Christmas

Christmas was really fun this year. James and I got to stay in Utah with his family this year which was really nice to stay here while we were still trying to get our new home in order. James' mom got his Dad a parakeet for Christmas. It's actually a really cute present, because that was their first pet when they first got married. We got to babysit the parakeet for 2 nights before Christmas so that James' Dad wouldn't know that his mom had gotten it for him. He was a lot of fun! Eric, James' brother spent the night at our house for Christmas Eve and we watched the Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol. I made Raspberry Cream Cheese French Toast for Breakfast and then we went to James' parents new house to open presents. It's really funny, because James' parents just got into a house about a week after we got into ours. James and I didn't get each other presents this year, because of the house and the car(see post below). We did get a lot of nice things for our new house though, including gift cards to help us to get things that we need. We also got some fun movies and yummy treats.

The Christmas Tree

The Hidden Parakeet

James Pouting

James and Eric

All of the Presents

The Cute Parakeet that James' Dad named "Spud"

The rug we got as a present

New Car

So we were totally not expecting to get a new used car right around Christmas when we just had put a huge down-payment on a house, but our car decided that it was going to die on us. We both took a day off work and went car shopping and found this great steal! It blue-booked for $2000-4000 more than what we got it for. So we love our new car even though it came at the worst time.

Christmas Eve Breakfast

So my boss and I decided to make pancakes for all of our employees this morning. I made green and red pancakes for Christmas. The only ones left by the time I got my camera out were green ones. It was a huge success!

Meagan's Birthday

So I know it's been over a month since my birthday, but we've been really busy(see 2 posts below), so I'm just posting about it now. James was out of town on business on my actual birthday, so he took me out to dinner at the Melting Pot (my all time favorite and most expensive restaurant). We had been planning the trip all year so when it came time and we were also buying a house we were nervous, but James decided to do it anyways. We were totally blessed though, my parents sent me a $40 gift card to the Melting Pot for my birthday and then my student employees at my office did something I never expected: they all pitched in and got me a $50 gift card to the Melting Pot. We only had to pay 12 for the meal and that included the tip! It's so much food we thought we were gonna burst afterward. You have a huge cheese fondue, big salads, then the main course with TONS of meats, and then a chocolate fondue with everything you can think of to dip in it. We really feel like God was looking out for us. I can never thank all my awesome employees enough. Here are some pics from our trip.

Spanish Fork House Stage 2

So James took a few pictures while I was writing up my last post so you all could see some of our progress on the house.

Me Blogging in our Office

Stairs from the top

All of the boxes we've unpacked so far

Kitchen (Notice our fish)

Winnie the Pooh Room

Master Bathroom

Upstairs Yellow Bathroom (The camera made it all look yellow)

Spanish Fork Here We Come!

We finally found my usb camera cord! Yay! So you guys can see pictures of our house while it was empty. As soon as we get some things unpacked then I'll take more pictures of the house. We're about 1/2-3/4 of the way done. Mark who was our Realtor, brought his wife Talara and the kids to see the house when we got the keys, so you can see them in some of the pictures.

The Front Room

The Stairs

The Living Room

The Kitchen

Dining Area

The Pantry

The 2 Steps down to the rest of the first floor

The Band Room

The Garage

Downstairs Bathroom and Laundry Room

Office (The ATV wallpaper will be coming down soon)

Yellow Upstairs Bathroom

Master Bath

Master Bedroom Closet

Master Bedroom

Future Garden Area

Patio

Tags From Jenni Elyse

1. Do you like hot chocolate or eggnog? I don't particularly like egg nog, so definitely hot chocolate. James on the other hand loves both.
   
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just put them under the tree? He wraps them. I love wrapping presents.
   
3. Colored or white lights on the tree/house? I like colored lights, but not tacky ones.
   
4. When do you put up your decorations? Well this year never, because we are still unpacking boxes and probably will be through the end of January so we don't have time for a tree. Usually a little bit after Thanksgiving though.
   
5. What is your favorite holiday dish? Yum I love Christmas dinner food, especially stuffing and sweet potato casserole and ham.
   
6. What is your favorite holiday memory from your childhood? I can't really think of a favorite one.
   
7. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Nope.
   
8. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Lights and ornaments.
   
9. Snow! Love it or dread it? I like the first snow of the season, but then after that I hate it. Especially now because of the commute from Spanish Fork, during a snowstorm isn't fun.
   
10. Do you remember your favorite gift? Well, I had lots of them. One year in highschool I got a CD burner which was awesome! And this year is probably my favorite though, a new house.
    
11. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with my family and having time to get to know them better, all of the service and holiday joy around me, and remembering our Savior.
12. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Divinity
13. What tops your tree? Star
14. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I like to receive when it's things that I need, but I find greater joy in serving and giving and seeing the look on people's faces when they get presents.
    
15. What is your favorite Christmas song? “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” “I Wonder as I Wander,” “O Holy Night,” “Carol of the Bells.
16. Candy canes? Yes, I like the flavored ones that aren't peppermint.
    
17. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized? Yes. I have to really focus in on the Savior so I don't forget that He is the reason we are celebrating.
    
18. What is your favorite Christmas movie? I love some Christmas movies. I love all of the Clay-mation ones from the 70's because I would watch them every Christmas growing up. I also really love Nightmare before Christmas.
19. Can you ice skate? Yes and I love to ice skate.
    
20. Are all your Christmas presents ready yet? No. Moving has taken first priority, so I have a lot of shopping to do this Saturday out with the masses.

Our new animal friends

So I can't find my camera USB cord because it is packed away somewhere, so I will post pictures of the house as soon as I unpack it. One of my co-workers that helped us move snapped this picture in our backyard of our animal neighbors. They have 2 bulls, and a cow and at least 1 baby cow. This is the picture of the huge bull.

We are homeowners!

Today at 8am we signed our lives away. Tomorrow night we get the keys to our home! I will take lots of pictures and post them here sometime soon!