Spoiled Rotten

Welcome to my 24th Birthday feast!

Made especially for me by my talented Mother & Father. This cute guy got me some very beautiful Roses & let me go shopping!

After dinner cake!!!

German Chocolate Deliciousness!!!

After cake, more Presents!!!

So glad to share my special day with these special little ladies...

& this was only 1/2 the fun! Last night we celebrated with the Rogers. I came away with some very amazing & thoughful gifts.
Thank You Everybody,

I am officially SPOILED ROTTEN (No, I wasn't before now)!

Silent Night?

Merry Christmas from all the Shilldren!!!The cattle were crawling, an angel was crying, the horse was wandering, a shepherd was very unhappy, another shepherd's cane was being used as a sword, the wisemen were...wait a minute, the wisemen were behaving?, & the baby Jesus (who actually did very well) was a little too BIG for his manger & made several escape attempts that most likely ended in a headache.

Very entertaining...

I got my picture taken with the Narrator & the "Star" of the show.

Jealous?

We have been enjoying the Christmas season so far. We teach the CTR 5 class in our ward & Jordan taught the Christmas lesson this past Sunday to 4 cute little boys. I love being reminded of what this season is all about. I cannot imagine celebrating Christmas without celebrating our Savior. I am so blessed with a wonderful family with righteous traditions, a husband who loves me & his Savior, & the knowledge, I have, of the Restored Gospel.

"For unto you is born this day

in the City of David

a Saviour who is

Christ the Lord."

National Adoption Day

Did you know there is a

Nation Adoption Day?

It is on November 21st & I got to witness one of about 225 families (in Arizona alone) that got to be a part of it. There were balloons (that is what we're looking at float away), popcorn, face painting, food, jumpy castles, & everything else under the sun fit to entertain children.Inside the courtroom, we were all anxiously watching the legal proceedings, while trying to maintain some sort of "ORDER." Woo Hoo! He's legal (& also very adorable)!A very enthusiastic picture of Luey...& sitting next to me, a V-E-R-Y precious little girl holding her new little lamb. After the crazy madness of the court (because of the many joyous adoptions going on) it was our pleasure to attend the sealing.

We are so glad you're a part of our forever family Joseph(ine)!

Let It Snow

Jordan & I were able to visit the snow last week. Bethany has a friend with a cabin near Christopher Creek & we were invited to tag along.

There was a lot of snow. Kids of all ages could enjoy sledding.

We enjoyed playing with all of the Peterson kids.

Nora enjoyed being pulled around on the sled & I did not mind doing the pulling because she is so darn cute!

We made a snow(wo)man that Lucy named Lily. Bennett made several attempts to destroy Lily,

which his sister & I really did not appreciate. We perservered the

Benny-MONSTER & here is Lily in all her glory.

We really enjoyed helping to consume the delicious meals that were prepared & we were especially thankful for the bed we were allowed to keep warm which happened to be in my favorite gals bedroom...NORA!!! She startled Jordan when she woke up at 6:45 in the morning and yelled out "Mama!"
Thanks sis for the invite! Jordan was especially grateful for the break from papers, finals, & projects.

Viva Las Vegas

Back in October, we celebrated our 2nd Annual Square Reunion with Jordan's friends & their wives in the ever fabulous
Las Vegas, Nevada.

It was my first time ever going to Vegas & also my first time crossing or seeing, for that matter, the Hoover Dam (which I did not get a picture of or even get to get out of the car & see due to time constraints.) So we'll just pretend I haven't seen it yet. Better luck next time I suppose. Anyway, Meet

THE SQUAREVery cute aren't they!? Well the square happens to be a very lucky group of boys who met & married some pretty awesome girls.Now they are the Square Squared?

I don't know I get confused.

Okay so now that everyone is married & away at school or work, they try to plan something annually where we can all get together. Last year was the first year & we all went to Coronado Island, CA. This year we ended up in Vegas because Aaron & Jenna are living in Las Vegas while Aaron is working for Deloitte.

