Salem Pond

On our way home from Salt Lake City, I wanted to stop somewhere and take some pictures of the beautiful snow. I was able to talk Tyson into stopping at Salem Pond and let the kids feed the ducks for a bit, even though it was 15 degrees outside, Tyson obliged me and we stopped.

Salem Pond holds a lot of special memories for me. I use to go there in the summertime with my friends and jump off the bridge into the disgusting duck poop filled water to cool off. I would walk there a lot to clear my head in my high school days. Also, it is where I first introduced Tyson to Kai. Here are a few pics from our brief visit.

Hare Krishna temple


..and their sacred llamas


Even Tyson got into it...

How can you not LOVE this view...

Stickin together.....


We had fun together and it was bittersweet leaving. We are all homebodies, so it was nice to be going home, but we were leaving home at the same time. I miss Utah more than ever now, but I know we belong in Las Vegas for the time being. :)

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was fun! It was just Tyson, Ashtyn and I at my in-laws, (Kai was with his dad that morning) and Ashtyn was the CENTER of attention. It was so much fun watching her open up her gifts and having Ron & Val there to see. She opened her favorite gift first, which was a Strawberry Shortcake house, and every time she'd open another gift, she would say, "Oh cool." and go running back to the Strawberry Shortcake. It was fun. I did not have my camera that morning, so I don't have any pics of this.:(

Afterwards, we went to Grandma & Grandpa Grapes house and had her traditional scone breakfast..mmmmmm... and it was heaven!! We ate scones with her special Pear Supreme jam and had bacon and opened gifts from them, the whole extended family was there and it was so nice to be able to join them this year. It was the first year in 5 years that Tyson was able to be there, and it was so great. The pics below were taken by my sister in laws, Brittany and Bethany. Thanks ladies! :)


I look cranky in this pic, but I wasn't at all..hmmmm

The kids and Aunt Michelle waitin for the "Go Ahead" to open their gifts.

The kids got piggy banks that count the money as you add it, they also got rolls of nickels to start them off, it was such a clever and fun gift for the grandkids!!

Ashtyn, Hunter and Aiden playing Bakugan...Ashtyn likes to be one of the boys.

My home away from home.....

These are some pictures of my in-laws, Ron and Valerie's home, isn't it beautiful? Looks like cut outs from a magazine?! Valerie is so talented at this and really knows how to make her house a home. Love you Val!

Christmas Eve

Tyson and I drove to Salt Lake on Christmas Eve day and we made it there around 3:00 PM, we were so excited to be home for Christmas and we loved the beautiful snow-covered mountains. It was such a beautiful Christmas Eve with ALL of the family there! Valerie, (my mother-in-law) Michelle and Bethany (my sister-in-laws) made a wonderful dinner and the whole family came over to celebrate together. Ronny played the Nativity story for the kids with a little girl narrating it and it was so sweet, I don't think anyone could deny the feeling of the Christmas spirit within all of us, and it showed.

Afterwards, it was gift-giving time. My in-laws gave us all a special gift as families and gave us each something that really fit each of our personalities. The kids were all elated over their fun gifts from Oma and Opa which consisted of Nerf guns, Ashtyn got a a very big toy horse and some CUTE clothes.
Brittany, Bethany, me and Michelle

Tyson's brother Ronny, his wife Michelle and their kiddos, Jackson, Vala & Aiden

Ashtyn, me, Vala & Jackson

Bethany & Michelle

Tyson & Vala

Jackson, Vala, Aiden & Ashtyn

Ed & Dave's snuggies from Tyson and I

The mess

Beautiful Brittany

More of the mess


It truly was the best Christmas ever!! There was so much Love in the room and forgiveness for previous trespasses, and faith for a wonderful and bright New Year for our family. We love our family and hope that everyone had a special Christmas and has a wonderful New Year! XoXo, The Schraders

Book list for 2010

I've decided to make a list of books I want to read this year, I have been quite the avid reader lately, and want to read at least 2-3 books a month. The last few books I have read have been very good. The following are must-reads;

The Glass Castle- Jeanette Wells
The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khaled Hosseini

I am currently reading, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson. It has me intrigued, but I am only 103 pages into a 600 page book so it is too early to reccomend to you. It was written in Swedish and translated into English so some of the references and meanings are not exact.

Here is a list of books I am going to read in 2010, please let me know if you are interested in reading along with me, or if you have ANY suggestions, please let me know. I love books, I love being mesmerized by words as my imagination paints pictures.

~ The Hunger Games- book 3 by: Suzanne Collins
~ The Help - Kathryn Stockett
~ Memoirs of a Geisha- Aurther Golden
~ The Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger
~ The Book Thief- Markus Zusak
~ The Time Travelers Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
~ Water for Elephants- Sara Gruen

I am going to stop at this list, I will add to it as I blog. I urge whomever does read my blog to leave a comment, I would love to interact with any of you.

