Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. I was able to take Wed off so I had a nice 5 day weekend. Wed was spent at home relaxing and cleaning the house...two things that were very much needed. later Wed night we had Gavin over for a sleep over. We were trying to help out Nikki and Justin so that they could have a date night for Justin's birthday. Thanksgiving day was A Lot of fun. After getting Gavin back home, getting ready then dropping off some stuff at Uncle Kim and Gordy's house we were off to my sister Nancy's house for Thanksgiving. It was so good to see all my family again...and I mean ALL..well almost we were missing 5 people. Addi and Tessa were up in Idaho having Thanksgiving with her family and Preston and Mina are in the Philippines enjoying their new baby girl. :) So overall at one point there was 46 people floating around Nancy and Gary's house. :) fun times. The dinner was so good thanks to all who participated and it was so good to visit with everyone and play games. Here are some pictures of our fun holiday.

What happens when you leave your camera unattended at family functions?....Alexis happens :) gotta love this girl. :pFood Line
The Classic family game of Shanghai no family function would be complete without a round or two. :)For part of dessert Mom brought out her chocolate fountain with an assortment of things to dip in the chocolate. The kids LOVED it. Especially Lizzie and Becca. :)

My New Niece

My Brother Preston and his wife Mina had their baby on Nov 23. YAY! Congrats to them!.
Evelyn Rose (first name) Florencia (Middle name) Earl (Last Name) was born on November 23 2011. She is 0.00325 tons (7 lbs 2 oz)

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope Everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and that you don't tire yourself out making all that food. :)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

A to Z ME

So, I know my blog has been pretty boring as of late, what can I say when all we do is work and school life is pretty dull. So here's something fun my niece did on her blog that I thought it would be fun to do as well. :) Plus nothing is happening at work and I am really bored. So here we go...

A: Age: 29
B: Bed size:King which is perfect for us since we are both bed hogs.
C: Chore that you hate: dishes and laundry I would rather scrub my floors on my hands and knees then do these.
D: Dogs: Yes please :) James and I both love big dogs, but we have two little dogs since our house is so small. We both want great danes but can you imagine that running around in our tiny condo. :)
E: Essential start to your day: Taking out Toto. Seriously this dog has no patience and a tiny bladder.
F: Favorite color: Anything bright. Usually it's orange but I love bright fun colors.
G: Gold or Silver: Silver...or white gold :)
H: Height: 5'5"
I: Instruments you play: I started learning to play the drums but my teacher moved to Texas. He didn't charge so that's why I haven't gotten back into it yet. How can you beat free.
J: Job title: Housing Supervisor and Representative
K: Kids: yes please :)
L: Live: In a little condo in South Ogden. LOVE IT!
M: Mother's Name: Evelyn Earl
N: Nicknames: Kris, Hon (by James), KC, Caboose, etc.
O: Overnight hospital stays: I was in the hospital for almost a week for pneumonia. At one point I had a fever of 104.6. It was bad. Then another week at a recovery facility.
P: Pet peeves: I have a lot while I drive. But outside of that, I cant stand dishonest and fake people. Even if the truth hurts I would rather hear that then a lie. Also mean people, I cant comprehend why people are so mean to each other
Q: Quote from a movie: We have a lot. The one that comes to mind "I just like to smile, smiling is my favorite." Elf
R: Right or Left handed:Right
S: Siblings: Byron, Kari, Nancy, Shelly, Denese, Jason, Preston, me
T: Time you get up: Around 7:00 to 7:30 depends on the day and if I get to drive in.
U: Ultimate dream: Currently it's to get James employed.
V: Vegetable you hate: Cooked spinach, peas, brussel sprouts, artichoke. YUCK!
W: What makes you run late: getting up to late, taking to long of a shower.
X: X-Rays you've had:uh..arm, wrist, chest ( a few times), ankle, leg, teeth..I think that's it.
Y: Yummy food that you make: Cookies, cakes and James loves this chicken, broccoli casserole I do.
Z: Zoo Animal: Cant name only one. Currently it's Giraffes, otters, seals, and big cats. oh and anything baby or on zooborns. Love that website.

So there ya have it, a little more info about me. :)

Check out this kitty

So you've probably seen this little guy on the side under the cat of the week adoptions. Usually I change these every Wed. However I want to keep this little guy up for a little while longer...maybe a week or 2. He is a rare and very expensive breed called a Bengal Cat these cats are very expensive starting as high as $500 a cat and up.They are also hard to come by, you need to go to a special breeder just to get one. That's why I was shocked to find him listed under Salt Lake adoptions. Cats like these don't just show up at the humane society or animal shelters. I wonder if his owner wasn't happy with the way his markings were turning out and decided to give him up...not sure. Anyway if you have been thinking about getting a cat please click on this little guys picture on the right hand side and see what you think. It's a great way to own a Bengal cat without the price.

