Christmas Preparations and Cabin Fever

Feliz Navidad Everyone!

Can you believe it is only 11 days til Christmas!? Holy freakin amaze bats! Am I the only one that thinks just yesterday felt like Thanksgiving?! I guess staying busy has really made us lose track of time.

After our trip to Utah for Thanksgiving, we were able to finally get some Christmas decorations up! This is definitely one of my favorite parts of December. It pretty much is the intro to the season.
I may or may not have had this image flashing in my mind while humming the tune while decorating the Christmas tree....

And don't pretend you aren't humming it right now yourself....

I talked Ian into getting a real tree. Let's be honest here.... to me, Christmas is not the same without a REAL tree! The smell, forgetting to water it, the dropping needles, the worry that your dog might pee on it. I mean, what else spells Christmas more than that!?

But anyway, we got the tree home with no problem. The only minor detail was that neither of us had put a tree in a tree stand before. (My dad always did it and Ian never had a real tree before.)

Let's just say, there were frustrations, arm scratches, piles of needles, and a few cuss words, but in the end, it looked great! A bit of a lean to it, but we decided it gave it character and didn't want to risk our lives again by trying to get it any straighter. It was totally worth it!

(Oh, don't worry, these are branches that came off the tree while we tried putting the stand on...we improvised.)

We switched out the pic in Frank's stocking.

Not only did we decorate the inside, I recruited the boys into putting up the outdoor lights as well. 

Notice the white lights in the windows? We had alot of extra light strand, so....

We decorated Ian's office desk with them.

Genius.

Ian had a few days off this week, so we also got some Christmas shopping done...

We may have procrastinated a bit on gift purchasing online, so for those of you who don't get a gift on Christmas, hold on to your boots, cause Santa always comes through.... on January 7th, to be exact.

Frank also got to enjoy his first experience with snow!

It's really hilarious to watch him prance around. Ever seen Bambi?

Yeah, that's Frank. 

They don't really plow the roads here in Boise, so the roads can get really slick and icy. Let's just say, my new favorite past time is taking Frank on walks since he is an ice skating freak. 

Watch out Michelle Kwan!

He loves the snow so much, that this is where he sat most of the first day it came down.

"If I put my snow pants and gloves on, can I please go out to play?"

Too bad he is a wuss, and can only last 10 minutes outside anyway.

And SINCE he is a big baby because of the cold (me too), the doggy park, and walks have drastically dwindled. 

Thus, he has come down with a case of DCF.

"What is DCF?" You ask?

Doggy Cabin Fever. 

Lint Roller

Train set signs and Ian's iPad stylus

His own toy

Let's continue with the list shall we?

*A Burt's Bee's Chapstick (this is the 2nd)

*HDMI remote

*TV remote

*Apple TV remote

*Nail Clippers

*Lint from the dryer (he pulls out of the garbage)

*Used Dryer sheets (he pulls out of the garbage)

*My work out pants (which now have nice little holes in the crotch)

*and let's not forget Ian and My unmentionables that he pulls from the laundry hamper.

We now have a check list of things to do when we leave, so that his DCF doesn't flare up.

*Both bathroom doors are closed

*Guest bedroom door is closed

*T.V. is on

*Ottoman has been cleared of anything to chew on

*Hamper lid is down

*He has gone out to potty

Oh the joys of puppyhood. Luckily we have received some good advice to keep this from happening again. 

My angry "I'm asking Santa for a new dog." whisperings to him haven't worked.

So far, we haven't had anymore issues. Let's just hope it stays that way. *Knock on wood*

But when Frank isn't terrorizing the house. He can be kinda cute. 

Notice most of these pics are of him sleeping.

His front paws on the floor, his back legs on the couch, and his head on the ottoman. Freaking weirdo.

Well that's about it for us! We will be down in Utah next Wednesday. We hope to see you all! We love you! Merry Christmas!

"No, no! We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here! We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny freaking Kaye! And when Santa squeezes his fat white bum down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of idiots this side of the nuthouse!"

-Clark Griswold

(National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation)

*Slightly edited*

A Utah Thanksgiving

Happy December everyone!

Is it just me, or has this year gone by cray cray fast!? Ian and I have been married 6 months in a few days... wow... time flies when you are happily married I guess. :)

We got to head down to Utah for Thanksgiving. Oh, and don't worry, we starved ourselves for a few days before hand because we had 2 Thanksgiving dinners. My parents and Ian's parents. Ok, we didn't really starve ourselves, but we probably should have. Talk about a food baby!

We stayed at Ian's parents this trip and Ian's grandma got to make it up from Fairview. We were excited to be able to have Thanksgiving with her. We don't get to see her very often due to the distance, but we promised her a few more frequent phone calls.

Thanksgiving day travels

Thanksgiving day relaxation

Grandma's dog likes Ian

Franklin's favorite chair at Ian's parents... he barely fits anymore.

Ian caught a nasty cold right before we headed down to Utah so the poor guy was miserable the entire trip. But you can bet we still made it to the U of U game...

We also got to hit up Italian Village for pizza benders with Ian's family... Holy Yum! If you have never been, please proceed to investigate... it will rock your world.

We also had my dad take our family Christmas card pics at Gardner Village. 

My sister had my dad do their family pictures as well, so we got to hang with this little babe...

