Wicked.

...so for Christmas David got me tickets to see the musical Wicked. I am so excited. I have been wanting to see it FOREVER!

We go Saturday, February 9th, 2008 and will see it at the Pantages Theatre in LA.

THANK YOU DAVID! I LOVE YOU!

My Neurodic Nature

So, I have an issue where I get really annoyed when anything Christmas is around AFTER Christmas. I guess I feel like I need some kind of closure or something. Everyone thinks I am weird, but I get really annoyed when I see Christmas trees, lights, or hear Christmas music after December 25th. (I know, everyone says that the proper time to take down your decorations is new years)

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Christmas season. In fact, I am usually the first one I know with a tree, and decorations up, but come December 25th, they must go!

So, on Christmas night, for the last 2 years, I have taken down all my decorations. (resulting in me staying up VERY late)

The tree before, and the tree after: Buh-Bye tree

The card wall before, and the card wall after. (as you can see, I need to find a Christmas card holder!)

I was dreaming of a white Christmas...

Christmas was kind of bittersweet for me. I am use to going back home (Utah) for Christmas to see my family, but in the past few years I haven't been so luck. I was really hoping that we could make it there this year, but we weren't able to work it out.

Christmas just isn't the same when it is sunny outside and people are walking around in shorts. :( (Maybe we will be able to get there next year)

Our Christmas was good anyways. The night before Christmas eve we went to exchange gifts with my close friend Liza and her family

Corah was excited to open her gifts. I think she really liked her Cinderella doll, but I think she liked the wand a little more!

As you can see Cameron had a little fun with the bows. (haha) He is such a smart kid. I hope he like the books we got him.

then we got to spend Christmas eve night with Davids parents, and celebrated by having dinner, and then opening gifts.


This is Davids parents opening the gifts we got them.

On Christmas morning we went to my parents house to exchange gifts and had a big breakfast my dad made for us.

Here is my family on Christmas morning right after our big breakfast (thanks Dad)

Then we headed to Davids uncles house for some more food (his aunt and uncle made Christmas dinner) and another gift exchange. (sorry, don't have any pictures of this!

We were really busy both days, but it was worth it. It is always nice spending quality time with family.

The Kite Runner

I don't know how many of you have read this book, but I thought I should recommend it. It was my summertime favorite. It is one of those books that you cannot put down. Every page is

wonderful and in every chapter, there is something happening. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book. If you are ever looking for a great read, I would highly suggest this one.

The book is takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan before the Russians invaded (1978-ish). It is about two little boys from different social classes, and the story is about their life, culture and friendship.

It is absolutely heartwarming, but I must warn, there are some parts where your jaw drops. It can be tough to read because of the situations the characters encounter. READER DISCRETION ADVISED!

Anywho, I have been raving about the book for months, and Dave and I heard that they made a movie based on the book, so David took me to see it the other night. IT WAS GREAT! It was really close to the book, and I loved the way the director tied it all together. David really enjoyed it too, and he hasn't read the book. I would recommend reading the book first though, because I can see how the movie would be hard to follow otherwise. SO READ THE BOOK AND SEE THE MOVIE! You won't be sorry!

...BaKiNg DaY...

On Saturday, mom and I decided that we would bake some Christmas goodies for all of our friends and neighbors. We went to the store and bought things to make sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and fudge (dad made that). We baked and frosted what seemed like A MILLION COOKIES! It took us about 7 or 8 hours in total. When we finished we had a LOT more than we had anticipated...

This is only part of what we made...

Mom, baking away!

Woah, that's a lot of baked goods!

This is how they came out, then we wrapped them with cellophane and attached an ornament to them with ribbon. They came out super cute!

Christmas Party!

Davids office had a Christmas party in Redondo Beach last Saturday. It was RIGHT on the beach, so the ambiance was awesome. I was excited because I got to get dressed up. When you go to school and work with kids you don't dress up often.

We decided that because we were going to be gone for a few hours, we would put the puppies in our master bathroom adorned with toys and bones to keep them busy. (Sometimes we feel bad locking them up alot) Well, when we came home, this is what we found...

As you can see, they found the toliet paper ---->

The sweet taste of success...

As many of you know I have been attending California State University, Fullerton for about 3 years now. I am proud to say that I just finished my last assignment for the semester, which means I have a bachelor's degree in Child and Adolescent Development...
It seems like forever, but I actually graduated early. Well, actually, I don't officially "walk" until May 2008 because there is no ceremony in December,but I am still finished.
I also got accepted to the credential program. (for those of you who do not live in California: to teach at a public school we have to go to school for an extra year to get the state to approve us) I will be starting the program in January, and it will last until next December. I hear it is quite vigorous, so I am a bit nervous. Wish me luck!

SaNtA PaWs ::ruff::ruff::

Last week I saw an ad at Petco that said they would be having Santa Paws stop in and take pictures with dogs for a small donation. Since I have no kids yet, and I consider them to be my children until I have real ones, I thought it would be fun to take them. David thought the idea was silly, but luckily my dad had front row basketball tickets to the UCLA Jon Wooden Classic tournament, she he didn't have to go with me. Instead I talked my mom into going... haha.

It was fun, but tough to keep all of the dogs organized. (I have 2 and my parents have 2, and they all went.)

<----Maddie getting ready to go

take her picture with Santa Paws.

Motley---> in his new sweater that

I bought him for the occasion.

(matching Maddie)

Santa doesn't look like he is having too much fun. :)

<-----These are

my parents dogs.

(the labs name

is Mama's

and the little

one is Tess)

This is----->

Mama's by

herself.

She is so cute.

Hey Y'all!

Today was a great day. My mom and I met Paula Deen. They had a book signing at our Wal-Mart here in Chino Hills. It was so much fun, and she is so sweet.

Mom and I with our books, in line, waiting for Paula.

I took this picture when she was walking to the table to sign books. Since we were in line, I decided to go print it out really quick while my mom saved us a place in line. When people saw that I had a picture of her, they freaked out and started mobbing me. They wanted to pay me all kinds of money for a copy. Needless to say, I made a few bucks. Who would have know I was such a great photographer... :)

We Finally made it. It was worth it!

In case you don't know who she is, she is one of the chefs on the Food Network. She is so amazing, and her food is great. If you don't have a cookbook of hers, you should get one, but only if you're not counting calories.

Maddie and Motley!

David and I got two new puppies, and we can't get enough of them...

This is Maddie and Motley. Aren't the precious?

This is Maddie. She is a Shiba Inu. She is a rare breed that originated in Japan. A friend of mine had a Shiba, and he was so good, that David and I decided to get one. She came here all the way from Missouri. She is very cute (As you can see). David calls her a little Arctic fox. She is very shy, but is way fun once she warms up.

This is Motley. As you see he is VERY small (next to my shoe) He is a toy Chihuahua. He has the best personality. As my aunt would say, he has little dog syndrome," meaning that he thinks he is a big dog. He is so feisty, and so much fun. One day I will put a video of him on here so you can all see him in action.

...and so we begin our journey...

Hello everyone. I am so excited to do this. I am hoping that the rest of our friends and family will do the same so that we can all keep in touch.