A Christmas Tradition

Each year we add ornaments to our tree, but one ornament is special.  As a family we think of something significant that happened in the past year and try to find an ornament to represent it.  I love this tradition for many reasons, it's a time when we can remember what happened through the year and it's fun to see what each person thinks was most significant.  It's one of my few original traditions, where I haven't copied what one of our families did.  It's a time when we all go shopping together which hardly happens this time of year. One day when we are old and gray, I can see Ronnie and I reminiscing on our life together as we put up our Christmas tree.

Here is our collection so far:

2000

Our first year together, this represents our marriage.   We were actually married in my parent's home, but I couldn't find an exact replica of their home so I thought this would do.

 

 

 

 

2001

After getting married in Las Vegas we moved to Colorado.  A few miles north of us there were pastures full of buffaloes.  Also the University of Colorado's mascot is the Buffalo.

 

 

 

 

2002

We were able to move back to Las Vegas.  I think the dice are self explanatory. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003

Ronnie and I went to Monterey Bay, CA when we were dating.  Years later we were able to go back and visit this awesome place with Kyle and me being 7 months pregnant.  It was such a treat because it was only 65 in Monterey and 110 in Vegas.  (Lana got her own baby's first Christmas ornament so we choose this one for this year)

 

 

2004

Besides kids this is probably the most significant thing to happen to us yet.  The purchase of our first home.  We were so lucky to have received a call from a dear friend telling us that the other side of her duplex was for sale.  I can truly say that great friends make the best neighbors. 

 

 

 

2005

Yet another Monterey Bay ornament.  We could probably have one of these for every year because it is our favorite place to escape the Las Vegas heat.  This year was significant because Kyle was the first person in our family to go scuba diving. 

 

 

 

 

2006

The year of the pickle.  I don't know what nutritional value a pickle has, probably none, but Lana lived off of pickles this whole year.  It effected our whole family, trust me on this. 

 

 

 

 

 

2007

We started our first garden in Las Vegas.  We did the square foot gardening method and had a lot of fun caring for it.  We had a a very prolific eggplant bush that produced eggplants the size of your head!

 

 

 

 

2008

This year we ventured to southern CA for our family vacation.  We hit the highlights with the kids and were able to see the baby pandas at the San Diego Zoo. 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't even begin to guess what next year will bring, but looking back on the years I feel truly blessed.

Las Vegas Marathon

                                      

This past Sunday was fast Sunday for me.  Usually fasting is not a hard thing to do, but this Sunday was hard.  Ronnie's company sponsored a mile at the Las Vegas Marathon this Sunday.  Everyone was encouraged to go help out by passing cups of water and Gatorade off to the runners.  I try to keep the Sabbath day holy and so on and I don't think that going down to the Strip makes it easy for one to do this.  But I went because we were volunteering, doing good works.  We woke up at 5:45am and got everyone dressed in some sort of red (we were asked to wear red for some reason).  We helped fill 4 tables full of water and Gatorade cups.  Then the runners started passing by.  Everyone was excited to cheer on the brave people running and try to hand off some cups.  The kids had a blast.              

Las Vegas Marathon from Shawna Lutes on Vimeo.

 

We saw all kinds of runners...

                                Santa Runners                                                                     Elvis Runners

                        Turtle Elvis Runners                                                             Bride and Groom Runners

                          More Elvis Runners                                                            Funky Jive Man Runner

We were set up on mile 25 so when the runners passed us they only had 1.2 miles left.  Which is why you see some of the runners walking.  Some were running half marathons and some started at mile 7 after getting married.  It was apparent some runners were running with a purpose and some were running for fun.  No matter though the only thing on my mind as I looked at the runners was...well let me see if you can guess:

                                                  

                                                                          You can see it here...

                                 

                                                                                      And here...

                                

                                                                I tried to block it out here....

                                                    

                                                    But I moved and it came back into focus...

                                    

                      You think I'm taking a picture of my husband don't you....you'd be wrong

                                  

                                                                                 See it now...

                                 

          Yes, that darn IN-N-OUT sign is quite a force to be reckoned with on fast Sunday.

 

                             

We had to leave before everyone was finished so we could make it to church.  This is the sea of cups that had accumulated so far, I can't imagine how many more there were when it was all over and done with.  Who knew marathons were so messy?

Thanksgiving

Well it's now over a week after the fact and I'm finally getting around to doing a post about Thanksgiving. This is not a good sign for the rest of the holiday season.

Lets see, were to begin...oh yeah, Sunday before Thanksgiving I was giving a talk in church. My throat started to feel a little scratchy the day before and I just kept saying, just hold off until after my talk. I even ate 5 clementines on Saturday. Sunday morning I get up feeling ok and I make a fabulous breakfast for my family. After which 2 people feel sick to their stomachs...lovely. Then Lana gets a massive nose bleed and Ronnie decides to clean out his closet resulting in 6 trash bags of junk, I kid you not! So I went on and I made it through my talk barely. I don't know if it was nerves from speaking in front of nearly 200 people or the start of a really bad cold, but my hands were so cold and clammy that I was too embarrassed to shake anyone's hand. At one point I felt so weak I remember holding on to the podium with both hands. Afterward I grabbed a tissue as I sat down because my nose started to run then my eyes were burning because I could feel a fever setting in. A few hours later I was curled up on the couch watching my kids destroy the house because my throat hurt too much to tell them to stop. Ronnie had to go to work unexpectedly. And panic set in as I looked at the state of my house and thought Ronnie's parents are coming to stay with us tomorrow from Missouri. They are super nice people and wouldn't care what my house looked liked, but I cared. It was not up to my standard to have people over, much less staying in my house. Ronnie came home from work and saved the day. He and the kids got all the common areas cleaned and ready for company. The bedrooms didn't get touched. Kyle's bedroom is where the grandparents stay when they come for a visit and it was truly atrocious. Lana's bedroom remains messy most of the time since she gets up after we put her to bed and has a ball playing with all her toys. And our bedroom wasn't looking so hot after the surprise closet clean out either. Kyle managed to clean his room enough to fit an airbed under his loft bed and that's all I could ask for. Grandparents came and everyone was glad to see everyone and nobody cared about the surroundings. Imagine that!

Thanksgiving was held at my house because I like everyone eating together, in the same room. All of our family won’t fit at one table but I'm luckily because I can fit two or three table into my dining room. Everyone helped with Thanksgiving. I called my mom and pawned off more dishes for her to make the day before and boy did she come through. Everyone at my house helped set up and cook and clean. Even Lana helped set the table until she was distracted by the frying of the turkey. She said that the raw turkey looked like a brain, now how would she know what a brain looks like? Kyle was the gofer, we had him running to the garage for something constantly. Even with my brother coming down from Logan, UT this was our smallest gathering so far for Thanksgiving. Probably because my grandmother was out of town and we didn't have any friends take us up on our offer this year. The food was great and the company was even better. I just wished I had more room for lounging around afterward. My brother didn't seem to care; he found him a nice comfy spot on the floor. After dinner we always start perusing the Black Friday ads. I had my eye on a tree from Home Depot, finally I found a tree with warm/white LED lights and it was only $50. The next morning my mother-in-law, Sue, and I hit the sales. A few hours later we arrived home victorious. What a great day!

How???? What???? Why????

You clean house all day long on a Saturday.

Since both kids are home all day they mess up the house as fast as you can clean.

You do all the laundry in the house.

On the last load you ask your son to switch out the laundry from washer to dryer.

He hands you the house phone and say's at least the phone will be clean.

 

How does this happen????

 

Monday morning at 7:30 a construction worker knocks on your door to tell you they are turning your water off for a few hours to do some work on the city's pipes.

You run to brush your teeth.

You run out the door to take the kids to school (running late) and buckle your daughter into her car seat and when you shut the door you notice a huge hole in the street right in front of your driveway.

The construction workers see your look of angst and say I think you can make it out over here if you angle the car just right.

You reply, No I can't, but maybe you can.

The construction worker asks, would you like me to back your car out?

You reply with a resounding YES.

The construction worker backs your car out with your two kids in back and you kind of freak out a little bit as he drives on your lawn in order to avoid falling in the huge hole in the street.

 

What????  They couldn't have asked me to move my car when they told me they were turning off my water????

 

Your daughter eats some soup for lunch that contains beans.

She tell you there is something stuck in her mouth and thinks it is like a popcorn shell.

You tell her it is probably some skin from a bean.

She says I can't live like this.

You tell her to use her finger and get it out.

She gags and then says I really can't live like this.

You tell her to take a drink and swish it around and it should come loose.

She does and then says it's a good thing because there's no way I could live like that.

You die laughing.

 

Why are little kids so stinking funny????

She's Crafty

A few weeks ago Ronnie bought me this T-shirt.

                                                    

                                                    

Normally I don't wear crew neck T-shirts out of the house.  I prefer V-neck or something, anything other than a crew neck.  I guess I watch too much What Not to Wear.  I love this shirt, it totally cracks me up!  It combines my love of all things crafty and all kinds of music all on one shirt.  I'm sure it would end up in the trash can of shame if Stacey and Clinton ever came knocking on my door, but oh well.   When I wear it I think...isn't it cool that my husband totally gets me.

                                             

So while we are talking about crafts, let me show you the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to decorating for a party.  This is a paper bag flower.

                   

I hung a few of these at a baby shower and everyone thought they were way cool.  I learned about them from Martha Stewart.  I guess I'm the only one that still watches Martha.  I would much rather read her magazine than watch her because she really can be quite annoying, but I could never throw away her magazines.  I have 8 years wroth of subscriptions in a closet and I decided, once the shelf they were on started to bow in the middle, that I had enough magazines.  Now your probably asking yourself how often to I look through them.  Well I organize them by month so in October I can go grab the October box and see all the fun Halloween crafts.  Whenever I want to do a holiday craft I just go grab that box and I'm set. 

Alright, enough about my magazine hoarding issues, back to paper bag flowers.

1.Get six paper lunch sacs any color.

 

 

2.Fold the bottom flap back.

 

 

3.Cut the bottom of the sac off.

 

 

4.Cut all six bottoms off the sacs

 

 

5.Grab some double sided tape or glue.  I love Zip Dry.

 

 

6.Glue or tape down the sides of all six sacs and stack them on top of each other. 

 

7.Cut a petal shape out on one side of the sacs.

 

 

8.Use a hole punch to make a hole through all six sacs.  Then tie a ribbon around them loosely.

 

9.Bring the front and back sides of the sacs together and glue or tape.  If you have a hard time making them both meet, then cut the petal shape further down the side.  Then hang from the ceiling.  Stand back and marvel at what you can do for less than a buck.

I Can't Have Everything

I absolutely adore these boots. I can imagine buying outfits solely to be worn with these boots. I can imagine sitting and looking at them all the time and counting all the buttons on these boots. I can imagine learning how to properly care for leather shoes if I owned these boots.

I will never own these boots, because I am too practical.

I love Kevin Spacey. I love the way his eyes wrinkle when he smiles. I love the sound of his voice. I love his 5 o'clock shadow that he seems to always have no matter the time. Ronnie knows that if he goes to rent a movie and can't find one he wants to watch all he has to do is pick a Kevin Spacey movie and I'll be happy.

I will never be Mrs. Spacey, because I'm very happy being Mrs. Lutes.

I love this vehicle. I have priced this vehicle loaded with all the things I wanted it to have on it and even the color I wanted it to be (olive). I figured out how much money I would put down on this vehicle and what my monthly payments would be. I test drove it more than once.

I will never have this car, because my kid's education means more to me.

I know I can't have everything. I know that if I did get those boots they would probably make blisters on my feet and I would still wear them because they cost so much. I know that if I were Mrs. Spacey I would probably be annoyed because I would never get to see him due to work and well life just wouldn't be any fun without Ronnie. I know that if I drove a Commander I would park in the back of parking lots so my car wouldn't get dinged by carts. I know that you can't always get what you want and sometimes when you do get it, it's not that great. Lana has learned this life lesson this week.

Trunk or Treat

                                      

                                  Kyle and Lana (aka Indy and the Indian) at the Trunk or Treat.

Notice Indy's whip,  I let Kyle take a weapon but not before I duct taped the heck out of it...he he he.  Also notice Lana's peacock feather?  Just so happens my really nice neighbor reads my blog and saw my costume post and called me up and said we have some peacock feathers and you can have one so Lana will be just like you.  How cool is that!

I dressed up for Halloween this year.  I was really scary.  I was so scary I looked in the mirror and was scared STRAIGHT...my hair that is!

                        

                       

Lana came across a fellow tribe mate.  Boy howdy, was she ever surprised or maybe that is the

                                                                        sugar comma kicking in.

                                               

    Indy found the Holy Grail of the Trunk or Treat...cotton candy, it sure beats monkey brains!

I made Ronnie go vote after work on the last day of early voting.  So he arrived a little late to the Trunk or Treat.  He invited his friend Jerry to come and enjoy the festivities also. 

                        

So here are Jerry and Ronnie dressed up as two guys that just got off work.  I won't tell you why Ronnie is laughing so hard, you'll have to ask him yourself.  That Jerry is one funny guy.  Too bad he's moving in a few weeks. We'll sure miss him.

It was getting late and the natives were getting restless. For real...what you don't believe me?

                                         

                                                                                     See.....proof!

                                                                          So we high tailed it home.

                                               We hope you all had a Fun and Safe Halloween!