Super fun week!!

So I don't normally post specifically about what we did during the week, but the week of May 5th was a super fun, awesome week for us!  It seems like we did a whole lot more than we usually do in a week! (Sorry there aren't a whole lot of pictures...I didn't do very well at that this week.  I figure with me posting our wedding pictures lately though, you've probably had enough pictures for a bit!  Haha)

Sunday night we went to my grandparent's house because my cousin Stephanie was in town visiting.  We had a delicious dinner, and then roasted marshmallows and made smores!  It was super fun to see her and spend time with her.

On Monday night we had our friends from church come over for family night (we call it Family Home Evening, or FHE for short).  Our friends Kevin and Ashley with their son Ryder, and Mike and Bekah with their daughter Carmen all came over.  They each brought a yummy treat to share, and I made some things, so we ate and played "Pirate's Cove."  After they all went home, our friends Frank and Sarah came over (they couldn't come earlier because the sister missionaries were at their house) and we played "Apples to Apples" with them.  It was a really enjoyable evening, and great to get to know our new friends better!

Tuesday the sister missionaries came over to our house, and explained that their mission president has requested they teach members the missionary lessons so that we can each be better prepared to share the gospel with those around us.  We accepted their offer, and they taught us the first lesson about the Restoration.  It was so wonderful to have them in our home, and we really look forward to continuing to have them there!

Tuesday night I tried a new adventure with cooking.  I made The Pioneer Woman's homemade pizza dough and homemade cal-zones.  They turned out delicious!!  You can see the delightful meat and cheese mixture in the pictures here...

The problem was, I had to double the pizza dough recipe because I accidentally doubled the yeast (I used a full packet when you're only supposed to use half).  We ended up with about 12 cal-zones.  Too much for Neal and I to eat by ourselves!  We took a few of them and delivered them to the dispatch center I work for so my coworkers could enjoy the fabulous-ness (and because they made us feel guilty on Facebook when I posted the pictures!)  Then Neal and I went to TCBY on a date and had delicious frozen yogurt.

Wednesday before work, Neal and I went shooting with Bekah and Mike.  I got to shoot my gorgeous new pistol (a Springfield) and automatically fell in love!  Neal also became very happy that I chose this gun when he shot it, and loved it as well.

On Thursday Neal's parents took us to lunch at Olive Garden to celebrate our birthdays (which are two weeks apart).  We also celebrated the fact that Neal took his last two finals for the last two classes he needed for this Associate of Arts degree!  We knew he was going to do really well in his English class, but he was worried about his math final.  He discovered later that night that he did really well on his cumulative final, and would be able to graduate!  (He didn't walk because we were in Las Vegas when FRCC had their commencement ceremony...more on that next blog post!)

The rest of the week we spent working and getting ready for our anniversary/birthday trip to Las Vegas!

December

December was a busy, busy month for us.  I think I was home enough to cook dinner maybe seven times.

On the 12th I had the blessing of going with my cousin to her ultrasound.  It was SO wonderful to see that little girl (and she is definitely still a girl)!  We got to see the hair on her head, among a bunch of other things.  The coolest part was when we saw her face and she was sucking on the wall of the uterus!  We just sat there for a minute and watched her little tongue move.  Then we got to hear her heartbeat.  It makes me so happy just thinking about it!

On the 16th my mother-in-law invited my whole family over for a Christmas get-together.  Everyone brought yummy food, and we listened to stories and songs read and sang by our families.  I'm so grateful that Neal's family and my family get along.  I've heard horror stories about "the in-laws" and I'm so blessed because I don't have to worry about that!!  That night we also picked up our new little parakeet.  Her name is Miyah, and she is about six years old.  She is white and blue and black, and her and Sierra are VERY happy to have each other as new friends!

On the 17th we had Neal's previous boss/friend over for dinner with his new wife Shelley to celebrate their marriage!  We weren't able to make it to their wedding in the mountains because we hit traffic while we were on a super tight schedule.  We made our own chipotle-style burritos, and then looked at the beautiful pictures from their wedding, and from their honeymoon in Fiji.

On the 23rd, aka Christmas Adam (because Adam came before Eve...hahaha), we opened present and had Christmas dinner with Neal's family.  Neal gives me a hard time about this, but I am so excited because his parents gave us two big boxes of....drum roll please....FOOD STORAGE!  I don't know why, but I have been on this kick lately when it comes to our food storage, so I was super excited when we opened these presents.  We also got some awesome gift cards :)

Christmas is to be continued on another post :)