Holiday Baking For Dummies

I like to cook but I would never say I am fantastic at baking cookies, breads, etc. I added this fool proof recipe to my spread of Christmas goodies to share this year and it was quite the hit. If you like the salty sweet combo try it out. It takes less than five minutes and is even easier to make then rice krispie treats.
Rollo Pretzel Treats:
Ingredients: Mini twisted pretzels, rolo candy, and pecan halves

Set oven at 200 degrees. Arrange pretzels on a cookie sheet. Place one unwrapped rolo in the center of each pretzel. Put in oven for about 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly press a pecan half on top of each rolo so it sticks to the pretzel. Remove pretzels from the cookie sheet and let cool. Then enjoy the yummy morsels.

A Few Days in H.B.

The first week of December I had a chance to visit Amber and her family in Huntington Beach. Her mom was helping her with the kids while she was in the hospital and at home on bedrest and stayed as long as she could. Amber still was under strict doctors orders to not do any heavy lifting, or driving, etc. I am not working right now and I selfishly wanted to see her and her kiddos since I couldn't see her until Christmas, so I made the flight to LBC with Stone. I know I was not as big of help as her mom but it was good to help where I could and especially catch up in person. During the week Stone cut his top two teeth and started doing a funky crawl that looks like the worm dance move...so cute. Amber was nice enough to take some pictures and video Stone trying his hand at swimming and crawling. It was especially nice have some t-shirt weather in December. Don't mind the pasty white pictures of me in the spa, remember I do live in Utah, and clearly I don't hit the tanning beds or the whitening teeth trays. Stone was in HEAVEN in the spa and especially floating in the inner tube by himself.

Happy Birthday Dad

Dad I wish I could be with you on your 65th birthday. You are the hardest working, most generous and unconditionally loving father I know. I am so lucky to have you as my dad. You are the best!

Holiday Husband Tag Continued

1) Where did you and your huband meet?
We officially met at a singles ward family night at Capo Beach in San Juan Capistrano, CA. It was a beach bonfire on pioneer day July 24, 2006. I had seen him in a talent show a week earlier but I was standing in the back without my glasses, so I didn't realize how handsome he was. He proposed to me at that same beach about 5 months later on December 21, 2006.

2) How long did you date?
Including our engagement about 7 months, almost to the day.

3) How long have you been married?
One year nine months and fourteen days, (long time, I know jk)

4) What is your favorite feature of his?
Too many to list, he is my complete package. I have always taken notice to mens lips and hands for as long as I can remember. I love Spences lips and hands, but if I had to choose one thing I would actually choose his nice big arms. I have always felt so comfortable and safe with him.

5) What is your favorite quality of his?
His honesty, he is so genuine and real. A hard quality to find these days.

6) Does he have a nickname for you?
He probably makes up a new one everday, but the most popular ones are Brookie, Bunny, Baba, Lover, and My Queen.

7) What's his favorite color?
Blue, but black to wear.

8) What's his favorite food?
Steak, hamburgers and cheese. He would say anything I cook. He's pretty easy to please when it comes to food, so I am lucky.

9) What's his favorite sport?
Mixed Martial Arts of course, but he is one of those people that is naturally good at every sport he does except Golf and Surfing. (And my dad and brothers surprisingly still love him anyway) He just hangs out with the girls when the guys go golfing, which I don't mind at all.

10) When was your first kiss?
Almost two weeks after I met him, and about the fourth time I saw him. It was a pretty funny story but too long to write. Let's just say he caught me off guard, but I willingly kissed him back that's for sure.

11) What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
We actually love to go on roadtrips but that might change when our son is not a sleeping angel in the car. I say roadtrip even being an hour or more drive because it gives us a chance to talk, laugh, listen, reflect, listen to good music and tune out the rest of the world.

12) Do you have any children?
We have one little baby boy named Stone Caleb. He is 8 months and 8 days. We hope to add at least two more kiddos to the Thompson clan but we will see what Heavenly Father has in store for us.

13) Does your husband have a hidden talent?
He plays piano by ear, but even more hidden is his Clogging skills. He's actually a really good dancer in general, but it is classic to see this big guy bust out the clogging moves. He also does a pretty good Lord of the dance rendition too.

14) How old is he?
31 and 3 months

15) Who said I love you first?
He did

16) What's his favorite type of music?
Indie music first and foremost, like Pavement and Built to spill, stuff like that. He loves reggae, good ol heavy rock like Tool, except he thinks the lead singer is the anti-Christ. He doesn't listen too them much since he got active in the church. He also creates his own amazing songs on the guitar all the time.

17) What do I most admire about him?
His ability to forgive and his strength to overcome.

18) Will he read this?
I think so

Holiday Husband Tag

So my sis in law Tiff had an open invite back on Thanksgiving to pay a little tribute to our hubbies. This is a little late on the invite but better late than never.

