Category: Randomness

Yep. We had our last Christmas event yesterday at Chuck's mom's house. It was a lot of fun. We celebrated chuck's birthday and I made him a cake. (The first cake I have ever made…I usually do cupcakes.) It was called Strawberry Explosion. It consisted of Strawberry cake, strawberry cool whip and real strawberries, another layer of strawberry cake and then covered in strawberry icing. I was told it was very good! I don't think it looked all that pretty, but as long as it tasted good, that's what matters!

I wanted to post links to the Christmas galleries of our celebrations. So here you go….if you are interested!

Chamberain Christmas
Hays Christmas
Hays/Smith Christmas
Norling Christmas
Terwilliger Christmas

I forgot to take pictures at the Schminke house this year for Christmas. But I am sure there are plenty of pictures to keep you occupied for a while! Enjoy!

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. We had my mom, step dad, brother's and Adam's girlfriend over today for a birthday celebration (For Chuck…who had his birthday today and for Charlie), Thanksgiving dinner and present opening! It was loads of fun. I will get a link to those pictures once I get them uploaded and probably after posted after our last Christmas celebration so I can post them all at once.

Also, we went to our friends' house last night for some New Year's festivities. HERE is a link to the gallery with pictures. We played some Guitar Hero and after midnight, the boys put on comfy clothes (they changed out of their nice stuff) to go play snow football. This was the second annual game. There are a ton of pictures from last year that I took, so I only took a couple this time. They really didn't look that much different from last years. Except for the fact that none of the girls played this year.

Well, I am off to play with my new toy (mmmm….MacBook) some more! I wish you a wonderful year to come!

My dear, sweet, wonderful, thoughtful and sneaky husband got me a MacBook! That's correct. You heard right! A MacBook! I have been drooling over these for so long! And after we got iPhones, I knew I wanted one someday. It's been under the tree for weeks….and I didn't have a clue! I am so very excited!!!! I just wanted to share my happiness with the world! Oh, and he got me a pink case for it! How very fun! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We have two more coming up.

We have had a wonderful Christmas so far and I can hardly believe that we aren't done! And….we're going to a friend's house for New Year's tonight. So I have to get to baking a cake for Chuck! Happy birthday to him (in the birthday tune of course) after the ball drops! Have a great night and stay safe!

I wanted to share some wonderful news! My friend Katie and her husband, Chris welcomed a new baby girl, Hannah Sophia to their family on December 22, 2007 at 6:42 AM. She was 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20.5 inches long….and she has red hair! She is so very adorable! As soon as I went out of town for Christmas, Hannah was born, so I had to take a drive to Katie's to see Hannah today. I have included a bunch of pictures I took. She slept the whole time I was there, but I was told she is very attentive when she's awake! I also took a couple pictures of their son, Caleb. He is quite proud of his new little sister! (There's a picture of their tree, too because I had to see what their tree skirt I made them last year looked like on it!)

Hannah Sophia Pictures

I was looking through my song list and I came across a song my grandpa sang. He is also playing the bass in the song. I just thought it was fitting for the season! Enjoy!

That Christmas Feeling

I saw this browsing online and I thought it was funny! Enjoy!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We went to see Chuck's grandparents in Omaha and Council Bluffs. We were so excited to see snow when we were there! Sadly, there were a bunch of accidents and the snow made driving harder for those coming down, but since we were already there….we liked the snow a lot! Here's one of the pictures I took out of the Hays' window. This was the day before Thanksgiving.

We also got to meet Hannah! She is Chuck's cousin Mikayla's daughter. She was born when we were in Alaska. She is a very sweet little baby.

Over at the Schminke house, Chuck's cousins from California were having a blast playing in the snow. I think his uncle had a bit of fun, too because they made this Snow Turkey. They were in the holiday spirit! I think it's just hilarious! It looks so very good.

I think it was last Christmas…Chuck's family pitched in a got a brick with his grandparent's names on it. They are displayed somewhere in Council Bluffs. Chuck's aunt and uncle went over there and took my camera with them. I thought I would share it. It turned out really nicely!

We came back on Friday for a tournament Chuck's team was in this weekend. They are so cute to watch! My mom, Dave and Charlie came with to watch. I don't think Charlie is going to start playing hockey anytime soon. I think he'll stick to basketball, but he had fun watching! They got 6th place in the tournament and played their hearts out!

Now it's going to be time for me to start working on Christmas gifts and getting ready for another trip to Omaha/Council Bluffs for the holiday. We have our tree up and I finished putting the rest of the decorations out today. So that's one thing to check off the list! Hope you had a nice relaxing weekend!

Sunday we had an early Thanksgiving dinner at our house with my dad, step mom, brother and his girlfriend. I have to say….if you have never tried a turkey in a bag you just have to! Jenni-O makes them and they are in the frozen food section. You put them in the oven and forget about it! It's so simple and so very tasty. It is really moist and I am definitely going to do that again. Everything else went really well. Only one minor injury. I burnt my hand taking the turkey out. But that was it! I have to say that overall, it was a huge success! Hope you have a great Turkey Day!

I was so very lucky this year to have so many wonderful celebrations for my birthday. I thought I would share the links to the galleries so you can take a look if you are interested.

Chamberlain Celebration Pictures
We went to Chuck's mom and step-dad's house for a wonderful Chicken Parmesan dinner. Paige also made a great pie for us to eat! I got a grill pan, some CuttleBug embossing folders, a Crop-A-Dile, and some gorgeous decorative glass ornaments from Paige. Here's a picture of the Crop-A-Dile. It's such a cool tool! It make setting eyelets a breeze!

Norling Celebration Pictures
At my dad's house, he made my favorite dinner. This was a meal my grandma made me every year. It was my birthday dinner. And my dad is so sweet to continue the tradition. We had barbecue ribs, twice baked potatoes, some side, and Chuck's favorite…Caramel Apple Pie (since it is his Anniversary, too!) Then I got some Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee Cookbooks. I just love her stuff! And a hot chocolate maker, a key ring and Chuck got a saw! It was a great time!

Terwilliger Celebration Pictures
For dinner with my mom, step-dad, brothers and Katie (brother's girlfriend), we went to a Chinese food place in Bloomington called David Fong's. It's so yummy! Since Chuck and I liked it so much when we went there for my mom's birthday in September, I knew it would be a hit to go again for the Annibirthary! I had to have some General Tso Chicken! I got a bunch of great gifts! A CuttleBug, some embossing folders for it, a down vest and puzzle and a couple other small things. I have included a picture of the Cuttlebug below. This is the best tool! It adds so much to cards! I am sure some of you will be getting cards that I have used this tool on!

Annibirthary Party Pictures
We also threw an Annibirthary party at our place and had a bunch of friends over. I have to say, if you look at these pictures, do not be alarmed! My pregnant friend, Katie (not my brother's girlfriend) is *NOT* drinking! I don't want you to think she is. She was holding the beer for her hubby and, after having a little bit to drink, I thought it would be a funny picture. So please keep that in mind! We had a wonderful time with all of our friends, family, neighbors… It's so fun to get everyone together and we haven't done this since we moved in to this house over two years ago. I'll try not to wait two years to do this again!

Well, as you can see, we have been busy! I am not complaining at all! I love it. And to think, next week we get to see his Grandparents and have Thanksgiving! Sunday my dad, step-mom, brother and his girlfriend will be over for Thanksgiving dinner here! I am really looking forward to it! …Then, be fore we know it….it will be Christmas! Ahh!

On November 9th we got our first bit of snow. I was so excited! It didn't stay long, but it was fun to see it on the ground and the car and the grill!