Christmas Village

Last night we went to the Christmas Village in Ogden. I had never gone before, but I told Ryan that I want to make it a tradition to go every year. It was really fun. They have these little houses in a park with Christmas themes. The houses have little windows so you can look in and see the cute Christmas scenes in each house. Isabel didn't get much out of it, but I thought it was fun. Ryan's parents came with us. We had such a good time.

It was really cold ..... as you can probably tell by the way Isabel and Liz are dressed.

California Trip

Last week we drove out to California to visit the Jenkins family. It was such a fun trip. We didn't do too much. One day we went to the Jelly Belly factory and took a tour and we went to Monterey. In Monterey we went to the aquarium. It was a fun little side trip. Here are so pictures from our trip. It was a blast! Me and Isabel wearing our official Jelly belly hats. She actually kept it on the entire time, which really suprised me.
Ryan and Isabel in Monterey. It was such clear, beautiful water. The coast line was really beautiful.

Me and Isabel on the same beach in Monterey. She did not want her picture taken, so she looks a little mad.

This is at the aquarium in Monterey. She dressed up like Nemo and was riding a fish. This was the most fun she had there.

This is on our way back to Lisa's house in Auburn. She insisted on putting her sunglasses on herslf. Or as she likes to say, "My do it!". Anyway, they ended upside-down on her face, but she was proud of herself.

We had such a fun time out there. While out there it was our 4th anniversary. It has really flown by. We've moved 4 times. Built 2 houses. Have had 2 trucks and 4 cars. One little stinker named Isabel and a lot of fun. I just hope the next 4 years are just as fun (with a little less moving and car buying/selling).

Temple

I hate to admit it, but it's been almost 2 years since Ryan and I have gone to the temple.... until last night. It was so nice to go. I have missed it. We really have no excuse for not going. I think we just forgot to go. That probably sounds dumb, but I think we are so busy that we sometimes forget to do important things. We have made a goal to not wait another 2 years to go. I really think Heavenly Father will bless us if we make time for Him. During the session I got the strongest feeling like everything is going to be okay. I didn't get an answer to why I'm not pregnant yet, or why I'm lonely, or why my parents abandoned me (just kidding), or why our house hasn't sold, or why Ryan has been unemployed most of this year ....... but I had such an overwheming feeling that Heavenly Father loves me and that EVERYTHING will turn out. It was such a comfort to me. I felt so much peace when I left. I love the temple and I am so blessed to live close to one.

Missing You!

It's only been a few days and already we are missing you, Mom and Dad. My week has been very boring. We love you and miss you!
p.s. I'm Jones'in

Into the Woods

Last night Emily and I went to see "Into the Woods" at the Hale Center Theater. It was good - long, but good. I love this scene from the Broadway musical. It's a fun show!

Goodbye Old Friend

We sold our Durango on Saturday. This car has been in the family since it as driven off the lot. My brother-in-law Roy first bought it, then he sold it to my sister Michelle, then she sold it to us. We have loved this car. We sold it becasue it gets 16 miles per gallon and we don't need to haul around 7 people. So, out with the old and in with the new. I don't have a picture of it yet, but we bought a Jetta TDI. It's a diesel and it gets 45 miles per gallon. It is a super cute car and the 3 of us fit in it just fine. So, hopefully it was a good purchase. So, goodbye Durango!

Happy Holidays

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills

Having a 2 year old is exhausting! Yesterday Ryan and I were in the car with her, trying to guess what she was saying. Ryan looked at me and asked, "do you feel like we are living in MadGab?" For all you who don't know what MadGab is, it's a game where you guess what people are saying from strange sentences. For example "Olive Juice" would be "I love you". Well, this how we fell with Isabel. She speaks pretty good for her age, but sometimes it's guess work to figure our what she is saying. My life is MadGab - and I'm tired of playing.
This is what I woke up to this morning. It's a face only a mother could love!

