Christmas in Half Moon Bay California

Christmas in a nutshell... at the Oakland Temple...
Shopping in San Fransisco the night before Christmas Eve...
Christmas Eve breakfast at the famous Alice's Restaurant... Daily walk's to the Beach!...Dinner with the Missionaries...Christmas day...

Off we go..

Just when you think all is good, we have a curve thrown at us... On our way home from work Monday Chris and I were one of the "lucky" ones to hit one of the many pot holes on the freeway :( I decided to take this "opportunity" to step outside to help/watch how to replace a flat tire while I had Chris at hand. After all, I have never experienced a popped tire before so I never new if it would be something I could do or not. Well, a half an hour later just as we wrap up we quickly discover that our car wont start... yep! Just our luck! Lucky for us, Josh came to our rescue, another car hits the same pot hole we did and pulls right in front of us. Only thing different was that our battery was punctured in the jolt hitting the pot hole. Josh let us sit in his warm truck while we arranged a tow truck driver to come and take our Honda to the repair shop. Fortunately for us, we were carpool buddies again with Ancestry being located in Orem and I still in Provo so with the generous help of the Whitchurch's, we had the Expedition for transportation :) While being faced with this unfortunate expense around the holidays, I can honestly say it still worked out for us to repair it and get a new tire before we left!

So, here we are now... at the airport you can see little Milo in his sweet new carry on bag! He did so fantastic on the plane!! We ended up with a 2-3 hour delay which landed us in San Fran around 1pm. We had to feed Milo some melon at the airport with his lack of energy but I couldn't have asked for a better dog to take with us on vacation!

Ready!?

Saturday Chris and I took Milo back to the vet to get his paperwork and sedatives for his first plane ride that he will be taking to San Fransisco Wednesday night! I am so grateful things worked out as they did which allowed Chris and I to bring Milo to California! It meant so much to me to have him with us first being just 4 months old and second him being our whole Christmas this year. It breaks my heart leaving him alone all day long day after day... it is so sad hearing him cry for us as we shut the door on him each morning. I am so looking forward to giving him this vacation to have us and another dog to play with (Bentley). The vet also was so kind to give Milo his first face trim so he can see again!!

As we checked off that errand Chris was also able to sneak in a guy's poker night! I got my visiting teaching done today before we visited Grandpa Mitchell while Tyrel, Jessi and the kids joined us their. During our visit, grandpa showed us his organ again lol and how the foot peddles worked while the piano book was noticeably on the same page. I think it is collecting dust but hey, it creates a good laugh on visits ;) Now it is just 3 days counting that we are off for the holidays!
Here is a picture of sweet Milo in his Harley Davidson Hoodie that we bought him to keep him warm about a month ago! The deal was that I couldn't give him a "cute" knitted sweater lol, he looks tough doesn't he? But still the cutest thing ever!

Christmas cards are out!

I have been mailing out our Christmas 2010 cards out in bundles but have not motivated myself to face the cold to pass out our Christmas cards and the printed Rudolph story out to our friendly neighbors... so finally I bundled Milo up in his little hoodie and we made our rounds to find that I picked the coldest night of the month thus far. Lets talk 9 degree weather with the wind chill. By the time we finished and I made it back into the house I found myself not being able to fight back the tears as my hands thaw out :( Sad I know but I am happy to say that we finally got all our Christmas cards out for the first time that Chris and I did our own. I kept waiting for a baby or something but a new pup will do ;) Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas this year!

**True Story of Rudolph**

A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night. His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bob’s wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer.

Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob.

Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.

Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined a make one - a storybook! Bob had created a character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling.

Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose.

Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn't end there.

The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print,_ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book.

In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story doesn't end there either.

Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.

GNO & a Jazz Game

Saturday night I had the chance to meet up with the neighborhood girls after missing out on them since last Spring. It was so nice to be able to mingle again, eat yummy treats and play a little Apples to Apples :) Some exciting news shared were a couple pregnancies that I had not known about. Looks like the Boogaards and the Dixons will both be adding a second child to their families this summer!

