Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas! Christmas Eve, we went to my parents house for dinner and our Christmas Eve traditions which include hanging stockings, new pj's, the Christmas story, sharing talents, siblings memories, and focusing on the true meaning for Christmas, Jesus Christ. Then we headed home with all my siblings! We all sleep at my house on Christmas Eve! Aaron and Elisha were the first asleep...the 4 of us stayed up and talked and laughed till about 12:30! I love my siblings so much!

Tricia

Andrew

Mom and Dad Christmas morning

Aaron and I

Andrew, Bryant and Elisha

Mom and Tricia

Dad and Andrew

Christmas Morning Dinner was at Grandma and Grandpa Browns! We had so much fun!

We love Christmas and hope everyone enjoyed theirs as well!

25 Things About Me...

I saw this on my friend Julie's blog and thought it would be fun since I haven't posted in awhile and don't have anything else to share or talk about!

1. I love animals...but mostly dogs! (And think Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are the sweetest dogs ever!)

2. I am the oldest of 4, 2 brothers and a sister...and we are uncommonly close!

3. I love SLEEP and can never seem to get enough.

4. I absolutely hate traffic, there is nothing that makes me angrier!

5. I love crafting, and tend to surprise myself with my crafts!

6. I am a horrible speller and often change what I am writing because I can't spell a word :)

7. I love T.V.

8. I am a scrapbooker and cardmaker

9. I am really good at finding bargains and rarely pay full price for anything!

10. I only need to visit 11 more states to see all 50...I have only add one since being married, most of the states I have visited were when I was young.

11. I love to clean, but I don't clean toilets. My Mom told that to Aaron when we were engaged, and he has cleaned it without complaints!

12. I never iron! When the clothes are dry, I turn the dryer on again for about 10 minutes till there hot and I lay the clothes out on the bed, then when they are cool, I hang them up!

13. I have been married for almost 5 1/2 years!

14. I love Christmas and love decorating for Christmas. I even pull out Christmas dishes this time of year!

15. I have to have my Disney movies in alphabetical order!

16. I love gloves and scarfs! (but no hats...I look silly in them!)

17. My best friend is a boy...Jake Wilson...we have been best friends for 10 years.

18. I am VERY stubborn!

19. I am a very picky eater, but I love asparagus!

20. I go see every Sandra Bullock movie with my best (girl) friend Diana! (We try to go as close to the opening as possible!)

21. I am very organized and very OCD = don't touch anything...I will know! :)

22. I love my birthday! JANUARY 4TH!!! It is really my favorite day of the year!

23. I love getting cards/letters in the mail. (but never get them)

24. I love having friends over and hosting party's and get-togethers, but can't get anyone to come.

25. I have loved Marvin the Martin since I was a kid! I have over 200 items with Marvin, but bought maybe 3 of them....I said I liked Marvin once and friends and family took it from there!

So I tag who ever feels like do this...have fun! :)

RULES: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

Jam'n with Mom!

Well, actually we made Jelly, but Jellin' with Mom sounded funny! I guess I could have titled it, Are You "Jell'n? Cause We Are!

Saturday, Mom, Tricia and I made crabapple Jelly! It is so yummy! Who would have thought that these sour little "apples" would make such a good jelly!? My Grandma Brown has been making this jelly for as long as I can remember and I thought I would give is a try this year. (With Mom's help, I had no idea where to even start!)

*Warning Picture over-load! I didn't want to miss anything!*

It took us all day, but when we were finished we had about 33 jars of jelly! It felt so good to make something by hand! I think things taste better when you have put a lot of work into it. :)

My First Sewing Atempt!

I finally decided to try my hand at sewing! And once I got out the sewing machine, I couldn't stop! I still have A LOT to learn but I have really enjoyed sewing! My first project were slip covers for my couch pillows. It is cheaper to make slip covers then buy new pillows for every holiday. I didn't have a pattern, and I think they turned out great! And with the extra fabric, I made some very simple runners for bookshelves. (Sorry no pictures of the runners)

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Then I make some blankets. They were really simple, fleece kits I bought at Joanne's a long time ago, but I was to scared to sew! I loved the way they turned out. I made the blue one for my wonderful mother-in-law and the star one for my cousin, but I am not saying which one yet! :) (I think she knows)



I have started some other projects, but had to stop do to a pinched nerve in my neck which is making my right hand numb. But with the help of my chiropractor I will be sewing, painting, card making, mod-podging, etc. again soon! :)

Conference Crafts

I love Conference weekend! Not only for the Spiritual talks and guidance, but because I can craft all day for 2 days! This year, I decided to finish a lot of stuff that I had left unfinished, and I got a lot done!

