Chrismakkuh 2009

Kati and I had a so much fun preparing for the party. We are the perfect team!
Christmakkuh was the perfect excuse for a "Slaughter Ladies" picture.
My friend Erin brought her little girl, Reece. She is one of the happiest and most adorable babies around. She was the perfect Christmakkuh guest.
We were so excited that Ashley and Chelsey, our little interns, could make it to the party. We miss them dearly since they went to college.

My nieces and nephew loved balancing the tree decorations on their heads. Audrey, the two year old, was the best at it. We already knew Audrey had a natural grace due to her perfect imitation of the Dancing with the Stars contestants, but we were still impressed with her balancing ability.
John, Angela and I had on our "mean" work faces.
Kati and Audrey bonded over food and secrets.
Kati and Rory bonded over their cute outfits.

Black Friday

Amanda and I braved Black Friday this year, yet again. Amanda was a great sport, even though she was mostly there for me.



Amanda was still her perky self even in the hour long line at Old Navy at 4:30 am.



Me with all my loot. I am blaming my "crazy eyes" on the fact that I had been in line for about 45 minutes at the time and it was only 5:15 am.



Amanda was wishing for a chair throughout our whole hour and 30 minute wait in line at Target. We were about 10 minutes away from the front when she found a little shelf to rest on.



I learned something about myself this morning. Apparently, when I am exhausted I become shameless. I was in line at Old Navy and there was this girl that had a "69" tattoo on her neck. I thought it was so bold that I had to take a picture. I took a picture with my cell phone and didn't realize that my camera on my phone made such a loud noise. The girl's friend looked right at me and said, "she just took a picture of your neck." I got totally flustered and said, "sorry, I was trying to take a picture of myself." The friend glared at me and then turned away. When I told Amanda and Kori, Kori was like, "Who says that? That girl just took a picture of your neck". Then she laughed and said, "then again...who takes a picture of someone's neck." I said, "I know right!"

John's snuggie

Angela and I got John a snuggie for his birthday. I know he secretly loved it.


We tricked him into putting a belt on the snuggie and posing him like a girl. I am pretty sure he regrets it.

The Christmas Carol

Charlie, Katie and I went to "The Christmas Carol" in 3D tonight. I had to capture the moment on film because they looked so darn cute in their 3D glasses.

ALL HALLOWS EVE

I always love Halloween and this year was no exception.


Amanda and Jed had a costume party that was super fun. Jed, Amanda and Rory were a slammin rock band. My dad was America, if you couldn't tell. I was Frenchie from Grease and my mom was "The Lady in Purple". Laura was a fairy and David was a super hero.


Sydney was the perfect Velma from Scooby Doo.


Heck! I guess I make a pretty good Velma, too. I was just in my pajamas when they came to trick or treat. I didn't notice how much I resembled Sydney until I was looking at the pics.


I loved having my nieces and nephew over to trick or treat! This was the first "all cousins" picture.


Due to Rory's extensive wardrobe, she had the luxury of having two different Halloween costumes. When Rory came to my house to trick or treat she was an adorable little kitten.


I frequently have the urge to steal Rory and her little kitty costume did not help that craving.


It is so important for ballerinas to refuel and so Audrey took this opportunity to snack on some popcorn.


Katie is a terrific hippie and a great cousin. She adores Rory and Rory adores her.

Aloha!

My roommate Naomi and I went to Hawaii last week. It was one of the best vacations I have been on. We ate, swam, relaxed and even went on a few adventures. It was VERY hard to come home.

We are in line at the PDX Starbucks waiting to board our plane to Hawaii. Can you see the excitement on our faces?

Naomi and I spent a lot of time at the International Market shopping. I got my bargain on...that is for sure.

There is nothing better than laying on the beach reading a good girly novel.
P.S. I would like to think there was something wrong with the lighting and the camera on this picture, and that I am not giving Edward Cullen a run for his money when it comes to coloring.

Laie Point was a blast from the past. I miss my BYUH days so much!

This is the Hukilau Cafe in Laie. It was one of our best meals and it was definitely our cheapest. I had an authentic Hawaiian Plate Lunch and it was delish!

We went on a jungle expedition at Kualoa Ranch on the North Shore. It was sooo much fun! We off roaded through the beautiful jungle where "Lost" is filmed. Our guide picked wild fruit for us and it was devine! We thought this was adventurous, we had no idea what was in store for us...

Do these mountains look familiar? They are the mountains that are in the background on "Lost".

On our Jungle Expedition we saw some of the most exquisite scenes mother nature has to offer.

One of the most exciting things we did was go skydiving on the North West Shore. It was gorgeous and at moments terrifying! The scariest part was the 15 min. plane climb and then scooting to the edge of it knowing that I was about to plummet to the ground at 120 mph. I am so glad that I did it.

The van ride to the skydiving site was just enough time for us to get a little nervous.

We eventually came to terms with the fact that we were going through with it and got on our game faces.

This is Naomi and her jumping partner. He was super nice! I heard him tell her, "I really like myself and so you do not have to worry about dying. I can't promise anything for your friend though." She told him, "That's okay because I think I owe her money." Don't worry... I got her back. I jumped first and she said watching me go was the most terrifying part of the experience for her.

Behind me is the picture of the field we landed in. The Danger sign was not just for decoration. When we were about to land I started to feel a little woozy. The last thing I remember thinking was "I do not want to vomit on my instructor". Then I woke up face down on the ground. The first thing that occured to me when I woke up was "how did I get her?" Rick, my instructor, asked me if I was okay and wiped the grass off my face. Apparently, the straps on my legs were too tight and they were near a major artery, so I was not getting enough blood to my brain. This was the first time I had ever passed out, so it was pretty surreal.

I did not realize that I had hurt my knee until I got back to the building and was paying. It didn't look so bad right then because it was covered with dirt.

Once I finally got the wound clean I could see how truly yucky it was. The first couple of peroxide sessions almost caused me to pass out again. I couldn't go in the salt water the rest of the week without shreaking in pain, which was a major bummer.

This was my instructor, Rick. I have to admit I fell in love with him a little. I guess jumping out of a plane, passing out in a man's arms, and being cared for by him, will endear him to you. I think the reason I look almost irridescent in this picture is that it was only about 10 minutes after I passed out.

We got dressed up went to Duke's to celebrate surviving skydiving.The food was so delectable that I barely noticed how much my knee was stinging.

We had an Ihop at the bottom of our hotel and were very excited to have banana pancakes. We decided to wait until the morning we were leaving, as kind of a fairwell to Hawaii. We were a little disapointed when our pancakes arrived and they were just normal pancakes with banana slices on top.

Sydney, Katie and Charlie posed begrudgingly with the necklaces I bought for them at the International Market. Audrey refused to pose for the pic.

At first Charlie look disapointed when I pulled out a necklace as his present. As soon as I told him it was a faux shark's tooth, he was totally into it. He even went to change into a "better" shirt for the picture. How cute is that?

Sydney is a girl after my own heart. She has style, flare, and grace. She had no qualms about posing for me to show off her necklace.

I snuck this picture of Audrey in her necklace. I don't understand her! If I was as beautiful as her I would be posing for pics all day long. :-)

Rory's dainty little wrist looks divine in her pink flower and turtle bracelet. I have good baby jewelery taste if I do say so myself.

Amanda and Rory bonding

This is my newest niece, Rory. She is just delicious!

Audrey and I on our hike

Audrey was giving me a pep talk on our hike. She should be a motivational speaker.

I broke down and have started a blog. I have always called blogs, "The Christmas card that never ends". So prepare for lots of bragging about my nieces and nephews, since I have no other life.