here we go!

 

So this morning Eliza came down stairs and climbed into bed with me. It is so fun to snuggle with her in the morning and even more fun when she falls back asleep! She whispered in my ear..."Mom, it snowed this morning! We should go outside and make a frosty the snowman!" I have to admit. I was pretty excited about it too! So we bundled up and headed outside. We have a cute snowman kit that my friend miranda made for us and as Eliza was going through it she was singing the frosty the snowman song in segments to make sure we didnt forget anything! "2 eyes made out of coal...button nose....." We quickly realized that their wasnt enough snow to make a snowman so the kids just played and had a good time!

Catering!

So, some of you know that I have started a very small catering business here! I just wanted to post a few pictures of the party I had today.




We did a whole spread of breakfast pastries, 2 kinds of hot chocolate, with marshmallows, crushed candy canes and whip cream, and then also coffee with flavorings! It turned out really well and went very smooth. I am so tired now and I cant believe I am posting about it at 12:24 am! Good night!

 

I can't believe how grown up Porter got all of a sudden. It seriously seems like one day he just turned into a little man! He has been so fun and I love how him and Eliza just adore eachother. Yes he bugs her sometimes but they are always hugging and playing so well together. Porter is talking more and more everyday surprising us with new words and funny expressions. I just wanted to post these pictures matt took of him today because I think being the second child he often gets overlooked! In 3 weeks he will be in Nursery! Wow, how time goes by so fast. (Except when your in Sacrament meeting with a 4 yr old and an 18 month old)

Tori Amos!!!

For my birthday this year Matt surprised me with Tori Amos Tickets! I was so excited and hadn't even heard that she was coming in to town! The concert was Friday night and Matt was such a good sport to go with me and even seemed like he enjoyed himself! It was amazing and once again I was blown away by her talent. We went to Macaroni Grill for dinner before hand and had about an hour to spare before the concert started. So we went over to the mall and did some quick christmas shopping. We had such a fun time together and it was so nice to get out.

3 days of F U N !!!!

My Roommate from Ricks College got married yesterday and I decided to fly down and go! There was a lot of work and effort put into making it possible but it was important to me to go and I had such a great time! I went alone without children which is one big reason why it was so great. I loved how easy it was to pack and get through security at the airport. Then to just sit on the plane and read my book without any distractions was the best! That night my brother Sam picked me up from the airport which was so great to see him and catch up! He is so awesome and I love hanging out with him! I then drove with another old roommate (and great friend) Nicole up to the wedding dinner where all but 1 of the six roommates who were in our apartment were there. It was so fun and we were all so excited for Mollie! Then the next morning we went to the temple and I realized my recommend had expired. Woops! So I just waited at a little cafe, got a cup of soup and read my book by the window! Can you tell I am loving the no kids thing! Then after taking pictures with Mollie we had lunch at the Lion House with 2 of the roomies! (well, I had dessert since I had already eaten but it was still delicious!)





Sam came with me to the reception because he was at Ricks while Mollie and I were roommates and knew everyone there. Funny though that his business catered it and it was fun to sit at the table hoping for someone to say something bad about the food. But since it tasted SO GOOD only great things were commented. It was so good to be with everyone again. Some of our guy friends from that year at ricks were there as well with their families so we had a fun little reunion.






After the reception we all went to Nicoles In-laws house who were out of town. We changed into our jammies and reminisced about old times while looking through college photos everyone brought. We couldnt believe that it was already 9 years since that semester and how so much has changed but yet we still feel just as close and just as silly! These girls are wonderful and I love them all so much! I only wished Melissa could have been there and the night would have been complete! As you can tell, I didnt last long. Well, I guess I was the first to fall asleep. So thanks allie for the use of your photos since you were the only one who took pictures!

Thankgiving!

Our Family had a great Thanksgiving dinner this year. My In-Laws drove over from Idaho Falls and stayed 2 nights with us and 2 nights with Matts Brother and Sister in Law. We had our Thanksgiving feast at their house since it is pretty much summed up as amazing. We split up the cooking (sort of) so it wasnt too overwhelming. Although Lou and Jolyn might feel otherwise. (matts brother and sister in law) I made the famouse rolls that seemed to be a hit and knew it wouldnt be the same without them. I doubled the batch so we had plenty for Turkey sandwiches the next day! After dinner we all went to see Mr. Magorium's magic emporium. It was fun except for the part about porter being at the totally wrong age to sit through a movie and be quiet. We survived though! Thank goodness for grandpa! Then the girls stayed for a second show and watched August Rush which I loved! I am such a sucker for love stories!

