Christmas in Review Part 1

The Christmas celebrations began for us a few weeks before the actual Christmas Day. The Hall's had a Christmas party and we all had a good time being together. I love when I get to see my family because we all don't get together too often. The party began with a wonderful meal of pizza. We ate and talked amoung ourselves. You have to catch each other up on the happenings in everyone's lives, ya know.

Rachel created beautiful nativity that th grandchildren recreated. Each grandchild took part in the nativity, although we had two (and our only two) shepards run away. We didn't have any one to be the wiseman, so my older brother had to step in. Nontheless, it was wonderful and reminded us of what the Christmas holiday is truely about.

We also had a talent show. Mom told every family to prepare a talent to share. Each family had little children show off their cute dancing, gymnastic, piano playing, and singing talents. Jason and I....well....we had to come up with something of our own, which was less cute to watch. We sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Thankfully, the other joined in to help us.We opened presents from each other. Thanks Jenn and Brandon for the movie and treats. Perfect! Watching the children open their presents was so fun. Each got so excited about what they recieved from Grandma Cille and Grandpa. After we ate ice cream and enjoyed each others company. It was a great way to start off the holiday season.

We're ready....

...For ChRisTmaS!

From the Pollard house to your's, Merry Christmas!

babies

My sister and her husband recently adopted a beautiful baby girl. Jason and I went down to visit a few weekends ago and to meet our newest neice, and she is an absolute doll. We are so excited for Jenn and Brandon and we feel so bless to have this gorgeous girl in our family.


As a side note, we too have a baby. No we are not pregnant, but we have the next best thing. A new car. After driving every availible car in Cache Valley and Box Elder county, we finally purchased a Pontiac Grand Prix. Shortly after we purchase the vehicle, Jason was gushing over the wonderful features of the car during a drive in the automobile. He told me that this car was "our baby." Interesting choice of words, I thought. However, there is some truth in this statement. First, Jason LOVES this car and I do too (but I don't express my love for the automobile like Jason does on a regular basis). Second, we probably paid as much as it would have cost to have an actual child. So, yes. This is our baby.
Picture cortesy of Google.

no bueno

This is how we feel about car shopping. Not fun at all. Period.

the happenings

It has been quite an eventful few days here at the Pollards. The first few days in October always are. Why? Well, it is usually conference weekend and my birthday. However, this year we had a few more events to squeeze in.

*Jason and I sold the Buick. It was a good car while it lasted, but we are happy to have sold the car. It was quite a blessing. Now, we are juggling one car and using the bike (...again). So far all has worked out well.
*I got my hair highlighted. I have never colored my hair before, so this was a big thing. Jessica did a wonderful job and I must say I feel like a new woman with blond/carmel highlights. Jason also got his hair cut and is looking fabulous.

*We went out to eat at the Coppermill after the Priesthood Session. It was a delicious meal.

* Conference was wonderful, as always. Jason and I are not able to watch conference on our television because we don't have any cable set up. So, we resort to watching the prophet on the internet. I must say, it's not very comfortable to crowd around the computer screen. Maybe one day we will be able to comfortably watch conference on our TV from the soft couch. We watched the final session of conference on Sunday at the Hall residence. However, Jason and I seemed to watch the cute neices and nephews more than the speakers (we'll have to just read those talks).

*Mom made a birthday dinner for me while we were out with the family, even though my real birthday really wasn't until Tuesday. It was a good thing we did some celebrating on the weekend because I got sick on Monday afternoon. Sleeping on the bathroom floor really isn't what I have in mind for a happy birthday. I woke up on my birthday still feeling a little sick, so I stayed in bed for most of the morning. By afternoon I was feeling great. I don't know what sickness I caught but it was horrible. Jason made me a delicious dinner and stayed up late with me decorating for fall with my new birthday gifts. That was my birthday in a nutshell. What a way to spend the first few days in October. Even though I was sick for some of it, it was great and I'm sure I'll look forward to this time next year.

P.S. Did you know that I think this guy is the best?! He cracks me up all the time and is way too good to me. I am oh-so lucky. I sure love him. Just so you know....

This is picture is just him being silly one night. What a funny guy. I'm sure Jason will LOVE that I shared this photo with everyone.

birthday boy

We celebrated this boy's 23rd birthday all weekend long. It really was quite the celebration. However, I did not take as many pictures as I should have of the weekend. Shame on me!

