Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year..

 

Oh I love Christmas.
 
& I am not ready for it to be here.. because I am not ready for it to be over yet..
 



I love Christ... & Service..
 

& Family.. & Christmas Traditions..

 
& I love the Music, & the Laughter, & Love..
 

& I really lovvve giving gifts.
 

This year for our neighbor gifts Blake & I made
Christmas Stove Top Potpourri/Cider..
Oh it smells so much like Christmas and Home.. it's heavenly.


 

Christmas Stove Top Potpourri

Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
    • 1/2 orange (sliced)
    • 2 cinnamon sticks (broken in half)
    •  1 ½ tsp cloves
    • 1/16 tsp nutmeg
    • 1 ½-2  cups water [or 2 cups Cranberry Juice and 3 cups of Apple Juice for Cider]
Combine ingredients in a small pot and simmer over low heat for as long as desired. Add more water if it gets low. Enjoy the holiday scent.


You'll have to try it.. my Christmas Eve gift to you.
[Wait what.. I'm blogging about Christmas Eve ON Christmas Eve.. don't worry I'm shocked too]
 
Merry Christmas Eve my loved ones..
This year I don't get to spend it in Farmington and it definitely feels different. No one tells you when you are moving off to college that you definitely took for granted having most of your loved ones in one place.
 
But for those of you I don't get to see for a few more days I sure love you you all..
 you're always in my heart.

The Quarter of a Century

 
Blake turned the big 2-5 this year.
 
What is the weirdest to me is that when we started dating he was 21.
How are we getting so old so fast?
 
But anyway this year.. unlike last.. thank goodness his birthday was not on Thanksgiving so we got to celebrate HIM allll day.


So the highlight of the day.. definitely for both of us.. was that I had a big surprise for Blake with his presents.
:)
He had been wanting a bow [like a bow and arrow.. bow] for probably the last year. The only problem is that they are kind of expensive..
 
But he has been dyyying to have one [as in he talked about it daily.. seriously dyying] and I have really been wanting to get it for him. So I think back in July I put it on layaway.
 
So I just made payments on it when I could and finalllly a couple of days before Blake's birthday I got to pick it up and I was bursting with excitement to give it to him.
 
 
SO what we had talked about with his gifts is that I would mostly give him money
(& a couple of other little things to open) so that we could go and put his bow on layaway on his birthday and maybe get it around Christmas.
 
So Blake opened his small gifts and then in the bag that was supposed to have his money was a note that said..
"Okay... I lied I'm not giving you money. But maybe I can do you one better. Check the office for one last present."
 
& He starts yelling "WHAT".. "What is going on".. with big eyes like he doesn't want to get too excited yet..
 

Then he runs out into the living room with his big box and rips open the paper and the gift as fast as he can. haha I don't know the last time I've seen him so excited.
[Probably when I told him I would marry him.. :) ]
 
Oh I wish I could freeze the moment forever. I looove surprises.
 
& Blake was so in love with his bow he just wanted to sit there and stare at it.. he had to have it next to him when we played games and on the night stand next to us when we went to sleep.
I think he was afraid it was going to disappear and be a joke.


Then the rest of the day.. even though he was on cloud 9 I think from his surprise gift.. and we probably could have just stopped the day there.. we just celebrated my sweet Blake.
 
We ate donuts, took his bow to Idaho Falls so he could shoot it for houuuurs, saw the cute inlaws, ate Mexican food, & went on a double date to the first day of Catching Fire..
 
I sure love Birthdays and reasons to celebrate..

 
 And Blake Bingham I can't believe how much I love you.
I must have done something realllly right to get you..
:)

Happy Birthday Babe!




The Great Outdoors..

 
If anyone asked me what I loved about Idaho.. I of course would first say that it's close to my sweet in laws and all of our awesome friends here..
But thennn I would tell them that there is sooo much to do outdoors..
 
 
oh. seriously.. it's breathtaking.
 

So this Fall we had the chance to go real rock climbing for Blake's first time ever..
[We have been indoor rock climbing plenty.. Blake loooves it.. so I was pretty excited for this trip actually because I knew he would be in heaven]

 
& Luckily we got to go with a group of people who actually knew what they were doing..
They would lead climb for us,
[without a harness or anyone balleying them so they could set the climb up for everyone else..]
& thankfully knew all of the place that were fun to climb..
 


& This sweet man with his long arms and legs and crazy self discipline.. is such a natural. He really was built to rock climb.. so it's lucky that he loves it so much.
 
And of course since I have such long limbs too..
[For those of you who may not actually recall... although its probably up for debate, it's possible that I'm not the biggest/longest person in the world]
I was prettt.ty. impressive.


 
Especially at these cool climbs you had to shimmy up the crack without hand/foot holds..
Hopefully I have to do that to save my life one day..
that would end really well. haha
[For who ever was chasing me that is..]
 

Just kidding.. even though I have to admit I didn't make this intense climbing thing look quite as graceful as Blakey over here.. it was really fun.
 
& I really enjoy being pushed every once in a while, I think if it's not a challenge you won't learn anything new.


 
 
Unfortunately Blake was always balleying me when I was climbing [& sometimes doesn't quite feel the burning need to document our life like I do..]
 
So we didn't get any pictures of my climbing.. I was a little bit bummed..
but I guess that just means we will have to go again.
:)
 


 
 
& The best part about being spending the day out in nature was all of the natural life we got to see..
There were two bald eagles, lots of lizards..
 
 


The prettiest fall leaves..
 
&& For the grannnd finnalllee..

  
 A MOOSE.
Completely made my day life...
A real live moose spotting has been something that has been on my life bucket list, and after rock climbing we were walking to the car with our friends and out of the river popped this beauty.


 
Even though I have to admit that in my bucket list mind/moose plan we weren't exactly just outside walking next to the moose..

This one actually started charging us when it saw us and as we all ran for the car
[& I'm running backwards so that I can get a picture.. as you can tell I usually think things through]
it changed it's mind and ran the other way thank goodness.
 
But oh it was beautiful. It's amazing how many beautiful things are in our lives and so close around us everyday..
I know that I am guilty of thinking I'm too busy and not always appreciating them like I should.

We are so blessed.
& Oh Idaho.. my pretty outdoorsy state.. I am going to miss you.