Happy New Year!

We are excited for tonight! 2011 have been very exciting. We were on the go. We lived in 3 different houses...4 months in Megatrium, 4 months in Epyonghansasong and 4 months here in this house in CA. Hopefully we will only live in 1 house in 2012. Wishing for a GREAT 2012.

Merry Winter

Yes, I have started switching over Christmas to Winter/Snowmen/January. Every year at this time I usually make tons of crafts...the kids are out of school and we spend a lot of time at home. This year is no different, I have been decorating and crafting and watching movies and having a great time with my family.

I made myself this new mitten...it's cutest ever.

Floating candles...my new FAVORITE. Every late afternoon I turn them on to make the house look and feel so pretty.

It's Been Wonderful

Our whole weekend has been so nice. I made these festive Christmas pillowcases for the kids. I love how they enjoy things like this. The Christmas pillowcases made them sleep super good Christmas Eve.

We made peppermint bark, molasses/gingerbread boys and 2 other kinds of cookies but these M&M cookies were our favorite. I just used the recipe off the back of the bag of the mini M&M's.

Ben is one lucky little boy. He got his own laptop and NBA tickets for Christmas. It's the Kings opener tonight against the Lakers. Ben got 4 tickets...so look for us on TV.

Jelly Belly

Yesterday Steve had the day off work so we took advantage of it and went on a California adventure...to the Jelly Belly factory. It was so cool. They have a free 40 minute tour of the entire factory. We actually were in the packaging department, saw them mixing the ingredients, saw all the robots stacking the bean filled trays, saw the workers adding the coloring and sugar to make the hard coating...I am telling you it was so neat. MMM it smelled so good in there. No cameras were allowed inside the factory so you'll have to take my word for how amazing seeing the fields of beans was.

It takes about a week to make a jelly bean. The top three flavors of Jelly Belly are 1- Cherry, 2- Buttered Popcorn and 3- black licorice...I would have never guessed those.

We learned it was Ronald Regan who made Jelly Belly's so famous. When he was Governor of California he tried to quit smoking and when the going got tough he reached for Jelly Belly's instead of a cigarette. The Jelly Belly company would send beans to the Governor for free. After a while they say every meeting at the Capitol here in Sacramento began with the Jelly Belly bowl being passed around. When Regan became President that is when the Jelly Belly company made the blue blueberry bean. At the inauguration there were jars of red, white and blue beans everywhere. Soon there were Jelly Belly's in the White House and even on Air Force One. On Air Force One they made a unique bowl to keep the beans from spilling in flight when they experienced turbulence. There are many portraits of famous people made out of Jelly Belly's but Ronald Regan's was the first.

So if you are ever in Northern California and have a craving for something sweet I would suggest stopping by One Jelly Belly Lane Fairfield, California.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Mid December and our temps on in the low 60's. I think California is so pretty. I love the palm trees and mountains and blue skies.

We LOVE Korea!

My heart just stopped last night when I heard the news coming out of North Korea. I believe the world is a better place with a man like that gone. We love the country and people of Korea. I want all my friends still living there to be safe.

Look at this picture of Madi...when we first moved to Korea she could NOT eat with chopsticks. Now she is a pro!

As a mom I am thrilled my children lived in Korea and experienced so many wonderful things. I know they will forever love Korea and it's people. And speaking of Madi here is a funny story:

We lived off post in Seoul. So many of the kids friends were Korean kids that lived near us. Koreans love love love baseball. All the kids would spend hours playing baseball outside. The Korean kids spoke enough English to speak it while playing with Ben and Madi because you would hear "strike one, strike two..." Most of the Korean kids my kids would play with were boys. Well one day after school everyone was playing at the park. All of a sudden I started hearing "jdjfiowjejeijowj Madi." "sdfowjeijwjfe Madi." So I started paying closer attention to what was going on because the Korean boys that were saying this were not even playing with Madi at the time. Then one of the boys ran over to Madi and was saying "love Madi" and pointing at one of the other Korean boys. Then a different Korean boy came over to Madi and asked her if she liked Korea and she shook her head yes. I guess the kid was making sure Madi liked his homeland before he started making long term/marriage plans. It cracked me up...it still does.

So I am keeping a prayer in my heart that whatever happens just might be better than before. Also I will be thinking of my military friends who are still there. Many of the spouses will be working lots of overtime with all this uncertainty on the peninsula and it's the week of Christmas. Let's just hope for peace.

Ben's Christmas Concert

Last night was Ben's first band concert. It was wonderful. They played 10 Christmas songs. It seemed extra special to me because it was December 15th...my grandpa moseley's birthday!

