Halloween Decor Stuff

This year Jack's work was having a costume contest- Jack did a ton of research and came up with this ingenious idea for Wilson from the show Home Improvement. He made the entire thing all by himself. It was hilarious. He didn't win but we saved the fence-- he may continue wearing this every year.

This year Jack really wanted to decorate our house for Halloween. We love Halloween at our house but I was so busy that I kept putting off the decorating. Jack offered to take care of everything so one night after work we found ourselves at the local party stores. They had such fun stuff! We came away spending more than we should have for Halloween but here is the end result. Totally worth it in my books!

*Kim offered to model for us- I'm thinking Americas Next Top Model winner!

Halloween Party Stuff

I love the idea of hosting parties but when it comes right down to it I'm kind of a boring hostess. haha So when Halloween rolled around Jack wasn't surprised when I brought up the idea of having a few friends over for a party. I was determined to actually make this party fun though. I spent hours planning party games and working out the menu.

Sam, Tiffany, Higgs and Kimberly (Jacks brother, sister in law, Jack's old mission companion/our friend, and my little sister) came over and we broke up into teams and played minute to win it games. It was SO much fun. I haven't laughed that hard in ages- it was so easy and entertaining. We had 7 games and each person had 2 name cards. We each chose what games we wanted to participate in and then went head to head with a member from the opposite team. The girls ended up winning by 1 point in the last game so it was pretty intense.

We made homemade rootbeer with dry ice (my fave part of the whole party) and an entire table full of chips, dips, fruits, veggies and breadsticks. It was absolutely delicious.

After games we finished off our Halloween by watching Jack's favorite scary movie The Ring. I think my party was actually a success this year. I may even attempt it again next year (do you think anyone would care if I just repeated this party every year??? Why mess with a good thing?)

Halloween Stuff

Jack had so much fun when we went to the Haunted Woods for our anniversary- he talked it up to his brother and sister in law and convinced them to come with us once more before Halloween. We always have so much fun with Sam and Tiffany and this was no exception. We made Sam go first and watching him was worth the $40 it cost to go again. He was terrified. He kept running off and leaving Tiffany to fend for herself. He screamed louder than either of us girls and kept all of us entertained. I can't wait to try a new Haunted House with them next year.

Anniversary Stuff

This year our anniversary was on a Wednesday so I planned a fun anniversary getaway the weekend before. We still like to celebrate so we went out again on our real anniversary. We have specific restaurants where we celebrate specific events. Rodizio Grill is our usual anniversary spot. It never seems to disappoint. Jack surprised me with flowers and then whisked me off for dinner. After dinner Jack really wanted to go to the Haunted Woods in American Fork. I was a little harder to convince... It didn't sound fun for just 2 people. I love scary things but I wanted to get a huge group so I could scream without feeling like an idiot. In the end Jack won and I went with him. I am SO glad he makes me do fun things, even when I don't want to. We had so much fun---I cowered behind Jack for the entire hour but it was oh so worth it.

5 years stuff

This year Jack and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. CRAZY that we have been married that long right? We think so. So much has happened in the last 5 years- some good, some bad- but I can't think of anyone in the world I would rather have by my side through it all. Jack truly is the better part of me. I keep him grounded, he keeps me silly. I keep him organized, he keeps me spontaneous. I remind him to be a grown up and he reminds me to act like a kid. We really do keep each other afloat. We are proof that you can meet someone, get engaged and get married all within a span of exactly 3 months (July 20th 2005- October 20th 2005) and somehow it just all works out.

This year we talked about going on a trip for our anniversary, but when it came right down to it what we both wanted was a nice weekend where we could just relax. Nothing that we "had" to do. When we go on trips we always feel rushed to do everything there is to do and make the most of our time away, so instead of traveling I decided to plan a weekend close to home. I got a hotel room with a jacuzzi tub and king sized bed and then "kidnapped" Jack for a relaxing getaway. I gave him clues to our destination with specific tasks he had to do before he could receive more clues. I think it was the first time in our marriage that I have completely surprised him. He was convinced we were headed to my favorite restaurant for dinner but instead our directions lead us to the front doors of our hotel. He was shocked to find his suitcase packed in the trunk.

We dropped our stuff off and changed for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant- Los Hermanos. We spent the evening pigging out on guacamole and chips and then returning back to the hotel for some intense TV watching and sparkling cider. It was so nice to have nothing to do. It may sound like I am just a crappy anniversary planner but it was exactly what we wanted/needed and Jack kept saying how absolutely perfect it was. We stayed up late talking and cuddling and even snuck in a Betos run before falling asleep. We slept in on Saturday and then decided instead of heading to Park City like I planned we would just stay in town and shop. I never turn down shopping so we spent the afternoon browsing movies, clothes and new bedding. We went to see The Social Network in the movie theater and then headed home.

It was absolutely perfect. I'm thinking I need a weekend like that much more than once a year!

Summer Stuff

At the beginning of the summer Jack and I sat down and made a list of all the fun stuff we wanted to do together. Somehow summer can and went before we realized it and nothing got done. Sad right? Towards the end of summer Jack's work offered him free Orem Owls (baseball) tickets so he snatched them up and we got one item checked off our summer fun list. We drug Sam and Tiffany and Anna (Jack's brother, sister in law and sister) along with us which made it fun. We may just have to make this a summer tradition. I'm not usually into baseball but I think I could handle once a year.