A Double Feature and A Cookie Party

Tuesday night we had a little family outing.  We went to see PRINCESS AND THE FROG!  First off-- Tianna is obsessed with princesses (as you can tell from practically every post involving her wearing her dress-ups) but to maket his movie even more relatable to her, the new princess' name is Tiana.  (In case you are unaware of her pronounciation because you've only read her name it is Tianna, with the A being like my name, Mary Anna... not with an aw sound.)  But in light of this new princess, she tells everyone her name is Ti-AW-na.  And that is okay.

 But we love LOVE LOOOOOOOVED the movie! The whole voodoo element was kind of scary because it wasn't the complete make-believe wizardry/spell stuff  that's in the older Disney classics (especially since Luke served his mission around a lot of people who practice it) but other than that, we loved the show.  Especially our princess Tianna! When it ended she threw her arms around my neck and said, "thanks Mom!"

Another movie we've been wanting to see is NEW MOON. I couldn't wait for Luke and I to finally get the audio book version from the library to see the movie, so I went with Joy in November.  We finally got our copy and finished listening to the book on Monday... so since we were already at the theater, we decided to risk it, and stay for the late show so Luke could see the movie. 

We fed Adelia her bottle and she fell asleep, Tianna fell asleep in Luke's arms about 5 minutes into the show, and we were able to see the movie we wanted without having to make a second trip AND without having to worry about babysitters. It was awesome!


Thursday was my Cookie Exchange/Christmas party I hosted for girls in my neighborhood and ward. We had a good turn out and lots of food and yummy cookies. I ate too many of them already!  This whole diet plan is just not working out this time of year.... i have no will power! Ah well, that's what we worry about after New Year's right?

Just a glimpse of what was to come!

I just love parties! It was really  nice having a girlie get-together. Thanks everyone who came! You helped to make my Christmas Merry and Bright!!!

LUVIN' me some winter!

Finals over.... TIME TO CELEBRATE! And that is what we did! We spent the weekend at the ol' cabin with some good old friends.  We had a wonderful time with them relaxing, EATING, playing in the snow, talking and laughing, playing games, EATING, and simply enjoying ourselves to the fullest. We were missing a few... hope you can make it next time! To the Merrells and the Langfords- THANKS FOR COMING! Hope our craziness doesn't scare you into never coming with us again! : )

The snow was great! Adelia had her first experience in it and I think she'll be a fan like her big sis! We did however, put the poor girl right to sleep! Speaking of Miss Adelia, she turned 6 months old on Sunday! WOOOOOOW! She's such a joy in our lives. She's starting to sit up by herself and it's so fun! Crawling can't be too far off either.

Sunday morning we awoke to no power (yes we were at a cabin but we're use to having power there --- lots of it!) so we empravized with the wet hair and sent Luke down to the parking lot to warm up the car and clean off the 10 inches or so of snow.  By the time he did that, refilled the wood pile, and got ready for church we loaded up in the snowcat (thank goodness for that!!!) and hauled ourselves off to church. By the time we finally reached it, we found locked doors... the power must have been off there too. So we hauled ourselves back to the cabin and had our own "church."  Then we watched it snow all afternoon... hoping that by the time we had to leave the roads would be plowed more.  Luckily they were and we all made it home safe and sound!

I love this time of year.... there are so many fun things to do (inside and out)  Luke isn't getting to work full-time during the break which means less money... but more time to spend together! Yesterday we took the girls to see the BIG GUY!  Tianna was surprisingly shy.  Adelia just smiled at him and wouldn't let go of his beard.  Tianna is making it easy for him to please her.  All she said she wanted are "crayons and paper".  I think Santa will be able to pull that one off!

  

Last night for FHE we made our own little gingerbread house.  What could be more fun than the holidays?! 

As promised, here are the pictures of our house and tree!! As usual, they look better in person than on camera.  We got our tree from Scofield this year and have again used the Peacock theme.  It's fun having a real tree again-- especially one so big it has to go on the landing!

 

To explain the basket.... for FHE 2 weeks ago we talked about baby Jesus and Him needing a soft bed. So when Tianna is a good girl she gets to put "straw" er rafia in a basket for him.  It works really well.... when we remember to do it! I like it better than saying "Because Santa's watching...." I still do it, but I'd much rather her want to please the Savior than just get presents from Santa.  

