Santa Hats

My mom and I made these CUTE Santa hats when I was home. They're pretty simple, but if you do a lot of them it gets a little tedious. They turned out adorable though, I think!

This is all you need: Bugles, red chocolate melts, mini marshmallows, and white sprinkles.

Dip the Bugles in the chocolate and lay them out on wax paper. Let them dry for about 10min and then dip the ends for the marshmallows and sprinkles.

...and Voila!

Christmas in Cali 2011

I got to go home for Christmas to visit my family this year...and it was amazing. I had so much fun and built so many memories! Lane was able to meet me down in So.Cal after a week.

I planned my trip so that I could attend Allie's baptism. Allie is my brother's girlfriend and I think she is amazing for her courage, spirit, strength, and great example. She's a sweet girl! It was so neat to be a part of her special day.

My trip was relaxing being at home. My mom took me to get these nice pedicures where they soak your feet in red wine, oranges, and rose pedals in warm water (great for all the antioxidants?). We went and saw a couple movies. We spent time with some good friends, and ate good food, and did some shopping. Devin came home from BYU-Hawaii almost a week after I got there so we made a big deal of it with all his friends at the airport. It was pretty exciting. Then we made our drive down to So.Cal to be with the rest of our family. It was so fun to see Britt, the Fosters, MacBeths, Warrs, and Mitchells. Down there we enjoyed our 80 degree weather with a day at the beach, ate some good food, went to a movie, decorated cookies, looked at beautiful lights, played games, and spent time with family!

*Why I love my parent's house all year round:

*Why I love my parent's house during Christmas time:

Christmas day we woke up and went to Britt's apartment. She made us some yummy breakfast, and we opened presents. Not only was I spoiled at home with my family, but for Christmas too! We spent the rest of the day at Mimi & Poppi's house with all my dad's brothers' families and his cousin. We ate some yummy food and enjoyed the musical talents of that side of the family. It was so relaxing and fun to be with my family for Christmas!

~Sigh~

This quarter has definitely been the most stressful and frustrating. I'm finally to the point where I'm not really stressed because I only have a couple assignments left. Let's just say that I'm so ready and relieved to be done with this one; even if I'm not going to make straight A's this time : /...Oh well. One quarter left and then student teaching!

I decided to not put up decorations for Christmas this year because I'll only have a week of freedom and being home until I head to see my family. I needed to take breaks from homework though so I ended up putting up some. This is the extent though, and no tree this year (which is kind of funny because last year I was so anxious to put it up, that the minute the flooring was put in, in the corner where I wanted the tree, I put it up. We didn't live here yet, and not all the flooring was in, but my tree was up and that's all that mattered)! This should hold me over though and hopefully put me in the Christmas spirit!

Can't wait to see my family and enjoy Christmas with them! (This is the first time Lane will spend Christmas day with my family)

Halloween Party and a Baby Shower for Two.

We decided to throw a Halloween party this year. I had been so busy with school and work so I didn't have much time to plan it. Everything turned out great though and we had a good turn out (about 50 guests)!

Earlier in the week Lane gutted the backyard by removing the pool and hot tub, so he also spent a lot of time putting together a firepit to "roast a ghost." Since it was a weeknight, everything was a bit rushed to go trick-or-treating so it didn't really get used much.

Lane and I were Wayne & Garth from Wayne's World.

3 days later I hosted a baby shower for Leah and another friend, Jacqui at our house. I definitely had no time to plan for that but my friend Lyssa (bless her heart) spent so much time putting together the adorable decorations "Sprinkled with Love" and all the goodies. She also took better pictures!

One of the games was to make a collage of what you think each baby would look like. Kim went all out! It was pretty hilarious.

No more parties for a while!

So close, but yet, so far.

Graduation. It's so close! That's what I have to keep telling myself. I'm in my second to last quarter and then student teaching, but I'm struggling with the motivation again. I don't know if it's the weather changing, or simply just senioritis. So...I need some mini-milestones for along the way to June:

-Halloween Party
-Leah & Jacqui's baby shower
-Breaking Dawn Part I
-Brady, Leah, Leo, and baby girl move :'(
-Thanksgiving
-End of quarter (Dec. 9th-ish)
-California!
-Allie's baptism
-Christmas
-Jenna's baby
-New Year
-Last quarter begins
-Erin's baby (I'm an Aunt!--again)
-Valentine's Day
-Hunger Games
-Leah's baby
-Easter
-Student teaching! (ahh!)
-May birthdays: Lane, Dad, Trev, Dev, Blake, Tim, Beth, and so on
-Mother's day
-4th Anniversary
GRADUATION!!

