the basement is a work in progress...

Uncle Rick has been very busy on my basement remodeling project! Here are a few of the in-progress photos.... notice the missing wall! :) yeah!And above is where the new stove, cabinets, sink, etc will be. The cabinets are nice cherry color and the counter top sorta looks like granite (but its formica). You can sortof see them in the photos below... it will be easier once they are in. Haha!


P.S. Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

The 2nd Annual Charity Halloween Bash on Friday was a huge success, and my voice is finally starting to come back! Haha! We had somewhere between 400-450 people at the party and raised just over $900 for the Christmas Care Package Project for the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Arizona.

There are tons of photos that I will post on my charity blog (if you want to check them out) but here are the photos of Troy and I... and one with me and two of my girl friends (Rachel and Lynda).
My friend Kelvin is sweet enough to come to all of my various charity events and take photos.... we have about 300 photos from the Halloween party this year.... its so fun to see all the costumes, etc.

The party was very short notice, but turned out very well I am happy to say. :) We held it at a house in Highland. The house was huge and also happened to be vacant which turned out very well! We didn't have to worry about ruining any furniture and there was more than enough room for everyone dance, eat and stand around visiting. We added some spider webs and were good to go!

It was so fun to see all of our single friends and acquaintances, and many of our married friends came too. Bunker was there, dressed as Hugh Hefner... very entertaining. Several single ladies from my ward came also, which was lots of fun. And Joel even showed up. He was pleasant to myself and Troy, which was a nice surprise, and he seemed to enjoy the party so I was happy to see that.

Troy was such a HUGE help as always!! He is so supportive of all my little projects and I am so very thankful to him for all that he does! Especially this time since I was so sick... he stepped right up and helped with all the hosting duties. (Thanks baby! Love you!)

demolition has begun...

the basement.....

The basement remodel is well under way and I promised Shelly a few photos so here we are...

Before.....

feeling sentimental....

I just came across this picture of Askie from when he was about 2 months old.....
I seriously cannot believe he will be 12 this coming spring... its goes by too fast! And yet, at the same time it seems like a lifetime ago! So much has changed in that 12 years.

Flying Ghosts...

Since so many of the little ones in this family seem to love ceiling fans.... I thought this little project might be fun...

FLYING GHOSTS: Okay, these don’t grow outdoors and they have nothing to do with foliage, but I can’t close this column without sharing my favorite of all fall decorations—tiny flying Halloween ghosts. Open a large, white paper napkin. Wad a paper towel into a ball and place it in the center of the napkin. Now gather the napkin around the ghost’s head and tied it tightly at the neck with a piece of string or monofilament, leaving at least a 6-inch tail of string. Make the same number of ghosts as you have blades in your ceiling fan. Tape the string end of one ghost to the end of each fan blade. Turn the fan on low and watch the ghosts fly! Little ones love this. (Grown-ups do too!)

And since I have ceiling fans in every room.... maybe everyone needs to come visit me! :) Hehee!

Family photo...

Troy and I tried to get a little family photo before we headed off to the Opera yesterday.... needless to say, Aleusha and Maika don't like posing for photos any more than Askie! We got one decent one though.... And I promise that Aleusha (the one on the left) has two ears, despite the fact that one appears to be missing in this photo. Haha!

The Opera was great, by the way! And we ran into one of my fellow Board members from Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Always fun to see him, and his wife.

Tomorrow I am flying into LA for a meeting and I am very bummed that I have to fly right back! I wish I could cruise down to NB for a visit! But alas, I am planning a big charity Halloween Party for Friday night and have a ton left to do!

The first snow was so fun!

So we had our first snow in the city on Saturday... what fun! :) Well, at least Maika, Aleusha and I enjoyed it despite the fact that Troy was miserable (he doesn't much like snow, unless he is skiing).

Maika playing in the snow...
Thanks Mandy, Meri and Carly for the size info! Shelly and Janice - please let me know Trevor and Ava's sizes when you get a second. :)

Christmas....

OK.... I have set a goal to get my Christmas shopping done early this year! So.... not that I expect everyone to get their Christmas Wish Lists done early, but could I get info on the sizes that all the kids are wearing these days so that if I choose to get a clothing item, I will know it will fit. :) :) :) They just grow too dang fast!

Thanks!!! And Merry Christmas! Haha!

and the photos...

Ok.... here are the photos..... :)

Arrow of Light..

I almost forgot... Troy, Colleen and I went last night to TJ's (Troy's brother Tommy's son) Arrow of Light ceremony and got to see him graduate from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. He has received an amazing number of badges and awards in Cub Scouts and the Scout Master was all excited about TJ continuing that enthusiasm in Boy Scouts. It was so fun for us to be there with him to celebrate!

Sweaters, Boots and SNOW!

I always love the first day that its cold enough for boots and a sweater.... that day is today! :) We may even get a little snow... I also love the first snow! Of course after that first day, I start anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring... haha! But for today I will enjoy it...

Is anyone else's wards doing those "enrichment circles"? Mine is... well, they are trying. A couple months ago we had a big party and signed up for the groups we wanted to participate in, and now we are finally trying to get the program off the ground. Here's the dilemma.... the enrichment leader called and asked me to head up the "exercise group." I think everyone here knows I am not a big fan of exercise... haha... but perhaps that's why they asked me — Maybe I need to learn to enjoy it. So... I am racking my brain trying to think of activities I can plan for the group.... and of course its the largest group with 18 people! I am sure they won't all come to every activity but in the event that they do, we need to have room. Should be interesting... wish me luck! And please share any ideas you have for group exercise activities! :)

So while Askie was over last week we tried to take some photos... here are three of the semi-decent ones. Askie really doesn't like to cooperate for photos, by the way. It was very entertaining to try to get him in position... he would always end up laying the opposite direction, etc. And he's really too big to just pick up and move. Haha!

