Trick or Treating

This year we didn't plan to do anything exciting, no dressing up or partying. We just planning to watch the Utes game and hang out with friends like we do every game night. The game was definitely an exciting one and kept us on the edge of our seats till the end. Yet, Utes pulled out another victory and are still undefeated! Go Utes!

Our night was filled with costumes and trick or treating after all. We got to play with Jamone all night and take him trick or treating. Earlier in the day Jamone was a pirate and went with Dani to get candy at South Davis Community Hospital. We were afraid he wouldn't get to go door to door, because it was an absolute down pour. It sorta cleared up and we decided to take him. Jamone started out as a pirate, but didn't like the eye patch and his outfit wasn't warm enough to go outside. So he went from being a pirate, to a power ranger, to a gangster, police man, and finally a Utes football player. The Foster's had cute little toddler football shoulder pads. He forgot his coat so we put him in one of Dani's sweatshirts and rolled up the sleeves and then put Jeff's jersey over the pads and sweatshirt. We ended up having to pin the sleeves and tie it up in the back cause obviously it looked like a dress on him. Since it was still raining we decided to take a car around to stay somewhat dry and warm. Jamone and I went door to door. He wasn't very good at saying trick or treat and sometimes he would just say Utah and point at his jersey. He was scared of pretty much everyone else in costumes and of any house that had decorations or pets. He was a good sport and loved getting candy. I think every house gave him extra candy for being so cute. It was funny that a lot of the houses thought he was my child, makes me feel old. It was a lot of fun to take a little kid trick or treating and we can't wait to take our own kids. This video is Jeff teasing Jamone when he wrapped him up like a burrito.

When we got back Jamone's brothers and their friends were scaring him with this creepy scarecrow mask. Jamone was terrified and went straight to Jeff and buried his head in his lap. He ended up falling asleep and spent the rest of the night on his lap. He hadn't even take off his sweatshirt or pads yet. When he woke up he stayed on his lap and watched Hocus Pocus with us. It was a great Halloween and better than any party we could have gone to.

You're a Jerk

I found this video on Jeff's phone from a couple of months ago. Jamone loves to dance and sing from songs he heres on the radio. I think one of his brother's showed him the music video to "You're a Jerk." He loves to jerk and here is him (before his hair got cut).

Pumpkins Through the Years

A tradition almost every household has at halloween time is pumpkin carving, except mine. I was such a busy child and an only child I never remember carving pumpkins. Jeff's family however always carved pumpkins as a group. When Jeff and I started dating we carved our first pumpkins together as a dance day activity in my back yard. Since then we have continued that tradition.

First Pumpkin Carving, 6 years ago



Senior year carving, 3 years ago

Jeff takes his pumpkin carving seriously and does an amazing job. He always picks the most difficult and scary pattern to do. I am a perfectionist so I try a medium pattern that is usually fun and crazy. Last year I did a buck-tooth monster and Jeff did a creepy scarecrow. This year I wanted to challenge myself and see if I could do a harder pattern, especially since I found the perfect shaped pumpkin.

Jeff's pumpkin was huge that he just couldn't pick just one pattern, he ended up doing 3! Mine was originally just the house, but I decided to add the ghosts to make it take up the pumpkin and have a little fun appeal.

Viva Las Vegas

Since Jeff and I were living in Cedar City we wanted to go camping in Snow Canyon. We attempted it once, while we were down there, but it was so unbelievably hot that our puppy couldn't even walk on the ground. When we found out Jeff has 3 day weekends every other weekend we thought it would be a great chance to go camping. Well as many of our plans do...it didn't happen/changed. We decided to go to VEGAS!!

We left Friday after work with my mom and stayed in Cedar City. It was so strange to be back to the town I called home for over a year. As much as I love Salt Lake this time of the year really makes me miss SUU and the area down there. Its absolutely beautiful with all the bright leaves everywhere. My mom was happy to be down south again, she hates living in Salt Lake.

We left Saturday morning for Vegas. We spent the day walking around the strip. We at dinner at the buffet at TI. I hadn't been there since it was called Treasure Island and Jeff had never been. The food was really good and an entertaining atmosphere. Before we went to dinner everyone we asked about said it had the best dessert out of any of the buffets, since Jeff isn't big on dessert it wasn't a big thing to us. However, Jeff couldn't resist these cute little donuts. It gave me the idea that when we have kids and have to bring treats to school that at least once I will bring little homemade donuts.

Throughout the trip we used the 1/2 booths for dinner and activities, it saved us a ton of money. We ended up at the Stratosphere and rode the rides. I rode the rides my sophomore year and didn't think much about them. This year I was a total chicken and was scared to death, I'm not exactly comfortable with heights. The rides were fun and it was nice to see Jeff was even a little nervous. Sunday we went to Lago's Buffet at Caesar's Palace, we've been there a couple times in the past. The food is amazing and well worth the money. If you go to Vegas we would both highly recommend it, especially if it is a holiday weekend. We were planning on going to the Secret Gardens to see the baby white tigers and the white lions, but missed the time the baby's were out for the public. Did you know there was such thing as a white lion? We didn't. We ended up walking the strip and going to the Titanic Artifact Expedition at the Luxor Hotel, another thing we both hadn't been to. Since I was in elementary school I have been very intrigued by the story and time period of the Titanic. The movie is one of my favorites. I didn't really know what to expect from the museum and was worried it wasn't going to be worth our time or money. Boy was I wrong. It was incredible! When you start they give you a boarding pass with a real passenger's name and story. Jeff and I got brothers, they were second class passengers. They were on the Titanic, because the ship they were supposed to be on was cancelled due to the coal crisis. They were 21 and 24 years old, at the end we found out they died on the Titanic. This whole experience really made you have a great appreciation and respect for passengers. You also felt the luxury and time period. They reconstructed parts of the Titanic, like the deck, grand staircase, and the hallway to the third class rooms. We got to take our picture on the staircase, but we weren't willing to pay $20. It was really cool to see the condition of the artifacts. There was even a champagne bottle that was till full. There were passenger's stories everywhere that were fun to read. I didn't want to leave the deck, it really made you feel like you were there. There is even a giant piece of the actual ship on display. Obviously, we thought highly of this exhibit.

It was a great get away and can't wait to go back again. We are actually planning to go back in December if Utah goes to the Las Vegas Bowl. We want to go see Lion King and Phantom of the Opera next trip!

Ready, Set, Hike!

Jeff is absolutely obsessed with football and the University of Utah...which is understandable since they are amazing. Though sometimes I wish he didn't love football so much, because it is impossible to get his attention when it is on tv. I do love going to our weekly utes football party at the Foster's house. Its always filled with people, food, fun, laughter, and of course football. Well sometimes our favorite toddler, Jamone, comes to play. During half time Jeff usually takes him out to do play football and this is a clip of Jamone completely tackling Jeff. It cracks me up and I hope you all enjoy it. I love these boys!

The Man Rules... or so he Thinks

A month or so ago a dear family friend sent me an email entitled "The Man Rules," and it sparked a funny and never ending joke/battle between Jeff and I. Whenever a situation comes up Jeff will refer back to these man rules. I will admit they do lay out perfectly how a man thinks, however, women still set the rules. Right?So here they are.... THE MAN RULES

1. Men are NOT mind readers
2. Learn to work the toilet seat. You are a big girl. If its up, put it down. You need it up, we need it down. You don't hear us complaining when you leave it down.
3. Sunday sports: its like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be. (Jeff's #1 rule.)
4. Crying is blackmail. (Woman know this... that's why we do it.)
5. Ask for what you want. Let us be perfectly clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
6. Yes and no are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
7. Come to us with a problem, only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
8. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.
9. If you think you're fat. You are. Don't ask us.
10. If something we said can be interpreted in two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry. We meant the other one.
11. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know how to do it best, than do it yourself!
12. Whenever possible, please say whatever you need to during commercials. (Another one of Jeff's favorites. )
13. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
14. All men see in only 16 colors, like windows default settings. Peach for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is a vegetable. We have no idea what mauve is.
15. If it itches it will be scratched. We do that. (I do not understand why guys are constantly itching and "readjusting" you don't see girls doing that with their bras, do you?)
16. If we ask if somethings wrong and you say "nothing." We will assume nothing is wrong. We know you are lying, but its not worth the hassle. (I know that all men agree with this rule.)
17. If you ask a question you do not want to know the answer to; expect an answer you do not want to hear.
18. When we have somewhere to go, absolutely anything you wear is fine...Really.
19. Don't ask us what we are thinking unless you are prepared to discuss topics such as: sports, hunting, boobs, or other manly topics.
20. You have enough clothes.
21. You have too many shoes.
22. I am in shape. Round IS a shape. (This one doesn't apply to Jeff, but its still funny.)

I hope you all enjoyed this post. It has kept us entertained and will probably always be remembered. I think Jeff has memorized and sworn to live by these. Men...

