A few months ago.....

Well it has been a few months so I figure it is about time to give an update. Things are going well. Matt is now a Senior (YES!!!!), I started a new job, and it is now summer here is Omaha. Here are a few things that happened in January, February, and March.....

We decided to see Young Frankenstein on Friday. It was...well... interesting. If you ever go don't take kids! I don't think we will ever see it again. Once was enough :)



































Dinner with Friends.








































SPRING BREAK. We decided to go home for Matt's spring break (which is always in February). We had a great time hanging out with family and going skiing. Living in Omaha make you really appreciate a good day on the slopes.









































































Got to see Melanie, my best friend ever!
















Matt threw a big party for my birthday. He did such a good job with everything and made an amazing dinner (except the cake, which I made because I wanted to attempt at ice cream cake. It wasn't the prettiest cake ever but turned out okay for a first attempt).






























Kristy and Brian came to visit. We had a great time and love when they come. We went to Dixie Quick for breakfast. It was one of the restaurants featured on Food Network Dives, Diners, and Drive-Ins. It is now our favorite breakfast place in Omaha.































Madalyn's Baby Shower. It was the WORST storm ever that day, but we still had a great time!

Delaney's Baptism. In January we went back to Utah for Matt's niece's baptism.

It was also Sam's birthday the day of the baptism, so we took him to Toy's R Us to get some LEGOS.

Holiday update....Finally!

Well, I am behind as usual but better late than never, right? We had such a great Holiday season, I just haven’t had time to update our blog!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was a little different this year. We stayed in Omaha, but Matt’s parents came out for the week so we had some family around. We had dinner with our friends here in Omaha. Matt volunteered to smoke a Turkey on his new smoker (well relatively new). He got up at 3:00 AM to get started. He was up every couple of hours putting more charcoal in the smoker….it was only 7 degrees that day, so it took some work to keep up the temperature. But...all of his hard work paid off…the turkey was AMAZING. We will never go back to the oven again. We had a wonderful dinner with wonderful friends. We had so much good food and even better company. We are so grateful for the wonderful people we have around us in Omaha.

Did I mention the turkey was AMAZING!!!

After dinner we went with Matt's parents and some of our neighbors to the lighting ceremony and Christmas concert in downtown Omaha. It was a great way to kick off the season.

Christmas

For Christmas we also stayed in Omaha. It was the first time I have not been with my family on Christmas, but we still had a good time. Luckily a lot of our friends and neighbors also stayed around so we had lots of fun and activities during the break. For Christmas Eve we had the traditional Jacobsen Christmas Eve dinner and Program. Matt did a great job running the show. Our friends the Hjorths came over as well as a couple that were investigating the church. As sad as it was to be away from family it was a great night that will always be a cherished memory.

Matt and I had opening a few presents Christmas morning and then had breakfast with the Hjorths. I attempted to make Danish Pastry (a tradition in Matt’s family). I have a lot of work to do to perfect it but at least I have now attempted. To end the day, we had Christmas dinner with some friends.

Matt got me a Bosch mixer (I was so excited) and I got him ticket to see Wicked and Les Miserables tickets.

For New Years Eve we had our friends, the Millers, over for dinner and games. Given it was negative 5 that day, we didn’t do much outside.

It was a nice to have time off work and Matt enjoyed his two weeks off of school. Like always the time went too fast and we were back to work and school before we knew it.

Other Random things….in November Matt and I ran the “Living History Farm” 9 mile cross country race in Des Monies Iowa. The course runs through rivers and cornfields and all sorts of crazy stuff. It was lots of fun but cold at the end. Matt beat me by a long shot, but I can’t remember our exact times. It was definitely a change from other races I have done but would do it again.

New Hampshire
I also had to go on a work trip to New Hampshire. It made me fall in love with New England. I missed the fall foliage by a few weeks, but it was still beautiful. We stayed in a bed and breakfast (it was the only hotel in town) in a little town called Hancock. On one of my morning runs I had to stop at the church and cemetery, which were both build in the late 1700’s. It was interesting to see the history. I can wait to take Matt back there when we have time to explore. Our last day we left work early to go to the coast for dinner. We literally got to the beach about 5 minutes after sunset so we didn’t get to see much (expect the enormous houses along the way) but the shrimp was amazing and worth the drive!

This hotel was so cute, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Baby Shower

I threw a baby shower for one of my neighbors in December. I decided to do something a little crafty (this is a big step for me) and made a diaper cake. I turned out okay (not as good as the ones on the internet) but for my first time I think it was okay. Their cute little baby was born right before Christmas.



















































Well, that about covers through December....and it only took until February to get done.!!

Fall Fun!

Wow October flew by and November is going quickly. Fall has fun and very busy! Here are a few things that have keep us busy this fall...

Carving Pumpkins! The week before Halloween our friends Lisa and Matt invited us over to carve pumpkins. They all turned out really good. We never buy the premade patterns, but I think Matt is hooked. Matt carved ours so I can't take any credit for it, but he did a great job. His is the scarecrow! We were hoping they would last until Halloween, but we had to throw it away the next day. I guess the $3 Walmart pumpkins aren't made to last :)

Of course with Halloween we had to throw our annual Halloween Party. It always turns out different every year, but we love doing it. This year Dahlia Wright and I planned the party at our house at Village Green. We turned our backroom into a completely decked out party room. The bundle of hay turned out to be a complete disaster (I am still vacuuming it up around my house) but it made for a great decoration. We had a great turn out. I swear there were 70 people in our house at one point. We did a soup buffet with lots of Halloween treats. Matt made his famous (well almost famous) root beer. Everyone got their pictures taken with the backdrop that Dahlia made. We also had a piñata for the kids and doughnut eating contest for the adults. A small group of friends hung around for some games after the crowd cleared out. The costumes were great. Matt and I decided to dress up as Greek people, mostly because it was cheap and easy! It was lots of work but well worth it!

Dahlia made the backdrop for pictures.

The Girls.

In October we went to the CWDA (Creighton Women Dental Alliance) annual Halloween activity at a local pumpkin patch. We went on a hayride through the pumpkin patch, ate lunch, and hung out with friends. Luckily the weather cooperated and we had a great time.

When all the guys were at the priesthood session of conference, we decided to have a girl’s night out. We went to dinner at a "50’s" style diner in Omaha called Petrow’s. It was a fun place with the best homemade chocolate pie I have ever tasted! We live in such an amazing neighborhood with the best group of people. We are so blessed to have such great people so close. It is the best home away from home we could ask for. These girls are all so amazing!

Dahlia and I showed up with almost the same coat, so we had to get a picture!

Chiefs Game

A few weeks ago we went to Kansas City to the Chiefs football game. It was a little chilly but we had a great time. We drove down with our friends Niel and Madalyn Hjorth. The Chiefts played the 49ers and won by long shot. The stadium was huge and the fans were crazy. Matt has always been a huge Chiefs fan so it was fun to go and watch them play.

After the Game














Driving Home