surprise!

Well, we have reached the end of another semester.  I thought it would be fun to plan a special night out for Dave. I started looking around, trying to find something fun but not to expensive.

I found an old theater that was showing A Christmas Story! We went to an Italian restaurant before then the movie after. Dave loves Italian, but we rarely go. He was very surprised by both events planned for the evening.

The theater opened in 1927 sat empty for 20 years beginning in the 80s and experienced a lot of damage. In 2004, they reopened after renovating the whole theater. It was so beautiful inside and out. I can't imagine all the work it took to get it back in working order.

The Genesee Theater, Waukegan, IL

We decided to get seats in the balcony and that was the perfect place to watch the movie.

They showed old movie shorts for previews. They also showed the movie on actual film! It was such a fun experience.

view from our seats

I have to say that I've grown tired of A Christmas Story over the years, and often fall asleep when its on. I really enjoyed seeing it this past weekend. Its the first time I've watched it all the way through in a long time. It was fun to hear people around us laughing and enjoying themselves.

The smile of a relieved man!

They will be showing a few movies in January. We might just have to go back again!

cinnamon roll extravaganza

Every year for the past few years, I've been very fortunate to be part of the annual cinnamon roll extravaganza!

For many years my friends put up with me being more of a supervisor than participant. This year was much different. I was melting butter, placing rolls in pans, and getting them in the oven.

Shannon and Jodi

One of the best parts of this year was that I was able to surprise 3 out of my 4 friends! I was so happy to be able to be there, and it was a lot of fun to surprise my friends. It was a refreshing evening.

Me, Jodi, Shannon, and Joanne

This year we didn't make as many as in years past. We only made 19 pans and had to taste one while we were still there!

Me, Jodi, Shannon, Molly, Joanne

This year we met at Molly's house. It was so fun to get to see her house and all of her treasures! Check out this cool kitchen!

Overall, it was a very successful night! We made the rolls in record time, and had plenty of time to chat after. It is always a fun night and I'm so glad I was able to be there!

christmas treats

Since I am all about getting in the Christmas spirit this year, I decided to make some homemade treats. This is not something that happens often. In fact, the last time this probably occurred was when I was a child.

First, I melted Hershey kisses on the square pretzels, then put the top on and dipped them in white chocolate. Final touches with the red sprinkles. These were probably my favorite to make and they turned out super yummy!

I'm not sure if these peanut butter, chocolate pretzels were good or not. They look very tasty, but I never actually got to taste one!

Just in case you needed proof, Dave got a couple pictures of me actually making these sweet treats!

Dave even helped! I'm not sure if he was more interested in helping me with my treats or avoiding studying :)

Dave helped supervise the making of the peppermint bark. It is one of his favorites!

I think that those that got these sweet treats have enjoyed them. I really did enjoy making them! Might even have to make some more before this Christmas season is over!

christmas time is here

Generally at this time of year I tend to be some what of a bah-hum-bug when it comes to Christmas music and decorating. This year I feel a little bit more in the mood for Christmas, but don't get too excited. Just a little bit more. :)

The first Christmas Dave and I knew each other, he couldn't seem to understand me when I said, "I don't put up a Christmas tree." I asked him what he liked so much about Christmas tree's and he said the lights, so I made him the first ever wall tree.  This is our 3rd Annual Mosher Family Christmas tree.

There have been a few upgrades this year. First, the tree is full size as you can see. The last two years it has been smaller. Second, you will see one ornament hanging from the tree. Not just any ornament, a hand made ornament that I made at my Bible study this week. See! Getting in the Christmas spirit!

So far we have watched 3 Christmas moves with another on the way this week. I can hardly believe myself! Then, I got the crazy idea that I wanted us to make gingerbread houses! It must be this whole turning 30 thing. I'm not in my wacky 20s so I might be changing my ways.

putting our houses together

You may think these are for kids, but getting these houses to stand and stay together is some task! The decorating was a lot of fun. I think Dave enjoyed eating the decorations more!

Overall, I think they turned out pretty good. Now we have our own Christmas village.