We traveled to Burley for the occasion and for a nice visit. Jason thoroughly enjoyed his birthday in his homeland of Burley with the family. For the birthday celebration we went out to eat with some of the family, played lots of games, and laughed with our family. Jason and I attended a Burley High football game solely to watch the cheeleaders on Friday night (in my totally unbiased opinion, Jason's sister is the best one on the squad). We also hung out with some crazy hyper girls-Jayme and Shanyi-later that night. Jason got to play with his dad's power tools and visited his Grandpa. On your birthday, what more could you ask for?! We really did have a wonderful weekend celebrating Jason's birthday. Geez! He should have birthdays more often!

a happy day

It really doesn't seem that long ago that Jason and I were married. I still even consider us "newlyweds," but today we celebrated our one year anniversary. It has been a wonderful first year and I am looking forward to the many more years to come with Jason.

just so ya know

I am making Blurb book of our blog for the first year of our marriage. Basically, it will be a book of our entire blog for us to keep. It will essentially be the journal of the Pollards. I plan to make one each year. However, there are a few thing that I would like to include. For your own reading pleasure, they are listed below.

1 - Jason has taken a liking to Mozart. He listens to Mozart on the computer and then stand like a conductor and leads his imaginary orchestra. Jason says it stimulates the mind. I'm afraid that this is what we will be listening to constantly when school resumes next week.

2 - Sadly, our camera died this week. (Hence, there are no pictures to accompany this post) What a sad day at the Pollard household. It has been a bit difficult for me, because I L-O-V-E-D my camera. Now we are relying on our phones to document our lives.

3 - We love corn. Period. We are now enjoying the produce from the garden, and corn is our favorite. Sometimes (more often than not), we have a few cobs of corn for dinner. Nothing else. Just corn drenched in butter. It is scrumptious!

4 - Jason and I are now avid coupon shoppers. Going to the grocery store is very exciting now days. We clip tons of coupons and prepare a grocery list a few days in advance. Oh the anticipation of grocery shopping! I know that it sound rediculous, but we have a fun time finding good deals. Our goal is to be able to go to the grocery store, pay a few dollars, and leave with lots of merchandise. If you have any tips, let us know!

5 - Because we have been using coupons, we now buy things in bulk when they are on sale. (This past week, I bought enough cereal to last us until the end of the year. Yikes!) The down side is that we are running out of room to put everything, but it is a good thing I've got Jason. He rearranges and reorganizes to get everything in our apartment.

6 - The Cache Valley weather is finally cooling off at night. We are now able to sleep unstairs in our own bed! NOTHING is better than your own bed. We are SO grateful for the pleasant weather that now allows us to sleep in our bed and not on the floor downstairs.

7 - I am now sporting a pedometer for a wellness program at work. To help me ensure that I get my 10,000 steps in each day, Jason has also been wearing pedometer. Moral support, you know. It is now turning into quite the competition to see who can walk the most each day. I have consecutively lost each day. So, for the record, if you see us walking around in circles, know that we are just trying to get our steps in for the day.

Wow. What a life!

a trip with the girls

Have you ever heard the phrase,"Shop until you drop"? Well I really didn't understand that phrase until I went with the Pollard girls to Salt Lake. These girls travel to Salt Lake every year around August to shop, shop, shop. This has become quite the tradition. This trip was my first full experience with the Girls' Trip.

We literally got to the Gateway when stores were just starting to open and shop until they closed. I have never been on such an intense shopping trip before, but we had such a good time getting shopping for our cloths for the next year.


(This is only picture I got of us in a store. We were just so busy shopping to pose for a picture!)

We ate lots of yummy food too! THe resturants were awesome. On a side note, all of us loved the desserts at Applebees and the chocolates at the Gateway. I think the only problem was that I ate too much , so I'll start my exercising tomorrow....maybe.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was riding in the car with everyone. We all sang along to songs from Colbie Caillat, Glee, and Sugarland. I wasn't really on tune, but everyone else was.

This picture shows how crowded the car ride home was. It was amazing that we were even able to get every purchase in the car with us. We had bags everywhere --under the seat, in our laps, stacked all around our seats, and everywhere in between. We were all set with another year's worth of clothing.

That was one crazy adventure. We laughed at silly things, sang loud to Colbie Callet, Glee, and Sugarland songs, and just enjoyed being together. We had such a good time. Thanks to the Pollard gals! I am already looking forward to next year.

P.S. Jason feels a bit left out of this post. So, while I was away vacationing, Jason was slaving away at work. However, on Friday he went up to Burley to spend some quality time with his dad. Jason was talking about his trip all week. They built him a really cool hat rack, that is painted black and green (Boston Celtic green--mind you) and now hangs in our office. Jason always enjoys being with his dad. Thanks for entertaining him, Michael.