Ok... apparently I broke the photo posting feature yesterday when I posted over 100 photos on my charity blog... I'll post the photos of Askie as soon as its up and running again. :)

Identity Crisis...

So for a minute there I thought it was April Fools and that Mom was getting me back for my alias postings using her name..... Haha! And let me tell you, I was impressed!!
But alas... there is another Jennifer in our blogging world! Who knew? It's not like Jennifer is a common name, is it? :)
I may have to change my name to 'Favorite Auntie Jen' or to 'THE Jennifer'... Haha!

Oh... and here is one more photo of my adorable Askie... :)

I think a tornado hit...

I always joke that having the Burgoyne's down from Idaho is pretty much like having a tornado hit... but in reality, its always really fun to see them. I love all 8 of the kids and Tanya and Rich aren't too bad either. Haha! And of course when the Burgoyne's are over, it means that Tina, Avery and Darren are around more as well. And Tommy, Sheri and TJ were of course over for Sunday Dinner too.... it was a very full house!!

Troy and I took Cameron (the oldest nephew who is now a freshman in college) with us for an afternoon in Park City on Saturday before all the guys headed down to temple square for the priesthood session. While the guys were gone I got to read a book with Hannah and go shopping with Colleen and Tanya. We had a lovely time. :)

Between sessions on Sunday, Troy and I took Cameron, Joe and Daniel for a drive and went to look at the exotic cars. The boys love talking about cars with uncle Troy and they all seem to think its pretty cool that I enjoy it too. They all love picking out their favorite cars and comparing lists with each other. There are often heated debates about the merits of each car that is picked. Its really quite entertaining.... and is a constant reminder of how much they are like Uncle Troy.

And since I always talk about Troy's family but never seem to have photos.... here is a cute one of Avery and Ema.... I think Ema has decided that the safest place in the house to hide from her siblings, is on Auntie Jen's lap. She snuggled right up for a nice long nap on Sunday afternoon and it was just great. :)
And last but not least.... the big, hairy beast is over for the week. :) I love having him and its such a joy to play with him and see his cute face when I get home from work. Here he is...

JUST TWO THINGS...

Ok Meri - Here you go! :)

Two Names I Go By:
1. Jen
2. Abuelita

Two Things I Am Wearing Right Now:
1. Black Boots
2. Black Down Vest

Two Things I Would Want in a Relationship:
1. Love
2. Friendship

Two of My Favorite Things to do:
1. Be with Troy
2. Hang with my family

Two Things I want right now:
1. A cure for cancer
2. For Colleen to not be in any pain

Two things I did last night:
1. Rocked Ema to sleep (Troy's youngest neice)
2. Took Askie for a nice long, quiet walk

Two things I ate today: (I haven't eaten yet today but I would imagine I will have the following.. Because I do almost everyday... haha)
1. Mangoes
2. Trail Mix

Two people I most recently talked to:
1. My boss
2. The Pharmacist

Two things I'm doing tomorrow:
1. Working
2. Walking Askie

Two longest car rides:
1. SLC to NB
2. Italy to Germany? Haha... No idea if that was long or short... Seemed long since it was raining and we didn’t really get to get out of the car much.

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving

Two Favorite Beverages:
1. Coke
2. Lemonade

Two Things about Me! Things you may not have known.
1. I hate mornings
2. I enjoy reading but I read very slow, takes me forever to finish a book

Two jobs I have had in my life:
1. Baker
2. Hostess

Two of my Favorite Foods:
1. Pretty much anything made with artichokes, avocados, cheese or bacon. Haha!
2. Gingerbread cookies

Two Places I'd rather be right now:
1. Snuggled on the couch with Troy
2. Italy

My family rocks!

What a fun weekend in Cali... I loved it!

Vern's funeral was very nice and it was so nice to see old friends and acquaintances from childhood. While the old church building was MUCH smaller in life than it was in my memory, it was so fun to see! I loved the little stroll down memory lane....

The old church....
My old elementary school....

Carly had a great idea to go to the Aliso Viejo Founder's Day Festival.... what fun! We all had dinner before and headed over to hang out at the petting zoo and ride the ponys. The baby pig was so cute and Luke and Elli looked so adorable in the pony ride. Then there was the concert... watching Luke and Elli dance was great. They looked so cute out there on the dance floor rocking out!

Sunday we all went to church together, which was wonderful! Its a very nice change for me since I am used to going alone. Haha! I even got to go to nursery with Elli and Luke and loved every minute of it. And of course, Sunday dinner was great with everyone over!

Unfortunately I had a conference call on Monday morning that I needed to be on, but luckily I was able to just listen most of the time..... and thankfully, I had Mom, Carly, Elli and Luke to entertain me the whole time too! :) We walked around on Balboa island— peaked in a few shops and saw all the halloween decorations. Elli and played chase, and we stopped to visit the firehouse. I didn't get pictures of the boys and grandma in their cute fire hats.... but it was adorable!!

Thanks for all the fun!! I miss you all already!! OXOXO