Christmas 2011

Christmas on the Coast with the whole family. This was a doozey... getting pictures was .....lets just say...WOW. This was the first experiance for the Standridge family to really be in gulfed in the Newell family. Though it had it challenges on my part it was so wonderful to be together...I really hope we get to do this again. I recommend this place to anyone. I loved it! The many group pictures.

Pictures.....if I get Christmas Cards out if not here you go!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was with family and friends. Of course, I didn't remember about pictures until everyone was about to leave but I got two...lucky at that. It was great. It was Mike's Brother Allen, his son Chris, Chris (son of Mike's boss), Mom Standridge, me and Mike.. sitting is Mike's Boss/Friend Pat and his wife Lynnete and Mike's son's girlfriend Veronica. Todd the dog.

Chris and Veronica & Todd did not come until later but it was good. We ate and played Ticket to Ride...there first time. It was wonderful.

Free trip to Eugene

Mike had to go to Eugene for work and so I went along....nothing better than a free trip home. Sad thing was, mom and dad were on there way to Phoenix so we got to see them for maybe 20min then they were on the road. We did get to see Ashlee, Jeff and the boys. It was a nice quick trip. On are way home we got to stop and see Tricia and Darren and the girls. In fact it was Taylor's 14th Birthday so we got to wish her a happy birthday and eat some cake. We stayed there and at mom and dads. It was so good to be home.

Birthday girl

Halloween at the Standridges

For FHE we went a week before Halloween to get pumpkins and wouldn't you know the patch was not open on Monday nights....so to the other patch (Walmart) for our pumpkins....not quite the same but we got some to carve that is what matters.
Checkout . We let the girls get 1 big one and 1 little one.



Time to carve...who is a HAM in this family?!
The mess afterwards....who got to clean that up....2 guesses!

A first for Michael...he had never carved a pumpkin...really. It was fun to hear him sound like a little kid. Carving my pumpkin after helping Zoe

Deep concentration by Amanda. Zoe said, "This is fun! I want to do it myself"...until she didn't like the inside cleaning.

Dinner Halloween NIGHT! It was a crazy day and so we got home late.....not much of a costume for me and Mike but we got the kids up and ready and dinner on the table. I have to say I stole the idea from my sister (IL) Beth..thanks Beth.

Drink was Spider venom.

Mike eating "Liver/guts"(pepperoni/cheese wrap)

The Mummy wraps (hot dog/dough)

Monster blood (Tomato soup)

All together. It was good.

After 5 years with these I finally have a yard to put them up in. Yah!
Our Front porch.

Jen dressed as a (what ever I could find quick)and Mike dressed as a Pumpkin techie.

Amanda dressed as a MIKUCHAN from Japanese Animee character.

Zoe as a Vampire Policewoman. Where do they get these ideas?

Ready and off they go..... Be back by 7:30.

There first round of Trick or Treating they only got about 10 -20 pieces together not very much. Then Amanda went with friends and I (jen) took Zoe to a different neighborhood. We did two blocks and she SCORED with candy. We now have all of there candy and the ones we bought to give out. We had maybe 10 trick o treaters. There were two great homes on the blocks Zoe and I went to . One scared the living daylights out of Zoe and she was worried the rest of the blocks. The second home won my Favorite decor and idea. When you got up to the home there was no door. They had rigged a Computer were the door should have been painted a wall (like at a castle)to it. They had rigged this computer to have a floating face and the people would talk and ask Zoe questions and she had to do a trick to get a treat. It was the best and then it had a little door that dropped out the candy if she did the tricks. It was SOOO COOL!IT WAS A GREAT HALLOWEEN.....HAPPY SPOKE DAY!

Single to motherhood/wife

Wow!....It has been a whirlwind and I can say...eye opening. I have been learning more about patience and chores then i ever thought possible. Example....I use to only do my wash every 2 weeks....yes I had enough clothes to do that, until I washed again. Coming into having to do wash every day (2 loads) so they have something to wear. Was difficult. (they don't have as many clothes as I, I'm lucky if they have a week..I will change that soon) Then making dinner, I thought I made dinner before but NO...I now know I just cooked when I wanted too. So many thanks to Ashlee's Recipes blog...it has saved me on many occasions. I realize I don't want to just make any food i want to make good food and I want to be like my mom or aunts. When you taste food your mouth is happy with the joy of the flavor. Mike just wants it hot....I don't think he has taste buds....he obviously has been in the military and scarfs his food down and is done.....doesn't work like that for me. Amanda wants to be like dad so she does the same. So it is me and little Zoe at the table finishing the meal. I can tell you I am not a GREAT cook because it has been hit and miss on my meals.
Last night I made Broccoli stir fry from a recipe off some blog and it was good and smelled good but BOY was it HOT!...Mikey LOVED it and the rest of us drank a gallon of apple juice to get it down. The night before was Pot Roast....yeah you think I wouldn't mess up on that. Well I found a recipe in a book and I was so excited to try it. I put 1 1/4 cups of apple cider vinegar in it...I thought that is a lot but I looked at it and that is what it said..(i thought)....it was so vinegary the potato's, carrots and onions and meat....I couldn't figure out what i did wrong.....the recipe called for 1 1/4 cups of Apple cider or apple cider juice....so much for my reading ability. Nothing like a good dose of vinegar in your system. I have a new appreciation for my mother in the early morning of making breakfast and lunch for us. I have found I like making enough food for leftover so I don't have to make sandwich's all the time.
Then the chores still working on that. Teaching them that I am not here to do everything. Helping them see that the garbage does need to be taken out or the dishes done not just by me. Or the sweeping of the floors and the bathroom toilet and sinks. JOB CHART TO COME! Really who likes doing those things. If I was home all the time I can understand but once I start working these things will not get done unless there is a job chart I am pretty sure of that.
Being married has been GREAT though and I do love it in many ways. I love were we live, I love our home, I like the location of the home (mostly). BUT I miss my Friends! I know new one will come but I will continue to look for a job and be the mother and wife I am meant to be.

more pictures

love this picture

Goofing off...he makes me laugh