Jason and I each went on vacation, and now we are home and back to the same routine. But is was sure nice to have little break from every day life.

first annual A J Hall family reunion

On Saturday, the Hall family celebrated their first annual family reunion. When I was little, I always thought family reunions were for families with "older children," but I guess that's us now. It really was fun to be with everyone.

Mom got everyone matching shirts (a Vinylizeit creation) that had my dad's baby picture on the front. He LOVES his baby picture. It's kind of a big deal. Everyone surprised Dad by wearing his famous baby picture across their chests.

Jason and I enjoyed playing games, eating yummy food, hanging out in the hammock, and wading in the stream with the family. I miss seeing all of our cute neices and nephews together. They are too fun!

All twelve of them together. Isn't it great?

We sure enjoyed getting together with everyone and we are looking forward to reunion next year!

up-to-date

Yes. I know. I have been a bit neglectful of this blog. For you own reading pleasure (and my own documenting purposes), I have a few things to catch up on. Here we go.

1. Fireworks - Jason's family sells fireworks over the forth of July. It is lots of hard work, and the whole family helps out. This year, Jason spent a week in Burley selling the huge fireworks -the ones that are illegal in Utah. On the weekends, I went up to Idaho to help with the selling (even though I didn't know what I was doing most of the time) and Jason and I had a good time. Here are a few pictures documenting the happenings of the week. I must say, I am very VERY happy to have Jason home. It was a rough week without him.

2. Weather - So it's hot. We have no air conditioning. Let's just say that it is a bit unpleasant. We try to go for drives in the evening because at least our cars have air conditioning. Jason and I are now sleeping downstairs on our floor because it is mildly cooler. And I never thought I would say it, but I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

3. The Garden - We are finally enjoying the produce of our garden! I am thoroughly enjoying our lettus (which might come as a surprise to many). Yesterday, Jason and I picked some zucchini and beans. We will be eating those today. Yum!

4. Camping -Jason and I have been wanting to go camping for a while now. This past weekend, we finally got around to pitching a tent. We invited our neices and nephews to go up to High Creek and sleep over. My family ended up coming to have a cookout with us that night. We spent the evening walking all along the creek, attempting to fish in the water, telling stories, and just having a good time. We didn't get to bed until late into the night, but we hope that everyone had a good time. We sure did.

That's all.

it must be true love....

... if this cute guy lure me away from Lewiston on the Fourth of July. I sure have missed him this week. I must say. I am looking forward spending the fourth with him, even if it is away from all the celebrations in Lewiston.
(This picture is for Jason to show everyone that we truely are devoted Celtic fans.)

Happy Fourth of July!

my bargin shopper

So Jason is a bargin shopper. If there is a good deal, Jason will buy it, even if we don't need it. Recently, we are have taken up the hobby of going to yard sales and browsing over the items. Well, on Saturday Jason found some yard sales to go check out and I tagged along. We really had no intentions of buying anything, but then we made our last stop. I knew that when Jason saw that grill, there was no way to talk him out of it. Although they were asking a whopping $50 for this new grill, Jason knew that he, of all people, could talk them down. After a while of bartering the owner did back down. While this was all happening, I was far away looking at purses. I'm not one to barter. Well, on that sunny day, Jason proudly left the yard sale with a new grill and a full propane tank for a mere $30. What a guy. We had steak that night for dinner. And we just might be eating out on the grill every night this summer.

On a side note, we went to the SummerFest in Logan too. We listened to some delightful salsa music and watched all of the crazy people of Logan dance to it. This was only my second time to the SummerFest, and I must say, it was quite enjoyable.

the tale of two trips

The past two weekends we have traveled up to Burley. The first was to simply visit. All of Jason's siblings were there and it was nice to see them all again. We enjoyed playing games with each other and eating goodies. I saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers while we were there, aand Jason quickly found other things to occupy himself while I watch the movie with the girls. I must say that it was a delightful show. Jason and I might have to purchase that classic.

Later, Jason and Michael made a delicious steak dinner for every one. Yum! They are both excellent cooks. Although, Jason learned everything he knows from his dad (at least that's what I was told my Michael). I am just so happy that I married a cook. It has worked out well for both of us.

