Christmas

I always put off blogging because transferring pictures to my computer holds me up. So this time I thought I would post and put the pictures up later.

Fall semester finally ended and with a little bit of drama that got worked out, Chase graduated :) No break for him though, as he started grad school at BYU on Jan 4th. He's getting his masters in civil engineering and so far (4 days) he is enjoying it. The weirdest news is that he has decided to grow a "Grad-stache" over the break that is pretty full now and getting lots of attention. He said that his teachers notice him a lot more and he would shave it when he couldn't take the ridicule any longer. He said one guy told him if HE grew a mustache his wife would divorce him! I said that seemed a little extreme and Chase admitted to me that this guy was kind of weird anyway... But other then that I'm am not aware of any ridicule and he always passes it off as jealousy, so I think the 'stache might be here for awhile.

We headed to Lodi for the first week of break and had a really fun Christmas with my family. I had not celebrated Christmas with my family ON Christmas day for 3 years, so it was fun. Aubrey is at the cutest age where she was excited for Christmas to come and finally understood what was going on. I made her a tutu which ended up being a big hit and she would put on her leotard (from Mom), tutu, and ballet slippers (from Noelle) at least twice a day and leap and twirl around the house for anyone that would watch her. She also got a tiara and matching wand and I taught her how to tuck her wand into her tutu like it was holstered. Her favorite thing was to stuff her wand down the front of her leotard and ask me where it went. Obviously her leotard is skin tight so that was no mystery... Besides her tutu she was obsessed with our "pet" (we brought our pet gecko out to California with us) and would ask to hold her at least 5 times a day, and she was obsessed with my iPhone. Once I was leaving and she asked if she could play it and I said no because it was my phone and I needed it. A few minutes later my mom came running out to the car saying that Aubrey had burst into tears because I wouldn't let her play with my ipod, so I handed it over...
This is a picture Aubrey drew on my phone, which she called "Chase."This is a picture Aubrey took of Zaya. She was pretty handy with the camera!

Chase and Colin had a really fun week and had a great time playing with the RC airplanes my dad gave to all the boys. They also went shopping together at one point and after we left Chase told me it was the most fun he's had at my house. (The whole week... not just the shopping with Colin.) We also got to meet Tamie and Ryan's baby for the first time. She is adorable and it makes me glad to see Ryan so happy with his new family. Seeing my friends and family getting married isn't as surprising to me as seeing them start having kids. I was really excited to give baby Lyra the hair barrettes I made for her but then I met her and her hair is like 1/2" long! Oh well, she'll wear them down the road.

MY favorite present was a cast iron grill pan and panini press which I did not expect at all! I was excited to use it and one night we had two kinds of soup and panini sandwiches that turned out delicious! I have a few bugs to work out, but I'll get the hang of it! Noelle and I also gave my dad the Christmas present we had been working on for 5 years... a toupee made out of our own hair. We had been saving our brush hair for a long time to come up with this masterpiece! We also made an infomercial with Chase's and the Shield's help. It turned out hilarious and got just the reaction we wanted. I'll post the video on here when I get it from Noelle. Chase gave me a new fossil watch and some adorable pearl earrings which I love! I think he cheated though and spent more then $50 which is what we agreed on this Christmas... I got him a small drill and some drill bits, but I think he likes those too. I loved being in Lodi and spending time with my family. I am excited for school to be over and for Chase and I to maybe move there :)

After that first week we headed down to Bakersfield to spend time with Chase's family. We had so much fun and it was way relaxing. I had a lot of fun playing with Tori and the result was that she liked to follow me around. Her favorite activity was coming in the bathroom while I was getting ready and going through my things. She liked to do the things I did which included putting baby powder in my hair (Sorry Nicole, if she does this at home...), putting on makeup, and applying chapstick. Another day we also painted her finger and toenails and I put tiny hearts on her nails and they we so cute! Little did I know that she likes to chew on her nails and by the end of the night she only had polish left on about 3 fingernails... haha. Good thing I used the scented polish so she could chew strawberry and kiwi off her fingers! Tori is so much fun to play with but I can already tell Chase and I are a bad influence on her. Chase taught her this weird throaty noise that she makes and sounds like a dinosaur and Chase and I laughed and laughed at her, but Tori gets in trouble for making it from her mom and dad. Oops!

