Trees, Cookies, and Good Times

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I LOVE the holiday season. There is just something about the feeling of Christmas that just warms my heart. The kids are getting old enough to feel it too and that makes me really happy!

So a few days after Thanksgiving we decided to put up the tree. Cole always gets the decorations out for me and puts the tree up. Then it's my job to 'fluff' the tree and direct the decorating. I always let the kids do their thing first. I have slight OCD when it comes to the tree so Cole always has to restrain me while the kids decorate. Of course they did like all kids do and put most of the ornaments at their eye level and on a total of two branches. But they had fun and had no idea that I moved the ornaments around after they went to bed :-)

Things are good here at the Asay house, aside from the holidays, not a whole lot is happening. Cole started working nights and I am not a fan. He works from 7p to 7a! So he leaves after dinner and comes home at breakfast and crashes. Then he gets up around 2 or 3 and hangs out for a while before starting it all over again. We dont get to see him very much on work days...boo. The nice thing about nights is the pay is better...thats about it. 

The kids are doing good. Hannah is going to start her last week of school til the new year this week. She loves school. She asks me every night if its school the next day. 

Lillian is teething so she is kind of a bear lately. She has been struggling with fevers and diaper rashes for almost 2 weeks now. Still, she keeps a smile on her face. 

Oh, so it has been very cold here in Laramie the past week or so. Our house has been cold as well. I thought because its an older house maybe the house couldn't keep up with the -30 wind chill. So I have been sitting around the house with blankets and electric heaters. I even attempted to start a fire in the fireplace. Nothin was working. Yesterday morning I went to get in the shower and the hot water wouldn't work either. So we were freezing all around. Turns out our boiler is broken and needs a new starter? The whole heating system in the house is water based, which explains the cold. We are currently waiting on the part to come in and the guy to come install it. Until then, its showers at Ayzlynn's house and sleeping in the living room with electric heaters. 

We started our holiday baking! So far we've just done the gingerbread men, but Thursday I am going to bust out the good stuff!

Aren't we cute?

Thanksgiving Weekend and a House Full!

  So, Thanksgiving...I was so nervous. It was our first time hosting, and my first time cooking a turkey for such an event. Cole invited his friend Kizzy from work and her new husband Tom. He is from the Philippines so this was his first Thanksgiving...EVER! I spent the week cleaning up the house and researching recipes. I found a delicious roasted turkey recipe where you make a compound butter (butter with herbs, garlic, etc.) and you shove it under the skin. I had to baste it every 20 min for 3 hours, not to mention, it barely fit in my tiny oven...

But after 3 hours the turkey was done, and it was beautiful! Did I mention the aroma? I wish there was a scratch and sniff feature on my blog. Wow. 

I did a huge no-no and tried recipes that I have never made before. Fortunately, I am a decent enough cook to pull it off. I made some Brie en Croute for the appetizer, it was delish! Cheese, nuts, and bread. You cant go wrong with that combination. 

We set the table before our company came and Hannah made us all our own turkey hand place cards. She colored them and Cole helped her cut them out. She was very proud of her work. When meal time came no one was saying a word; this is a good sign in my opinion. Their faces were stuffed with food! It was so good! Kizzy and Tom brought the traditional items I didn't make, like mashed potatoes and rolls. Tom also brought some native dishes like Lampas and some delicious chicken soup. Cole was happy to just have his turkey leg!

Lillian didn't get to eat the same food as us, but I made sure she had some Gerber Turkey and Sweet Potatoes. She was just fine with it. Oh, I found this super awesome spoon at Albertsons of all places. You put the food in the handle of the spoon and just squeeze it out into the end of the spoon! It's great for when we are out places or even at church. 

This is a picture of our company, Tom and Kizzy. Oh yeah, and Hannah :-)

After dinner, we cleaned up and our company left, just in time for more company to show up! Cole's family came to visit us for the weekend after they ate in Riverton. With Cole's parents came presents for the kiddos. Such gifts were: bunk beds, a dresser and night stand, clothes, and super hero costumes with muscles. Lucas immediately put on the costume they got for him and didn't take it off until he had to bathe the next day. 

Maggie came with them, which was great because I hadn't met her baby Noah yet! He was so tiny. My kids were still in the womb when they were his size. You forget so quickly how small babies are. He loves his Auntie Manda.

Here is a picture of Ayz, Me, Mandie, and baby Noah in my kitchen. 

It was so nice to have a visit from the family. Cole spent time playing guitar with his dad and the kids played downstairs with Mimi (his sister Mandie). 

On Saturday we took a trip to Fort Collins Colorado to do a little shopping and eat at Rodizzio, a delicious Brazilian restaurant. We went to a baby boutique/toy store that was extremely over priced! They had the coolest stuff there, none of which I was willing to pay for. I did see a really cool baby carrier called a Maya Wrap that I wanted and made a note to save up for it or find it on eBay. When we left the store, Mandie handed me the wrap and said Merry Christmas! It was super nice of her, and I LOVE it. 

