Christmas Happenings

We had an awesome Christmas week. On Christmas Eve we went to our friend's, the Goates, for dinner. There was great food. The kids played and the adults visited. It was so fun.

While we were gone, the Elves had dropped off our new Christmas Eve pajamas.

Christmas morning was very fun! Hayden was so excited to open presents. She loved unwrapping them. Then she wanted them completely unpackaged right then so she could play with it. She would play with that toy until it was her turn again. It was so fun watching her excitement! Later in the day we went to my Bro's house and had dinner and played Mexican Train.

The day after Christmas we went to the Kohl's Children's Museum with our friends, the McMillans. They have a daughter Hayden's age and they both had so much fun. After about 1 1/2 hours we were all exhausted and starving, but it was such a fun day.

Ryan had the whole week off so we really enjoyed being together. It was such an awesome Christmas and I realized again how blessed our little family is.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoy the beginning of 2009!

Happy Anniversary!

Ryan had to go to China again. He left on the 6th and just got home last night. So, I've been without a computer for a while. We're so glad to have Ryan home. I'm starting to get bugged by the frequency of his trips. It's job security though, right? That's what I keep telling myself at least.

Today is our anniversary. We have been married for 4 years. It seems so crazy that it's been that long. They've been 4 great years. We've had a lot of fun and enjoyed so much together and are still excited to be together forever!

We got married at 8 in the morning in the middle of December. It was so incredibly cold. My nose is red in every picture and we just look cold. So sad. But here are a couple pictures from that day

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

This post is a little late but we had such a great Thanksgiving and have so so so much to be grateful for. Ryan's sister Camille came to visit and we ate at my Bro's house. I cooked the turkey for the first time this year. It turned out okay but my gravy was not so good. Sorry guys.It was a fun day full of food, games and watching "Hancock."

I love holidays. It is so great to just relax. I just realized that Hayden isn't in any of the pictures I took. She was there, I promise.

We went out shopping on Black Friday. We're not really dedicated shoppers, though. We left the house about 8 so we still got to sleep in a bit.

Hayden had a great time with Camille here. She loves all of the extra attention and did her best to keep Camille busy.

We hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving too!

Twilight at Midnight

Yep, that's right I went with my mom and Shylo to see Twilight at midnight on Thursday. Us and a bunch of middle school girls. We got to the theater at 10 that night expecting to wait in line in the lobby. But, I made the mistake of getting us tickets at the ghetto theater so we had to wait in line outside. Yes, we waited for almost 2 hours in below freezing weather. I really think I was reaching points of hypothermia by the time they let us in. I wanted to get a picture of Shylo huddled on the ground trying to rub some feeling back into her toes, but I couldn't feel my fingers well enough to get my camera out of my purse. We eventually made it inside and got to see the movie. I thought it was ok but I was a little disappointed. I want to see it again to see if maybe I was too concentrated on thawing out and missed the greatness of the movie. Maybe when it hits a Redbox near me....

Can I just say, I love the fact that I have a mom that will go to a midnight showing of a movie based on a book that she didn't really even like......what a fun mom!!

Anika's Big Day

My niece Anika was baptized yesterday. It was such a great event. It was awesome to see how excited she was. It was also awesome to see my brother baptize and confirm her. We're so proud of her. Congratualtions Anika!

Bye Mom

My mom went home today. So sad! We had a great time having her here and she helped out so much. Hayden absolutely loves her and would yell "Grammy" when she couldn't find her. Thanks for coming to visit mom. Thanks to my dad too for parting with her for 3 weeks. We missed having him here but appreciate his willingness to be single for a while. We love you both!

Hayden loved my mom's purse. She carried it around everywhere. We went to the dollar store and my mom got Hayden her own little purse with sunglasses, a comb and chapstick. Hayden wanted nothing to do with it. She only wanted Grammy's purse. Now that my mom's purse is gone, Hayden has been more excited about her own.

