Farewell...

Oh my...it's been sooooo long since I've been here! So much has changed with the site! Well to me at least!

I'm on TUMBLR now because it's much easier for me to blog on the go....and trust me I am an "ON THE GO" blogger!

I'll check in every so often...but FAREWELL blogspot....

and before I go...

A VERY HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET LILLYANNE MARIE!!! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!!!

27...

My lovely, super amazing husband turned 27 today.  We had lunch together before I went to work at one of our favorite sandwich shops THE SANDWICH EMPORIUM.

Then after I got off work we went and watched the new Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol movie. Michael loved it and so did I!

Ended the night with IN AND OUT, his FAVORITE, and I mean FAVORITE, fast food eatery.

Another year older and he just keeps getting more and more handsome...I can't wait for the gray hairs to come in...He can though..haha

Michael,

You are my rock and you know it! I love you more than words can express! Happy Birthday Baby!

1 tooth down...

Seven years later...


Lillyanne finally lost her first tooth early Sunday morning a little after midnight =)
 
 

Happy 2012

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!

We didn't do much New Year's Eve, I got sick and so we stayed home and watched movies and shows on T.V. I started feeling a little under the weather the Friday before but I sucked it up because my sister Alivia came down to spend the day with me and Melissa and we went thrifting at Goodwill. Elisa, my brother in law's girlfriend even joined us later on that night when Melissa left and we did some shopping at Ross and got some drinks from Starbucks before we headed back to my house. Love their apple spice cider with caramel!

We went to Church New Year's Day. We got to get some extra sleep since our ward now starts at 11 instead of 9. It was nice to start out the New Year with our ward family, Elisa and Adam joined us for sacrament too.

I also had the day after off. Michael woke up early and went for a hike at Mission Trails with Adam, Corey, Elisa, Trevor and Kenny. I stayed in bed til about 0830 and then went for a walk at Lake Murray instead. It was beautiful there, I loved all 6 miles of it! Gotta love San Diego!

Click picture for full size

Mikey finished his hike and I finished my walk at the lake at the same time so Kenny dropped him off at Lake Murray and we drove home together. He started to tell me the lymph nodes in his neck were swollen and he didn't feel well so when we got home, he layed down in bed, DIDN'T EVEN SHOWER, that's how bad he felt. I showered and got ready because my best friend came over to the house and we went out for lunch. Jacob stayed home with daddy because he is still trying to get over  a really bad cold. He has a bad runny nose and cough.

After lunch Elisa and Adam came by to visit. Elisa was leaving for boot camp the next morning =( Melissa also stopped by for a bit, everyone got to see Mikey sick  in bed..haha.

Mikey woke me up Tuesday morning and asked if I could call and get him an appt to see our primary care doctor. He NEVER asks to go to the doctor so I knew he really wasn't feeling good. I called and was able to get him in that morning at 11. He told me he thinks he had strep throat and the NP confirmed it. So for the next 48 hrs he was advised to wear a mask, hydrate, get lots of rest and take his antibiotics. Unfortunately I couldn't stay home and take care of him because I had to work, but he had a lot of help from my mom and sisters when it came to the kids.

*******
Even with all the illnesses going on, I still have a positive outlook for 2012=)

I have some ideas I'd like to get started on...and when I do I will need your help family and friends.....

 I'm going to start to sell some stuff, OLD and NEW on this blog. I have a plan all mapped out in my head, I just need to get it down.

SO STAY TUNED...and I like I said, I will need HELP getting the word out when it does happen...



Christmas Weekend

Merry Christmas from OUR family to YOURS...

UPDATED 12/28/11
I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas this year. We sure did =)
I worked the morning shift at the hospital Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but I was able to enjoy the rest of the day with my family.

After I got off work Christmas Eve, we drove up to Murrietta for Christmas Eve dinner with my Aunt's family on my Dad's side. We also exchanged gifts. Michael and I received 2 giftcards, one for Chili's and one for P.F. Changs. Can't wait to do date night!

While we were there, I was working on a scarf for my sister Jessica in Idaho that I needed to finish asap to send up with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Bill. When I finished I thought I'd try to make a beanie for Jacob, but ended up making a little bonnet for Lillyanne instead because I didn't follow a pattern. I'm not really good with following patterns so I just go with what I already know and see where it takes me...and in this case it made a bonnet. Trying to get Lilly to keep it on her head is a challenge though. She's not a big fan of anything in her hair or on her head. STINKER! It actaully would look cuter on a baby girl as a floppy hat.

I knew I had to get up early for work Christmas morning but we didn't end up leaving Murrieta until 11pm. We just had so much fun up there!

Christmas morning came and I headed off to work. This year my family decided to wait for me to open gifts. I was surprised Lilly wasn't fighting it, but she was good girl and wanted to wait for mommy too! I got a lot of goodies, we all did!

After we opened gifts we headed over to my father in law's and had dinner with him and his fiance Karen. We ate, exchanged gifts and then headed to Trevor's, Michael's best friend to give him and his family their gifts. It was a great Christmas!

Although I was sad to wake up the next day and not hear Christmas music playing on KYXY 96.5 anymore BUT that isn't going to stop me from listening. I just hooked up my pandora and listened to my Christmas station in the car. I will listen to Christmas music until the end of New Year's Day!

A Very Merry Week....

This past week has been so AMAZING.  