Tonight the fun continued for both Chris and I when we got a surprise call from our cousins Geoff and Emily Montague. Emily's parents have season tickets for row 25 in the lower bowl which was the closest Chris and I have sat at a Jazz game! Ashley Montague also joined us since her husband was studying for school. It was a real treat for us and we thoroughly enjoyed their company! Thanks for the great time Geoff and Em!

Daniel

Merry Christmas Daniel! You continue to be in our thoughts this Christmas season. The wreath turned out beautifully and Aaron was with us too. He was behind the camera...

Ancestry Xmas Party

Congratulations Chris as you completed your first week with Ancestry.com! We now celebrate by going to Ancestry's Christmas Party at the Zermatt Resort located in Midway :) It was so fun!! They offered great food in every room with plenty of variety. Some things Chris and I did was of course meet s few coworkers and watched some ACOM Commercial videos that teams put together. Spent an hour with the Hypnotist, browsed through the Comedy Sports room, the Live band playing, the Rock Band room and ended up at the Magician room for another hour. He was quit entertaining I might say and we got to bring home a new trick :) Chris of course new how it was done but the magician did a great job entertaining the crowd!

We ended the night moving to the Bernese Center where the casino was located and also for the company to make there announcements, give thanks and hand out prizes. It was very exciting for Chris and I to be apart of a company that does so well at taking care of their employees and appreciating not only the sacrifices the employees make but the families as well. It is so nice to feel apart of something so good! Both Chris and I have felt so incredibly blessed! We continue to discover the many "perks" Ancestry offers to us and the great insurance that we now have to be able to afford a family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

In my mind this last week was super productive and eventful! Tuesday Chris and I had our Tithing settlement interview which landed in the middle of a snow storm... HIT actually let me off work at 3pm to give everyone a chance to get home before the much anticipated snow storm hit Utah which we did get but nothing south of Lehi City. Wednesday was Chris' last day at EZ Watch and than Thursday we had James, Britt, Fran, Uncle Dan, Aunt Di and Chelsey with her 2 year old boy Channing over for the Thanksgiving feast. This year we got to just go down the street haha with Milo and our two dishes of sweet potatoes and the famous green bean casserole ;) Milo loved all of the attention of course while getting a little to much people food fed by Brittany and dropping on the floor. It was slow moving and relaxing throughout the day, after we all ate, mingled and played a few games, Diana's family went home and we all took naps before we went to Thanksgiving Points movie theater for the Harry Potter movie. Friday was a day of celebration for James' Birthday! It was a special day for us all and the chance we had to be together.

This morning I took Milo back to the vet for is last set of shots woohoo! They took him in the back without me and this time he didn't handle it so well... I felt so bad but I am grateful they are done for a while. Afterwords, Chris and I went up to SL to visit my Grandpa Mitchell for a few hours while giving him a package of pumpkin cookies. :) He showed us his new organ that he bought at the thrift store Aunt Cyndi works at. He was looking for some clippers and left with clippers and a $150 organ which Cyndi sold him at half off when she quickly discovered that Grandpa was determined to buy the organ. He said he can't read music but knows the foot petals as he went on to show us pushing down on them lol! I thought it was quit funny! I guess you can never be too old to learn an instrument, so why not! :)

Exciting news, Birthdays & Snow!

It has been a busy weekend for us and I couldn't let Milo be locked up in the laundry room more than he has to, so last night Chris stopped at the house on his way back from work to pick up Milo while he drove down with Josh for our cousin Selina Wilson's Wedding reception in Payson. I made it earlier coming from Provo so I had plenty of time to mingle and chat with relatives before Chris made it down with Josh for us to swap places keeping Milo outside. It was the first for many to see Chris and I apart which ended up being the big topic of conversation and the fact that Chris and I no longer worked together. Which leads me to some exciting news...! As you already know, last July when Chris quit his job at HIT without having a job lined up in hopes to land a job with the LDS Church. We were so very blessed to have landed a job with only 3 weeks without work with the economy as bad as it is. The company was at EZ Watch up in Salt Lake. Chris has loved working at EZ Watch do to people, getting paid on time which HIT could not provide and the ability that he had time to learn on the job! It was the complete opposite of HIT with pace and quality of work. The only down side was the currant pay. With both incomes, it was plenty and we were able to continue with life and pay for our mortgage but I have been baby hungry, so the view of not moving forward with expanding our family yet still weighed down on my shoulders. So here we are, on Monday the 15th, Chris was informed just 2 weeks after his first interview with Ancestry, that he was offered the job with more perks than we ever imagined coming our way! He starts Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Part 2 of great news was that EZ Watch Pro over the last 4 months saw what Chris has to offer and asked that he continued to work with them as a contractor :) Chris has been so thrilled for this opportunity to not only work for Ancestry but also keeping a good relationship with EZ Watch Pro because he really did enjoy working for them. We finished the evening off by going over to Grandma and Grandpa Wilson's home for a visit and to show them Milo, our new addition :)

