Eddie Bauer Holiday Party 2009

Last night we attended our first Eddie Bauer Christmas Party. They had it at the Snoqualmie Ski Resort and it was a really fun night of adventures. There was tons of rain and then snow on the way up so Soren got to learn how to intall chains on our tires. He did great putting them on, but it took us about two hours to get there.

Once we got there we had a really nice time. It was beautiful with the giant Evergreen trees covered in snow. Soren snowboarded with his coworkers and did really well. He was worried about Seattle's snow quality since he has only ever skiied in Utah, but apparently it was great. Easton got to see and touch snow for the first time. He loved it and would have kept touching it for a lot longer than I let him. Once his hand turned red I decided it was time to go inside. He and I watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer with the little kids and watched them make gingerbread houses.

The dinner was yummy, but our favorite part was the hot chocolate bar. I can't believe I had never seen one before, but after you pick up your hot chocolate and whipped cream, you have a table full of toppings to decorate your hot chocolate with. The candy cane peices and M&M's were the best part. So good!

The most difficult part of the night was getting home. While trying unsuccessfully to get out of the parking lot, one of our chains broke. We had to have about 5 guys push us out and then drove pretty slowly down the canyon. It all ended well though and we made it home. (We also returned those chains!)

All in all a very fun night! The car ride up; Eason was a trooper.

Installing chains the first time.

More in the car shots.

Easton covered in snow after we played out in it.

We stayed inside and watched out the window. He was thrilled to just do that.

Dad and boy together.

Merry Christmas!

Entrepreneurship

I haven't posted in a while because.....I've been working on starting up my own business. Things have been very hectic around here, but I am thrilled to announce....

ONE little BELT

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ONElittleBELT

Soren and I have begun crafting and selling full-grain leather baby belts. No one else sells them and from what we have found, there is a huge need for them! We discovered that most baby pants come with belt loops, yet no one sells real belts to go in them! Upon dressing Easton as a newborn we realized that his onesie is always tucked into his pants, making an empty waistband very obvious. So to remedy that problem we made him a brown leather belt. We get soooo many comments on it. It really pulls together any outfit and stands out.

One other problem we have run into is that Easton is pretty thin for his height. He currently wears size 12 mo. jeans, but is only really 6 mo. size in the waist. His belt keeps his longer pants up by cinching up the extra waistband.

Easton has yet to begin crawling, but when he does we are sure to be glad for a belt. So many babies start crawling and lose half of their pants as they scoot around. What they really need is a belt that works!

So we are happy to announce that we are and will be selling infant, baby and toddler leather belts. They will be sized to fit anywhere from newborn to 2 years.

Please tell your friends and family. We are really excited to start this new adventure.

Until we get a website, check out our Etsy site and our facebook page.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ONElittleBELT

Christmas Cards!

I know Christmas isn't here yet, heck Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, but if you have walked through the mall recently you can see that everyone is secretly already thinking about it. So to play on that, I want to put a plug about Christmas cards.

Many of you know my Dad works for Hallmark as an artist. This year he has a LOT of awesome cards that come in boxed sets. Some of the cards in this collection sold so well in the past, that he gets the honor of his picture and bio on the back of them. (Hallmark rarely does that) I just wanted to share the images so you may recognize them as you shop for Christmas cards this year. They are really beautiful cards with fabulous messages. Feel free to pick up a box of Matt Kesler Christmas cards at any Hallmark store!

Halloween Part II

Halloween Part I

Funny Kid

Easton has discovered the joys of chewing on leather....he likes to eat his boot.
And plastic....

Dad encourages these kinds of toys.

We are encouraging him to try the Word of God early. Love this pic.

Updates

I haven't posted in a while, but it seems the longer I wait the less I feel like catching up. For some reason I always feel like I need to include pictures, but sometimes that is just too much work. So no pics today, just blurbs about recent life.

A few weeks ago Easton and I went home to Missouri to visit my family. We randomly found some great tickets and decided to make the trip home. It was great to see everyone and for them to see how big Easton is getting. My parents have been redecorating and painting the house, so Mom was happy to get us for a week and to take a break from all of the housework. My brothers were in school so Mom, Easton and I got to spend some much needed downtime. Mom was so great to take Easton every morning so I could sleep in for another 2 hours. While there Easton started eating rice cereal for the first time and he proved to be a natural eater. He loves it! Mom and I shopped and watched movies and really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks to Soren for giving us up for a week. (Of course he did go backpacking while we were gone so he wasn't too lonely!)

I also got to see my best friend from high school, Kim Russell, while we were there. She was randomly in town that weekend and it was really fun to meet up. We realized we hadn't seen eachother in almost 5 years! I got to see here wedding dress and meet her fiance, not to mention see her family too.

General Conference happened while we were there too. It is a weekend of broadcasted talks from our church leaders and prophet. We were able to watch it on TV and what an amazing conference it was. My testimony was really strengthened and I learned a lot. I'll probably be posting thoughts on those talks as I re-read them over the next few months.

So we got back Oct. 8th and its been busy ever since. I have been working and Soren went on a business trip. He got back yesterday from almost a week in Miami. He had an okay trip, but wished we were there. We did too! We were at home sick. Easton got the flu last week and so kindly gave it to his mother who stayed up all night taking care of him. We spent a week cooped up at home, but we are finally getting better.

So thats the news....I'll try to post some pictures and more fun things soon.

Easton's Photo Shoot

Pink

I heard this poem on NPR's 'The Writer's Almanac' the other day. I really enjoyed it and thought I would share.

Pink
by Luci Shaw

Not a color I've wanted to wear—too
innocently girlish, and I'm not innocent,
not a girl. But today the gnarled cherry trees
along Alabama Street are decked out
like bridesmaids—garlands in their hair,
nosegays in their hands—extravagant,

finally the big spring wedding to splurge,
and hang the cost. Each really wants to be
the bride so she can toss her bouquet until,
unaccustomed, the gutters choke
with pink confetti that flies up and whirls
in the wake of cars going west,

flirting shamelessly with teenage boys on
the crosswalks. The pale twisters,
the drifts of petals, call out to me, "Let go;
it's OK to be giddy, enchanted, flighty,
intoxicated with color. Drive straight
to the mall and buy yourself a pink Tee."

"Pink" by Luci Shaw from What the Light Was Like. © WordFarm, 2006.

My Husband Can Make Anything

Soren is really so handy. Together we crafted the perfect earring racks for me on Saturday. Last night we finished them and I arranged all of my earrings. I love them! I will admit I found the idea online, but we added our own twists to the project. I think the idea of turning jewelry into artwork is fantastic.
Here are the finished projects....