Merry Christmas to me!

I LOVE IT!!!

Lovely Baby Bumps

2 of my sisters are pregnant, and I haven't talked about it for a while. I just got these pictures and I wanted to share.

This is Audrey. She is having a boy and is due March 6th.

This is Shauna. She is having a girl and is due March 28th.
I'm so excited to be an aunt and I hate that I live so far away so that I can't watch my sisters "grow" through this experience.

Fra-gee-lay... It must be Italian

Thanks for the tag, Jess!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper is ALWAYS better! Rip & Tear!!
2. Real tree or artificial tree? I have a fake tree and I like it just fine.
3. When do you put up your tree? Usually some time during the Thanksgiving weekend, but this year I was late.
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day or that first weekend in January. I have to keep my Christmas decorations up as long as I can!!
5. Do you like eggnog? You know, I really haven’t tried it in a few years. I’m thinking that I will try it again this year… I do love the smell!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I actually can’t think of a specific present. But I’m sure it had something to do with horses. (I have to add this, because my mom reminded me of it -I can't believe that I forgot! My Katie Cabbage Patch doll that I got the Christmas that I was 2 still is my most favorite present. I still have her and sometimes she sleeps in my bed with me.) :)
7. Hardest person to buy for? Mother.
8. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes! My mom gave me the Willow Tree nativity last year for a Christmas present! This is my first year to use it and I LOVE it!
9. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail of course. It’s so fun to get stuff in the mail! (and I still have a billion cards… if anyone wants one…)
10. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story will always be my favorite. “Not a Finga’!!!!” (But I really like Elf too. It cracks me up!)
11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometime in November. I hope to be done shopping this weekend! Hooray for me!
12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Actually yes… those lame co-worker gifts.
13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Oh man… everything! Especially my mom’s homemade toffee!
14. Lights on the tree? Yes, and they are clear. No icky colored lights for me!
15. Favorite Christmas song? So I love all of Amy Grant’s Christmas albums. But I especially love “Breath of Heaven” (remember when you sang that in seminary, Alicen? You are incredible!). I also love Harry Connick, Jr.’s “When My Heart Finds Christmas” and Don Henley’s “Please Come Home For Christmas”. OH!! And I LOVE “Santa Baby”. I love Christmas music!
16. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Thankfully I have always lived near family, so I always get to “go home” for Christmas.
17. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes. Yes I can. (But I’m not naming them for all of you people to cheat off of!) There are 9 reindeer.
18. Angel on the tree top or a star? We’ve never had a star or an angel on the top of our tree…. even growing up.
19. Do you open Presents Christmas Eve or Christmas day? We get to open one present on Christmas Eve (it’s usually the sibling gift) and then the rest wait for Christmas morning!
20. The most annoying thing about this time of year? Psycho shoppers! That’s why I’ve done most of my shopping online.
21. Favorite ornament theme and color? I did a “teddy bear” tree this year and I LOVE it! Clear lights, white ribbon, cranberries and little teddy bears that you get from Costco!
22. Favorite for Christmas dinner? My family has always done a ham/turkey dinner (I hate ham, so I’m grateful for the turkey breast my mom does for me!), homemade rolls and pie.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? To be surprised… so far I know everything that I am getting and it’s very boring. I would love a Garmin Forerunner 305 too!
24. Favorite Christmas tradition? I love the way that my family does Christmas… any other way just doesn’t feel like Christmas to me. Christmas Eve dinner and then we read the Christmas story out of Luke and then someone shares a special Christmas story that usually makes us cry (last year was the best because we told Audrey and Ben that we had opened an “England Baby” account for them that people had been donating to, to help them to pay for in-vitro), then we open the “sister presents” and go to bed. Christmas morning we usually wake up to my mom yelling at everyone “Santa came! Santa Claus came!!!” and then we all head down and grab our stockings (we can open any present that is in our stocking without waiting for anyone) and then when everyone is finally down, we start handing out presents so that everyone has one… then it’s time to unwrap!!! We see what everyone else got and then get handed a new present and keep going until everyone is out of presents. Then we start making a HUGE breakfast (German pancakes & Belgian waffles). I love Christmas at my parent’s house!

So... I'm tagging everyone!!! This one is fun and I want to see what you all say! Courtney, Mel, Tasha, Brighton, Alicen, Shea, Kateka, Emily, Wendy - everyone! If your name is on my blog, then do it!!!

Picture Tag

I keep forgetting to do this tag (sorry Courtney - here it is!). I think that almost everyone has done it by now. Go to your Pictures, 4th folder and post 4th picture and 6th folder and post 6th picture.

4th picture: That's me in the stripes and Tyson is in the hat behind me. This is the night before we rode in the MS 150 (that dutch oven pasta was SO good). You can see our little tent in the background with my bike leaning against it. It was a really fun ride and I think we will probably do it again this summer.