The night we arrived, Aaron treated us to dinner at Bucca Di Beppo.Thanks again Aaron & Jenna for dinner & everything else! You fed us & gave us a very comfortable air mattress to sleep on that fit perfectly in your dining area. I don't think anyone ever had such a good time & spent so little money in Las Vegas.

Total $ spent at the casino = $1.00

My favorite site to see was the Bellagio. The Bellagio has everything necessary to entertain. Of course the most spectacular site to behold was the fountains & the Dancing Water. AMAZING!!! And totally FREE!!!

We are anxiously awaiting...

and finally...Breathtaking at both Day& Night.It's incredible how Vegas can change these fantastic & beautiful structures during the day...to spectacular & indescribable masterpieces at night. This is the ceiling at the entrance into the Bellagio. There are 2,000 hand blown glass flowers! It is, I'm running out of words,very cool. Then there is the Bellagio Conservatory. They decorate the conservatory depending on the seasons. The next 3 pictures are all of the same room (the conservatory) & the pictures do not do it justice.

Everything I saw pertaining to the Bellagio baffled me. I was awed at the talent people have & by the many unique things people can create.

The last picture of the trees is particularly inspiring. The trees are actually fountains. The pitter patter sound they make & the appearance given off creates the idea that it's raining.

We only had 1 full day to see all the sites & honestly, that was enough time to see what I needed to see (& plenty of what I did not need to see).

We rode The Big Shot ride (located at the top of the Stratosphere) twice. Jordan & I also had the opportunity to go off on a wild goose chase to find the Venetian, which we did eventually find, so I could see the Gondola

(Thank you my love).

On that little adventure we happened to run into a Ghiardelli Chocolate Ice Cream Shoppe & enjoyed an ice cream sunday.

We never had one while in San Francisco because of the cold weather.

My first trip to Vegas was a success. We had a really good time & are excited to someday come back & maybe even enjoy staying at the Bellagio.

Pretty please Jordan?

Oh, & thank you Brittany for taking all the awesome pictures!

A St. George Thanksgiving

It was my first Thanksgiving 100% away from my Mom & Dad. We had a Stephenson family reunion & celebrated 60 Years of Marriage for Grandma & Grandpa in

St. George, Utah.I LOVE Jordan's Grandparents. They are amazing people.

What I've enjoyed most about them is that I can have normal everyday conversations with them (they 100% have their wits about them, which I'm sadly not used to with grandparents).

We enjoyed watching a slideshow movie of pictures that went through Grandma &
Grandpa's lives that reminded me of the way things used to be in the 'Good Ole Days'.

Jordan's Aunt Cindy took us on a GREAT hike to work off all that Turkey. I guess I love hiking because I really enjoyed myself. Others did not seem as enthusiastic as me. St. George is absolutely beautiful with all the red rock - which turns into red sand that is not totally hiker friendly, which is where most of the non-enthusiasm came from, I think.

We had a nice time seeing family. I missed my parents on Thanksgiving Day, but believe it or not they were still there when we got home.

Thank you Joe & Natalie for letting us use your spare bed, sit in your spot on the couch, & eat your cereal. You were an excellent host & hostess.

We "Likey" Movies

Jordan & I both LOVE movies.

We see a lot of movies (good & bad, some really, really bad - ahem...'Where the Wild Things Are'). Jordan has A LOT more of an opinion on movies than I do. Although it is an educated opinion because he is a very devoted follower of rottentomatoes.com (checking daily for the newest reviews). He can give a very detailed review of every movie he sees,

I either "likey" it or I don't "likey" it.

***Sidenote***

I "likey" this girl and the way she always says "likey."

Okay, back to the topic of discussion...movies. Here are some movies we like & if you have not enjoyed viewing them, you should definitely do so.
My Favorite: Cupid helps boy & girl fall in love.

Jordan's Favorite:

Boy meets time machine. One of Our Favorite movies of 2009:
Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't. (and yes, it's still really good!)
Go rent yourself a good movie...call Jordan for reviews.