Old Navy plug

Just thought I'd let all of you know (that don't already) that Old Navy is having a really good sale, and not just on Christmas items. I bought Kaylin seven long-sleeve shirts, two pairs of pants, a skirt, and a sweater, all for less than $50! And one of the pants and the skirts weren't even on sale! So some good deals. If you have a minute and need some new clothes, go check it out!

Crystal Ball

I neglected to post about this event awhile back, but had it saved as a draft, so I thought I'd finish it up and post it. Tim and I got to do one of those rare things for married couples with children: go to a ball! My parent's church held a "Crystal Ball" for married couples back in January, and Tim and I were able to get all dolled up and join them for some dancing! It was really fun, and I even got some use out of an old bridesmaids dress! They taught the fox trot and a swing dance and had refreshments and some dance contests. It was such a nice evening to get to spend with my husband and just be romantic together. I discovered, though, that we could both use a little help in the dancing department. I think lessons are in order!

Colorado trip

We decided rather last minute to make a trip out to Colorado to visit my family this last weekend. My sister Carolyn and two of her daughters (my beautiful nieces) were having their birthdays (all in January). There was a big family party and my sister Karen and my parents also flew out for the weekend, so we decided to come along too. Here are some pictures of the trip. We had a blast! And it was especially fun seeing all of the snow. Kaylin loved it!

Christmas! (And New Years)

Finally getting some pictures up. First ones are of us celebrating at home. The next are some at my parents house and then my grandparents house. The last two are from New Years. We spent a mellow evening with my parents, played a game and toasted the new year.

Yay for electricity!

We survived the storm! As most of you know, California was just hit with one of the biggest storms in a long time! Our power went out early yesterday morning after power lines were blown down in 60-80 mph winds. (And it was pretty cute--Kaylin was very interested in watching the trees blow and the sound the strong winds were making. At one point in the morning when the winds were really strong, she looked out the window, staring at the tree blow in the backyard, and said, "Wow!") The power didn't come back on until today around 3! That's the longest i've ever been without power. Thankfully, we were able to stay with Tim's parents because they didn't lose power. (My poor parents are still waiting for theirs to come back on and are expecting it won't be for possibly two more days!) So I must say, and I know it's probably a cliche right now, but I love electricity and technology! I'm so thankful for our modern amenities. Even for half a day, especially with a toddler, it was hard not having it! Our heater wasn't working, we had to ration the laptop, we couldn't cook anything... The one good thing was that Tim was able to come home from work really early on Friday because his work lost power too. So at least I wasn't going through it alone. We decided late afternoon Friday to head over to Tim's parents because we were bored (and it was getting dark). In a way it's kind of sad to see how dependent we've become on modern technology, because obviously for most of history, people were without it. Anyway, we stayed at Tim's parents and are back tonight at our own place, with the heater on and the lights on, etc. It's nice. Unfortunately, we did miss a friend's wedding today because of the storm. She got married in Bakersfield and we were just too nervous about making the long drive, even though the storm had a calmed a lot. Hopefully she didn't have too many guests missing! And I hope that all of you survived and didn't lose power or have to drive too far anywhere!

So...

...I am not very good at keeping my blog updated! I just really haven't been motivated to write anything. My life just isn't that interesting right now. The usual stuff has been going on, getting ready for Christmas, decorated, put up the tree, almost done shopping, etc. Last night we went over to my parents and made Christmas cookies, so that was fun. (And messy!) We made a special batch for Kaylin that were dairy and egg free, but she doesn't want to touch them--she has such a strange aversion to sweets. Maybe that's good. And I was bummed because I brought my camera, but it died right as I was trying to take pictures of the three of us in our aprons. I got some with my dad's camera though. Tonight we're going to take some of the cookies over to our neighbors, which will be good because I've already eaten way too many!

On a seperate note, my sister is coming into town tomorrow and I am very excited! Kaylin loves seeing her auntie and Karen does a great job of playing with her and keeping her occupied so that I can get stuff done. It never feels like fully like Christmas until my sister is here and we can watch Home Alone, go shopping, and make even more cookies. It's been interesting now that I'm married and have a new family, with new traditions. I don't have my sister waking me up early so that we can open our stockings before our parents get up. And then eat pancakes while listening to Christmas music after opening all the gifts and then spending most of the day hanging out in our pajamas. I miss it, but am excited to see what kinds of traditions Tim and I will make with Kaylin.

What kinds of traditions do you guys have/had that you will be carrying on with your families?

Jumped on the bandwagon...

I jumped on the bandwagon in the trend for short hair. (But I've wanted to do it for awhile now, and finally got up the courage.) I haven't had it short in a long time, so it's going to take a little time to get used to. And it's going to force me to actually style my hair instead of throwing it back in a clip or ponytail, so we'll see how that goes. I've had it for two days now and am really starting to like it; it's fun to finally have a "hair style." And I think I finally look older than 21!