Handsome Santa

So what did Jimmy do on his first day of break this Christmas? Play video games? Do all my errands? Sleep all day long? NOPE. He played Santa at this local Assisted Living Center where he volunteers. He brought Christmas cheer and presents to all these cute oldies.

She was so happy!
Ho Ho Ho (no I'm not talking about the women)

This lady told Jimmy "if you're gonna take a picture, you better not try to kiss me!" He said, "uhh--ok I promise!"

The only man there other than Jimmy I think!

My hubby is so cute and a pretty handsome Santa.

Christmas!

Due to our misfortune of last year's adventure getting a Christmas Tree, we decided not to get one this year (also--there was no room). But we decorated like we've never decorated before. Over Thanksgiving, my aunt Pam and uncle Kevin came up with all these cool crafts for us to do. My mom also took me shopping to Home Goods (who loves that store?) and we ended up finding tons of cute treasures including 7 stockings for Jimmy and I and our 5 future children. YUP! Here are a few of the crafts we made and treasures we found!

I love these "Believe" blocks that we made. Thanks Aunt Pam and Uncle Kevin!

Jimmy with all our stockings, presents, and decorations.

This is our bar that we treated like a fireplace and shoved all our presents under.
Here are some of the decorations we made (Santas and Ho Ho Ho's)

Our Dominican Nativity Scene (I love how Jesus is black)

Our Hawaiian Nativity Scene in a coconut

The Santas on wood planks. Love decopauge

One of my favorite things we made. My uncle Kevin put these wires together and we just arranged these pieces of glass on the wires and painted the base and star. It's about 9 inches tall. He made those candy canes out of glass!

Giving Light

In the Dominican Republic where I served my mission the electricity would leave and come back sporadically. Sometimes there would be no electricity for hours, days, and sometimes weeks. The Dominicans referred to the electricity as “light.” In fact no one knew the word for electricity. When the “light” would leave, the streets and alleys were pitch black! Everyone operated by candle-light at night. The missionaries taught and studied by candle-light. There was always a sense of discouragement when the “light” was gone. But when the “light” would come back, no matter what time it was, there would always be whooping and cheering heard through the little neighborhoods. Kids would shout and jump around, adults would look to the heavens in thanks. They would say “Vino la luz” meaning “the light has come!”

Symbolic? One more thing.

In Spanish they don’t say “when is your baby due?” or “did she have her baby?” They say (directly translated) “did she give light?” or “when will she give light?” The birth of a baby is referred to as “giving light.”

The Latinos must have had it right because Mary, in a humble stable, “gave light” that crisp, cool night. The LIGHT OF THE WORLD was born and just as the Dominicans do when light comes after so much darkness, there was celebrating and whooping and cheering heard throughout all the heavens and the earth because the light had come.

Tag--I'm it

So I saw this on a friend's blog and loved it! Tag--you're it!
4 Joys:
* When someone from the Dominican Republic calls/writes me.
* Being held by my husband.
* Finding out my mom is cancer free!
* Giving Daniel dating advice.
4 Fears:
* Shark Attack
* Rape
* The Dark
* Safety of my family
4 Goals:
* Get into dental school (my hubby)
* Travel to another country (hopefully a cruise)
* Have our first baby (no I'm not pregnant...yet)
* Start my own business (someday)
(yes, in that order)
4 Current Obsessions/Collections:
* The show 24
* Purses and shoes (always and forever)
* Keeping in touch
* Saturday mornings with Jimmy
4 Random Surprising Facts About Yourself:
* I love trying new things (foods, adventures, crafts, talents, etc).
* I read about 2 books/week.
* I throw up at least once a week and don't know why. And p.s. I hate it!
* I think about my mission everyday and try to dream about it at night.

Quote

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." --Kahlil Gibran Kurt Vonnegut From his book "Timequake"

Simplify

Amazing!

