House Gifts

Just wanted to share some of the first house gifts we got. No way you are seeing the inside of the house yet. It scares me! haha.

Can't wait for lots and lots of yummy steak, chicken, shrimp, fish, etc. dinners!

Thelma and Mark look the best in this one!

 Thanks to Pam and Michelle, Anthony didn't starve during our first few nights in the new house. Here is our fridge and the meal that they got us. It was the first thing we put in our new fridge in our new house! So new, so exciting. So much to do!

Chicken, macaroni salad, potato salad, and bread(not pictured) haha. It was delicious!

Thank you Judi and Mark! Thank you Pam and Michelle!

Jags Adventure

After months of planning, everything almost went perfectly... we surprised Uncle Les with Jaguar tickets for Christmas. So we went to church and then after sacrament meeting we pulled Uncle Les aside and gave him a present to unwrap. It was a Jags shirt and then we said, "You'll need this for the game. We have tickets and we are leaving church early to go get ready for the game." He was in SHOCK but was so excited.

They put the mustaches on at the game in the stands

We were in section 217 row V seats 9, 10, and 11

My Kahn look-alike

Uncle Les had fun with the 'stache and was popular among other fans

The 3 of us taking by a super excited fan- She jumped up during EVERY play

Droopy Kahn mustaches in the rain

You couldn't see anything in the sky- the weather was not friendly

You can see the final score in the background 41 to 14 BOO TAMPA!

Final photos with the teams running out on the field after the game

You can see how icky the weather was from this picture! It was such an exciting game!

In honor of the new Jaguars owner, Anthony and Uncle Les got fake mustaches and wore them for the game. On our way to the game, we stopped at Let's Nosh to get some sandwiches to eat while we tailgated at the game. As we rode up Roosevelt to get onto I-95 something strange happened, Anthony lost control of the car. His transmission went out and we ended up stranded at a gas station with no wheels and 30 minutes to kick off. With a positive outlook and optimistic spirit fortune came upon us; we ran into a couple going to the game and asked for a ride... they said yes! We gave them a little money and thanked Manuel and Tatiana for their generosity.

AND THE JAGS WON!!! 41 to 14 We beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! It was an awesomely long and wild day but getting picked up by Vivian after the game, we left exhausted, happy, and drenched by some light rain. Our first Jags game was amazing!

Life in the BOX

Check out our life during the move...

Woo Hoo! Can't wait to more than double our square footage!!! Stay posted- house pics coming soon!

Getting ready to take our first load to the new house

Things got WAY worse than the above picture... we were so lucky to have friends from church (Lorna, Justin, Stephen, Kelly, Mitch, Ray, Elder Graham, and Elder Camp), our family (Dickie, Judi, and Mark), and my friends (Brenda and Brian). Without them, we'd still be in that apartment.

Like Pilgrims

Jim and Mom at River City Brewing Company

I love my husband

Two hot ladies out on the town!

Mom and Jim came to help us celebrate our first married Thanksgiving. Of course, we had to work on Friday after Thanksgiving or we gladly would have driven to Mom's, Judi's, Dickie's, Grandma Betty's, etc.

The Thanksgivng Spread

The BIRD

We are spark-aholics! haha!

I made this easy on myself especially with the move coming and decided to order the turkey, sweet potatoes, and stuffing from Winn Dixie. Let me just say that they did a fabulous job and we dined like kings on those things as well as some deviled eggs, green bean casseroles, mashed potatoes, cajun crab dip, and rolls.

Jim wanted to eat! Mom wanted to take pictures!

As we were gathering some last minute items for the big day- Mom and Jim cheerfully exclaimed as they found matching solo cups and disposable dinnerware that they would be celebrating this year just "like pilgrims." It was a nice and humble first Thanksgiving.

Hiking at Hanna Park

We took a family outing early on a Saturday morning to Hanna Park. Thelma, Anthony, and I embarked on a 4 mile hike at 9:30 a.m. and returned to our car around 11:30 a.m. It was fun. It was exhausting. It was great quality time.

Wildlife we saw while on our adventure through the wilderness included spiders, woodpeckers, turtles, ducks, fish, and butterflies. Thelma licked the turtle shell and the turtle as you might image, did NOT like that at all.

Here you can see me demonstrating how to hike

At the end of our hike, we ran into an Army ROTC group running drills through the woods! Oh boy! And a walk wore me out! We had a great time and it was a lot of fun being able to take Thelma on a short day trip in the group outdoors.

Canning... canning in the name of the Lord... just canning

The title of this post is based off of a famous Bob Marley song about jammin'. Well, we weren't jamming but we were canning and REALLY in the name of the Lord. Anthony and I went to the Cannery or Home Storage Facility to see what all the fuss was about.

When we got there, Brother Withers showed us around the Bishop's Storehouse and where the store all of the products that are given to families in need. It was amazing to see all of the food, health products, and living essentials that are paid for by faithful member's fast offerings. In is comforting to know that we will be taken care of if ever our need is there for that. It is such a blessing to see the full circle of things.

After our tour, we had a chance to make some purchases and after Sister Miller cooked me dinner one of the nights that I watch Mitchell, I knew we wanted some potato flakes or purls. We made our selections and proceeded to help replace that which we were purchasing out of the Food Storage Stock. So we suited up in aprons and gloves and hair nets to can sugar, beans, condensed milk, carrots, and wheat. I was in labeling and prepping for can sealing. Anthony got to work the big sealing machine and he did a great job. We were able to chat while we worked and learned lots about the people we were with.

Anthony at the fancy canning machine

The assembly line! I wore a skirt! Who knew canning would be so much work!?!

So we started our home food storage with 6 of those big cans for $31. We got dried black beans, potato flakes, dried onions, dried apples, dried carrots, and oats. They are big cans too! I really like the potatoes and onions and yes, they are easy to combine. You never know when a hurricane will strike and it is comforting to know that Anthony and I have some foods that we can eat in crisis and also a little extra to help our neighbors. That makes me feel good... a whole lot better than investing in insurance.

Let me know if you want to can some stuff and we'll take you down to the cannery!

The Arnold/Rafuse Wedding

Well a friend of our's from church, Secret Arnold got hitched in early September and it was a gorgeous farm wedding! Anthony and I feel so blessed to know this family because of how kind and welcoming they have been to us. So here are some pictures from Secret's special night!

I did my own hair! I couldn't figure out what to do at first so it took me a while.

Justin and Anthony are both checking the stats on the Florida vs. UAB. And it wasn't even a big game!

Anthony and I watched Mitchell so Nina could get some food. Mitchell has the biggest heart of anyone I know.

The beautiful bride Secret Melody Arnold... now Rafuse

I have NEVER had a better wedding cake. This was out of this world... speaking of wedding cake, where is our cake topper???

We had a blast at the wedding although I did have to get onto Anthony who snuck out to the car to listen to the Florida Football game! Ugh! But anyway, I had a blast and it was wonderful to be there in support of Secret and Darryl Rafuse. They are a great couple and I wish them all the best!