Christmas, Idaho, and then some

Well, a lot has happened these last few days and I've been kind of a slacker when it comes to the blog, so I'm catching you all up! Christmas was a lot of fun and we certainly were spoiled from all our families! Thank you thank you thank you! I made wreath for breakfast (an Ernhofer family tradition) and then we opened gifts, relaxed and waited for the big dinner! I stuffed my face! It was hard not to not eat! Here are just a few of the photos taken on Christmas morning:

Brooke is excited even before all the gifts.

John admiring one of his gifts. What uniform is the nutcracker wearing? You guess it, you win!

Marilyn was pretty excited that she got her beloved uber comfortable ear plugs!

Brooke was pretty stoked about the ribbon.

New toy!

Opening more gifts from Santa

This is later on in the day when we got all the legs on and the batteries in her new singing play table! She loves loves loves it!

So, on the 26th, we drove the loooooooooong drive back to Rexburg. Brooke was a trooper and slept most of the way again. This time around, she was more vocal in her needs and demands which made it a little stressful at times, but much easier to read. We arrived back at our apartment around 3 am. Never have we been so excited to sleep in our own bed. And, we all have been feeling under the weather (mostly me) which made our arrival that much better. (I was mostly just thinking about drugging myself and getting to bed).

The next day we surprised Shayna and her family by showing up at there house a day early! (Haha...suckers! We got you) We finally got to see baby Olivia and after 4 months of being apart, all the cousins played together! Its so cute to see them all interact!

Today, we took a much needed trip to the grocery store and Gordon started back at his job tonight. Gordon does such a great job that they gave him a raise! Way to go, Gordon! You rock my socks!

Gordon driving. He makes our VW look good! Along with our new hub caps! (Thanks Heather! They didn't fall off all the way here!)

Our set up in the back seat of the car. Can you find the baby? Its like a where's waldo. We had a lot of stuff!

So, here's a little Brooke news for you all:

1. She likes pickles! A LOT! Please note exhibit A:

and exhibit B:

(this was about 15 minutes after first giving it to her)

2. She is pulling herself up to stand using anything and everything around her. Before we know it, she'll be walking! Better baby proof the apartment soon.

3. Her new favorite spot in the house is right in front of the TV because (a) its easy for her to pull herself up there (b) there's a big area where she can play with toys, and (c) hello? its right in front of the tv!

4. Brooke has started a weird little habit where she will be sitting in the bath, bend her body forward and try to drink the bath water. This soon turned into blowing bubbles in the water and then accidentally drinking the bath water. I tried to get a video of it, but once I hit record, she stopped. Typical. Hopefully a video to come soon!

Hope you all had some happy holidays!

Finally, we went!

It only took us 4 months to go, but we finally were able to go this morning! The Portland Temple was pretty and smaller than I expected. We had a great time!

It was nice to be there with Gordon. Man, I love that guy.

After we were done our session, I documented Gordon walking to the car. Nice, right? We went to lunch after with Cruela DeVille. Just kidding, but this car could have totally been hers!!

T-minus 5 days

Man, our time in Oregon has flown by! And, these next couple of days are going to be filled with family get togethers, a trip to the temple (finally!), packing, wrapping, working, and baking just to name a few!

When we first got here, we made a 'to do' list of things/goals we wanted to accomplish, and believe it or not, we did just about all of them!

1. We paid off our credit cards! YES!

2. Gordon finished 3 more online classes!

3. AND, Gordon even tested out of some Portuguese classes for even more credits, allowing him to graduate this April!! WOO HOO!

4. I got a job and helped pay off the visas and build up our savings....a little.

5. I ran my first half marathon! I still can't believe I did it, but I did!

6. We had lots and lots of fun! (Yes, that was on our list!)

We have loved our time here and are very grateful for the jobs which we have had as well as the generosity of the people here in Hood River, especially Gordon's parents who housed us and so generously watched Brooke!

When we were first deciding whether to come here or not, we felt ok about it. When we finally decided to come, things just fell into place! Our jobs, our finances...everything! We have felt that Heavenly Father has been watching out for us these past few months! We had a great time, but are looking forward to the last few months of college life!

Come the 26th, we are Rexburg bound! See you all soon!

Anyone else heard of this??

So, recently I just found out about a website called EBATES. Anyone else know what this is?

Well, its a website that gives you a percentage of cash back if you click through their websites to other stores websites and purchase things! They even offer coupons and discount codes! Its so cool! Too bad I found this site AFTER I finished my Christmas shopping. Oh well. Pretty cool though, right?

And, just as a side note, there are some pretty great deals over at magazines.com.

You're welcome!

My two favorite people

Are these two so cute or what?! Especially Gordon.....and Brooke too in her new super warm onesie from Grandma and Grandpa Ernhofer! We were certainly spoiled from our wonderful Canadian relatives this year. Super excited for next year when we ALL will be in Canada for Christmas.

Awesome Christmas Card

My sister and brother-in-law made this card for our family with all the Ernhofer grandkids. We took a few photos of Brooke as an angel and they took some photos of their kids and thanks to photoshop they put everything all together flawlessly! I think it came out great! I love it!

Guess what I did today!

Thats right! I did a Richard Simmons workout! Its been so blasted cold outside that I haven't been able to run, so as a last resort I went to the library to find some workout DVD's. Instead I found some oldschool '80's VHS tapes. I tried some of them today (including sweatin' to the oldies) and I did NOT break a sweat. Sorry Richard Simmons. Your workouts get a thumbs down from me.

I'm excited to get back to Rexburg and go to the gym! Sweet blessed gym.

Videos!

Family Photos?

Yeah, these ones aren't going to make the cut...

Insights....or Random Thoughts

So, here I am at work, left with nothing to do, as usual, and have been having all these thoughts flood my brain. What should I do with them? Get them out in the open to get them out of my head! Hopefully this works.

1. I keep biting my cheek unintentionally. Yesterday I did it 6 times. Today, 2. I don't know why my teeth feel it necessary to chew on my own living flesh, but there you have it. My mouth hurts.

2. My camera has a hard time uploading photos onto my computer and its really annoying. I can't do it after multiple attempts, but Gordon seems to do it with no problems at all. Conspiracy? Maybe...

3. Brooke has 3 teeth coming in all at once. Yesterday, she was quite the drama queen, but today she seems to be more like her pleasent self. I hope this lasts. Is that likely? NOPE, but a girl can dream.

4. I am rather quite fond of my husband. He works really hard and is really excited to complete his degree and get a 'real' job, as am I. I heart him muchos.

5. This is my last week at work. I have enjoyed earning the extra money and I really think it makes me appreciate being a wife and mother more. I might even argue that it makes me a better mother. Maybe in Rexburg I could find a mindless 3 hour-a-day job where they pay me to surf the internet and update my blogs. I should look into that.

6. Christmas is coming up fast which means we are going to be traveling back to Rexburg soon! Although we have thoroughly enjoyed being here, all three of us are excited to get back! (Gordon is excited to start and more importantly finish his last semester of classes...I'm more excited for Bajio and Craigos)

7. Our old neighbors moved :( I'm hoping are new neighbors are just as cool, but we all know that thats nearly impossible. They could be nice.....I'm keeping an open mind.

8. My sister had a baby while we were gone. Little Olivia is waiting in anticipation to meet us. I'm sure of it!

9. I get to make dinner tomorrow and I'm debating between Coconut Chicken Curry or some sort of Chili or something else......thoughts?

10. Even though I only have 7 followers on my food blog, I really like it. It makes me happy.

11. Its getting colder here and I don't like it. Running SUCKS in the cold. Just fyi.