Now, I know I will add to my list but I don't plan very far in advance. At least I have stuff to check off my list and move me closer! Now I just need to focus, focus!

Pre-Autumn Experience

I could go on and on about my experience these past few weeks, and could nearly write a novel about each one of my little second graders. My mentor teacher was fabulous! She truly mentored me from the beginning--explaining everything she was doing, and provided me with a file of activity sheets to start out a school year. We have a small class (18 students) and they are so wonderful! I am not a morning person by any means, and every night I felt so exhausted and wanted to sleep in; however, when my alarm went off each morning I honestly and willingly got up and ready so that I could go hang out with those lil' kiddos. I have become so attached. They threw me a little party on my last day and made me a book of some very thoughtful notes, which I will cherish forever. I hope to do my student teaching in this classroom and I will continue to go in so I can see them progress (and to see their adorable little faces). This was such a great experience for me. It gave me hope and I believe was what I needed.

New Car and Back to School

Russell brought his guns when he came up and while I was in California they went out shooting. Sounds and looks like I missed out on some fun!

 ...but I was so excited to come home to this new beauty!

 This is officially my first new car-- '06 Nissan Altima. I am in love with it!! I feel like a grownup in it for some reason. My first car was a '00 Ford Focus that my dad drove and handed down to me. I was supposed to pay it off but my parents graciously gave it to me as a wedding present. Second, I shared a Honda Accord with Erin, which was their family car. Then we bought a sort of hand-me-down '95 Nissan Maxima and Ford Taurus. The Maxima was a great car but ended up crapping out on us almost. It was time. Not saying I'm excited to have a car payment, but this is what I consider my official first new car!

PreAutumn has started, which is a 2 week experience in a classroom, working with a teacher and learning how they set up their classroom for the year; kind of like an internship. I am working with a 2nd grade teacher who is absolutely awesome! I am super shy and she helped me get out of my shell right of the bat! School started yesterday and I warmed up to those kids right away. Oh my goodness, they make my heart melt and I already can't stop thinking about them! I was extremely nervous about student teaching, but even after this week, I love being in the school and absolutely love 2nd grade. I hope to do my student teaching in this class, especially because I know them and they know me.

So that's what's going on here! I'm finally up-to-date.

My Summer 2011 Trip Home

I like to take advantage of not having children or a full-time job yet, and filling my void of California a few times a year. I went home to visit my family for a week after our Harstine Island trip; so I basically had a 2-week vacation! I was welcomed with a lovely sign. My dad calls me "Janni-anni-anni-anni-anni-anni-anni-anni...annica." The length changes every time.

 Aside from In'n'out, Roundtable Pizza is a must eat for me when I got home. I worked there for over 3 years, and I crave it all the time! It never disappoints me.

 I planned my trip so that I would be able to make it to my best friend Jenna's baby shower. It is beyond weird seeing her pregnant, haha! I'm so excited for her though! She is going to be an amazing mommy! Can't wait to see baby Millie Rose Haycock!

We were able to go up to Lake Tahoe and float down the Truckee River. We've done this a lot as a family, and it is so fun every time! We met up with our friends, the Burtons, and had a great time. My dad is the biggest dork alive but he cracks us all up. He secretly hit up the dollar store the night before and bought shower caps, loufas, and bubble bath just to show off and get some laughs. The Truckee River gets busy with other rafters, and it's a slow, mild float so we are able to bring water guns, coolers and other toys. We have water fights with other rafts and so that made for more crowds for Dad to get laughs out of. After rafting we went and got some delicious pizza and went up to the Burtons' beautiful cabin for some games and relax time.

 My parents spoiled me while I was home and took us to Six Flags for a day as well. Again, my dad had me laughing the whole time. I even asked him, "Dad, do the boys even laugh at you anymore?" and he told me, "No, that's why I like having you around." Silly Dad. I love you!

 Devin works at Sunsplash and invited us to his work family and friends party. We got to ride the water slides, eat free food, and play arcade games for free. Thanks Devin!

It was a great week with my family! We were just missing Britt and Lane! Devin is leaving for BYU-Hawaii this weekend, and I'm missing out on that trip with the family (they just happen to be "stopping" in Maui on the way). I'm so excited for and proud of him though! He'll have so much fun!