Enfamil

Today I checked my mail as usual, and inside was 2 12.5 oz cans of Enfamil Premium with Lipil baby formula. It also came with 4 $4.00 off coupons for any Enfamil formula. If I had a baby, this would be a very cool Christmas gift indeed! Formula is so expensive! I thought I'd let all of you know out there in cyberspace that I had these, so if you, or anyone you know is in need of these, please let me know in a comment or email at mizkylie@gmail.com. If you are in Utah, I can bring them up with me when I come fro Christmas. Everyone needs a little help these days:)

I love these!!

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Tyson & Ashtyn wish you a Merry Christmas!! :P

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Christmas Tag!

CHRISTMAS TAG!!! Answer these Christmas questions and tag your family and friends to answer too!! Merry Christmas!


1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa likes to leave them unwrapped, so you know they're from him.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? We switch off, but mostly do white since our tree is red and gold

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I never have, I get enough kisses. :)

5. When do you put your decorations up? We try to do it the weekend after Thanksgiving

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Sweet Potatoes

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Christmas Eve programs. We would all pick something to perform for Christmas eve. I loved to do Helga and Zelga, it was a skit where my sisters and I would be each others hands and improv...we'd always end up with red faces from accidentally being slapped (at least I thought it was accidental)

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? My mean older sisters told me when I was about 7 years old.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? The kids do, pyjamas!!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? White lights, with red and gold for the 49ers!! :)

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? LOVE to look at it and play in it sometimes, but I HATE driving in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes. Not very well anymore, but yes.

13. Do you remember your favorite childhood gift? I don't recall right now, but I will tell you some wierd ones.... A pineapple shaped lamp, rats, fish, and a statue of a cowboy and his son....LOL

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My in-laws get this tin full of homemade fudge... it is sooo good, I dream of it!!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas movies on Christmas Eve

17. What tops your tree? A Star

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Although I LOVE presents, I really like to see people's reactions to what I got for them, I try to be a thoughtful gift-giver.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Carol of the Bells and Silent Night.

20. Candy Canes... yuck or yum??? YUM!

21. What is your favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Carol & Rudolph of course


I tag EVERYONE!! I want to see your answers! :)

Positivity is a full-time job!!

I have been trying hard to be positive lately..... I am the queen of sarcasm, so I tend to be quite the "Negative Nancy" at times. I thought it would be a perfect time to write a few things that irk me, just to get it out of my system, so, in no particular order, here we go....

~ I like to go blog-hopping now and again, and sometimes I stumble upon blogs that have at least half a dozen words that are spelled wrong in every post. This irritates me. HELLO? Spell check is on every blog!! The occasional word does not bother me, I am SO guilty of this. I just cannot stand it when every fifth word is spelled wrong, especially when you know how intelligent the author is! Call me what you will. :)

~ Video games, namely, World of War Craft. This game represents all that is evil... my husband is addicted to it. I really should accept it, but I really can't. I think it is the biggest waste of time known to man. Every time I see The Mister online engrossed in an intense game of WOW, my blood boils. I get so mad that I am constantly making that growling noise that Marge Simpson is famous for.

~ Fake People. Enough said. :)

~ OPRAH! Okay, okay, I realize she has done a lot of charity work and that is great and all, but c'mon, does she have to have her butt kissed every time she gives a buck to a homeless person?? She irritates me so much and I think she more than just a little bit racist....

Okay. I feel better. I hope I did not offend any readers out there. I just had to vent today, you know, one of those days:)

Missing the Winter Wonderland....

Assuming I have any readers that are even checking this blog..... Hello! I really have not been able to think of anything to blog about.... These past couple weeks have really been quite uneventful, such is my life. Which is actually a good thing if you are me! :)

The BIG negative thing that has happened is that my beloved UTES lost to BYU this year in the Holy War 26-23.. It was so close and it was a great game. But, we still lost. *sigh* I have been really getting into football more so than the past years. I really see how it is so enjoyable to sit with Tyson ALL DAY on a Saturday and watch football. It is really fun for me, but it comes with a price.... EMOTIONS!! I can't watch a game without picking a team I want to win when its neither of my teams playing (UTES & 49ERS) So, I pick a team based on who is favored to win, then I pick the opposite team to win because I love underdog stories. :) When they lose, I truly feel a little sad, but when its one of my teams that lose, I am considerably upset. Needless to say, I am not looking forward to the football season ending...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and also were able to go see Penn & Teller live, courtesy of a late Birthday present from our friends, Christina and Micheal. It was fun, it was a magic/comedy show. It was a fun date night for Tyson and I.

It's getting cold here in the desert, I know none of you UTAHNS will sympathize with me because its snowing there. But, today it is 40 degrees!!! THAT is cold for Las Vegas. Ashtyn and I walk Kai to the bus stop every morning and walk to pick him up as well, and I must say, WE REALLY NEED WINTER COATS!! I think I need to get them from Utah because they have more of a selection. None of us have decent, warm winter coats and my main concern is for the kids. I can do without. So, if any of you see any great deals out there in the Winter Wonderland, let me know:)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!