Michael's Homecoming

Michael's homecoming went great! However, I didn't get much sleep the night before because I stayed up making food and then up early to finish the food. We had sort of a Cafe Rio-style with sweet pork and shredded beef for tacos and some rice and beans that are Bridget's specialty and so so yummy! There was a lot of food!! Lots of food=Dave and I eating yummy food for every meal for a week & me not having to cook on the busiest week of my life! That worked out well.

Here are some pictures from the after party...we forgot to take pictures until close to the end so these are the stragglers :) that we love, of course!

Christmas Party

All of Dave's friends are fleeing the state next year for med school or master's programs (well all but Kyle and Kenze, YAY for them!) so we decided to have a Christmas party. It turned out great! Dave mentioned after how great of relationships his friends have because they can just get together after a long time and just laugh and have just as much fun as they use to in high school. Laugh we did. It was a blast!

We played pin the carrot-nose on the snowman, which I got dq-ed from for feeling around too much. We also played Christmas songs with chimes. I think we mastered one song, no coincidence that it happened to be the shortest.

The boys

Some cheer thing they do...none of us knew really what in the heck they were doing.

He's Home!

Friday morning came fast. His plane came even faster. As I was getting ready I received a call from my mom, panicking, because Michael's plane was early! Since when are planes early these days??? Luckily we were planning on leaving early anyway but we cut it close. His flight was suppose to land at 11:25 but ended up landing about 11:05...well we left our Riverdale home at 10:40. I was trying to not freak out. I think I did a pretty good job but Dave probably would tell you otherwise. I have to tell you though, Dave did a great job getting us to the airport quickly. He dropped me off right where the road splits for the parking and the terminals. It didn't look as far as it felt to run in my uncomfortable shoes. Dave got to us just a minute after me so it was a bit pointless for me to run and look like a maniac across the airport. Oh well!

We weren't waiting more than 3 minutes before he came walking out, filming us while we were cheering and as he said, my mom screaming and going after him like a defensive linesman. Both my parents had tears in there eyes...it was cute.
I wouldn't let go of him

Elder Jones is who he left with and came home with.

This is an inside joke in the family.

Sweet soccer jerseys! We also got yummy chocolates!

We had such a great weekend with Michael. From his release to seeing 2012 as well as helping him get back into the swing of things with phones and catching him up with many other things. Michael and I have always been best friends so I am super excited for him to be home! Wahoo!

Kaitlin's 9th Birthday

While Dave was trying to recover this last weekend, I kept really busy. I worked a ton and had an obligation to Kaitlin, my little sister. I was in charge of her birthday cake for her 9th birthday. She has begged me for months to make the Dr. Suess cake that I had made for my mom's birthday. She would ask me when I was going to start it everytime I would talk to on the phone leading up to it. Luckily, Dave's family lives real close and his parents were able to help take care of him. They probably did a better job than I would have done with Sunny, his mom, being a nurse and me being clueless. I am grateful for them.

The Cake

I also made her a blanket. If you get a present from me, it's more than likely going to be homemade. I love to make things, I'm not that great at it but I think it means a whole lot more.

K, so I don't ever remember having as much personality as this little one has. She is the funniest thing! I couldn't stop laughing at her and her friends.

I can't even tell you how much I love this little one without a tear coming to my eye. Yes, I have tears coming to my eyes as I'm writing this, I am such a boob lately. She is a light in my life. I can't believe she is 9! Michael is going to be in shock when he sees her next Friday!

They went ice skating and were so adorably-cute with each other. One of the girls wasn't so good but they all stuck by her and would hold her hand. They would all hold hands and make this big chain. I caught a fall, and when one falls they all fall.

Recovering Dave

So Dave had a Septoplasty (is the correct term, but in other words septum) procedure done on Thursday. The doctor said his cartilage was shaped like an accordian. We don't know how it happened. Dave doesn't remember any major hit but it probably happened when he played football in high school.

He's been nauseated since the minute he woke up from the anesthia. From when I got to be with him in the Phase 2 recovery room we had to wait 2 more hours to even be considered to be let go due to Dave's nausea roller coaster. Poor guy has probably the weakest stomach I know. Every time we fly he has to take Dramamine to put him out so he won't be miserable the whole flight. And to think he wanted to be a pilot. After being at the hospital over 6 1/2 hours, for a procedure that took less than an hour, the nurse finally let me go get the car to go home. While I was getting the car Dave finally let go of some of what was bothering his stomach. Blood. I guess blood has a tendency to drain back into your stomach from nose surgeries and your stomach doesn't like blood. We think that is still the main cause of his nausea.

His nose is healing up fine and he can already feel a complete difference in breathing. Even with gunk still up there, he noticed a difference right off. I hope it helps in the long run. He was so miserable with the constant stuffy feeling and always having to clear his throat.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Being a Fall baby, I am bound to have pumpkin as one of my taste buds. Well, it's true, I am living proof:) I love pumpkin right down to it's seeds! This year I have been baking up all sorts of different pumpkin recipes. I decided I wanted to try making my own pumpkin puree. It turned out to be really easy and ended up with about 16 cups with a $2 pumpkin rather than 3 1/2 cups for $2-3 a can. It took awhile but you can freeze it and pull it out whenever you want to use it!

Cut up and clean out.

