Our First Thanksgiving Together.... in the USA

Last Year Mike and I were in Paris for Thanksgiving, it was very exciting but it just wasn't the same as having all your family around and stuffing your face. We we flew into Seattle to visit Becky and Nathan and then drove over to Spokane with them.

While Mike & I were in Seattle we took a fairy. Mike had never been on one before so it was really fun & the Island we went over to was so pretty.


Our first day in Spokane we went to Chuck e Cheese and then we went Nascart racing. Those are Mike's top two activities. We love going to Spokane because we know my Mom will take us to Chuck e cheese with the little boys and we absolutely love that place! Here are the boys before they raced it was so entertaining watching them. My Dad can be quite the competitor!



The day after Thanksgiving we went out to Couer d'Alene to see the lights get lite up! We had no idea it was such a big event. So many people were there and come to find out it is one of the biggest light ceremonies in the US! It was really cold but the fireworks made up for the freezing weather.


One my favorite parts of the trip was how much my little nephew Carter loved Mike. When he would see Mike he would lean forward to press heads together. Those boys are just too cute!

P.S. We are very grateful for the Families we have. Mike & I are very lucky to both have families we get along with and love very much!

1 Year & 4 Days Ago.....

One year down and many many wonderful years to come. I can't believe it has been one yr already! On November 14, 2008 I didn't think I could Love the man in front of me any more than I did at that moment but a yr later I can honestly say I'm even more madly in Love with him! He has surprised me so much, I thought he would be a really great partner but he has shown me so much more. He is so helpful, kind, smart, loving, and well he makes me humble and want to become a better person. I know that sounds a bit cliche but it's true and I know a yr isn't very long but we made through and I can't wait to see what challenges and joy this next year will bring us.

To celebrate our anniversary we went to the temple ( I thought it was only appropriate). By the time we got out it was dark so the picture didn't turn out well but, the draper temple was beautiful and it was such a great experience going back exactly one year from being sealed to each other.


Mike also got me these books I've been dreaming about for awhile... Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Jane Erye.

TRICK OR TREAT

For the weekend we rented a condo up in Park City. Everything was going really well the boys let us go shopping and we ate where we wanted to until .... We were going to go to the store and get treats to munch on while playing games and our husbands got a great idea. They dressed us up in Brad & Caitie's Banana costumes and wanted us to pretend we were in jr high and trick or treat. I have no idea how we got talked into that but off Caitie and I went while our husbands drove behind us. We were having a great time at the beging laughing, running inbetween houses, and not to mention people loved our costumes! But A little later after we had gathered quite the stash we caught on to our husbands using us so we put this little trick to an end. But we were quite satisfied while playing games that we had some good FREE candy right at our finger tips. Never again will we listen to our husbands again though... we felt a bit used and a little stupid that were sometimes older than the people giving us candy!

It was very dark so people couldn't really see our faces and didn't question our ages!

Greg Mortenson

Three Cups of Tea is our favorite book, it also brings us back because it was the book we read on the train rides in Europe on our honeymoon! Weird memory but the book just holds a special place in our heart. Anyways the author of this book Greg Mortenson spoke at the BYU devotional and he is just an inspiring man. I always imagined him to be a very kind and respectful man. When I watched him sing the hymns with us confirmed my imagination and made me really happy to see him respect our religion by joining in. Mike and I are just so impressed with dedication to bring education to Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the affect of an education on girls means having strong mothers in the home that won't allow their sons to join the talabans. The peace he has promoted by doing these acts of service is unreal and we were so thrilled to see Greg speak. He didn't disapoint us and if you haven't had a chance to read this book I recommend you do so!

Thanks for the wild weekend!

Our friends Brad & Caitie really know how to show us a good time. We went up to Blackfoot, ID to visit them since we haven't been up there since their wedding, oh and it was Brad's birthday. We stayed up late and ate lots of sugar! We also went to a haunted house, and I wish I could have captured Caitie's face when the sound of chain saw begun. It was classic her face was filled with pure horror and panic, this is awful but I could stop laughing. We can't wait for another wild weekend.

These pictures were from a different weekend but I forgot to get pictures last weekend so here are some oldies but goodies.

Tis' the Season!

Ignore me in this photo, it was very late and I look pretty scary. But i guess it's okay to look scary because it is Halloween time! Anyways I made this pumpkin cake and i was so thrilled it actually turned out. To my surprise the person that was most excited that I made such a cool cake was mike... he was so happy for me! He's very sweet and supportive of my crazy baking kicks. Lately I have really been loving the magazine family circle, it has provided me with some really great recipes and ideas. So a big thank you goes out to Family Circle Magazine for this little delightful treat!

I'm Obsessed!

Oh the joys of cycling class. The moment the teacher said remove your seat I fell in love with this class. It is the total body workout and our teacher is crazy! She has us do push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and abs while cycling. And I'm convinced all can do it, the momentum of the peddling just keeps you going. So Go find a cycling class and join in on the fun. Oh and a special thanks to Becca for being by my side to keep me going as well!

