Christmas Tree!

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we drove up to the mountains and found our selves a Christmas tree! It is such an adventure to cut down our own tree! Growing up in Arizona, we would drive to a corner lot in the city where a whole bunch of perfect little pre-cut trees were sold. Then we would pick one out and take it home. It's a different experience all together to tromp through snow in a fog-filled forest for hours at a time in order to find this perfect tree!

Andrew on the hunt for a tree and looking so manly in the process.

It doesn't look like much snow, but I was soaked through by the time we finished. There hasn't been snow in Rexburg yet, so I didn't expect to see this much only half an hour from home. Here I am holding the saw as if I did so much work. Honestly I stood by and watched. My most important contribution (besides making the final decision on the tree) was yelling "TIMBER!" as it was falling over. (I had to be sure that no one got in the way, of course.)

This is the finished product! We had so much fun getting it set up! Decorating is definitely my favorite part about Christmas. (Andrew did a wonderful job of unwrapping and handing over each ornament so that I could place it on the tree.=0)) What do ya think?

Rhonda...check this out!

I set up the puppet theater that you gave me for Christmas this last week. I put the kids into small groups, and they made their own puppets to go along with assigned folktales. They had a blast and I had a blast watching them. Here, the narrator reads a story while his group members act it out. (I just LOVE those Converses hanging 3 feet from the ground. So stinkin' cute!)

Here they are...all 22 of my little ones...proudly showing off their puppets. Thanks Rhonda!

FALL SHOTS

These are some pictures I took about a month ago when fall was in full swing; the trees are already bare now. I like these ones better than the shots taken during the summer. I promise these are the last of the temple pictures. I think I've gotten it out of my system for awhile.

Hasta la Vista Linoleum!

Andrew got some free leftover wood flooring from work and so we wanted to spruce up our kitchen. We didn't have enough for the whole floor but the owners of the house were willing to pay the difference for the rest of the wood. Andrew's been working on it in his very limited spare time and it is already looking awesome! I have always loved the look of wood floors.


The linoleum in the kitchen is not great. I hate how it always looks dirty no matter how I clean it.


Look at the difference! Andrew is such a stud. I LOVE that I have a husband who can do manly stuff like this.


The only downside to all of this is that in the meantime, the house is a disaster area! Furniture and junk is piled everywhere among the usual piles of laundry and third grade lesson planning materials.


The other night, the kitchen was such a mess that it was just easier for us to set dinner up on the half-wood, half-linoleum floor instead of moving all of our stuff around to make the table and the chairs usable. I'm sure it was a comical sight to see us trying to eat like this. But honestly, it was kinda fun...and kinda romantic in an odd sorta way...so I had to shoot a pic. (Isn't my Andrew such a cutie?) The floor should be finished this weekend and I am supa' stoked!

Well said.

So...Rachel Meynders, a friend of ours posted the following about the election. I thought it was perfect. (I hope she doesn't mind me passing it on!) It certainly humbled me and changed my perspective/attitude on last night's election results.



Wednesday, November 5, 2008
dont know if you heard,,,

Obama was elected last night. "America has spoken" as McCain said. Now I may not have really wanted him to win (although I did fully expect him to) but I do respect the man and the office he will hold.
If you are still mad/upset about this out come, please:

1)You can not change it, so get over yourself.

2)Be involved in your community.

3)Pray for him. He needs guidance and help just like anyone else does, I mean hes kinda got a lot on his plate. Also, sad to say, I'm sure safety will be an issue for this man, so pray that he will be safe.

Posted by Rach and Chad

Rachel's Rexburg Temple Shots

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After working all summer on the temple grounds, I decided I had to capture what I was seeing every morning as we dove the truck up that hill at 6 AM. I know the grounds so well--every plant and flower, every crack in the pavement, and every remote corner of fence. You learn quick after 40 hours a week of weeding, deadheading, planting flowers, mowing lawns, etc. It made me fall in love with the place! I also love to take pictures so hopefully you'll enjoy as I share both of these loves with you.

I PROMISE, I don't have a potty mouth but...

Here is our camping adventure at Bitch Creek!

Yes, that is the actual name. I apologize to those who just gasped in horror and covered their eyes. I can assure you there will be no more swearing in this post so you can rest easy. Here are our tents in the long grasses. It was in a deep gourge that suddenly cuts through the middle of rolling bare potato fields. It was quite a steep hike to get down there. At the bottom are pine trees and and the creek between abrupt rocky cliffs.

We went with our friends Justin and Beth Avenius a few monts ago. (I'm still trying to catch up on the blogging.) They showed us a good time and were kind enough to put up with our embarrassing lack of backpacking equipment. Here's Beth and little happy Owen.

Why Andrew feels the need to make this face at least once before
we can ever get a good photo I'll never know...

Take Two.
(There's Justin fishing in the background)



Here's Justin's catch of the morning. Cooked over the fire it made for a yummy breakfast. (Believe it or not, it was my first freshly caught and cooked fish ever!)