Here we are mid-way through. Team Wasatch Electric and Team Wells Fargo.

6th picture: This is from our trip to Maui. We went over to Lanai on a catamaran and then went on a tour of the island. This was the one stop, and my dad bought us our favorite root beer - Henry Weinhards!

Proud

I love going to wedding receptions of friends from high school. And I am so proud of so many of my friends that have chosen to be married in the temple (and those that work to be sealed after). I'm so grateful for good friends that are wonderful examples to me and for the Atonement that allows people to change.

Aubrey 12/4/08

Bryson 7/31/08

Cory 12/29/07

Early Morning Surprise

Black Friday was awesome! Even though I HATE waking up early to stand in long lines, I love the experience. All of the crazy, hyped-up people crack me up. Our first stop of the morning was Best Buy at 5am to get our big Christmas present this year - a Blu-Ray player. While standing in line, I saw one of my very best friends from high school, Carson Sharp. If you think that he looks a little freaky... it's because he does. But I sure do love him and I am SO very proud of him. He was sealed to his cute wife over the summer.

Anyway, I love Black Friday and I love the tradition of going out with ALL of my family and then finishing it off with a giant breakfast at Jim's Family Restaurant. Hooray for the holidays!

Thankful

Family

Girls

Yikes...

Needs

Okay peeps, I'm going to be sending out Christmas cards very soon. So, if you would like to get a card from us (and really, why would you NOT want one?), then please get me your address. If you want to email it to me, send it to luckyduckywb at yahoo dot com.

Also, yes - I saw the movie. I didn't absolutely LOVE it, but I didn't hate it, either. I knew going in that it was a lower budget movie and that they wouldn't have the best actors or the greatest special effects. But I was pleasantly surprised. And I still love Rob Pattinson, even though he had to do some ridiculously cheesy things.

Anniversary

Today is our 4 year anniversary. I love my husband SO much.

Rockin' Band

We spent Saturday night with friends that we haven't seen in a very long time. It was awesome to see them and to see their cute boys that are getting too big - too fast. After the kids went down for the night, it was time to break out Rock Band and we had a great time! Tyson is so freaking hilarious when he sings! I have a video... but I can't figure out how to get it to post. I'll have to keep trying.

Jason, Tyson, Karen & Rusten

Ty letting his true rocker-side come out.

Karen & Melanie

Here comes the tongue... (I LOVE this picture)

Happy Rusten with his picture of me.

More Disneyland

I just have to post a couple more pictures. I received my photo CD yesterday and it's got a quite few cute pictures on it. These are my favorites.

Yay! Tinkerbell!

The super cute Mickey pumpkin.

My Minnie Ears that I bought as we left... I had them on backwards.

Pumpkin Carving

This is the first time that Tyson and I have carved pumpkins since we've been married. And I think it's the first time that I carved a pumpkin in over 10 years! So we made a little "party" of it and invited my dad over (wild party - I know). It was a fun little night with pizza and a break from carving to watch The Office. Tyson didn't get home until after Dad and I had started our pumpkins, so he didn't pick a design from the book I had. He decided to free hand (so of course, he was done in about 15 minutes).

Our pumpkins and carving tools

Dad working on his design.

I really hated my choice after about 5 minutes.

Our masterpieces.

Disneyland

Our trip was FABULOUS! I love Disneyland SO much and we had a great time! The decorations were awesome, we didn't have to deal with big crowds and the weather was great. Two downsides to our trip: Tyson had a cold that moved into his ears and we had to find a clinic on our last day to get him some antibiotics for the infection (Tyson gets an ear infection at least once a year) AND my camera battery was practically dead when we got there, and we forgot to bring the charger (I swear I charged the battery the night before... but I am obviously an idiot and didn't put it in right). So we only have a few pictures to share. The trip was great and I loved every minute of my time in "The Happiest Place on Earth".

Saw Mickey as we first walked in. He gave me a BIG hug and blew me a kiss when I left.

This was the first time that I've ever seen Donald out at Disneyland.

Jack & Sally outside The Haunted Mansion

In California Adventure

Mary Poppins and Bert

Our last day, right as our camera died.

Creepy

This is Tyson. He is OBSESSED with this mask. Every time that we have been to my parent's house in the last 2 weeks he has had to put it on. I don't know why he loves it so much... My mom and I can't stop laughing at him when we see him head straight for it as soon as we arrive (he usually doesn't know that we are laughing at him). He is so weird... but I'm so glad that he is mine!

Edward, I love you.

Have you seen the new Twilight trailer yet??? I am SO in love with Rob Pattinson!
This link isn't the best, but it's the only one that I could get on my work computer. FABULOUS!

http://www.joblo.com/video/player.php?video=twilightnew1

Countdown!

