Born a gamblin' man

Like father like son.

Christmas round one

For your viewing pleasure. And for the record there is simply nothing better than Christmas with Deacon.

Also I apologize, my voice is far more annoying than I imagined on film.

We have been sick

But we missed you. 

Girls night

Is good for my soul. 

Scenes from last night

I make dinner he does this. It is a nice arrangement we have going.

Bite me Edward......

No, bite me twilight. Worst movie this year, and I saw House Bunny.

Merry Christmas

AND A HAPPY YEAR END!

The Ronald Mcdonald House

BEFORE!!

AFTER!

I am full of warm fuzzy feelings today, how could I not be! We had so much fun redoing a room at the Ronald Mcdonald house. I can not say thankyou enough times to everyone who helped. We had a photographer, artist writer donut delivery girl, errand runner,furniture painter, expert wall fixture hanger. So many talented people! At the end of the day an old women who works at the house came to look at the room and she said "I have worked her for twenty years and I have never seen anything like this! It makes my heart swell!" We could not have had a better compliment. I wish I had a picture of all the girls who painted the night before so we could have a jump start on today! I can not wait to do this again next year! Find your own way to spread holiday cheer, it is well worth your time!

O Christmas tree!

Christmas is all around you. You know
I love Christmas I always will.

It is beginning to look A LOT like Christmas!

If you dont feel warm and cozy all over

yet then I do not know what is wrong with you!

This was a jerk of a Christmas tree, it fell, I cried we cut two feet

off. Looks pretty now.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

Now come over and bask in the Christmas overload.

I can not help it I was born this crazy. Merry Christmas!

Now show me your Decor! I am dying to see!

Thanksgiving!

We had such a fun Thanksgiving this year. We hosted it at our house and amazingly my stress levels were at an all time low. It was the Leasure family Thanksgiving this year and it was a blast. Some highlights were:

1.Delicious turkey, if you have never tried a turkey bag before, it was amazing, the meat was falling off the bone!
2. My turkeys made out of candy craft kicking Kris' christmas ornament crafts butt! (notice there are no pictures of said craft? hmmmm.)
3. Curt dressing up for the occasion (see pictures)
4. John the pie king Leasure in attendance (again see pictures)
5. Lots of flavors of bubbly going around. I think pear was the group fav. but personally I vote for peach.
6. Me winning Curtis in an intense round of catch phrase, something I am sure has never happened before and never will again.
7. Deacon being high on life with two older cousins to play with.
8. Paula why do I not have a picture of you?
9. Mark trying to shove candied yams down Maxs' throat.
10. Early moring footbal with friends (Curtis certainly NOT me, I am a lady.)

Fun Thanksgiving all around! Christmas tree antics still to come! Visit me tomorrow!

Last day to be grateful

I had a NOT great day today, tree fell over tears were shed. Let us move on, I am still grateful....for:

1. The fact that Deacon loves nursery and jumps right in.
2. That Deacon was extra snuggly today.
3. I wore a new dress to church, always fun.
4. That even though my tree fell down Christmas will still come.
5. I am thankful that so many people have told me they were thankful for me this week.
6. I am thankful my little brother is thriving on his mission.
7. I am thankful for this blogging world that keeps me closely connected to so many people I love.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Pictures to come!

Another day another thing to be thankful for

Today I am still grateful. Today I am thankful for:

1. My mom who ALWAYS comments on my blog even if it is the worst post ever.
2. Poor mans dinner. Chips with melted cheese rice and a chopped up tomato. Heaven.
3. Digital cameras, I can pretty much take a picture of anything I want at any given moment.
4. This coming week which will be full of good vibes.
5. Talented friends who are helping me spread my good vibes.
6. Thanksgiving leftovers, the gift that keeps on giving.
7. The anticipation of a Christmas tree tomorrow!

And of course I am thankful to all you blog readers, I love you all.

I was thankful for NOTHING yesterday!

Just kidding I just got home at one am from playing games with Curts family. But yesterday I was thankful for:

1. All my nieces and nephews who are fun cousins to Deacon (and we can not wait to meet the Wilshire cousin!) on both sides.
2. That I came home from work to a cleaner house and a husband who cleaned it.
3. That I won both catch phrase and aggravation!
4. Deacon sleeping in til ten thirty (that was really this morning but I am counting it!)
5. That when I woke up to got to work early Curtis went out and started my car so it was nice and warm.
6. That all my family is healthy. (no more kidney stones or emergency surgeries!)
7. That tomorrow all will be right in the world when my Christmas tree goes up.

