Rasmussen's Favorites Things 2011

Well, this year almost slipped by without a post on our favorites, but I think I can squeeze out a few. I know there are more favorites that I am not thinking of at the moment, but here are just a few things we enjoyed--or would have liked to enjoy--this year!

1. Team Sparkle Running Skirt. I follow a blog of a mom who runs, sews, crafts, etc. and she is one of the founders of this company that sells sparkly running skirts. I have to confess that I haven't actually purchased one yet. But I admire from a far and someday, if I get up the guts to actually try and look that cute running, then I will get one. On the other hand, I think I may get one for Reagan this summer if she decides to do running club again. On her, it would be adorable!

2. Juicy Couture Perfume. Or however couture is spelled...I am not sure :) But this scent is amazing. I am a sucker for yummy smelling stuff.
3. We scored at Marshalls discount store this year. I found my coveted Asics running shoes (see below) as well as some really cute clothes for Reagan this year. This is my go-to store when I am in need of something.
4. Aldo Boots. Matt bought me a pair of really cute, nice boots for Christmas. This wasn't the pair he bought--this is the pair that I exchanged them for. He bought me some with a heel and I was looking for no heel. But thanks to him and my sister-in-law who knows a lot about shoes and fashion (that's you Selly!), I am SOLD on Aldo shoes. These are some of the most comfy shoes I have ever worn.
5. Pottery Barn stockings. See my previous post on how we came about to get these stockings, but I love them and as we put them away this year, I realized how excited I am to get them out and hang up again next year.
6. Turkey Artichoke Panini from Panera Bread. This is one fattening, yummy sandwich. It is pretty greasy, like when I got it to go one time, the bag was soaked by the time I got home. But it tastes amazing. The turkey is smoked and there is a really good spread of cheese and artichokes and I think some carmelized onions. Very tasty.
7. Perler Beads. This was a big hit with Reagan this year. She loves to create different things and I only dislike finding these tiny beads all over the floor when I sweep :) But truly, it is fun to see how creative she can get with her shapes.
8. I would post The Hunger Games as my favorite book this year, but everyone already has read and loved it, so I will post this good read instead! Divergent is pretty close to the style and type of book that Hunger Games is and I honestly think I liked it just as much. The main character kicks butt, the cute guy doesn't fawn all over her and I just love it. I am anxiously awaiting the sequel coming out in 2012.
9. Costco pizza. I think this is our family's favorite pizza. Matt and I totally dig the combo and my kids love the cheese. I can't decide if it is the crust, the sauce, the cheese...what it is I like about this pizza, but I can hardly leave Costco these days without a slice. I often bribe my kids to be good in the store, so they can get a slice, too!
10. The Cheese Steak Shop. I haven't eaten here yet, but Matt loves it. There is one near his work and he went there with a co-worker one day. I love cheese steak sandwiches and I think this is about as close as the real deal. I did have a bite of one he brought home one day and it was so good. I am looking forward to eating one of my own :)

11. Asics Gel Kayano. I love and am completely committed to Asics Gel running shoes, but this year I strayed from my usual pair. When I was at girls camp, I had a good conversation with a couple of girls who are runners and one whose husband is a podiatrist. They swore by these kayanos. I was badly in need of a new pair, so I looked into getting some when I got home that week. They were way to expensive for Matt to swallow, but the stars aligned one day and I was in Marshalls and there they were!!!! They were the previous year model, the 16's, but who cares?? I had my kayanos! These bad boys have served me well since, including getting me through the Ragnar Relay.
12. Food Network Dinnerware. This is stuff found at Kohl's and is a good way for me to spend my 10 dollars cash that comes every so often. I like that they are stylish and trendy, but because they are plain white, they go with every decor and holiday. We eat our traditional Valentines Dinner on these puppies and Sunday dinners as well.
13. American Accents Espresso spray paint. I love spray paint in general, but this color rocks. I did our bathroom vanity earlier this year in this spray paint and it is a beautiful color that goes with all neutrals.
14. GeoTrax trains. In January, a friend of mine brought over some toys that her kids didn't play with, including a train set. Once we set it up and got it going, we realized this was an expensive geo trax set! Score!! Thus began Nolan's obsession with trains. We have since added pieces and other cars to his set and they are all interchangeable, which is nice. He plays with this train set every single day. Not kidding. If you have a boy around the age of 2, look into these. They are totally worth the price!
15. Spiced Pumpkin by Yankee Candle. Matt bought a bunch of candles online this summer, including this one. I think we burned it down to the core pretty quickly, but it smells amazing.
So there you have it. Some of our faves! Happy New Year!

Twas the Night Before Christmas!

Twas the Night Before Christmas and all through the house, not a single kid was fighting and it was still as a mouse...for once. So I decided to blog about the fun month we have had. It really has been a fun one! How can Christmas not be?? :)

You know those crazy people that browse the Christmas section in October and decorate their house the day after Thanksgiving? That is TOTALLY me! I really love this month. We watched Christmas movies almost every night. I got my fill of the Grinch, Polar Express and of course, a little Griswold Family Christmas ["You serious, Clark?"]. That was for my family :)