I had the whole week off, but EVERY DAY of the week we had something to do.

Let's reflect.....

Friday 12/16/11

Last day of work for me and boy oh boy did I enjoy the day! We had an UGLY SWEATER PARTY and our Chief Radiologist, Dr. Richman had mexican food catered for the occasion. I had Alivia model my sweater for me and she looked pretty darn cute in it! I honestly didn't think the sweater was ugly enough so the night before I had crocheted a bunch of bows and flowers with GREEN and RED yarn to embellish the sweater a little more. End result: WINNER!  I won a huge bag of Lindt's Lindor Truffles.  After the party my coworker Gladys wanted me and Alivia to open our gift from her. She got us Juicy Couture wristlets! They're so cute! My first Juicy anything! See, I'd never buy anything like that for myself so I really did appreciate it as a gift! Thanks Gladys!

Saturday 12/17/11

We celebrated Grandma Riggins 87th birthday at Por Favor's Mexican Restaurant in El Cajon. It was a great family gathering and it was great to see everyone again!

After the party we headed to another Ugly Sweater/Gingerbread House Party at Ron and Carol's house. This time I wore the sweater and the kids even got to wear some too. I really liked Michael's sweater but it was NOT ugly!  We had so much to eat that night, pizza, spaghetti and lots of homemade sweet treats! Of course it wouldn't be a Schoolcraft Christmas Party without a Gingerbread house contest! This is our 5th year celebrating with the Schoolcrafts and we always enjoy the food and fun every year. Renee and I partnered up this year. We didn't win, but that's ok because we had a lot of fun decorating our house.

Here are some photos for now...

Lilly and her new friend Tavis decorated one together. Way to go kids!



Some of the houses. Ours is the one that says "Merry X-MAS" on the roof.



Some "Awkward" Family Photos...Michael's facial expressions cracks me up!

Sunday 12/18/11

I had some family come down to San Diego from Murrieta and we went and watched the boat parade at Seaport Village. Afterwards we went to CHRISTMAS CARD LANE in Rancho Penasquitos. We've been going every year since Lilly was born. I love it there. Christmas joy all around, almost EVERY house is lit and decorated. This year we even saw Mr. and Mrs. Clause and Frosty the Snowman! Some homes were offereing hot cocoa and treats for donations. My favorite house is the one themed after the movie "A CHRISTMAS STORY." They even have the lamp leg, CLASSIC! Even though it was freezing cold walking around and watching lights NEVER gets old!



 Monday 12/19/11

I took Terri out for dinner at Barona as an early Christmas gift.  Nothing beats their all you can eat crab and oysters! Laughter and fun was included also. We really did have a blast. I love.Love.LOVE this woman! She is such an inspiration! And she has the cutest Australian accent, I could listen to her talk for hours! 

Tuesday 12/20/11

Sister Howe was kind enough to welcome us in her house for homemade lasagna for dinner after our Secret Santa gift exchange. We had a grand ol' time with one another. I love our young women and I love the leaders. So blessed for such a wonderful calling!

 Wednesday 12/21/11 

Me, Michael and the kids met up with Erika and 2 of her girls, Sarah, John and their boys for a little lunch playdate at Mcdonalds in La Mesa. It was nice to get to spend some time with them.

In the evening, we met up with our young women and the leaders at the Mormon Battalion for A HAWAIIAN CHRISTMAS presentation. It was group of young girls dancing hula to Christmas music. It was so cute! And the tree in the theatre part of the building was decorated so beautifully!

Thursday 12/22/11

I met up with Sally and baby James for lunch at Croutons in La Jolla. She used to serve in YW with me then she moved to La Jolla when she was pregnant with James. It was nice catching up with her. James her son is soooo CUTE!

After lunch I picked up Alivia from work and we hung out all day! We went thrift shopping at Goodwill and then ate dinner at CiCi's pizza buffet. Afterwards we drove around La Mesa, my favorite neighborhood in San Diego, and looked at Christmas lights and then stopped by starbucks for yummy hot apple cider. When we got home Alivia helped us wrap some presents! We had a really great day together, love her!

Friday 12/23/11

We started out the day by visiting Grandma and Grandpa Liljestrom at 11 to exchange gifts with them. Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Bill also stopped by as we were leaving to drop off gifts that Jessica had sent with them for us. It was nice being able to see them.

Later in the evening we celebrated Christmas early at Jenny (sister) and Greg's (brother in law) house in Santee. Every year they host dinner at their house and we exchange gifts with eachother and a group of our close family friends. We had turkey and rib roast for dinner. After dinner we gathered around the tree, and opened our gifts. I had a lot of fun, we all did. I was a little bummed because we couldn't take our time and relax after. We helped clean up and then had to head home so I could rise early for work at 7am Christmas Eve. Nevertheless, we had a great time spent with family and friends. Thank you Jenny and Greg for the food and presents. We love you guys. Next year, I'd like a niece or nephew okay!

PICTURES FROM THIS EVENT COMING SOON...



Joy to the World...

My JOY. My WORLD.

Michael sent me these while I was at work, nothing makes me happier than when I get his messages.

Brother and Sister bonding...he even shares his Germs...=P

Sweet as can be..



Our Father in Heaven wouldn't give us ANYTHING in this life that we couldn't handle....

Michael.Lillyanne.Jacob are my stability in this ever changing world...

I love them unconditionally...Forever and Always...