Christmas Vacation

Justin and I have both been loving having school and work off. Life has definately taken on a slower pace this last week and I am dreading the start of work and another semester for Justin. It is a good thing we have one more week to play. Christmas seemed like such a blur for us. It was here and then it was gone. We spent a lot of time with family and friends. Last Sunday we were able to watch my friends TJ and Michelle bless their baby. It was so much fun to see them again and to be able to spend time with the Watson Family. Christmas eve we partied with Justin's mom and had an excellent dinner. I had made a quilt for his mom (thanks gma and mom for the help) I was so happy that Diane loved it. It is always hard to give gifts they can't exchange for something they really might have wanted. I was rewarded with several great sweaters and tupperware that I am going to use ASAP. Christmas morning we woke up and exchanged our small presents to each other. We bought a digital SLR that was our big gift. Justin gave me some perfume and a new bunny cage for my rabbit. I gave him IPOD speakers, 3 gallons of ice cream from Leatherby's, a movie and a Barnes and Noble gift card. His Dad spoiled us with great tickets to WICKED this spring. I am excited, Justin is still a little leary that it is a musical. We had breakfast with my dad and were given costco money. This will be used in conjunction with our rebate this spring for something most likely a t.v.. My mom bought us a camera backpack that will hold our SLR, point and shoot and our video camera. She also gave us clothes and a deep fryer, scones here I come. We were really grateful for all of our gifts this year. We have also enjoyed spending more time together. I hope that all of you had a great Christmas as well.

Christmas Morning

My brother being a goof cooking breakfast

Diane's Quilt

Silly girls
Justin was finally willing to hold Carter

Justin and his dad on Christmas morning

The post Justin kept bugging me about

A little over a month ago we watched Justin's nephew, Logan over night. He was so much fun to watch. He came to my volleyball game and cheered me on. He watched Cars and made us laugh by quoting the whole movie before they said the lines. But most importantly he rode the tractor with Justin. I am not sure who was having more fun Justin or Logan. Logan kept talking about it after they were done but so did Justin. They were pretty cute on the tractor together. We had such a fun time watching Logan thanks John and Heather for letting us tend.

christmas activities and miracles

This Sunday we spent the afternoon honing our creative skills with sugar and candy. More like I made myself sick with the amounts of sugar and candy I consumed while making our annual gingerbread house. This year I was having a difficult time with the embellishments. Typically our future family is depicted in Gingerbread men with a winter scene. This year we displayed my need to have a large Christmas tree and a basic snowman melting in the sun. While we were decorating my brother text to let us know that he had a new baby boy. Carter Richard Thompson was born December 7, 2008. He weighed 8lbs and some change and was 22 3/4 inches long. He has the longest fingers and toes. My brother said his feet were out of the footprint box. The older boys were very excited to show me their "baby Carter". Justin says all newborns look the same so what is the big fuss. I think every baby is a tiny miracle and am glad to welcome Carter to the Thompson family.

Finding the perfect tree

This year was no exception to my insane need to find the perfect tree. I made Justin tromp around the Uintah Mountains for three hours looking for the perfect tall and well branched tree. This year we found a tree that upon first look does not meet my expectations. However, once you had some white lights and a few balls it makes all the difference. I have always loved sitting in a dark room staring at the lights on the tree and listening to music. This year is no different as I sit here typing in the glow of my tree. I love Christmas even with all the crazy shopping and busy holiday schedules. I hope that you are all enjoying the start of your holiday season as I am now.

Busted

So I finally paid for my habit of driving a little too fast whether I am late or not. This time I was actually late for a home visit and went through a school zone at 26 MPH. The cop immediately pulled me over and promptly handed me a ticket. You have to know that despite my need for speed I have only ever been caught once before and that was four years ago in Price Canyon. This time however it required a court appearance. In Orem it is mandatory court time if you speed in a school zone. I recieved the ticket in October and my court date finally arrived today. I was so nervous about it I didn't sleep at all last night and I had to use the bathroom several times before my nine o'clock appointment. Justin just laughed at me the whole time and then said maybe you have learned your lesson. The judge called my name and I went to the microphone where I promptly asked for traffic school and that was that. I made a huge deal out of today but maybe I have learned my lesson. I drive through a lot of school zones throughout the day and I have definately slowed down.