Especially grateful

For:

1. A mother in law and sister in law who washed all my dishes after Thanksgiving dinner.
2. The "hosting" gene I surely inherited from my Grandma Orme
3. All of Deacons Grandmas and Grandpas
4. That we got to carry on the tradition of Thanksgiving dinner in the house it was in for so many years.
5. That I do not have to pull the neck out of a turkey for a while.
6. All my friends who I am thankful for every day.
7. My husband who helped me with every thing I asked him to do today and did not call me crazy once.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Love you all!

Gratitude again!

Still Thanksgiving week, and still grateful! Today I am grateful for:

1. Swapping family recipies near and far so that everyone has a great "homey" Thanksgiving.
2. People in my life who do kind things for me just because and in turned make me feel loved.
3. Getting everything ready for Thanksgiving the days before so that I can relax and be with my family.
4. Friends at work who always make me laugh.
5. Christmas music!
6. This website that has given me a new more enlightned outlook on lifehttp://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com
7. The gift of squeezing, hugging and loving deacon every single day.

Gratitude day two!

Today I am grateful for:

1. Family who lives close by so that on a whim we can have dinner together.
2. Watching Deacon grow and do new things, most recently if you say Dance Dance Dance! He dances all around, love it.
3. A talent that I have turned into a career.
4. The blogging world so I can keep tabs on all my friends and family.
5. Laughing in my kitchen with my husband, one of my all time favorite things to do.
6. That Christmas is coming and I get to put my tree up! Oh how I love sitting by a Christmas tree at night!
7. My neighborhood. It is a huge melting pot of different types of people and families, I love it.

Hurray for being Thankful!

this post was meant for yesterday

but my computer would not oblige. Oh well. It is Thanksgiving week and I am thankful. So in honor of Thanksgiving I am posting 7 (six now) days each with a list of seven things I am thankful for.

1. My family. Big and small far and close. They are my safety net and I love them.
2. Duke our dog, he is a fine family pet and I can not imagine life without him.
3. A home to call my own. I can hang a window on the wall in my living room just cause I can (and I did)
4. Friends who share similarities with me and friends who are different.
5. My little brother on a mission, who constantly impresses mr with him humor and natural ability to be a friend.
6. Motherhood. And that I get to share the experience with so many people I love (and Kendyl in June!!!)
7. My health and my body, it may not be exactly how I want it to be but I can run swim jump and go to 24hr boot camp ( I really might die after this last class)

I bet you are all just waiting on pins and needles waiting to hear what else I am thankful for!

How we spent our Sunday

Since Curtis is drugged up battleing a kidney stone Deacon and I spent a quiet Sunday mostly in the kitchen, but also watching Elf. Here he is just being cute.

P.S. If you are coming to my house for Thanksgiving you will indulge in a pumpkin cheesecake. I made a test run today and it did not let me down.

Christmas is coming.........

the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in the old mans hat or help with this really fun project! Last year for a service project some of my family went to the Ronald Mcdonald house here in SLC. We took groceries and gift cards and some last minute things they needed before christmas. While we were there we took a tour of the "house" for those who do not know what the Ronald Mcdonald house is, it is a place where families can stay free of charge while there children are in local hospitals and they run completely off donations. One of the things that struck Curtis and I when we were walking through was that some of the rooms were kind of sad. I have been thinking about this project all year!
I have arranged to go in and redocarate one of the rooms, give it a facelift and make it a haven for the families who stay there. It will need a lot of love, a new paint job and some elbow grease. So I am looking for anyone who can give in any way. Some things we will need are: volunteers to help paint or do odd jobs around the room, any money or gift cards to home improvement stores. Or if you have any great home decor or furniture (small furniture lamps shelf etc.) that needs a new home. Anything helps! The actual dates for the project are: the night of Tuesday Dec. 2nd and then all day Wed. Dec. 3rd. I am so excited for this project and a shout out to Angie (angieseare.com) who has already raised money through her beautiful photography for this cause. Cheers to a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