Because we did not make it up to Burley over Memorial Day, we went out to visit family graves in the Burley Cemetary. This picture is of Grandma Morley's grave. It was a nice visit.
While we were up there, we decided it would be a great idea to get Jason's canoe. However, we had a slight problem once we saw the canoe. It was 16 feet long. That's just a bit bigger than the truck we brought up to haul it back in. After multiple attempts to load the canoe into the back of the truck, we decided that it probably would not be too smart to drive down the freeway with this green thing hanging almost 7 feet out of the truck. Although it broke Jason's heart, we left the canoe there. Maybe one day we will get it down to our house.
One our second visit up to Burley, we went to strictly work. The Pollard family has some big plans for their yard this year, so we tried to get a head start on things. We were much too busy for pictures (and I was not too keen on taking pictures of my sweaty self), but I enjoyed working with Jason on the yard. Jason was up at 6:00 a.m. because he wasn't about to waste time. It was a very productive weekend, and there is still more to be done.

memorial day

On Memorial Day, Jason and I decided that we have had enough of the cold weather, so we protested. We went swimming, because, dang it, it is supposed to be summer. Now, Bear Lake really is not the place to actually swim, because the water is fridged all year round. Nonetheless, we set out to have a nice summer Memorial Day.The drive there took a bit longer than intended, but it was beautiful when we got there. Once I got out of the car and dipped my toe in the water, I quickly decided that I would not be swimming that day and Jason agreed. That water was cold! There was no way that we would be able to submerse our whole bodies in that lake. I waded out in the water up to my knees, but that was about all the swimming I did.

So, Jason and I sat on the beach and ate a very delicious ham and cheese sandwich. After a grand total of about of about 20 minutes, we had eaten our sandwiches. We looked at each other and wondered what in the world to do now. Luckily, we had a frisby in the car, and we played on the beach for a bit longer, before deciding to drive home. It was a very long drive, and a short stay, but it was a wonderful day to spend our Memorial Day. Hopefully next time we wonder over to Bear Lake, we actually swim.

an update

There have been a lot of things going on lately! Due to my lack of creativity today, I just compiled a simple list of what has been going on in our lives.

* I have started my first and last summer semester at Utah State University. It's been quite a challenge to focus on school work during these summer months.

* Jason had his first experience with ice skating this past weekend. I was really surprised to learn that he had never been on ice skates before. And, let me tell you, it was quite funny to watch. We went for a little birthday celebration for my neice. The children around us had walkers on the ice to help them balance, and I almost wondered if Jason needed one as well! He was clinging to the side wall. When he was brave enough to step two inches away from the wall, he wobbled and flung his arms wildly to balance himself. However, by the end of the night, he was doing very well. What a champ!

The two beginners :)

* We got our hair cut on Saturday. Jason was much happier with this cut than my sorry attempt, and, I must say, he looks very handsome. I got bangs. The last time I had bangs, my mother lovely back combed them into a beautiful floral arrangement on my forehead, so I was bit nervous for them. To my relief, they turned out great, except I just can't do them myself. I just need a beautician to do my hair every day!

* Tonight we ate our first corn on the cob of the season. This is one my favorite parts of summer. I love the way the corn tastes with butter dripping off the cob. There is nothing better than sweet corn stuck in and all around your teeth. It was absolutely scrumptious! I can't wait to eat the corn out of the garden, because it seems to always be so much better!
And that's it. That the life of these newlyweds.

our vacation

This weekend Jason and I took a little time for ourselves. We took short vacation. We took Friday off work and thoroughly enjoyed it. Jason's Dad, who had traveled down from Burley, met up with us and Jason's sisters, Jessica and Jenna, to eat lunch (Thanks, Michael). We visited and had a wonderful time being together.

After our delicious meal, we traveled down to the Salt Lake valley for a wedding for my cousin. We made quite a weekend out of it. I was able to visit my siblings, which is very rare. We don't get TOGETHER too often (I hadn't see my sister, Stephanie, since Christmas!). It was so nice to visit and be with them for a short time.

Jenn and Brandon let us stay at their house (Thank You) and we had so much fun. We went out to eat, hung out, and shopped around town. Jason was introduced to IKEA for the first time. It was quite a thrilling experience. We absolutely LOVED everything we saw. Originally, we went there for Jenn for find a new desk for their beautiful new loft. In the end, we left with a new bookcase for our home. I'm sure that if we had a money tree in our backyard, we would have come home with much more. We are already excited for a return trip to IKEA.

My cousin, Ben, was married on Friday. The wedding itself was quite short. The whole ceremony lasted about 10 minutes. We enjoyed a nice meal following the wedding. I got a little carried away with taking pictures of my super cute neices and nephew. However, Lizzie did not want anything to do with my picture taking. Maybe next time.

It was a fun weekend to be with family. We look forward to seeing them all again.