Carving My Pumpkin

I originally wanted to carve this:

  Yes, that's Edward Cullen :)  Jace said if that pumpkin ended up outside on our porch, he'd smash it :)  So, I decided I'd try this:

A scary toothfairy... very fitting I'd say :)  So, I got to work...

After gutting my pumpkin and taping the pattern on, I began punching the holes.  After all the holes were punched, I removed the pattern, ready to start cutting! Much to my disappointment, all that I could see were a bunch of tiny holes randomly marking up my pumpkin... I could not make out the pattern AT ALL.  After a little whining and an angry scream,  I ended up with this:

It's no scary toothfairy and definitely NOT Edward Cullen, but I'm pretty proud of my free hand work :) Next year, I'll try a much easier pattern.

The Pumpkin Patch

We went down to the good old pumpkin patch with my family on Monday night... I absolutely love picking out our pumpkins from the patch every year, Jace on the other hand, would rather pass on the whole thing :) But he was a good sport, as he always is with my family's traditions. The hard part now is trying to convince him that carving pumpkins is cool!! He was a deprived child I guess ;) In the end, I was a sucker for the little ones (plus they're cheaper) but we did get a decent sized one to display on our front porch.

Addi loves her Uncle Jace :)

A New Found Love :)

I've picked up the WONDERFUL hobby of cooking, and here's why...

With an oven that actually bakes, a huge pantry and yes, a DISHWASHER, my new found love is this kitchen!! I never really picked up cooking much when Jace and I were first married... The horrible kitchen and awful appliances we had in our old place, kept me from trying new things and getting creative. Since we've moved into our new updated home, I can't stay out of the kitchen! I surprised not only my husband, but MYSELF! It's crazy how much I enjoy cooking and baking, and not to brag, but I'm kinda good at it too... Much to my amazement! :) Now that we're well into October with Halloween around the corner, I decided to try something I've never done before... something to add to the fall festivites... Jace's favorite,

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies :)

Jace hasn't tried them yet, but I have, and I think they'll pass :)

The City That Never Sleeps

Jace and I celebrated our 1st anniversary this past weekend in Vegas! That's right, Vegas. Not my first choice in a "romantic" anniversary destination, but hey, it was practically free!! A few months ago, we sat through one of those ridiculously boring time share presentations, the ones where you pretend to be interested in whatever it is they are trying to sell you, when in all reality you will of course say "NO" to it... and leave having wasted their time, but WITH your FREE GIFTS! :) Yes we are those people. And the reward for the 2 hours of OUR wasted time was a FREE trip to Vegas! We couldn't pass it up and as dirty as that city is, it was REALLY nice to get away! We had a lot of fun! I can't believe it's already been a year!! I'm looking forward to many more fun filled years with my sweetheart :) Here are a few pictures!!

In front of the Mirage

Our anniversary dinner was at Hugo's Cellar in the Four Queens hotel... compliments of Grandpa Val and Robin :)

On top of the Stratosphere

Dinner at Planet Hollywood

On the strip

In front of the pirate ships at Treasure Island

And my FAVORITE part of the trip!! The Las Vegas Temple!! Before our drive back home, we stopped to do a session :) Talk about going from one extreme to the other!! Getting out of that nasty city and entering the house of the Lord, was one of the coolest feelings ever :)

It's Ours!!

After about a month and a week or so, Jace and I FINALLY closed on our townhome! :) The long drawn out process is over, thank goodness, and we are so excited to have a place to call OURS. We are still moving and getting settled so pictures will come later, once everything gets organized! We are amazed at how much it already feels like home :) We couldn't be happier!

New Family Pics

After three new babies and a new spouse ;) we FINALLY took new family photos! It was well over due, and not the best night when it came to the weather, but hey, at least it's updated!!

Because the weather wasn't very cooperative that night, (my hair had seen better days thanks to the ridiculous wind) Jace and I opted out on having the photographer take pictures of just the two of us. A few days later, we decided that it'd probably be a good idea to have some updated photos of us, seeing as we are coming up on our 1 year :) So, we called up our awesome friend David Gustin who enjoys photography as a hobby, and had him shoot a few of us... same location, same outfits, MUCH BETTER weather :) It was super fun! He took a ton of pictures and both Jace and I felt like we were taking engagements again! Thanks Dave for doing us this wonderful favor!! Here's just a few of what he took...

The Latest

Well, once again here I am with the excuse of being too busy for my blog... only this time, that's actually the truth! :) This past little while has been pretty nuts... We've been house hunting, house purchasing :) and wedding accomplishing! Jace and I put in an offer on a home which I'm happy to say was accepted! We are going through that whole "fun" process right now. Being first time home buyers, we were a little clueless going into this... but we have some really great people helping us through it so HOPEFULLY, if all goes as planned, we could close by the end of the month! It's a pretty exciting time for us :) On top of all that, Jace's little sister Tessa got married last week, I've posted some pictures of their joyous day! And what a wonderful day it was... the temple ceremony was beautiful and we really lucked out with the weather that night for the reception!! As fun and as wonderful as it was, I'm glad it's over :) No more stressed out Mother-in-law ;) Enjoy the pics!

Waiting for the newly weds :)

Tessa's face says a thousand words... I love it :)

At the reception

You can see the rest of the pictures on my facebook page!