I Love Utah

Growing up I never understood what was so special about Utah. I always wanted to live anywhere but "here". I thought everywhere else was better, more fun, exciting, more beautiful... WHAT WAS I THINKING?!? I feel like this past year my eyes have been opened. Utah is incredible. I drive through Holiday (where I grew up) and I am amazed, it is incredible. I love the mountains, the 4 seasons, the snow, the green in the spring, the color in the fall, the variety... everything - I just love it. Not that other places are not as beautiful and even more so... I mean come on - the beach, a big city, the country... I know there is so much more out there than just Utah. All I am saying is, I have really come to a realization of how lucky I am to be living here right now. So, I guess what brought on all these thoughts on was some snowmobiling we did yesterday. We went up to Daniels Summit, about 10 minutes from my parents house. The whole time we were out I was amazed. Check out the pictures - incredible, right!
We got out a little late, no until about 4 pm... so we were not out for too long because it gets dark around 5:30 pm. But the trails were groomed just before us, so we were the first on them - it was awesome. My dad wheres this funny helmet... he looks likes he is flying a fighter jet or something - it is hilarious. But the helmets really do save you in the cold, it was 12 degrees by the time we left, and with the wind blowing against us as we rode it was really cold! I love snowmobiling. I have grown up doing it. I was hoping we could take Jacks on this trip but it was way to cold. We will for sure take him before the winter is over... it just needs to warm up a little.

Memory Lane...

Wednesday a few of us girls that were in town for Christmas were able to get together. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up. It really brought me back to high school and all the fun memories! I rarely see anyone from High School. It's actually quite ridiculous because most of these girls are still in Utah. And the funny part is that I probley see Michelle the most and she is in Vegas... again, (no I am not afraid to admit it) I am not the best friend... I am really bad at just picking up the phone and calling people. Ugh!
It was so fun to put this together - I missed all of you that could not make it. I know Christmas is so hard to get away from family, and alot of you didn't come home for Christmas or decided to go away... but I think I am going to try to put something together each year that I am in Utah. So hopefully, we will see more of you next year!
Mandy (Knappus) Bardsley, Elisa Barber, Ashlie (Driggs) Strohman, McCall (Richards) Randall, Michelle (Richards) Roe, Tracie Frei (soon to be Larsen... Congrats on the engagement)!

Christmas Day!

Christmas Eve we had my two cousins, Lindsey and Veronica, my Aunt Karen, and Grandma Marshall come and spend the night with us. It was great seeing them and having more people to spend Christmas with. Jackson loves my cousin Veronica and followed her all around the house. Christmas morning Santa surprised Jacks with a basketball hoop. He loves it! I think this is the best gift Santa could of brought him - he must really know Jackson well. Ha ha.
Everytime Jacks makes a basket he says, "swoosh"! And everytime he misses he says, "almost".
Above is Miles, my Grandma and Cami.
Of course, Jacks got pretty spoiled with all the toys, clothes, candy... he loved it! Christmas with Jackson this year was so exciting. It was so fun to watch him get so excited about Santa. I am already looking forward to next year!

Christmas Eve...

Chistmas Eve with my family is so fun. We have alot of traditions that I look forward to through out the entire year. One thing that we just started a few years back is sledding at Soldier Hollow. It is so fun! Basically - you sit on your tube and are attached to a pully the pulls you up the hill (can't complain about that), and then they have trails you slide down on your tube. This is Scott on his tube riding up to the top. Hoo-ray we don't have to walk!
We were shocked to find that Jackson HATED the tubes. He is usually quite the thrill seeker, but not with this! Although he did love playing in the snow with his dad.
Ready to go!
Jackson loved jumping off the ledge. He will jump off anything - but not play around in a tube... weird, right? Maybe in a couple years.

