The Best Service Project!

This last weekend a cute little couple from our branch (San Luis) was married. I wanted to help so I volunteered to help decorate. What I didn't realize is that with their culture they like lots of colors and want to use everything available to them. Once I talked them into toning it down a little it turned out great! I also conned my poor dear sweet mother into helping me make their wedding cake. She has retired forever from making wedding cakes but I had already said we would do it, so after I promised that I would never ever make her make a wedding cake again she did! I think it is one of the prettiest she has ever made (maybe because this is the first cake I was able to really help on). I helped with the fondant and flowers, she did the hand decorating. The sweet little bride (Lorena) also borrowed my wedding dress. After a few alterations (as you can tell from the pics she is tiny) she looked like a princess. What a great weekend. (On Saturday they were married, and on Sunday they were baptized.)

Santa Rocks!

This is what Emery ordered from Santa. Santa got a wee bit carried away this year. It is built to scale, "Santa" measured Emery and built to the standards that we build custom kitchens. Santa didn't mean for it to look like an industrial kitchen out of the '80s but what can you do when you're on a budget.

Please call with orders! hehe

Strange Strange Child

Emery loves to be tied up with blue painters tape to see if she can get out. Michael (her uncle, bless his warped little heart) usually ties her up. She works at it for awhile, then gives up and starts screaming. Fun times.

Getting ready for Christmas

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas! We are getting ready for Christmas at the Mortensen home! Josh was in the Manassa Elementary Christmas Operetta last Thursday. He was a toy solider and then a wise man. On Saturday we went on the Polar Express. Just our luck we broke down twice, but we still had a great time. To all of our friends and family, Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

Tag

This was on Andy Canty's blog.

1. My rock star name: *Spotsy Camry*{First pet and current car}



2. My gangsta name: *Almond Snickers No Bake*{Favorite candy bar and favorite cookie}



3. My detective name: *Green Horse*{Favorite color and favorite animal}



4. My Star Wars name: *Morme of Prevacid*{First three letters of last name and first two letters of first name then the word "of" then a medication you are on}



5. My superhero name: *The Blue Mountain Dew*{2nd favorite color and favorite drink with "The" in front}



6. My Nascar name: *Shirley Alice*{First names of your grandmothers}



7. My "lover" name: *Pleasure Chocolate*{Name of your favorite perfume/cologne and your favorite candy}



8. Witness-protection name: *Joan Allen*{Mother's and father's middle names}



Here are Kent's Eight Alter Egos as far as I can guess



1. My rock star name: *Skipper Lady Ram*



2. My gangsta name: *Caramello Peanut Butter*



3. My detective name: *Blue Horse*



4. My Star Wars name: *Morke of Nada*



5. My superhero name: *The Green Lemonade*



6. My Nascar name: *Hilda Callie*



7. My "lover" name: *Lucky Black licorice*



8. Witness-protection name: *Wilson Ann*

Some were funny... some not so much. I tag everyone

Batteries Melissa Batteries

We finally got to go on vacation to Mexico, where we didn't have to work on the house down there, and guess what? The batteries to my video camera and digital camera were both dead. Nice!
On the positive side it was worth the hours in the car and trying to keep my nerves in check. We had thirteen people in a two bedroom / one bath house but somehow it worked.
My great vacation started on Saturday, November 22, A bunch of my favorite girls i.e. Mom, TJ, Pam + three and my sister-in-law Shauntre went and saw Twilight. So I'm still very much in love with Edward. LOVED the MOVIE.
On Sunday we went to our sweet little San Luis branch and got ready to go.
On Monday we left my Mom's house at 6:30 A.M. for Mesa. Riding in the truck is not much fun, but thanks to ALI I laughed for about six hours straight. In Mesa we were able to see Kent's sister Bev and have dinner with her. The kids were in the swimming pool for hours!
On Tuesday I finally met one of my life long goals. I went to the Mesa Temple. BEAUTIFUL. We went through the 6:00 morning session on Tuesday and it was full! They are busy all day long. Way to go AZ! We had breakfast and then left for Guaymas. We stopped in Hermisillo at Kent's favorite taco stand YUMMY! We made it to our house about 6:00 that night and everyone pretty much crashed.
On Wednesday we went to the beach, and ate at Charlie's Rock. They have the best seafood. We played at the beach for a long time, watching my Grandma explain the little sea "things" to Josh and Emery was the best!
On Thursday we went out on a boat for deep sea fishing, and I get sea sick for the first time. I wasn't the only one though, My mom, Pam, Grandma, Josh, and TJ all got super sick. They finally brought the boat back to a protected cove and let us recover. We went scuba diving and snorkeling. That night we had our own version of Thanksgiving. Lobster and shrimp with mashed potatoes and gravy, beans and cheese, tortillas, and Tres Leche cake for dessert.
On Friday we went to the Mercado and shopped!
On Saturday we drove until 4:00 A.M. Sunday to make it back in time for church.
So much fun but I am so tired!

Josh's Birthday!

We had so many parties for Josh's birthday! On Saturday the 25th (after I confused most of the parents with my invitations) we had Josh's "Friend" party. We had so much fun. They played games that I loved when I was little, went on a treasure hunt and had cake and ice cream. The best part was watching TJ ride Josh's dirt bike, but she made me promise that I wouldn't post the pictures :(. On Sunday we had the birthday base with to celebrate TJ and Josh's birthday. We ate and ate at my moms and then played football. On Tuesday, Josh's actual birthday I had everyone over for soup and rolls. I felt horrible that day, but I learned the next day at the doctor that the stomach bacteria I caught last year (it's a great one, it stays with you until you die, and goes into remission with medicine) was back, and that I had taken the wrong medicine so my ulcer had grown for an entire year! Fun!