Aquarium Fun and other stuff too

Hayden is loving having Grammy here. Grammy is so fun. She plays games with Hayden, gives her treats, bathes here, holds her....... the list goes on. I'll admit it, it's been nice for me too :)

The Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago is free a bunch of days this month. Ryan had Tuesday off and my mom has never been so we headed down. It was so fun! The really cool stuff like the dolphins and whales weren't free so we just saw fish, but it was still great. All of the museums in Chicago are awesome.

This was Hayden's favorite part. They had this canoe out for kids to play in and she thought it was the greatest thing.

Ryan had fun showing Hayden all the different kinds of fish.
This was my favorite. The pictures bad because you can't use flash there. So, if you can't tell, it's a whacked out seahorse. So cool....

Then on Friday night my niece and nephew slept over. Hayden loves her cousins. She was asleep when they came on Friday but she was so excited to see them there when she woke up. Good times...

8's Tag

Ok, so I have seen this on a lot of your blogs, but Tiffini tagged me so I'm doing it too.

8 Things...

8 TV shows I like to watch
The Office
King of Queens
The Biggest Loser
Family Feud
Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Chuck
Ellen
The Bonnie Hunt Show

8 Things that happened yesterday
Lost my car keys
Went Grocery Shopping
Watched T.V.
Made Meatloaf (it's good, I promise)
Watched Kung Fu Panda
Played with Hayden
Hung out with my Mom
Watched the CMA's

8 Favorite Places to Eat
Olive Garden
Buffalo Wild Wings
Jimmy Johns
Giordanos
Tacos El Norte
Applebees
Chilis
Walker Brothers

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
Going to bed
The Twilight Movie
Going to see The Secret Life of Bees with my mom and sister in law
Christmas
Playing with Hayden tomorrow
Christmas shopping
The weekend because Ryan's home
Did I say Going to Bed

8 Things on my Wish List
Go to Hawaii
Go to the Caribbean
Go to any place that's warm (it's freezing here!)
A new Car
A trip to Utah to visit everyone
Rock Band for our Wii
A new wardrobe
The new Taylor Swift CD

8 people I Tag
Anyone who wants to :)

Goings on

Ryan's home! Hurray! He got home this afternoon and I am so glad. Hayden was very excited to see her Daddy. She wanted him to hold her and followed him around. She loves him so much and we both missed him a ton.

Ryan had to miss Hayden's first real Halloween. So sad, because she was adorable. She was such a cute cat. We went trick or treating with some friends in their neighborhood.She wasn't so sure about trick or treating. She made me grab the candy for her until the last 2 houses and then she was so excited to pick something out herself. We went back to our friends house for some chili. It was a fun Halloween and I loved taking Hayden trick or treating.

My mom came to help me while Ryan was away. It was fun having her here for Halloween. Hayden just loves her. They have been having fun together. She is here for 2 more weeks so we're getting a good visit in.

Wednesday was my last day of work. Thank goodness. It was absolute craziness around here with me working and I am loving just being home. Hopefully things will get back to normal around here, we'll see.

I realize Hayden has a binky in her mouth in every picture.....deal with it :)

Pumpkins

Tonight we got our pumpkins ready for Halloween.

We've had a million things going on lately so I really wasn't feeling up to actually carving pumpkins this year. I found these face pieces that you can just poke into the pumpkins to make them look cute. Hayden thought it was fun but as soon as we stuck a piece in, she just wanted to pull them right out. We had to hurry and stick them all in and take the pumpkins outside out of her reach. Didn't they turn out so fun!

Ryan is leaving for China tomorrow. He is going to be gone for 2 weeks again. I am not excited. My mom is coming next week. That will be awesome but Hayden and I have to be alone for 5 nights. I hate that. Ryan is taking our computer with him so I will be out of the loop for a couple weeks.

Have a great Halloween!

Lame

So, Hayden has playgroup once a week with about 4 other kids. We take turns having it at our house. This week was supposed to be at our house but I thought it would be fun to take the kids to a petting zoo I read about in a community magazine.

