Cupcake Apron Party

So my friend Tammi and I are really into hostess aprons and have been looking for a reason to wear our fun aprons from sommer designs: http://www.sommerdesigns.com/. For an excuse to show them off, we hosted a cupcake party for our Bible Study girls and had fun decorating while wearing our adorable aprons. I know most men will never understand, but at least my husband supports my antics (as long as he got to eat a cupcake he was happy). :)

Morning Hunt

One of my favorite pastimes is duck hunting. Sitting in the marsh under the pre-dawn light before shooting time brings both peace and excitement. The air gets colder just before the sun rises, which is a phenomenon that probably has a scientific explanation, but why ruin the mystery. Being out in the duck blind filters out worries and creates space for life's more important thoughts. The pictures you see were from a recent hunt with my dad to an area called San Jacinto. It was a beautiful day with the icy wind blowing off the snow-capped mountains. I love being outdoors and look forward to many more days in the field.

A Tale of Christmas

This Christmas Jake and I hit the road for a Family Christmas marathon. We drove up to my mom's house in Santa Maria and spent Christmas Eve eating a special breakfast, opening gifts, having my extended family over for dinner, and then seeing a movie. Then we woke up on Christmas said our good byes and got on the road for San Diego. We arrived safely (thank you God) in the rain storm and headed with Jake's family to his grandma and grandpa's house. We enjoyed the evening eating a delicious roast dinner and being entertained by Jake's cousin's daughter who is a little over a year old. Her dancing was the hit of the night! Finally, the next day we celebrated Christmas with Jake's mom, dad, and sister. Having a special breakfast, opening gifts, and enjoying the day together. After all the fun, I became stir crazy, so Jake and I took his dog Shasta for a walk and then went to my favorite store: Target. We had a wonderful Christmas and are overwhelmingly blessed by our families. Thank you to everyone for making Christmas so special! Here are some pics of Christmas 2008! Jake was kind enough to hold up each tree for me as I picked the best one. Finally, I was satisfied enough to make a decision. That of course made Mr. Holden very happy. :)

Hosing it off before bringing it inside.

The finished product. Tada!

The only picture Jake and I took together during the Christmas season. I failed as the picture taker this year.

Jordan snuggling with his gift.

Noel, looking cute on Christmas Eve after opening gifts.

Hostess aprons! Taryn got my mom the cute vintage green apron, and my mom got me the polka dot, pink apron for Christmas. I love it!

So if you didn't already know, Jake's new hobby (much to my detriment) is smoking pipes. He is all into it. I on the other hand, I hate the idea. But as marriage is about compromise, I am learning to accept it. So, here is my husband looking like Old Man River, smoking his pipe on Christmas Eve.

Brother bonding time. My brother Jordan unfortunately encourages Jake's new hobby.

And of course, my mom had to get in on the action as well. She laughed so hard she inhaled the smoke and then proceeded to have a coughing fit. Oh, mom.

This is Jake's cousin's daughter, Shayla. She delighted us on Christmas with her joy, and especially her dancing. What a cutie!

Jake with his sister's cat Harley. We bought him an antler hat which of course he loved.

This is Jake's family dog- Shasta. She is so cute! And yes, I know I look like I'm choking her, but I am not. She wanted to continue on our walk and not stop for pictures. :)

What if this Christmas...

Tammi's B-day Prom Dress Extravaganza!

Tammi's b-day inspired a night out with the girls to re-wear an old prom dress or bridesmaid dress and go bowling. We had a fun time freezing in our strapless dresses and trying to bowl with full length skirts. It was definitely a fun night to remember. Happy birthday, Tam!

My prom date!

I love Tammi Joy!

Getting ready to bowl!

Cindy is too cute!
Bowling in my bridesmaid dress... hey I bowled a 103- not bad! :)

Putting our feet up after a successful night of bowling!

Blog Catch Up...

Now here's a happy shopper.

And...uncontrollable laughter. I love my family!

My mom's holiday Christmas card (pre-laughing).

Sisters!

My Aunt Mary's mean old cat, Kelly. She has it out for me. I know it.

Mom and her Thanksgiving hat. She is a nut! And I love her spunk- :)

Halloween

For Halloween we went over to the Bringard's house for some Halloween fun. Our friend Cody had the idea that everyone should dress up as a song- which guessing each other's costumes turned out to be very entertaining. We had an "Amish Paradise", "Under the Bridge", "Ice, Ice, Baby", a "Rhinestone Cowboy" and more creative ideas. Jake was "Sunshine on my Shoulders" and I was "Calendar Girl". Thanks to the Bringard's for hosting and for the yummy food and games.

Fireproof

Jake and I had date night Sat. and after dinner we saw the movie Fireproof. The movie was very good, had a wonderful message and one that needs to be heard. I know Christian movies are sometimes a little cheesy, but this one is pretty decent and the message makes it worth it. My heart was truly blessed to see and hear marriage and Jesus uplifted by truth. Go see it:) Money and time well spent!

P.S. Coming from a divorced family myself, I know there are some marriages that are meant to end for Biblical reasons-this movie's message gives hope that Jesus can help marriages make it through hard times.

Distractions From Homework

So, I have basically used fall as an excuse to decorate and to be distracted from my homework. Last Sunday I took time out from work, to get all my fall things out from the garage, put it all together, and make the house look warm and cozy. I bought the fall leaves with the lights from Target as my special splurge. At night I turn them on and just feel happy about fall! My second distraction from homework is phone calls. I'll be typing away on the computer or reading some text and my phone rings. Right away I bolt to get my phone and am so thankful to whoever calls me and gives me a couple of minutes away from homework. Pretty much I am easily distracted. I just can't wait for this Master's thing to be over with. :) Oh, well onward I go.

The Great Park...

We decided to change up date night and go and check out the Great Park that was formally the El Toro Air Force base. It was their last night of concerts in the park and they are still giving rides on their huge hot air balloon. We had fun people watching, looking around, looking at future plans for the park (they're going to have a pizza garden, how fun is that?), and listening to some pretty boring blue grass. Now, I normally like blue grass, but this music was a little more classical and yes, it actually put me to sleep. All in all we had fun hanging out together, taking a break from HW and chores, and doing something out of the ordinary.

Waiting in line for the air balloon that we didn't go on. Sad story:(

At the park, they also had some strange entertainment. One act was these people flying model airplanes on sticks while humming on kazoos. Bizarre,right? I thought it was quite strange. Also, they had those people in what appears to be pillow sacks. They walked around posing and rolling around. Personally,they creeped me out, and I think nobody knew how to respond to them. Like I said interesting, very interesting.

Entertaining myself and Jake as always.

The big, orange, hot air balloon- I wasn't kidding. :)

A fun date night out!

Tammi joined us the 2nd day...and gave us some of her sass and competition!