New Years 2010

For New Year's Mike, Krystal, Dad H, RaeAnn, and I all decided to drive to Megan and Scott's house for New Year's Eve.

We arrived had a good dinner and played games on the Wii. We only made it until around 11pm and then called it a night, to tired.

The next day we had a relaxing day of just playing games, watching movies and eating way too much good food.

Mike and I headed home on the 1st (we were up until midnight this night).

Christopher and Mike

Krystal

Christmas 2009

This year for Christmas Mike and I decided to spend it with his side.

On Christmas Eve we went to Krystal's house for a potato bar dinner. We then played a Christmas version of the "Match Game." Krystal was the host and she gave the constants (Mom S and Auntie Marsha) part of a quote from a Christmas movie or item. Then everyone else came up with something and wrote it down. The contestant then said their response and had to try and match what we had written down. It took a little while to get going, but ended up being a lot of fun. To make it a little more interesting some of us answered as if we were another character and then made them guess who we were.

We then split into two groups where one decorated cookies and the other played the game "Settlers of Catan." Then we watched "Mikey's Christmas Carol" until Mom S, Auntie Marsha, Mike and I decided to go to the Christmas Eve service at church. It is always nice to go and hear and bells being rang in at midnight.

On Christmas Mike and I decided to stay home in the morning and just open presents. I also cooked crepes for breakfast.

At around 11pm we packed the car up and headed to Mike's Moms for presents, dinner and fun.

Christopher opening his gifts.

We played a new game Mom got called "Would you rather..." Here are some funny things we had to do:

Auntie holding her tongue for a round.




Mom holding a soon in her mouth for a round.

Scott "butt dancing" for 30 seconds.

Me (Michelle) humming and dancing for 30 seconds (no music).


Just a cute pic. Auntie with Christopher!




At around 7pm Krystal, Megan, Scott, Mike and I headed over to Dad H's to open presents with them.

Mike and I then headed home to rest before another busy day.

On Saturday Mike and I decided to go see the movie "Avatar" in 3-D. It was a great movie. The theater was sold out. This was the first time I have seen an actually movie in 3-D. I have been on the 3-D rides and seen some short films, but this was the first full length movie.The graphics and colors were great. If you haven't seen it I definitely recommend it.

After we got out of the movies I called my brother Kyle and him and his wife Stacy came over to the house for a while. It was nice to talk with them since we seem to have a hard time getting together.

Then we went to my parents house to exchange gifts with my parents and Tallene and Mac's family.

A busy, relaxing, fun weekend!

Thanksgiving 2009

This year we did Thanksgiving at our house, again, but this year is was with my side of the family (the Turnbows). My mom is getting new floors so it was just easier.

Mike and I did the Turkey, corn bread stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, and vegtables with homemade yummy ranch dip.Then everyone else brought the rest.

My mom and I made pies the night before together. I made 3 pumpkin, 2 chocolate cream, and 2 marionberry.

The day for the most part was relaxing and fun. We all ate too much.

When we were done eating Tallene, my mom, Kimberly and I all pilled in the car and went to Michael's Crafts for there sale. It was a lot busier then we expected.

We then returned home to eat pie (one of each kind) and play games.

Mike and I then went to bed way to late to get up and be at Walmart by 4:30am. I was able to get most of my shopping done on Saturday!

The Food!

And Family!

I got you Nathan.

Halloween 2009

Halloween this year turned out to be a little different. With Grandma Turnbow’s funereal on Friday I ended up not dressing up like usual for work.

On Friday, after the funereal, Tallene and I decided to take to her kids over to EITC for there community trunk or treat and carnival.

Then Mike and I headed over to draw prizes for the Haven House drawing that Mike was the representative for his work. (A non-profit event that he had been selling tickets for.)

We then met up with the rest of my family at my mom’s house to carve pumpkins. Check out our cool pumpkins.





On Saturday, Tallene and I took the kids trick-or-treating.

We stopped at my mom’s house to show of costumes and see Kimberly all dressed up.

Then it was back to my house for dinner and to watch Halloween movies.

It was great seeing and meeting everyone at the funereal. Everything was very nice.

4th of July Weekend

Our 4th of July weekend started a little early this year.

On July 2nd Mike and I both took the day. One of our good friends Fred Cook married his girlfriend Misty. It was a short and sweet wedding.

We drove to Trail Creek, up past Shelley in Wolverine Canyon. It was just them, the guy who married them, another friend, Mike's dad, Mike and me. A few words were said then the vows and a a few pictures. After signing the marriage certificate and giving our congratulations, we headed home to change.




