I          absolutely         h e a r t           the           holidays!


From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, is my favorite time of year!


People are just generally excited and happy. I  l o v e  giving gifts and just spending time with friends and family. Jonathan and I made a really tough decision this year, we are staying in Iowa for  C h r i s t m a s. With me not having a job and it being expensive to drive and Jonathan has a recital to get ready for in  J a n u a r y.  It was hard, but we know that it is the best. We are going to seriously miss spending the Holidays with family, but we do have some great friends that are also going to be around for C h r i s t m a s, so at least we won't be alone. 


So Jonathan and I decided that we wanted to get going on some new traditions this year for our little family. We are going to buy a new ornament each year that symbolizes where we are and what we are doing. We are adopting my family's tradition of making Gyoza from scratch on  C h r i s t m a s  E v e.  From Jonathan's family we are doing the marathon day of baking and taking awesome variety plates of deliciousness to people. 


I also decided that we needed to get new stockings. Jonathan and I both have the ones that we had when we were kids and I thought that it was time for us to have matching ones. I never found anything that I really liked so I decided to make them.


They turned out so awesome! I didn't even use a pattern! They took me a while with all the stitching, but they were worth it! By making them too, when we have kids I can make them little ones that match. I am excited. Here are some pics. I know that pride is a sin, but I am super proud of them!

Soup

My extremely talented friend in the ward has this amazing soup recipe, and since I have been raving about it to many, I decided that I should share the amazingness that it is. Props to Nicole and Heidi for this one. Mostly my Mom and Sister have asked about it and I want everyone to enjoy it!

Baked Potato Soup


2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 Green onion, chopped
12 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
6 potatoes, cooked, peeled, and cubed
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz of Sour cream
3/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper


In a large pot, melt butter, stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Add potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; stir cheese until melted.


Tips: Don't skimp and use low fat or fat free anything, except for milk. I think I used 1%...and DON'T USE turkey bacon. It's just not the same. 

I am determined to not be that person that never updates their blog. Not too much has happened recently. I have been looking for jobs without much luck and the store closes in a week and a half. Yikes. Right after it closes I am going to Colorado for a week to spend some time with my parents. That will be a nice little break. I just really wish that Jonathan could come with, but he is busy with school. Something cool though, is that Jonathan played with the Temptations a couple weeks ago. They were out here and played for Homecoming. It was awesome. They played all of their classics and worked all their awesome dance moves. There is still one original member. I went with my neighbors across the hall Joe and Jessica. We had fun. We actually weaseled our way pretty close to the front. I guess it comes from all those years of riding the trains in Japan and my mom sending me in through the crowds of people to get a seat. Good times. At least that skill has now come in handy. Here is a pic from the show.

Let's see...

Jonathan's birthday was yesterday. He turned 29! He wasn't feeling very well as he has an ear infection, a sinus infection, bronchitis, and possibly walking pneumonia. Poor guy. We just mostly hung aound the house since it was my day off. I got him the most awesome gift ever! He has wanted one for a while and I finally found a place to get one. It is an industrial real street sign that says "Slide Area"

I was excited about it.

Welp, I am lacking for witty stories. Check back at a later time and hopefully I will be employed soon!

-Kate

Boo

Welp... I have now learned not to ask "What could happen next?" when bad things are happening because well... things just keep happening. I went into work this morning and the owner called me around noon to inform me that she san longer keep our store open. She is closing my location. She has 2 other locations that she is keeping open closer to where she lives. As she is telling me all this I am thinking that it will probably be sometime around the end of the year. Nope, October 31st is the last day the store will be open. I am so shocked. I have worked there for over 2 years and have been the manager for a year. Now I have to find a new job. I have no idea what I am going to do. I have definitely learned to not ask that question, or you will get an answer that you don't really want. All I really have to say about it is that with all the bad things that have been going on, there will hopefully be something good coming...right?

Two blogs in the same month! That's an improvement.

It has been a whirlwind of a couple weeks. Jonathan and I have been busy, then you throw in a last minute trip to Utah for a funeral and a concert and things can seem crazier than they are. My Grandfather passed away a couple weeks ago and thanks to my totally awesome brother in law, I was able to fly on buddy passes to Salt Lake so that I could go to the funeral. Poor Jonathan did have to drive me to Chicago so that I could fly out with Kim and the kids, but I was able to fly home through Cedar Rapids, which is only about 20 minutes from the house. Minus the fact that we were there for a funeral, it was still really nice to spend time with family and maybe have some Cafe Rio... So this was last weekend and this past weekend Jonathan and I went to Des Moines for the Dave Matthews concert!!! It was my birthday present and just as amazing as I hoped. We stayed in the really neat hotel that happened to be only a 15 minute walk to the venue, so it was nice to be able to walk and not have to worry about parking. This is my 3rd time seeing Dave and it never gets old and they are always amazing. I think that he is the one famous person that I would really LOVE to meet. It was extra cool because Tim Reynolds was there and he just rocks it! I think my dream one day is to have front row seats. It is the one thing I really want. (That was for you Jess) Anyway, here are some pics from the concert and my weekend in Salt Lake.

This was right after the funeral. The had to jump the hearse!!! I just missed the money shot! Only at Grandpa's funeral would we have to jump the hearse. It was kinda funny.

We stopped at the Gateway briefly and Blythe had to carry the bag. She really is my kinda girl! Loves to shop!

She also had fun in my heels. A girl has to own a pair of red heels.