{Scurred...}

Last weekend we rang in the harvest season by spending the evening screaming, sweating, and scared to death. Jeff and I make sure every year we go to at least one haunted house. Anyone who knows me knows that I get scared very easy.... bugs, spiders, snakes, load sounds, creepy guys, you name it. In a haunted house the worst part for me is the rooms with the creepy clowns and Jason with his chainsaw. Unlike most people I have a reason why these actors freak me out. When I was four my mom took me with Chris and his daughter to Nightmare on 13th. I spent the entire time with my eyes closed and my face buried in Chris's shirt. I distinctly remember opening my eyes and a creepy clown inches from my face. Finally, at the end they had Jason at the end guarding the exit with his stupid chainsaw. I remember diving under the chainsaw and running through the parking lot. Ever since then I can't stand clowns or Jason.

We were going with a bunch of people and not one of them could decided which of the dozen haunted houses to go to. Finally, we decided on the Nightmare on 13th because we had coupons, it was close, and they claim to have the scariest and best haunted house in Utah and in the Nation. They have been featured on the Travel Channel a couple years in a row and none of us had been in years or ever. Here is a clip from the Travel Channel.

My thoughts on this particular haunted house are that things were in fact well done, but lacked in the actors. Every room is elaborately decorated and there are motion sensors everywhere that are ready to spray you with disgusting substances. However, majority of the rooms either had mechanical people or actors who didn't really interact with the people. Even the "chainsaw" part was lame. The guy stood in the corner and didn't go after anyone and it was just a small ordinary room, nothing special. The really cool part was before you went in the haunted house they took 3 different pictures of your entire group with 1 of 3 different "characters." We had the infamous Freddy Krueger. We had a blast that weekend and it was full of laughs and screams. Braedon even groped and air humped one of the actors while waiting in line. It isn't the best haunted house in town, but a fun time. Want to go to the best haunted house that is worth the money and the drive...The Haunted Forest in American Fork. Spend hours trekking through real woods and going underground where anything and everything jumps out of all directions providing the best scare. We are going this next weekend and we're all excited!

Our First Dinner Party

Jeff's entire family were going to Lake Powell and due to work Jeff wasn't able to go and had the house to himself. We decided to take the opportunity and host our first couple's dinner party. We invited my best friend Dani and her boyfriend Stephen, as well as, Chris and Shae from Jeff's work. Since we all love sushi we decided to make sushi and some Chinese food.

We don't ever do anything half fast, especially for Jeff when it comes to cooking. I'm more of a baker and fortunately Jeff is an amazing cook. Jeff has inherited his parents joy and passion for cooking. He got all the stuff needed for making sushi, which came in helpful. Jeff made teriyaki marinade for the chicken to sit on while we were at the Oriental supermarket. Jeff made miso soup from scratch, which was absolutely fantastic! I was over the tempura vegetables and the actual sushi.

Unfortunately, Chris and Shae were not able to come. Danielle and Stephen kept us extremely entertained during the cooking process and the cleaning process. I have to say I am so lucky to have a man who loves to cook and cook everything from scratch. I love to cook, but I love that he is willing and loves to do it too. Anyways, It was a great night and I can't wait to host our next couples party...hopefully with more notice and people.

Playin' in PC

This past week my family spent the week at the Marriott Mountainside! It was a much needed escape from school, work, and life in general. The first night we were up there Jeff invited one of his co-workers Chris and his wife Shae to dinner with us and later we went hot tubing. It was fun to meet new people and have a night out with another couple. They were a lot of fun and we hope to do something again with them soon.

Most of the time up there we spent hanging out on Main Street, trying different restaurants, and hanging out by the pool. On Friday though we spent the day with my family. We spent 3 hours playing water volleyball. We ended up getting sunburned and VERY waterlogged, but it was worth it. Jeff had never been on any of the attractions that the resort has to offer. We chose to do the Alpine Slide and Alpine Coaster, because everything was pretty expensive and these seemed like the most fun. Let me just say this...Jeff is CRAZY and suicidal on rides. I went before Jeff on the coaster and they put a good distance between riders, but that didn't stop Jeff. He didn't think the speed that he got with pushing his arms forward was fast enough so he used his foot to push the lever even farther. He caught up to me extremely quickly and yelled for me to go faster. I was going as fast as I could without feeling like I was going to die. Needless to say he will be going ahead of me for future rides. It was a great weekend and absolutely beautiful with all the leaves changing for fall, so if you get the chance take a drive up to Park City in the next week.