Ornament Exchange Party! Dec 2008

I have wanted to do an ornament exchange party for a few years and finally hosted one!

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Each participant was supposed to bring 6 homemade ornaments to exchange. The idea being you'd take home 6 different ornaments that 6 different people have made.

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Here is the group photo of all the ornaments that were created (or at least brought)!

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Dough Ornaments by Melissa
Melissa did not find out about the party until the night before, she was not able to make anything--but these were very cute and look like they could be homemade!*
Ribbon Candy by Tammy!
I actually was thinking of doing these, but ran out of time. Very cute!!
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Snowman w/ birdhouses by Pam
These were very cute wooden ornaments!
(Makadie thought they were Ghosts because they do not have a mouth or nose)

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Glittery Snowflake by Margie
(Yes--she did just buy them--but they are cute!)

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Swirly Paint Bulbs by Heidi W.

These were very pretty, she did 3 different colors (pink, green, and the cream one here)

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Paper Stars by Allyse

Red
Green
So these were my favorite ornaments of the party. She was sweet enough to give me a green one and a red one! Thanks Allyse! I think I will definitely make some more of these!
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Gingerbread girls by Roni
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Scrap Fabric Button Wreaths by Roni
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Rudolf Clothes Pins by Heidi L.

This was Makadie's favorite and I let her put this one on the little tree in her room.

Heidi also brought her sweet little baby girl--we all enjoyed her!
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Everyone brought a plate of Christmas Goodies to share and we each took home a plate filled with a variety of yummy treats! Here is one of the plates ready to go home and be devoured!
Thank you to all of you who came and celebrated with me! I love Christmas and the Holiday Festivities that go with it. My birthday is the beginning of December so I always like to do some type of Christmas activity to celebrate. This year I used the ornament party as my own little birthday party! Birthdays are supposed to be for doing the things you enjoy with the people you enjoy! So thanks to you all for coming to my secret birthday party and doing something I love with me--eating treats and creating things and visiting!

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I am already excited for next year's ornament exchange party!

Chase's Headstone is placed

January 19, 2008 my family was able to place Chase's headstone on his grave.

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We wish that we could have been there with them and are sad to have missed this special experience.

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Brandon (my cousin) and DK (my brother) poured the cement and got that part all ready. My parents drove up from Safford to be there. Brandon and his wife, Erika, and their kids were there. Our cousin Tobi was also able to be there--she is the best!! My brother, Michael, and his wife Amy were there with their kids; DK was there with his girlfriend Nellie and her daughter Hannah; Krissee Aaragon and Marcee Walker (and her sister, I am not sure which one) were able to be there.

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Thank you to all who came to show Chase how much we love and miss him

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The headstone that my family chose was one to represent Chase.

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Redrock--to represent the area we are from and the area he loved to 'play' in and grew up in!

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Guitar--to represent his love of music and love for his guitar.

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4-wheeler--to represent his love for that vehicle and his love for the outdoors.

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This is what is inscribed on the headstone:

"Chase touched so many lives with his kindness and friendship. He loved family, friends, and life. Chase was always positive and happy. Chase is gone but he will never be FORGOTTEN!"

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We all feel that Chase approves and loves the choice made to represent him.

We love you and miss you and expect you to be doing great things right now! We are excited to see you again little Brother!

I am still working on a book honoring Chase's life and I need more pictures, stories, and thoughts of Chase. Please take some time to email me your feelings, stories, and pictures so that this book will truly represent Chase!

THANKS!

Chocolate Give-Away

So here is another contest to enter if you'd like! It is for chocolate and Valentine's Day is just around the corner! These chocolates are made by a mother turned business woman! Man I wish I could come up with an idea like that. Click on the link below to check out the details and enter!

http://coupondivas.com/coco-zen-product-review-and-giveaway/

AMEC Christmas Party Dec 6, 2008

This year Coleman's company, AMEC, joined with the other AMEC offices in the Denver metro area and had a joint Christmas Party. It was held at Willow Ridge Manor in Morrison, CO. It is a fancy reception center. There was to be dancing, food, and games. I was very excited for the "Ball". My friends Allyse and Tammy came over and helped me get ready. Thanks girls for all of your help! It felt great to get all dressed up! Jeff & Tammy volunteered to watch our girls during the party--thanks guys!

Here I am playing roulette. This was the only game we kept winning chips back on! Coleman lost all of his "money" playing Texas hold-em--He never won a hand! So I shared some of my winnings with him so that he could enjoy gambling with fake money! Once we started at the Roulette table we were there all night!

