this made me happy... happy weekend!

recumbent

project time

since rich's school isn't too crazy the first week back he had some time this weekend to work on a little project. he's wanted to pursue this one for awhile now and when the thrift store down the street had tons of bikes come in during the holidays, he knew it was time. :) so these are the pictures of his 3rd homemade bike- the recumbent! it rides great and gets plenty of stares (just like the ellipti-bike). videos to come. :)

camp fire time

wednesday night in the backyard. :)

hello 2011

it snowed in Vegas today!! big, fluffy, beautiful white flakes!

pic from here

also, i found the perfect modern chairs for our kitchen for $5 at the thrift store down the street. i'll show you after i get them painted and fixed up.

then rich and i went to the art store to get my favorite moleskin planner. we watched this for family night, had trader joes pudding and flew his new remote control helicopter. now i'm planning meals for the week, writing down new year's goals, and listening to rich memorize head and neck anatomy.

i loved everything about today. happy new year!

staycation

such a fun night out on the town! it really does feel like we're in a different city when we head downtown.

checking out the new City Center- i love the modern architecture

Rich trying out a marble bench (next project??)...

the largest chocolate fountain in the world... too bad it's behind glass!
all of us trying to look chic at The Cosmopolitan
pretty waterfall
(this is the first line of a haiku)

my favorite
i like

the giant chandelier at The Cosmopolitan (Angie and I like to hug our husbands..hehe)

after walking all over the strip, the walk to our room looked really long!

amazing view from our room!

thank you Shelley and Russ for such a fun Christmas gift!!

lately...

we've been having way too much fun playing with our adorable nieces and nephews!!

december

So, I want to tell you about my December. It's been different than most December's. Usually I'm doing something festive every other night (ugly sweater parties, driving around looking at lights, cookie eating, playing in the snow, etc). Probably doing more of those festive things than thinking about the true meaning of Christmas. Instead of having Christmas cheer every moment this month I found myself home sick for two weeks with a horrible cold, had my feelings hurt at my office and missed my husband since he's been studying day and night for finals. Because of this I've truly experienced what Christmas is all about- our Savior! Being sick I was overwhelmed by the selfless and meaningful acts of service from my sister Jess and Rich. Through my work situation I was able to feel the Atonement work (after Temple attendance and a lot of prayer) to take away feelings of anger and hurt and have them replaced with love. Well, and with Rich studying all the time I just felt so grateful to be blessed with such a hard working and amazing husband.

Of course I don't want to complain or have a pity party for myself. I know my tiny issues are nothing compared to what others are going through, but in their own small way they have taught me more about the Savior. I'm so grateful for His birth, life and atonement for each of us. He knows our joy and pain, no matter how big or small. He will take away our hurt as we go through hard times and make mistakes. I learn this more and more each day.

So with all that, don't you worry, there's still been plenty of Christmas cheer around here... decorating our tree and making random ornaments from things around our house, decorating the mantel, watching the Christmas devotional, reading Christmas stories, wrapping presents, and drinking hot chocolate with giant marshmallows (thank you Cardenas- our favorite Mexican grocery store).I'm looking forward to Rich taking his last final tomorrow, lots of holiday activities next week with the Cannons and then a week in Idaho with my fam!
I hope we can all remember our Savior and see His hand in our lives during this wonderful time of year!

tree time

meet "the most perfect Christmas tree!"- sister jess (p.s. Jess has a new blog here- yessss!)

this is how happy i am...

that my little sis and her husband are staying with us this week! :)