Happy Birthday Cherise Lynn!

Happy Birthday to my dear sister Cherise. We love you so much and you have been a great older sister, you are one of my favorite sisters. ( That is quite the accomplishment since I only have two and both are so cool that they both are my favorites) We are sad we are not there to celebrate with you and party it up. But know that Mike and I did go out to celebrate your birthday by seeing the movie FAME! We enjoyed it and we were very thankful for you being born on the day of the opening so we could see such an inspiring flick. If you were here we would have taken you with us but instead we took you in our hearts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHERISE! WE LOVE YOU!

Baby Shower

So our little Glo had a very brilliant idea to get all of us girls together, get hours for her internship, and to give back to the community.... A BABY SHOWER. No she is not pregnant but she is gathering baby items for mother's who can't afford necessities for their baby. I thought it was so fun and and she provided such great food as well! All in all it was a success and it was so good to be with all the girls. Good Job Gloria for hosting a great baby shower.... I hope you throw me one just like that one someday.

Peaches

My wonderful Mother in-law was so sweet to invite me up to help with canning her peaches. It was my very first time canning peaches and I loved every minute of it. The colors, smells, and the taste of the peaches made me so happy. I love fall and this was just a great welcoming to my favorite season. I have to say Mom and I were a really good team too, we canned 35 cans of peaches in only a couple of hours! We both felt pretty good with our accomplishment.

Happy Birthday Michael Jameson!

Last Thursday was Mike's birthday... the big 24! I think he scored big, he finally got the bike of his dreams and all the cool accessories to go with it. He has wanted a bike since before his mission so I thought it was about time he got one. (Plus I think he is pretty cool and I must love him a whole lot to spoil him.) We went over to his parents house for dinner, cake, presents, and good fun. Then Friday morning we left for Moab to continue his birthday celebration. Neither of us had be to Moab so we were pretty excited and didn't really know what we were in for. That night we camped at the Arches National Park and it was an amazing camping spot! And somehow we got it for free... Mike is really good at getting the best deal. Saturday we woke up very early and did a hike, all of the arches and rocks we saw were so amazing. After our hike we went south of Moab into to Lasal Mts. and it was a completely different world, tons of trees and wildlife. We went up to lake and camped right by it. I was seriously loving my life because we saw so many wild animals, such as, cows ( i know they aren't really wild but they were roaming everywhere) beavers, deer, goats, lizards and the list goes on and on. Our little trip was perfect and to make things even better we only spent nine dollars! So it's safe to say that the Rees Family Loves MOAB!

Maybe I shouldn't have given him a bike.... now I'm # 2 in his life.

This picture just makes me laugh but I wanted to capture our little home for the night. I'm actually surprised Mike is smiling because he didn't think this was one of my best picture ideas.

This was one of the "wild" cows. I was a little scared that the cow was going to pop into my window while taking this picture.

Back to the Blogging World

After a long summer of no internet.... I'm back! The summer what some what uneventful. I know summer sales can be quite the thrill. Lucky for us we have families with fun agendas! Here a some of the things that kept us going through out the summer.





Rockies Games at Coors field was one of our favorite things to do on the weekends. We got to go to the the 4th of July game and the fireworks were amazing!


I got to go to San Fransisco for My cousin's wedding and it was gorgeous and perfect weather. Not to mention the best wedding cake I have ever tasted!

We gained another sister on the Rees side! We are trying to catch up to the number of boys in the family... and we gained a good one!



Oh the Lake. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect week with perfect food and everyone was there to enjoy it all!

Baby Carter is just practicing to be just like papa. He was so good the entire week, I don't think he cried once.
Here's the cute little couple that made this all possible. They are the best parents ever and they really know how to throw a good week long party! We love you and thanks for all you do for us.

Some people aren't cut out for stick shift

So Mike taught me how to drive stick shift before we left for Portland so we would only have to take one car. He told me I did surprisingly well! And I felt pretty good about this whole driving stick shift. Two days after getting to Portland and being stuck in the apartment all day I decided to take the car and explore. On the way to the store I was just fine and I only stalled once in the parking lot.... I was feeling great but, on the way home not so much. It took my three times as long to get home and at one point I had to put my emergency lights on so people would just go around me! The worst part was that we have a gate to get into our apartment parking and the gate comes down fast! so I panicked and I kept stalling and the gate kept coming down. Finally the man who had be watching me for five minutes make a fool of myself decided to help me by holding the gate open, thanks! I finally rolled into my parking spot and got out of the car and when I got out of my car my groceries went everywhere! Luckily one of my neighbors was out with his daughter and helped me to my door. I shut the door and the tears began to flow! I quit stick!... At least for a while. I'm fine walking places or maybe if Mike does well I can invest in a bike! Till then a little fresh air and exercise will do me good.