Two kids at the zoo

Even though I have lived in Utah most my life I realized that I have not experienced a lot of what there is to do in Utah. Justin and I also decided that we need to spend more time together on Saturday's and not doing chores all day. This Saturday we started off the trend with a trip to the Hogle Zoo. I have not been to the Zoo since I was in Kindergarten. We arrived at the zoo early and the animals were out and ready to be seen. My favorite was the tiger. He was very active both swimming in his pool and walking around the pen. When he left the pool he shook the water off and it landed all over Justin. The baby orangutan was also very cute doing several tumbling acts. If you have any suggestions of favorite Utah spots for us to visit let us know.

ooooh scary

We had the annual Halloween bonfire on Saturday. I was just not feeling the character bug so I pulled out my inner nerd, fast and simple. Justin had been growing out his beard so his options would be enhanced, however when it came down to it we had stuff to be a bearded lady. We had a great night with scary cat stories, musical entertainment and roasted marshmellows.

Birthday Weekend

This last weekend Justin celebrated the big 27. Since he had school off and I had work off I surprised him with a weekend away. His brother and sister were nice enough to let us use their cabin and we took full advantage. We spent Friday morning riding the horses and enjoying the gorgeous weather. We headed up to the cabin that afternoon and as Justin dutifully tended the fire so I could be warm I finished preparations for the party. I was afraid no one would come since we were asking them to drive to Solitude but they all showed up. We have such great friends. The cabin was crowded with fourteen adults and three babies. I had forgotten games so we ended up just talking the whole night. I know that may seem boring but we always have a blast when we get together. Saturday we went rock climbing with my sister and cousin. They did great and scaled the wall perfectly. I on the other hand started hypeventilating five inches off the ground. Justin was free climbing next to me telling me where to put my feet and hands. When it was too high for him he left me and I continued climbing to Taisa's cheers of encouragement. I decided that I have this deep fear of heights that comes out when standing on a lake powell cliff trying to decide if I want to jump and when strapped to a rope anywhere from five inches to 50 feet off the ground. After a quick nap we went to Park City to enjoy a nice dinner. It was the first time I have been to Park City's Main Street. I had a great night. Sunday was a relaxing day spent mostly fishing and reading our respective books. It seems weird but I like just reading with Justin even though we don't talk much. That night we went to his moms for dinner and enjoyed Justin's favorite augratin potatoes. It was a great weekend for us and great to spend time together. I am anxiously anticipating the next time I get to spend some extended time with Justin.

Small or Mini?

Seeing as I have no real exciting news to blog about I will share a common topic of discussion around our house. Justin is now obsessed with getting a puppy. He looks on the KSL dog classified section at least several times a day. Last time he went through this phase he wanted a German Sheperd. That need was filled when his dad purchased one instead. He is now looking at mini Austrailian Sheperds. I have told Justin that when we purchase our own home (in maybe twenty years) he can buy the dog of his choice. I would like a dog that could be inside with me. I would like something similiar to what his brother has, possibly a West Highland Terrier. What do you guys think?

When you know your education wasn't a total waste

The fact that I realized my education was not a total bust was a highlight of my day yesterday. However it came at the cost of my Grandma Thompson having a stroke. I was at the hospital when the Speech Therapist came to perform a bedside swallow eval. Not really wanting her to know beforehand that I was an SLP I quietly hid in the corner and watched and tested myself as she performed the task. I remembered the sequence of food and the tasks to do before and after food presentation as well as why she was doing them. Afterwords I was able to ask some informed questions that led her to guess I was an SLP. I know it has not been that long since I graduated and interned at an adult rehab but I was pretty proud of myself for remembering. I guess it just goes to show that hard work/studying really does pay off.