Saturday, we had a beautiful sunny day! With that we decided to decorate for Christmas! Chris was out putting up our new lights while I finished up in side and put the clips on the strands of lights for him :) Fran later stopped by, so we all (including Milo) went to Lowe's and Target to find a Christmas Tree for there home here in Lehi. It was a real treat for Chris and I to spend this time with Fran decorating their tree and while doing so, it started to snow! It was Milo's first snow day and he loved running around in it! Last but certainly not least, it was also James' and my sister Abby's Birthday today so we sang to Abby who turned eleven and moved James' celebration till next week when they arrive for Thanksgiving! Here is my sweet Abby who got her ears pierced for her 11th Birthday! She is so beautiful and kind and I am so proud to be her sister!

Errands...

This past week Chris and I did a little shopping! We stopped at Tia Pan for fun and found some garland that we liked for Thanksgiving. I realized I have not started collecting Thanksgiving decorations yet so this was a good start for me. :)Today was Milo's checkup for his cold and he has been doing much better with little coughing left so we are to continue with the medicine for the next few days to a week or so. He also had his 3rd set of shots today which he handled better than I did. Not a peep of noise was made while a needle was injected into his back! It was than that I realized when holding Milo that I would have to be the bad guy holding our kids down when they get their shots... If I am lucky, I may develop some courage before than considering I will be getting a ton of them throughout pregnancy. On our way home we stopped at Lowe's, we walked out with insulation for our basement. We have been doing a little here and there as paychecks roll in but our basements progress kind of stopped when the yard and summer activities came.

Bridal Shower & 1st Bath!

Today was our cousin Ashley Montague's Bridal Shower :) Unfortunately with Fran being in California, she could not attend which was the first party Annie and I had to go to without her and Britt's support. We sure miss having James, Fran and Britt with us in Utah for this and many other reasons. None the less, Annie and I had a great time trying to represent the Whitchurch's and offer support that Fran has for her family.

It was also a nice little break with potty training Milo... Chris happened to have a couple activities come up such as rock climbing on Wed. and a movie on Friday with his friend Matt this past week so I have had a lot of one on one time with Milo :) Yesterday, Milo turned 10 weeks old and Chris gave him his first bath today! As time goes on I get more and more impressed with this little pup! We weren't sure what to expect but much to our surprise Milo stood still in the Kitchen sink while Chris scrubbed him down! Not only did he do amazing during bath time but he also lets me blow dry his hair with my blow dryer :) Can I say it enough when I say I LOVE our little Milo pup!

Milo

Milo is bringing so much joy into my life! Potty training has been exhausting and is showing little improvement. Over the weekend we have spent many many hours outside trying to get him to go potty but he gets so distracted by people, cars, leaves, the flag poll across the street, anything that moves or makes a sound lol! He is also so small (under 2 pounds), that it's hard to tell if he is squatting with his short legs! Chris took him for a walk around the neighborhood and said that he could hardly walk threw our neighbors grass lol. We just need to keep the grass mowed really short for him :) On Sunday (Halloween) Milo finally picked up on playing fetch with his toys and started chewing on his rawhide's :) It's really cute because he is so short that his toy basketball hits the ground as he runs back to us! At first the squeaky noise startled him so he would jump back and away from the toy but now I think he enjoys making the noise! Milo is a perfect addition to our family! He is so ideal when it comes to the dog I wanted. He is so quite! He doesn't bark or cry unless we leave him in a room by himself or if he can't follow us around. He is afraid of heights lol. He looks down the stairs, but from a foot away stretched out as long as his little body can stretch without getting too close to the edge!