Some other traditions we have on Christmas Eve... we spend hours in the kitchen making some of our favorite appetizers: stuffed mushrooms, chicken wontons, shrimp, and a ton of other really yummy foods. We all sit around eating for, way to long and then .... suprise ... the "bed fairy" comes to our house and leaves new pajamas on everyones beds. We usually end the night with everybody sleeping on the floor in the basement and we all fall asleep to a Christmas movie. So fun! I love our traditions, I can't wait to start creating our own with my family next year.

Las Vegas Bowl Game

I am sure you have all noticed, we love our cougars! So friday afternoon we drove to Vegas with my family and went to the Bowl game that BYU was playing in. It was a fun trip. Saturday morning we went to the strip and I convined my family to go to H&H (are we ever going to get one here???). It was fun walking along the stip, Jackson loved looking at all the lights. Later we ate lunch at the MGM buffet - always a favorite! The game started at 5 pm. By half time me, Cami, and Jack were so freezing - we took off and went to the mall to kill time until the game was over. Sadly we missed a pretty exciting ending - BYU blocked a field goal and won the game. Scott called me afterwards and was freaking out on the phone. It was a little bumbed I missed the ending - but I am sure Scott will find a re-run on TV some day.
(CJ, Scotts Dad (Blaine), Scott, Jack, Me, Garret)

We were so suprised to find our tickets right next to Scotts dad. We knew he would be there but couldn't believe we sat so close - literally right next to eachother! Our brother-in-law Garret, was also there with his family. We all met up at half time and chatted for a bit. It was fun to everyone!

This is a picture Scott got of all the Cougar fans storming the field - of course Scott and Miles were among the crowd. It was a great weekend, we had so much fun supporting our team and being together as a family!

Olympus Get Together!

Hey all you Titans... I am planning a fun lunch for the Holidays.

Date: December 26th
Time: 1:00 pm
Place: Barbacoa (4638 South 2300 East)

Pass the word along. Can't wait to see everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Projects!

Yesterday was filled with a variety of Christmas projects. My sister, Candice and I spent the day doing one thing after another, it as alot of fun!
We started out by making "Baby Block Christmas Trees". They turned out sooooo cute! Its basically baby ABC blocks that you hot glue gun into the shape of a tree, and then you decorate it with minature toys. It takes a while to collect all of the decorations, they can be hard to find. We started looking last Christmas and then went out again this year to find some different things. If you are interested in doing it, check out Zims, they had a pretty good selection. Other than that, we pretty much looked in every Christmas store we went to. But, Jacks loves to look at it - he could spen hours just spinning it around and pointing out all the different decorations - its really fun! Our next project was Christmas Stockings. My mom and I made mine last year and Candice wanted to do some this year. Mine are the stockings above, I don't have a picture of hers - but they turned out really cute!

We then "attempted" to make sugar cookies. I say attempted because they turned out horrible!!! I was so sad. I have made these before with my sister-in-law Jaime and they are by far the BEST sugar cookies I have ever had. I was so excited to make them and for my family to taste them - but yuck! Something went wrong with the frosting (which is what makes these cookies) and they were a disaster. Sadly, we threw them all away. Oh-well. I will try them again sometime this holiday break, hopefully next time they will turn out better!
This last picture is from the Sub-for-Santa that we did this year. We did the shopping and wrapping on Monday. And obviously from my previous post you can see how much this means to me.

Its been a fun week. I love the Christmas Spirit. I love the family traditions. I love being with family around the clock! I hope yours have been as good as mine thus far!

Holiday Tradition...

I have a favorite family tradition that has been part of my family for about 10 years. Sub-for-Santas. I have gained so much from giving to others, expecially at this time of year. I have seen the worst circumstances of those we have given to and other times I only know the childs age, clothing size, and shoe size.
One family in particular comes to my mind every Christmas season. We received this family from a friend of ours who was a teacher. She had one of the children in her class and had learned of the families trials. The mother had walked out and left the father in care of 3 young children. The father had lost his arm in an accident and therefore was unable to work. As we arrived the night of our delivery, we were all in shock as we starred at what they called a "home". It was a storage shed, heated only by a small space heater. The three chilren began unwrapping some of the presents as we unloaded them. One of the children had asked for a sleeping bag - he found it, opened it, and the smile on his face was almost all we could bear. We gave each of the children a new coat; we had learned from the teacher that they had only one coat between the three of them, and whoever woke up the earliest was the one that got to wear the coat. My dad left a business card with the father, it had a number of someone he could get in contact with for a job. As we drove away that night, there was only silence... none of us were able to talk. That Christmas changed us. I think of this family every holiday season and pray that they are in a better place.
My family continues to do Sub-for-Santas, and although we have never since seen the conditions we did that one year, we are always touched. I think one of the best things we can all do during the holiday season is to give, especially to those who need it most.

