$100 Christmas

Scott and I decided we didn't need anything for Christmas this year. Instead of doing a big gift for each other we agreed that we would each have a $100 budget for Christmas this year and the rest of what we would normally spend would go into a vacation fund for our 5th anniversary trip to Hawaii later this year. I really tried to keep my end of the bargain- I made him BYU pajama pants, had my friend Annie take some pictures of me, made him a calender, and splurged on a new Guitar Hero game. All of this together-maybe $105. All through the month I kept asking him if he was sticking to the budget and he assured me that he was. A few days before Christmas I got home from work and there was a voicemail telling my that my sewing machine table was in and I could pick it up. There was only one problem- I did not order a sewing machine table. Guess what I got for Christmas? I have a sewing machine already; however, it has had some problems and I have had to borrow my mom's, my mother-in-law's, and my friend Sara's machines to complete my Christmas presents. Scott being the thoughtful generous guy that he is bought me a new machine. I love him dearly, but he really needs to learn to follow the rules.

Fudge

One of my favorite Magleby Christmas traditions is making fudge. When Scott was a little boy his family would leave fudge for Santa Claus instead of cookies and milk. Scott has this recipe down to a science (boil for exactly seven minutes, add marshmellows before chocolate chips, strain the walnuts to shake off the nut dust...). The fudge turns out great everytime so I guess he knows what he is doing. It is good after it sets up, but the best part is eating it warm from the pan and licking the spoon.

It's beginning to look like Christmas

It finally snowed on Saturday (and continues to snow). I think this was all it took for me to shake off my Christmas blues because I woke up Saturday morning with the desire to decorate my house and wrap presents.

The nativities are out. Each year since Scott and I have gotten married we have purchased a nativity. I love them all, but this one is currently my favorite:


The tree is decorated. Another tradition we started when we got married was to buy an ornament each year depicting something that we have done or somewhere we had been. I really need to find one for this year. We got this tree from Scott's mom the first year we got married and it has worked perfectly. This year when we plugged it in part of the lights were not working. Somehow I touched the right branch at the right time and those set of lights starting working, but another section went out. We were able to put that section against the wall so unless you really look you can not tell, but I think I am going to be Christmas Tree shopping next year.

The stockings are hung and most of the presents are wrapped...

I guess it is finally starting to look and feel like Christmas at our house. It is about time.

BYU played Utah State at the Energy Solutions Arena on Saturday. The game was so much fun. Both teams coming into this game were undefeated and had something to prove. It was loud, fast paced, and exciting to the very end- my kind of game. BYU even won by 5, despite missing about 100 free throws (okay it was more like 10, but it was way too many).


After the game we walked around temple square for a little while. It was incredibly beautiful. We ate dinner in the Joseph Smith building at the Navoo Cafe (try the turkey sandwich and Navoo chili if you ever eat there) and then headed to Midway for the night.

As a side note...I am making a little progress on my bah humbugness... I put up two of my nativities on Friday. The tree may have a chance yet.

Mrs. Grinch?

I am really not in the Christmas mood this year... typically by this time in December I have all of my Christmas decorations up and my Christmas cards done and mailed. Not this year... I just took my Halloween (yes you read that right Halloween) decorations down on Sunday, I don't even have an idea for my Christmas card yet, and I am really debating about not putting up a tree this year. Despite being the Grinch, I am almost done with my Christmas projects. These little guys are my most recent project to be completed. Earlier this week my amazing friend Sara helped me to piece these together and I am so excited how they turned out. I hope the two little girls I made them for love them as much as I do.

The last two weeks...

I have been really bad about blogging the last couple of weeks. In my defense we have been a little busy at our house. I won't go into all the details but here are some of the main events...

196: The number of Levi quilt blocks I have sewn together for a Christmas present I am making. I have not sewn a quilt for about five years so I am a little slow with the sewing, but it was really fun to put together. I see more sewing projects in my future.

5: The number of home BYU basketball games we have went to. We love having season tickets. It forces us out of the house at least night a week and the Cougs are on a 51 home game winning streak.

3: The number of hours of sleep I got after watching the Twilight Midnight premiere. I am usually not even awake at midnight, so I was pretty proud of myself making it through the whole movie.

