I am a little behind on posting since we’ve been out of town, so here is my attempt at catching up. The day before we left for California, Lindsay had her cute little gymnastics recital and so many friends and family came to support her. Lane, Kelly, Spencer, Emily, Ashlee, and Trevor and of course us all came to watch her and she loved it!! Lindsay loves gymnastics and is getting very good at everything. Here are a couple of videos of the event.

Lindsay’s floor routine.

Lindsay’s bar routine.

Lindsay’s beam routine. She got a little distracted because Logan was on the mat.

Lindsay getting her award and saying “Ta-Da!”

Things I’ve Done. To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing(REI counts, right?)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

37 out of 99

Dear Milk Chocolate Toffee covered Macadamia Nuts,

I LOVE YOU.

Love, Bethy

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper, it’s definitely more fun

2. Real Tree or Artificial? Fake

3. When do you put your tree up? Usually after Thanksgiving, but I’ve been known to put ours up in the middle of November.
4. When do you take your tree down? between Christmas and New Years

5.Do you like Eggnog? Unfortunately, YES!!

6. Favorite gift received? This wasn’t a Christmas present, but my laundry room cabinets that Jeffy surprised me with for my birthday!

7.Hardest person to buy for? My grandparents

8. Easiest person to buy for? Logan

9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes, a simple one

10. Mail or e-mail Christmas Cards? usually mail, but this year we did an email card
11. Worst Christmas present ever received? can’t think of any

12. Favorite/Worst Christmas movie? favorite movie, A Christmas Story, worst movie “I saw mommy kissing santa claus”

13. When do you start shopping? as early as September
14. Have you ever recycled a gift? I don’t think so

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas time? the yummy chocolates!
16. Lights on tree? Of course

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Comet, Blitzen, Cupid, Donner…so no

19. Angel on top of tree or star? star

20. Open presents on Christmas eve? Growing up we never did, but last year we had the kids open jammies on Christmas Eve but not this year
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? traffic
22. Favorite ornament? the ones Lindsay has made this year in preschool

23. Favorite food for Christmas Dinner? turkey

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? food storage

This past week has been really hard, in that Logan had transformed into a little monster! A monster who wouldn’t eat, sleep or listen to anything I say. He IS a boy and has his stubborn moments, but usually if you give him his space or some time, he will usually come around to whatever idea you are trying to get him to go along with. Not this week. Last night was horrible, in that it took us like 5 1/2 hours to get him to go to sleep only to have him end up sleeping on the couch, with Jeff on the floor next to him and me in bed, furious. There are seriously no words to express how high strung I was! Anyway, last Sunday I took him to the doctor because he was complaining that his ear hurt but the doctor couldn’t find any infection so back home we went. Then Tuesday-Thursday he threw up a bunch and then got incredibly goopy eyes, which have lasted until today. He seemed to be doing ‘better’ in that he wasn’t throwing up anymore, but man was he ever CRANKY!! So, today when I was trying to get him into his snowsuit to go play outside, I noticed he had some yellow yucky stuff coming out of his ear so back to the doctor we went and sure enough a triple whammy! An ear, sinus and eye infection! Are you kidding?? I feel so bad for the kid, yet at the same time I sure am glad that there is something wrong and that this ‘new’ side of him isn’t just who he is. So, he’s on some yummy pink medicine that will hopefully get him back to normal soon.

This post is a little bit late but we’ve had a whirlwind couple of days! Logan seems to be over the vomit and Lindsay’s eyes look better. Hopefully, we can stay healthy until after the holidays, since we’re traveling!

Last Saturday we started and ended the day with a Christmas party. Our wards Christmas party was a breakfast this year with yummy biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, fruit and juice.


(Logan had a yellow mustache because of the juice. It stayed there for a LONG time!)
It was so wonderful to see so many members of our ward come together to have a wonderful time and to celebrate the Christmas season. After breakfast, we all sang Jingle Bells super loud in hopes that Santa would hear and come visit us. When he walked through the door, Lindsay was SO super excited! She turned to me and said, “MOMMY!! SANTA IS HERE!!!!” The next thing I knew, she was off my lap and running to give him a hug. She just couldn’t believe that singing the song had actually worked and that he was here.

She sat on his lap and told him she wanted a toy Santa and a toy Snowman. I don’t know. I am a little relieved that there wasn’t any mention of anything princess. Logan didn’t want anything to do with Santa but we did manage to get a picture of him hating it. Gotta have one of those!