I am SO excited! Our tickets for our little trip to Disneyland have finally arrived! We are going the 22nd through the 24th. It is a very short trip, but I don't even care. I'm excited for the time away from work and I can't wait to have another little trip with my husband. I absolutely LOVE Disneyland and I am even more excited for this trip because they decorate it up for Halloween. I love fall and Halloween decorations and I can hardly contain my excitement to be there at this time of year! We leave early in the morning on the 22nd and get home after 11pm on the 24th. I have only 3 days to soak it all up! Hooray for timeshare presentations that give away free trips!

Another Tag

Thanks Alicen for the tag!

Four Random Things I Love About My Husband

1. How hard of a worker he is.

2. How he still wants to spend all of his time with me, after 4 years together.

3. The way that he loved me unconditionally, with all of my baggage, from the very start.

4. How much he makes me laugh!!

Four Jobs I've Had

1. Newspaper girl

2. Discover Card phone person (I lasted 5 days - just so that I could meet Tyson!)

3. Receptionist for Tool Benefit (which is no longer in business)

4. Receptionist and personal assistant for Cambridge Financial

Four Movies I Have Watched More Than Once

1. All Lord of the Rings movies

2. All Harry Potter movies

3. You've Got Mail

4. Pride and Prejudice

Four TV Shows I Watch

1. The Office (finally got all caught up and am ready for Season 5 tonight!)

2. American Idol

3. Dancing with the Stars (I watched it 2 nights in a row... and that is all)

4. Um... we don't really watch TV... we're more movie people. :)

Four Places I Have Been

1. Cabo San Lucas

2. Alaska (Kenai peninsula)

3. Chicago, IL

4. Maui, HI

Four Of My Favorite Foods

1. Funeral potatoes

2. Grilled pork chops

3. Most everything Mexican (Cafe Rio is my FAV!)

4. Homemade chocolate chip cookies

Four Places I Would Like To Visit

1. Australia (I've always wanted to go, since I first saw Man From Snowy River, but now I want to go even more because Tyson served his mission there.)

2. Forks, WA (yes, I'm a freak)

3. British Isles (mostly Scotland & Ireland)

4. Tonga (my mom lived there for 6 years when she was little)

Four Things I Look Forward To In This Coming Year

1. Becoming an aunt (2 times)!

2. Going to Disneyland (2 times)!

3. Running my third half-marathon with my family.
4. Hopefully being pregnant around this time next year!

I tag: Wendy, Emily, Melanie & Tasha

More Baldwin Family Pictures

My First Tag!

High School Tag

Did you date someone from your school? Yes. I never got out enough to meet people from other schools.
What kind of car did you drive? When I finally drove to school at the end of my senior year, it was a 1986 BMW 325. I LOVED that car.
What was the most embarrassing moment of HS? I think that everything I did in high school was an embarrassment.
Were you a party animal? Not at all.
Were you considered a flirt? I was a shameless flirt. I always have been.
Were you in band, orchestra or choir? In choir all years. I loved to sing, but I didn't like the majority of the people in that massive choir. So I had a bad attitude (and it SHOWED!) :)
What is your High School's full name? Riverton High School
Were you on any Varsity Teams? Is there Varsity for track?
Did you ever get suspended/expelled? Nope
Can you still sing the fight song? I never could sing the fight song.
Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Moizer (senior English), Bro. Freeman (junior seminary)
Where did you sit at lunch? I never once sat in the lunch room. I always went out.
School Mascot? Silverwolf
Did you go to Homecoming, if yes with who? Junior and Senior year. Both with Wade Steel.
If you could go back and do it again would you? I would love to go back and NOT date the idiots that I did... but that's all.
What do you remember most about graduation? I remember thinking that it was really dumb that there wasn't any order to the way we got our diplomas. Why weren't we alphabetical? Why did the senior class officers announce our names? I thought it was lame.
Where did you go for Senior Skip Day? What the crap is Senior Skip Day? I always just went home.
Were you in any clubs? Um, no.
Have you gained some weight since then? Yes, and I hate it. What is really sad is that I thought it was only about 4lbs that I had gained (according to my Wii Fit "scale"), but I bought a real scale a few weeks ago and it says that I've gained almost 10lbs! Time to get on a training program again!
Who was your Prom date? Freaking Wade Steel, both years... sick...
Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? I would like to, but at the same time not. I'm hoping that people will have grown up and gotten over the lame high school things in the 10 years that we have had away from each other.
Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Please don't date those dirtbags! And maybe take those classes that give you credits for college (not that I went to college after my first semester, but maybe if I had credits at the community college I would have stuck it out and at least got an associates).

I tag you peeps I went to high school with! (Kate, Kateka & Alicen)

Family Pictures

Turned out great, don't you think?