I know I posted about my grandpa's book in a past post, but I just want to re-post about it to help get the word out.
My grandpa has written a handful of books and this is just another great addition to his collection.
"A hardy story of Kalev's flight from communism during World War II; his reunion with his family after decades of separation; and a powerful tribute to the people of Estonia and their fight for freedom." - Lester Perry
Here is the official website where you can read the first chapter, get to know Charles Kalev Ehin, and even order the book for yourself. I was lucky enough to get an autographed copy in person :)
There is even a documentary being worked on by my cousin Matt Sampson who works at Fox 13.
My grandpa has such an amazing story about his personal strive for freedom as well as Estonia's.
Man I really wish that I had had internet connection down in St. George this past weekend, now I'm way behind on posts and updates lol. So, I'll just have to summarize as best as I can :)
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On the 28th, my family (sans Ry&Mad) went laser tagging and out to dinner for my step-brother Sam's birthday. His birthday is the 29th but Tyson and I left for St. George/Vegas that day so we did it Wednesday instead.
Wish we had some pics from laser tagging - as ALWAYS, I completely lost. I feel like I'm always wrecking and then the scores come out and I'm almost dead last lol. Oh well, it's always fun though.
We went for some pizza at The Pie afterwards. Can't go wrong with this place!
Accidently ran over his gift card :) ha ma bad
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAN
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A LONG 4 and a half day weekend is just what I've needed. Sometimes you just feel like you're stuck in a rut of a routine with working everyday, and a mini-vaca is just what you need.
I love road trips! I end up getting pretty A.D.D. but belting out my favorite songs the whole way down really helps to pass the time - Tys was a good sport for putting up with it lol.
Friday, after getting some breakfast and Krave...
.....we were able to meet up with Tyson's sister and her boys for a little bit before they drove up to Highland to see the Bucks.
Mason loves his uncle Tys
Caleb is usually slow to warm up to us, but was a ball of fun the whole time :)
After a quick little visit, we made our way to Vegas for the night.
I LOVE driving through the gorge from St. George > Arizona > Nevada. Minus the nauseous winding roads, the view is gorgeous.
Vegas is so much fun at night and the strip is 100% more manageable when it's not New Years Eve.
I love just walking around and seeing Vegas; not to mention I love people watching lol. Although at times, Tys has to tell me to stop staring cuz I kind of just zone out and stare for minutes at a time haha.
Love that we were able to catch the Bellagio Fountain show
"Is this the real Caesar's Palace?"
LOVE the Cosmopolitan Hotel
Walking 3+ miles probably wasn't the best idea for Tyson's newly healed leg, and my back was starting to kill half way through the night; could we sound any more like an old pair of crippled people? lol
But we finally made it back to the Monte Carlo for the Jabbawockeez show!
The show was SO much fun! I really loved it! The only problem I had with it, and Tys could tell it was bugging me lol, was the fact that the original Jabbawockeez crew from America's Best Dance Crew, has 6 members (1 died a few years ago)...
.... the poster in Vegas shows 7 members....
...during the show I kept counting 8 on stage at times, and when they did their final bow, there were 11 total Jabbawockeez on stage.
Helloooo.... the original crew is 6, lets keep it that way. I get that maybe they get tired and need a sub-in, but it was completely obvious to me when it wasn't the originals on stage. Maybe it's a dancer's eye, but the talent just wasn't the same. I would have preferred if they took their masks off at the end to ease my mind that I hadn't paid all that money for some fakes lol.
Overall, DEFINITELY a fun show though :).
New Years Eve was extremely chill for us. We seriously didn't do a whole lot besides eat, played some games, and watched a Jersey Shore marathon to pass the time before the countdown lol. We're super exciting... we know :).
But, HAPPY 2012 EVERYONE!! 2011 was such a crazy year for us!!
*Wedding Plans
*Bridal Shower with friends
*Bridal Shower at work
*Bridal Shower with ward members
*College Graduation Ceremony
*Ryan and Madison got hitched
*Tys and I got married
*Tys left for the semester
*and we are finally back together to work on being married again lol
SUCH A CRAZY AND EVENTFUL YEAR!! Not sure if 2012 can even match up to it... although, we will be waiting for Ryan and Madison's baby announcement :). They want to start working on a family this year!!
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On our way back from St. George, we decided to stop at the Buck's house since a lot of the family was there. We had so much fun playing games with his grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, and family.
When things died down a bit, we decided to play some more Quelf before we left for the night. Yeah, we ended up playing until about 1:30am lol. It was so much fun though!
I had some hysterical video footage from my phone, but for some reason, when I tried to compile/edit it on the computer, it turned it all sideways - so annoying. But I did manage to get a few (appropriate) ones by themselves lol.
*If a Quelf card ever tells me not to laugh, I ALWAYS do! Without fail!
*Haylee & I had to play some leapfrog :)
*Tys had to instruct an aerobics class haha
Use your hands to tell a story
Wear a belt on your head like a ninja
You are twins conjoined at the hip
Dance like you are at the school prom
Make up your own yoga poses and name them
Always a good time at the Bucks
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Well, today is my last day of freedom before heading back to a busy week of work. It's been a nice, long, much needed break. Off to have some dinner at my mom's to see the fam!
Hope everyone had really fun holidays! And I hope 2012 brings you what you want :)
Hope everyone had a really great Christmas weekend! I know we did!
Friday, after my half day of work (woot!), Tys and I met up for lunch, then hit up the mall for some last minute shopping for him. Decided to pick up a jacket since he seems to be lacking them for some reason. Can't believe how crazy the mall is the day before Christmas - get your crap together earlier people! lol
That night, we went to the Planetarium to catch a show. I bought a 2 for 1 movie coupon on CityDeals.com back in June and it expires at the end of the month so we finally decided to just go use it. We ended up seeing "Starry Tales". It wasn't like their usual scientific explanation shows. It was in the Hanson Dome and was just a fun mythological take on the stars and their stories. It was fun :)
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Saturday, we drove down to his parent's house for Christmas Eve with the Bucks. We were really thrown off schedule this year; Ry&Mad are in Texas so we did Christmas day at my mom's and Christmas Eve at the Buck's - it's usually the other way around.
But it was a lot of fun! After a yummy brunch that Roxi made for us, we opened gifts. I got some super cute PJs from Victoria's Secret; Buck tradition :), some perfume, and a gift card to Hobby Lobby - they know me all too well lol. Tyson's mom and I should have coordinated better, turns out we both got him Modern Warfare 3 lol. Oh well, we'll trade one for a different gift.
You have to be a brave wife to buy your husband these games; you can definitely count on them playing for a minimum of an hour each time it's on lol.
Tyson and I bought the Bucks the game Quelf. It seriously is one of our new favorites. It is hysterical and really easy to catch onto. Lots of acting things out and making yourself look like an idiot lol. My kind of game :). Definitely a family game recommendation.
Jason and I humming a poem while being a Prison Guard with no lips and knees glued together lol
After playing Quelf for 2 hours, we headed over to Roxi's brother's house for family dinner. Just a bunch of the cousins together havin fun. Not only was there dinner, but a mini-Christmas program. All the kids performed their cute piano numbers, and then the Buck's had a different take on family talent lol
Definitely think Jason's skills are the best lol
Our matching jammies
After dinner at the Orr's, Tys and I were gonna just head home but decided to head back to the Buck's for another round of Quelf til 12:30 in the morning lol. Needless to say we slept in til about 11 on Sunday lol.
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Sunday, we went up to Suncrest to church with my mom. They had a Christmas Program that lasted a little longer than hoped for lol, but the kids singing Drummer Boy was so cute lol. I love this time of the year. The older we get, the more we realize how anti-climatic things seem, but realize more and more what things are REALLY about this day.
After church and after mom and I whipped up food for Christmas dinner, we opened gifts before eating. We got some great clothes, shoes, boots, cash, etc. The usual goods :). Thank you mama and Steph for the great gifts - we love em.
Bought mama a monogrammed robe from Pottery Barn
Shaggy Maxi
Tyson and I bought the game Things for the Shillingford family; so after dinner we all played. It is such a funny game. More of a chill game but definitely funny since things always manage to turn really raunchy with these types of games lol. So funny!
