Happy Birthday Ben

At the end of this week Ben will turn 26!! Can you believe how old we are getting....just kidding! This year will be different because we don't have family or friends to celebrate with. But we always end up having a good time with just us! There are so many things that I love about Ben. But here are the top 26 pictures and characteristics of my list!

1. Putting on a dance show when I least expect it....always including unique and funny moves
2. Holding hands while saying evening prayers
3. Always driving when we go somewhere
4. Having fun cooking dinner together
5. Waiting for me to catch up at the bottom of each hill while skiing
6. Always so excited to get the mail (even though its usually nothing fun like bills)
7. Ability to have EVERY kid love him and want to be his friend
8. Strong testimony of tithing
9. Drive to be constantly learning and educating himself
10. Love of the outdoors and letting me tag along
11. Respect and admiration of his mom and dad
12. More of a design eye than me
13. Love of dogs and animals
14. Always keeping our car well running
15. Thoughtfulness of me ALWAYS
16. Hard worker, and drive to provide for us
17. Love and respect of Grandparents
18. Teaching me how to be tech savy
19. Ability to kick my butt when riding bikes, but nice enough to wait for me
20. Thrifty and wise attitude when it comes to spending money
21. Right now I am watching him play a game on the Ipad and he is just giggling with joy!
22. Willingness to watch whatever I want on T.V.
23. Being funny and silly
24. Teaching me how to be a bargain shopper
25. Snuggles on the couch
26. My best friend

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!

Freezing Rain

Ben and I woke up this morning to freezing rain. This is something that we have never experienced before. Everything is covered in a sheet of ice. It's crazy! Due to the ice covered roads the city is closed down for the day.....YAY a day snuggled inside with my buddy!

Focaccia Bread

If you are looking for a easy, fool proof, yummy recipe for focaccia bread look no further! I have tried this recipe many times, and every time it turns out great! Check out my recipe HERE!

The Chest

Today the Christmas tree finally came down. Because of the move to Washington the tree was put up later in December, so we decided to enjoy it a little longer into January this year! After taking down all of the beautiful Christmas decorations I had an empty feeling and started to feel depressed. I looked around my plain living room and suddenly wanted to throw every decoration away and start new. This ungrateful feeling hit me like a load of bricks. And that is when I got emotional. Looking around at all of the things I do have my eyes landed on "the chest". This chest was brought across the ocean on a big ship with one of my ancestors....sorry mom that I didn't listen when you told me the history on it. If the chest could speak I am sure it would tell amazing stories of hardship, happiness, and a very interesting journey. I am so blessed, and  have so much to thank my heavenly father for. I am thankful for my ancestors and their willingness to come to the United States. I am thankful for a safe, clean, and warm place to live. I am thankful for a loving husband that treats me like a queen. Last but not least I am thankful to be in tune with the spirit, and listen when I need to be kicked in the butt and realize how blessed I am!

Calendar

I am ashamed to admit (even though most of you already know) that my life is run by "to do" list and a calendar. So I decided what better than a command center that has it all! I bought the frame from Michaels. The fabric came from a cute quilt store in Midway. I bought two sheets of metal and coated them with spray adhesive, then adhered the fabric to the metal. The cute buttons came from a antique store in Leavenworth (see post below about Leavenworth). And the calendar and week at a glance came from here. The cloth flower on the top was just a scrap piece of fabric I had from another project. I took the fabric and went to town with the hot glue gun. Simply scrunching fabric and holding in place with glue.

Leavenworth

Ben's parents came for a visit after Christmas. We went to Leavenworth WA! It was a fun little German town. We had a good time walking through the shops, and trying yummy food! 

Walla Walla Christmas

Frosted vinyard

Bush with frosted berries

Yay!! the Columbia River temple

Walk down main street Walla Walla on Christmas eve day

 On Christmas eve we were invited over to a ward member house for dinner and a nativity! The kids were adorable, and absolutely loved Ben (as most kids do!)

Mary 

WiseWOMAN

Wiseman

Ben the Donkey, complete with the hee haw!

Preston and Dorthea Fredrickson

Shepherd 

REAL reindeer we drove by on our Christmas day drive

Fields around Walla Walla

I had to laugh! We were all on computers and not talking....bad part about technology

Ben loves his dog Lexi