cold... colder... FREEZING!

I love Utah in the winter.
1. I love the snow
2. I don't mind the cold
3. I love the way everything looks covered in snow
4. I love the fog
5. I love snowboarding and snow-skiing (although I am not very good at either) This is the view from my parents front door step the other morning. The fog was so thick - I thought it was beautiful!
Jackson loves the snow. He loves layering on all his snow gear and going out and playing/eating the snow. The other night Scott put him on the 4-wheeler (which he calls a "ride"), and he loved it. As cold as it is - he would stay out there for hours if I let him.

A Weekend To Remember...?

Utah has had some pretty crazy snow storms the past two weeks. We are staying up at my parents house in Heber and have really been hit hard with the snow. Two weekends ago, Brad and Jaime had to come up through Heber to pick up their Christmas Tree (they got a permit to cut it down in the forest). I invited them to my parents to play in the snow and have some lunch before they headed out to find a tree. It was a great start to the day - we had delicous creamy vegetable soup - the kids LOVED playing in the snow - and Jacks enjoyed eating the snow. My dad talked Brad and Scott into helping him with some things he needed done and in return offered to drive them to where they could cut a tree down - see the snowstorms have been so crazy that Brad would have been up to his waist searching for a tree - my dad figured he could get them up the mountain to a place where he wouldn't have to hike in so far.

We took two cars - my dads very large Ford 350 truck and Brad and Jaimes Expedition. The roads started out "okay" but very quickly became snow packed and icey. As we continued up the road, we came to a hill, my dad said "if we can get up and over this hill we will be fine". Well, needless to say, we didn't get up and over the hill. My dads very large truck lost traction on the hill, and started to slide back, and of course Brad and Jaime were right behind us. As they saw what was happening, Brad tried to reverse his car - he was stuck and could go no where. So we slammed right into them. No one was hurt - besides their car, the front bumper had a good size dent in it. Of course we decided to turn around and head out of the canyon. We got out safe, but my dad knew we couldn't give up at that - they needed their Christmas tree - so we went up a different canyon (a normal highway) and found a place "not to far off the road" where Scott and Brad could cut down a tree. The day ended with what they came for, and I guess also what they didn't come for - but at least they got their tree, and we all have a weekend that will never be forgotten!

GO COUGARS

We made it home from AZ just in time to drop Scott off at the COUGAR stadium for the big BYU vs UTAH game. I went up to Heber to watch it with my family - and wow! what a game! It was pretty intense, but BYU pulled out of it with a win, we love our BYU COUGARS!

I was also able to see my sister Melissa and her family, they came down from Denver for Thanksgiving, but will not be coming back for Christmas, so I was excited to get home to spend some time with them. Melissa took our family pictures while she was here. They turned out soooo cute! I will post some later for you all to enjoy! ha ha.

Jack and Henry eating at the little kids table.

Thanksgiving PARTY!

Okay... things have been a little crazy for the past coule weeks. I know this is a little late - but this was our Thanksgiving Holiday!

We spent the weekend in AZ with Scotts Family. All of his siblings were there, which makes it so fun. I think we are all very lucky because we get along so well and have so much fun together. Scotts mom bought the xbox rock band game just before we arrived - needless to say, I think the boys spent most if not all of their time at her house in front of the TV, pretending to be in a band. It was hilarious! The girls would get together and play occasionally - I think our drummer (jamie), made us look pretty awesome!