Movin on up...to the Eastside

So our family is in transition from our place in West Valley to the next place we decide to call home.  We either will be living in Holladay or the Sugarhouse area. I really would be happy with both and the two places we are looking at are about the same price.  We are staying in Lehi for the time being and we have the majority of our stuff in storage, including our camera...whoops. I must have got a little pack happy.  So poor Stone has an undocumented first Thanksgiving.  I have just been taking a few pics with the camera phone.  Hopefully we will be in a new place by next weekend and life can quickly get back to normal. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Stone's 1st Halloween

My husband called me and woke me up to check out this beautiful sunrise, and I am glad he did. The pic does not quite do it justice, but I thought how fitting to have a bright orange sunrise on Halloween. The pics in the daytime were taken actually two days before over at Gardner Village. I went with a few girlfriends and their kids to see all the cool Halloween decorations, mostly witches. They helped me get a few cute pics of Stone sitting up by himself since he is still a little wobbly. Somehow he got a hold of a leaf and he started choking on it and my friend noticed first and we got it out and he threw up all over his costume, so I was grateful that it was not actually Halloween day. Anyhow he is in that phase of sticking everything in his mouth, but that was our first choking experience. Enough of those fun details...Every Halloween I tell myself I am not dressing up unless we go to a party. So I think I won't feel like dressing up and then last minute I want to, thus having to throw together a lame costume. I wish I was one of those people who think of something really cool and plan a costume in advance like (see Bille's blog), but I am a scrapper (of costumes that is). I promise next year just you wait that I will be something alot more original than an 80's aerobic instructor. Spencer painted cool black designs on his face twice then decided to wear the mask I got him for 50 cents instead...He looked like he had black eyeliner on for the next two days, even after showering. Anyhow we just had a quiet night. We went to my in laws to trick or treat, see a cool decorated house nearby and take pictures. Don't worry I had my legs covered up after we snapped a few photos. It was an unusually warm Halloween for Utah's standards but ended in rain, so we just went home and watched Ghostrider...and I fell asleep in the first hour, I'm so exciting I know. All in all it was a fun time, more fun now with a kiddo and I was happy to spend it with my hubby since he was working last year.

Stones 6th Month Pics

More Fighting Photos

So Spence's friend Nate snapped these two pics with his iphone. He was to busy bein a corner man to get any action shots, but we were lucky to get any pictures at all. They prohibit flash photography, and we have to wait two weeks for Spence to get his video of the match back.

Whoops

I guess proofreading is a good thing, but I don't always do it. Correction Spence was a third degree brown belt and quit at 17. This was his first time competing again in almost 14 years.

My Ultimate Fighter

For those of you who don't know my husband, he is a pretty tough guy. He trained in Muso-Kai and shodokan (I think) which Muso-Kai is taken from Okinawan Karate. He trained from 6-17 years old and was a thrid degree black belt. He has been training at a mixed martial arts gym for about a year. He was working out last wednesday and apparently the owner of the gym and another guy were watching him hit the heavy bag for about an hour. They asked him if he would be interested in fighting this Saturday and of course he said yes. I guess someone backed out from the card from Idaho so Spence filled his spot. They fought in a real Octagon at this bar/nightclub/hotel called Elevate. His two friends were his corner men and he had another couple friends watch with me in the audience. Everyone asks if I am scared to see him fight but I know he is tough and can handle his business. Spence weighed in at 223 and his competitor was 248 and lets just say alot more flabby than Spence. I felt bad for his competitor before going into the fight. It was both there first fight, but Spence was definitely faster and more skilled by far. He won in 90 seconds by a T.K.O. I was so proud of him and it was so cool to see my husband up there in the limelight doing what he loves to do. Now he is a certified pro cagefighter and can fight anywhere throughout the nation. They would not let us take any pics inside so I just posted a few cagefighting pics and part of a scan of his first check. Wahoo. It will be televised on a local channel and on-line I think. We will find out more today. Great job Honey!!! Like I said when we first met, I feel very safe around you, and your performance Saturday emphasized that once again. I love you!!!

Trip to Las Vegas

As you can see I got another haircut. I finally think I am at a length I like. I am glad I did not dye my hair because last minute I had to take Stone with me and he was good until about the last 10-15 minutes and he was fussing and I held him on my lap. His little polar fleece pants were covered in my hair, yuck. Luckily my cousin cuts my hair and has kids so she was really cool about me bringing Stone, but hopefully my next visit can be a bit more relaxing. This is the best self portrait I could get, sorry.

Last weekend we went to Las Vegas to visit Jason's family before they move back to Hollister. I forgot how fun it is to roadtrip with my husband. We have the best conversations, listen to good music and just enjoy the ride. Stone was such a good boy all weekend, including both ways in the car. LOVE HIM!!! I enjoyed the weather so much but Jason's pool was a little too chilly for Stone. They have the coolest house one level, over 3,000 sq ft, 4 beds 3.5 baths, a huge master bedroom on the other side of the house, a great open floor plan and a pool and spa in the back. Obviously much to big for us now, but a future dream, nonetheless.
We went to my favorite indoor swap meet and I bought concentrated perfume and cologne oils for Spence and I. I was so glad that vendor was still there because I had not been back in 4 years. It is truly the only stuff that is modest in price lasts forever on my skin and is agreeable to a person like me. The alcohol in regular perfume dries my skin and makes me itch like crazy. I love perfume so I suffer the itchy neck.
We ate the best home cooked food all weekend and the boys and big boys played rockband which was fun to see. We took a short walk down the strip to Bellagio and Caesar's Palace, two of my fav's. Spence and Stone had never seen the fountains at Bellagio so that was amazing as always. The inside of Bellagio was decorated so cool, I am sorry the pictures did not turn out better or do it any sort of justice. Our camera is going so crazy, it shut off after inside of Bellagio and would not work the rest of the weekend. UGH!