World's Best In-Laws!!

So I think I definitely get the award for the best In-Laws a girl can ask for! There are many reasons that make them so great! At the beginning of November we flew over to Idaho Falls for a quick weekend trip! (gotta love those flight benefits!) We had such a great time and I was reminded again how much I love my kids grandparents. They spend so much time reading and playing with them and going on multiple daily walks! Outside their backyard their neighbors have horses that my kids love to feed! Eliza would pick some spinach, feed it to them and then say "Bon Appetit!" When we were there back in May my father in law helped Eliza plant a little garden of her own. The last few pictures are of them picking some carrots from that garden! Luckily my father in law loves taking pictures so we have a great archive of what we did the whole weekend!

 

Thanks Mom and Dad Buhrley for all you do for us! We love you so much!

Solution to the Dog dilemma!

So I posted about a month ago about how bad Eliza wanted a dog for her birthday! So here is the solution we found. A $15.00 Target dog that barks and walks with a push of a button! She loved it! And Porter does too! They both were so excited you would have thought it was the real thing. Although we left it in california when we went a few weeks ago and she is really sad about it! She named her Sparkles but we will see if it changes anytime soon!

Correction!

I have been informed that my previous entry about us moving to california seemed to some that I wouldnt miss Boise. Let me just clarify....As happy as I am to move and be close to my family, I KNOW I will miss Boise. Even on gloomy, cold days like today I will miss bundling my kids up in mittens and hats and going out for walks. Just wanted to make sure that everyone, in and outside of boise, knew that I do love it here and will be very very sad to leave!

GRAPLES!!

So a few of you have been to the wonderful store graples! I love it and probably most of the decorations in my house have come from that store! I just wanted to put up a few pictures of some recent purchases from there that I have decorated with! I was pretty excited with how it turned out! It was a fun day awhile back. My friend Lindsay and I randomly decided to meet for lunch with the kids. Then called a babysitter in our Co-op group and left all the kids while we went shopping! It was a great day! I am so thankful for awesome friends! She gave me the little kitchen plaque for my birthday! Boy does she know me or what? You have no idea how much it stands true. I feel like I totally get my house cleaned one day and you would never have guessed the very next. uggh!!

trial

 

My neighbor was showing me what I did wrong when I posted Eliza's birthday collage. Maybe I will get it right next time!

California here we come!

This past week we have been in california for several reasons. 1. My sister in law Ruth and my brother Scott had their 3rd little boy. It was fun to see him just 3 days after he was born. He is just adorable and so so cute! They named him Harper Rhodes! Then number 2. Visit my family and spend both mine and matts birthdays down here with them. We both had a lot of fun and really good birthdays! I will update more on that later! 3. My little sister heather has been dating an awesome guy named james for about a year now. He leaves to go on a mission to chile in December and he went through the temple on saturday for the first time. It was so neat to be there with him and his family! Matt and I are both so proud of him and his decision to go and we were glad we could be there to show our love and support. 4. The fourth reason and really the main reason we planned the trip to begin with was Matt had an interview with Loma Linda Endodontics school. We were excited that he even had an interview there, but didnt get our hopes up knowing it was a pretty competetive program. I think though with how big my family is and all there prayers matt was bound to get in! So the director of the program called matt the next day and offered him one of three spots! So it looks like we are moving! I am ecstatic and cant even hardly believe it. This has been my dream for so many years it almost doesnt seem possible. Although, I will admit, reality set in alittle after the excitement subsided and I started to think about all the logistics of moving, selling our house, looking for a new place to stay, boxing up, saying goodbye to all my awesome new friends, Matts brother and his family, boise state football (j/k).....I guess I will miss Boise but I am so so so happy and also so so proud of Matt.

Halloween!

Eliza was so excited for her birthday this year. I think she has been anticipating being 4 for months now. Everytime we go to the store and she sees something she wants she tells me "Mom, when I turn 4 can I have this?" So, Lets just say she was so excited to wake up yesterday morning realizing it was HER day! She had a special birthday breakfast on her special halloween plate! Then we made cupcakes together to take to her gymnastics class!