If you were to ask me what I missed most about Utah, I would say family and friends (Obvi) but I would also say, "This view."

We don't really have "Mountains" here in Boise. They call them mountains, but they really look more like high rolling hills. They aren't the REAL thing.

Well we got home with lots of Nyquil, cough drops, and lemon tea for Ian and Christmas music for me. Ian still had to recover from his cold, so Frank took it upon himself to help out by cuddling....

Then he got bashful.....

(He honestly does this to himself...someday I am going to give him a cover wagon.)

But in reality, the guy is pretty photogenic.

Well that's our recap from the last couple weeks. We will be making it back down to Utah the weekend before Christmas. Hurray for Christmas! We love you all and in case we don't see you this month.....

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."

-Oprah Winfrey

Fall Holidays

Hey there everyone!

Happy late Halloween and soon to be Thanksgiving! We have been filling our time with holiday goodness lately and we want to share with you what we have been up to! Last time I posted, it was just before the Halloween holiday so this post will back track a little bit.

We were able to carve pumpkins finally... the day before Halloween. But we are glad we waited to do so because SO many other doorstep pumpkins that had been carved earlier in the month had already started to rot. Yeah, pretty much ours were pumpkin perfection....

How can I carve a pumpkin so well? You ask.... It's because I trained young.

Halloween was a blast. Luckily we were able to find costumes for us all. I am determined to find costumes next year that relate to each other ....this year was kinda miscellaneous. 

We found Ian a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle onsie pajama that worked perfect for his costume and Frank was a crocodile, alligator, dinosaur, dragon mix... whatever people called him, we just agreed with.

I pulled out an old costume from years ago that luckily still fit... Raspberry Tart.

The only thing missing from Ian's costume was a mask to cover his eyes... we attempted to find some cloth so that I could make one for him, but we ran out of time. Lucky the hubby is very ingenuitive and found something at the pharmacy that worked just as well...

My Hubby is a genius.

Ian had to work til 10:00 pm so he missed the trick or treaters, but let's be honest here... we only had 4. 

Frank and I made up the difference by going to the ward Trunk or Treat where we got to get rid most of the candy.

It was too exciting for the Frank so he crashed out early, only waking up to welcome the trick or treaters.

The next weekend we were able to have my parents visit us! We had a blast! Ian had to work most days they were here but we were able to take them to dinner together and Frank and I got to spend some quality time with them.

I took them on a drive through Julie Davis Park, through downtown, and over to the temple.

We also had a church mishap. Since Ian and I haven't been able to attend church the last 3 weeks. (Due to work and Utah trips) We weren't notified it was Stake Conference. We were an hour and 15 minutes late, but luckily we found where it was held and got to hear a few talks. Haha My bad... sorry mom and dad.

My mom also was able to help me make caramel apples. Perfect fall snack!

We've also had a few other visitors... bugs. I don't know how many times I have said this, but I SWEAR Idaho bugs are 10 times larger than Utah bugs...and way more weird looking. 

Take a look at this sucker... I don't even know what the freak it is...

Or how about this beauty?... It's a freaking ginormous slug...

Ian wouldn't touch the thing. 

We were also able to attend a birthday party for a good friend of ours here. Sue does Zumba with me and I am her visiting teacher. They have had us over for dinner before and we just love them. 

Happy Birthday Sue!

Well, you don't really think about it when you are getting married, but once you have moved into your own place, you realize that you now have to decorate your own house. Not just for everyday, but especially for holidays and I LOVE it! Ian and I have slowly been accruing decorations for each holiday and since Halloween was now over, we started on Thanksgiving.

Luckily we recycled the pumpkins and gourds we had out for Halloween. They totally could be used for both holidays. I am just excited to start on Christmas, but don't worry, I told Ian we aren't even allowed to LOOK down the Christmas decoration isle until AFTER Thanksgiving. It's only fair. Thanksgiving always gets the shaft by people skipping over it from Halloween straight to stockings and egg nog.  I am here to make sure it gets the attention it deserves!

Oh and on a side note... I finally got my name changed....

Hello Taylynn Pugh Borovatz. Nice to meet you.

And since it is the season for things to be grateful for (I haven't been doing the Facebook "daily things I am thankful for". I figured I would put a few things here on the blog).

Here is a small list for myself...

I am grateful for care packages and sweet notes... (Thank you Marilyn)

I am grateful for specific family members that tell us when we need to shower.

I am grateful for the same specific family member that tactfully lets me know I am reading too much and not giving him enough attention.

I am grateful for puppy dog eyes.

I am grateful for no alone time, because it let's me know I am loved. 

I am grateful for friends who share their herb garden bounty with me.

I am grateful for strong handsome hubbys and patient pups.

I am grateful for daydreamers that keep my feet warm.

Oh, how I could go on and on, but thus this post would never end.  Tis the season to be Thankful! 

Well finally I'll end the post with the many faces of Franklin Mark Borovatz...

How did I get so lucky!?

Once again, we love you all and are more than thankful for your love and friendships! We will actually be making it down to Utah for Thanksgiving, but in case we don't see you, please know you are loved and we hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

"Thank you God for the world so sweet. 

Thank you God for the food we eat. 

Thank you God for the birds that sing. 

Thank you God for everything."

-Primary Song and Nursery Rhyme