8: The number of times I made it to the gym. This number needs to be much higher, but oh well... there is always next week.

2: The number of times I got to watch my niece Emma. I love that little girl- her smile makes my day.

20/20: My eye doctor confirmed on Wednesday that I am seeing at 20/20. I don't think that has happened for over 10 years for me. If anyone out there is debating wether or not to have LASIK- DO IT! It has been one of the best things that I have ever done for myself .

90: The number of hours I spent at work. Almost everyday I hear of someone who is being laid off or a business that is closing. I am so grateful to have a job right now. It is even better that I enjoy what I am doing.

BYU Football

Yesterday was BYU's last home football game. Scott got some great tickets from his insurance guy and I was invited to come along. We were on the 10th row, which was close enough to actually see the names on the back of the jerseys and hear the helmets hit. We were also served a meal before the game started and snacks at half time. It is going to be tough going back to our normal nose bleed seats now that we have experienced what watching a game should be like.

Celebrating 75 years

My Grandpa (my mom's dad) turned 75 on October 29. To celebrate we had a family party this weekend at my Grandparent's house in Firth. Most of my aunts and uncles along with several of my cousins were there and we had a great time. I always love going to my grandparents house. When I was growing up we spent a lot of time there and it brings back a lot of good memories when I visit. I need to do it more often... Happy Birthday Grandpa- Love ya!

Pickin' Pumpkins

We were out running some errands last night and on the way home decided we needed some pumpkins since Halloween is less than a week away. Conveniently there is a pumpkin patch right down the street from our house. Here is our picks:

Finally Online

We are finally online... check out our adoption profile here.

Mexico

The trouble with going on vacation for a week is the coming back to reality. This is especially true when you have just spent the week on a cruise where there are people who make your bed, clean your room, make and serve you breakfast, lunch, and dinner and cater to your every whim. This hit me when I came home from church and my bed was just as I left it, unmade, and there was no ten course lunch waiting for me.

Mexico was fabulous. Unlike me,I didn't take a lot of picture this trip, but here is a recap...

Day 1-2 was at Sea. There was a lot of eating, sleeping, sun bathing, reading, oh and did I mention eating going on. I did get up on Sunday at 6:00 a.m. and run on the treadmill. Why 6:00 a.m. you ask? I have no idea, but for some reason I was up everyday before 7:00. The early hour was worth it to see the sun coming up- it looked like it was coming right out of the water- simply breathtaking.

Day 3- Cabo San Lucas
We took a boat tour to the famous Lands End Arch, I got a pedicure (I have decided this needs to be a once a month event), and we went to lunch at this great local restaurant- The Crazy Lobster.

Day 4- Mazatlan
We did not have anything planned for the day so we just walked around the city. We saw a really amazing Cathedral, but other than that I was not impressed with Mazatlan. It was dirty,smelly, hot, humid, and you could not walk five inches without someone trying to sell you something. As a side note, as I ran on the treadmill (yes again at 6:30 a.m.) that morning it was raining with thunder and lightning. The lightning was incredibly beautiful to watch. I probably should have been a little scared about being struck by the lightning since it was so close, but instead I just ran, watched, and enjoyed. Definitely my favorite part of the day.

Day 5- Puerto Vallarta
We took a catamaran across the bay to this secluded tropical island. There we had a show, ate dinner, and watched the sun go down on the beach. Perfect!

Day 6-7 - At Sea (see Day 1-2 above)

Great trip- but good to be back even if I have to make my own bed.

Zumba- I'm a Fan!

I went to my first Zumba class two weeks ago. I was complaining to one of the aerobic instructors at Golds regarding the lack of kickboxing classes available. She told me that Zumba was the new rage, so I had to try it out. I am not the most coordinated person and at first the dance moves were a little tricky for me and I thought everyone was staring at the crazy girl (me) who can't get the steps right...but then I came to realize that I was being a little narcissistic- no one cared what I looked like. Now it is just fun and surprisingly a really good workout. (I apologize in advance for the scantly clad women in the video.)

