Bond. James Bond...

We went to my work Christmas Party on Wednesday. The theme was "Casino Royale" so we decided to dress up as James Bond-ish, high-rollers from the 60s. I found a great vintage evening gown, and a vintage tux for Jack (at this great store in Salt Lake, Decades). Jack's mom had a fur stoll that belonged to Jack's great grandmother-- it completed the outfit perfectly! We ate a delicious dinner and played some Blackjack with fake money. We had a great time!

Here we are, posing in front of our Christmas tree.

Thanksgiving with the fam

We spent a wonderful week at the beach in California, camping with all of my extended family.

We had a great time! The weather was great- warm and sunny, except for a small storm that passed through. We spent time on the beach, and rode our bikes all over the sleepy little beach town that we love. We sat around the campfire every night, looking at the stars, and listening to the sound of the waves crash against the beach. For me, that is pure heaven!

My cousin has a brand new baby- Ella- it was so fun to hold her and let her sleep in my arms. She is just so cute. I even got to change a few diapers!

We had about 70 people for Thanksgiving dinner. I made a HUGE batch of stuffing (with Craisins, my secret ingredient) and the biggest pot of gravy you've ever seen! Jack and I also made dinner for my cousins one night- an entire meal of Middle Eastern foods, in honor of our trip to Israel and Egypt this year. Everyone loved the hummus, kebabs, and Israeli couscous.
But the vacation is over now... We're back home now, and back at work...

Holiday time!

We love the FALL.
We love sweater weather, and the changing colors.
We love all the holidays, and time spent with our family.

Here are some of our favorite family traditions:

Birthday Parties- a full day of celebration, ending with a nice dinner and a homemade cake.
Oktoberfest- We eat bratwurst and sauerkraut, potato pancakes and spaetzle.
Halloween-Going the Pumpkin Walk in Logan, walking around and drinking hot chocolate.
Thanksgiving- Camping at the beach in California with all our extended family- a full week of food and fun with all the cousins!
Christmas Eve- Going out for Mexican food, and watching "The Christmas Story" multiple times.
Christmas Day- Cooking a fancy six-course French meal, and eating for hours!
St. Patrick's Day- all food gets dyed green!
Valentines Day- all food gets dyed pink!
Pioneer Day- We cook a Dutch oven dinner in the backyard, and even make fresh butter in a jar.

The adventures continue...

We just celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Five years of wedded bliss!

In July we returned from a trip to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Wow. What a trip! We started in Jerusalem where we stayed with some friends. We loved seeing the Old City, the Garden Tomb, and the Garden of Gethsemane.It was wonderful to see these areas, and imagine all that has happened there.What an incredibly moving experience!From there, we drove about 4 hours to the Red Sea, where we crossed into Jordan.(On the way we stopped at a resort on the Dead Sea, where we floated like corks in the water!)In Jordan, we stayed in Aqaba, and did some scuba diving in the Red Sea.The colorful coral and fish were amazing!We returned to Israel, then flew to Egypt where we spent 5 days.(Sadly, they lost Mandi's luggage on the way, and she had nothing but the clothes on her back for 5 days!)We spent a day and a half in Cairo, where we saw many tombs, temples, and the pyramids of Giza.It was unbelievable! We then took a short flight to Luxor, where we saw more some temples, and the Valley of the Kings. Then it was a train to Aswan, where we saw the High Dam, and the Unfinished Obelisk.When we got back to Cairo,we were able to pick up Mandi's luggage (They found it!), and we spent our last day lounging by the pool, relaxing from our long, HOT trip!

Mandi is still working in Visual Merchandising/Interior Design. She really enjoys the creative process, and working with so many great people. In June, Jack reached his 10 year anniversary and was promoted in May. He will be working here in Utah for another year or so, then he'll be resassigned to a new job. Personally, I hope we go to D.C... but we'll see where they send us!

On the home front, we have decided to pursue adoption. After 5 years of heartbreak and frustration, we feel like it's time for us to adopt! We have filled out stacks and stacks of paperwork, been fingerprinted,interviewed, etc. And now, we wait...

We can't wait to have a little baby of own!