After that we then went to the mall. When we got to the mall there was a Holiday Train for kids to ride, so of course my kids had to ride:

Lucas thought it was super awesome. Lillian didn't get to ride, but she liked hanging out in her wrap and watching her brother and sister. We walked a little further down the mall and guess who we ran into? That's right: SANTA!! The kids were ecstatic. Hannah jumped right into his lap, Lucas was hesitant. Like any good mother around the holidays, I forced him to sit on Santa for a picture. He warmed up to him but got off his lap to tell him he wanted a "costume sword". 

Cole's family left on Sunday morning after a delicious breakfast at Perkins :-) We spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying what was left of the holiday break. Cole doesn't have to go back to work until Wednesday so we are going to put up our tree and do some things as a family until he has to go back. 

Denver, Sewing, and Night Life

So, sorry about the long break from Blogg-age. I have been busy finishing unpacking. I figure there is no longer an excuse and I just need to quit being lazy about it. 

Anyways, last weekend we took an overnight trip to Denver. It is only 2 hours away so, not too far of a trip. Cole, Glen, and Megan went to the Black Crowes concert at the Fillmore, so me and the kids had a night-in in the hotel room. We were starving by the time we got there so I decided we needed to order some room service. Now, I was super excited because this was in fact, my first experience with room service. I got the kids a pizza and ordered myself some fabulous sounding pasta... Well the kids' pizza was AMAZING! My food was lacking salt and tasted pretty bland.

BUT to compensate for the lack of flavor, the hotel kitchen included a mini bottle of Tabasco. 

It was a pretty good evening all in all. The concert was good according to Cole, and they got me a T-Shirt (not that it made us even). So, I need to find myself a concert to go to and it's Cole's turn to watch the kids, any suggestions? 
We got up the next morning and chilled while everyone got ready. We then treated ourselves to an amazing breakfast at IHOP. Might I recommend the Gingerbread Holiday Hotcakes...

So when we got home from Denver, Cole and I had a reception to go to for his preceptor at work. It was a small, very personal event, so we had Ayz come over and watch ALL 3 kids! It was nice to be an adult for a few hours, and not just someone's mom. 

Oh yeah, so in the downstairs living room there are 4 windows that look right out into the front yard. They are ground level so you can see right into the play room. This has been a problem, especially at night when the inside lights are on. We don't want any creepers looking in on our kids. The solution? Discount fabric from Wal~Mart, and me using my limited sewing skills. I specialize in two things when sewing, pillow cases and baby blankets. Curtains are pretty much a combination of the two. Hannah helped me out by handing me pins and putting the used ones back in the tomato cushion. 

As you can see, I am getting very bored with making the curtains. But the turned out great and you can no longer see in, or out, of the downstairs windows!

Okay, I read the Twilight books just like every other woman in the world, and yes, I loved them. However, I hated the first movie. I thought it was a combination of cheesy effects, added dialogue, and poor acting. So when New Moon came out I had mixed feelings. I had the highest hopes that it would be so much better than the first. Ayz got us some tickets for opening night so I put the kids to bed when Cole got home and we went to the 9:45 show. Let me just say it was everything I wanted it to be. So much better than the first. It just goes to show what popularity and a couple more millions of dollars will do for a franchise. 

Ayz and I tried to take a pic while she was stopped at a stop sign...she didn't get the memo...

There, thats much better!

Fall Leaves=Family Photo

Today was such a fun day! The kids wanted to make some cupcakes, and I just so happened to have some Rainbow Chip frosting and cake mix! Sooo while they were sleeping I made the cupcakes and when they woke up I let them decorate. 

Lucas was more interested in eating the sprinkles...

Hannah was being very meticulous about her decorating. She took her time decorating one while Lucas decorated 3.

Lucas was super pleased with himself. He decided he was done decorating and just wanted to eat.

Here is our tower of cupcakes!!

When Cole got home he asked if we wanted to go outside so we put coats on and headed out into the back yard. There were piles and piles of leaves so the kids decided to get a rake.

Lillian and mommy. She loves going outside! You can see the kids behind us hard at work.

We made a huge pile of leaves and thought the kids would like to be tossed into the middle of it. Who doesn't have a childhood memory of jumping in leaves?!

Lucas thought it was crap. He didn't like being thrown into a pile of decaying foliage. 

Hannah on the other hand thought it was AMAZING!

Lillian wasn't sure what to do about the leaves around her. She started to slowly sink in then decided she wanted out.We put her on the ground away from the giant pile. She immediately started to eat the leaves.

She is such a pretty girl! We feel so blessed to have such a beautiful baby girl in our life. 

We even managed to snap a Family pic!