She also had to carry around both of her bags at the same time. So much like her Aunt Kate. Sorry Kim! Good luck with that, I hope that she isn't too much like me!

This was before it started. We had decent seats. Obviously the ground seats were closer, but it wasn't worth it to me to have to get there 5 hours early to get in line, so that I could be in the front. Plus having no option to sit. We opted for the seats instead.

I think that the opening band was about to go on here...

Waiting for Dave to come on... No I am not patient!

And there they are...is this heaven? No, this is Iowa!!!!! But it sure felt close.

Wow...shameful...

So I am officially one of those people that I hate that never updates their blog. Sorry for the few of you that actually check my blog. I can't seem to sleep tonight, so I thought that I should make good use of my time and post.
This has been a crazy summer to say the least.
-Jonathan taught for 2 weeks at a summer camp
-Went to a Single A baseball game
-Went to Chicago
-Turned 25!
-Went to Des Moines for awesome cheesecake and birthday shopping!
-Went to Nauvoo (went to the temple and the pageant)
-My parents came to visit
-Jonathan's grandfather passed away and he went to the funeral
-Lots of BBQs
-Good Iowa corn
-Lots of swimming
-Lots of work :(
-Played lots of Guitar Hero
-Chopped my hair off

That was our summer in a nut shell. I'm kinda glad that it is over and that Jonathan is starting his last year of school. Crazy. Also that the weather will start getting colder. I really want to start wearing my sweaters and coats!
Here are some pictures from Nauvoo and an epic-ly awesome girls night rock band party!


My Mom and I with our toes in the Mississippi



Dad, Jonathan, and I in Nauvoo at the Mississippi



The Beautiful Nauvoo Temple taken from the Trail of Hope



Jonathan and I outside the Temple



Mom and Dad outside the temple.

I figure that since my Mom and Dad NEVER update their blog that I could post these pictures for them, so you can somewhat know what they have going on. Love you Mom and Dad!!!

We also had a wicked awesome girls night complete with Rock Band, girl talk, and carmel popcorn! Here are some pics...



Jessica and Crystal rocking it out on the guitar and bass



Angela killing the drums!



Tawnya doing the chicken dance whilst singing



Brittany rocking out to the "Eye of the Tiger"

These girls were all rockstars! Great night!

So I really do hope to be more current with my blog...and now since it is almost 1:00 and I have to work tomorrow/today, I really should get some sleep!

Flood of '08 Revisited

It is crazy to think that this week marks the anniversary of the flood. We are all just praying that it won't happen again this year. A couple of small towns near the river have flooded some, but thankfully we didn't get enough rain to cause the river to rise here. Here are some pictures in memory of last year. It is weird to think that it all happened, but it did. It is sad to drive down the main strip through town and see that so many business never opened back up from the flood.


The view at the top of our street.



Our apartment mid-flood.



The view of the main road through town.



Jonathan's precious music building. They had to have classes all over the city last year. It was rough.



Where we lived last summer. Rough.


This is about a block away from where I work.


THis is a bad picture, but this is our old street now. They have demolished half of the buildings and it doesn't look like they are planning on rebuilding any time soon. Glad we moved.

Needless to say, I am glad that it is over and that we now live on higher ground, so if it does flood again, we will be safe. Now, lets just hope there are no tornados this year!

The Wedding

Sorry that is has been so long! A lot has happened. We went to Las Vegas for Nick and Margaret's wedding and had a lot of fun! The wedding was really nice and we had a blast hanging out with family. Here are just a couple pictures from the event.


The whole family



The girls having fun.



The guys being boys!

It was a fun trip. I am really getting to the point, where I am tired of saying goodbye to family and knowing the next time I am going to see them is far away. Its time to live closer!

Fun Fun.

I am determined to post more often! Not too much in news lately. Jonathan and I are off to Las Vegas on Thursday for Nick's wedding. It will be a fun weekend! Work is finally slowing down! Ya Hoo! Very excited about that. The weather is getting warmer. Life is good. So the past few weeks the girls from work and I have been going to Karaoke night and this local place. Tons of funs. Here are some pictures of our most recent adventures.


um... yeah


Amanda and I





Me, Amanda and Allison





Fishy face with Al!

Good times. For anyone in the area Karaoke is Thursday night in North Liberty! Come one and all!!!

Hey All.

Been a while. Been busy. Jonathan had his recital this past week. His parents and 3 of 6 siblings were here. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them and just chill. It was also my first Saturday off since Christmas. Much welcomed! It is always sad when family leaves, but this time wasn't so bad because we were able to say "see you in a few weeks" as we will all be in Vegas in 2 weeks for Nick's wedding. It will be fun to hang with everyone! Welp, the real reason that everyone reads blogs is for the pictures, so here are some pictures of recent Allen's goings on.



I was leaving the mall and the "Red Hat" club was in front of me. It was kinda sad because the lady with the walker got stuck in the sliding door, it closed as she wasn't fast enough to get past it. So I had to take a picture. They were cute old ladies.




We went to a Rough Riders hockey game in Cedar Rapids and they were selling these horns. OF COURSE Jonathan had to have one I mean come on! It was awesome!




Being the prefectionist that he is, Jonathan is shaping the mouthpiece so he can get a better sound. It was a 5 dollar horn!


And yes, this is him tuning the horn. He has a tuning app on his phone. I love my tromboneing husband!









There is an Oregon Trail app for iphone. You can now get attacked by a bear!! It is nasty looking too! Kinda funny though.