A tag I will happily oblige

I do not love a tag, however I do love movies. So I simply could not resist. And I tag you all! HA HA! So here it is I know you have all been waiting, my favorite movies A-Z

A: American Beauty
B: Big Lebowski
C: Cinderella Man
D: Donny Darko
E: Elf
F: Fight Club or Fast times at Ridgemont high ( I am a sucker for Spiccoli)
G: Good Will Hunting
H: High Fidelity
I: Incredibles
J: Jerry Mcguire
K: Knocked up
L: Lord of the Rings (All, dont try and make me choose)
M: Magnolia
N: Napoleon Dynamite
O: Office Space, Old School (could not choose)
P: Pee Wees Big adventure
Q: The Queen
R: Royal Tennubaums (ALL TIME FAV!)
S: Sixteen Candles
T: Tropic Thunder
U: Usual suspects
V: Volver
W: Walk the line
X: X men ( really I could not think of anything else, anyone? Good movie starts with a X?)
Y: Y dont you tell me your favorite Y movie?
Z: Zorro, simply because it is the only Z movie that comes to mind

Wow, that is a lot of R rated goodness. Tell me your favorite movies! Now!

I know we have moved on from spooky and are ready for turkey but....

I had to post some cute Halloween pictures! A few of the pictures are from our fun playdate that Angie threw for the little boys. As you can see Joelle was the boys favorite person because she was giving them little bites of cookie. As for halloween Deacon was a mummy, and cute as ever. Curt was a cool dad and I was a hot mom. I thought our costumes were really good. We loved having baby Will and Grandma and Papa come visit us on Halloween. The highlight of the night for Deacon was to wait by the window for trick or treaters and then passing out the candy. I am suprised kids did not keep coming back to our house since Deacon gave each kid like five pieces! It was a perfect cozy Hallowween! Now bring on the turkey! I am hosting Thanksgiving this year, keep me in your prayers.

Then and Now

This is Deacon ready for church November 2008

And this is Deacon ready for church November

2007! I can not believe how much he has changed.

Only one week until nursery........Wahoo!

I was made to cruise

Fifty things I love about the cruise:

1. all you can eat soft serve ice cream

2. sun glorious sun

3. Tons of time to read a delightful book ( which I have been meaning to tell you about Dad)

4. the best gal pal on a trip ever, Laura we had so much fun doing the same thimgs. The only thing that tore us apart was whe I refused to spend an entire day in the sauna.

5. Hot chocalote the first night at dinner and then every other night as Curtis said "for tradition"

6. taking a nap every day

7. delicious guacamole in Mexico

8. Having my bag stolen in Mexico only to chase after the fellow who stole it and demand it back and much to my suprise, him handing it over and saying "sorry" like it was an accident he stole my bag. Oh well, I got it back Wahoo!

9. haveing your room cleaned twice every day just so you could mess it up again.

10. Singing too much kareoke

11. Rose the kareoke queen who packed her own kareoke cds and was front and center every night to sing her horrible voice out.

12. the cheesiest shows ever and cheering and dancing like they were the Beatles

13. dressing up fancy

14. missing Deacon but not worrying about him once because I knew he was having a blast with Grandma and Grandpa and aunt Kris and cuz Bailey

15. the beautiful beach in Cabo, deadly waves but so pretty

16. seeing Matt get not one but two temporary tattoos while sipping a pinata (virgin pina colodas)

17. Pinatas!

18. Dancing my heart out at "Beauties" the ships night club, oh and it lived up to its name, they were some real beauties

19. hearing Don say "oh thats a screensaver" after every picture he took

20. seeing John perform as Elton John in the "Carnival Legends" cheesy show. I shoulda been Madonna...........

21. Curt being able to gamble it up while I basked in the sun, perfect

22. everyone playing in the beach in Mazatlan

23. Jake at the airport not knowing where our cruise was even going, just happy to be on a cruise

24. Curt and I doing our Love Shak kareoke and Matt saying " now I know why the married each other, because they are a perfect kareoke duo"

25. Curt singing Bon Jovi " Im a cowboy" awesome

26. Warm chocalote melting cake

27. Lots of pretty mexican treasures brought home

28. coming home to not freezing weather to ease me back to the real world

29. no cell phone, no texts just hanging out with friends

30. being completely stress free for one week

31. gettin a tan!

