Christmas, Christmas Activities Etc.

So, since I'm super behind I am kind of combining several posts into one.  

Putting up the Christmas Tree

We lost one of the little prongs on our tree, so we had to jimmy-rig it to stand up.  

We lost one of the sticky-outy things (our tree only had 3).

We finally figured out the stand and Cameron started fluffing the branches.

Just sorting through the ornaments.

Our finished tree.  

Cameron and I were lucky enough to have two trees this year.  (Thanks to a clearance sale at Wal-Mart).

Cameron standing in front of our finished mini-tree.

The finished tree.

Cameron looks proud of his work.

 Decorating gingerbread houses at Heidi's house.

Cameron working very hard on his section of the house.  We watched the new Percy Jackson movie while decorating.  For some reason we thought that would be extra Christmass-y.  

 Christmas Day

We got to talk to Shane in Africa!  He had a bit of an accent, it was awesome!  

Everyone gathered around the laptop.

Later on, Jenni, Landon, Cameron and I played Just Dance.  

Landon chilling out after his turn.  

I felt like this Christmas season went way too fast, but it was still very nice.  I loved spending time with family and doing all of the Christmas activities.  I didn't take many pictures, but I also spent Christmas Eve over at Wendy's house.  It was a lot of fun.  I really need to try and take more pictures this next year.  Anyway, I hope that you had a great Christmas as well and that your new year has been amazing so far.  

Love,

Courtney

Lylah Time!

Just thought I would post some pictures of this adorable girl.

What is happening?

Aw.  That face :)

I'm a ladybug!

Pouty face.

Neck stretch!

Hi baby!  

Smiley girl.

Cute little rosy cheeks.  

RAWR!

Hi, I'm a cutie!

Lylah and Daddy

Warm and cozy.

This is a mischievous look

I love to smile!

Strong arms

So cute!

Also, I will be posting a thankful post at the end of November, so look forward to it!



Love you,



Courtney

Halloween Fun!

Happy fall everyone!  I have really been enjoying this harvest season.  There are so many beautiful sights to see and I love to crunch leaves under my feet.  A few days ago we went over to Wendy's house for dinner and games.  Here are some pictures:

We made some yummy Chex mix (with and without nuts).

Wendy instructing me on rolling the pumpkin roll.

Delicioso!

Seriously, these are so yummy!

We also played Beyond Balderdash, a classic Merrill favorite.  During this particular session, it became apparent that Dillon would be the leader in writing literary masterpieces.  One of the most hilarious was a movie category, in which he described a bored Dr.Frankenstein who started to grind up people in a "ginormous" blender.  This substance was then used as meat for a certain fast food company.  (Oh, the movie title was Mix a Person, by the way.)  I have to say, this story almost rivaled Jake's infamous Life is Cheap, but Toilet Paper is Expensive plot. 

A few days later we carved pumpkins!

All the "insides"

The hollowed out interior.

Cameron smoothing out the eye socket.

I seem to have an evil look in my eyes....

Spooky!

This was a very fun Halloween! Now to go and snap up all of the clearance items!

Love,

Courtney

Two Days With Wendy

I received a phone call from my aunt Wendy asking if I wouldn't mind helping to serve food at a football game.  We were lucky enough to be assigned concessions duty on the biggest football game of the year.  This game is the equivalent to Battle of the Bell in Spokane, Fight for the Fish in CdA and pretty much any sporting event that involves the school's biggest rival.  Needless to say, there were A LOT (no, seriously, a ton) of people there to support their favorite team.  We were a couple of busy beavers for the entire game.  I was in charge of hot dogs and hamburgers, while Wendy manned the hot chocolate machine.  Sadly, the machine broke halfway through the evening, denying all of the frozen spectators its warm goodness.  Fortunately, someone was able to fix it and it worked for a short while longer, until the hot chocolate powder was no more.

This is a picture that shows how crazy-busy it was for about two hours.  It was hectic, but at the end of the day, it was fun.  

The next day, we went to the Relief Society Broadcast together.  This is an annual tradition for us, and I enjoy it.  We had a delicious dinner beforehand and met some really nice ladies.  The broadcast was awesome, and inspiring.  I really loved the story that Sister Reeves told about the Provo Tabernacle:  

"Almost three years ago a devastating fire gutted the interior of the beloved, historic tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Its loss was deemed a great tragedy by both the community and Church members. Many wondered, “Why did the Lord let this happen? Surely He could have prevented the fire or stopped its destruction.”

Ten months later, during the October 2011 general conference, there was an audible gasp when President Thomas S. Monson announced that the nearly destroyed tabernacle was to become a holy temple—a house of the Lord! Suddenly we could see what the Lord had always known! He didn’t cause the fire, but He allowed the fire to strip away the interior. He saw the tabernacle as a magnificent temple—a permanent home for making sacred, eternal covenants.  My dear sisters, the Lord allows us to be tried and tested, sometimes to our maximum capacity. We have seen the lives of loved ones—and maybe our own—figuratively burned to the ground and have wondered why a loving and caring Heavenly Father would allow such things to happen. But He does not leave us in the ashes; He stands with open arms, eagerly inviting us to come to Him. He is building our lives into magnificent temples where His Spirit can dwell eternally."

I love that story!  It really made me think about the trials in my own life.  The Lord always has a plan, even when it doesn't match up with ours.  It can be very difficult to remember, but He is always available to help us.  

Love,

Courtney

Time Warp, Blast From The Past, Etc.

I had so much fun finding older pictures of Cameron that I decided to do a post dedicated to "old" pictures.  Yay!

This is a picture of Cameron, his sister Tawnee and their Aunt Barbara at their Grandmother's house.

This is a picture of Shane, Cameron, Heidi and Tawnee somewhere in Salt Lake.

This is a picture of me and my friends (Kayla, Jade and Kristen) going to Senior Ball.

This is my family outside of Wendy's backyard.  This picture was taken when Ben left for his mission.  I think...

This is a picture of Cameron at his mission farewell.  

This is a picture of an honor band concert.  We had to learn all of the pieces the same day as the concert.

 This is a picture of Mama Lisa and I before my Senior Ball.

This is a picture of a few of the Smith cousins and I at Russel's homecoming.

A picture from my Single's Ward days.  This was taken at Brentwood park.

This is from Western day during Spirit week in my Senior year.  

I don't know where they were moving to, but this is Cameron's dad, Shane, and Landon.

\

Random pointing...  Same people as the last picture. 

This is a picture of my seminary class senior year.

Junior ball pictures!  My group consisted of Jade and Kayla.  Janelle decided to sneak in this picture.

This picture is from a Whiting Family Reunion.  Kierstin, Ben and I were the best of friends.

This is my friend Rachel.  In this picture we are making gingerbread houses. It was so much fun!  

This is me as a baby with my Grandma Whiting.

Cameron as a leader on a wilderness trek in Kooskia, Idaho.

My family at a Whiting Family reunion at this really cool place that I can't remember the name of.  I'm not quite sure what look Jeremy is going for here...

Cameron's whole family at his farewell.

I'm pretty sure this was a reunion, but I can't remember.  Gross, Gerald.

A good portion of the Whiting Family at the reunion.

Ah, a fond trip down memory lane.  I have been trying to track down pictures of me as a kid for quite a while.  Cameron's are even harder to find after his house burned down.  I need to be more vigilant about taking pictures of our present.  But anyways...  I hope this post was as fun for you as it was for me.

Love,

Courtney

PS:  If you have any pictures of me or my family that are digitally available, would you let me know?