Later in the day we had a fun birthday party that we planned at the last minute. Our friends gave us the idea to go bowling and then we thought we would invite just a few neighbor friends. Well, one thing led to another and we ended up inviting 18 kids and only 2 couldn't come! They had a little room connected to the bowling alley that we decorated so we could open presents, eat hotdogs, cake and icecream. It seemed like most of the kids had a fun time and Eliza loved it! It got a little crazy but luckily some of the parents stayed and helped out! Eliza was pretty cute when she was opening her presents. She would first start with the card, ask me what it said and then whoever gave her that gift she would say "ok, come and help me open it!" She squeeled with delight with almost every gift and said it was something she really really wanted! She thanked each kid on her own and even hugged some! When she was done opening them all she turned to everyone and said "Thankyou everyone for my presents, thanks so much!" It was pretty funny! She got alot of really cute, fun toys and has spent all day playing with them. We haven't had to turn the T.V. on once, which for us, is a miracle! Today was her "Share day" at school and she wanted to bring one of her favorite presents! She also got 3 packages in the mail and 2 cards! I think she is definitely loved, although a little over stimulated by now!

Later we went trick or treating with some neighborhood friends! She had some fancy "clicker" shoes on and still ran from house to house! Its all about the candy with that girl! I think she definitely takes after her mom in the sweet department! We ended the night with a spaghetti dinner across the street at our friends the McDaniels!

Trunk or Treat

On saturday night we had our ward Halloween party. Now that I am on the Activities committee it was another big night for us. Matt is on the committee as well and spent the whole night making about 2,000 scones. It turned out really well and went pretty smooth for having to serve about 600 people. I am not even lying! Our ward is huge and has so many kids! I was just released from being on the primary presidency and we had about 200 kids. Sundays were crazy! Eliza and Porter had a good time and ate way too much candy that night! Eliza is such a sweet little princess (uhhhh...most of the time) and Porter loves to growl like a bear or a tiger, so we thought their costumes were perfect!

So much fun!

Our friends from our ward threw a really fun Halloween party on friday. A whole bunch of our friends went and we had a blast! It was fun to have something to do other then the usual dinner and a movie! Matt and I went as Sonnie and Cher. The invitation said to go as a music couple from the past. We had people come up with some really fun costumes. Like Britney and kevin federline, (Couple who gave the party!) Axel rose and Slash, Cindy Lauper, Madonna and more! We had a catered dinner, saw comedy sports and then did Karaoke afterward! We sent the guys home and then the girls went downtown for a late night out! After walking around in the cold, being hit on by drunks, getting a parking ticket, and being kicked out of a lounge for not having I.D.'s , we finally found a place to have yummy Pizookies! We didnt get home until 2:00 am and I had to be up for work the next morning at 4:00 am. Two hours of sleep was clearly not enough because I got so sick the next day!

Dog Advice

Eliza really really really wants a dog. Everyday for the past month since we visited the hammonds in Arizona she has asked if she can get a dog when she turns four. Then it turned into her thinking she is getting a dog and how it will be wrapped when she wakes up the day of her birthday. She has already picked out the name and tells everyone that a black dog named gumbo is what she wants for her birthday. So, do I break it to her that she isn't getting a dog and if so, how do I do it? Or, do I break down and get a dog because secretly I would love to have a cute little dog as well? I think I already know the answer to the question but somewhere in the back of my mind I want to make it work.

Brittany and Lindsay this is for you!

So.....I know, don't fall off of your chairs that I finally am getting this done, but after blog stalking for an hour I decided I probably should just go ahead and start my own! Brittany has reassured me over and over that it is simple and doesn't require much time, so I figure I will give it a whirl. A few thoughts about creating a blog though that I want to get out on the table. 1. Dont get frustrated if I dont update my blog all the time. I dont want this to have to be a big time consuming thing. 2. I have seen alot of really cute blogs out there so I dont want to feel the pressure of it being really cute! So, dont expect much. 3. There will not be very many pictures of myself since my husband doesn't take any of me. I worry that when I die there won't be enough pictures of me to put on display at my funeral. Thats all! I hope you enjoy as I try and figure this out and have some sort of self expression on what is going on in our lives!