I got lots of good Christmas presents from everyone including a cute homemade necklace from Nicole, a headband from Ashlee, and nail polish from Alex that I wanted so bad but didn't tell anyone about! How did he know!? I also got an immersion blender from Chase's mom, a new watch from his dad, and a very nice Williams-Sonoma gift card which I feel is the best present of all :)

We also went bowling one day which was so fun except I got the lowest score out of everybody on BOTH games! I guess being good at Wii bowling means NOTHING in the real world. Chase's dad also gave him an RC airplane and they went and flew it a few times. It crashed the second to last day and Chase spent the WHOLE day gluing it back together with this special epoxy stuff... then they went to fly it the last morning and Chase's mom went to watch. I stayed home to pack the car when I got a text saying "Plane crash" and when they came home, his airplane was no more... Chase salvaged the electronics but the airplane itself was beyond repair. So once when he had 3 airplanes he now was down to 1 (after another fatal crash of his home-made one that happened in Lodi) Poor Chase!

New years day we also had a super fun Bunko party with 20 people. It was so fun we decided to make it an annual thing. I had a lucky streak and although I didn't get the prize for most wins, I got the prize for most Bunko's rolled (4!) and I was told it was the biggest prize. I got a gift certificate for a pound of See's chocolate which I am really excited to use. Chase won the prize for the 50-50 record (a Rudy Giuliani bobble-head) and Ashlee won for most wins (2 big chocolate bars). Chase's mom was worried that all her prizes were going to her own family members and that the guests would think the whole thing was rigged, but how can you rig Bunko??

We were sad to leave California but ready to get back to our normal lives. Although out of everyone I asked NO ONE was ready for school to start on the 4th, haha. But that was our fun Christmas and I'll get some pictures up here soon.

Phone pics

I've realized since I got my iPhone that I don't use my camera as much for everyday uses... So I decided to upload the best pics from my phone into my blog, genius!

This pic is from when I was in Lodi. My parents have a garden, but they don't know that you have to pick a zucchini before it grows to be too big. Aubrey is illustrating how massive it truely was!
My family had lots of fun playing with the picture editing on my phone during church. Noelle edited this pic of Shannon and made everyone laugh for like 5 minutes!
I went to Coco's with my dad, Colin, and Aubrey and Colin had me take this pic for Noelle's benefit. Wished she were there!
Our pet gecko (Ginny) sheds about every 2 weeks, usually during the night and she eats her skin (EW!) before the morning, so we never get to see it. I came home in the middle of the day one day and saw her like this, so I snapped a quick pic and then let her alone to finish up and eat her snack (EW!) in peace.
Every once in a while at the museum I have some down time and I like to bring Oatis out onto the grass to roam around. It's usually unsuccessful, as he is so obsessed with eating that he will just chow on the grass the whole time, but we get to know each other... and I get paid for chilling outside, so it's cool.
The reptiles at work get fed mice once a week and the best snake to feed is always Elpheba, she thinks the mouse is live so she'll strike at it and squeeze it for a bit before immediately gulping it down. It's cool to watch.
Chase and I went to the farmers market yesterday and he bought some of these Dutch Waffles that he used to eat on his mission with his Dutch companion. They're crispy and filled with caramel, Delicious!
Tonight Ashlee came over for dinner and I made hamburgers. I like everything so much that when I make my hamburger I always think, "Tomatoes? I like tomatoes, I'll add a few extra... Pickles? I like pickles, I'll add a few extra... Avacado? I like avacado, I'll add a few extra..." and before I know it my hamburger is HUGE! Chase and Ashlee laughed a lot when they saw my burger and Chase had to take this pic.
Yesterday I was reading my craft blogs (not to be confused with my cooking blogs...) and I saw a picture of these awesome bracelets made out of old t-shirts, so I pulled some of Chase's out of the DI bag and made these. I love them! I've already made about 10 with the hopes of giving them to my friends. Unfortunately I don't know many people who wouldn't think I was weird in trying to force these bracelets on them... :( Maybe I should sell them for $2 each? I have 6 colors so far: pink, navy, green, white, gray and red. What combos would you like?