The morning of Thanksgiving day, a few of us participated in the Turkey Trott. It was a 10k (about 6.2 miles). I am not a runner, in fact I think I could use the words "run" and "hate" in the same sentence. But I signed up for it and therefore, completed it. Hoo-ray for me! This is our little family Thanksgiving Day ...

Christmas Cards Anyone?

So, it's that time of year. Time to put together the cute family pictures with cute Christmas cards. I love doing this! I love putting them together, I love sending them out to friends and family, and I love getting them in return too!

If you would like to be on my list, please e-mail me your home address. Thanks!

Let the Happy Holidays Begin!

mccallrandall@gmail.com

Tag... you're it!

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. I was 14, so probably wishing I was 16 (michele, i stole your answer)
2. Diving Diving Diving
3. Class President of 9th Grade... go eagles!
4. Writing my name with every cute boys last name... wondering, will I marry him? I was such a day dreamer.
5. Sneaking out to hang out with boys - my parents had this rule: no boys until we were 16, even if it was a big group of people to hang out with. Of course, I thought my life would be over if I missed "that" party... oh, the joy of junior high!

5 Things on my to do list today:
1. Work Out
2. Buy Groceries
3. Visit Scott @ Work
4. Best thing in the world: Play with Jacks
5. LAUNDRY/DISHES/CLEANING (never ending!)

5 Foods I enjoy:
1. Chicken
2. Cucumber Sandwiches
3. Frozen Yogurt
4. Hot Cider
5. Fruit... any kind

5 Bad Habits:
1. Not cooking dinner, but having plenty of cookies and treats around the house
2. Too much TV, why are there so many good shows on?
3. Wanting things I can't have
4. Staying in sweats or work out clothes all day
5. Hoping for something, rather than just going out and working for it

5 favorite toys:
1. The mall (is that a toy?)
2. The kitchen (maybe this isn't a toy either?)
3. iPod
4. My rollerblades
5. Scott and Jackson (best toys in the world)

5 People I Tag: Heidi, Michelle Roe, Melissa Stevens, Emily, Nikki

THE TOY SNOB

I have this great cousin, Nicole Bradley. She is so fun and creative. She just started this new blog that I know will a favorite for all mothers! Nicole is a little snobish when it comes to toys, she calls herself the "toy snob". She loves to share her thoughts and opinions on toys with everyone, so she started a new blog:
http://thetoysnob.blogspot.com

At this location, she will review a variety of toys and all things related to child development and play. All you have to do, is e-mail thetoysnob@gmail.com and ask her what toy(s) you are wondering about. Within no time she will have a post on her blog that compares multiple brands of whatever you e-mailed her. I think it is a great idea! And of course with Christmas creeping up on us we are all looking at what to buy our kids!

Check it out! Leave her a comment and let her know what you think.

Congratulations Candice!!!

I am so excited for my sister, Candice! She just announced to our family that she is expecting her first baby! YEAHHHHHH!!!! And of course she announced it the cutest way EVER. We had our family Sunday dinner, and she put these drinks at everyones plates. So when I went and sat down, I saw this fun drink with a picture of her "pregnant" (she stuffed her belly)! She had pink and blue drinks. The pink ones were flavored "Girly Berry", and the blue ones were flavored "Berry Boy Lemonade". She is so creative.
I am so thrilled for her and Adam. They are going to the BEST parents. I can't wait for little Jacks to have a another baby cousin. When my dad blessed the food, he said something relating to their baby being a boy... maybe Heavenly Father was inspiring him???? ha ha.... whatever it is, we can't wait! Love you both, congrats!

BYU cougars - roarrrr!

