Merry Christmas!

Eric and I have been watching Christmas movies every night, and the basic theme has been that presents and material things aren't as important as giving love and spending time with family and friends. I agree, and I look forward to the next few days of family time.

The wisemen brought really amazing gifts to baby Jesus, so I think the gift giving tradition is still important. I discovered that I show love through giving gifts, so Christmas is an exciting time for me. Presents don't have to be expensive or fancy... they just have to come from the heart.

I blogged on my Flossy blog about showing thanks and appreciation for the gifts we're given. I haven't done the best job of that in the past, so I wrote the Flossy blog as a reminder for myself. I hope that we can all show each other how thankful we are, not only for presents, but also for the precious time that we spend together.

Eric and I, and Pudge and Ellie of course, wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. It's such a special time to remember the Birth of our Savior. He truly is the reason we celebrate.

Go Polar Bears!!!!

We have EXTREMELY exciting news. Eric coaches a 16 year-old travel hockey team and they had a big, important tournament in Las Vegas called the Silver Stick. They have regional Silver Stick tournaments all over and the winners of the region will meet in Canada for the national tournament. Eric's team came out on top of our region! It was soooo exciting, as the last two games went overtime. The Championship game was tied 1-1 after overtime, so they went to a shoot-out! It was crazy, but we came out on top. Our goalie did awesome under pressure! I felt very blessed to be able to be there to cheer them on. Canada here we come!!

The boys were champs off the ice as well. The team adopted a family for Christmas, so we went to Target to shop for them. I had a group of four of the players, and they cracked me up. We only had one threat to kick us out of the store, and the boys helped me by trying on women's shoes to see which ones looked nice. They each donated money for the gifts. They are a really fun group of young men.

Here is an article from the Arizona Hockey Union website. We now have a banner to hang at the rink and each of the boys received a pin and a medal. So cool. Eric received one too. There is a quote from Eric in the article below.

Midget U16AA '92sThe Arizona Hockey Union 92U16AA team captured the Silver Stick Western Regional championship in Las Vegas over the December 5th thru 7th weekend.

The team played three tough games in the round robin, finishing with two wins and one loss and earned a trip to the semifinals as the second seed in their bracket. On Sunday, they rose to play the California Heat and it came down to the wire, winning in over time 2-1. That wasn’t the biggest task of the day, as just five hours later they were to play in-state rival Phoenix Jr. Coyotes for the chance to move onto the Silver Stick finals in January. Trailing 1-0 with about 11 minutes remaining, they tied the score. It was to be a battle to the end as both teams were fighting for the go ahead goal. The game ended tied and made it through five minutes of over time still knotted at 1-1. Nine shooters later, the Union 92 team came out victorious in the shoot out and earned their chance to play in New Market, Ontario, Canada at the Silver Stick National Tournament.

Coach Eric said, “It was a tough weekend, but the boys battled and wanted to win this tournament. We came up short in one game on Friday where we fell apart as a team, but they learned from it and found a way to get it done today. They should be proud of what they’ve accomplished.”

It was a great weekend for the boys and Coach Eric (and parents too!). Everyone is very excited to be moving onto the finals in Canada over the January 16th thru 18th weekend.

Halloween 2008

This year, a few close friends (and a few of their dogs) came to our house on Halloween evening after celebrating other places. Kati helped me get ready, and I think everyone had a pretty good time. Joel (my sister's brother-in-law and one of Eric's best friends) brought a pinata. So fun. I created a one hit rule after Melissa smacked the poo out of it. She is a master at hitting pinantas. I think it was her bumblebee costume. I didn't even try. I was scared. We had a plethora of cute costumes... everything from bacon and eggs to the Geico Caveman!

See Melissa's skills...

Ellie and Melissa were both bumblebees.

Pudge's hot dog kept falling off. His diet must be working.

Mookie was a dinosaur and had Barney Rubble riding on his back.

We are dog sitting for my parents.

Buster, Joel's dog, was a pirate, but he let Pudge wear his hat, so I didn't get a photo.

Decor...