Life is a Rollercoaster

So, some of you may have heard about my parents..... they are moving to Guam. My dad's job (which had us living in Africa), has asked him to work in Guam for the next 2 years. What does that mean for me? Well, here it goes.....
1. I will be lonely. I go to my mom's house every day, so with them gone that mean lots of alone time for me. Think of all the journal entries I could write - yeah, that will never happen.
2. They don't want their house empty, so they have asked Ryan and I to take care of it. By take care of it I mean move into it. So, I've lived in my brand new house for 5 weeks and now we are selling it. I have some mixed feelings about this. Living morgage free for 2 years would be great, but I love this house and I just finished unpacking last week. So, we are moving. I've listed the house with http://www.ksl.com/ (it's under "Great Deal in West Haven"). We are getting a sign for the front yard this week. I don't want to tell my neighbors, I really like them.
3. If we sell the house Ryan will go to school full time and I will work part time. I already work a little doing life insurance exams, but I will work more if all this pans out. It would be really nice to get Ryan through school and done.
4. a very large headache. I hate packing, but I hate being poor even more.
I have coem to realize that prayers are not answered in the way we expect. For months I have been praying for help finacially. I was hoping for a big bag of money to drop from the sky, but instead my parents are moving to Guam. Heavenly Father did answer my pray, just in a weird way. So, goodbye house and hello South Weber, again.

My Chores

I love my chore board! So, I know that I've mentioned my sister Michelle's business before, but I am in love with these cards and even more in love with my board. I made the board myself, with her help. Normally the board is for a whole family, but I've adapted it into a daily chore board. Don't you love the title on the board? Yeah, that's right, I'm superwoman. And don't you forget it!

Zoo

Yesterday Ryan and I took Isabel to the zoo. It was so much fun. Isabel is getting to the age where she makes all the animal noises and likes to see them. It was a fun day. After looking at the animals, we then rode the train. Which is Isabel's favorite thing to do. It was fun!

Soapstar Mom

My sister Michelle started a business this past year. I've mentioned it before, but now she has her own website. The address is http://www.soapstarmom.com . She sells chore boards and chore cards. She also has other products. If you use the promotional code Renee you will get 20% off your purchase. Check it out. I love her cards. Since I don't have a kid to do chores, I have a board for myself. It's a great system. My house is always clean.

Daily Reminders

For all you who know me well, you know that sometimes I'm stupid. I think all of us go through times when we think that no one likes us or that we don't have friends, however, the other day I was laying in bed and had a revelation: People like me! I was looking around my house and discovered daily reminders of gifts/things from friends and family. Here is what I found (the pillow above was given to me by Becky Waters, we were in a single's ward together when Ryan and I got married. She made the pillow.):
My best friend Leslie just sent me this a few weeks ago. She got it in the Bahamas while on a cruise. I love this star. One of my nicknames with Leslie is "Starfish" so it had a deeper meaning than just being cool. I keep it in my 1/2 bath, which means we see it a lot. This hangs next to my bed. I really love these. The top frame says "Renee & Ryan December 18, 2004" and the bottom frame says "Families Are Forever". These were given to us as a wedding gift from Jessie Meigs (now Smith). She and I are friends from Sandpoint. It's weird, but she's one of my oldest friends and we haven't know each other that long. We met in Junior High, okay that was long ago. I love Jessie. These were one of my favorite wedding presents.This is a block in Isabel's bathroom. I love the color. This was given to me by Jenivee Broadhead. She and I worked together at the clinic while I was pregnant. I love Jeni. She and her husband are hilarious. We love hanging out with them. This picture has two things in it. 1: the picture of me and my sisters being goofy. I love this shot. It was not given to me really (I made the copy), but it reminds me of how much I really do love my sisters. I know sometimes I'm hard to get along with and I cry a lot, but they are good sisters and I love them a lot. 2: the candle with the leaf. This was given to me by Jeni Broadhead also. I've almost burned it completely out, yet I can't throw it away. It's pretty and it smells good, and it makes me think of Jeni. I like it a lot.
This is a corsage (sp?) that was worn at my wedding by Leslie. I know I'm a dork to hang on to it, and it's falling apart, but it reminds me of my wedding and of Leslie. When I look at it, it reminds me of that wonderful day. I don't think I'll ever be able to part with Leslie's flower.


I know what you're thinking with this next one, but this mixers means so much to me. I grew up with this mixer. It was my moms and she gave it to me. I love this mixer! It's old and it was free, but more importantly it was given to me by my mom. This is a huge reminder that my mom loves me.
I think it was last year that my sister-in-law Renee went to Hawaii. While there she got me this bracelet. I know everyone has one, but I love it! I added this red ribbon to it, and it's become one of my favorites. I think of her everytime I wear it.

Bottom line: I could add like 100 more examples or things in my house. These were just a few that stood out to me. Thank you all for being my friends. I love you all!

