Our little Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving finally arrived. I was not looking forward to it this year since we would be away from our friends and family. I have been spoiled for the last 8 years. We would travel to my mother's house when we were stationed in Alabama and before that we went to my Aunt PoPo's for a huge family Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I havent cooked a whole Thanksgiving meal in a LONG TIME!
It was a very quiet and relaxful day here in Utah. I cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls and a salad. We ate early and didnt over stuff ourselves. Casey hated the Turkey as usual. We tried to pass it off as a big chicken but he was too smart for that. Emily told me that the meal was awesome and ate alot. Chris seemed to be content too. We did get to have some of Chris's peanut butter pie. That was the one thing that Casey liked. He actually licked his plate clean.
After dinner Emily and I decided to go shopping at Old Navy and Michaels. Overall it was a nice day with my little family that I will treasure for years to come.

Some crafty goodness

Since I have moved to Utah, I have been crafting quite a bit. Utah is filled with wonderful craft stores and very inspirational women. It is hard for me to choose just one type of craft to do too. I love scrapbooking but I also love quilting, card making, cross stiching, wood working....The list could go on and on. I tell you this state truly inspires my creativity. And being surrounded by such creative people at home and at work doesnt hurt either LOL!
A couple of weeks ago I attended a crafting event here in my neighborhood. It was actually put on by the church here and the neighborhood women were kind enough to invite me because they know I love to craft. You could sign up for different kits and work on them there during the event. I signed up for 3 different classes. Here are photos of two of them. The family yahtzee has to be my favorite. It is a darling way to incorporate your family right into the game. I love this set and I am afraid to use it. Thanks to my friend Brooke for teaching me how to make this.
THe second is a large metal star that I covered with Graphic 45 Christmas paper and Mod Podge. I actually didnt make this there but later at home and it is bigger than the one that they made at the event. I am going to hang it in our upstair living room. I have wooden trees that I am going to cover with the same paper and embellish too. I will post some photos when I get those finished. I hoping to do this either Thanksgiving day or Friday since I have those days off.

Winter Wonderland

I still cant believe that we have snow out here and it is only November. Growing up in Maine, I dont recall getting snow this early. Sure we had snow in April but I just dont remember it in October and early November.
My kids LOVE the white stuff. Emily grew up in Maine and knows what it is like to play in the snow and get cold but Casey, thats a whole different thing. He loves it until he gets cold and that is real fast. He stood outside on Saturday and cried because he was too cold. Emily and I tried to cheer him up by running around and throwing snowballs at each other but that didnt work.
What finally did work was....Shoveling! I think I now have my snow removal crew for the winter. Casey and Emily both wanted to clear the driveway and the sidewalk. I let them have at it and they did a really good job. Lets just see how they feel when we get more than a couple of inches. Casey did have trouble lifting the snow out of the way but he used those muscles of his and dumped it on the lawn. I think he is taking right after his daddy. I know that Chris loves to shovel and mow the lawn so why not his son.
So now I am still looking at snow. It didnt melt from two days ago so that tells you that it is pretty darn cold out here. I hope your weather is nice and warm!

Hey Stranger!

Well it has been quite awhile since I have updated this blog of mine. Facebook has taken over my posts on here but I am going to make a conscious effort to be better at updating here.
Alot has happened since the last time I posted. Both kiddos have now turned a year older. It is hard to believe that I now have a daughter who is double digits! And whoever said it was the terrible twos, does not know Casey Kimball!
Our summer was pretty uneventful and very LONG! My mom, brother and his girlfriend did visit us for a week in July which was a blast. We got to go to alot of neat places and sight see around this beautiful area. We went to the great salt lake, a copper mine, and the Olympic Park in Park City. We love having visitors so if you are in the mood to see some snow head out our way where the door is always open.
School has started up again for both kids too. Emily is now in 5th grade. She is trying to adjust to life out here still and I think she is the one that is having the hardest time. She has found a few friends at school. She has a new job at school too this year. She is a hall monitor with one of her good friends. She loves it!
Casey has started preschool in our neighborhood. He goes three times a week with all the neighbor kids. His best friend and his girlfriend attend with him. He loves it! He has made some new friends too and loves living in Utah. He is the one that adjusted the best. I knew he would do just fine out here.
Chris is doing just fine at work. He spent most of the summer "molding" new chiefs for their initiation in September. He also put in his paperwork to retire. It is hard to believe that it is almost time for us to retire. It seems like we were just in Rhode Island on our first tour. Chris spends alot of time out in the garage make speakers. He is really good at it and we have some rocking speaker in our family room and he has a pair in his office.
I am busy at work. I love my job. I really dont feel like it is a job since I am surrounded by scrapbook supplies all day and people who love to scrapbook. I have made some good friends in co workers and customers. This fall I got to fly back East to attend a scrapbook retreat with my friends. It was so nice! I miss my girlfriends every day. THey "get" me and love my family. I had a blast while I was there and it was like I had never left. I was nervous that it would be different but it wasnt at all.
So that is the quick review of the last few months. I am watching the snow here ......

I'm so excited!!!

For those of you that dont know who these women are then this post might not mean anything to you. For those of you that do know who Theresa Collins, Layle Koncar and Jenni Bowlin are then you can relate to my excitement. As of this morning I am flying home to Alabama to go to a scrapbook event with some of my girlfriends. These three women are going to be teaching me and I am so excited!!! I have been following Layle Koncar's blog for ages and love her style. Then there is Jenni Bowlin whose products totally rock! And Theresa Collins who amazes me with her products (she even shops at the store I work at).
I am just as excited to spend time with my best friends in the whole wide world, my sistahs. They dont know how much they mean to me and how there constant friendship keeps me going when I am so far away. I also get to spend time with my mom, stepdad and brother. What more can a girl ask for! So I am starting the count down today...130 days to euphoria!

All Aboard!

Toady we went to the Heber Valley Railroad to visit with Thomas the train. He was here just for the weekend and we were lucky enough to get tickets to ride him. The ride to Heber City was gorgeous right through Provo Canyon (thank goodness Chris was driving because the roads were winding). When we arrived in town, we saw Thomas chugging down the tracks with other riders and this is when Casey started to get excited. It was a nice little affair. They had different activities for the children (tatoos, magician, playing with thomas train sets, bubbles and food). The highlight of the day was the train ride which lasted for about 20 minutes. We sat outside on an open train car but on the way back we decided to head inside to one of the passenger cars. It was a nice relaxing day. I think Casey and I enjoyed it more than Chris and Emily. Emily was a good sport and didnt complain but I knew she felt out of place with all the little kids. We did get her a train whistle so I think that made it a little better for her LOL.

Our first attempt at gardening

Since we dont own our house and cant have a real garden, we decided to grow some crops in planters in our backyard. We all went to Lowe's last weekend and purchased some grape tomato plants and a strawberry plant. We had gotten some planters a while back when they were on sale so we were ready to do some planting. I have never had any luck with growing anything. Maybe it was the weather down south or maybe it was that I dont have a "green thumb".
The kids have been taking turns watering the "crop" and tonight we actually tried some of our strawberries. Emily and I tasted these beauties and they were F.I.N.E. Actually, Emily wants us to go get two more strawberry plants because she thinks one plant wont fulfill her appetite for those scrumptious berries! I just hope they continue to grow and that they dont shrivel up and die like everything else I try to grow LOL!