We had a really nice time, thanks Activities Committee! You always do a great job!
Then we went home and Jeff put some shelves up in the closet upstairs and it looks really nice! We’re going to put one of Jeffy’s old computers in there for the kids. I’m exited and so is Lindsay!
Then around 4:30pm we drove up to Salt Lake for the Digicert Christmas Party, which are always a lot of fun. We had it in the Presidents Room in the Joseph Smith Building there and it was so beautiful. That building is amazing and the atmosphere is so wonderful. We ate dinner with all the prophets looking down on us, trying to see if we could recognize each one. Once again, Santa came but this time he brought Mrs. Claus with him and Lindsay was again super excited and she didn’t seem to notice that they looked completely different!

Jeff and I were so worried about that because earlier in the evening, she had noticed that Brenda’s hair looked different from the last time she saw her. Which was 5 months earlier!! What a memory! So, I’m glad she was oblivious. Santa brought her a Ariel doll that she can play with in the tub and Santa brought Logan more trucks, which were a hit!



I just have to take another moment once again to express how much I love my kids! They are the best kids ever and I just love them so much! This next picture once again shows how much they love each other. Logan will do anything as long as Lindsay is with him and Lindsay is always so willing to help him. She knew that he was a little scared of Santa so when she wanted to go give him another hug, I asked her if she would hold Logan’s hand and take him with her and she just did it with a smile on her face. I’m so glad that they have each other and that they genuinely love each other so much!

Aren’t they cute?

Still holding hands.

Thanks again Digicert for a fun evening and we can’t wait to do it again!

The rules: Answer the question using only one word.
Then tag 4 others.

1.Where is your cell phone? downstairs
2. Your significant other? amazing
3. Your hair? boring
4. Your mother? sweet
5. Your father? Strong
6. Your favorite thing? munchkins
7. Your dream last night? Forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? Water
9. Your dream/goal? Happiness
10. The room your in? bedroom
11. Your hobby? nonexistent
12. Your fear? failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
14. What you’re not good at? Patience
15. Muffins? poppyseed
16. One of your wish list items? moretogive
17. Where you grew up? Orem/Plano
18. The last thing you did? listened
19. What are you wearing? jammies
20. Favorite gadget? computer
21. Your pet? none
22. Your computer? awesome
23. Your mood? happy
24. Missing someone? always
25. Your Car? van/jetta
26. Something you’re not wearing? sweater
27. Favorite Store? old navy
28. Favorite Word? Mommy
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? yesterday

I tag Emily, Niki, Katie and Elaine. Go on, you know you want to!

As most of you already know, I sewed a cute ladybug for little baby Lia and Niki and Flavio to give to them when they got back. I couldn’t put pictures up until now because we just gave it to them on Saturday and then I forgot to take pictures before so Niki took some of it for me yesterday. And now that she has put it on her blog, I can put it on mine.

I didn’t have a pattern or anything, just a picture off the internet and a very helpful husband to get it all done. I had a BLAST working on it and it was a neat experience for two reasons:
1) I got to make something for two of my dearest friends and their new, very special little girl, and
2) I learned that I am maybe a better sewer than I gave myself credit for.

I hope that doesn’t sound to prideful but I am very proud of the way it turned out! Every time I saw it I still couldn’t believe that I had made that. Here are some pictures:

The front

The back. I sewed in some loops for a dowel for easy hanging.

I had people in the ward come and write little messages to baby Lia under the black spots. Peekaboo!!

So mom, thanks for teaching me how to sew all those many years ago! And Niki, you are so very welcome and so deserving! We all love you guys and hope that it will be something you will cherish forever.

I have been meaning to put pictures of Lindsay’s new room and the side of our house for awhile now but kept forgetting to take pictures of them. So, here is Lindsay’s new room. I don’t even remember when we did it! I think we redid it September, that’s how long ago it was. Anyway, Jeff’s brother Lane was moving in with us and we decided we’d switch Lindsay’s twin bed with the queen bed in the guest room so that Lane could have more space in his room for other things. So since we were moving stuff around I decided that I wanted to paint her other three walls the purple. I had made her new curtains awhile ago and just thought they would look cuter with some color behind them. So, we got started and Lindsay actually helped with the painting and she did a great job! She was so careful and didn’t spill a single drop of paint! She loved it. Then I got some wood letters and painted them and put ribbon on the back to hang on her wall. We also got some vinyl lettering from Amy and Jason Crowther for over her window. It all turned out very cute and she loves it!


Her new night light.


Her baby quilt. I still love it!

And some time in October we finally finished our yard and I mean FINISHED! There is nothing else to do now except keep it looking beautiful! We got some darker colored wood chips for the side and right inside the gate to the back and it just makes it all look so neat. See ya later weeds! I hope I never have to see your ugly green pokeys ever again!! Here is what it looks like: