Happy Days

Well Christmas came and went, and it was wonderful! Hyrum had 3 whole days off of work and better yet, I had 4! We got to spend so much time together doing lots of fun stuff that we are usually too tired to do!








Christmas day was really special and Hyrum spoiled me rotten! One of my favorite presents was this food processor! I have a 2 cup, which is so small for so many things. But this bad boy is a 14 cup!





It has a motor like a lawn mower!


Us opening presents on Christmas morning





Spending time with the "babies"




Haha these photos make me laugh so hard!







We went out for a special Christmas dinner and it was fantastic!



( I had the hazelnut crusted halibut and it was so tasty. )

Yesterday Rueger's little brother Hemi, who happens to live across the street, came to visit. The two of them together are so funny! They don't look too much alike, but they definitely have the same green eyes!




He has a super sweet face!




Now back to reality, Hy had to head back to Eugene this morning, but should be back by Thursday night! Yay!



I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Christmas Festivals

Last weekend Hy and I were looking for a holiday pick me up, and so we headed to downtown Portland and went to the Christmas Festival. There were so many beautifully decorated trees, and since we have decided not have a tree this year *, we lived vicariously.

* Why are we not having a tree, when we usually have an 8 footer? Well because lots of exciting things are coming up and it is one less thing to worry about! More on that as things progress! But so far... it's a secret.



So back to the festivities.




It was held in the convention center, and it was decorated very prettily.



The main reason we went was to look at the gingerbead houses, one of which was from the Dessert Tray!







There were some truely gaudy trees








Now a tree entirely made out of pendants and baubles might seem gaudy to some, but I'm kind of in love.



Judge me if you wish.


NOw I am not entirely sure what this was all about, but it was there and it was sparkly



There were tons of different trees and if you are into that sort of thing then I suggest clicking each to get all of the details!














Now my favorite tree scene had these beautiful icicles that had an electronic dripping motion.






There was even an entire room with a manequin in a gown...








It was a really fun night and after the festival we went out to dinner in Portland, which was amazing. Either way, spending time with my amazing husband was the best part of my day.

Happy November... oh wait

It has been almost a month since I blogged. Seriously? Seriously?!

Okay so I have been a little bit busy. And by a little I mean a lot. Lots of work, and lots of puppy nuttiness has been going on.

Rueger has gained FOUR FIVE lbs in 2 weeks. That boy is growing like a weed. We are very proud. But there is a little bit of hope that for the next few weeks he will continue to look like this...






Portland has been decidedly cold! All of a sudden it has become freezing! Which means moronic drivers come out of hibernation but also...

...big warm fires in our fireplace!



Considering it rains all of the time, this was a little different!



Thanksgiving came and went, and at work there were some serious pie efforts going on. Hyrum and I celebrated Thanksgiving together, of course, and it was pretty mellow and fun!

We got out some of my grandmother's china



We only made a few of our favorite dishes, unlike last year when we had way too many leftovers.



I made these pies at work so that I didn't have to make any at home! (At that point I was all pied out!)



* Marion berry Rosewater
* Apple

Lily had a minor meltdown while she was getting used to the puppy and trashed the entire house. But since then they have been inseparable.



Lily doesn't love it so much when he wants to snuggle. She can usually stand it for about a minute and then has to move.

Ahh but what a beautiful minute...



If you are looking for a great location to spend Christmas, may I highly suggest Portland? It sure is beautiful this time of year, with lights up and down every street.

This is downtown Portland at Pioneer Square where they lit the giant Christmas tree, so pretty,



Hyrum put up some of the Christmas lights on Sunday while I made pumpkin rolls (his favorite). It was good fun!






23 days till Christmas = 21 Days until my 4 day Christmas vacation! I have a lot of shopping to do!

Mr. Johnson

Ladies and Gentlemen I have the great pleasure of introducing to you...


Mr. Rueger Johnson





He is our 6 1/2 week old half Pit Bull and half Boxer! We rescued him from crackheads in the Calama woods and not a minute too soon! He was covered with fleas and sores, and 3 short days later he is perfectly healthy!




He is perfect, and entirely beautiful with bright green eyes!

We aren't getting very much sleep (one tends to gloss over the not sleeping part), but it is totally worth it. He just melts me. Its kind of ridiculous.

Lily has been an entirely snotty girl, but when no one is looking...



...yeah she is kind of a softy. Don't tell anyone though.

Have a great week!

Crap shoots, diamonds, and cake.

Today is the 1st day of November, and it couldn't have come soon enough! For my family, October has been a

CRAP SHOOT.




Oh yes. You heard me right. The beginning of the month started with the loss of the littlest Dupass



and ended with the death of my 11 1/2 year old Boxer Annie.




That sucks.


Knowing that Annie is buried next to Titan makes me feel a little bit better though.



I have been taking a sort of sabbatical from most things besides Hyrum and work. Both have been extremely great healers.

* Hyrum is wonderful. He has always been wonderful. But this last month when I needed him the most, he has been everything I needed him to be. When he heard about Annie on Saturday night, he brought me home some flowers.

And they are lovely.





Anyway lets move on to what we have been up to lately.

Yesterday was Halloween. Which means lots of candy (and of course glow bracelets)




and even better... goodies (just a snippet of all the things we did at work!)







and I got to wear my Halloween T-shirt.





We got a few pumpkins, which in the next few days will turn into an endless supply of baked goods.




Speaking of pumpkin related baked goods,this is a cheesecake I did the other day. Its a pumpkin New Yorker. Drool.





Here are a few cakes I have done over the last little while...











And a fun package cake I did,





Here is a not so great picture of the 2 of us...





And finally... on October 13th, we celebrated getting engaged 4 years ago. And on the 14th we celebrated being married for 3.5 years. Hy spoiled me rotten with a new wedding ring set. It is so beautiful and I am very thankful for this guy.





Here is hoping that November isn't nearly as much of a crap shoot as October was.