Mike found a Ford Explorer on Craigs list in Driggs that he wanted to look at so we decided to take a drive. Here's a little background you may not know. In 2006 I was in car accident and totaled my Explorer, a lady ran a red light and hit the dirivers side. At the time Mike found another Explorer that had a problem and used pieces from mine to fix the other one. He has been having problems with it recently and it is three different colors. When we saw the one in Driggs it has a nice body but a problem with the engine. The engine in the wrecked car is still in good shape so Mike wants to try and change it out. Yes, he bought it. I can't complain because it was cheaper to buy this Explorer than for him to have the other one painted.

After buying the Explorer we had lunch in Driggs. We were orignally thought about going to Jackson, but decided it was getting to late and just headed for home. We stopped in Alpine and bought fireworks. We then drove past Palisades Dam and boy was it full. Mike asked if anyone wanted ice cream and I was the only that said yes. Mike and his dad missed out on good square huckleberry ice cream.

On July 3rd Mike and I decided to have our own 4th of July BBQ at our house. We had family coming in to town and invited everyone from both sides to come over. We cooked BBQ pork, baked beans, and fruit and chip dips. Then family members brought other sides. We ended up having about 24 adults and 12 kids there.

After dinner Mike and Mac decided to put the boat in the creek and give people a ride down it. The boat is put in the water at the end of our property. Then you float a couple of minutes to the other end. It is very short but, all the kids and adults that went had a great time.







Mac would walk behind or in front of the boat to guide it.





Mike said that they did this at least 20 times, probably more.


When it started to get dark we had our own fireworks show. The kids had the most fun trying to catch the parachutes. If we would have known there was going to be soo many kids I would have bought extra.



On the 4th of July we were up and over at my Grandma and Grandpa Turnbows house early. Every year they do a flag cermony and pancake breakfast. Yummy.

In the afternoon we wnet to Mike's mom house for lunch and to just hang out with his sisters and nephew Christopher.

For dinner we went to Tallene's for a BBQ. Then down to the river to watch the fireworks.

Great time with lots of family. Until next year!

Easter

I know this is late, but at least it is up.

Easter was a lot of fun. This year we had everyone to our house to give my mom a break. All of my side of the family ended up showing up. We had 18 people for dinner and then Grandma Norma showed up later for a total of 19. It was a busy house.

Picture of all 19 of us!

Everyone pitched in and brought something for dinner. We had both ham and turkey along with all the other goodies and sides to go with it. We then had the Easter egg hunt for the kids.

It was a great day and we enjoyed seeing everyone.

New Year's Eve

HAPPY 2009 !!!

This year for New Year's Eve we ended up staying home and having the party at our house. At first Mike, Krystal and I had decided that we were going to to do something, but had no specific plans. A friend from out of town, Nate Palmer, wanted to spend New Year's with us. Then I talked to my friend Rachel and she and her son were not doing anything so I invited them to come over. Her son Sascha and my brother Nathan are about the same age so I invited him to come over and my mom decided to come as well. Then my sister Tallene, Mac and their three kids decided to come over. Non the less, we ended up with a full house.

We decided to make home made pizza's for dinner and as usually everyone enjoyed them. For most of the night we played Wii Sports and had bowling, tennis, boxing, and baseball matches. Then the grown-ups went upstairs for some card games of Response and Rage. We ended the night ringing in the New Year watch the ball drop and dring sparkling apple cider. Everyone had a fun relaxing night.

Christmas Weekend Adventure

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas can be summed up in one word, Adventure.

That's right this Christmas is an Adventure just trying to get where we needed to go. About the Saturday before Christmas it started to snow in Idaho Falls and didn't stop until after Christmas. We had family coming from Utah, on both sides, who weren't sure if they were going to make it. Gratefully they all made it here and home back safely.

On Christmas Eve we spent the evening at Mike's moms house with Gary, Krystal, Auntie Marsha, and Grandma Pack. We ate a nice ham dinner, played games, opened presents and watched a movie Krystal had made until it was time for church. For the last few years Mom, Mike, me, and whoever else happens to come have been going to the midnight Christmas service at the Presbyterian church. This year Grandma went with us. We were giving her a hard time because this year she decided not to change into something nicer and just wore her jeans. She commented that it was probably the first time she had ever wore her jeans to a church service. The service was very nice and we commented that it helped with the Christmas spirit feeling. All the other worries seem to slip away when you sing Silent Night and the candles are lit and then the bells ring in Christmas.

This is where the Adventure comes in. On Christmas day we woke up exchanged gifts, got ready, and headed out for breakfast at Tallene's house. As we rounded the first S curve we noticed that there was a guy in a small pickup stuck near the second S curve and another guy trying to push him out. Mike stopped and went to help, they were able to push him out. Then the other guy got into his larger truck and tried to go. He was stuck as well. We backed up and tried to pull him out, but my Durango was just not heavy enough to pull him out. Mike decided that we would go back to the house and exchange vehicles to his dads truck that has the plow on it.