Smells Like Christmas

Quick and cheap way to make your house smell like Christmas! (Thanks mom! It feels like home)

In a small sauce pan put:
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon (you can even go buy those big sticks of it)
- Cloves (these are key!)
- Orange peels
- Water

Turn it on low and allow the aroma to smell up your home. Make sure you keep filling it up with water and adding these ingredients all December long! (It turns a nasty brown color but the smell is worth it!)

Going to So Cal

So I think we'll be going to Southern CA for New Year's (since that was the reason I put off my jury duty...) but I haven't lived there in over 12 years and my hubby's only been there once--so WHAT SHOULD WE DO? Our cousins (thanks Adam and Emma) are gonna let us stay at their place but we need some ideas. It's only 4 days and remember, it's over New Year's so it's gonna be crowded.

Here's what I've thought about:
- Disneyland
- Rose Parade
- Hollywood
- Perhaps a drive through of my old hometown Simi Valley
- Huntington beach
- Newport temple
- WHAT ELSE?

To Do List

I just made my "to-do" list for the weekend. Last on the list is: Go thru boxes in closets; organize and label.

Since I'm already going to be digging through decorations, books, and who knows what else--do you think it's too early to decorate for Christmas? It is my absolute favorite holiday ever with the smells and lights and decorations and presents and family and time off from work and yummy goodies and Santa and elves and door-bell ditching and parties...

What if I only do it inside so no one really knows? I've already started with the Christmas music...

Double-Beeper

I admit it. I am a double-beeper. When I get out of my car I automatically and subconsciously beep the car. Then when I’ve finally managed to put my phone in my purse, hang it over my shoulder, look both ways, and walk toward the store, I look back and beep again. Why do I double beep? I know the first one worked. Do I want to alert everyone that the car is locked? Do I want to check the range I can get using the beeper? Did I think I forgot? I never forget. I don’t know why I double beep—but can’t give it up. OCD?

Our Engagement

So low and behold, Jimmy and I have another blog. Our good buddy Jon made it for us. LaFamiliaRobison.blogspot.com. I'm pretty sure he wrote everything on there too because I had no idea what a blog was at that time. lol

Well I can't figure out how to merge the two so I'm copying and pasting the information so that I have it all in one spot. This is the only picture we have from our engagement.

(note: written by Jon?) This was taken right after Katie said "yes." Look at that rock and those decorations. Jimmy, Jon, Daniel, and Cory had cut out hundreds of hearts and placed rose petals all over the house. Christmas lights were strung, lights were dimmed, candles were glowing and dinner smelled great. Katie slowly walked up the stairs as she read Jimmy's favorite sappy love songs written on hearts going up the stairs. She heard music playing in the background and when she reached the top there was a beautifully set table for 2 with Martinellis, candles and 2 dozen roses. She found secret notes written in balloons that led her to her porch where Jimmy was walking up. As she went to hug him, he got down on one knee, said some amazing things that none of them can remember exactly, and a few minutes later they were hugging so tightly while Jon, Cory, and Daniel were secretly taking pictures from across the street. He placed the ring on her finger (which brought a huge smile to her face) and the rest of the night was theirs...we slow danced and ate a little (even though our tummy's were too excited to eat) and savored the night. Jimmy explained how he had planned the whole event days before and days after we are still on cloud 9 as we replay Tuesday night in our heads over and over again.

Jimmy took me out for my bday to Macaroni grill and this was the first time he told me he loved me.

Us in temple square in 2007

These pics were taken right before we got engaged

Pumpkins

Halloween was so fun this year. We decorated pumpkins, went to a few Halloween parties, dressed up, won the Yankee game (as you can tell from Jimmy's shirt, he's a die-hard fan. How convenient that he married someone from back East), made pumpkin seeds, watched scary movies with friends, played games, and ate ate ate ate ate! Why is candy so good?

Jimmy with his alien pumpkin
Mine was an island with palm trees since you can't really tell...haha

Such a MANLY MAN. I love that Jimmy knows how to fix EVERYTHING!

And yes, mom, he is in shorts and barefoot in November! Doesn't THAT make you miss California! Come visit please!