Well... gotta go clean the kitchen floor for my upcoming COOKIE EXCHANGE PARTY on Thursday! So excited!! 

Senior Design Project

I dedicate this post to my incredible husband.  He works so hard in school plus goes to his job so he can provide for us, finds time to squeeze in family togetherness and save me from feeling like a single parent.  He's such a good daddy and loves his girls.  They in turn, adore him!

 Starting in August 2008, he and his partner started working on their senior desing project.  They developed a Radio-Controlled Elevator.  Basically, when a person in a wheelchair is in an elevator it is hard to maneuver around to press the buttons.  They created a device that uses Bluetooth communication transmitted from a mobile device (cell phone for example) to control the elevator buttons. The device can attach over the existing elevator panel and can be controlled manually or by a touch of the screen on the phone.  It was really neat but boy oh boy, did it take a LOT of work! The project alone took nearly 500 hours between them.  Then on top of that they had to design a poster and write their final report which was 50 pages long.
For more details check out their website:  http://radio-controlled-elevator.blogspot.com/

Yesterday, the long awaited day arrived to show off their stuff for the engineering department as well as faculty members etc.  I loaded the girls up and trecked across the tundra aka USU campus so we could see his presentation.  I wasy very impressed with them... and I think the faculty members were as well.   

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It's been awhile since I last posted. I spent an extra week down in the Price area before Thanksgiving.  I had so much fun- thanks fam for all the good times! I even learned how to make my Mom's delicious stuffing, yams, and cheesecakes.  Now when I HAVE to make my own Thanksgiving dinner some day I'll know the tips and tricks. We were lucky enough to have 2 Thanksgiving dinners this year. It worked out that Luke's family had their dinner Friday and so we were able to get doubly stuffed! It was awesome!
We also got to spend some much needed time at the ol' cabin. I think the last time we were there was 4th of July--- WHICH IS CRAZY! Anyway... long story short-- we had a blast and we are sad the weekend had to end.  Good thing Christmas is right around the corner!

Last week we were busy Christmas-a-fying the house (YAY) and getting Luke done with school for the semester. (BOO)  His senior design project is due tomorrow so we've been squeezing in any second we could find (most of which was during the middle of the night, I might add) to get it all done. Their report alone is almost 50 pages-not to mention the actual project. I think his project deserves it's own blog post for sure! I'll get some pics taken tomorrow.

My mom came for a visit last week and she, Tianna, and I all got a haircut! Tianna's cut was the most dramatic, mine was just a trim.  She looks so cute and grown up and is sooooooo excited that "it looks like Rylie's" who is her 5 year old cousin.

Okay! So before you get to see pictures of the house all decorated, Luke's project stuff, the haircut, and anything else, we need to get Thanksgiving posted! Plus... I haven't taken any pictures of that stuff yet!

This picture is of all the Peacock grandchildren.  Tianna is 3, Aden is nearly 3, Adelia is 5 1/2 mons in the pic and Raleigh is a few days old. He's even peaking out at the camera!

 Luke's parents bought the girls some cute pajamas. Tianna has Princess Tiana (fitting) and Adelia is our little flower bug! Haven't taken a picture of Tianna yet... sorry.

 Thanksgiving day with our little girls in Scofield!

That night Luke participated in some pretty competive foosball games!

With blogspot's update I don't know how to upload videos.  Otherwise I'd post a video of THE BEST THANKSGIVING PAGEANT EVER! In fact, it may be the only Thanksgiving pageant! But it was awesome... the Frandsen clan girls put on a cute play of the first thanksgiving. Tianna was beaming to be on "stage."

Our Second Thanksgiving--- Friday at Luke's parent's house.

That day Adelia had her first solid food. Mmmmmmmmm RICE CEREAL! It basically went in and came right back out. We'll try again.... once these next few days are over.  Until then, milk- it does the body good!

