GOOD MORNING!!

This morning I woke up with a headache about 4:00a.m. Went to the kitchen and grabbed an Excedrin and then layed back down! I could not fall asleep...I guess Excedrin has caffeine in it and I just didn't think about it!

So, I got up at 5:30 this morning (anyone that knows me knows that is unheard of!) Made Trevor and Alexia some oatmeal for breakfast, made up baggies of oatmeal for him for the week and surfed the internet. Now I am going to get off this computer and try to do something productive today!

I am sure I will never take Excedrin in the morning again to cure a headache! I'm afraid I am going to be dead this afternoon but I feel pretty AWAKE right now!

A New Year one big new goal!

The main goal I have this year is to be out of debt by the end of 2011 (Except our houses) So in order to do this I am really going to try and cut my budget for food and toiletries and use our food storage items on hand. The Utah Deal Diva really inspired me to really try and live on less. She spent only $2,100 over 2010 for all food, diapers, toiletries, etc! I have been HORRIBLE this last year with not keeping a budget..I just spent and didn't keep track. Well not this year in fact I am going to post how much I spent on my groceries every month on my blog to keep myself in check! I am hoping this will make me more responsible with my spending and we will ultimately be out of debt that much sooner!

We are officially on a cash budget....wish me luck....this could be a really long year!!!

Making Butter!

When I was a kid we grew up on non-pasturized raw milk. My parents would bring us out to this awesome Amish family and we would always purchase our milk in those big glass gallon jars...that would occasionally be dropped by myself or my other 11 siblings...Hey those glass jugs are HEAVY! Anyway, I digress....The other night Franny called me offering me some raw milk from her cow that had just had a calf and had an excess of milk. I met Franny 2 years ago by chance. Trevor and I had seen her apple trees FULL of apples so we stopped and asked if we could get some. Well she let us and anyone else we knew come by and pick the apples as many as we wanted...We are still eating the applesauce I made from that summer. Anyway, She knows we are Mormon so she offered it to us and anyone else that might want/need it. I was pretty excited because I haven't had raw milk since I left Illinois when I was 18. We got it and it had a good 3 cups of cream on top so I took the cream off and made homemade butter. I have never made butter before but oh my goodness it was sooo easy and sooo yummy! Just whipped the cream for about 20 minutes and then the butter and buttermilk separated and there you have it. The girls loved it on the homemade bread I made and then later that night we topped some bread with butter and jam...all homemade! Yeah, you can start calling me Beverly now!(MY MOM)
I was pretty proud of myself I do have to say!

The girls playing Zoo

The girls pulled out a ton of containers from my cabinets and went crazy getting all their animals the correct habitat. Felicity would ask me what does ____________ like to eat or what does this animal like to sleep in and then proceeded to find things that would work for the animals. The girls even went outside to collect twigs, grass, snow, trees (tumbleweeds cut into trees), and rocks. It was pretty funny watching the girls collect all the goods. Yes it was COLD outside and yes that was all Alexia was wearing. When I told her she needed to come in and get some clothes her response was sticking her tongue out at me! Oh well, I didn't feel like dealing with the tantrum and she came in pretty quickly because she was COLD!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas tree pretty late this year...time just flew! It is always hard with our birthdays only a couple weeks before Christmas. The girls pretty much decorated the whole tree! I didn't move any of the bulbs and Trevor helped with the star. Can I tell you how much I LOVE having plastic bulbs. I remember as a kid always having Christmas decorations drop while hanging them and the bulb would shatter instantly. Then everyone needed to worry about stepping on a shard of glass! Alexia even smacked Felicity across the face with her bulb and the bulb was still intact! I do have to say Felicity was pretty upset though! I will have to post the video...Yep, I got it on video!!!!

Trevor's 35th Birthday

Not the most exciting birthday for Trevor! We all went to dinner at in-n-out (Of course) then it was off to Costco for a little family shopping. We had some last minute shopping to do for Christmas and this was the last weekend we could do it. Then ran through the drive-thru at Wendy's grabbed some frosty's for dessert and off we went home. It was nice to spend a little quality time with the fam. With Trevor working two full time jobs we really don't get to spend tons of time together so we are really thankful for these simple tasks that we get to do together as a family!

The bling

I was working on the computer the other morning and Alexia walked in looking like this...Do I really need to say more?

Pictures from Bishops FHE

Summer, Debbie and I were in charge of the dinner but luckily we had a bunch of people that pitched in. I think we had about 250 people show up to the dinner...it was a full house! I always feel bad at these events because Trevor has to take care of the girls while I'm running around crazy trying to get everything done! We had a fun time especially the talent show was fun to watch.

The kids did a fun little skit and Alexia was supposed to be in it but kept whining so I grabbed her off the stage while the other kids did the skit and she freaked out screaming and kicking. She was SOOO mad. I finally calmed her down by finding our old bishop who brought his little dog to the dinner. She just loved sitting and petting the dog and finally we could get through the night with a happy Alexia which is NO small feat these days!!!

Seeing Santa

My girls LOVE to see Santa. Alexia always calls him PAPA. Before the Bishops Family Home Evening we have started the tradition of Santa coming to visit the kids. He brings them a treat and asks them what they want for Christmas. The girls were a little nervous about sitting on Santa's lap but when they were done they were so excited! The elf was a nice addition this year to the festivities..Thanks Andrew!!

My little pretties!

My little girls are such hams when it comes to taking pictures..We were getting ready to see Santa before the Bishops family home evening and decided to take a few pics.

Time with the Cards

We spent Saturday night with Trevor's family having pizza for dinner and playing games. Felicity LOVED playing go fish with Grandpa and the girls had a blast with little Keyan all night long. Trevor even got a little exercise in dragging the girls all over the kitchen!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Just some pics of Thanksgiving dinner at Teeara's (Trevor's Sister) house. We had lots of yummy SUPER fattening food and Had our world famous dutch diner pies, Pecan and chocolate peanut butter...No wonder I need to get on the treadmill some time soon! Seriously the holidays have NOT been kind to me. I need to get signed up for another race fast to get motivated.

The kids had a blast seeing all the family especially their cousin Keyan. Felicity and Alexia just adore him so much! We had a fun time playing bingo and hanging out. I was feeling pretty exhausted after the race so I'm afraid I probably wasn't the most entertaining person ever but I never am so that's ok!

Hopefully next Thanksgiving we will be in Kansas City hunting some deer!!!
How will we get it home you ask...Trevor thinks dry ice. We'll have to check with the airport to see if they'll let us transport deer meat!