Marley & Me

Nate and I decided to go see a movie for FHE last night. We were trying to decide between Marley & Me, Bedtime Stories, or Benjamin Button. We ended up choosing M&M because we wanted to see Ben Button with Beau & Shannon. The whole movie was pretty true to the book. Very funny for the first 80%. Since it has been about 2 years since I have read it, I forgot how EXTREMELY sad the end is. I had not forgotten what happens, just the extreme of it. This is the ONLY movie I have ever LEFT crying. I can usually compose myself before I have to head out into the lit hallways of the theater. I was still BAWLING when we got to the car. Even Nate cried, which has only ever happened in Ladder 49, and that was like one tear. I could not stop comparing our lives to that of the Grogans. Most of you know we have 2 dogs that we got as puppies. We have raised these dogs like children. I could not get over the fact that it will be us in 10+ years going through the same heart-ache. I had finally mostly composed myself until I walked in the door and was greeted by my two pups. I lost it all over again. I was a MESS.

Anyhoo, the moral of the story is go see the movie, but expect to cry, ESPECIALLY if you have a dog.

What movie has made you cry the most?

Dog Park and 60 degree weather

Saturday was, get this, 60 degrees! How could we not take advantage and go outside? All we had to wear were sweatshirts! The dogs have been so cooped up lately because the back yard has been a huge mud pit with all the rain. We have just been taking them out front to do there business, hence them losing their daily run around time in the back yard. It has been driving us all crazy! So, today was the perfect day to let them just run. There is a park off Amity that lets dogs be unleashed, run and play. It also has a part of the lake that only dogs can use! It is great.
Here are a few pics of the puppies (and one of Nate and I) What is your favorite thing to do on days like these that we get few and far between here in Ohio?

Cookie Sheet Calendars

I made these 2 calendars, with a ton of Nate's help, for his parent's and sister for Christmas. Of course, I waited until the last minute, but it was fun to make another project with my trusty side-kick, Nate!
It is a calendar made on a cookie sheet. I laminated all the pieces and they are attached by magnets, hence the need for the cookie sheet. You can use it forever because you just move the numbers around according to the month it is. All the extra months and such are stuck on the back of the cookie sheet (forgot to take a picture of this). I even cut out holiday pictures to replace the date. For instance, I cut out a tree, a turkey, a pumpkin, and a few presents for birthdays. They turned out super cute. This would be a great super Saturday idea.
(the reason his mom's is missing numbers is because I ran out of magnets, oops) Do you have any ideas to share for future gifts to make?

Christmas Eve

I want to start off by saying I hope all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I did. I was spoiled to no end. I got almost everything I asked for, plus more. I am grateful for such a wonderful husband who knows what I want without me even telling him :)
Let me rewind to Christmas Eve though. It was our first Christmas Eve alone. We decided to stay home and start our own Christmas Eve traditions. We both worked for half a day and then I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home to get the supplies needed to make his parent's and sister's gift. I will post pictures of them next. They took WAY longer than I was planning on, and before you know it, it was time to start the Christmas Eve festivities. Nate had me open what turned out to be one of my favorite gifts...footie pajamas! Do you see the feet are monkey's? So cute and warm! Thanks, honey! I had Nate open up the slippers I got for him. It was a great night and a great way to start our own traditions.
What are your Christmas Eve traditions?

Ugly Sweater Bunco

December was my month to host Bunco. I decided it would be fun to have the 1st Annual Ugly Sweater Contest. I found my beauty at the Thrift Store a few min from my house. There were so many to choose from-ugly sweater over-load! I actually looked at the same one Melani is wearing! Anyhoo, I made a prize for the winner, everyone voted and chose me as the winner. Thanks guys, I thought my sweater was pretty cute ;) I ended up having a drawing for the prize since I got a Gift Card for having the most wins in Bunco. It was a fun night. Thanks to all the girls who wore their "lovely" sweaters. I hope we can make this a yearly tradition. On a side note, I had no idea that sweater made me look like such a heafer! Maybe that is why I won.

Duran Duran

So, my really good friend Katie invited me a few months ago to the Duran Duran concert. It was Monday night and loads of fun. We got there early, bought our T-Shirts and got to our seats. Confession time:concert was to start at 7:30. 7:30 on the dot and the band comes out. Katie and I are shocked that the seats are nearly empty and everyone is just sitting down. We could not stop commenting on how tame the crowd was for Duran Duran. Oh, wait, this was just the opening act, which, might I tell you looked a lot like Duran Duran. We felt like such idiots!
Well, by the time Duran Duran actually took the stage, the house was packed and everyone was on their feet the entire time. It was so fun. Thank you, Katie for the invite!