Some pictures with the great grandparents: 

Sans Tianna

Before I get on to the update I think I will expound on not liking chocolate, because I had several people ask about that... I do like chocolate in some forms. I don't love it and I'm just really picky about it. ie. I like expensive or foreign chocoloate-(go figure) and not the waxy junk you usually find.  I REALLY hate dark chocolate, chocolate chips, and any other bitter kinds. But if it's really creamy (frosty) or has a bunch of other things with it, I do like it. Just a lot less than the average person.... especially Luke! He prefers as much chocolate as one can possibly put together. ie. Cold Stone-- choc dipped waffle bowl with choc sprinkles, choc fudge ice cream, brownies, fudge sauce, anything else he can find, and topped with chocolate sauce. To that, I say.... I would rather eat dirt. : ) Okay... maybe not quite that bad.

Okay 'nuff about chocolate.  I'll begin thanking my in-law's for meeting us in SLC last week to pick up Tianna and for "hosting" her all week long. They've been wanting  her come stay with them for awhile and I figured we were headed down that direction anyway, and then today, my sister-in-law was scheduled for her c-section, so we would be going back down there again this week.  It would be a good time--- especially since Tianna and I have been in need of a break from each other for awhile : ) if you know what I mean.

So THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! This week has been peaceful, quiet, productive, clean... and...... Now I'm SUPER ready to get my baby back! I  have missed her like crazy. A few days was really all I needed, but when it's that far of a trip you make it worth it, right?

I actually did get my little "Tianna fix"  mid-week though because Monica decided she didn't want to wait till today to bring her beautiful baby boy into the world and went into labor Wednesday! I was in the middle of a project so that got put on hold and as soon as Luke was available we rushed down to Orem to see the little bundle of Joy.

Raleigh Bert Bingham entered the world around 4 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 18th, at 7 lbs 4 oz, 19 inches long. He's sooooo cute and looks very much like his daddy.
Sorry no photo of Luke with his nephew... the hospitals new reg. is that no kids under 14 are even allowed in the hospital so we had to go in one at a time and.... i had the camera! W e'll fix that when we see him next week.

In other news of the busy week we've had.  The reason I went to SLC last Friday is because we had a get-together with some of my old friends in Kaysville.  It was great seeing everyone!

Now my heart goes out to the Bonnie, and the whole Blackburn family as they mourn the tradgic loss of their dad.  You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Monday night for FHE we hosted the Young Single Adult's from our ward.  We watched the Restoration video, Luke taught a quickie version of the first discussion, and we made these adorable little friends... they won't taste great, but they are sure cute!

Tuesday I began a much anticipated project (one reason for giving up my girl for the week)  The bathroom is in dire need of new flooring and we just bought some... but before we get new floors in we needed to paint. We liked the color, but it was dark... and needed "fixing" in a lot of areas anyway.
So I tackled that project.... and I learned a few things along the way.

1. Choosing a color is the hardest part of any painting project

2. Closely followed by not making a huge mess.

4. Along that note, don't carry the roller tray around when reaching up to paint along the ceiling. You might end up pouring it all down your body

5. Even if you immediate throw clothes in the washer after you do that, they will stain.

6. Adelia now hates the bathoom. We get near it and she starts to whine. Apparently she was sick of her bouncy seat or something!

7. According to Luke, I'm tape-crazy

8.   I always forget (or block out) how tiring and frusterating painting a room can be.

9. If you are going to do the job, do it as well as possible so you don't have to waste effort next time you paint

10. Even if you are painting just to sell your home... do a good job. Sure, you won't have to look at the sloppy messy job for years to come... but someone else will... and will be cursing you.

Before

During

After

Monica (the one who just had her baby) made Adelia this amaaaaaaaaaazing dress. She looked so cute in it Sunday.  It looks really short in the pictures, but she was just kicking her legs up and her tights were riding' low... so really, it fits her beautifully.I even found some shoes to match perfectly... THANKS MONICA! You are so talented and sweet. And Adelia will always cherish the little dress her aunt made for her.

Now I'm headed to Price today and won't be back till after Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful TURKEY Day! 

5 Things Tag

 My sister in law, Tori, tagged me... and since I'm feeding the baby and don't have my camera with me at the moment to upload pictures for the usual blog posts, I'll do it! These are fun anyway. Mostly I just like to think about  my answers.

