Enjoying it While We Can

Since this is our last Christmas in Utah, Jason and I decided to try to make the most of it by going to as many of the Christmas events at Temple Square that we could. I think we did pretty well. We were able to start the season out by attending the play Savior of The World. We've seen it before, but for some reason this time was even better. For those who haven't seen it, it's wonderful. It tells the story of the Savior's birth and his Resurrection. It is well done and such a great reminder of what Christmas is all about. Following that, we went to the first presidency Christmas devotional, which was amazing, as always. The last thing we went to was the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert. They sang with the Orchestra on Temple Square as well as with two guest performers. It was awesome!! There were some amazing numbers including an organ solo of "Go Tell It On The Mountain". We absolutely loved it. We truly are going to miss all the things that Utah has to offer. We are also going to miss family greatly when we move. We've been so blessed to live so close to many of our siblings and love having them near.

Better Late Than Never

I actually forgot that I took a few pictures on Thanksgiving, so here they are. A bit late, I know. I figure since it's not Christmas yet, they are still fair game. We had a great dinner with Kevin, Charisa and their family as well as Falycia and Kirk. Here's Sam enjoying his yummy roll- what a cutie!

Emma had to fight Uncle Jason for the HUGE drum stick and it looks like Emma won. She thoroughly enjoyed it! Go Emma!

The Wasson clan eating Thanksgiving dinner! Mmm mmmm.

Falycia, Kirk, Jason, Charisa and Kevin carving the turkey and making the last preparations! It was the first time Jason and I have hosted a Thanksgiving dinner and it was great! Thanks for coming everyone!

Nothin' But Love

Who would've thought that one little puppy could bring so much fun and love into our family? As most of you know, in place of children, Maya has become out little baby. She keeps us entertained, is quite funny, and gives so much love. Becca and Mae came to visit today and Mae always loves seeing Maya, so I thought I would share. Occassionally Maya gets to full of love and can't help herself from kissing Mae. At first Mae flinches, but then she giggles. She never wants Maya to leave her side when she's at our house. They're quite the pals!

A Quick Visit

We were so excited to have Emily and Ryan come for a quick visit yesterday. Unfortunately the circumstances weren't the best, being here for Ryan's Grandmother's funeral tomorrow. However, we loved having Emily, Ryan, Carter, and Brandon here for a night. They drove from Seattle and we had a great visit. The boys are getting so big and are so much fun. We just wish they lived closer!! Maybe some day huh?! On the other hand, we are so grateful for the family we do live by!! Thanks for coming Emily and Ryan, hopefully we can see you guys again for New Years!

Happy Hauntings!!

Last night we had our Second Annual Halloween party. It was fun to see everyone's creative costumes! We had a good turn out and enjoyed seeing everyone! We had lots of treats and enjoyed just having fun! Eric and Miriam looked pretty tough...or something like that. ;)

Jason and Castro a.k.a Joey hanging out in between eating chili and donuts.

Miss Hotty Marilyn Monroe and Little Miss Pumpkin Pie!! Aren't they adorable.

It was so fun to see Amber, Glenn, and their little guy Tyce (the targeted deer). Amber and I were roommates about 4 years ago and haven't seen each other for a long time. It was so good to see her and catch up a bit!! Thanks for surprising us Amber!

Isn't Jason a hot cowboy? I think he needs to wear the hat and boots more often! Maya was a good sport too and wore the bandana all night. She was so excited to see the trick or treaters that she made two little ones cry. She's just so full of love, but they don't realize that. It was fun to have trick or treaters this year too.

What do you think? Classy Marilyn with her white trash husband?

Farmer Jeff with his beautiful wife and cute little pumpkin!

What do you think of these sexy men? Lookin' hot Kirk, but not quite as hot as my little cowboy in the middle.

Cinderella (Alyssa), Maya, and Mickey (Kyler) hangin' out at the party after trick or treating. They looked really cute and loved all the candy and goodies!! (Maya especially liked all of the donut crumbs and frosting drippings.)

Jason being taken hostage by his crazy brother Joey and his fiance Jess! They took us all by surprise, but only made Kyler cry. ;) We're glad they made it!