On our way back home another truck was coming and we stopped him and let him know that there was some stuck up ahead. By the time we switched vehicles, put on our snow gear, and headed back the other truck had helped the guy that was stuck. Mike decided to go ahead and try to clear a path so no other vehicles got stuck. As we started to plow the snow sucked the plow in, the truck went sideways and we were stuck too. Mike was able to rock us out and get unstuck. We then decided that the snow was too heavy here to plow and that we would try the other way out.

There were a couple of vehicles that pulled up behind us just as we were getting out that turned around as well. One truck was ahead of us and as we watched her try to go the other way, she got stuck as well. Now the guy that lives at the house on the straight next to the first curve, had been riding his snowmobile around and warning people that they might get stuck. He got in his truck with a plow, and backed up to try and pull the lady in the truck out. Mike went and helped and him and another guy were able to get her unstuck. The guy in the plow tuck decided he would try and clear a path. Just as he was getting to the end a teenager decided to go around all four vehicles, mostly large trucks, and try and get through in his little SUV. He got stuck as well. By this time I had called Tallene and let her know that were not going to make it and we decided to just go home and wait to get out later.

At around 1:30 we decided to try again to get out. We loaded up the truck with presents and food and set off again. We had watched a number of vehicles go by and not come back so, we decided to go back the same way again. As we rounded the S curve the guy with the truck and plow was pulling another SUV out. Mike helped him again and he told us that just as fast as he plowed it the snow would blow back in. We decided to try another road past our house that has more houses and fences. It worked! This road was drifted in, but not as bad and Mike was able to bust through the drifts with the plow. It is nice to know now how to get out when this happens in the future.

We arrived at my mom's house and ate dinner (ham again), opened gifts, visited and made gingerbread houses. Tallene, Mac, Mike and I decided it was going to be too cold to go out and play in the snow. So to keep everyone entertained we decided to make gingerbread houses. Everyone seemed to enjoy decorating their house and it kept the kids entertained.

We headed home, now knowing the best way to go, with no problems. It may have been an adventure getting to see everyone and to enjoy the day, but it will not be soon forgotten. It was nice being with all of the family. This year we had all six kids, their families and both sets of grandparents there.

The next day the roads were cleared by the county. Yea! Mike and I met Mac and Bobby for lunch. While Tallene took Taylor and Eliza to the movies. I then watched Bobby while Mike and Mac cleared out families drive-ways. Then everyone met at our house and we played on the snowmobile. Later that evening Auntie Marsha and Grandma came over and we watched the Jazz Game, they won Yeah!

On Saturday we went to my Grandma Turnbows house for the Turnbow family Christmas party. We ate and visited with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins that we have not seen for awhile. It was nice to see everyone and catch up.

A new year is right around the corner. Have fun with your Adventures, you never know what is going to happen.

Christmas Activities

Christmas time is definitely here.

The past two weeks we have been to Christmas parties, the Nutcracker Suite Ballet, the Museum of Idaho's Christmas Time display, shopping, decorating and baking.

Saturday December 6th started the Christmas activities. In the afternoon we went to a Party at my friend Tiffany's House and then in the evening saw the Nutcracker Suite Ballet. My two nieces Taylor and Eliza are now tacking ballet classes and every year the ballet studio performs with a professional ballet studio from Utah. The last time I remember seeing the Nutcracker was in grade school and it was only half of the performance. It was fun to go see the whole show and the girls did great.

On Sunday the 7th, I took down all the Thanksgiving decorations and started putting up the Christmas decorations. Take a look at some of the changes:

This year we decided to decorate our tree a little different, we decided to do more of a theme tree. Mike found LED Snowflake lights that were white and blue. After we put the lights on we decided that the tree did not need much else, so we just put on some blue and clear bulbs, frosted icicles, and few other decorations. Here is the best picture that I got with the lights on:

Last weekend was candy making. Mike and I decided together what treats to make. There is always the traditional treats of peanut butter balls and triple peanut butter bars, but the rest

changes. Here is two days worth of work:

Top: Brownie fingers and Chocolate toffee truffles

Bottom: Fudge, Peanut butter balls (107 balls), Scotcharoos, Triple Peanut butter bars

Last Friday we went to the Museum of Idaho. They are having a free Christmas exhibit, displayed are Santa Clause's, Gingerbread houses and Nativities. It was neat to see how talented some people are with decorating the gingerbread houses. My favorite nativity was from Africa. If you are in Idaho Falls it is a nice thing to go see. We went with Krystal and Tallene's family and the kids enjoyed it as well. The exhibit goes until January 7th.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday's and that you have a very Merry Christmas!