The manor was all decked out in classy and classic Christmas Decorations! I LOVED it!

This was the only couple shot of the evening! I know it is blurry--but it's the only one from the party!

We had a fun time but I was a little disappointed! The food was not that great and was supposed to be about $80 a plate. We enjoyed the dinner, but for $80 each we expected a little more. I was also really excited for the dessert buffet! Well you could choose between mini-bites of pastries and little shots of pudding (that did not set up, so it was like drinking syrup). I am such a lover of desserts that I was not impressed with the buffet! Oh well, it was probably better for my waist line anyway! The other disappointment came with the dancing. I was really excited to go dancing at the "Ball", well the music was WAY TOO LOUD! You could barely hear the person right next to you, and the music that was played was hip-hop clubbing type music. Not exactly the Fair Tale Night I had imagined--but it was a fun evening spent with the one I love!

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When we got home, the kids were fast asleep in their own beds! Thanks Tammy & Jeff for watching the kiddos!

Christmas Aprons & Popcorn Balls Dec 2008

One of my finds during last year's "After Christmas" sales were these fun Christmas Aprons and hats!

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Makadie wanted to be the little elf! We have the Harry Connick Jr. Christmas CD, there is a song called, "The Happy Elf". Makadie likes to sing this song. She said she wanted to be the "Happy Elf" and sang the song while wearing this get-up!

Once we were all aproned--we made caramel popcorn balls! It was a fun Christmas time activity and we loved eating and sharing the yummy treats!

Our Snowman Family Dec 2008

We had a wonderful snowstorm that had perfect snow for making snowmen! This has been one complaint about our Colorado snow--it seems to never make good snowmen. It usually is the kind of snow that is dusty and powdery and does not stick together.

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Coleman and Makadie whipped up this Frosty in no time!

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Makadie wanted to pose with her new friend!

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Makadie and Coleman really did make the snowman in the backyard FAST--too fast! By the time I got outside they were done. Since I wanted in on the fun we moved to the front yard to create some more!

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Meet our Snowman Family! This is Coleman W. Snow, Roni L. Snow, Makadie N. Snow, and Anika E. Snow! They turned out pretty cute! Coleman has his arm around Roni!

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A shot with the artists!

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The Real Coleman giving the snowy Roni a smooch, and Real Makadie giving snowy Anika a hug!

BYU vs Air Force Nov 15th 2008

We had an amazing time going to the BYU vs Air Force Game! It was fun to be with all those BYU fans and he on Air Force's campus. It was a gorgeous, sunny, and crisp Fall afternoon!

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We ate at the BYU Alumni/BYU Bookstore's tailgate party. They were serving Costa Azul--which is a break off of Cafe Rio and there is now a Costa Azul in the Denver Metro area. They are NOT Cafe Rio, but pretty close!

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Of course we were all decked out supporting our Cougars!

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Our baby cheerleader!

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She loves going up in the air--maybe cheer leading will be a part of her future!! Who knows though!

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Warming up before the game!

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See the cute cougar sticker on her cheek! We were waiting in line for quite a while to get the girls' faces painted! But it was a LONG line and some lady walked down the line asking if anyone wanted stickers instead of paint! SCORE! They were easy and looked super!

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Our attempt at a girls picture with the field in the background!

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The "Whole" Family shot attempt! Good looking Cougars in their blue don't you think?!!

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All these cadets marched onto the field, then all at once they took off running to their seats in the stands. It took less than a minute it seemed for them all to be off the field and in their seats! It was pretty cool!

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Then came the parachuters, there were quite a few of them!

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A little closer!

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This was the last one who landed, he was carrying the American Flag, and NO he did NOT let the flag touch the ground!

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The Cougar grand entrance before Kick-Off!

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The BYU traditional warm-up stretches--Polynesian style!

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The VERY LOUD and very neat fly over. It happened SO FAST that we were lucky to even have the planes in a picture. The girls jumped at the unexpected noise! But it was WAY COOL!!

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Anika all bundled-up once the sun started hiding behind the clouds!

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Half-time show!

Not disappointing!

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Our "Big Girl" Cheerleader!

She loved telling "B-Y-U" It was very cute! We have some video of it,

I'll try to post that too!

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The glorious finish to a great day! Go Cougars! Thanks for having such a great season! We are looking forward to next year!