life (she broke off an engagement). She is one of the sweetest and SMARTEST girls I know. She'll tell you the truth, she'll try to make awkward moments better (most of the time unsuccessfully), she befriends anyone and everyone, AND she was they first person I met at the Colony and I immediately thought, "This is gonna be easy with a roommate this good."

I love you girls!

And now I live with my very bestest friend in the whole world. I love you, Drew.

Birthday Expenditures

I had some birthday money left over and I was contemplating on what to spend it on when one night I was searching the Net and I realized I wanted a new BYU sweatshirt. But then as I looked at all the nifty things the BYU Bookstore had to offer, I decided I wanted to just spend all the rest of my birthday money on BYU paraphernalia. I got a sweatshirt, a T-shirt for Luke, a keychain mabobber, a decal, and a big BYU flag. The flag is for Drew's office area, which I am decorating. More pictures of that later. Anyway, I am loud and proud that I bleed blue! Go Cougs!

Oh so meloncholy...

Well, I have been in California for the past 9 days helping pack my mom in preparation to move to Washington. It was a fun, yet sad experience. I had fun hanging out with Anthony, Natalie, and Berlynn, who came down for Labor day weekend. And then I had fun spending all day with my mom and helping her out. And I had fun with my dad once he flew in. But there were goodbyes and the sadness of knowing you were leaving behind something (Merced) that is familiar and that you have grown to love. I hope that I can make it back every once in a while, but with plane tickets being so expensive, I doubt it will happen very often. I put up lots of pictures on Facebook and wrote about each one, so if you would like to see pictures, go to Facebook. Other than that, I am now waiting very impatiently for Drew to come back from a business trip. I came home from Cali on Monday and Drew left Sunday, the day before. We just missed each other. I can't wait to see him!!!

As for Luke, he now has 2 teeth, can sit up all on his own, and is starting to try to pick things up with his finger and his thumb. It's amazing watching a brain develop. Here's a couple of pictures I didn't put on Facebook:

My grandpa, Luke, and my dad after breakfast on Saturday morning.














Grandma giving Luke a bath.

Kathryn is 23!

Kathryn is 23!!! My wife is now 23 - and not getting any younger. She had a great birthday (probably) and I love her so much. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!

Recentness

So...Luke is officially 6 months old! Yay!!! And (drum roll please) he's sleeping through the night! Woohoo! I never thought I would get another full night's sleep but I'm getting it and loving it. He's going to his 6 month check-up at the end of the month, so I don't know how much he weighs but I do know it's a lot. He is quite the talker now and he can scootch backwards and in a circle and he's eating some solids and getting a personality (or an attitude is more like it). Oh, and he LOVES to laugh. Drew makes him laugh a lot when he blows on his tummy but Luke likes playing anything. He plays a mean Monopoly.

Drew is out of town right now for work which is pretty typical. He's gone for 4 days this time and next month he'll be gone for a week. It's all training and conferences and blah blah blah. All I know is that I don't have my husband and I don't like it.

Also, my family is moving! My parents are moving to Aberdeen, WA. My dad was already there working and my mom was going to stay in Merced, CA with my youngest brother so he could finish up his senior year in the town he grew up in, but then Johnny changed his mind and wanted to do his senior year in Washington! So he just flew there this weekend with my dad and my mom is left at home to pack and get the house cleaned and ready to leave. It's sad because now I don't know how often I'll be back to Merced. Boo. My bestest friends are from there. I'll have to work something out.

That's about all the big important news. Oh, I'm getting a new phone. And Drew wants to buy a new TV. That's it.



Luke at 6 months. I forgot to mention that he can almost sit up on his own. He tends to wobble.