Kids Are Funny

We had to run errands this morning and we asked Isabel which jacket she wanted to wear. She picked out her Halloween costume jacket and then her Mouse ears from Disneyland. So, we went to Sam's Club looking like this. The funny thing is, no one seemed to think twice about it. If I went out like that everyone would point and stare. Kids can get away with wearing anything, infact people probably thought she looked cute. I think I'll wear something like this one day and see what people think of my outfit.

Let it snow, Let it Snow, Okay Stop!

The weather report was for some snow.... some, not mounts of snow. It is incredible! We have gotten tons of snow over the past few hours. And it just keeps coming. I love the snow, and actually I'm happy to be getting it, but enought is enough. It's October and it's heavy snow. Isabel loves it. She played outside in it for quite a while and was sad to go inside. She's our snow bunny.

Update on Life

Isabel had her 2 year well-child doctor's visit yesterday. She was not so brave when it came time for her shots, but had a quick recovery (suckers and bouncy balls are great). She is, as I thought, skinny. She weighs almost 25lbs. - 27% centile, and is 34" tall - 55% centile. So, she's average height and skinny. Not, like her mother at all. But, she healthy and two. She's getting that 2 year old attitude down pretty quickly.
On another note..... I found this chocolate for Ryan. We tasted it and it was pretty good. The bacon chocolate didn't really have a strong flavor. You have to almost suck on it in order to taste the bacon at all. The chile one was good. I really liked it. You didn't even taste the hotness until after you ate it. I liked it! Anyway, it was a fun treat. Nothing else is new. I feel like all I do is cook and clean. Life is pretty boring and sometimes lonely. Dishes don't make great company, neither does the vacuum.

Happy Birthday Isabel

So, Isabel's birthday isn't until Thursday, but we celebrated today with my family. It was so much fun. We had soup and spongebob cake. I want eveyone to know - I made this cake! Yes, it's true, I did it. I am so proud of myself, it was a lot of work, but it turned out really cute. Isabel loves Spongebob, so this cake was a real treat for her. For her presents we got her a vacuum (kid size) and a shopping cart full of fake food. They were huge hits! I can't beleive she's already 2, time has really flown by.

Moving Video - Go Religious Groups and Morals!!

I thought this was very moving. One side is cut off, I'm not sure why, but you get the idea. I'm still very Mormon, but go Catholics!

We're in!

So, we still don't have the internet at our new house, but I wanted everyone to know that we are in! If anyone would like to come see the house or visit us, please do. It's still messy becasue we are unpacking, but please fell free to stop in. I'll take pictures and post them some time soon. I have to say though, I love my house. It is so beautiful. I am so lucky!

Moving Day!!

The house is done! We are moving in officially today! I am so excited. With that being said, I will be disconnected. So, until we get the internet - see ya! Oh, anyone who would like to see the house, feel free to stop by.

Granite/Kitchen

Our granite was put in the other day and it looks so good! Here are some shots of the progress: This is our kitchen sink, I love the black!
Close up of our granite. I like it!
The snack bar. I really wanted the two levels. I like the way it looks and how it hides messes on the main countertop.
Our cabinets! They are so pretty. The microwave still needs to be installed, but don't you think they look great! I do!

Lost and Found

Back in March my wallet went missing. Ryan swore that I must have dropped it, and I thought for sure someone had stolen it out of my car during the night. Earlier that day I went to the zoo, filled up my car, and went home. The next day it was gone. Ryan was certain that I dropped it at the gas station, but when I called no one had turned it in or seen it. I knew it had been taken from my car. Well, we canceled everything. Our credit car was unsed once at Wal-mart on a $30-something purchase, but nothing else. I got a new license, new debit and credit cards, new temple recommend, new Costco card, and new Smith's and Albertson's cards (those were a big loss). I've basically moved on. Well, this morning Ryan woke we up and said that his uncle Brian found something of mine. He was out working in his horse field across the street and came upon my wallet. Ah Ha- it was stolen out of my car! Either that or the person who found it at the gas station, down in Salt Lake, drove up here just to throw it in the field across from my house (yep, I'm sure that's what happened). My poor wallet, it looks so bad. I love this wallet, but I'm afraid our days are over. Since it's been outside in the snow, rain, and mud since March it's thrashed. I can't even close the zipper. So, the person took 1- My driver's license 2-My debit card 3-all my credit cards (all 1 of them) 4-my ATM card (what on earth would you do with that, I've never even used it and I know the pin) 5-My temple recomend (I'm hoping they do temple work under my name and I'll get the blessings) and 6-all the cash, but not the change (lazy theif). The thing I'm most sad about it the pictures in my wallet. There was one from when Ryan and I were dating, I have no idea where the negatives are, so I can't make a new copy. I loved that picture. I was so suprised that it was even found though. That wallet cost more than anything they took ($50). It was a good one! May it rest in peace (as soon as I throw it away, that is).