I can't believe fall is almost over and we have only been able to go to one BYU football game. The games are always one of our favorite fall activities. Scott loves to take Jackson and dress him up in his BYU jersey. He also taught him how to do a courgar roar! It is sooooo cute! It didn't take him long to catch on to the clapping, singing, dancing, and "first down signs". He loved sitting in his own chair, eating way too much cotton candy, and of course... learning all about the love of the game from his papa and daddy!
GO COUGARS!

tRicK-oR-tREaT

Happy Halloween! We have had so much fun celebrating Halloween this year. Its been so fun to watch Jack slowly grasp the basic idea of this holiday. Jack was a pirate this year (thanks Laura!) and was the MOST ADORABLE pirate I have ever seen! Friday we went to our ward party. They had 4 different rooms that each had a different activity for the kids to do - and then as they walked out they would get candy in their bags. We decorated cookies, made a pumpkin mask, played pumpkin bowling, and a bean bag toss through skull face.Halloween night was fun too. We went over to Brad and Jaime's. We ate Taco Bell (one of my favorite fast foods!), passed out candy, and watched Jackson learn to trick-or-treat (the cutest thing ever!). Later that night Scott and I watched Halloween Resurrection. Whats Halloween without a scary movie? But, the movie was pretty lame... I guess most of the scary ones are, right? I think this Halloween was by far one of my favorites. Having a kid that can participate in the fun of it all makes all difference!

The Best Fall Cupcakes EVER

TOASTED ALMOND CUPCAKES
with caramel frosting

Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1 box white cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp almond extract
3 eggs

Caramel Frosting
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Heat in oven to 350 (325 for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular size muffin cups. In shallow pan, bake almonds 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Reserve 1 cup almonds for garnish. In food processor, process remaining almonds until finely ground.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, almond extract and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. (Batter will be lumpy.) Fold in ground almonds. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

3. Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick insterted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

4. In 2-quart sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; boil and stire 2 minutes. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.

5. Gradually stir powdered sugar into brown sugar mixture. Place saucepan of frosting in bowl of cold water. Beat with spoon until smooth and spreadable. If frosting becomes too stiff, stir in additional milk, 1 tsp at a time. Frost cupcakes and sprinkle reserved almonds lighlty into frosting.

*so delicious! give them a try and let me know what you think!

Spin Spin Spin

So, my very dear friend, Melis inspired me to try a new class at the gym... spinning! I have wanted to do this class forever, but have been way too nervous. I guess when it comes to trying a new class, it usually takes me a while to build up the courage to go. I am so affriad of looking like the biggest idiot. And especially when it comes to cardio beacuse, my endurance level is pretty much "next to nothing". But I did it, and it was awesome!
First of all, the class instructor was way too cool! He was an older man, with a gut and all. We listened to alot of oldie music, yes, this included alot of Elvis. He also pulled out a few interesting songs: The Mocerana (sp?), that a few people actually started dancing to and a U2 song he called the goosbumps song, because he actually gets the goosebumps when he listens to it. Wait, this gets better, at the very end... he played a song that we spun along with the beat. It started out really slow, and then got extra fast at the end (this was a major killer)... and as we got faster and faster, he would blow a train whistle! Yes, a train whistle!

It was hilarious. He really kept me entertained through out the workout. I loved this class and have already scheduled daycare time during it next week so that I can continue to attend. Thanks Melis for the courage and inspiration!

Anyone who has not yet tried it out... get out and do it, It was so fun and gives a great variety to the everyday workout.

10 Things I Love About October

I love the month of October. If anyone feels differently than me, read my list - hopefully I will bring a few smiles to your face and you will see the happiness in this time of year!

1. Beautiful fall leaves. The mountains are incredible. I love driving to Heber to visit my parents. Provo Canyon is breath taking!

2. My wedding anniversary... October 18, 2003 !!! Congratulations to me. 4 years - and many more to come.

3. Fall scented candles. What would fall be with out the scent of candles in my home?

4. The crisp air. Getting out for a walk, a run, and yes rollerblading (i know it is so 90's but i still do it) feels so so so good. Its not too hot but not too cold, you still pick up a sweat but it actually feels good when the cold air hits it.

5. The unpredictable Utah weather. I love being able to wear t-shirts one day and big coats the next. Weird?

6. Halloween Candy. This is a love / hate relationship. I am a candy addict. Just ask anyone who has been to my house this month... It is everywhere! I can't help but buy it at the store, but I hate myslef everytime I take that 5th handful for the day!