Zoo Lights

Nate and I went to the Zoo lights with Megan & Greg and Beau & Shannon last Saturday. I went 2 years ago, but let me tell you, this year was MUCH better. They have switched over to LED lights, which I typically don't like on houses, but LOVED at the zoo. It was very bright and festive. Beau and Shannon got there before us, so they went and ice skated while they waited for us. We got there in time to see Beau attempt a 180. Good try, buddy. We then headed up in through the zoo. We went through the reptile house and to see the Manatee's. And of course we took some pictures.
Brrr, it was cold! Here is one of the boys and girls on the Wart Hogs, of all things.

Cutting Down our Tree

Every year we have made it a tradition to go to a tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree. This year we went to the Cackler Tree Farm in Delaware County. Even though it was very cold and snowing, it seemed fitting. I have cut down many trees for Christmas, but never when it is snowing. It was almost magical. We brought the dogs this year, which was fun to have the whole "family" there. Here is the funny part...because it was snowing and people don't know how to drive, it took us over an hour to get there. It should have taken about 40 min. Because it was so cold and windy we made our plan before we even got out of the truck. I told Nate I wanted a Blue Spruce. So, we got out, got a map of where the blue spruces were, got our sled and saw and headed out. We found the "perfect" tree in a matter of 5 min. 2 more minutes for a picture of me and the dogs, another 2 min for Nate to cut it down, and waa laa, we were done.
So, 1.25 hours of driving for a 10 min event. It was a great afternoon though and we always love driving up in the country. If anyone is interested, we will be going there again next year. Anyone who would like to join is more then welcome.

uTaH!!!

Warning-this is long: So, Katie and I just got back from our whirlwind of a girl's weekend last night. We went to Utah to visit Jordan and to see "Twilight" at 12:20am at the Gateway theater in Salt Lake City. For anyone who wants to know, I thought the movie was FANTASTIC. The beginning is a bit hooky/slow, but oh, does it get better. I about died during the fight scene with James. It was so intense and I now can't wait to see the next one. They just announced this weekend that they will be filming New Moon beginning of 2009! (this is us at the movie, I don't know if you can see, but Katie has a very telling sign directly above her (it is a handicapped sign) So, back to Utah. We flew in Thursday night. Jordan picked us up and we went straight to CAFE RIO! It was just as good as I remembered it. (I went again Sat night) We dropped Caroline and Addy off at the in-laws and headed for the Marriott to get ready for the movie. Our room was on the 15th floor and we faced the Temple, which was gorgeous, as always. We also had a newly renovated room with a balcony and a sliding glass door nearly impossible to open. All 3 of us tried to open the thing and finally had to call the front desk to send someone up. This guy came in, and opened it with one arm. We are such wusses. It was hilarious at the time though. We then headed to the movie and did not get back to the hotel until about 3am. You would think after being up for almost 24 hours, we would have gone straight to bed, but no, we stayed up for another hour raving/gushing about the movie. You would have thought we were high on the heroine Edward talked about in the movie. It was a fun night, girls! The next day, we decided that we would head up to Park City for some good 'ol fashioned shopping. The weather was perfect! We hit Main Street, and while walking, ran into a lady walking a dog wearing the cutest jeans I had seen in a long time. We asked where she got them and she told us in a store in Redstone, down by the freeway. After we were done, we left Main St and headed for CJ Sports, the jean store. Took us a while to find it, but it was well worth it. Jordan bought one pair, and I got two. I couldn't pass them up, not at 20% off at least. Come to find out, these "special" jeans are sold at Buckle, of all places. But, we still paid less than if we got them at there. After Park City, we went to Chuck a Rama for dinner. I love their scones and honey butter! The rest of the night was spent relaxing in the hotel room and in the hot tub. Saturday I fianlly got to go see me bestest friend, Cindy Lue. I have not seen her for over 2 years and since that time, she has had 2 babies! David was just born last week. It was fun holding him and catching up with my Lue! That night was spent just like the night before. It was a great trip and many fond memories were made. Although, Katie, you never did take your bra down to the front desk. We will have to think of some other way for you to pay your debt ;)