My poor wallet. It is so dirty and grose.
The contents of my wallet. The pictures are ruined as you can see. They did leave me Isabel's immunization record, which I am stoked about, that was hard work!

Fun for Me and You

Let's see if anyone wants to play.......
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember--it can be funny, weird, awkward, random, etc.!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Sore Feet

I forgot to post this the other day with all my house updates. I wasn't planning on helping Ryan so much, so I didn't wear great shoes. Okay, I wore really bad shoes. My feet were so swollen and my big toes were beginning to get blisters. I didn't have any band-aids, so I used the only thing I had - painters tape. It worked pretty good. After about an hour or two though I was hurting. I then realized I had flip flops in my car. I changed into them, and was a new woman, for about 10 minutes (they have no arch support). Over-all I had sore feet.

House Update Once Again

I am getting to excited! Our house should be done within the next month. It's coming along so nicely. I love it! here are some photos showing the progress:

This is the outside, it's almost done out here. Ryan has to do the final grade and a few more small things. It's looking so good.

This is our mantel. Ryan is going to do something around the fireplace, he just hasn't decided what yet. I really like our mantel. It's the same stain as the cabinets. It's hard to tell, but it's a dark drown, the stain is called Root Beer.
This is the kids bathroom. Here you can tell better what the stain looks like. It's pretty.

This is our banister. The wood was intended to be much darker, but we had a few problems with it. It looks good the way it is, but would have looked better darker.
This is Isabel's room. The entire house was paiting brown except for her room. I had the painters paint it yellow. I then painted really faint stripes around the room. I really like the way it turned out.
This is the master bathroom. It's really nice.
This is the beginning of the kitchen. They obviously are not done. We are having granite countertops, so next week when they are done I will post another picture of the kitchen. I love my cabinets!

Weekend at the Cabin

It was Ryan's Birthday on Friday. We went up to the cabin with all of Ryan's family. It was fun. We went on a hike with Isabel in a backpack. She wasn't so sure about the backpack, but in the end it was fun. We stopped at this river and threw in rocks. It was so cute watching Isabel throw rocks. We had to teach her how to throw, she's never done that before (yep, she's a girl). It was fun. Since it's starting to get cold up in the mountains there won't be many more cabin weekends. I love going up there and getting away from everything.

Family Reunion in Long Beach, WA

Last week we had our family reunion. It was so much fun! Although it was a bit chilly, we had so much fun. Isabel and I got there on Saturday and Ryan joined us on Tuesday. We were there until Saturday the 9th. We stayed in my great uncle Tom Smart's beach house. It used to belong to Monte L. Bean (as in the Bean Museum at BYU). It was a nice home and we were very comfortable there. The kids all had so much fun digging in the dirt and playing in the water. It was a blast. Here are som photos from the trip.

This is me and Isabel playing in the water.... it was so cold, but fun!



This is Isabel and Grace (Emily's daughter) playing together at the house. They are so cute together. They are only 4 months apart. I love watching them play.

This is Ryan and Isabel. For our reunion shirts we did baseball shirts. We opened the reunion by playing Red vs. Black in kickball. No one in the family knew what team they were on. It was so much fun. I was Black and Ryan was Red. This is Isabel's outfit. The shirts were too big for the infants, so they had these outfits. We also put everyone's ranking (number) on the shirt. Isabel is number 32, I am 13, and Ryan is 14. It was cute. we loved the shirts.
This next picture is Ryan up to kick in our kickball game. His team totally killed my team. He is so handsome in his uniform. I married such a stud!



As you can tell from this photo, Isabel is really into the game. She lost interest within the first minute. But doesn't she look cute?



Okay, so while at the reuion we did some crafts. I made this lovely friendship bracelet. I gave it to Isabel. She only wore it one day. but that whole day she loved it.
Ryan on the other had made Boon-Dogels (sp?). But not only did he make them, he became the master of them. These are some of his creations (Actually I made the small one). I think they are really cool. I'll never lose my keys again.