1st Annual Girls Weekend

This weekend my sisters and my mom decided we needed to run away for the weekend and decided to land in St. George. Unfortunately Becky lives in Ohio and Jenny had to work and were unable to join the festivities (we missed you guys). On Saturday morning we hiked around Snow Canyon for a few hours and saw some amazing rocks, petrified sand dunes, and cactus. It was even State Park day so we got in for free. Emma was a trouper and let us drag her around in the heat up and down hills without being too cranky. After our hike we had lunch at In and Out Burger (a reason in itself to visit St. George) and then went shopping at the outlet stores. That night we had tickets to see Le Miserables at Tuachan (it was amazing). Sunday morning we slept in and then spent some time walking around the St. George Temple grounds before heading home. We really should have spread all of this into a couple of days instead of 24 hours- we were all exhausted when we got home.

Football and Pumpkins Cookies

We know when Fall has arrived at our house when football is on the TV every Saturday and Sunday and we make our first batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

For those of you that don't already know- Scott is a football junkie. He told me about three weeks ago (on the opening day of the college football season) that he looks forward to opening day of football season more than Christmas. So yesterday he was in heaven when a friend invited him to go the the BYU vs UCLA game. It was even better when he got to watch the Cougars shut out the Bruins 59-0. Jon, Brittany, Emma, and I cheered them on from the comfort of my couch. Here is a cute picture of Emma watching the game. (Notice the BYU onesie).




Here is another tidbit about Scott... He is a great cook, much much better than me. This afternoon after church we decided the time had come for us to make the first batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies of the season. They are the best with a cold glass of milk-Yumo!

Scott mixing up the dough.

The final product.

And here is the recipe if this post made any of you want to make a batch:

Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup shortening 2 tsp baking powder
3 cups sugar 1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs 1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp cinnamon 2cups pumpkin 2 cups chocolate chips
5 cups flour 1 tsp nutmeg

Cream shortening and sugar. Add the eggs, pumpkin and vanilla. Mix well. Add the remaining ingredients. Drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Ice with cream cheese frosting. This makes about 60 cookies.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounce package cream cheese 2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients. If too thin: use more powdered sugar. If too thick: add a little milk. Enjoy!

Seattle

When I was growing up we would periodically visit my dad's brother who lived north of Seattle. I think the last time we went as a family my baby brother was in diapers (he is now serving a mission in Veracruz, Mexico), but I think those vacations are what started my love of Seattle.

So when we got the opportunity to go to the BYU vs Washington State football game with the Cougar Club we jumped at the chance. The Cougar Club took care of all of the reservations and chartered us a flight out the Provo Airport (which was one of the best parts of the whole trip).

On Thursday we got into the Seattle around noon and had the afternoon and evening to explore the city. We toured the Underground and had dinner at Elliots right on the waterfront. The clam chowder and chocolate souffle were to die for.

On Friday we went Pike Market, the space needle, and I went Antique shopping while Scott took a nap. That afternoon, the Cougar Club had arranged for a BBQ before we headed to the Mariners-Yankees baseball game. Some highlights of the day...

The skyline from 520' a top the space needle. It was an amazing view. Last time I was at the space needle it was so cloudy, you couldn't even see the skyline, but we had great weather without a drop of rain. If you look really close in the background you can even see Mt. Rainer sticking out of the clouds.

We got to meet a special guest at the BBQ.

At the space needle. Notice the blue sky!

Pikes Place Market. There were the most beautiful flowers I have seen here for only $15 for a bunch. I could live in Seattle for just the flowers.

At the Mariners game. We had nose bleed seats above 1st base, but we had a great view of the space needle and the city skyline. In general I am not a baseball fan, but this was so fun. The pitcher for the Mariners, Brandon Marrow, was pitching for his first time in the majors. He pitched a no hitter until the 8th inning and we had a great time cheering him on.

Scott catching with the Mariners.

On Saturday morning we had breakfast with Ty Deitmer, Coach David Rose (basketball coach for BYU), and the rest of our traveling companions. A ferry then took us across Union Lake to the football game at the University of Washington. On the way, I saw the house where Tom Hanks lived in Sleepless in Seattle. The stadium sits right on the harbor and all of these Huskies fans were tailgating in their boats. We hopped off the boat and walked right up to the stadium-that is the way to arrive to a football game. You can see the harbor in the picture below. About 5,000 BYU fans joined us to cheer on a last second win by the Cougs.