oozing love

It was a pretty typical week in the lives of Justin and Alyssa. The only out of the ordinary event was a vet trip on Wednesday. Justin's Mare Mariah's gut flips over causing her great pain that she could die from so we had to take her in. The vet gave her some drugs and calmed her down enough that the gut was able to flip back. She has had problems with this before and the Vet said she most likely will the rest of her life and at this point that could be a day or years. We are hoping she will make it at least three more months so she can keep feeding the foal and then from there we will have to decide what to do. We do not want to cause her more pain then she needs to be in. It will be a pretty hard decision,Justin has raised Mariah from the time she was a baby and absolutely loves this horse. I think if we did have a kid of our own it would be hard pressed to get half the love that Justin gives to Mariah. I even had bridals taken with her because then he would have his two "girls" in a picture together.

Besides that one event life has taken on it's ordinary grind. However, I have to say that the last couple of months have been really good for Justin and I. We seemed to have grown closer and appreciated the little things a lot more. I admire his hard work and dedication to school and work even if it seems like it is taking a lifetime to finish school. He has been a big help with my mom and brother as they have been doing home improvements. I love this side of him. He is always willing to give of his time to help others. I also love the kind of uncle he is. They all come running to him when he is around and want to play. I know he is going to be a good dad someday even if he says we will only have children of the four legged variety. Sorry for the oozing of love just now. I just wanted to put it in writing that I love my husband.

End of Summer

Last Saturday we attended our one and only Bee's Baseball game. Work had free tickets so I decided to take advanatage of it. The only problem was Justin and Eric had been working on Eric's garage all day long and didn't get done until just before the game started. We of course had to stop for dinner as well and after finding parking got to the game in the fourth inning. Eric and Justin were so tired they were falling asleep and the kids were not in the mood to be there either. We ended up leaving in the ninth and waiting for the fireworks by the car. We were only there for a short time but I had fun and hope to go too more games next year.



Working with so many little kids and their families I couldn't help but get in the school spirit. Justin's first day of school was last Wednesday. I woke up early to make him Mickey Mouse Pancakes and take the traditional first day picture. He survived his first three days of class and is excited about learning all about physics this semester.

We celebrated Eric, Jordan, Sam and Grandma's birthday's this weekend with the traditional cake and homemade ice cream. Jordan recieved Marble Works a game that as children we loved and played many times at grandma and grandpas. He along with his cousins were very excited. However they would have to wait for another day. I purchased this a little while ago to be the "cool" aunt for when I tend. I was able to pull it out Saturday when I watched Easton and just like when I was little he watched the marbles travel the same path over and over with the same excitment each time.

busy busy

I know that I have not blogged in a while. I have not really felt like it and I have been having fun doiing other things. Three weeks ago I finally talked Justin into taking the boat out even though gas is expensive. It was pretty cloudy and we ended up spending most of our time under a canopy eating food. We did manage to get some runs in and have a lot of fun overall. The next weekend we went camping at Deer Creek with Justin's dad and brothers family. We set up camp late thursday and spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday fishing in the morning and on the boat the rest of the day. I did fairly well on the wakeboard I am trying to cut harder so that I can get more air but it is scary if the water is not that good. I have also been working on trying to land a 180 from the jump. I should say not land it because I do that about 85% of the time it is not falling/letting go of the rope five seconds after I land it because I am scared of it hurting if I hold on. I was also pretty impressed that I was able to slolomn when I have not tried in about two years. We spent most of the days trying to get our nieces and nephews and my sister-in-law to do things on the boat. We were finally able to convince them that the tube is not so bad if you have a nice driver. We had been fishing in the cove just off our campsite without any success. The camp host told us to go by the rangers dock and we would have more luck. Saturday night we tried this and without much success. Heather caught a small fish but other than that we didn't have much luck. Typically when we go everyone else is catching fish and I never get a bite. We were packing up to go but I was determined to catch one. I was reeling in real slow and had a bite. I was so exicted that I finally caught one that I turned to look to make sure the family was seeing this and it fell off my line. They all laughed, number one rule make sure you have the fish off the hook or hang it over the dry ground. We had a lot of fun we both like camping we just need to find time to do it more often.