With all the many hours spent outside potty training, Milo ended up with a cold causing him to cough and sneeze quit a bit so Chris was kind enough to take him back to the vet this morning where he was purchased to get checked out and prescribe some medicine before it turned into pneumonia. Hoping all goes well...

Happy Halloween

Halloween was quit eventful this year! Last night we took Milo to our ward trunk or treat activity. He stayed all nice and cozy inside my coat and slept most of the time but some of our friends and neighbors got to see him which was fun!
As you can see above, we went down the street to our in laws place for Aaron, Josh and Annie's Halloween party :) Chris got to wear his costume as the missing person on the milk carton! I thought is was fun! Everyone dressed up and they were great costumes too! After eating, socializing and playing games (werewolf in particular) Josh came over to have Chris take some pictures of him as the man on Red Dead Redemption.
A piece of Chris's photo shop skills ;)

Honda-Oil Change-Puppy

Call me crazy, not sure how I got from getting into a freak accident with a crazy Utah road rage driver to happily getting it fixed this last week with no questions asked by the other party thank you very much! To then needing to replace all 4 tires on the Honda to getting an oil change to wanting a puppy?! Well, this was how it started, I dropped our Honda off at Central Collision just across the street from where I work on Monday with a rental car provided which ended up being a boat of an impala lol but I am grateful considering the situation I was in. It was ready to be picked up right on time Friday looking as good as new! So happy about that since we were concerned with how it would turn out without them replacing the body part around the driver wheel and bumper. Chris and I then took our car to Discount Tires to replace all 4 tires... Ouch is right! It was a great location though because we were able to go to Smith's for some groceries, eat lunch and window shop with the temptation in buying a sewing machine due to there big sales going on... if it weren't for the expensive tires we just paid for, I think we could have done it. Well, it remains on our wish list for now and that's okay. Our car was ready by this time, so we took car of our last errand by going to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. Call it timing but when Chris and I entered their little waiting room, there were a couple people already there. One in particular had an adorable little Shorkie puppy that melted my heart. I had to share the wealth by letting Chris have a turn holding him before the owner's vehicle was ready to go. Apart of Chris did not want to return the puppy to his owner and then we found ourselves ooing and awing over that puppy. We then realized that we should have asked the owner where they purchased him but then jumped on our phones to a ksl.com Shorkie puppy for sale search lol! For the rest of the drive home and shall I say the rest of the weekend, I searched for Shorkie puppies, about them and I even called our friendly neighbors who had a Yorkie to find out about monthly expenses etc. I couldn't let it go... I found some for sale that were located in Orem, I talked to Chris and he let me stop by at the vet in which they were currently located after work to see if I liked any of them. At this time it was Wed., it was now 4 days and nights dreaming of having a puppy in our home. I am at the point where I am super baby hungry but with our current situation, I new that was not something I could have at this time so I resulted to needing a puppy to give me something to take care of and love! When I arrived at the vet, I hung up the phone call with Chris to see the puppies, at this point, there were 3 girls and 1 boy left for sale. They wouldn't let me touch them since they only had their first 2 sets of the 4 sets of shots needed before they would be good enough to fight germs etc. So the girl just held them while I looked at the puppies analyzing personality, looks, etc. while asking a few questions since I have never owned a dog in my life. I left and called Chris back, told him what I found out and told him that I wanted the boy puppy hands down. He was quite, mellow and the only one that had is dads cute little Yorkie face with his moms Shih tzu floppy ears and coloring. After weighing out pros and cons and the fact that we weren't totally financially ready to purchase a puppy right away, Chris told me what I didn't want to hear and that was that I couldn't get a puppy right now. I finished the drive home in tears. I came home, changed, made dinner trying to hide my tears but Chris saw how sad I felt. We played a game and finished the night trying to get my mind off of it. Chris was so sweet and kind about it too. The next day when I came home from work... to my biggest surprise... a little puppy followed Chris out as he walked out of his office to greet me! I was one happy wife! He was everything I needed to get me through the emotional difficult times that I was going through. I couldn't believe he did it! I talked to Chris throughout the day and on my way home from work as usual without a clue of what he did for me! So there you have it, Chris and I became the proud owners of a new puppy named Milo just before he turned 9 weeks old and just shy of 2 pounds! We finished the night by taking Milo over to the Guernsey's home for pizza and pumpkin painting. Little Avery loved playing with Milo riding her bike around the kitchen while Milo followed her around and around :)