I think our family has a new fall tradition.

Emma Rae

My sister Brittany and her husband, Jon, blessed their new baby, Emma Rae, in Idaho this weekend. Here are some of my favorite pics from the weekend...

Emma Rae

Emma with Uncle Matt. I think she has this big guy wrapped around her little finger.

Four Generations: Great Grandma Howell, Grandma Hillman, Brittany, and Emma

Emma taking a nap with Grandpa

Brittany with Emma. My mom made her blessing dress from some fabric Jon's mom had before she passed away.

Uncle Scott and Emma...checking each other out. Scott was so cute with her. I can't wait until he is a daddy!

We're Officially Adopting!!!

Last Friday my background check from Idaho FINALLY came back. On Wednesday our counselor took our package into the adoption committee and after six month of paperwork and waiting we are officially able to adopt. We are working on our online profile, which should be up this week at http://www.itsaboutlove.org/ under ScottandAmy1. Please keep us and our future birth mother in your prayers as we hope to add a little one to our family.

James Taylor

Last Monday night Scott and I went went to the James Taylor Concert at the USANA in West Valley. USANA is this great outdoor amphitheater with a great view of the mountains and Salt Lake City. We went with Scott's parents, his brother Chad and his wife Crystal (I stole these pictures from their blog- Thanks Crystal). Before the show we ate at Texas Roadhouse-Yum-o!


It was a great concert! He played a lot of my favorites: Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James (which was written for his nephew), You Can Close Your Eyes, and You've got a Friend. He also played Oh What a Beautiful Morning from Oklahoma.

Although most of his songs are pretty mellow and relaxing, he did have a couple of songs where he brought out the steel guitar. I hope that I can rock like that when I am 60.

08.08.08

I just had to do a post today since it is 08.08.08. I vaguely remember 8.8.88- we were living in the river house (this was the last house in Firth, Idaho that we lived in) and I was just about to start sixth grade. The only vivid memory I have of that day is my parents coming into my room with the video camera asking me to tell everyone what I was doing on 8.8.88. Somewhere in my parents box of home movies is that "historic" day in the life... I guess I will have to find it one of these days.

The Fruits (Vegtables in this case) of our Labor

After four years of marriage, we planted our first garden in our new backyard. We debated on what to plant but ended up with tomatoes, squash, onions, carrots, and peppers. Although we have had squash growing out our ears for some time, yesterday we also had a ripe tomato and a green pepper. We immediately sliced the tomato up, added a little salt and pepper, and dug in. There is nothing like a fresh juicy tomato right off of the vine. I am going to enjoy as many tomatoes I can over the next several weeks, because before we know it, we will be stuck with the tasteless varieties from the supermarket. Yeah for Summer!

July Highlights...

I have been really bad about posting this month. I have been in a little bit of a funk. Hopefully August will be much better. This month has been very crazy and we have had a number of fun things happen. Here are some of the highlights:

• Emma Rae, my newest niece, was born on July 15.- 7 lbs 12 oz, 21 inches, and a ton of hair.
• I got my first passport.
• We were called to the nursery, again.
• We finished all of the requirements for the adoption process and are now just waiting for my background check to clear through Idaho before we can be approved.
• Our garden began mass producing yellow squash- if you want some come and get it. We are also going to have about a million tomatoes in a month or so.
• Matt and Cindy came to visit for the weekend.
• Trent and Liz (our good friends from N.Y.) came over for dinner.
• I did three Stamp' Up Parties.
• We celebrated our 4th anniversary.
• We went camping twice (see posts below)
• I had LASIK (see post below).

Magleby Mountain

Scott's family spends the 24th of July weekend camping near Fish Lake in Central Utah. The Magleby family owns a number of acres in this area so we have affectionately labeled the area Magleby Mountain. We had a great time.