Add 1 cup of water to the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes
Should be a burnt orange color

Scoop meat away from skin

Puree using a processor or blender

Straining the extra juice to thicken the puree

Ta dah!

Plenty more pumpkin treats to come!

The Annual Price Spookyard

The census says: This year's Spookyard was a success! Although planning became a last minute thing and we had less outside volunteers, it turned out to be a favorite for us and the spectators. We had many screamers from beginning to end where Dave would have them running out. We all had a lot of fun this go around. The weather was great too! No rain this year.

Setting up the day of

Dave had a little too much fun playing Jason. He had no mercy.

We all played our parts well.

Me Frugal?

Ok, ok I guess it's true! I have to admit it. I thought I married a frugal man, when in reality, I am the truly frugal one. This proves my statement....

These are my serving shoes...

Yes, I know they are moccasins and not fit for working in a restaurant.

This is the bottom of them.

I come home every night with soaked socks...so I decided one day last week to try out some of my other shoes for work. I ended up slipping in the kitchen while carrying plates. Fortunately, I only break 1 of 10 plates I was carrying but the humiliation and pain I felt kind of counteracted the happiness for the whole plates.

I even tried to go buy some no-slip shoes but couldn't do it when I saw the price tag. It is just so hard to spend on things for work especially because we just switched from white to black shirts so I had to go buy a new shirt. I think I can run these down a bit more:)

Cake Walk & Fun

Bridget and Ryan hosted a cake walk at there place Saturday. It was my first one ever. I guess I was deprived as a child... It turned out to be a lot of fun. Our cake was a hot commodity. I wish I would've taken a picture of it. We called it the "Sin Cake." I love Halloween and Fall.

This is the cake I won! That spider on top is a big gummy spider.

We came across these hats and coat that Elder Michael Price had sent home from Canada. We decided to have a little fun and take some pictures with them on to send to Elder Price to give him a hard time. We even began singing "Oh Canada." It reminded me of the King of Queens where Doug finds out he's Canadian. :)

Looking to the Future

All year I have been dreading yesterday to come. I have a new attitude today. I hope that this year will be a little bit better than this last. There are so many things to look back on and take in but there are things I would rather not dwell on and hope for betterness (if that's a word) in the year(s) to come. One of my favorite memories about this year was buying our first house. It took us 4 or 5 months to find it and then it took another 3 1/2 to finally have it as our own.

The things I wish not to dwell on and hope for better came towards the latter half of my 23rd year of life. In the back of my head I knew that all hell (excuse my language) was going to break loose as soon as we nailed in on health insurance. Unfortunately I was a little too right. As soon as we got the insurance we made all our important appointments like dentists and my yearly check up and even one for Dave that had to be postponed due to what happened to yours truly. I don't remember what all came first and the order, like I said I don't want to remember it all, but after our check up with the dentist Dave came away with 3 cavities and I came away with 6 cavities and 1 root canal needing attention to. I don't recall having that many in my life!!!

At my yearly check up my doctor discovered a lump in my right breast. It was the hardest thing to keep my cool in that office and not break out in tears. My mom had breast cancer when I was in high school so my thoughts were all jumbled and I was scared. I kept wondering how this could happen to someone at 22? I tried to keep my cool and listen to the doc telling me its probably nothing serious but I needed to get it it checked out since I am at risk. In the end we had it removed, which was my first surgery and I am a baby, but it turned out to go more smoothly then I ever thought possible. It turned out to be a benign growth, which is pretty much just non-cancerous built up tissue.

Just a month or so ago I was telling my doctor that my hair was falling out a lot more than I thought was normal. Me thinking it was just my birth control doing it, I called her up to tell her that I wanted something else. Her first question was, "Has your family had history of thyroid problems?" and I thought oh great! My mom had thyroid problems and now takes a pill that she needs to take the rest of her life. She had me come in for a blood test. The results came back with my t4 being on the pretty low of normal side. So I could either get on that pill and have to take it for the rest of my life or I could try supplements that might help. So far I haven't seen a big difference but I am hoping that will change. We will see.

The last thing I want to do is compare my problems to anyone elses. I am not a person to share my burdens with others because I have seen others suffer far more than any of my little troubles so I don't believe mine are worth others worries, but I was put in my place, gratefully, and given some advice to let my family and friends be my support. I am grateful for the health care that I was able to receive this year and for all the support of family and friends around me, especially my husband who would set anything aside just to be by my side.

23 Things for my 23rd

1. Slept in past 8!
2. breakfast in bed
3. Fire-Alarm went off due to smoke from breakfast, he he
4. a good bike ride in the morning
5. ate lunch with friends
6. more appreciation and love for my friends (and family)
7. charged for cake plates
8. moral learned- never go to Tucci's for a birthday
9. first flat tire, ever
10. 4 girls standing on the side of I-15, in heels, working on a flat tire
11. first time using my hazards and driving 50 on the freeway
12. my own biking gloves
13. FINALLY! A chair for my craft room
14. Crest Whitestrips!
15. water bottle left a trail from car to theater leaking out of my purse
16. Drenched all treats and contents inside my purse
17. saw Couples Retreat, it was a good one
18. ate at one of our new favorites: Sonora Grill
19. tasted the best salmon ever, I'm not a salmon fan
20. ate my delicious meal with the best homemade tortillas ever
21. Mariachi band sang Cumpleanos to me
22. ate an amazing ice cream sundae
23. a message by the fire