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving break was great. We spent Thursday with Dave's family at his grandparents house and then Friday at my parents. I had one major issue while we were home. I totally forgot to take my camera to Dave's family Thanksgiving. And, I was having such a good time chatting, I didn't even take any on my phone! Then, I looked through my pictures from my family Thanksgiving, and they are all Ethan, except for one. Lesson learned. But, since I have them, I will show you a few of my favorites of my little nephew!

Ethan - 10 months

My mom got up in the attic to bring down some of our old toys for Ethan to play with. I think at first, Elizabeth and I were more interested in them than he was! But soon after he began to enjoy them.

Not this one, this one made him cry. And I don't really blame him. The little blue "record" in the top would make the train play music while it rolled across the floor. Not sure if it was the moving, or the music that scared him the most!

We had so much fun playing with Ethan now that he is getting a little bigger.

My Grandma Carr made us these blocks when we were little. I'm not sure my mom thought they would make it through the washing machine, but sure enough they did and they looked like new. It was neat to have a different appreciation for all the hard work she put into each side of the blocks.

Ethan also enjoyed helping Grammy in the kitchen getting everything ready.

We had a great time with both of our families. It always seems too short. Dave came back to the final stretch of this semester. He has worked really hard and is very ready for Christmas break! We've been getting into the Christmas spirit around here. Look for another post very soon!

I'll leave you with one picture not of Ethan. My Dad and my brother-in-law Randy.

big city, little girls

We were so happy to have the opportunity to meet up with Dave's brother's family this past week. Ian was in the city for work, Leah brought the girls up, and we rode the train in to meet them. We had a blast! We met up with Leah and the girls at Navy Pier.

 Is there anything better than two sweet girls running into your arms? I don't think so! It warms our hearts and we love them so much!

Lillian - 4 1/2 years old

Olivelle - 2 1/2 yrs old

We walked through Navy Pier and headed to the hotel.

Once we got Leah and the girls to their hotel room and read a quick book, we were off for a dinner adventure.

The girls were troopers. We could tell they were getting tired! They had a big day full of lots of fun. Lily was getting a little relaxed while Uncle Dave was talking it up :)

We miss our families so much while we're away. It is so nice to see them even if its only for the evening. It was hard to leave them that night, but we are thankful for the time we had. Can't wait to see everyone at Thanksgiving!

pumpkins, pancakes, and pool

We had the very special treat of being visited by my whole family this past weekend! It was so fun to have them here and get to spend time all together.

On Saturday night we went to the Highwood Pumpkin Fest. There were 38,000 carved pumpkins. Pretty impressive. There were also 38,000 people (slight exaggeration) so we didn't stay long. But, we were there long enough to get a few good pictures!

At the festival, there were two bands playing at once and lot of vendors and food. But, it was way too crowded to enjoy any of that. I really did enjoy seeing this cutie! He melts my heart!

Nephew Ethan - 9 months

Sunday morning we got together for breakfast. Ethan loves to put his feet up and relax.

Then it was off to the pool. The water was so warm. I had a great time swimming around with Ethan. He is so much fun to be around. As is the rest of the family :)

It was so great to have a visit from family. Dave felt so refreshed after having some down time. Thanks everyone for coming and enduring the long car ride with an infant. It meant so much to us.

Now, we get to look forward to another visit from family this week....so stay tuned!

nascar

We are so blessed to have been gifted some really fun things. First, we got the Cubs tickets, then Dave's good friend from school offered to work at a NASCAR race in order to get 4 tickets! As you know, Dave loves car racing so this was a real treat!

Chicagoland Motor Speedway

We had beautiful weather and great seats. But the best part was spending time with our friends, James and Lauren.

Sorry about no shirt...it is NASCAR :)

When we moved here, we found it hard having to start over making friends. I think that you want to have instant friendships, when really they take time to develop. Over the last several months, those relationships have begun to develop into great friendships. We are so happy to be making friends with great people, that will be sure to last a very long time.

Thank you James for getting up early and working at the race so we could go. And more importantly, thank you for serving our country. Lauren, thanks for coming along with a good attitude and putting up with the Jayma-tude. :)

We are blessed!