Life keeps going...

Sheesh it's been awhile since I posted! I still have some middle east adventures I've not yet posted, but they'll be forthcoming...someday :) 

I have been SO busy the last few weeks, happily wonderfully busy and tired! Here are some of the Highlights of the past few weeks (Since I got home to the states)

-from airport to airport my flight to the US lasted 26 hours and I had diarrhea (I know gross...but just imagine that pleasant plane ride for me...nice)

-I got to play with William, Lily, Oliver, Dylan and Kaci who I missed SO much! (Nate brought William and Lily to the airport to pick me up. When I came down the escalator I was waving frantically to get their attention...they saw me and William was waving back and so happy but Lily was so excited she didn't know what to do with herself, she was just laughing and laughing, but the second I got off the escalator she bolted from her seat to me with open arms just laughing and so happy screaming "COOOOOOUUURRRTT!!!!" It was so precious, it was just like out of a movie...so so cute, and I got a little weepy about it. Nate told me that a week prior to that she had been acting up, and being really moody and sad and then she finally lost it sobbing "I miss my courtenay, I love courtenay, where is courtenay?!" So tender...)

-I met James and Miekka's newest addition to the family, beautiful baby Lia

-Had fun telling all my funny stories to Nate Amy Ben and Kristen

-Drove to pick up Stephanie in Rexburg, then drove home for Christmas, i love my sistee!

-I put on my own snow chains! (I am so proud of myself! John was impressed too when I told him about it :) )

-I played TONS AND TONS of games with my family (Yahtzee, Pit, Cranium, Peek-no-peek, Rummy, Imaginiff, greed, BS)

-I got some very special gifts from John on Christmas Morning, and a really cute card he made me...the best part!

-I gave John some special gifts and got to talk to him on Christmas Eve and Christmas! 

-I made YUMMY gluten free cookies! (So yummy, even OTHER people ate them!) Ginger snaps, monster cookies, and peanut butter cookies! (I used to be really into baking, during my summer in Alaska, I was the lodge "Cookie baker" even though we had 2 world class chefs, theydidn't like baking, BUT I haven't actually done much baking since I was diagnosed with Celiacsdisease, everything tastes so horrible so I just avoided it, but Debbie led me to discover the glory of oats in baking! They do wonders for the gluten free delicacies!) 

-I sang Christmas songs, a LOT!

-I went to the Coast with my fam, even Joey came! It was awesome! 

-Explored some tide pools, enjoyed surprisingly mild weather, and went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium! (Haven't been there since i was a kid! John would have LOVED it! Side note...he LOVES fish, he wants to have like a huge fish tank and stuff someday with exotic tropical fish :)

-Watched a LOT of movies including High School Musical 3,Ballet shoes, The Women, Twilight, The Nativity Story, Catch me if you can, The Oregon Trail band (dad's fav ode to Christmas) and a bunch of others I can't remember just this minute.

-I did some shopping...not as much as even I thought i would, but still got a few nice things for great deals :) (Including some Fiesta ware dishes to add to our tableware, and a projector for $99!...I had to get out of bed at 6 am for that one, and I got up by myself to go get the door busters:)

-I Laughed a lot, ate a lot, played a lot, even cried a bit. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and this Season of Giving to remember what He has given. 

-I stayed up till midnight on New Years Eve, played games with the Jolleys and Amy, ate some yummy treats...my favorite treat right now is clementines, I have to limit myself every day!LOL...or you can imagine what happens! 

-Jarom brought Holiday "Crackers" back with him from his Mission to Wales...so we popped them open, they are like a glorified party popper, you need two people to open the, and inside you find a riddle, and a joke, and a toy...there were some with kid toys, and others with practical goodies like I got a key chain tape measure! Amy got a compass, others got a cork screw, a pen, I don't know just funny random stuff...=FUN

-Got to see Aaron and his new girlfriend Paige, who we all love!

-Went bowling...Dad is possibly the most comical person I have ever seen bowl! :) 

-Hmmm...I can't think of anything else noteworthy...I'll include a few pics...I'll TRY to cut down on the pics! :)

So I am still in Oregon and the Holidays are over, and life just keeps on going. Every day I wake up too late despite going to bed at a more than reasonable time, I take a shower, look fro something to eat and figure out what I wanna do for the day. It usually includes some amount of eating, homework (BLAH), scrapbooking, and quilting. Oh, and a random show or movie, or Oprah :) 

Sorry, these are in no particular order :)

Joh called while we were just starting our Nativity play, that's why I look like such an Angel! LOL

I don't know if you can tell but I had a lot of fun decorating the table SUPER fancy for Christmas Eve, we all felt like we needed to dress up for it! 

New years Eve, our special corwns were in our crackers! FUN! Thanks Jarom!

I know..."Special" right?