Lars and the Real Girl

This is a great movie. It's so funny and such a sweet story of love and community. I think it might still be playing at the Lido Theater, where you can watch it from the balcony. Fun!

Thanksgiving & Gifts

Us girls got together at Val's house for a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. It was also a time to be with Liss and celebrate Amelia Paige who will be born in January.

Sara made this incredible pumpkin soup!

Val, J, Heidi working very hard in the kitchen.

This polka dotted piggy bank was SO cute.

Me & Heidi

Am I an old person?

We went to bed at 7:45 last night. One, because I am sick with a cold. Two, because I hurt my foot while showing Rian how many times I can spin really fast on the hardwood floor in the kitchen. Three, because there is nothing on TV to watch and even if there was, we are now down to only 3 channels. And even if The Office was on, it would be a rerun since last week was the last written episode.

Wallace...making some noise

Travels

You should do this. It's fun. Click on the link to see what percentage of the world you've travelled.

This Weeks Recommendations

1. Hot Toddy. I've felt like I'm fighting a cold so when we went out to dinner with Missy & Jon, I ordered this drink. Ahhh, it was steaming hot and the honey and lemon coat your throat so good! Here's a good recipe we use at home:

1.5 ounces Bourbon
1 ounce Honey
1/3 ounce Lemon Juice
3 ounces Water (Hot)

Warm the honey and lemon juice for about half a minute in microwave and then to add hot water and the bourbon.

2. Peppermint Joe Joe's (from Trader Joes). They're only here for the holidays... so hurry. And stock up.

3. The Five A's. We mentor some of the young couples who go through Rock Harbor's premarital class. We thought that since we keep them accountable to doing The Five A's each night, that we should do it ourselves. It's really a cool thing and is helpful in bringing up things you might not think to talk about. Here they are:
-Affirmation (I appreciated it today when you...)
-Affection (A hug, kiss, snuggling, massage, etc)
-Apology (Is there any way I irritated, frustrated, or hurt you today?)
-Ask (Is there anything you would like me to do today, tomorrow, or this week?)
-Amen (Ask your spouse if there's anything specific you can pray for them. End in prayer.)

The Weekend

Last week Lauren and Brian returned from the wedding, the honeymoon up the coast through wine country, and a Redding reception with Brian's family and friends. They leave tonight for Guatamala. Needless to say, this past week has been a whirlwind of fun family times as they prepare to leave on their adventure and we try to squeeze in every last minute with them.

Here are some pics from our especially busy Sunday. We went to church and lunch with the fam, to a couples baby shower with friends from college, and then to a dinner party in LA.

This actually was Saturday night. We were at home watching the usc game. Wallace enjoyed his new pod thing that you see here. Oliver all of a sudden seemed comfortable around Wallace as he sprawled behind him on the couch all night.

Here's a shot of the girls from Karen and Mike Cleary's shower (Kelly, Me, Madeline, Karen, Beth, Gina, & Ella).

Up in LA... Liv, Wallace, and Taylor were able to bond.

Lara made this scarf for Wallace. It is adorable!

Here are some pictures from the roof of their loft. Some are blurry, but I put them anyway. There's something about this city that I just love. Looking out there's such an energy yet calmness. I could stare over LA for a long time thinking of all that goes on under those lights.

Sunset

Did you see it last night? Gorgeous. We stopped making dinner to run outside and do a photo shoot.

Halloween!

Rian and I had some of our good friends over to watch old videos of high school and college parties at my parents house. We had so much fun and were laughing so hard at each other. It's so fun to go back 10 years and see all of us together, usually making fools of ourselves! We had so many trick-or-treaters and they cleaned us out within 45 minutes. Even the ghost that we dropped on people's heads as they came to the door didn't scare them away.





Missy looking embarrassed at herself in the dance video.