Oh, What do you do in the Winter time when all the ground is WHITE?

Well you can:

Shovel the snow.

Make snow angels with your little sister.

Get swept away in BMT (Big Metal Thing) Avalanche...

... or just pout because you have sunk into the deep dark depths of the deep snow drifts.

Other Things you do in the Winter time

Believe it or not, when I have a little time I like to do crafts. This is my latest indoor adventure. I made my sisters coasters for their apartments for Christmas. These are fun. It is as simple as finding a tile you like, a few calendar pictures the right size, pasting them and then painting a matte or a shiny glaze over the top. I also did small ones that were refridgerator magnet size. Those are fun because you can get the pictures easy off the back of the calendars. Elise, since I believe you are one of the people who occationaly checks on my blogging efforts, this is what we are going to do for your birthday, so be thinking about what you would like.

Another thing to do in the winter time is BAKE!

Contrary to popular belief I can actually cook. I may have lost the art somewhat because of my absence from a kitchen for over 6 months. However, when I have some real extra time I do like to fiddle. (At Kieve I was always saying I would make bread, cake, or cookies but never really did.) Well here it is GLUTENOUS FREEOUS SUGAR COOKIES!!! It has been over a year since I have enjoyed the taste of sugar cookie dough as I clear away the edges of the cut outs. It was sweet!!! I had a sugar cookie a few weeks ago, that was not gluten free, but lets not go there.

Baking

Cooling, look how many there are. Yum yum.

The waiting place, just a pit stop before the cream chese icing is made.

Cream chese icing in multi colors. All the family enjoyed this delectible treat and they said they tasted as good as regular NON-GLUTENOUS sugar cookies. I guess life aint so bad gluten free!!!

Elise, this random picture is for you. You will know what it is all about!

Christmas Day in Arizona

Today was a wonderful day in the White Mountains of Arizona. It truely was a white Christmas in the high mountains where my grandparents live. I love it here and am glad to be where it feels like Christmas. The thing that I loved most about this Christmas was that there was not much money to give presents this year. I spent a great deal of time in the Home-depot researching remodeling skills and supplies and in my basement crafting presents for peopl. I love that my gifts had a great deal of me in them. I gave a lot of my heart this year. It has been fun!!! This will be short, but I hope to write a list tomorrow about all the many things which I am so grateful for because they have been on my mind.

Grandpa and Christmas dinner preparation

This is a magnet I created as a gift. It was my favorite

Picture and it reflects what I have to say in the next paragraph.

For now I am just so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and that he gave me the most monetarilly inexpensive gift, but yet the most valuable gift one could recieve. He suffered for my sins, pains, and sorrows; and he gave me the hope that I will be resurrected as he was. Not something that could be bought or purchased from a store shelf, even though those things have their place. I love Christmas and it's true meaning!!!

These are just pictures of the fun I had with te culinary arts of Christmas dinner. Most moms teach their children not to play with their food, but I quite enjoy it so I do play with my food on occation.

It's the "little" Things

Today I went to a 4th grade classroom. They were so fun. It amazes me how easily they show appreciation. I was only a part of their lives for a day. I do everything I can in that day to help them feel they are loved and important, but I just never would expect to make much of an impact in a days time.

Well, it turns out that they just melted my heart today!!! It just goes to show that the little things in life really do have a great impact. "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass."

One Door closes and another door opens

Today I am beginning a new chapter. I have arrived home after a long late ride. I am extremely grateful that I made it safe after being so exhausted from such a great weekend in Rexburg. One of the disappointments of the weekends was that I seriously attempted wheat again with a most delightful sugar cookie. After loosing conciousness and hitting my head on the bathroom door I came to the conclusion that my gluten intolerance is here to stay. I find it a tender mercy to have been staying with friends while testing it out. It would have been scary to have been home alone, seeing as I have not lost conciousness from Gluten since before Badger Creek (1 1/2 years ago). I am okay with who I am, Glutenous Intolerance and all. Heavenly Father Knows what he is doing with me and how this will help me to be more compassionate and like him.
I also left a portion of my heart behind me today. It is not always easy to move in a new direction. I don't know that I have ever felt that way before, a deep sorrow but an incredible hope all at the same time. A moment of surprise came and brought joy to my heart and I knew everything will work out as it should. I wouldn't change anything major from my life thus far. Maybe I would change some of the words I used or the little punky actions I ought not to have, but for the most part I am super grateful for the experiences of my life thus far!!!

Thanksgiving Croquet Bowl

I have been a bit of a slacker in my blog, but where I am supposed to be in other parts of my life. It has been busy since returning home to Utah. I am grateful be busy and to be cradled once again by the tall mountains, and to be under a wide open sky. Below are some of the post Thanksgiving dinner events. Loser was the theme of thanksgiving for me. Now don't suppose that I am all depressed and knocking myself. I was just glad to be. I was happy with being. This day I just was peachy-keen to be there with my family and to get to know the new family that was there. I lost at crochet and then I lost severely at Bunko (This was actually one I was glad to be loosing at because I almost got the most losses and therefore could have claimed a prize for the most losses). It's all well. I am usually terribly competitive and bummed to not be the top dog. Today I was just happy with me.

Another sore looser, J/k that is my ultra amazing cousin who has a fond love for Maine along with me because he served his mission there.

We had no idea this was being filmed and so we posed for a picture using sound affects because sound affects always help for the perfect Kodak moment.

Road Trip to St. George

Following Road Trip Maine 2009 I gave myself a day to recoup and then headed down to southern Utah to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with the Porter side of the family. on the way we stopped in Beaver to take a "rest" stop and this is what we found.

Halloween Masquarade Ball- A.K.A. Smile Fest 2009

The Masquerade Ball Begins...

Oh my!!! How majestic does Elise look as she sports this lovely Mask.

Oliver just can't quite sport it as well as Elise. For some reason it kind of just looks like he has a Fro and some feathers stuck in it. However, Oliver has his own way of looking Majestic, it just isn't the same way as Elise.

This is the first time in nearly a year that I have been able to dance for real. I love a good swing dance every once in a while. There is nothing quite like getting twisted and twirled and thrown across the dance floor. Oliver, you definitely have the dance skills. It has been a while since I have had a good lead to follow .

Happiness is Swing dancing on Halloween in a Ballroom in Boston !!!

Elise and I are experts at this Dance thing can't ya tell???

I am trying to dance, but am some what distracted by the "All the Single Ladies" performance by Oliver.

Smile-Fest 2009.

Wow, I did not even know that two people could concentrate so hard on dancing. Look at those intense face!!! You would think it was some sort of dance competition.

It almost seems as if Elise's dashing looks have brought Oliver to tears.

SURPRISE... Disco is back!!


All Good Things Must Come To an End!!!

As we left it rained and it was such a blessing because we were still SOOOOO Hot from the intensity of dancing.I am so glad and grateful that Elise convinced Oliver and I to go to this Young Single Adult activity in Boston.It went so much better than the Single Adult activity we went to in Augusta.

This Halloween is finding its place up there nearing the best of all my Halloween's in my 25 years of life. We left Maine around 12:00 P.M. and arrived about 4 P.M. in Boston. We got a hotel and met up with my Great Uncle Bob who is 3 months away from 90. Once we had done a little T.J. Max shopping we prepared for the Masquerade Ball put on the local LDS Singles as a part of the Young Single Adult conference. We knew we didn't have tickets but we drove all the way down here in hopes that we might get to go anyway. We knew in the least that we would get to hear Elder Ballard speak the next day in Stake Conference.


After getting a little dolled up we left for the Harvard Club, where the Ball was to be held. After a nearly 1.5 hour search we finally found the place. We accidentally ended up on the wrong side of town, near Boston College, where we picked up three young college boys. Oliver offered them a ride because they had been lost for 2 plus hours searching for their car. It was fun to help them finally find their car so they could get on their way to Michigan. I enjoyed walking and talking on the streets of Boston. There were people everywhere with costumes on. It was an exciting evening to be in Boston.


Finally we arrived at the Harvard Club. After batting my eyes and puckering my lips they were glad to allow us to join the dance. It was so neat to be there. It was a gorgeous hall. It seemed old and perfect for the Halloween scene. Even more than that it was great to have a rock'n time and dance the night away with Oliver and Elise. I danced with a few random people and had a good time, but for the most part it was fun to just dance and have a great time with two people I enjoy spending time with. At one point Elise made us go out and dance alone so that we might get to know some other people. I tried, but I quickly realized how I really didn't know anyone in the area and how comfortable I felt around Elise and Oliver to break out my funky dance moves. I couldn't do the solo thing for very long
Here are the dance pictures and I will add the Sunday tour later.

Elise, Oliver, Oliver's mission companion, and I after the dance.

Can you believe this phenomenal beautiful ballroom.


Another view of the grand Ballroom at the Harvard Club.

This is me having the time of my life in Boston. It was an wonderful evening!!! I felt like I was on top of the world!

Olive showing of his stellar dance moves.

This is some random guy that just ended up in my picture, but I thought it was great to show how fancy this ball was.

Last Sunday we went to the Salt Bay Preserve. We ran, we sang on the hills, and we enjoyed the blessing of nature. We also took pictures of some beautiful things. This is the beauty of Fall in Maine. I am not certain who took this picture of me because we brought all our pictures together, but I really like this one. If I knew who I would give them credit. For now it is Anonymous. It captures the moment in which the following pictures were taken. It brings it into context.