Christmas with the Jones'/Burton's

This past Friday night {December 16} we did the annual gift exchange and gingerbread house making at the Jones' house. We started out with dinner - really yummy Teriyaki meatballs over rice with a macaroni salad I brought and a green salad Cassie brought. Then we started making the nativity scene gingerbread houses. My mom & Suzanne make them every year and have since I can remember, but this year I got to make one too! We make a gingerbread stable out of homemade gingerbread {Suzanne does that} and then make the nativity scene out of white chocolate in a mold in the freezer {mom does that!}!

Cassie & I starting to work on Gingerbread houses 

I was really nervous haha

She was in charge of carving out the nativity chocolate people.  

The uncarved chocolate pieces

I started feeling more confident as we went along...  

Until my roof came off!! 

Suzanne's gorgeous gingerbread stable

Suzanne's finished stable!

Gorgeous mom working on her icing

A window I added to my stable 

Blake & Brynne got all creative with theirs... 

Focusing!! 

Making it together!  

The Wise stable! 

My finished stable! It survived the car ride home :) 

Once we were all done with the gingerbread houses, we started to open presents! We always go youngest to oldest! 

Genevieve opening her new cute pink & green outfit

Otto opening his present with Tyson's help

Lightning McQueen!

Asher opening his gift 

Angry Birds! 

He was really excited! 

Mary's Tangled Rapunzel Barbie  

Josh modeling his Bingo set

Annie opening her friendship bracelet kit

Tyson's iTunes gift card

Popper's pillow pet - Fargarrawr

Jeannene's pillow pet

They were screaming haha

Kaitlyn opening her crackle nail polish

Brynne got a gorgeous picture of Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Brianna's long sleeve shirt & earrings she got - she was shaking {having a seizure} from excitement

Randy opening Lion King on Blu Ray - he was super excited too {by now we were all crying from laughter}

The tile I made for Cassie

Max's stocking of toys from the Burton's 

Cassie made me not 1 but 2 wreaths and got me a GORGEOUS wreath stand to put them on

And decorative silk flowers!

Blake got Kit Kats!

The magnets Blake got that Brynne is modeling

And a puzzle of Times Square!

Jake got Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Blu Ray

Eric got Inception & A Team

Suzanne got 2 LDS fiction mystery books - Trespass & something else and the Glad Tidings CD with David Archuleta and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Mom's pillow pet - we all sang Rise & Shout after she opened it, complete with clapping

Paul's shirt he got  

Rick got Captain America

 It was so fun to see everyone and I love the gifts that Jake, Max & I got! And I love our nativity scene! Yay for Christmas! Only 7 more days until Christmas!

Christmas at Work

This past week Jake & I have had the chance to go to both of our company work parties. There have been a lot of statistics this year saying that not many companies are hosting Christmas parties and we got to go to not 1 but 2! But you know, 79% of statistics are made up ....

Last Friday {December 9th} was the US Synthetic Christmas party.

Jake's work Christmas party was really fun. They had it this year at the McKay Events Center {??} at UVU. We sat with Jake's "crew" - Micah & his wife, Ryan Dumas, Mike & his wife & Kathy and her husband. They always have very fancy food that a local culinary school caters - for like 1600 people! Ok maybe that many didn't show up, but they have 800 employees and the spouses were invited too! It was a lot of people regardless. The food wasn't too bad, but we ended up stopping at Beto's on the way home to get some burritos haha. They also had entertainment - a singer who used a recording thing at his feet so that he was a 1 man band {it was really cool!!} and a comedian/performer from Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. I don't remember either of their names. The comedian asked if there was a juggler in the crowd and Eric Burtom, Cassie's husband, went up and performed on stage! And the best part of the whole night was that I won the center piece!!!

Centerpiece won in 2011

I have won the centerpiece every year so far!! Here are all the other centerpieces I have won on our ledge:

Reindeer was 2010, red tree was 2008, and the glass jar with silver bells was 2009

Then on Wednesday {December 14} we got to go to the Bank of American Fork Pleasant Grove branch Christmas Party! 

Our party was at Brick Oven in Provo. 

So delicious - oh my gosh I hope we go there again! Jake got the leaning tower pizza and I got the chicken al forno pasta bowl - OH DIE AND GO TO HEAVEN! SO gosh dang delicious!! We were in a banquet room so we didn't have other people around us. Jake & I sat at a table with Kathie & her husband John & Michele and her husband Scott. We had a really good time and then we played the white elephant game, but with nice presents haha. We brought a grilling cookbook that Spencer Nelson {Tessa's husband} ended up with, and the movie "Walk the Line" about Johnny Cash that Ashli Davis ended up with. Jake got some SUPER cute headbands that Lori {Creig Rowley's wife} made and I already wore one of them! 

I got Sweet Pea lotion from Bath & Body Works. It was a really fun night, and we got some really fun presents too! 

We are both really grateful to have jobs in this economy, let alone jobs that we like, let alone jobs that are so awesome and fun to work at and that pay so well! US Synthetic & the Bank of American Fork are two of the best companies around if you ask me!! 

A Beary Christmas

I love my job at the Bank of American Fork (specifically the PG branch) for many reasons. The prominent one right now is how involved they are with contributing to the community. Each year we collect teddy bears at all through our "Project Teddy Bear".

All of the branches collect these bears and in the middle of December, they are given to children who need some hope and someone to snuggle on. Some of these kids are taken from their parents due to neglect or violence - right at Christmas time. It just breaks my heart thinking there are kids who are with a stranger for Christmas and have no presents. The bank collects all these teddy bears and gives them to these kids! I was so impressed last year that the bank was doing such a wonderful thing for local families but didn't contribute any bears. I have felt really bad about that and so this year I contributed! My sisters Jeannene and Lauryl rounded up stuffed animals that need a good home and I picked them up Tuesday night - 25 bears!!! 25! I was so excited!

My backseat overflowing with teddy bears

On my way to work Wednesday I bought a few at Wal-Mart so that I was contributing too!

The 4 stuffed animals I bought to contribute

I hope to contribute even more bears next year! I love giving at Christmas time :)

My craft room

I haven't posted pictures of my craft room {the room above the garage} because it has been filled with Christmas presents and it was SO messy. I wrapped almost all the presents and then finally organized so now I can post pictures!!

Before - standing at the top of the stairs looking right

Before - standing at the top of the stairs looking towards the window

Before - standing by the window looking towards the stairs

After - standing by the window looking towards the stairs

After - standing by the stairs looking towards the window

It looks so much better!!!!! Now I don't dread going up there!!

Ashley aka Dog Groomer

Max has been in serious need of a haircut for a few weeks and I just couldn't bring myself to schedule an appointment with his groomer yet.

Before his hair cut

We got his hair cut 3 months ago, so a cut lasts a while but it was $45! That's nearly $200 a year! This past summer, I got the bright idea to cut his hair myself with kitchen scissors. Needless to say, he looked like a blind person had cut his hair and he went to the groomer for an "emergency" cut. Yesterday, I convinced Jake to let me try again, this time with hair clippers, and it worked!! I used Jake's old clippers - the 1/2 inch on the body and 3/8 everywhere else.

Cutting his hair on the ironing board on the back porch - he was such a good dog!

Enjoying his treat afterwards - a huge femur from a pig

After!

There are a few spots I messed up but for the most part his haircut looks good! I am officially hired as Max's new groomer!