Yummy Frosty

One pan down two to go. We are taking these to all our Christmas parties. I found the idea on Pinterest. Even the middle schoolers get a Christmas party on Friday...I am so excited. I was afraid when Ben started middle school this fun stuff might be over but his teachers said "Bring it on!"

Christmas Crafts

I love sweetwater. They have a style that is me. Every year I order a few of their 12 Days of Christmas projects. I did order a couple this year and love them. The other day I made this sign with Harmon on it...I dig anything with and H or Harmon on it.

This weekend I made the most beautiful dishtowel. It has a Christmas theme so next on my list is one just like but one I can leave out throughout the year. The towel is so gorgeous I can only use for display.

I have the sweetest kids! They enjoy doing some of my craziest fun things with me. The other night we decorated some oranges with whole cloves and they loved it...both of the kids did. I use to make these as a kid.

My kitchen carried the smell of cloves this whole week. MMM!

I have never cared for the color purple very much. My daughter will choose the color purple for anything and everything. I am such a nice mom I agreed to let her pick the colors of paint she wanted in her bedroom and of course she chose 2 shades of purple. But when Steve's mom was here she got me started crocheting granny squares. On my own accord I fell for a perfect dark plum yarn and a cream to go with it. I am beginning to create quite a stack of squares.

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

My house feels so warm and cozy all dressed up for Christmas.

When we were over at Lake Tahoe over Thanksgiving the main thing I wanted to get was the beautiful HUGE pine cones they have all over the place. I put these in my German dough bowl but still have more...any ideas on what I could do or make with them? I LOVE them.

We have this balcony that over looks in to the living room, that is how I took the picture above this one.

Madi's Christmas shirt. I just cut 3 triangles and stacked them...EASY! Of course we got some red & aqua in there but check out the gingerbread trunk.

My favorite Christmas pillow I made all the way back in 1999...I dated it. I need to do that more often. I like looking at my things and remembering what was going on in my life then.

It's All In The Packaging!

A few years ago my friend amber picked up these same cute bags from Target for $1. I loved what she did with them. So when I saw them after Christmas for 90% off I picked up 20 of them for $2! I made some little gift bags filled with divine smelling peppermint soap accompanied with one of my crocheted wash clothes.

For this years wrapping paper theme I picked out red, cream and grey. They look so pretty to me...

...but Madi has thrown a wrench in the whole thing. She found these hip Justin Bieber Christmas tags. She asked me to get them to use on her gifts. I did and I even got the purple wrapping paper to go with them. As long as she is happy it's okay.

Christmas Pictures...2011

I LOVE them!!!! We went outside to the orchards behind my house. I took a chair, quilt, the numbers and my two little ones.

December 5, 1996

Today is my 15th Wedding Anniversary. What a 15 years it has been. We have the 2 sweetest kids in the world. Our life is never boring....in the last 15 years we have lived in 9 different states/countries. It's been crazy fun.




My kids thoroughly enjoy the Christmas Countdown I made them. Today...December 5th...


We are going out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary and then from the countdown, it is our turn to go to Starbucks for the kids favorite...white hot chocolate to drink while we drive around town looking at Christmas lights. So I better hurry, I need to fold laundry, go run and then change before my kids get out of school at 1:30. I can't wait until tonight!!!

Grinch Pills

Have you ever known anyone to spend over $30 on tic-tacs? If you are reading this you have now. But the second I saw these I knew Madi and I would love to make them. This is what Madi is giving her class for Christmas....I know, no reindeer poop?

Lake Tahoe

A few weeks ago Steve was so excited when he told me he booked us a weekend in Tahoe. We are about to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. I was giddy over the fact that Steve did all this...he always remembers our anniversary. Steve knew his mom was coming and could keep our kids while we were away, but the more I sat on it I thought we should take Teresa and the kids with us. I mentioned it to Steve. It wasn't that I was excited to have a romantic getaway but it's Tahoe how could I leave the others behind. So Steve booked a 2nd room and we all went.

It's a beautiful 2-2 1/2 hour drive from my house. This is the first view of the lake when you drive over Echo Summit.

We rode the gondola to the top. Us, at the observation deck. You can see the whole lake.

Nana and the kids.

They loved the ride on the gondola.

It's beautiful! This is the view from the hotel room.

I was content sitting in my room.

The kids enjoyed the winter activities but I think we need to go back in the summer too...there is a beach at the lake. The beauty of Tahoe was amazing and totally lived up to the hype.