Dwight & Angela

During my mission everyone always wrote me about this new show "The Office." When I got home I was addicted and introduced it to Jimmy when he got home from his mission. Although The Office hasn't been as funny lately, we've remained loyalists through yet, another season.

And for Halloween, per the request of so many, we went as....drumroll....DWIGHT AND ANGELA.

Thanks for the fun party Frangels!

It's hard to be angry all the time

The real Dwight and Angela

Vegas

Hands down--I love Vegas. I think I could live there (and actually UNLV is in our top 5 for dental school so maybe we will be living there!). We went to Vegas and met up with a bunch of our friends from Utah (Allison, Rod, Jon, Karen,), some friends in Vegas (Natalie and Sean) and my brothers Daniel and Travis. BYU slaughtered UNLV (and we all won $$$$ on the game).

Here's the gang at the BYU v UNLV game

Daniel's face is perfect here!

So we got the gambling bug. This casino gave us all $10 FREE to gamble and Travis and Daniel ended up winning $35 playing poker. Wait isn't Travis only 18...hahaha

Me with my boys

Travis, Daniel, and Jimmy in front of the pirate ship

My favorite--the Bellagio fountains (Daniel, Travis and Jimmy had never been here before)

Eiffel Tower (Rod, Allison and us)

It took us like 5 tries to get this picture because of lighting

New York New York hotel

The sign in the back says it all...

Me and Allie---yes that pumpkin is real! 890 lbs!

Gotta Love Those Boys!

Oh how I love boys!

Saturday Night Live Skit

Maybe I don't need to worry so much after all...

Please Vote on our Halloween Costume

What should Jimmy and I be for Halloween?

1- Beyonce and a Karate Guy (yes my hair will look like that)

2- Suzzane Somers and Richard Simmons (anyone have a thigh master I can borrow?)

3- Dwight and Angela (from the Office)

4. Jim and Pam (from the Office)

Please vote in the comments section. Thank you for your advice!

Amen Amen Amen

You've probably heard the story of the ant and the grasshopper, now this!!

MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'
Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.'
Rev. Jeremiah Wright then has the group curse God for the grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.
The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote...

In Light of Terribleness

In light of all the terrible things our country is going through (the lack of leaders, Obama debt that our grandchildren will have to pay, the turn to socialism, health care bill, natural disasters, etc) here is what President Harold B. Lee said on America:

"Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail. This is the cradle of humanity, where life on this earth began in the Garden of Eden . This is the place of the new Jerusalem . This is the place that the Lord said is favored above all other nations in all the world. This is the place where the Savior will come to His temple. This is the favored land in all the world. Yes, I repeat, men may fail, but this nation won't fail. I have faith in America; you and I must have faith in America, if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ . We are living in a day when we must pay heed to these challenges. I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world. This is the favored land. This is the land of our forefathers. It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through.
(Ye Are the Light of the World , 350-51)


Onward we go as optimistically as we can!

The Bush Man

It was hard to select which video to place for the Bush man. He was the best entertainment we had and I think we watched him scare people for half an hour. Highlights from this video: When he tells the Asian guy "Welcome to America" and when he scares the woman in the end. You can hear me and Jimmy laughing in the background. So great!

San Francisco Labor Day Weekend

Top 10 things you have to do in San Francisco:

Hang outside of the cable car and take pics

Find the "bush man" (see post w/ video)

See the seals (and plug your nose) at Pier 39

And just hang out at pier 39, watch the street performers, and eat yummy food.

China Town: My favorite quote from Jimmy "Every one of these stores is the same! We're only going to 1 more store!"

Baseball game. We saw Griffey play!

Alcatraz! The coolest tour ever!

Plus you get great views of the bridge and the city!

Golden Gate Bridge

San Fran

Riding the Trolley is like a mild roller coaster

And in Union Square there is this GREAT DUELING PIANO bar. So fun, hilarious, and time flies when you're in there! Plus you've got to go to Ghiradelli square, Fisherman's Wharf, ride bart, run from all the crazy people, give a piece of pizza to one of the hundred homeless beggers, and see a show (which we weren't able to do this time). I HEART SAN FRAN!