I looked up the directions on google maps and we headed to the petting zoo. It should have taken us 20 minutes to get there but it took an hour. Yes, an hour. Google maps gave me the wrong directions. I was so bugged. That's the first lame part.We finally make it there and I said "This better be worth and hour in the car." Was it? Umm, no. It was this dinky little place with a lot of chickens and ducks, a bunny, 2 goats and 2 cows that were hiding. We couldn't even pet the animals. Why call it a petting zoo if the animals are behind a fence and you can't get anywhere near them? The girls did like the animals but it took us 5 minutes to see them all. So, it took us an hour to get there and we stayed 5 minutes. LAME!!

We ended up stopping at McDonalds 2 minutes from my house and taking it back to let the kids play at my house. So much for great ideas :)

Stades Farm

Today we went to Stades Farm with my Bro's fam. The weather was perfect and it was so fun. They had big areas full of corn with slides and tubes that the kids could play in.
It took Hayden a minute but then she loved the corn. She got buried by Daddy and Uncle Adam.
We left the corn for a bit but then Hayden wanted to go back. We put her back in the corn and she immediately laid down.
I know these 3 pictures are really similar but I love them all so I couldn't pick just one.

They also had a tower of hay with about 4 levels to climb up.

Then we took a hay ride out to their big pumpkin patch. We got to get off and pick our own pumpkins. Hayden was tired and didn't want to be on the truck so she was screaming and yelling most of the ride, but she liked running around checking out the pumpkins.

We ended the trip with some Apple Cider donuts. They were so good. They tasted like churros. Hayden loved them of course. It really was a fun day. Stades Farm is really cool. They have a corn maze, petting zoo, pony rides, a pumpkin cannon and some little craft booths that we didn't even get to. We are going to have to make this a yearly tradition :)

Nasty

So, I want to start off by complaining. About a month ago Hayden discovered those shopping carts that look like cars. Now she refuses to shop any other way. I hate those stupid things. No matter what store I go to I always end up with the one with the broken wheel. So the thing is shaking like it's about to fall apart at any second and you can hear it clear across the store. You have to have a running start to have enough force to make the cart turn a corner and they don't fit in the check out lane. Really, they are horrible.

Sorry, now to the story. I'm grocery shopping the other day and Hayden is riding in the delightful car cart. I'm just walking along throwing groceries in the cart and I look at Hayden. She's eating a donut. No, we aren't near the donut section. No, she didn't sneak out of the cart and grab a donut from the donut case thing. Some kid must have left the half eaten donut in the cart and Hayden decided to take a big bite herself. Nasty! That's all I have to say about that. Nasty!

Super Savings

Ok so I have to take a minute and tell you about an awesome blog my friend Dalynne turned me on to. It's frugalisfab.blogspot.com (I put the link on the side of my page). On the site, this lady tells you the deals and what coupons to use with what. So, I went to Walgreens yesterday and bought all of this stuff. If you can't tell what it is, I'll tell you: 4 cans of soup, hand soap, cotton swabs, a toothbrush, a battery razor, 2 boxes of Nutri-Grain bars, 2 packages of Dove chocolate bars, children's tylenol, Tylenol cold, Tylenol allergy, Rimmel Foundation, and RevitaLift cream cleanser. The total before coupons and rebates was about $70 and I got it for $4.41. That's right, I saved about $65. You do have to cut coupons and fill out the rebate online but really that few minutes is worth $65. So, take a minute and check it out and save some money. That's always fun :)


I just wanted to throw in this picture. Hayden loves wearing my necklaces around the house. I can't believe how big she is!

Working Woman

That's right, I am now a working woman. I got a part time job at Halloween USA for the next 6 weeks. Yep, I work with all of the gothic teenagers. No, everyone is actually really nice. So, I'll work a few nights and Saturdays while Ryan's at home. I told Ryan that part of the deal with me going back to work is that the house may be a disaster and I might be ornery. He said he could handle it for 6 weeks, so off to work I go. I'm excited to get some extra cash to play with for a little bit. Plus, I get 30% off. My friends and family get 30% off too, so if any of you are around and are looking for some Halloween fun, come my way :)

The Proposal

A couple of you asked about our proposal, so here it is.