After our game, the family went to the movies to see Mission Impossible 4. I was really hesitant on going since I am not a Tom Cruise fan and didn't even see #'s 2 or 3. But, it was REALLY good! We saw it at the IMAX theatre at Jordon Commons and it was amazing! I've never seen a movie on that screen and it was huge! And the sound system was a amazing as well! Definitely a recommended movie to go see!
We definitely missed having Ryan and Madison around this year though. They better not be falling in love with Texas....
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My mom and Tyson made the mistake Roxi and I made, they doubled up on a crepe maker for me :). I love it though - it serves as a griddle as well. After picking up some groceries at the store this morning, I made crepes for brunch.
I've been in love with crepes since I first had one from our neighbor's the Williamson's (her blog is Purple Chocolat). Her husband Kirk makes the best ice cream crepes and I can't get enough of them now! Definitely think I need some recipe tips from them though.... mine just didn't have enough flavoring. But the filling and fruit was so yummy!
We finally finished the last 121st episode of Lost today! It was pretty confusing but I think I understood. People online don't seem to like how it ended but I did. Such a good show! Not sure what our next show will be :)
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Well, that's all for our Christmas weekend! Loved having the day off from work today. Not to mention, we'll be leaving for St. George/Vegas after work Thursday and we'll get back next Monday. Can't wait to get out of town :)
I feel so blessed that we live within miles of MULTIPLE temples. And not only that, but I'm so thankful and blessed that I'm able to attend sessions whenever I want to; for personal needs or for other's.
I need to start taking advantage of the opportunities to go whenever I want to. It's so gorgeous inside and out and no matter what is going on in my life, everything just becomes so peaceful and "right" when I'm there.
After dinner with my mom at 5 Guys tonight, Ryan, Mad, Tyson, & I drove up to see the lights at Temple Square. We were hoping it wouldn't be as crowded since it's a Tuesday night, but as always, it was packed.
But it was so much fun and so beautiful with all of the lights.
Don't mind the red eye :)
And as usual, Ry and Mad are ALWAYS the best couple to double date with :)
After we got home tonight, I decided to whip up some rolls I found on Pinterest yesterday; SO YUMMY!!! and so quick to make too!
The ones on Pinterest look a lot "dryer" than mine; plus I think they sprinkle more cheese on top afterwards.
Definitely a must try if you love rolls and carbs as much as we do :)
It's been said multiple times today, how nice it is not having to take Tyson back to the airport tonight :).
We had a fun, chill day of relaxing and seeing my family for a bit.
Sam, Al, & Steve
Mad & Tys
I would have loved to have enjoyed mama's chili and corn bread, but was too nervous to eat the chili still; don't need anything getting stuck in the empty holes in my mouth.
Haha love my chubby cheeks
But after some yummy cheesecake, Ry & Mad opened their Christmas gifts since they leave this weekend for Texas.
I made them this....
Another idea from Pinterest that kept me busy while Tyson was gone.
Turned out pretty cute i thought, but I also let them know I wouldn't be completely heart broken if they didn't use it either ;)
After they opened their gifts, we watched the 2011 Family DVD. . . I really wish I knew how to post the videos I make online, but I haven't reached that level of geek yet - one day!
It turned out SO good and the family loved it too! They keep telling me to turn it into a business; but like my other hobbies, I think it would suck the fun out of it for me if it turned into a "job".
After enjoying our year in pictures (and video accompanied by music), we started playing one of our new favorite games... Sardines.
This game is so much fun at my mom's house. It's always completely dark, silent, and the creepy fog outside tonight was a nice addition ;).
My mom is the funniest because she can't help but giggle when she's found the group lol. SUCH a fun game!
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We're back at the apartment though, ready for a new week of work and responsibilities :p. I've really enjoyed my 4 day weekend, relaxing, and being a wife again.
Even whipped up some of Tyson's favorite cupcakes when I got home...
Such a great weekend! Can't wait for more holiday fun for the next couple of weeks :D