Another Sleepover

After Tyrel and Jessi returned from Yellow Stone, they decided to fit one more sleepover in before heading back to Oregon today! It was the cutest thing, Harli came up to the door last night in her sweet bear costume and a little roar! I guess they were one of the lucky ones who saw a bear in Yellow Stone! It was fun seeing all the pictures they took! It really is a beautiful place! All in all it was a fun night being entertained by the kids and watching Chris show Ty a little bit of his magic... Getting baby hungry Lana? Maybe just a little little ;) But honestly, these kids are irresistible! I am grateful Tyrel and Jessi made the effort to spend this time with me! I don't get the chance to see them as much being the only one living in Utah and I love seeing my brother be a father to his kids! He is an amazing dad!!!

Put on your Poker face!

It was that time of month again where Chris was able to have a guys night on the town playing poker for hours on end for that chance to win a Best Buy card :) I don't think Chris cares as much for the prize as he does getting to eat "guy" food with a bit of small chat throughout the evening! Lucky for me,Was able to finish decorating for Halloween while I waited for my brother Tyrel, Jessi and the kiddos to arrive! It was a little later in the evening when they made it to our place so we pretty much chatted the entire time, played with the kids and looked at their recent family photos they took earlier that day! They are one CUTE family! I added some more pictures of some new Halloween items purchased at Tia Pan when I went with the girls during the Priesthood Conference before heading to Grandma Whichurch's place for dinner and ice cream! I can't say it was planned but I new Chris' love for Halloween and I new that I needed to add to the Halloween collection especially when you are given a coupon for 50% off ;)

The following morning Tyrel and Jessi got to witness all the children in our ward! Did I say that we have 2 maybe 3 primaries and 4 nursery's in our one ward!? Well, lets just say that Little Ty and Harli Clair fit right in :) We had all day to eat, play and chat before they had to return up to Ogden. They plan to take a family road trip this week to Yellow Stone which will be Tyrel's first time their!

Jazz Vs. Blazers

This was a very exciting game! Chris and I went with Tyrel, Jessi and the kids so neither of us really new who to cheer for and found ourselves cheering for both teams throughout the game! I spent my first 18 years going to the Blazers games but have cheered for the Utah Jazz for the last 7 years... Either way, as you can see it was a very close game the entire time but the Jazz won 100 - 96 at the end pf game! It was super enjoyable watching little Ty and Harli watch the game. I could tell that daddy was taking Ty to more football games when Ty was saying TOUCHDOWN with his hands held up high whenever a basket was made and the crowd cheered. It made me laugh :)

A dinning room table at last!

After a year in our home, we finally got a dinning room table! I have been on the hunt for a glass table finding very few at different locations if the store had any at all bit the one that we liked was not in stock and then when we would go back, the table would not be available so without planning on buying a table, Chris and I decided to look at the new Ashley Furniture store in Draper. There were a couple options but Chris loved this particular table and so did I! As grateful as I am to Ashley for having the table that we wanted, I would have to say that we probably will never buy from them again. But out of respect, I think I will have to keep those details to our self. I wouldn't want to put them out of business haha ;) Now it's time to have people over for dinner and purchase matching bar stools :)

Stan enters the MTC!

Curbing!

Our last yard project for the year! The decorative curbing really adds so much to the yard! It is so exciting to have it done! I can't wait till next Spring to plant flowers and assorted plants and/ or small trees in the yard!

Aunt Cyndi's Wedding

This was a very special weekend for me and the whole Mitchell family!

Labor Day / Wilson's 60th Wedding Anniversary