MY GIRLS!!! (plus a couple of new additions!)

This weekend my best friend CARRIE HAYS came to visit me (and probably some other people...but mostly me I'm sure). We got together with some of our awesome girl friends from college! We always have a hoot when we are all together. The 4 of us in the picture are (from left to right) Melody, me, Carrie, Parker- Melody's sweet baby boy, Kailee (who is expecting a baby soon! YEAH!). We have been friends since freshman year of college (which was almost 9 years ago...WOW we are getting old!). We met every week for an accountability group/bible study while in college. We became a very close-knit group. These girls are the most amazing people I know! It is so weird when your good friends are starting new phases of their lives; jobs, marriage, babies!!! It is so fun to have such close friends to share these fun times of life with. I love these girls so much!

SUPER BOWL PARTY!

Mama and Papa O. got to visit good ol' Nampa for Super Bowl Sunday! My dad and I are avid football (and baseball) watchers. Since I was little, him and I always used to watch sports together. Even when I was a wee fan we would always bet who would win. from buttons and candy when I was little to real money now that I am an adult. Every year the betting gets better and better. This year we busted out the white board and pens and broke down the game bit by bit. We bet a dollar per section and $5 for the overall game win. Very complicated....but so much fun to see my dad get so excited! It all stemmed from when him and his dad used to watch football and baseball games together. It is definitely a tradition that we have to keep going. (And Isaac kept us all entertained with his intermittent dancing, singing, and Superman impressions! Love him so much!)

Hard Hats Required!

My brother and sister-in-law bought a fixer-upper of a house. So we go over there whenever we can to help with the demolition. Even Isaac is here to help! He's a good little helper. We gutted the house and started from scratch. We are all excited to see the end result. And I'm sure they are all excited to make a new home for themselves!

All Aboard!

I guess this blog entry is a little late. But I couldn't help it....I look pretty awesome! This is me dressing up for Polar Express Day at school. I dress up as the Conductor every year and come out to surprise the kids when they get to school. I punch their tickets and let them get on the "Train of Reading" for the day. We also get to watch the movie, compare and contrast it with the book, drink hot chocolate and stir it with a candy cane, wear our pajamas, and spend the rest of the day reading. It is my favorite day of the year! The best part is after we watch the movie, the kids look under their chair to find a a bell. Then they all start ringing their bells like in the movie and say " We believe!". It is the most special thing for these kids! Does my heart good!

Baker at heart!

Here is my sad attempt at making a cute birthday cake. It is supposed to look like 3 little presents stacked up on each other. I got the cake mold from my sister-in-law for Christmas. I was so excited to make it! It turned out pretty good...but my dream of becoming a bakery owner may be farther away than I thought. I do LOVE to bake and decorate cakes. This is my second attempt on making a professional looking cake. I did bake and decorate a 3-tier wedding cake with apple green and pink accents. That was fun! The best part is that Zach tried to sell the wedding cake on Craigs List. HAHAHA! Needless to say there were no bites.

Christmas #2

We had an AWESOME time in Salem with the Big O family! My sister Molly came back from Taiwan. So we got to see her for the first time since July. Mama O and Papa O are in good spirits and happy to see everyone home at Christmas. Megan and & David are enjoying their 2nd Christmas with Isaac and looking forward to being in their new house next Christmas. Isaac is just now a little over 1 year old and is starting to understand Christmas a little more. He is by far the cutest kid ever...granted Uncle Zach and Aunt Sarah are a little bias. But it was so much fun spending time with him and the rest of the family!

Our 4th Christmas together!

Zach and I had a little Christmas and New Years with each other. We have been very blessed this year. The Lord has provided for us in many ways. Zach and I decided to challenge ourselves to read the whole bible in a year. We are using a chronological bible. When everything is in chronological order, it makes so much more sense. We have kept each other accountable thus far. We are very excited to complete this journey together!