Christmas Party

Saturday night we hosted a get together for the 1st year residents in Dan's orthodontic program. Dan really enjoys his program and a big part of that is because he has such great classmates! Which is good, since he spends so much of his time with them. There are 6 residents in Dan's class (Matthew, Dan, Nathan, Nate, Tisha, and Sahira) and all of them are married, which is also good because that means they are all anxious to get home at the end of the day. Anyway, we had a great night Saturday night. Everyone brought something to contribute for dinner and then we had a fun night of games. Here is a picture of the group (all but one resident, Sahira, who was already on vacation for the holidays):


Matthew & Laura Ames (they have a one-year-old boy), us, Nathan & Abby Helm, Nate, Emily, Camden, and Aiden Springer, and Tisha & Jason Randall.

There was a big winter storm that came through on Saturday, so I decided to make wassail for the party. It was so good! The perfect hot drink for a cold winter's night. Here is the recipe:

Wassail
2 quarts apple cider
2 cups orange juice
1 (46 oz.) can pineapple juice
1/2 cup honey
2 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
1 Tbsp. whole cloves
a pinch of ground ginger, optional
a pinch of nutmeg, optional

In a large pot over medium heat, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat and keep warm while serving. I cut 3 slices of an orange and put them in the drink for a festive look. Enjoy!

Zoo Wildlights

On Monday night we bundled up and went to the zoo to see the Christmas lights. With over 3 million lights, I have to say that Dan and I were quite impressed with the display! And it actually wasn't as cold as we were expecting . . . . so it was a great night to go. Here's a picture of the whole group:

the Williams, us, the Johnsons, and the Buxtons


Leah loves to be bundled all warm and cozy.


Annie and Landon checking out the huge train display.


Even Santa was at the zoo! Annie told him she wants a phone and a baby brother.


There were so many lights! It was so fun. We heard that December is the busiest month for the Columbus Zoo . . . . crazy! But now I can see why . . . . no one wants to miss out on this.


After the zoo we all went to the Johnson's house for doughnuts, homemade hot chocolate, and games. It was such a fun night!

Snow!

We woke up this morning to our first snowfall in Ohio! Annie was so excited. It was so beautiful and peaceful outside. The girls and I spent the morning in our pajamas, watching the snow fall, eating warm muffins, and watching Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer.

Then we decided to venture out so, driving very slowly, we made our way to Nollie's house for lunch with some friends. When I pulled up in the driveway next to Kristie's car, I noticed she had left her lights on, but after getting the girls in the house and taking off boots and coats, I completely forgot to tell her. So, needless to say, when we went out a few hours later, her car wouldn't start. Luckily I had some jumper cables, and Kristie, Katy, and I prided ourselves in the fact that we jumped the car by ourselves. Although all of a sudden, in the midst of our glory, we realized Kristie had locked her keys in the car . . . . with the engine on . . . . with Cohen and Nessie strapped in their carseats. Luckily our friendly neighborhood policeman had nothing better to do (or so he said . . . . although with the amount of abandoned cars along side of the road, I'm not to sure I believe him). Anyway, with the first snowfall of the year, it seems inevitable something like that should happen . . . . and I guess it did.

Leah and Mia

Leah enjoyed meeting her 2nd cousin, Mia (rhymes with Leah) in Las Vegas. They are two days apart. They had fun playing together . . . . until they were expected to share.

But all in all, I think they will be good friends:)

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

We had a great trip to Vegas for Thanksgiving. We spent it with Dan's Mom's side of the family. This is Mary (middle) with her two sisters. We all stayed at their brother's house, the Polley's. 48 of us for dinner. It was one big party!!

The food was delish . . . .

The bi-annual ping pong tournament was no small affair. . . .

Scott was the winner . . . . Dan is bitter.

And we all know what this picture means . . . . GO COUGARS!

Thanks Polley's! We look forward to Thanksgiving Bash 2009!

Tagged

So I've been tagged 3 times, and today I realized that if I don't do it now, I probably never will. Which, for awhile there, I was thinking that I just wouldn't ever do it. But I do enjoy reading other people's tag posts, so maybe some of you will enjoy reading mine. Let's get to it.

6 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1. I do not like being the center of attention. And this is probably why I've been so hesitant to do this tag post. I get nervous when I have to do things in front of people, although I usually seem to be able to pull it off just fine. One of my most embarrassing moments was in a drama class my junior year of high school. I seriously don't know what I was thinking signing up for drama. I guess I just needed to fill one more elective spot on my schedule and my art skills are even worse than my drama skills. Anyway, I won't go into too much detail about this embarrassing moment, but let's just say it involved me impersonating a fish on stage in front of everyone and ended with me storming out of class yelling, "I'm out of here!" Needless to say, I marched straight to the office and changed my schedule. So no, I don't like it when all eyes are on me. Although my next fact really contradicts this . . . .

2. I was a cheerleader in high school. Yes, it's true. But I loved it. All my best friends were cheerleaders with me (that's why I did it in the first place). I loved cheering at football games, practicing new stunts, competing in competitions, attending cheer camps, and choreographing dances to perform at rallys. It was so much fun. We also had to wear our uniforms to school every Friday which sometimes I was a little self-conscience in my skirt because . . . .

3. My right leg is crooked. Yep, I'm a little deformed. I'm not sure what part is actually crooked - it could be my knee. When I stand with my knees both straight my foot points out to the right. When I stand with my feet both straight, my knee points inward. It doesn't affect how I walk or run, which is good because . . . .