It was Labor Day weekend 2004. Ryan's roommate was getting married in Logan Utah. We had other friends up in Logan so we decided to go up together and stay Friday and Saturday night. So, we went and I stayed with my friend Neesha and Ryan stayed with his friends Chalise and Mike.
On Saturday morning Ryan went to his friend's sealing and wedding luncheon. I hung out with Neesha and was waiting for Ryan to pick me up for the reception. Ryan was taking longer than planned and I was getting a little bugged. It took him so long because when he got out of the sealing, he got a call saying my ring was ready. Instead of going to the luncheon, he drove to Clearfield, which is an hour each way, to pick up my ring.
So, he picks me up for the reception and we drive to the Sherwood Hills Resort, where the reception is. The whole way I'm asking Ryan when he thinks my ring will be ready, but he didn't give anything away. We get to the Resort and go into the nice little restaurant there. We walk in and the waiter asks if we have a reservation. Simultaneously I say "No" and Ryan says "Yes". I'm totally confused and Ryan tells me that he wanted to surprise me with a romantic dinner instead of going to the reception. I accepted that explanation. We ate a yummy dinner and then the waiter brought out cheesecake for dessert. Along with it he brought out a tray with a dozen red roses on it. Ryan got down on his knee and proposed there in the restaurant. His friend had dropped off the roses and a camera while Ryan was getting the ring. So, a waitress was taking pictures while Ryan proposed. It was just like in a movie! It really was so romantic and just perfect!
Afterward was so funny. We were staying another night so we headed to the grocery store to get some breakfast stuff. We got pulled over twice on our way to the store because one of the headlights was out on the car. We finally make it and are checking out and the cashier mentions how sparkly and new my ring looks. I told her that we just got engaged. She calls over all of the other workers and they all start oohing and ahhing and clapping. It really was like in a movie.
So, yeah, it was a great proposal and we went and stayed in that Resort for our first anniversary and they even gave us free cheesecake :) Perfect!

Husband Tag

I was tagged by Tiffini, so here we go....

1. What is his name? Ryan LeRoy Woodland
2. Who eats more? Definitely Me
3. Who said, "I love you" first? Here's how the conversation went...he said "I think I'm falling in love with you." And I said "I'm already in love with you." Oh so cheesy.
4. Who is taller? Ryan
5. Who is smarter? Definitely Ryan, he had a full ride scholarship to BYU all 4 years!
6. Who is more sensitive? Me of course
7. Who does the laundry? Mostly me but Ryan helps a lot.
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? When you face the bed, I do.
9. Who pays the bills? Me of course!
10. Who cooks more? I do, but Ryan likes to try new recipes every now and then.
11. Who is more stubborn? I say him, but he says me. Honestly, probably me, though I hate to admit it.
12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Neither of us ;)
13. Who has more siblings? Me, I have 7 and Ryan has 4.
14. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Definitely me!
15. What do you like to do together? Watch movies, play games, just hang out.
16. Who eats more sweets? I do!!
17. Guilty Pleasures? I want to say his guilty pleasure is High School Musical, because he loves it, but he doesn't feel guilty about it at all, even though he should!
18. How did you meet? Through friends
19. Who asked whom out first? Technically Ryan but only after I mentioned that there were no guys around to date. He said "what about me?" and I said "ask me out then!"
20. Who kissed who first? I kissed Ryan first.
21. Who proposed? Ryan, and it was very romantic.
22. His best features and qualities? He is just an all around great guy. He is an awesome dad and loves playing with Hayden. He is hard working and gives us everything we need. He is also funny and really easy going. I love you, babe!!

I tag Laura and Melenie

Go BYU!