Mission Video

I have been working on making a scrapbook of Chase's mission and I ran across this sweet little gem. Make sure you watch to the end!

Fall Semester

Summer has ended and Chase and I are into our Fall semester. During the two weeks between semesters I went to California to "play mom" while my mom and Noelle went to Europe for about 10 days. I took care of Aubrey, Colin and Zaya and helped things run normal while my mom was gone. I was excited to spend time with Aubrey and I had many craft projects planned weeks in advance :) Here are some picks from making rainbow cupcakes with Aubrey. She loved to decorate them and I taught her how to put the right amount of sprinkles on them.


Lets just say if Aubrey doesn't want to take a picture with you, it's hard to force her. This was the best smile I could get, and it seems a little sarcastic on her part!

While I was in Lodi, Chase went on a pack horse camping trip with our Bishop. Chase's brother, Alex, flew in to go with him. They had fun and I heard a lot of funny stories when we met up in Bakersfield for the second week of our break. We had fun down there and got to see Nicole, Phil and Tori and celebrate Janelle and Phil's birthdays. Chase's mom also gave us tickets to go see Brian Regan in concert as a belated birthday present to Chase. It was awesome.

After 2 weeks of vacation school has started up again. I'm taking lots of classes for my major, including a sewing swimsuits class, advanced cooking, and floral design... so you know, pretty tough classes. Haha. Chase is in his last semester of undergrad and taking a few last GEs and holding strong! He complains sometimes, but he still studies hard and gets good grades.

I still work at the Bean Museum giving live animal shows. It's a fun job and I LOVE it! The coolest part is that all my co-workers are my age, I've never worked anywhere like that before! Chase is still doing research for a professor on campus which will turn into his graduate research, so that's a win-win!

The bottom line is that we don't have much free time, but we want to say congrats to all our friends who have had their babies! Cameron and Mitzi, we need to see Noah immediately! Ryan and Tamie, I'm excited to be an Aunt that spoils her neice! Beth and Mark, I love visiting Spencer and I wish I could come over every day!

Chase's Birthday

Yesterday was Chase's birthday (26!) and it ended up working out because it was a reading day in preparation for finals, so neither of us had anything going on. We went to the mall and out to lunch and finally fishing up at Salem Pond for some catfish. Well as it turns out, fishing until 10pm the day before a 7am final is not such a good idea as I still had to study, so I ended up having to pull an all-nighter. Yawn!

Anyways, here's some cool pics from yesterday.
Popsicle tongue, driving to Salem Pond.

Chase is getting his hook ready, it had to be baited with chicken liver, gross!

We had fun hanging out together, but next week he gets to go pack horse camping with our bishop! And the best part is... I don't have to go! But I'll miss him :(

Camping

A few weeks ago Chase and I decided to go camping on a Friday night. He found a campground and we headed out after our classes.
Here is our meager campsite.
Next time we'll remember to bring a few more things, such as:

• Chairs
• Matches or lighter
  
• Paper towels or towel
  
• Toilet paper
• Flashlight or lantern
• Sweatshirt for Chase
• Shoes besides flip-flops
• Hatchet for firewood

Oh well... it was still fun!

Our New Pet

Chase and I also got a patternless leopard gecko about a week ago and we love having her as a new pet. Chase just build her this shelf today so her cage could have a nice place to sit.
She doesn't have sticky pads on her toes, but she has tiny claws that help her grip onto clothing. We are having problems naming her, so any suggestions?? She will be bright yellow when she is full grown.


Here's a video of her eating a mealworm, for some reason my mom thinks it's gross...