32. yelling "show me your yankee doodle!" to the dork who was singing Im a Yankee Doodle Dandy in the variety show, Sorry to offend you, but he deserved it.

33. Deacon loving the drum I bought him for 6 bucks and seeing him carry it everywhere

34. coming home to a house better than when you left it, seriously it was like I was on extreme home makeover. Curts parents did so many things to make our house better, from touching paint to hanging curtains to putting up baseboards and folding laundry. It was amazing, I was so happy to be home!

35. both of us taking the next day off of work and doing homey things like baked rolls and made corn chowder.

36. Dont act like you are sick of hearing about my cruise yet there is more acomin'

37. Matt saying on the last day "I am ready to swim home" because it was cold and we were bored

38. me choosing to not play Bingo and everyone else coming back and telling me how awful it was, that the Bingo lady was the worst ever. And then on the last day seeing her and telling her how much my friends all loved her Bingo while they just smiled.

39. finding the awesome bikini body shirt, always wanted one, and an american flag bikini to top it off! If only I could find that budweiser one piece........

40. people watching, oh the people watching

41. Curt saying to Don as me and Laura were trying to fall asleep "Lets talk about your dreams Don"

42. Flying Jetblue, WAHOO!

43. Tons of fresh fruit

44. PB&Js at midnight if you felt like it

45. a Walmart in Peurta Vallarta, NOT I hate that! Laura and I did not go there but the boys did and Curt bought a 18 dollar bottle of sunscreen, sucker!

46. the cute lady letting me a Laura try a million mexican dresses on until we finally found the right purchases

47. the amazing earrings in mazatlan for 3.50

48. the ice cream bar we did not find until the last day, boo!

49. Curtis Matt and Don buying endless soda cards and then realizing they would have to drink eight sodas a day to make it worth it. I think it is safe to say the to took that challenge seriously

50. Deacons face when we came home and seeing how excited he got, he has not stopped hugging our legs. It is great to go a vacation and come home to see the boy and pup you love!

Viva La Cruise!

Warm up

These rolls were just a warm up to the three dozen or so I will be cooking for Thanksgiving dinner. MMMMM. Tis a wonder that I am not eight hundred pounds since all my posts are about baked goods.

Crunch Crunch

That was the sound the leaves made when Deacon squished them in his hand. Love you Fall.

Something Inspirational

I was just reading my little brothers email for the week, (he is on a mission in Malaysia) and I was really struck by something he said so I thought I would share it with the world! (Or at least the three people who read my blog) He wrote:

hello everyone, chinese rocks, did ya know? I am having a really fun time with my new companion and alot of success. we are finding alot of people and having a good time teaching them. we seem to be having fun with alot of recent converts lately as well. After they get baptized they are supposed to hear all the discussions again, but sometimes you just need to put the lessons down and play uno with your recent converts...it is really fun to be a person sometimes and just have fun, show people here that we are just average people that also like to have fun.


I agree wholeheartedly. I think he is doing an excellent job.

Warm and cozy super snuggly fall recipies!

I just saw on Rachels blog her post about having fall fever and it has inspired me to spread the fall love! Lets all share our favorite warm and cozy fall recipie or treat. I know how yall' love a tag! So tag your it! Give me your best recipie! Here is a Family Favorite:

Double Butterscotch cresent rolls:

Soften I pkg yeast in 1/4 cup warm not hot water
Prepare 1 pkg butterscotch pudding using 1 1/2 cups
evaporated milk. When thickened remove from heat
and add 1/2 cup butter. Cool to lukewarm
Blend in 2 unbeaten eggs
2 tsp salt and the softened yeast
Gradually add 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour to form stiff dough
Cover, let rise until light and double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Filling:
Combine in mixing bowl 1/4 c. melted butter, 2/3 c. shredded coconut
2/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 c. pecans chopped (i leave these out,
because they give Curt cankers) and 2 tbsps flour

Divide dough into thirds. Roll out each part to 15" circle. Cut into twelve
wedges. Place rounded teaspoons of filling on each; roll up starting with
wide end and rolling to point. place on cookie sheet and curve edges up into
a crescent shape. Let rise in a warm place ( I turn my oven on the lowest setting and
set the pans on top) about one hour. Bake a 375 degrees for twelve or 15 minutes.
Frost while still warm.