Lake Powell

Every year my family and extended family make the six hour trek to Lone Rock Beach at Lake powell. This year was no different from past years. We left way to late, drove for what seemed like forever but was really only six hours and listened to Phantom of the Opera.(one of grandmas and grandpas) We ended up at the beach around four rearing to jump in the water and shed the car smell we had all developed. The hitch this year was that the water is so high the sand is much softer and therefore not meant for cars without four wheel drive to be on. Even cars with four wheel drive were finding it difficult to navigate the loose sand. We spent most of the first day digging out vehicles and trying to set up camp. We finally called it a night and sat down to eat round eight. A typical day for our family is wake up when you can't stand to be in your tent anymore. Eat. Lather up. Boat trip. Lunch. Lather up some more. Nap/read. Boat trip. Swim to the boueys. Dinner. Wash your hair in the lake. Shed your swimsuit because you just can't stand it anymore. Tell your favorite Lake powell stories and finally join the contest to see who can see the most shooting stars, It may seem like we do a lot but the beauty of it is that we really don't I love being able to sit on the beach and relax as well as be out on the boat all day. I find having a good balance of layziness makes it better. This year we were on the beach a little more than usual due to some boat problems but we still had fun and I am glad that I went even if I left my husband to fend for himself at home.

Craw Fishing

Recently Justin discovered that we have several crawdads living in the ditch by our house. However, I did not venture out to see them until today. They were not very hard to catch,with the water being low Justin was able to reach down and pick them up. They like to stay at the end of the pipe. It reminded me of going to Huntington Lake in the Summer and craw fishing off the dock. I tried to fish again with some lunch meat but apparently they don't like ham.

Mud Football

This last week at young womens we had a rousing game of mud football with the young men. I wish that it would have been girls versus boys but for some reason they didn't think we could handle ourselves. We totally could have taken the young men but the bishop would have been another story. He was crazy and they think I have no mercy when I play sports. I honestly have to say that this has been one of our best activities even if it cost me one pair of garments, a good bra, and a very very long shower.

Freedom

Yesterday was a great day. One because there was no work and two because we were able to celebrate the freedoms that we enjoy in this country like being able to eat your third sno-cone that week. The day started out bright and early as we attempted to ride the horses before it became to hot. We ended up hitting the dusty trail a little later than we wanted but as some of you know the weather turned out to be party cloudy and breezy. Justin was riding a new horse and I was little worried about it bucking him off but the horse actually did really well. I was riding Black who was good other then he became very upset at me when I would not let him run when Justin spurred his horse. At one point I physically could not make him stop kicking and crow hopping so Justin had to come help me. It is at those moments that I question my ability/desire to be the horsewoman I know Justin wants me to be. After returning home we promptly fell asleep for the next two hours. Did I mention I love holiday's? That night we had a BBQ with Alex and Mariah and then went to watch the West Jordan Fireworks. We actually had a really good spot in a bank parking lot next to the sno-cone place. Of course we purchased one and sat down to watch the show. It is always great getting together with Alex and Mariah we have so much fun with little effort. Thanks for coming down guys.

How to tell the sex of your bunny

Step one: Think that your bunny is a girl because you were told that
Step two: Put your bunny in with another girl bunny
Step three: Look away
Step Four: Hear heavy breathing and a lot of noise
Step Five: Look and see your bunny humping the other bunny
Step Six: Scream and say get off
Step Seven: Deduce that your bunny must be a boy
Step Eight: Your father in law checks for sure
Step Nine: change the hutch arrangements
Step Ten: Never put in with a girl bunny again.

Trek Pictures

Napping in the field
Ari and Cara pulling at last.
Melissa and Ma
Kade, Ari and Melissa guarding the handcart.
Tyler, Trent and Jackson (We teamed up with the Lassig family the last day)
A mother could not be more proud of her family.