6:27

Those were the three numbers on my alarm clock this morning when I woke up today. It is about the typical time that I wake up everyday, but today these numbers were amazing to me...I could see them clearly and without the aid of contacts or glasses. I have worn glasses or contacts since I was in third grade - close to 23 years-oh I am getting old :). The last several years my eyes have gotten much worse and without contacts/glasses I would not have been able to function. Yesterday changed my life... I decided to have LASIK earlier this year, but I knew I had to wear my glasses for at least two weeks and was putting it off. I have not worn glasses in public for more than a day since I was 13 and got my first pair of contacts. Scott got a flyer on this great deal for LASIK that was good only until August 31, so on July 1st I decided to be brave and put the contacts away and pulled out the glasses. After 28 days of glasses, I am happy to report, that after a quick and painless surgery, I CAN SEE! Thank heavens for modern technology.

Camping

One of my family's favorite things to do in the summer is go camping. When we were kids, my parents had a shell camper that fit in the back of the pickup. I think my dad picked it up for $500 and after my mom made some new curtains and reupholstered the cushions it was as good as new. The kids would ride in the camper (probably something that was not really very safe, but a lot of fun) up to the Calamity Campground next the the Palisades Reservoir in Swan Valley, Idaho. All of us would sleep in the camper (keep in mind with mom and dad there were nine of us) and we would spend hours swimming in the reservoir. We loved it!

As we have gotten older we have outgrown the shell camper and have changed camping spots, but it is still fun for me to go camping with my family. So I was really excited when it worked out that Scott and I could join my family in Spencer this weekend. Thanks to all of the snow we got last year, it was still really green in the mountains and the wildflowers were amazing. We went on a 4 wheeler ride, went on a hike, cooked some good food over the fire, and relaxed.

The Good and Bad of Chicago

Chicago was a very fun place to visit. Scott had meetings Sunday-Wednesday so I was so happy that Becky and Sophie were able to come up and visit for a couple of days. We stayed at a great hotel within walking distant to most things that we wanted to see. We did walk a lot, which a probably a good thing since we also found a lot of fun "Chicago" style food to eat.

On Monday Becky, Sophie, and I went to Sears Tower, Shedd Aquarium, and Millennial Park. The Sears tower was amazing... it really made you realize how insignificant you are. The cars looked like matchbox cars and the people like ants. Sophie was so funny at the aquarium- we had been telling her that we were going to see some sharks and she seemed really excited about it, but when we got there we could not convince her to even look at the animals. For lunch that day Becky and I tried out a Chicago style hot dog (see picture above). It has an amazing amount of stuff on it including: onions, mustard, sweet relish, a slice of pickle, tomato, sweet peppers, and celery salt. Surprisingly it was pretty good. Scott met us for dinner that night and we tried out Chicago style deep dish pizza.

Tuesday we walked down to Navy Pier. Navy Pier is this really family friendly place that has a bunch of fun shops and a huge Ferris wheel that we took a ride on. That afternoon we found this really fun water fountain to play in and Sophie chased the seagulls and pigeons (which I think was her favorite part of the whole trip). We were having such a good day and then I went to pull out my camera case and it was gone. In my camera case was my cell phone, my camera, and all of the pictures from the trip so far. Apparently theft is a big problem in this part of Chicago and I was the latest victim. The silver lining in the whole thing was I had put my ID, cash, and credit cards in my pocket just a couple of hours earlier or they would have been taken also. Tuesday night Scott and I went to dinner at this great Italian restaurant and then went to see Wicked. It was amazing!!!

Wednesday we went to breakfast and then walked around the city for a few hours. Sophie chased some more birds and we took Scott to "The Bean" in Millennial Park before we had to leave. It was a great trip.

Help!

For our adoption paperwork we have to make a two page collage showing our family. This is how birth mothers decide on potential parents for their children. I have put together two spreads and I need some help deciding which one would work best. The pages are supposed to represent us, what we like to do, ect. As I looked through our pictures most of ours or posed shots that pretty much look the same (so next time you are somewhere with us take an action picture of us together :)). I thought this part of the process would be really easy because I scrapbook all the time, but it is hard to decide which pictures to include that will attract someone. So I am taking votes- which one should we use. (I know the pictures are bad, but you get the idea)

Quadruplets?