Some Halloween pumpkins! I have had these for a few years, unpainted...so I painted them and cut out some faces and glued them on! I love the way they turned out...nothing fancy.

Mom bought Tricia this mirror about 2 years ago and asked me to paint it to match her room...which is pink and yellow. Well, I finally got around to it, but I didn't just paint it, I deco-podged it, with pink and yellow papers, and or course some cat paper. She loved it!

This Witch project was started a year ago at a Relief Society night. (It was a bad night, and wasn't allowed to finish my project) So I put it away hoping one day to finish it...I did! I am not sure if this is what it was suppose to look like, but I still think it is cute!

I love buying letters and making up my own stuff. Mom and I were at Roberts back in July and saw some done USA letters, $60 a letter!!!! (My living room is Americana) So I went and found these, unfinished letters ($5 a letter and they were on sale!) and painted them myself. I am not 100% satisfied with the way they turned out...so I put them away for a few days and I will see if I like them, or if I need to fix them! :)

When I was very young...between the ages or 3 to 7....my parents bought me this wooden shelf. Until last weekend, it was just plain wood. My bathroom is light and dark blue with the sun, moon and stars theme. So I painted it dark blue, and stamped it with sun, moon and stars. Then I took a brush and dabbed it with yellow. I love the way it turned out!

And the last one...some more letters I bought. I painted them purple, and deco-podged them with Halloween paper! (This one seems to be Aaron's favorite!)

I love crafting! Hope I gave you some ideas to start your own craft projects!

5 Years Down...Eternity To Go!

Saturday, September 19, 2009 Aaron and I were sealed in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. We went to the open house in August and fell in love with this beautiful temple, so we decided to wait till it was really and then be sealed instead of being sealed in the Jordan River Temple on our Anniversary. (And now we have two Anniversaries!) It was a beautiful day. When we came out, it was rainy and windy so we didn't get a lot of pictures, but that was ok, Aaron and I scheduled a photographer for the fallowing Monday anyway.

Mom and Dad Sperry

Mom and Dad Brown

Grandma Brown

I am so thankful for everyone who supported us! We are so thankful for our family and friends! Our day wouldn't have been as special if it wasn't for everyone who was there for us. (And I really need to say a special thank to you to Dave and Dianna Crest and Jake and Chante Wilson who came in from out of state! You guys are truly life long friends! We love you all and wish you lived closer!)

Not up to much

Not much has been going on, but I did do a project awhile back. I took a class at Heartland Paper and it was so much fun! It was $24, they had drinks and brownies there, and if I bought anything while I was there it was 10% off. It was great, there were only 5 of us in the class and the instructor was awesome!

Here is the finished product!

Not much else to talk about...for now! :)

Juvenile Diabetes...Walk for the Cure

Today was an awesome day! I have never done anything like this before and it was great to see so many who support finding a cure for juvenile diabetes! There were more than 4,000 people there! It wasn't a long walk...5k...but it felt great to do something so meaningful! Some of you know that I lost a cousin to this disease back in 2003. He was 14. We did this walk in memory of him....Aaron LeBlanc. We don't want to lose anyone else.

Mom laughing...I almost ran into a garbage can to get this picture!

Aaron eyeing the hot dogs! :)

My brother-in-law, Nathan and his 2 sons Nick and Joshua. His wife Melissa suffers from JD and wasn't feeling good today. It was neat to see them there, this is the second time I met them, and they are an awesome family!

Yes Jake, BIG BUDDA is real!


I have never met anyone famous before! And Big Budda is very famous...in Utah! He is on our local FOX channel news. He does the fun stuff...and he is great at it! Super nice guy in real life too!

I look forward to doing this again...maybe next year I will get donations! :)

American Fork Canyon

So Monday, we took Andrew and Tricia on a hike. We went to American Fork Canyon...for those of you who haven't been, I highly suggest it! It is $6 for a 3 day pass...totally worth it! It is so pretty, and pictures don't do it justice. I had never been before and I was surprised. I think Aaron and I might get an annual pass next year...which is $45...still worth it!

The boys climbing a fallen tree.

Now the boys are knocking down a tree!

We had a great time! Monday was Aaron's last day of vacation. I felt bad that we weren't able to do much for this vacation. Hopefully, October's vacation will be better! :)