The Rest of My New York Trip

So here's the rest of the New York pictures. There were so many to choose from, as you can probably tell. Aren't Melanie's kids so cute? We had fun playing together. I miss you Owen, Tyler, and Halle! The crazy caterpillar bug that Halle found outside. Kinda crazy huh?
Tyler's 5th b-day party. We worked pretty hard on the monster pinata one night, but they held up pretty well for the kids to smash with light sabers!
Melanie's apartment. I loved it! I loved that everywhere in Ithaca (and NY for that matter) is surrounded by trees. You always feel like you are out in the middle of no where... which I love. We went the perfect time of year too. The leaves were changing color and the weather was perfect. I want to go back.
One day Gary watched all the kids, including Logan, so that we could go see the church history sites. This is the Whitmer Farm, where the church was first organized. I want a peice of land like that someday!

Ok, so I fell in love with the Amish people. I love their farms and seeing their horses and equipment. There were quite a few of them in NY. We stopped at this one and got some yummy homemade baked goods.
Bread and Strawberry Ruhbarb jam. mmmmm
Yup, pumpkin whoopies. They were alright, but the name was quite entertaining to us. They were pumpkin cookies with about 2 inches of frosting in the middle.
Mel and I at Hill Cumorah. It was such a beautiful view.

Here we are in front of the Sacred Grove. The Smith farm was very fun and interesting to see. I learned so much and gained a new love and appreciation for the Smith family.
The Palmyra Temple. It overlooks the Sacred Grove. Aren't the trees just amazing?
The Sacred Grove. We were so lucky because there were no other tourist that day, so we had the grove to ourselves. The Granden Press, where the Book of Mormon was first printed. I didn't know Palmyra was such a cute, small little town. I loved it.


Taking a walk through the Sapsucker woods. This is pretty much Mel's backyard. We saw tons of deer in there.

Owen having fun with his sticks... I mean swords and wands.
Here we are at Taughannock Falls. It was a gorgeous walk and once again, beautiful fall weather. One of my favorite things about or trip. :)

From Our Catholic Neighbors

My Aunt Kris e-mailed me this link and I thought it was great. Definitely worth sharing. So, take a minute and watch this short video. There are good people out there, trying to do good things, and stand up for what is right, so let's all do our part.


http://www.catholicvote.com/

In Love With New York

WARNING: This post may contain A LOT of pictures!!
(sorry if they are way out of order, but I'm still not very good at uploading them in order)
This is St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC. It was huge and very pretty. almost compares to some I saw in England. I loved all the stain glass windows.
This is the place we stayed in NY. After MUCH searching, we found a clean, cheap room to rent. It was the master bedroom in someone's apartment. They were very nice and it was in a safe, clean neighborhood, which was great. I suggest looking into this kind of place to stay if you plan to go to NY.

Here's Ground Zero. There's really not a whole lot to look at right now, other than a huge construction site. However, the feeling there was neat. I was glad I had the opportunity to take a few minutes and remember what happened and those who have lost their lives.
One of the murals nearby. They are working on a memorial, but there really isn't an official one yet.
We did stop at the fire station across the street and looked at their memorials and fire trucks. The firemen were all very nice and they got called out while we were there. It was crazy to think that they were right there on the front line when it happened. They lost many friends and co-workers. I'm grateful for men and women who serve in these professions.
Ahhhh, here we are at the Top of The Rock (the Rockafeller Building). That is the Empire State building in the background. The view up here was phenomenal! I recommend this to anyone who goes to NY, even if you are afraid of heights. It took my breath away! Definitely one of my favorite stops!
Another view from Top of The Rock. This is Central Park...another one of my favorite places for sure!! Isn't it amazing how the buildings go right up to the edge of the park? You can easily spend hours, or even days here.

The Center walk way at Central Park. You may recognize it from movies and pictures. So pretty. The leaves were starting to change, but it's hard to see in this picture.
The skyline is amazing here. I LOVED the park!!
The Manhattan Temple. Kind of crazy how it's in the middle of downtown. There are high rises all around it. Really cool.
Logan and I chilling in the subway. He was such a good sport!
Lombardi's famous pizza in Little Italy. I guess the first pizza place in America. Expensive, but yummy!!

Kristi and I had a wonderful trip to New York! Our first night there we went to Times Square and checked out all of the shops and restaurants. Times Square was amazing! If you go, definitely see it at night. Someone told us that within just a few blocks, there are over 80 million advertisments. Crazy!
Kristi at Bubba Gumps, where we ate for dinner. Very fun.

Can anyone tell I have a sweet tooth?? M & M World was cool, a lot for one chocolate lover to take in. We also stopped at Serendipity and tasted some of their famous Frozen Hot Chocolate. Mmmmm was it goo. Dylan's Candy Bar was also fun, with tons of old fashioned candy. I was sooo tempted by their carmel apples.