Eric and I were Fred and Wilma and Kati and Matt were Betty and Barney... thanks to Kati's mom for making the costumes.

Shannon and Adam... it's a teddy bear in there.

Joel as the Geico Caveman

Tom and Jen as the Doctor and Nurse.

Ben and Jen go together like Bacon and Eggs

Isaac the Bee Removal Man and Melissa the Bumblebee

It was really great to be able to see everyone!

The Biggest Loser

On the days that I don't want to drive to the gym... which is pretty much every day... I bought "The Biggest Loser Cardio Max" workout video. It's no Paula Abdul, "Get up and Dance" which is my favorite, but it's a good workout. My first crack at it was last week and, in the midst of the video, I'm thinking "This isn't too hard." The next two days however, my behind/legs/back hurt so badly I couldn't walk normally or sit comfortably. That was Level 1. Today, in about two minutes, I must attempt level two. I am blogging about this video for two reasons:

1. So that people hold me accountable of working out. It's about my health, my heart, my endorphins, my energy level, etc.

2. So that people know why I'm walking funny.

Pudge and Ellie do NOT like the workout video. They sit between me and the television, and sometimes they start licking my ankles and getting anxious. Hopefully this is just a phase until they realize that I'm not hurting myself intentionally.

Until next time....

Kelsey

You light up my life...

I've been searching for the perfect yellow bedding since we moved in last June. We had a seriously cute blue and brown comforter that was soothing and wonderful, but it was becoming dingy and dirty due to our perfectly cute puppies.

I found this amazing set on wrapables.com but didn't want to spend the money. However, after searching for a year, I bit the bullet and bought this beauty (like my alliteration?). Walking into our bedroom makes me feel instant happiness.

We completed the look with the wall squares from Uppercase Living. My Aunt Nancy is a distributor, so let me know if you want to see a catalog. They go PERFECTLY with the bedding and with the entire room. On the opposite wall, we hung beautiful art from Ikea. We also bought long, chocolate brown panels for both sides of the window. I love it! We just need lamps and we're set!

Dine to Donate

Come help Eric's hockey team raise money! They are having a Dine to Donate night at the 4609 E. Chandler Blvd. Applebee's on Wednesday, September 24th (Happy Birthday Summer!) from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. All you have to do is hand the above flyer to your waitress, and Applebee's will donate 10% of the bill to the team. Tell your friends and family!

San Francisco

Tess and Britt jumping in front of the houses from Full House... we decided the blue one was Kimmy Gibbler's house and the yellow was the Tanner residence.
Amber and I near the Golden Gate Bridge

In a cute neighborhood... the five of us (Me, Tessa, Emily, Brittany, Amber)

On the Pier

Hanging on the Trolley (Amber, me, Emily)

Britt on the trolley... so cute

Britt and I... apparently it was windy or something went terribly wrong with my hair

On the Golden Gate Bridge


Eric and I flew to San Jose for his hockey tournament, and I met my Point Loma girls in San Francisco for a fun-filled Labor Day weekend. Brittany and I took the "Baby Bullet" train from San Jose to San Fran and decided we should walk to the hotel. It was a LONG walk. And we were pulling suitcases. We stayed positive and were only slightly frazzled upon arrival.

It was so refreshing to be able to spend time with Brittany, Tessa, Emily, and Amber and to catch up on everything. Tessa is heading back to Paris, so it was kind of sad not knowing when I'd be able to see her again. She was my roomie at PLNU for the year-and-a-half that I spent there. Sometimes I get really sad that I didn't finish my college experience at Point Loma, but last weekend made me realize how blessed I was to have been there for even a short time. They are all hilarious, loving, generous, and one-of-a-kind girls.

San Francisco is awesome because it's such a great workout to walk around everywhere. My calves were sore! Time to get back to the gym! We took some fun pictures. I even enjoyed the cranky, hungry, need a shot of espresso, I can't believe how small the portion is for the price, annoyed with the music selection moments. It was my first time in San Fran, and I loved it. Enjoy!


I am going to post individual shots later. Tessa took some cool ones.