Stone Update

Stone turned 6 months on October 8th, I know a little late. At his checkup he was a healthy 16lbs and 6oz and 25inches. He definitely gets enough to eat. As you can see from the picture in his stroller he has been teething and finally after a rough week of sleep for us and pain for him he got his two bottom teeth. His new toothy smile is adorable. Sure wish we could get all the teething overwith all at once. Anyhow he is sitting up pretty well by himself and he loves to roll around everywhere. No crawling yet, but he has been doing some cute little push ups and having a blast on his jumper/bouncy seat. He jumps like a maniac, especially if we have company over....little show off. j.k. My parents came out for a quick visit over conference. We went to Gardener Village had lunch and looked at all the cute shops and witch decorations. My mom also helped me with an awesome Thanksgiving centerpiece (she did 90%). Then we finally went to the Cheesecake factory which just opened about a year ago in Utah. I love seeing my parents it is always so fun. I wish I had pictures but my camera was not working the day we were out...

Northern California Road Trip

I flew home with Stone for my cousin Rachels wedding up in northern California. We drove up with my brother Brandon's family and my mom and dad. It was about a six hour drive north and a beautiful drive too. It has been a long time since I have been on a "family" road trip, the kind where you are singing songs and kids are fighting and everyones snacking and laughing and talking and asking, "Are we there yet?". It was great to sthe bee close family and friends all over the hotel and at the wedding of course. Garberville is a small town in the redwoods and it was such a peaceful getaway. Our fam had fun going to some of the fun shops with redwood carvings and skunk and davey crocket hats, and other fun trinkets. We drove the suburban through the famous Chandelier tree in Legget, CA. We had so much fun playing that we (the girls) were extremely rushed to get ready for the wedding, which I wasn't too happy about. The wedding was something out of a storybook. Rachel looked so beautiful and happy...the scenery was beautiful, overlooking the valley, a pond, llamas, and sunflowers everywhere, a great barn dance, and of course great food. (it's a Sowards event). I know some people dread going to weddings, but I absolutely love it. After the wedding we slept over one more night with the whole fam in a suite and headed back to the bay. On the way back we drove part way along the coast and stopped in Mendocino...It's an artsy coastal town with lots of bed and breakfast. I drooled over some high end boutique fashions and some other fun shops. We had lunch at a cute cafe overlooking the water (depending where you sit). My family dropped Stone and I off at the Oakland airport a little early and I ended up seeing and sitting next to one of Brandon's old friends who was at the wedding and Bishop Halls son Jon and his new wife. (Perks of living in S.L.C.) It was such a great trip and so fun to have quality time with my family. The only way the trip would be better was if my husband could have came. I knew he would have loved the area. I just have so much more fun with my hubster around.

More pics from the Wedding

My cousin Rachel's Wedding

Hanging out near Garberville before Rach's wedding

Catchin up

Why can I never post my pictures in the right order?? Why?? So we have had a busy past month or so. The picture of Stone's first ride on a carousel and train was back in mid July when our family went out to San Jose for a visit. For some reason our cute pics from the aquarium weren't scanned right so I am movin on to more current events.

The last two pics are of my handsome husband who just celebrated his 31st b-day on September 14th. I usually like to surprise him with a gift on his birthday but this year no surprise...I took him to a local mixed martial art fight(s) and surprised him with a new steel string guitar...it just was an early surprise since I got the fight tickets at the guitar shop. Plus he's left handed and plays guitar right handed but I forgot that in the store...I ended up buying the right kind though. Anyhow I think I am back to surprises next year even though my husband could care less about gifts. I did surprise him with a yummy breakfast made a yummy dinner. He wanted homemade donuts instead of a cake so I tried my hand at donut making. They actually turned out pretty well for my first stab at it. I can cook but anytime a recipe requires yeast and rising I am always keeping my fingers crossed to see if it comes out ok. Our immediate family on the Thompson side came over and enjoyed the donuts and eachothers company.

More pics of Stone

Stone is growing so fast, I can't believe it. It has been a bit cooler so I he has been wearing a few of his warmer outfits...which won't fit for long. Anyways I put him on our bed and when I came back a minute later his hat was over his eyes, it just looked cute even though he hates it.

The other pics is the Brazilian Festival in S.L.C. although you would not know it by the pictures. My cousin Juliana and her family have lived here for over a year and I just barely found out. It has been so fun to get to know her and her husband better. I only had seen her about four times in our whole lives and know we have been out twice in two weeks. Her and Andre (her husband) have great english. It is so nice to have some family in Utah. It was such a hot day, poor little Stone was melting, you can tell in the pictures how sunny it was.