Still Living

I thought I better let you all know that I'm still alive. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Blogging just hasn't been on the top of my priorities list. I hope you are all having an awesome 2012!

ZooLights

Last Wednesday night, I took my family (minus Kurtis because he is a party pooper!) to ZooLights. ZooLights is an annual event at Hogle Zoo that runs through the month of December. The zoo gets decked out in holiday lights and animated light displays. It is awesome! This year was Jeremy's first time going, and we let him take his best friend along too. Jeremy's favorite part was the super rich, chocolatey deep-fried s'mores. I think that was his friend's favorite part too, but I didn't get a chance to ask him. For me, it is a tough decision, but there is one light display that I like best. It shows two frogs and a fly. One of the frogs sticks his tongue out to get the fly and ends up hitting the other frog in the face!


It was really hard to take steady pictures of the light displays, but sometimes the ones that don't turn out are the coolest.


Me, Jeremy, and his friend stood in line to see Santa.


Jeremy and his friend got to write a quick letter to Santa while they were waiting. Then Santa read them while they were sitting with him. Afterwards, they got to mail their letters in a special mailbox. For each letter that goes into that mailbox, Macy's donates $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, one of my favorite charities. I think there is a mailbox at Macy's too.


Comet and Vixen were there too.


We had a really great time! If you want to check it out, click on the next picture for the ZooLights information page.

Festival of Trees 2011

Mom, Kurtis, Jeremy, and I went to the Festival of Trees on Wednesday. I like going to the Festival of Trees because it is so much fun. I'm not even sure I could pick one favorite part, but the Small Fry shop is pretty awesome. It is like a gift shop for kids to shop at. Everything there is under five dollars, and most of it is cute things made out of felt and stuffed with candy. Here is a picture of a few things we bought. Jeremy has already taken the candy out of his Christmas light, but it was too cute to leave out.


Jeremy's favorite part is the bubble machine. You get to stand inside of a bubble! He also likes to watch the dancers that perform there. Here is a picture of Jeremy in the bubble machine.


Kurtis really likes to look at the gingerbread houses. There is always some really cool ones. This year the fanciest one was a replica of the U.S. Capitol Building, but I wasn't able to get a good picture of it because of the crowd. Kurtis liked the semi-truck best, and I liked the Tangled tower. Here are a couple gingerbread pictures.



Santa was awesome, too. He was extra jolly and a lot of fun. I took several pictures of Jeremy on his lap, but only one turned out decent because I'm still getting used to my new camera. Here is the best one.


We all had a really good time. If you'd like to go to the Festival of Trees, you better go now. It ends at 10PM this Saturday. Visit their website for more information: Click Here. All the proceeds from the Festival of Trees benefit Primary Children's Medical Center.

What will make Melissa stay up later?

"Walmart has confirmed that they will be releasing their entire Black Friday ad tonight."

Yep! That'll do it!

LOL! I was dead tired, and on my way to bed until I checked BFAds.net and saw that! I can't wait!!!

Halloween Etsy Style

I love Halloween and I love handmade goodies so I decided to find some Halloween items on Etsy and share them with you! These are my top three favorites. Click on the pictures to go to them on Etsy.

I love this ACEO because the witch is gorgeous!

The thing I love most about this wreath
is the skeleton hung in the center.

I love the little details in this shadow box.

I also made a Treasury of more great Halloween items. You can check it out by clicking the link below...

Halloween Etsy Style Treasury

Blessed with Love

I've been reading and hearing about some sad stories lately. In many of the stories kids truly hate their parents (some with good reason), siblings hate each other, or even parents despise their kids! I'm fortunate enough that this confounds me. I can't imagine families that don't love each other because I've never experienced it. Everyone one in my family loves and cares for each other. Even in my extended family, there is very, very little hate and resentment. I know God has truly blessed me to live in an environment of love and support. It is a luxury not everyone has.

Mudd Pie At Last!

Those of you who know me well probably know that I've been craving a Mudd Pie from Red Robin for years. I think the last time I had a Mudd Pie was in 2008 when Dad was taking his college finals! Mom, Jeremy, and I went shopping and to a movie so Dad could have the peace and quiet to study. We stopped at Red Robin for dinner, and shared one of their absolutely delicious Mudd Pies.

It's not that I haven't been to Red Robin. We've been there a bunch of times over the years, but for one reason or another (usually because I'm too full), I haven't had a Mudd Pie. I usually order their Whiskey River BBQ Burger, and that will fill you up, especially if you are eating their wonderful fries!

When Kurtis took me and Mom to Red Robin yesterday, I was determined to have my Mudd Pie. Instead of ordering a burger, I just ordered a bowl of their Chicken Tortilla soup which is usually really good, but this time it wasn't great. I only ate a little more than half of it so I had plenty of room for dessert.

The Mudd Pie was just as fabulous as I remember. Pure deliciousness! For those of you who don't know what a Mudd Pie is there is a picture and description on this page. Mudd Pies vary slightly by location, but this one is the best.