Tenth Mountain Division aids in Italy

This is James' Great Uncle Tom. I found the video below through my sister in law's facebook page. It tells the story of the 10th Mountain Division that Tom was in and the cause that he died for. Thanks Nikki for sharing this video.

Veterans Day

Happy Veterans day to all the vets out there. I would like to send out our warmest of thanks for all you have gave and sacrificed for our country and it's freedom. Thank you to Sgt. Thomas W. Larsen who was apart of the 10th Mountain Division 85th Infantry Regiment, Headquarters 3rd Battalion, Company 1.Who died Feb 20 1945 on Riva Ridge in Italy. While helping to push the German army out of Italy. This is my father in laws Uncle. It has been so fun to learn about his life and the passion he had to serve his country. He received a purple heart that our family still cherishes. Thank You to my brother Preston and his service in the Marines. Thank you to my father and father in law for their service in the Army. Thank you to my brother in law for his current service in the Air Force Reserves. Thank You to my Grandpa and his service. The men and women who serve our great nation are the reason why I can worship my Heavenly Father freely. They are the reason for newspapers, news stations, and radio talk shows. They are the reason why I can go to work and support my family while my husband finishes school. They are the reason why protesters can protest. Please remember to take a few minutes today and thank a veteran or a soldier for their willingness to serve our country.

"In Flanders field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our places; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scare heard amid the guns below.
...
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie.
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-Lt. John McRae, May 3, 1915-

Adoption Awareness Month

Every year my friend Katie posts the story of how she adopted her two cute little kids. it's a wonderful story that I never get tired of hearing about. She also does a Q&A about adoption to help people understand more about adoption, how it works and anything else you would like to know about it. She does little contests and has posted about kids who are waiting to be adopted. If you are looking and interested in adopting, want to learn something new or just want to read her story. Check out her blog HERE. After this it will go back to being a private blog but until then please head on over to check out this amazing family.

Halloween and Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend and to be quite honest, I'm glad Octobers over. Usually October is a great month that I don't want to end because it seems like endless fun. But this year just seemed like it was full of stress and frustration and chaos. But we did get out and enjoy the nice fall weather and the Halloween season. Friday we took Nate, Gavin and Ethan to a trunk or treat and pooch parade at the South Ogden Jr. High. Everyone had a great time, the boys got a decent amount of candy and everyone loved the dogs costumes. Rosko or Toto didn't win but we did get 4 bags of dogie treats, so we kinda won anyway. :)Rosko is definitely not shy when it comes to camera's or people. I found this on South Ogden days facebook wall. What a ham! After the trunk or treat we dropped off the dogs and picked up some can goods and headed out to a spook alley. The can goods was the cost to get in. We had James and I and 3 little boys go in but only 1 made it out....the 3 year old :). Ethan walked right in and kept on going. James had to catch up to him, he kept walking up to the people and saying hi. James picked him up and it wasn't till I think it was a witch or something that Ethan finally got a little scared. James asked if he wanted to run for it and Ethan said yeah. So they took off. :) Gavin and Nate didn't like it, I kept trying to urge them forward but they weren't going to have it. They planted their feet and wouldn't move. Finally Gavin asked if we could leave. We waited for James and Ethan at the car. After that we took them back to their house for dinner and so they could tell their tales of survival in the spook alley. So much fun.Sunday was the 5th annual Armstrong Halloween party and I think one of the funnest. We had creepy appetizersFollowed by a spooky dinner of snakes, (pizza) mummy's, (hot dogs wrapped in bread) pumpkin brains, (oogle sproogle) and fingers and bones, (bread sticks) and a a nice witches brew to wash it all down (homemade root beer). We played games and visited and the kids even got to show off their costumes to our neighbor and go trick or treating a little early. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and what would Halloween be like without a big picture of the whole gang. :) Thanks to Mom A. and Uncle Kim and Uncle Gordy for putting together the fun food.Halloween night we actually didn't do much. James had a lot of homework to do. So we went out to his parents house so he could use their computer and I watched the 6 hour live ghost hunters marathon while giving candy out to trick or treaters. Mom and Dad were helping out with the kids at Nikki's house. I have never really had a chance to just give out candy so it was a fun experience on a nice relaxing night. Well that's all our Halloween fun. :) here are some more pictures of the party.Left to right top: Kim as leftovers, Gordy as a farmer, Bob as a knight, James as Luigi, myself as Mario.
Left to Right Middle: Abby as El Dia De Los Muertos, Lisa as Gypsy, Parker as thing 1, Nate as the grim reaper, Mom A and Dad A as pumpkins, Drew as thing 2
Left to Right Bottom: Gavin as Indiana Jones, Ethan as Thomas the train, Nikki as a witch.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN