My mom makes the BEST peanut butter bonbons. I decided to give them a try yesterday, and they turned out great! I wanted to add a little flair by drizzling white chocolate over top, but it wouldn't melt; as it got hotter it just got crumbly. Oh well, my taste buds can't tell the difference :)


Also, this morning, I turned my back for just a second, but it happened to be a second when Courtney decided she was dirty and needed a "bubble bath". So she climbed into the ottoman and lounged in the "bubbles" made by my pom poms :) What a dorkus.

Christmas

In the previous post, I forgot to mention how helpful my mom was to my Thanksgiving success. I must have asked her about a thousand and one questions, and she still answered the phone when she saw my name in the caller ID. If being a homemaker was a toddler pageant, she'd take home Ultimate Grand Supreme :)

Also, we did some Black Friday shopping, lazy style. We went out at about 11 am and didn't buy a single thing. Bass Pro Shops had Santa photos for free (random right? They didn't even dress Santa in camo or fishing gear), so for your enjoyment, our little stinkpot. I swear she was excited and happy the whole time we were waiting in line.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a success this year. Below you can see my homemade pies. The pecan pie isn't burned; I put chocolate chips in the bottom and some made its way to the top. Also, people always moan about how hard it is to transfer the pie crust into the pie pan; I agree. If you try to move a formed crust into the pan it's rough. I just put the crumbles in the pan, and then smooshed it with my hands to fill the pan. And you know what? It turned out AWESOME!

I found this old video of Courtney as a baby playing around on my keyboard; she's always following in her mother's footsteps :)

In case you're wondering how Devin is doing, he's surviving with much stress. I try to get take care of all the other problems and routines of running a house. He really needs a break from having to deal with any problems or drama. I feel so bad for him; he hasn't even started his actual job yet. He has more on the job training, but before he even starts that he has the equivalent of a college level course to complete. Poor guy. He's made a lot of friends though, and that really helps a lot. Plus he thinks it's pretty cool to work in a job that's top secret and he's not allowed to tell me the details. I consider him my secret agent man :)

Halloween

Our ward Halloween party was fun. They served us a soup dinner, followed by games, and then the trick or treat! Some people really went all out decorating their classroom with life size crows, headstones,spooky looking apothecary bottles full of who knows what. It was pretty awesome. Courtney also had a very successful trick or treat at home. We went to only 8 houses, but we still had to go home in between to drop off her candy because everyone kept giving her so much! Yesterday was my birthday and it was pretty awesome. I felt the baby move for the first time :D Devin got me flowers, rubbed my feet, and made dinner. And by "made dinner" I mean I made him go get me a pizza! Anyway, I hope to have pics of the house up soon.

Virginia is treating us well. We love our ward and our neighborhood, and Devin is enjoying being with his work buddies. I went to the doctor on Wednesday, and she said I'm carrying a mini Tartini man inside me :D We are so excited to know! Now we just have to choose a name (To our male family members, yes, we are accepting bribes). I am on day one of week 19, so we are almost halfway to a new little baby! I wish I had pictures for you, but one of the many things we lost in the move was the USB cord for our cameras :( I will work on getting pictures up though. Love you all!

Graduation

It finally happened! Devin graduated yesterday! This picture shows him receiving his certificate, and you can see his rank, name, hometown, and assignment behind him. Courtney wasn't very cooperative; she insisted on laying in the aisle where the graduates were marching, and she even ran up front, almost on stage!! She was really happy to have Devin home for the evening. We went out with Devin's class to Shogun's Teppanyaki. It is expensive, but sooo tasty! Courtney loved the show the chef put on using the hibachi grill. Every time he lit a big fire, she would push her hair back and yell, "Fire!". Everyone thought she was pretty cute. Then one of Devin's classmates paid for EVERYBODY! It was a blessing for us especially, because our fun money is low. Devin started DGS training, which is training done here, but it's specific for Langley AFB. Less then three weeks now! The video below has/needs no explanation; enjoy!

The third picture, where Courtney is holding the vacuum tube, has been posted before, but that tube plays an important role in today's story. On Wednesday, I got a really bad headache, and the poor fetus had to entertain herself while I was laying (lying?) on the couch with a wet washcloth on my forehead. She did pretty well for a while, but I guess she can only take so much. She comes up to me, says, "Mommy", so I opened my eyes and took off the washcloth. WHACK! She slammed that tube down on the pillow right next to my head! Luckily, I was too weak to punish her, plus she didn't hurt me; she just scared the poo out of me. Here's a cute video from a couple of weeks ago. I was watching Wipeout, and I turned around and noticed Courtney was diapering her Baby Bear.

And here's Courtney putting on a show at Best Buy!