7. The fact that Christmas is right around the corner! Christmas is by far my most favorite time of year. Everyone is so happy, and therefore I am always happy.

8. General Conference. This month was incredible. I love the spirit I feel, and the lessons that I am left with. We are so blessed to have living prophets, I love their wisdom and knowledge.

9. Baking delicious cookies! It is so much more fun to bake something new when it is cold outside. I love trying new recipies... even when my husband says its "not his favorite", meaning... that was pretty nasty! ha ha

10. The first snow fall. Usually the first snow fall comes sometime in the month of October. I love it! I love the beginning of winter: drinking hot chocolate, dressing warm, staying home all day in cozy sweats and watching movies... its all so comforting to me!

Party Party Party

What a weekend! Saturday we had 2 parties requesting our attendance! ha ha ha. Saturday afternoon was my 2 little neices birthday party. It was so much fun. They are so cute... and wow... they got so spoiled! Presents presents presents!
That night I went to a party that Melis threw for Steph. I love these girls to peices! I was so so so excited to see both of them, they are so fun and spunky! Steph - you are amazing! Melis was here for the weekend. It was so fun to have her in town and beable to spend time together. I hope you still like your face... (i did micro on her). You are so cute! Hopefully it will not be too long before I see you again.

Sunday Morning = SNOW!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This is what we woke up to sunday morning! SNOW SNOW SNOW!!! Jackson loved it... he calls the snow... nows (sounded like knows)... he puts the "s" at the end. Good thing he has his mom and dad to decipher what he is always saying! I taught him to eat the snow... ha ha!

Happy 4 year Anniversay!

Today is my 4 year anniversary! Its so funny to think that 4 years ago I was...

1. Getting ready for the most important day of my life

2. Driving to the temple with my parents... so incredibly nervous yet sooooo anxious and excited
3. Being sealed to the most amazing man in the most beautiful AZ temple!

4. Walking out of the temple... a married woman!

5. Celebrating with my closest friends and family at our wedding dinner!

6. So nervous for that night (you all know what goes on that night)... I could not eat a dang thing, which was so depressing because the food "looked" soooooooooo goooood!

7. Leaving the party, saying goodbye to friends and family... hugs, kisses, and tears...

8. .......................

9. .....................................

10. ...................................................

The past 4 years has been a journey for us. We have been through good times and bad. We have had our ups and our downs. But through everything it all comes down to this: Love. He loves me and I love him. We would do anything for eachother, anything to make the other person happy, anything that brings our family together... to eachother and to the lord.

How blessed we are to have the gospel. Every marriage needs the Lord in order to survive the world today. It keeps us focused on the important things in life, strengthens our relationship, and guides us as we learn to be husband and wife and father and mother.

Quote:
"Love is a journey not a destination."

- Unkown

I think we all would agree. When we take on the journey, the trials, the ups and the downs... at the end of the day, we realize... because of everything we have been through - I love you that much more.

Happy 4 Year Anniversary!

Halloween Fun

Friday night we went to Gardner Village. I had not been for a very long time and I have never been there during Halloween. But, I have always heard so many fun things about their witches display... so Jaime and I packed all the kids out, waited for Scott and Brad to get off work, and headed out for a fun Friday night with the family.
It was sooooo fun! Its a little village, and they have fun little shops and boutiques to walk through and shop in. And along the "streets" they have witch displays... stuffed witches that are acting out a variety of things. Some of them were: brewing in a black pot, hanging upside down, playing baseball, in a boat on a pond, flying through the air on a bicycle... and more!
Jackson loved to look at the horses and make really loud "neighhhhhhh" noises!
We went on a horse drawn carriage ride with a witch. She told us some really fun stories and put a spell on Brad... Abbie was pretty worried about that.
We had so much fun, I think I will make this a Halloween tradition for my family. It is fun for adults and kids and of course... puts you in the Halloween spirit!