We want to give a shout out to the Cougs!! They won today 59-zip. Even though we don't live in Utah anymore and we don't even get the games on tv, we still get excited for game day. Ryan listens to the game online and we wear our BYU gear. Ryan's last year at BYU we got season tickets. It was so fun going to the game each week and we definitely miss it. But we still love BYU football, so go Cougars!

Hayden got so excited at the thought of BYU that she grabbed a bag of marshmallows, dumped them out, and stuffed her face before we could clean them up :)

Cafe Rio Recipes

Here are the Cafe Rio recipes we use. Again, they don't taste just like Cafe Rio but are still super yummy.

Chicken
3 chicken breasts
1 can green chile sauce
1 C chicken broth
1 T cumin 1/2 onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 limes juice
Chopped Fresh Cilantro to taste

Place chicken breasts in crock pot, pour green chile sauce and chicken broth over the top and add cumin, garlic, lime juice, and cilantro. Cut an onion in half and place full onion rings on top of the chicken to flavor...they will be removed when the chicken is cooked and discarded. Cook for 4 hours, shred meat and cook for another hour.

Black Beans
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c Tomato juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
2 T Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 T fresh cilantro chopped

In a skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Tortillas
2 cups flour
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup warm water

In a bowl, blend flour, salt, baking powder and shortening until it resembles fine meal.

Add warm water, a little at a time, to flour mixture and toss until liquid is incorporated. Water amount will vary with different flour types.

Form dough into a ball and kneed on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic. Divide, and make 12 smaller balls. Cover and let stand at least 30 minutes.

Roll each ball of dough on a floured surface to make 6 or 7 inch sized tortillas. Place on a pre-heated griddle or cast iron skillet and cook till medium golden on both sides.


Well there you go. These are the only recipes we have tried. There are other Cafe Rio recipes out there, just google them if you're interested. These tortillas aren't my favorite but they're easy so they work for us. Enjoy!

Weekend Stuff

We haven't been up to anything too exciting but here are the few things we have been doing.

Hayden is now officially in a big girl car seat. Well it hasn't quite made it to the car yet, but she loves to sit in it in the living room. I can't believe how big she is. I remember when she barely took up any room in her newborn seat. Oh memories ;)

Yesterday the weather was so nice. So, we headed outside. Hayden rode her little bike. Then we headed to the park.
She absolutely loves slides. She likes to climb up them (if she can) then slide down over and over and over again. We discovered how strong she is, which is super strong, by putting her up to the monkey bars. At first Ryan was holding her body but she was holding her weight so Ryan let go. She just hung there smiling until we pried her fingers off the bar and made her get down.

Later that day we headed to the Volo Bog with my bro's fam. If you've never been to a bog, it is a marshy type place with a floating board walk that circles it. The first time Ryan and I went, it was super hot and super humid and I was 8 1/2 months pregnant. Needless to say, I was very ornery and decided I hated the stupid bog. Well, yesterday was actually very nice and we had a fun time. We found a few turtles, a snake, and Celtin was throwing a grasshopper at Shylo. Hayden screamed for a bit because we wouldn't let her get in the nasty water. Oh the fun!

We've been so domestic at our house this past week. My visiting teacher gave me 2 huge zucchini and I made 6 loaves of 3 different kinds of bread to freeze. Then Ryan looked up a recipe for Cafe Rio chicken burritos and tortillas. We made it last Sunday and today because it is super easy and super good! I don't think it really tastes like Cafe Rio but it is definitely good.

The blond in my hair was looking really bad and was really hard to keep up with. So, Ryan dyed my hair. The first time didn't work out so well and I ended up calling Clairol's customer service to find out how to fix it. We tried what they told me and instead off my natural brown color that I was going for, I ended up with red. Actually at first it was kind of orange and I was kind of freaking out. Thankfully, the orange has faded over the last few days and now I'm okay with having Auburn hair.

I know it doesn't sound all that great, but it was a really enjoyable weekend :)