Final Move back to Rexburg

Very shortly after Christmas, Brandon, Giselle and I loaded up the car and made the trek back to Rexburg.  We didn't move back into the house unfortunately.   We moved into a small-ish 2 bedroom apartment somewhat on the outskirts of Rexburg.

We were grateful that we only had to drive 4 hours seeing that it was the end of December, and when we had left Pleasant Grove it was snowing.  The roads were fairly dry so we made pretty good time getting back to Rexburg.  Giselle slept for all but 20 minutes of the trip which was AWESOME.

We got checked into our apartment fairly quickly and then we began unloading the storage unit.

Did I mention that we also live on the 3rd floor?

Thankfully Brandon did most of the stair climbing with the help of some of our friends.  But for the most part, Brandon got the boxes, totes, and furniture into the apartment himself.  That's a manly man right there folks :)

While the apartment was getting filled with boxes and such, Giselle and I hung out and tried to empty as many boxes as we could.

Well, I emptied boxes, Giselle watched Rio and Tangled.  She kind of has a crush on Flynn Rider.

It was very cold in Rexburg and kind of cold in our apartment when we first moved in. So needless to say, Giselle loved being bundled up.

She was also a very good supervisor to Mommy and Daddy unpacking and figuring out where to put things.

We really pushed unpacking the house fast because Brandon started school a week after we moved in.  So I only had his 'undivided' help for a couple days.  He also was able to get hired on at another local Subway so that was a blessing.  Especially since we moved back to Rexburg unemployed.  Oh the joys of moving in the middle of winter.

Keeping it real- we STILL have some boxes that haven't been sorted and haven't been unpacked. Our apartment is far from being spotless.  And we've rearranged piles multiple times instead of just taking care of them.

Granted, when we DID unpack a majority of our things, we took a couple car loads to DI (for those of you unfamiliar with DI- it's very similar to Goodwill) and even ended up selling some of our furniture.

Why did you put things in storage that you ended up giving away/selling you ask?

Well when you have 4 days to pack and clean a 3 bedroom house with a newborn, you don't really stop to sort things.  You just throw it in a box or a tote and then put it in storage. Plus, when we did pack up the house, we thought we would keep it all.

Amazing how 4 months away from most of your belongings will change your mindset on what is most important to keep and what can be passed on.

All in all, we got settled in and have liked living in our little apartment thus far.  However, in keeping with our "tradition," we might be moving again shortly after Brandon graduates. Who knows? At least we have the experience of moving at the last minute with a child.

Christmas 2014

A couple days after Brandon got home, we started preparing for Christmas. And by preparing, I mean we were finishing up getting gifts together and prepping for the family Christmas Eve dinner.

One thing people don't know about me, is that I prefer to have a majority (if not all) my Christmas gifts figured out and DONE by Thanksgiving.  Not necessarily wrapped, but I do NOT like doing Christmas gifts at the last minute. That's a very good way to blow your budget.  Plus, I like to make most of my Christmas gifts-so family that's reading this blog, don't be surprised if yours are homemade :)

There have been a couple years where I've done store bought gifts and not a whole lot of homemade ones, but now that I'm done with school, I'm hoping to bring back homemade gifts in full swing.  Yes, I will have 2 kids whose schedules I will need to work around, but it's amazing what can get done when you put your mind to it :)

Anyway. The Christmas dinner.

The big Christmas tradition that my family and I had growing up was having a Scandinavian smorgasbord Christmas Eve. We would cook all kinds of foods and then invite a family or two to celebrate with us.  I don't remember one year where we didn't share this tradition with another family.  It was AWESOME.

So for this Christmas, we shared this tradition with my Mom's family.  This was the first Christmas in 32 years where they were all together. So it was a BIG deal and we were ALL excited.

Since Sabina was busy with culinary school, I spear headed the cooking and the planning.  I gave people assignments (who was to bring the cheeses, cold cuts, plates, cups, napkins, etc.) and then focused in on cooking the main dishes.  To stay real- Sabina and Brandon did help me with the cooking since Giselle needed attending to, but I 'ran' the kitchen.

Also in keeping it real- we cut the food WAY down from previous years due to higher food prices and budgets.  But we had our favorites and that's what matters :) For those of you who are wondering what our favorite/staple dishes are-here's a list:

-Swedish Meatballs

-Potato Sausage

-Pilsa

-Fruit Soup

-Mashed potatoes

-Cheese Tray: Provolone, Muenster, Cheddar, Gouda, Havarti, Colby Jack, and Edam

-Cold Cut Tray: Genoa Salami, Hard Salami, Ham, and Turkey

-Cracker Tray: whatever crackers we feel like that year and Hard Tack (if we can find it)

So here are a couple pictures of the table:

Left to right: Potato Sausage and Swedish Meatballs 

This is probably my favorite meal of the year. Don't get me wrong, Thanksgiving and Easter dinners are great too, but Christmas beats them all :)

Since it was Giselle's first Christmas AND a miniature family reunion, there were pictures taken:

Grammy and Giselle

Left to Right Back: Uncle Nathan, Papa Gerber, Nana Gerber 

Left to Right Front: Mom and Aunt Sarah

Four generation shot! :) 

So that was Christmas Eve. It was so great to be able to see my Aunt Sarah and her family after 4 years.  What was even more special was that they were able to meet Brandon AND Giselle for the first time! I had a hard time NOT smiling that day.