4. I love playing sports. Any sport. I haven't had much opportunity since I've been married and had kids, but I still love playing when I get the chance. I played basketball and softball in high school, and I also love playing volleyball. I did all kinds of intramural sports at BYU - so much fun! I still plan on taking tennis lessons sometime. I think it would be a fun hobby and great exercise.

5. My ears aren't pierced. I guess I just never wanted them bad enough.

6. I love to watch The Food Network. What can I say? There's just something so fun about watching someone else make delicious foods and imagining myself someday making them! I haven't watched it as much since we've moved, but I'll still sneak in a show now and then. My favorites: Everyday Italian, Barefoot Contessa, and Paula's Home Cooking. I wish I could say I was a great cook because of it . . . . but I guess I'm learning:)

"How big is Leah?"

"So big!"

I'm 3 now!

This post is according to the account of Annie; or in other words, I, Annie, wrote this post.

My birthday was November 1st. I'm 3 now!


That's me with my presents! Those are my cards. I loved my cards. I had a lot of presents! Grandma gave me lots of dishes for my kitchen and a white puppy. I named her Kelly. Grandma from Canada got me a princess dress.


That's my new kitchen! That's my fridge. It has two stoves, an oven, a sink, and pretend soap, and pretend trash. I love the sink. I put food in it. And the fridge.


I'm eating my cake! It was pink and had pink frosting, and yellow and blue and purple and orange sprinkle dots. And I had pink ice cream. It was yumm-O! I blew out my candles. My favorite part was taking them out and licking them.

Annie's Age 3 Favorites List:

Favorite color: pink

Favorite show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Favorite food: candy necklaces, spaghetti, rice, pineapple, mac & cheese, apples

Favorite animal: zebra and elephant

Favorite movie: Robin Hood, The Sound of Music

Favorite story: The Little Gingerbread Man (she asks for this every night)

Favorite song: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Daddy (don't ask), I Love to See the Temple, Little Purple Pansies

Favorite game: I Spy with my Little Eye

Favorite thing to wear: princess dress

Favorite princess: Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty

Favorite place to go: preschool

Favorite thing to do at home: play computer games

My Little Bugs

Aren't my little bugs so cute? We loved our first Halloween here in Ohio! We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It was a beautiful clear night and everyone sat out on their porches or driveways to hand out candy. It was such a fun atmosphere. So many people decorate their houses and I've never seen so many trick-or-treaters! We loved going around in our new neighborhood. One family was having a huge BBQ and giving everyone chili dogs, chips, and drinks. So fun.


Sitting out on our driveway where we handed out candy.

Leaf Picking

After we went to the Circleville Pumpkin Show on Saturday, we drove another 1/2 hour south to check out Hocking Hills State Park. We've heard so many great things about this place, but we were still a little skeptical of these so called "hills" with Ohio being so flat. But we were pleased to find that yes, indeed, Ohio has a great place to go when we feel like enjoying the great outdoors. We went on a small hike to a waterfall (more like a drip at this time of year) and Annie had fun throwing rocks in the pool at the bottom. On our way out of the park we stopped at a lake because the trees were so gorgeous in color! We told Annie we were going to go "leaf picking." She has always loved leaves (she picks them up and carries them into the van everywhere we go), and she loved it when we went apple picking . . . . so, needless to say, this is now her new favorite activity! Which is fine with me . . . . it's easy AND cheap.

Leah loved the leaves as well . . . . although she was much more interested in eating them! She thought it was fun when we covered her legs with leaves and she would kick and kick to make them all rustle.

Circleville Pumpkin Show

Yesterday we went to Circleville, a little town about 45 minutes south that hosts an annual pumpkin festival (it was their 101st). There were several blocks of vendors, carnival rides, entertainment, and everything you can think of to eat made of pumpkin. We tried pumpkin donuts, fried pumpkin seeds, pumpkin waffles, and pumpkin ice cream. They also boast the world's largest pumpkin pie (although it wasn't as big as I was expecting, but it was made with 44 pounds of sugar). As you can see from the picture below, it is a pretty popular event here.

Ann Arbor

This past weekend we decided to head up to Ann Arbor, Michigan! It was only a 3 hour drive. Not bad at all. We stayed with our friends, Brett and Kim Brown. Brett is in the orthodontic program at University of Michigan. It was so fun to visit and see them again! We wanted to see Michigan during the fall and were hoping the trees would be vibrant with color, but I think we were a little too early due to the warm fall we've been having so far. But Michigan was still beautiful and it was so fun to check it out.

Dexter Cider Mill

The first place the Brown's took us was Dexter Cider Mill. It is the oldest operating cider mill in Michigan. They still make apple cider the same way they did over 120 years ago . . . . and it sure was good!! They also have incredible doughnuts and it was so fun to eat warm doughnuts and drink hot cider outside in the fall weather. YUMM - O!

Jenny's Farm Stand

Then we headed over to Jenny's Farm Stand, a cute little place with a pumpkin patch, hay maze, farm animals, pony rides, etc. Annie would not get near any animals (as usual) but she and Kody sure loved throwing hay all over Dan!

Annie and Leah with Mollie and Kody Brown

Hell, Michigan

Then we went to Hell. That's right, you heard me. Hell, Michigan. I mean, who would want to live in Hell? Not me. It's a small little town and they really like to play up the name. When we drove in, there was a huge motorcycle gang just leaving. I guess bikers like to hang out there.

University of Michigan

Finally, we drove around downtown Ann Arbor and the campus a little bit and decided to get out and walk around the Law Building. It was such a cool old building.

After our fun day of seeing Ann Arbor we all went back to the Brown's house to make dinner and watch a movie. To hear a funny/sad story about what happened at their house that night, click on Brett and Kim Brown's blog and read the post titled, "The Addict." Anyway, it was a great little trip!