Five Things Tag

Five Things I don't leave the House without

1. Purse or Diaper Bag.. sometimes both
   
2. Cell Phone
3. Adelia and Tianna (just not this week. Tia's with her grandparents!)
   
4. Binkie
5. A kiss.. if I happen to be leaving anyone behind
   

Five Cartoons I watched when I was Younger
This one is tricky because some of my siblings have already done this and I don't want to look like a copy cat, but I guess since we lived in the same house, that's kind of the way it goes.

1. Garfield and Friends
   
2. Gummy Bears
   
3. Darkween Duck
   
4. Looney Tunes (it's a sad day when your kids don't recognize Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck... )
   
5. FooFur--NO ONE seems to remember this blue dog.
   

Five Things That Terrify Me

1. My family falling away from the gospel
   
2. Someone getting really hurt or worse
   
3. Fires- THANKS to Master Guard's dinner presentation last week
   
4. Snakes and Spiders-- I literally have nightmares about these (at least they aren't aliens like my childhood's greatest fear)
   
5. Deep water. So as fun as a cruise sounds.. I might be a bit tense the whole time. Don't get me wrong though, I would not turn down a chance to go on one.
   

Five Things I hate/dislike that everyone else seems to like

1. Chocolate.
2. Caffeinated drinks
3. My feet being touched!
4. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie- as a couple it's even worse
   
5. Sea Food

Five Things I want to do before I Die

1. See all the Wonder's of the World
   
2. Stealin' this one from Tori- Go to the temple with all of my children
   
3. Serve a couple's mission
4. Be in an LDS film
5. Travel to Europe- especially Italy and Germany
   

Five People I tag

1. Monica
2. Shannon
3. Alicia
4. Blake
5. Melanie
   

Another Week Has Come and Gone...

I'm just getting to last weekends adventures and what do ya know? It's almost the weekend again! Life goes by so quickly!

Saturday we again headed down to Salt Lake. This time to celebrate our adorable newphew, Jacomo's, first birthday! It was another bitter-sweet occasion as it is so hard to have family get-together's and have Vittoria not playing right along side the cousins. It often feels like she is just off in another room playing where we can't see her.  We know she was there, but just not visible to our eyes.  We certainly felt her presence though.

Despite all, we had a fun day!  That little boy got spoiled, I'll tell you what! But it was well deserved spoilage! 

Jacomo was very uncertain about what to do with the candle.  He just pointed at it until Daddy helped him blow it out! 


As for what we're thankful for this week-- (we had FHE about gratitude and so I have Luke and Tianna's input for this one)
Tianna- "Mom, Dad, Adelia"
Luke- His girl's
Adelia- her feet!
Me-- since I already said my family last week, I'm grateful for my calling in Young Womens.  I have made so many friends and very special relationships through this calling.  I'm so grateful I get to spend time with the girls and the other leaders.  It's wonderful to prepare and teach the lessons and attend all of their great activities.  It really has been one of the very best things for me up here in Logan.
 Last night we had YW in Excellence and it was awesome! It was kind of like pulling teeth to get the girls to display stuff but it was so worth it. The spirit was very strong in the meeting. The food was awesome. We watched a really cute photo-video of our activities this year and it was neat to remember all of the cool things we've done this past year.
I love my calling and I am SO thankful the Lord answered my prayers when I prayed for a calling to help me feel needed, keep me busy, and bring me friendship when we first moved up here. I was so lonely and Luke was gone (is) so much that it's been a huge blessing to have a place where I can belong.

Here's a pic of my projects from this past year-- I've been trying to scrapbook,  put together 72 hour kits for my family, and read the Book of Mormon in 90 days (it was a goal most of the YW and leaders set-when the goal was met last week we got to go out to dinner at Firehouse Pizzeria!-YUM)

Last night I had "help" making bread.  Adelia dove face first into the flour! It was so funny. She got out of it and glared at daddy because she was looking at him when it happened.  Really, it was more my fault, but Dad got the dirty looks! hahah....

I also have some cute pictures of Tianna playing in the leaves.  Adelia got in on the action for about a minute or two, but once she started grabbing handfuls of them and stuffing them in her mouth, she was done.

 

Wow I have beautiful girls, don't I?