One Lucky Gal

First off I would like say how magical my Birthday was. It was basically perfect except one thing some of my Best friends were not there.... Mother dear, Daddy, Nate, Cherise, Tia, Dave, Lucas, Carter, and Maverick. I got everything I ever wanted and more. My mother in-law is the absolute best mother in-law ever, she should win some kind of an award she surprised me with a sewing machine, I've been wanting one so bad. I have the BEST in-laws!

My Dear parents were also very gracious by giving me clothes to cover my body... not to mention very cute ones and a painting to dress my walls! And last but not the least my outstanding and attractive ( well atleast to me and i'm sure his mother)husband gave me........ A NINTENDO DSI! I can play games, take pictures, surf the web, and much more. Mike and I have had a few arguments on whose turn is next, we are a bit obsessed!I'm a very lucky gal to have such wonderful people in my lifes to spoil me and to love me. Thank you all!

A Quest to Kilimanjaro

So Mike has wanted to climb Mt Kilimanjaro for quite a bit and so the planning begins! We plan to climb this beautiful Mt next year, and while we are there we will get to fulfill one of my dreams.... an African Safari! So far my mom and aunt are going to join us, we all have quite the job cut out for us. It's a four to six day hike, so it's pretty long but not very technical so we are good on that! We are so excited, let the countdown begin.

What a Wicked Weekend

Mike & I arrived a day earlier than my family so we decided to go over to the oregon coast! It was such a perfect day! We rented these little sand bikes, and they were actually quite the work out. It was really entertaining to smash already broken shells with them, so we made it a contest to see who could smash the most.... Mike got really into it and headed full speed towards a big pile, and smashed them all! As he looks back he realizes it was a little boys collection! He felt awful and that but a big end to our entertainment. The Coast was so pretty but I was really excite to get back to see Wicked the broadway musical!

The Musical was so good! I told Mike that if I could do my life all over he would see me up there on the stage. Everyone love it including Mike, it was really cleaver and funny so it appealed to all ages and genders.
The next day the ladies go to go shopping and if the little boys ( including mike) stayed on their best behavior they got to go on the train to down town and ride the carousel and go swimming!

Mike loves to look good on trains, it's just a really natural thing for him.

I wish I was in Her Place Spending all that Dough!

6.000 dollars later I was done helping Beautiful women buy all the clothes I wanted. I love Nordstroms but it doesn't always fit into my budget these days. I worked at the Nordstrom grand opening. The store is absolutely gorgeous! Working there basically consumed my entire weekend. We went to the jazz game when I got off and it was an intense game and I fell asleep, out cold! Shoppers at Nordstrom can be a little demanding, but I guess if I was going to spend that much money too I might want someone to wait on me. The only thing that got me through was knowing I was making money to spend in Portland! 5 days until I get to see the magical musical WICKED. Don't worry I have the soundtrack in my car preparing me for the joy I'm about to experience! One thing besides making money for wicked I walked away with and is no use to me but maybe in a few years when it's out of style is a baby bag! Mike even things it's pretty rad.

So overall working at Nordstrom is good but I really have to admit helping a beautiful, fit, rich woman buy all the things you had your eye one kills!

Pre- Valentines Day

I know it is such a ridiculous picture but I was truly so excited! So yesterday Mike and I went snowboarding and I was just expecting it to be just Mike and I.... but it ended up being oh just about every boy he knew. So in my single days this was heaven being the only girl, now in my married life it's not my ideal day to be with ten boys. To say the least I was out of place and was forced to go places and do things i wouldn't normally try. When we got home there was a little making up to do, and to be quite honest Mike couldn't wait to give me his Valentines gift. So here it is a big green sleeping bag. I know most people would be like that's it? Ya my husband is a romantic. I was so excited because it just adds to our camping collection. Since my husband wants to be granola, not really but kinda, there will be lots of camping and hiking ahead! Right before bed Mike says to me, you don't really love your gift, and i just gave him the look like really? He continued with, if you loved it so much you would sleep in it, so I did. He was completely teasing me and trying to be difficult but I just took it and ran with it! I LOVE LOVE MY HUSBAND! It was the best Valentines gift ever, it's acutally practical.

Surprise Party for Papa

So i got a call from Maverick about a week ago and he told me I needed to come to his house in Seattle to surprise Papa for his birthday, he really gave me no choice. So Mike and I packed our bags thursday and made the 13 hr drive, quality time! Actually Mike and I love road trips so we were way excited. We got there before my parents so Mike decided to go snowboarding, and I obviously hit the mall. We got back in time for to surprise my dad, when he walked into the house he stood there in shock, It took a sec to figure out what was going on and then he hurried and hug us with tears in his eyes. There's one thing I love the most making my daddy happy! Right before we left for dinner he was just saying how fun it would to be to have nathan and becky there too, and sure enough they come walking through the door, the tears start to flow once again. The family was all there.... well almost, Nate wasn't but he was there in heart.