Loving the Holidays!

I love the October through December season because so many holidays are celebrated.
First we had Halloween...




Then there was Thanksgiving...


And now we get to celebrate Christmas!! A couple days ago we went to Sedona with Dustin and Mariel. We had lunch at the Enchantment Resort and enjoyed an afternoon in the beautiful red rock.

Last night was our family ugly sweater Christmas party and all sorts of fun was had. Everyone looked pretty dang good if you ask me.

(We opted for the cheesy pose)

(Nice smile D)

Looking forward to much more fun this season!

I can't sleep.

I can't sleep, so here is a little glimpse of my life lately...

Tony and I at Talavera during Restaurant Week. The. Best. Steak. I. Have. Ever. Eaten.

I got feathers in my hair. THREE of them. I think it's the most daring/edgy thing I've done besides escaping campus for lunch my junior year of high school. Did I mention I love them??

Because the weather has been so beautiful, we took a stroll along Tempe Town Lake. Lovely!

My mom and I picked out this Halloween fabric to make a sign. I told her I'd make it for her.
That was two years ago....

...I finished it yesterday.

Do birds have peripheral vision?

For some reason, we manage to kill/injure a lot of birds at my house, on accident I will assure you.
Time #1 - It's a normal thing around my house for dad to get out the BBgun in attempt to scare away the birds after he's planted the winter lawn. Well, according to him it was an accident, but he actually nailed a bird. The poor guy collapsed and never woke.
Time #2 - My dog ate a baby bird, practically swallowed him whole. We locked him outside. Needless to say he hasn't done it again.
As of late - The following picture describes what has been happening on almost a daily basis since we replaced our living room and dining room windows. Apparently they're just too clean for the birds to handle, and apparently they don't have peripheral vision to notice that on each side of the window is a fairly large house. Poor guys.

(It's hard to see, but notice the leftover feathers that stuck to the window)

A word of warning to all the birds out there...The windows have been cleaned and dad is about to plant a winter lawn.

P.C.

I realize I have yet to consistently update my blog, but it's always worth a try. So here I go, again.
Last weekend Tony and I went to Park City for the Fourth of July. We had a blast getting away from the heat and being with his family!

A few of my favorites from the weekend:
Hiking through the snow (yes, that is snow in the picture)
Going for walks
Eating, eating, and eating some more
Talking
Main Street
7-11 slurpees
Cornhole
Shopping
Hanging out
Fireworks (echoing through the mountains = lovely)

(our hiking destination - beautiful)

Thanks for a wonderful time. Can't wait to go again!

Dr. Skinner

While I was home over the break, I was lucky enough to get a root canal. Well actually, technically I had already gotten a root canal, but this time I was just getting the permanent crown.
Funny story. My brother Jeremy has been practicing out in Queen Creek for over a year now, but this was the first time I had gone to see him (not because of the lack of trust, but simply because I have been in Utah). So I sit down in the chair and after Jeremy had looked at all my xrays and given time for the Novocain to settle in, he started to drill in my molar. For some weird reason, I blame it on the Novocain, it felt like Jeremy was drilling in the wrong tooth. So me, being the paranoid patient and feeling rather comfortable because it was my brother sitting next to me, begin to embarrass myself and my doctor when I say...."Jeremy, are you sure your drilling the right tooth?" Wow, when I saw him kind of chuckle I realized how idiotic that was for me to say. First of all, he looked at all my xrays and knew exactly what tooth he was to be working on, and secondly, he's the doctor. Needless to say, I felt pretty dumb. Of course he was drilling the right tooth, geez Whitney.

So other than the fact that this guy doesn't think I trust him, it was great experiencing the work of Dr. Skinner. I highly recommend him, even if it does feel like he's drilling in the wrong tooth ;)

Christmas 2010

Excuse me for the lack of blogging lately, I really have been up to quite a lot. Unfortunately however, I just barely uploaded my pictures to the computer.

Well Christmas was divine this year. It was wonderful to be home with family and even more wonderful that I could actually enjoy every minute of it without the stress of school. Christmas Eve was hosted by Jeremy and Hannah while mom and dad's house was still under construction. They definitely know how to entertain :)

After eating a delicious Italian meal, we enjoyed a very quick nativity scene by the grandgirls :)

Following the grand production, the rest of us enjoyed a great white elephant gift exchange. Thanks to mom, we had a pretty intense pass around of an actual white elephant teapot that made the game rather exciting! Luckily no tears were shed.
Then we had our real gift exchange and enjoyed sitting and talking and anticipating the following morning.
Thanks to all for a very fun night!!

Well, the following morning was delightful. I sure do wish I had pictures of Christmas morning, but unfortunately I do not so you will have to use your imagination.

Our little Avery, who is pictured above, decided she was ready for Christmas before the rest of us. Mom and Dad were laying in their bed (I'm sure delaying as long as possible having to wake up, seeing as though they were up super late being Santa's helpers), Dustin and Mariel asleep in their room, me asleep in my room, Kristin and Mike asleep downstairs, while little Avery decided she'd meander upstairs. Unbeknown to the rest of us, Avery went upstairs, found her bright pink scooter Santa gift standing next to her stocking. I'm sure she was glowing from ear to ear, but because she was alone, none of us really will ever know. She moves her stocking and leans it against some other presents and then takes her scooter for a little spin around the living room floor. Obviously Avery hasn't learned quite yet that this was killing the secrecy and giving complete evidence of her sneaking to see her presents. Then Avery proceeds to go into Mom and Dad's room and tell them what was waiting for her in the other room (the scooter). Oh well, so much for the big surprise.
If only little Avery knew what smiles she put on our faces that morning. I love being around little kids on Christmas.
Thanks to all for a beautiful holiday and for the thoughtful gifts and words that were shared. I loved every minute of it.