the month in review...it's a long one folks

the holiday season is here. yay for that! i love love love this time of year, more than i can say. something about the snow just makes everything better. but then again, i do love myself a hot summer day lying on the beach. but for now, it's winter, and i'm in SNOW mode.
it seems like it took forever for it to snow. but at least it's here. and it seems like it's here to stay.
i was all about halloween, and it took me until the day before thanksgiving it seems to get all the thanksgiving decorations up. steve and i hosted our first thanksgiving at our house. of course steve cooked the bird and my sister did dessert, so i did nada and it was fantastic. i love hosting parties, but never seem to do any of the work. score!
thanksgiving day, we were all over christmas. lights up on the house, christmas mode. then we took an intermission to go elk hunting.
steve has loved hunting for many years and i decided i better learn to love it as well. so i tagged along on the boys trip down to the fishlake area. cold temperatures, snow, lots of elk, and best of all, a fifth wheel to sleep in! it was complete with 5am wake up time, driving and hiking up and down snowy roads, stalking elk through binoculars from hundreds of yards away and trying to figure out a way to get to them through thick pines and steep terrain. we came away from it with a great story, but a controversial one, so i will keep the details off the blog. in the end, the only elk we came home with were a few legs from an elk that someone else got that are marley's new chew toys. elk season isn't over yet though, so keep those fingers crossed. although buying a freezer to keep an elk in isn't on the top of my christmas list.

marley gnawing on some elk legs...yum!
so beautiful up there. poor steve can't open his eyes to take a picture if the sun is shining our direction. that's the best we could do. ps, this trip was the first time i've worn camo, in my life. i quite liked it.

sure was cold on the lake. and yes, that is our dog relieving himself in the background. gotta love him.doesn't marley look like he's having a good time out on the ice?the scratch marks from his claws just scream "good time". is that considered child abuse?marley was tuckered after a few days in the great outdoors.

anyways...we are home for now, enjoying our heater and comfy bed. christmas decorations are up, tree decorated, scentsy melting some yummy christmas smells. cookies and ginerbread baking. and of course, some home projects on the side. we are on vacation, but home. i love it. time to do anything and everything and hang out with my 2 favorite boys. and since steve isn't working for a few weeks, he can have a beard. oh how i love facial hair on him! mmm.
oh yes, and christmas cards sent. this is the first year i've done this and i loved putting them together. i think there is a little martha stewart somewhere deep down inside me that wants to come out. i just wish i had the time and money to let her out. maybe someday.
other news, steve got to work the utah/byu game. sad ending, but cool experience for him to work on the field.

love this guy in uniform!

so now i sit in my warm, cozy home, while my husband plays on the no sex box. i love my life. i love my family. i love the Gospel. i am thankful everyday for everything i have. i love this time of year and i can't wait for Christmas, but i will be sad to see it pass for another year.

steve's stocking. you can't tell very well in the picture, but it's hanging on our front door, measuring about 3 feet tall. we dressed marley up in some festive wear. he wasn't digging on it.

this picture says it all. again, child abuse?this is as festive a picture as i could get from the bugger.

regardless. HAPPY DECEMBER EVERYONE!