Christmas morning we all decided to sleep in.  And by sleeping in, I mean that Brandon and I woke up when Giselle decided to get up-which was NOT late enough.  Sabina woke up shortly after Brandon and I did and since there's the unspoken rule (well....unspoken now that us kids are older) that we don't get Mom up before 8 am Christmas morning, we all hung out in the room that Brandon, Giselle and I were staying in until that time.

It's amazing that no matter how old you get, your inner child is ALWAYS excited for Christmas.

The tree with the presents

Excited for gifts! 

She had to have a snack before opening gifts. 

Mmmmmm...candy canes. 

Playing with her monkey from Aunt Emma 

And that was our Christmas in Utah!

Reunited and Decorating

A couple weeks after Giselle and I returned from Hawaii, it was time to decorate for Christmas and get ready for Brandon to come home!

I had lots of fun decorating with some vases that Mom and I had got at DI.  Sometimes, the most beautiful decorations come from second hand stores and a creative touch :)

This is the masterpiece that I did to help bring the holiday spirit:

LED lights for the win! 

I LOVE decorating for the holidays- especially Christmas.  Mainly because you can do bright, bold colors, or you can go for the more subtle, soft colors.  OR you can mix the bold with the subtle and it looks awesome :)

Brandon got home from D.C. the week before Christmas.  This was the first family picture we took:

Well, ok....this was one of a BUNCH of pictures we took. But this one is one of my favorites.  Oh, and the NCIS hat? Yeah, Brandon got that for me back in D.C. It's pretty much my favorite show :)

I was really happy that Giselle warmed up to Brandon so well. The last time she had seen him was when she was barely 2 months old.  She was 5 1/2 months old when he came home.  She sure does love her Daddy :)

Needless to say, we were VERY happy to be reunited as a family. And we can now say that we can survive 4 months being apart if the need ever comes again.  We're hoping that in the future, we'll be able to stay together when opportunities like this come up, but ya never know what curve balls are coming your way.  All we can do is to enjoy the time we do have with one another and make the most of life :)

Hawaiian Adventures

The week before Halloween, Giselle and I took a trip to Hawaii. My sister had had a nasty spill, was in a wheelchair, and was pregnant with her 3rd child.  So I went down there to help her out with her two oldest, Lily and Nyneave, while Christopher (Savannah's husband) went to work.

However, while we were down there, Giselle and I did do some sightseeing when Christopher was home from work on the weekends.

We went to Pearl Harbor:

This is the U.S.S. Missouri 

The Dole Plantation:

Touring the gardens at the plantation

Dole Whip!! SO GOOD. 

Waiting for the Pineapple Express Train so we can go see the pineapple fields 

The Laie, Hawaii Temple

and of course- the beach. 

We also did things that I wasn't able to get pictures of like going to one of the biggest flea markets ever, going to the Ala Moana Mall (4 levels!), going to their ward Halloween party, and going to lunch on the pier with Savannah.

Oh, and let's not forget trick or treating with the cousins! Giselle was Cinderella.

Visiting Hawaii was fun, but I was really glad to get back to Utah.  Mainly for the cold weather.  When we left Utah the weather was still super sunny and in the mid 60's.  So basically, Giselle and I had summer from May-mid November.  I was SO ready for cold weather.  The 30-40 degree difference was a shock, especially for Giselle, but we were prepared.

So happy to be in cold weather! 

Time in Utah

So the end of the last post was a bit emotional. BUT I had a blast being Utah with my mom, being able to hang out with my sister, Sabina, and most of all-beginning my journey as a full time mom.

While Brandon was in D.C. I stayed pretty busy.  My mom and I took on reorganization projects, sewing projects, CANNING, and we had our relaxation days.  Granted, in trying to keep it real and not "Hollywood-izing" my life, there were also doctors appointments, visits to the ER for Giselle, traveling back to Rexburg for her well baby appointments, and sick days.

Oh, and my Great Aunt Sherrie graciously babysat Giselle while Sabina and I hit up a BYU football game. GO COUGS!

My main project while in Utah, was dehydrating garden produce.  I dehydrated peaches, pears, green bell peppers, zucchini, apples, and tomatoes. SO. MANY. TOMATOES.  

Y'all  are familiar with these right?

Yeah- I FILLED one of those with dehydrated tomatoes. YUM.

I also did some meat preservation. Smith's had some REALLY good sales on their pork loins around November and December. So Mom and I took advantage of that for our food storage.  We got 4 pork loins and I cut them into roasts and chops.

Where was Giselle during all of these projects you ask?

Let me tell you through pictures:

She was content swinging in her swing :)

Taking naps

Chowing down

Snuggling with Momma and watching NCIS

Tummy time!

Developing her palate with rice cereal (that didn't last long)

Oreos (still a favorite)

hanging out with Aunt Sabina

and Great Grandpa Gerber-affectionately known as Papa

and helping Mom keep track of the measuring tape during sewing projects.

Giselle and I also took a 3 week trip down to Hawaii around Halloween to help out my sister with her kids. More on that in a separate post :)