Halloween

So I'm a little behind in my blogging.  It seems everyone else has had their Halloween pics up for an entire week already and I'm just barely getting around to it.  Oh well.  At least they're coming, right?

I only dressed up once this year.  I originally planned to make some elaborate costume but about 2 weeks before Halloween, I realized I had other things I'd rather do with my time than sew, so I got online and bought one.  WAYYYYY easier!

That's right.  After my nephew's "Anga Birds" tantrums, I thought the funniest costume would be just that.  Here I am with my sisters.  Left to Right: Me, Dairy Queen (Deb), Scarlet O'Hara (Cath), Princess Leia (Sarah), and Amelia Earhart (Bec).

We had a blast at Deb's annual Halloween party as usual.  There were some pretty great costumes.  I'm always impressed by the quality of costumes I see there.  Everyone goes all out which makes it so much more fun!

The hosts, Burger King and Dairy Queen, with their homemade, life-size Cabbage Patch Doll pinata.

Princess Leia and Hans Solo, the costume contest winners.   

FYI, their costumes are HOMEMADE.  I seriously need to learn to sew better!

The Angry Bird and King Pig

Taking out the pinata!

 Halloween.  One of my very favorite holidays!

Cinco de Mayo

I just finally got this pic... a little late. But hey, I still kinda like it!

Olé!  Cinco de Mayo party!

Memorial Day

When you work full time, 3-day weekends are priceless!

For the long Memorial Day weekend, my roommates and I left the never-ending winter in Salt Lake City and headed to sunny St. George!  The sun couldn't have been more missed than it was this spring so the plan was just to relax and enjoy the warmth.

We got there Friday night and crashed at my roommate's parents' condo.  Saturday morning, I headed to the temple while others either slept in or went to the driving range.  We then spent a few hours at the pool, and a few more hours hiking through Zions National Park.

First stop in Zions: Overlook hike just past the 'tunnel'...which by the way, is absolutely amazing!  I can't believe I never even knew about it before!

Next hike in Zions was the Emerald Pools, followed by the Grotto.

Sunday, we checked out the local Singles Ward, had a nice BBQ, rested and loved our easy afternoon.

It was so nice not feeling rushed to get back for work on Monday.

I LOVE long weekends!

Easter

I know I'm behind here, but its probably time I get these pictures up!

It seems the older I get, the more Easter is for my nieces and nephews. 

This year we took the party to my sister's house in Layton because my parents were out of the country visiting my brother and his family.  It was a great evening, minus one nut allergy reaction and a few sick kids.  

I think we had over 80 eggs for the kids to find throughout the house.  They were such ambitious seekers!  Following the hunt, we had delicious dessert including the fresh whipped cream on the beaters!

I absolutely love my family!

Chinese New Year Traditions

Chinese New Year celebrations typically last about 2 weeks.  Lucky for us, we arrived in Malaysia for second week of all the festivities, which included seeing two Lion Dances and one Dragon Dance.

Lion Dance 1 - we happened upon it on the ground level of Dave & Shir's place one evening.  Drums filled the air and we watched as the Lions moved around.  It was so incredible to see first hand!

Later that week, we stopped at a nearby hotel for another Lion Dance.  I was amazed at the ease with which these performers danced and did acrobatics on top of poles...and with two men per lion costume no less.  They are extremely talented!

Part of the tradition is to have the "God of Prosperity" come and distribute souvenirs.

And yet another day, we cruised to the Central Market (China Town) to watch a Dragon Dance.  It was so hot this afternoon, that the dancers were sweating even before anything started! 

Pictures can only say so much.  Here are a couple videos.

Christmas Morning

Okay, so for the real good stuff! Christmas morning pics and vids!

I love wrapping presents and making them look beautiful!  I consider it part of the decor for Christmas.  As soon as I buy a gift, I must wrap it and put it under tree ASAP.  It works for now, but I can only imagine it becoming a pure crime waiting to happen when I have children old enough to know what it means to sneak a peek.  Until then, they will be beautiful!

The morning started bright and early at 7am.  Little children coming from a time zone 8 hours ahead definitely know how to wake early for Christmas morning, even without understanding the excitement of an early Christmas.  We taught Maya & Ethen the traditional Kimball song, "Here we sit like Birds in the Wilderness" as we waited to go in to see what Santa brought.  My grandmother learned this song as a child and taught my dad, who made us sing it 3 or 4 times while we waited and now the new kiddos are learning it.  What a fun, strange, tradition!

And then to the presents!

 Star Wars characters cookie cutters and pancake molds

 The super cute purse I got my mom.  Totally impractical so she would never buy it for herself, but she loved it!

 Ethen playing with his remote control car... for ages 8 and up.  He's almost 2.  Such a little man

 Maya got a Little Mermaid princess dress and fin suit.  But don't the forget princess heels!

 Shirlee and Ethen

Dave and the kiddos