Glaze:
Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar with 2 tbsp evaporated milk and 2 tbsp. butter in saucepan. Boil one minute. Blend in 1 cup powdered sugar.



Now I know what you are thinking, this recipie will take all day! And it will, but it will be the best day you ever had. Bring on the fall treats! And if anyone happens to stop by my house on conference Sunday, they shall have a Double Butterscotch delight!

Angie did it again!

If you have not had Angie take family photos or pictures of your kids for you yet, what are you waiting for?! I love these pictures so much, especially the ones you got of me and Deacon. I am sure these are pictures I will treasure. Check out her website angieseare.com. Sixteen months, I can not believe how fast time flies!

Totally awesome Birthday bash!

Saturday night was our niece Baileys 80s Birthday party! Curtis and I took Deacon and he had a blast! He was so mesmorized by the neon disco lights and by all the kids dancing. We dressed him up as a little 80s prepster and I think he looked pretty cute! I am not sure if I went as an 80s chick or Peg Bundy but either way it was a lot of fun. And how about Kris' outfit, straight out of her closet! Happy Birthday Bailey!

Cabin Sweet Cabin

My little family including Duke took a trip up to Island Park Idaho to meet up with my mom this last weekend. We had such a good time! We have never had such a low key trip to the cabin and it was perfect. We had so much fun waitching dvds of the office, playing scattergories and eating way too much. We also took a day trip to Bozeman Montana and that was tons of fun. It has a Park city feel to it with lots of cute boutiques and yummy places to eat. Deacon had a blast exploring every nook and cranny of the cabin and found a new love for Balloons! Thanks mom for the great trip! Thanks Curt for driving both ways!

Shooooooooooo?

This is Deacons latest obsession, shoes. Or as he likes to say: Shooo? Always like a question and in a whisper voice. So funny.

Happy Birthday mom!

This week was my moms birthday and I wanted to give her a little shout out! Since her age may or may not have a five in it I will tell you five things I love about her.

1. She is very generous, like you can call and invite yourself your husband your baby and your brother over for dinner and it will be the tastiest thing you ever ate.

2. She is very smart, book smart, world smart, domestic smart, pop culture smart in a nutshell she will kill you in trivial pursuit.

3. She is a the number one most nuturing person I know. When I had Deacon she came over almost everyday for at least a month just for a couple hours just to hold Deacon or do anything I needed her to do. On the days he did not come I always felt lonely and I will treasure those hours with her and my newborn forever.

4. I gained my love of movies and books from her, two of my very favorite things.

5. She is an all around wonderful mother grandmother mother in law, and , human being.

Happy Birthday Mom! We Love you!

I love this picture of Deacon and his Grandma, they are just content to be together!

Beverly Hills 90210

Sharing a Disneyland size ice cream cone, only cost ten bucks!
Glad to have mommy home and loving his new mouse ears!

I just got back from a fun girls weekend in California with my sister in law Kris, my niece Bailey and her friend Katelin. We had so much fun! We stayed in a great hotel right in the mix of things on Robertson blvd. We ate at tons of fun resturants and did some serious shopping. The highlight of the trip for me was definatly swimming at the Beverly Hills hotel pool, talk about the lap of luxury. It was the funnest pool ever with tons of plush lounge chairs and waiters in baby pink polo shirts handing out baby pink ice cream cones. I was hoping to see a serious celeb but all we saw was Ivanka Trump. Although one morning Kris and I were on a jog in a fancy neighborhood when a shiny black SUV whipped past us and took a bunch of pictures! It was the paparazzi thinking we were something special! How hilarious/ridiculous. It was a great trip and I hope we get to do it next year!

Mousing it up!

IM BACK!

The 24th of July Parade
Playing cars with cousin Jackson
Being adorable with Aunt Lesleys' adorable niece

Wahoo! Our computer was broken and that was a long three weeks! So glad to be back in the real world, the blogging world. I am also excited to see what all my blogging friends have been up to. I just wanted to post a cute picture of Deacon for my family and friends far away and I will catch up after this weekend when I get back from California!

Torture treatment

This sad face is the result of :
This adorable sprinkler Auntie Kendyl gave Deacon
Looks harmless, but beware it was pure torture for little Deacon, I think that was Kendyls plan all along.