Make-overs!

Within the first 5 minutes of their arrival, my nieces insisted on giving me a make-over. The older one, Katelyn was the "doctor" and her sister Sammie was the "nurse." They were very serious about asking me what colors I wanted and took their time to apply. Each of us had our turn at our make-overs and here's the results.

The "doctor" with her make-up kit.

With the "nurse"

Sammie's turn to get a make-over

WOW, so pretty!

She "forgot" to smile

But she was ready to smile for her glamour shots

Beautiful posing, Sammie!

KK with her make-up on

It's really nice to have these gals around for the next few days. They're definitely a lot of fun!

Friend Spotlight: Kiley Robison

Kiley is our neighbor upstairs and in our ward. He's a Utah native and proud of it! One of his favorite movies is "Coach Carter" (and he's converted our apartment into liking it too). He loves country music more than just about anyone out there and he made us a pretty amazing country CD for Christmas. He loves Argentina and Argentinian food...which leads me into this post. One night we met up for dinner at El Patio, one of his favorite places. Look how happy he is!

And look how happy we are!

I have no recollection of what any of this is, but it was tastey!

Good thing Kiley is my new gym buddy. We're going to be crushing the gym come January! (Pictures to come in a few months). Kiley, I'm grateful that you are my neighbor, friend and home teacher. Thank you for everything you do for us!

Wreaths Across America

I'm probably one of the most patriotic people around, so Wreaths Across America was really special for me. Our really awesome Relief Society Activities Committee from church coordinated a group to participate in this community volunteer project at Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 11, 2011. The following is a brief photo diary of the morning's events.

Part of our group before the activity. We all wore red and white ribbons.

Oakhurst donated all of the wreaths and

shipped them in on big semis.

Alex, Sunni and I fought our way through the crowd to get a box of wreaths. Alex came out victorious!

Sunni's so excited.

I'm so excited...and feeling a little squished.

The BEAUTIFUL wreaths

Woo-hoo!

Quite peaceful

Me about to lay down my wreath. Excuse my nappy hair.

Alex placing her wreath

I placed my wreath on baby Kent's grave.

He was just a wee little babe.

Just in awe at this glorious sight

Here's a majority of our group; we lost some others along the way.

I told Alex to make a face...she did a good job. It took us a while to find our way out of the cemetery, but we eventually made it.

God bless America and

God bless our troops!



Thanksgiving of Pies

I'm finally posting about the gloriously awesome "Thanksgiving of Pies" in Nashville, TN. It was my first time in Nashville and it didn't disappoint!

Pre-Pies

April looks pretty concerned about this pie

Greg's usual spontaneous dance party

apples and caramel sauce

it's Angry Birds time - Boo-Yah!

babies playing

the PIES

Bavarian Apple - Ashley and I made this beauty

Ready for the oven

Cranberry, Key Lime Cheesecake and Apple

Mango mix

the Crust

Behold, the PIES!

Muddy Buddy Brownie Ice Cream Pie - April's creation. It was a HUGE hit, the first to go.

Waiting and waiting and waiting for pies

Heather is SO excited for pies

Afterwards I think I was 5 lbs. heavier! It was totally worth it.

Eating and eating and eating of the pies

CENTENNIAL PARK, Nashville, TN

replica of the Parthenon

Me with the Kitchen sisters

I want one of these swings. You push with your feet to go back and forth.

Ashley's on top of the world!

VANDERBILT

DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE

searching for boots

with "The King"

Ashley is a little skeptical

THE PLANTATION

(I finally got to mark that off my 30 by 30)

The Belle Meade Plantation is a 30 acre site housing the Harding/Jackson Mansion and stables. The plantation is known for breeding famous thoroughbreds that have won the Kentucky Derby for years and years.

Greg and I. This one makes me laugh every time.

the dollhouse

just chillin' on the porch

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the mansion, but it was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

REAL meat...and unfortunately we checked by touching it (ew, gross)

the horse stables

GAYLORD OPRYLAND

 I didn't take the next 3 pictures - got them off Google images

Adam taught us the coolest thing. Spin while you are taking the picture and it looks like this:

Dancing in the parking lot

Twenty-four? miles per hour?!?

And there you have it, Nashville in a nutshell. :)

Thanks to everyone that enjoyed this amazing vacation with me.