The kids enjoyed playing with our Little People Nativity, as they do each year. Some of my favorite decor around the house...the wonderful nativity that my mother-in-law gave us. This comes from Israel, so it is one of my most prized Christmas possessions. The kids are really into taking the decorations and playing with them or hiding them around the house, so I tried to put this one a bit hidden, but still can be seen by older ones.My mother-in-law Bev also have me the idea to string cranberry-popcorn garland around the house. I loved how it turned out! It added a lot to our greenery on the fireplace mantel. I had ambitious plans to string it on our Christmas tree, but after this strand, I called it quits! :):) It did take a while to make. Maybe next year!And now for our newest interior addition: real stockings! We haven't had real family stockings with our names and everything, so this was seriously so exciting for me. Matt's mom gave us some Pottery Barn stockings (that she picks up at Downeast for cheap!) and they had names embroidered on them. She had all her kids! So we picked off the embroidery of all his siblings and kept the Matt one. Then my friend Beth embroidered Lacy, Reagan and Nolan for me~! Fabulous, huh? I love the way they look. I can't wait for them to be filled :)
I also love the ginormous poinsettias from Costco, I get one every year and it adds so much to the home and our freakishly long fireplace :)Last but not least, our TREE! Last year we got our tree from Costco like we had the year before, but the top was lopped off all weird. We didn't realize it until we got it home, cut and placed in water. So we kept it, but it BUGGED me all season long. So this year Matt was sure to get a good one and he totally scored! This is one of the most beautiful firs I have ever seen. And one of the thirstiest, I think I have watered this bad boy every day this month. Last week we went to a Christmas performance at Woodside Elementary that the kindergartners put on. It was adorable. Reagan loves to perform, especially singing. She was in the back row, but was heard loud and clear :) She knew every word to the 8 or so songs they performed. Matt got to attend as well, going into work a bit later that day. Here she is, all dressed up for her performance.
This is the kindergarten classes. Reagan is back row, 8th from the right.
The next day her class had a party. Nolan came along with me and he got to make a gingerbread house, along with Reagan! That was pretty fun for them. Her class intern had made 32 gingerbread cottages for the kids to decorate. They were the real thing.
We also made so many goodies to give out to friends, but nothing is more fun for the kids than sugar cookies. I give them their own batch of dough to work on. Nolan just plays with his, but Reagan actually made several decent cookies! She is my little helper in the kitchen.
Last week Matt came home from work and as he walked in the door, he "found" some letters Santa had left on the front porch. Reagan and Nolan each had their own letter, addressed to them specifically. This played out well for me because the Santa card I was throwing out for discipline reasons became much more powerful :)
For church one day, Reagan wore her beautiful dress with the Christmas corkers in her hair. I couldn't help but take a picture, she looked so cute.
We went to our ward Christmas party and the primary children did the nativity. Reagan and her friends Ella and Addie were angels. They looked darling!I bid you farewell this Christmas Eve with some pics of our house. Do you know that I could hardly contain my excitement that we put up lights this year! We hummed and hawed over color and style but finally decided on the classic, white lights. We love them. Matt was a pro at putting them up. He used those plastic clips and arranged them to be very neat and precise. Many neighbors commented on them and I loved that it validated his hard work.


Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!!

Thanksgiving in Utah

The combination of very few pictures and Thanksgiving being over a month ago has made this a difficult post! I am having a hard time remembering what we did exactly, but a few highlights come to mind.

Playing the Wii to our hearts content. The nice thing about not owning one is that it is a fun thing to do when we visit family. Reagan absolutely adores it, mostly the Just Dance game. Here she is with some cousins, dancing away :)
Here we are, Reagan and I, doing the Wii, but I am really scared of my crazy eyes!Reagan playing soccer with Uncle Jeff.
Thanksgiving Dinner with the Rasmussen's! And seeing Grandma's brand new kitchen. It is so nice!!
Reagan and her cousin Jane. She is 2 years old and Reagan has acted like her mommy from day one. I don't think Lindsey minds :)
On a quick trip to the mall with my dad, Nolan spotted Santa and got up the courage to walk up to him...and that is about how far he got!! But it is a record for Nolan-bubs and so we honor it with a picture! Reagan wasn't present for this Santa-sighting, so she still has yet to see Santa this year. We have assured her that he is very very busy.
Other fun highlights:

-seeing Breaking Dawn with my family...and really liking it, actually.
-Black Friday shopping. I scored on some great deals.
-eating smoked turkey and fried turkey twice
-Boondocks for the entire day!

So much fun we have there! Thanks, family :)

Chabot Space and Science Center

This fall we have been doing some major free exploring around the Bay Area as a family. It is through the county library's Discover and Go program and we get free passes to museums and such. In addition to the Aquarium on Pier 39, California Academy of Sciences and Children's Museum, we also got to see the Chabot Space Center. This was pretty cool for both kids and parents. My favorite part was seeing the sun through telescopes. Chabot is up in the hills of Oakland and you get some pretty rockin views of the city. The kids loved the art room and the interactive "go green" area. Nolan fell asleep partway through, so I rested on a bench and let him sleep in my lap while Matt and Reagan explored.

Ummm....Halloween?

Remember how its December now? But I need to get these details down so I remember. It was a fun weekend. We started out taking family photos early Saturday morning (see post below), then went up to Six Flags to enjoy their Halloween festivities. The kids trick-or-treated and we watched a play about Dracula. And it was not a cold day, so we let the kids run through the fountain. I think we were the only ones. Psycho parents!

The kids were drenched and we drove home with them in their underwear.

That night was our ward annual trunk or treat. Lots of candy, too much candy, let me tell you. It was fun. Nolan hated wearing his costume. I wanted to swear at him right there in the middle of the costume parade.
On Halloween day, we had a party in Reagan's kindergarten class. The kindergartners paraded around the entire school while all the "big kids" watched. What a treat! I loved how they did that.
They had some snacks and games. Nolan got to join in on the party and I think he felt pretty cool :)That night we had some friends over and we trick or treated around our block. Guess who didn't wear his costume??? I'll give you a hint...he didn't want to be photographed either.
Good times, but every year I am so glad when Halloween ends!