Thankful

Well, Thanksgiving is over. Where is the time going? I know, I say that about once per post but really I am feeling it lately!

Thanksgiving was great. We went up to the cabin for time with the Ficklins. These are the only pictures I took, because I am lame:



Lego Time


Chimi and Mark

While at the Cabin, we ate too much, sat around, and watched football and Dumb and Dumber. I love that flick!

We then headed up to Sandy and had the annual Bingo game. This is one of my favorite traditions:



Reuben having his first experience!



The Bingo Crew



My winnings


I think holding Miri was more fun than winning!



She is my favorite person these days!

Friday, I was able to hit the second part of Breaking Dawn with the Bills girls, and Caleb(because he is a nerd!). It was surprisingly good. I think it may have been better than the first ones but the acting is still horrible.

Saturday, we hung out at the Ficklin home. Liz, Mark and I then went on a hike. It was gorgeous outside. I had a blast. Here are a few magical pics:







As is tradition around Thanksgiving, here is my Top Ten Things that I am Thankful for:
1. Family, near and far!
2. Internet and phones to keep us all close.
3. Having plenty. I do not live a life of need, I am one of the lucky ones.
4. A husband who puts up with this crazy wife and will do anything for me. I am sad that he is very sick right now. Poor kid.
5. Christmas music. It just makes me happy these days.
6. Hats. They make the daily bad hair day manageable.
7. A great job where I get to interact with amazing people everyday and have the opportunity to have a huge impact on the future.
8. A student teacher. What will I do when I have to teach all 8 hours a day come January?
9. A new house coming as a complete surprise and out of the blue. I cannot wait to get my paint on and move into a cutesie house!
10. A healthy body that lets me do all the things I want to. I can run, jump, laugh, cry, and enjoy this life to the fullest. What an amazing blessing!

There are millions of things that I am truly thankful for, but ten is all I have space for today. Thanks for reading and I hope your Thanksgiving was full of bounty and joy, I know mine was! Cheers!

Novel November

Hi. It's mid-month. That means I am about finished with half of my novel for National Novel Writing Month or Nanowrimo. I bet you wish you could be reading my masterpiece. Well, this year I am keeping it off the interwebs. I, for the first time, think that it is a great idea and don't want anybody to nab it. It is about time travel and a portal that is located at the middle of my favorite fishing hole in Wisconsin. Basically, the main characters find out that changing the past really wouldn't make life any better. If you want to read it, feel free to email me: softballrita@yahoo.com and ask to read it and I will probably email it to you. If you want to learn about Nanowrimo you can visit their website: nanowrimo.org

Life is busy and good here. I haven't told you out there in cyber-space, but Reuben and I are buying a condo here in Provo(I haven't posted because it really hasn't seemed real yet!). It is a fun adventure. I was chosen to get a HUD home through the Good Neighbor Next Door program because I am a teacher. We are getting a slam of a deal. It has a few things to fix, like a few leaky pipes, possibly a new water heater, a new fridge, flooring and paint, but when we get done with those things, it is going to be pretty dang nice. It is three bedrooms and has one and a half baths. It is like three times bigger than our current rental. That will be nice. Ever since we found out we would be getting the new place, this place has just been a bit more claustrophobic!

So, there is the news for me. Sorry the blogging has been sporadic lately. November is pretty dang busy. Like tomorrow night is basketball at work and burger friday. Saturday is a birthday party and Sunday is dinner with the family. I am very excited to have only two work days next week for Thanksgiving. It really makes me pretty dang thankful!

Well, I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Enjoy a few random pics, including a few pre-fixed up condo pics: Great-grandpa and Miri, The silly boys, Voting, and The New Place.

Halloween Festivities

Halloween is my favorite. I think I may even like it better than Christmas. There is just something about being someone else for a day. And seriously, seeing little kids dressed up and their excitement is just fun.
Reub and I hung with the other family that night. The theme was superheroes. The girls all wore tutus. I never knew I had the ability to make a tutu. I like to say tutu.
Here are some pics:




Miri was the Hulk. She is the cutest Hulk I have ever seen. She and I had a good time talking after the trick or treating. She especially likes to discuss global warming.




Here is me and Miri with Reub in the background. I like to say he went as Super Hillbilly Man!




The whole crew




The Padres taking pics.
The kiddos were a blast. Ezra was Buzz Lightyear and it was his first experience going too the houses. He was so cute when he took his bucket and said "treat." And as he walked away: "Tank You!" I love that part of Halloween best. The wee ones are awesome.




The kids at work loved my costume. It was pretty cool when the superintendent of our district came through and I was lifting weights looking like this:




A few more pics of a fun day: