Fluffing Day!

My parents inherited a humongous fake Christmas Tree from my grandparents a few years ago. I mean, this guy's over 12 feet tall, or as my dad explained, it's two Spencers tall. And it's beautiful! It reminds me of the Christmas Tree in The Nutcracker, that grows larger and larger as the mice and dolls scamper out.

So every year, my dad pulls the mammoth tree out, shakes it a bit to make sure no little critters got in it, and hauls it into our entry. Then Fluffing Day begins! This year, my parents' house is on the Christmas Home Tour for our ward so it needed to be spectacular!

We all help (sometimes not willingly) to hook in the branches, pull them apart and FLUFF. And believe me there is a ton that needs fluffing.

Spencer and my dad had to get on the barstools to hoist the top part of the tree onto the rod. Mom kept saying, "Watch your fingers!" So of course, Spencer screams as soon as they hook it on and scares my mom into thinking that he got his fingers caught. haha. What would we do without our goofy Spencer?

It's a fun tradition in the end as we goof off, laugh, stay in our pajamas, scratch our arms on the branches, scare mom and have fun together as a family. Happy Fluffing Day!

 

Love these goofballs!

Piviniters!

Piviniters are a Norwegian cookie. My Grandpa Gary's aunt used to make them all the time. I'm told she used to have bags and bags of them and give them away to all her friends and relatives. My Grandma Trudy loved them and so she now continues the tradition and our heritage.  (Even though I get my Norwegian background from my Dad's side from relatives like Rydalch Thor Rhivinildson :)

They are a small hard cookie, similar in color to a butter cookie. The tell-tale ingredient in Piviniters though, is Cardiman. A very expensive spice and very potent.

We all had fun rolling out the dough in our hands like we were making breadsticks then cutting away the dough with a knife to make our cute little Piviniters! (Isn't that a fun word to say? Piviniters! Even though I have no idea how to really spell it, but that's what it sounds like.)

The Piviniter Group wishes you God Jul!

Disneyland...again!

My family loves Disneyland and so naturally they have Season Passes. So naturally they go a lot. Since I was home, I got to go too! We hopped between the two parks and the weather was perfect--until it got dark and we were freezing--and we hopped from ride to ride. My favorites are The Haunted House (that's my grandpa's and my ride), Space Mountain, Pirates, California Screamin' and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (me and Aunt Heather's ride). For some reason, when I was little, Mr. Toad's journey into Hell really fascinated me. haha.

Of course, we ate churros. We watched the Christmas Lights Parade from the Small World line. Met Spencer's girlfriend, Haylan. :) Went on California Screamin' twice in a row. And froze on a bench for a little. Wonderful day!

Thanksgiving 2009 in California!

What a wonderful Thanksgiving! I was so blessed to be able to have almost 2 weeks off of work. So what did I do? Visit my family of course! I haven't had a Thanksgiving with my family in 3 years. But the food was just as amazing as I remembered. The women, and men, in my family are amazing cooks! We celebrated the day at Grandma Trudy and Grandpa Gary's house. I love how my grandma decorates. Everything is so opulent and grand but warm, comfortable and cozy.

 My family was so brave this year and used actual plates and silverware! :) When you have 24 plus people and all of their dishes, paper and plastic is the way to go! But Grandma says Thanksgiving dinner tastes better on real plates with real utensils. :) So we braved the extra dishes.

After dinner and some relaxation to help our tummies settle from all the wonderful food, we started Thanksgiving Turkey Bingo! A Larkins' Family Tradition!

 

Sweet Clara and Colette made each of the girls a bracelet and then wrote on a piece paper why they were thankful for each member of our family. They passed them out before Bingo. Love them.

Our Bingo papers crack me up because they are personalized with family sayings and facts like "mountain dew"-my grandpa's favorite drink- and "got a bone in your neck!?"-something my great-grandpa GG used to say as he grabbed your collarbone- along with the traditional words like turkey and pilgrim. This year, the Clifts and Ron's mother, Joyce, were with us. Colette was my Bingo buddy. Matthew and Charlie cheated. :) I grabbed Scott about three pairs of socks. And Dad was the Bingo master again.

The kids get a little intense with it, worried they won't get Bingo. haha. But my Dad makes sure to go around the room, checking the little kids Bingo cards and calling out what they need :) It's a little rigged obviously, but so much fun. Once you've won, you yell BINGO! then it's Prizes! Prizes! Prizes! A lot of the kids hide the prizes they really want beforehand so they make sure they get it. haha. Love that Turkey Bingo.

I am so thankful for my family! Especially my wonderful husband, who sadly had to stay in Idaho. He went to his sister's house for Thanksgiving. Thank you Bensons for feeding him!

Five things I am grateful for:
1. My husband
2. My family
3. My Savior
4. My health
5. My husband's support and love in letting me be with my family for Thanksgiving.

November Birthdays!

While I was in California, I was able to celebrate birthdays for two very special people! My dad and my cousin Charlie!

Charlie turned 12 and is now a deacon! He was so excited to be able to pass the sacrament and give his first Sacrament Meeting talk that next Sunday. He is a sweetheart, shy, super cute (the ladies love him), a superb athlete and my first boy cousin. Love you Charlie Man!

Dad turned 48 and was recently called as the 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency! Dad is always a rock--both physically and spiritually. He is funny, out-going, giving, dedicated, smart, and the best Dad in the world! Love you Poppy!

The Perks of Working at a Bridal Store

Me, Melissa, Jessica + New Dresses + Closed = PLAY TIME

thanks Jordan (Melissa's husband) for indulging us and taking the pics.
Camera, please stop taking such pixelated pictures. I've had enough. -Cristine

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo...National Novel Writing Month.

I decided to take the challenge this year and write a 50,000 word/175 page novel in 30 days. So from November 1st to midnight on November 30th I will be writing like a madwoman. As of right now, I feel hopelessly behind and nowhere near the 10,000 words I need to reach by the end of today. But, I'm trying to stay optimistic and keep inspired.

The team at NaNoWriMo assures everyone that particpates its worthwhile and though the end result is often "crap" its the first stage to get a novel going. My inner editor is having an anxiety attack because all I want to do is read back through what I've written and change things. I'm a perfectionist and nothing I write feels great to me. Why can't I be Stephenie Meyer, or Suzanne Collins or Laurie Halse Anderson?

But I'm proud to say that I havent read through it ONCE! This is a MAJOR breakthrough for me. Right now the goal is WRITE WRITE WRITE and try to be happy about it. Writing a novel has always been a goal for me and is always in the back of my mind. NaNoWriMo is a good excuse to knuckle down and get 'er done.

The team at NaNoWriMo advised a way to keep you on track and forced to finish it: Tell Everyone You're Writing a Novel and you'll feel pressured to finish. Peer pressure in this case seems to be a great thing.

So here I go. Only 45,468 words to go. Yikes.

The BIG 26!!!

October 17th was Scott's birthday and we received a big suprise! The Powells (Scott's sister and her family) were coming to visit!--Brent, Holly, Jackson, Jacob and Ethan. They were so sweet to make the long drive from Colorado and make Scott feel special on his special day.

We did so many fun things while they were here. We went to Big Judd's--home of the massive hamburger, played around in a straw maze--Brent is a great map follower and got us through so quickly... if I had been leading the way we would probably still be in there.

We also went to a local pumpkin patch, played with our neighbors' bassett hound puupy, Hank, watched movies and of course went out to eat for Scott's birthday. We took Holly and Brent to our new favorite spot--Grandpa's Southern BBQ. delicious. scrumptious.

Later, we sang "Happy Birthday" and Scott blew out his candles on top of a yummy cheesecake with strawberries. It was a fun weekend spent with family that we rarely get to see. Thanks Powells for visiting us and especially for being such great in-laws to me. We love you!

For Scott's Sunday Birthday dinner I made his favorite--roast beef with carrots, onions and homemade mashed potatos and gravy (its a secret recipe that my grandma has passed down to me. shh.) My sister Brittany and brother Spencer came over for the night from Rexburg. We watched a movie, talked and ate Scott's favorite dessert--his mom's recipe for strawberry pie.

It was a fun, fun weekend for a wonderful, funny, fabulous, handsome, hard-working, caring, perfect husband!

I love you sweetheart! Have fun playing with your presents!

It's official...

only 24 more days until the midnight premiere of New Moon. And yes, I already have my ticket.

Finally, Almonzo!!

finally!

Today was the big day. Almonzo Wilder finally realized he loved Laura. Ahhhhh. What a relief. I have been anticipating this blessed episode for weeks, maybe even months.

Yes. Months. I watch my Little House on the Prairie religiously every day. Heaven bless the Hallmark channel.

Poor Laura. All she wanted was to be recognized as a woman and not a little girl. For years she has been in love with him, but he always saw her as a fun little friend. Her one goal was to become a teacher. If she was a teacher, then maybe he would see her as a woman. She becomes a teacher and finally he gets a clue! Silly Almonzo. Oh, What wonderful drama and girlish giddiness!

When Almonzo looked at her with those loving eyes as he helped her in the buggy, I giggled! When he punched that silly boy in the face, I squealed! When he gave her that shawl on her sweet sixteen and they kissed at the Church Social, I screamed!

I can't wait for the next few episodes. And when they walk down the aisle at their wedding, I'll cry as if I was really there. Again, Heaven Bless the Hallmark channel.

Pearls

Certain "pearls" spoken at The General Relief Society Broadcast impressed me. It's always a confidence boost--"you are wonderful"--and then a challenge--"you can be even more wonderful."

Sister Julie B. Beck (General President)

• Relief Society was part of the gospel restored in the Restoration.
• Attendance is a small part of magnifying Relief Society.
• Use Relief Society time in an inspired way.
• What does my ward/Relief Society need me to do?
• Become partners with the Lord in your Visiting Teaching.
• Never suppress a generaous thought.

Sister Silvia H. Allred (1st Counselor)

• Be a righteous heroine.
• Your Relief Society attendance will bless you. But your Relief Society participation will bless the whole church.

Sister Barbara Thompson (2nd Counselor)

• Mind the gap between believing in Jesus Christ and being valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ.
• Recognize the Lord's approval. He loves you dearly.
• Be a holy woman.

President Henry B. Eyring

• The great legacy/foundation that Relief Society should follow is Charity.
• There is no salvation without compassionate service.
• The legacy is passed from heart to heart.
• When you are on the Lord's errand you will be inspired.
• "Our legacy never faileth because charity never faileth." -Lucy Mack Smith

One of the main points I got from the meeting was that everything we do as a Relief Society should be done in the name of Relief Society. I admit, that as Sister Beck announced the discontinuing of the name Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment, I was nervous. I thought it was the end of Enrichment all together, and I have already spent so much time on my calling and especially the infamous Super Saturday on the 24th.

But all is well. Pretty much we just have to change the name to Relief Society Super Saturday!

I am so grateful for the guidance and direction that we receive from our living Prophet and righteous leaders. What a blessing to be able to listen to General Conference this weekend and receive inspired teaching. Happy Conference!

Bakers "Knead" Dough? I don't think so.

But, Kitchens "Need" some Fleur De Lis'!

Enough said.

Pillow Talk

Hubby is scared of two things: spiders and zombies.

Last night, as we drifted to sleep. Hubby told me about his newest video game: Left 4 Dead. Apparently, if you lose, the zombies come and eat you.

"It scared me," he said. "I played it alone and in the dark."

"Zombies aren't real, Scott," I say as comfortingly as possible.

"They could be! What about the Second Coming?!"

???

This leads to Hubby's theory that at the Second Coming, when the dead rise from their graves, they could turn into flesh-eating zombies designed as another plague to separate the wicked from the righteous. I reassured Hubby that I doubted Heavenly Father would ever use zombies.

He wasn't too comforted, but told me he loved me enough to kill me if I ever turned into a zombie. Thanks, babe.