Scott and I decided to be brave this weekend and have three of his nephews and one niece to spend the night. I was a little worried about having four of them at the same time, but we had a great time. Friday night we made homemade pizza and then played in the park. Around 9:00 we put on National Treasure 2 and I thought for sure they would all fall asleep during the movie. I guess it is only me who falls asleep during movies because at 11:30 all four of them were still awake. I am not sure what time they actually fell asleep, but they were wide awake at 7:00 the next morning. On Saturday morning we went and saw Kung Fu Panda. Over all I think everyone had a fun time. Although we had a great time, both Scott and I were exhausted on Saturday night. I don't know if this is a sign that we are getting too old to have kids or... if we shouldn't have quadruplets.

Wicked

Scott has a Human Resource conference in Chicago starting June 21 and I have decided to tag along since my Seattle Trip was delayed. There are a number of reasons that I am excited to go to Chicago...
1. Scott and I haven't been on "vacation" since October. (I know that it seems like that wasn't very long ago, but I have decided I am a vacation every six months gal).
2. I have never been to Chicago,so it will be someplace new.
3. We are staying a very nice hotel that we don't have to pay for since Scott is going on business.
4. The hotel is near the Magnificent Mile (I guess this is where a lot of the really fun sites in Chicago are located) so I will get to tour the Sears Tower and check out the Navy Pier and maybe take a boat ride around the city (Just like in my Best Friends Wedding).

But the top reason I am excited to go to Chicago is...

5. We have tickets to see "Wicked". I was so excited when Scott told me it was playing while we were there. We got some great seats and it is only a half mile from our hotel. I went and bought the soundtrack today and I love it already. I know I am going to love the show and its only three weeks away!

772 Miles for 62 seconds

This weekend I was able to go to Boise to watch my baby sister Chelsey win the state championship for track. She was in three races the Medley,4x200, and 4x100. Although she only ran for about 62 seconds it was worth the drive to see her and her team take the state championship. Chelsey is an amazing young woman,she has a confidence about her that I truly admire. I know she is going to do amazing things with her life.

I also got to meet my two godchildren. My friend Abbey and I met while we worked at McDonald's about a hundred years ago. Through the years we have kept in touch and about a year ago she had twins Brody and Bailey and asked me if I would be willing to be their godmother. I was honored that she would even think of me. Abbey also has an almost three year old and was able to spend the morning with all of them. She has her hands full... but they are sure cute.

Grab a Kleenex...

My friend Jeanna is the one that told me about this song. She told me that I needed to listen to it when I was in good mental health. I should have listened a little better because last night when I heard it for the first time it broke my heart into a million pieces and I had a really good cry.



This song puts my feelings into words so well I just had to share it. Although I have been doing really well the last several months, it seems like those feelings are always just below the surface waiting for the worst possible moment to bubble over. I am grateful the good days are outweighing the bad days at this point and I hope that someday I will be able to fill the void with a little addition (or two or three)to our family.

Mexico here we come...

I got a call from my friend Mike at Mountain West Small Business Finance (MWSBF) early last week. MWSBF is the company that banks in the area partner with to do SBA 504 loans. For those of you who are not in the lending world, these loans are generally used for business owners to buy or build a building. Each year MWSBF does a contest for commercial loan officers to win a cruise for making these type of loans. To qualify you have to fund $2.5 million in debentures or do six loans of this type. While I was at AmBank I had the opportunity to do a number of these loans thanks to some friends at Zions (It is kind of a long story, ask me some time if you want to know the details). Anyhow, to make a long story short Mike was calling to tell me that I had qualified for the cruise and would be setting sail for the Mexican Rivera on October 11. I am so excited... now I just get need to get into bathing suit shape ;).

This weekend my sister Brittany and I went to Idaho for the weekend. Brittany is expecting her first baby in July (it's a girl-Emma) and so my family decided to throw her a baby shower a little early since she is leaving for Missouri in two weeks. On Saturday morning all of the girls got up and went to breakfast (we missed you Becky and Sophie) and went shopping. We got to see Jenny's new apartment, which is just like my first apartment in Idaho Falls. The shower was really fun and she got a lot of really cute stuff. Saturday night we had a weenie roast. One of our favorite things to do is a family is to build a fire and spend a few hours roasting hot dogs, toasting marshmallows for smores, laughing, and playing silly games like "Pretty Moon" and "My Dear Aunt Sally". This year it was a little cold as you tell by the big coats, but it was still fun. To me there is nothing like the taste of a hot dog cooked over the fire.