A better Late Than Never, Christmas Blog Post!

I stole this Q & A from Larissa (my sister-in-law) she had posted it on her blog for a Christmas countdown she is doing and I thought it would be a fun way to start of the Christmas blogging season :)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I Love them both! But if I have to pick I would say Egg Nog for the holidays (though I do think I am going to try Larissa's idea of hot chocolate with Egg Nog instead of milk!)

2. Does Santa wrap your presents or just sit them under the tree? Not only has Santa always wrapped our gifts but each kid in the family has a special wrapping paper each year that all their gifts from him are wrapped in! It was always exciting to see what your paper that year was and which gifts were from Santa!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Solid colors on everything, I like how it looks when they are all solid strands. I usually like white on the house and then solids on everything else :)

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I think I did last year, though I usually pick some up but then end up misplacing it... I don't know what it is about the mistletoe! I just always forget where I put it!

5. When do you put up your decorations? In the beginning of December (not this year though, I have to unpack first) When I was living at home, I would stay up and decorate all night, so in the morning everyone would wake up to a Christmas wonderland :) My Mom used to do that for us kids and when it got to be too much for her I started doing it instead.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I have so many! I always look forward to sweet potato casserole (ones without marshmallows on top) and Raspberry soup are probably my favorites. I also love all the cookies and other treats that go along with the holiday season!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? The holidays have always been really special, so I have so many! I think my favorite tradition is that throughout the holiday season my Mom would make (and now I do) a ton of cookies, dozens and dozens of kinds, making hundreds of cookies and then on Christmas eve we would (and still do) put them all out on the table and then we would get to eat as many as we wanted (this was a huge deal when I was a kid! No one told you when to stop and you got to eat as many as you wanted!) That has always been so fun!

8. Did you write letters to Santa? I don't think I ever did, but we would always go to see him at the mall or at another fun location when we were younger.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We didn't get to pick out a gift to open but my parents always gave us a pair of pajamas, a book and sometimes slippers. We would wear the pajamas to bed on Christmas Eve, then read the book to try and get to sleep and in the morning put on our slippers to open our gifts!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Growing up the tree was full of eclectic ornaments that had been collected throughout the years and lots and lots of tinsel! I have many wonderful memories of my family trimming our tree(not to mention the tinsel fights!) My Mom sometimes had a few other trees also, her fancy tree (we were not allowed to touch!) it was full of beautiful ornaments that would break if you so much as looked at them :) and she had a Nativity tree (she really loved Nativities!) Now Dave and I decorate with red and silver balls, white lights and red ribbon. It turns out very pretty if I do say so myself :)

11. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Traditions are huge deal in my family, so there are many! I already wrote about the pajamas and cookies on Christmas Eve but I just don't know which tradition is my favorite... I love all the baking that I get to do in preparation for the Christmas Eve cookie feast... But maybe my favorite tradition is before bed. Chantel, David and I (sometimes Helena if she wasn't reading little women, her Christmas Eve tradition) would all crowd in the same room and have a slumber party. We had fun things we would do together before we went to sleep, we would search out the window for Santa, pick out our favorite cookies to put on a plate along with carrots for Santa and his reindeer, and then fall asleep listening to a tape full of Christmas stories that I had made (I would record new one each year). It was always a very fun and special time.

12. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? This is difficult because it can be interpreted so many ways. It is important to me keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas, not just giving and being selfless but the reason we celebrate in the first place, the Birth of Jesus Christ! It can be hard to 'fit' him in sometimes and I really try and keep the reason for the season in mind! It is also very important for me to make sure Christmas is memorable and wonderful for everyone, spending time with family along with expressing my appreciation and love to them!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and are able to have joy during this Christmas season!
Feel free to steal this Q&A and post it on your Blog! I would Love to read about your Christmas memories and traditions!

The Perfect Solution

My new blog background

I have been trying to find a middle ground between what I want for my blog layout and what I should have for the layout and I think I found it! It is perfect isn't it? I found this basic design when I was browsing some Christmas backgrounds and realized it was exactly what I was looking for! It has white (Christmas) but is has pumpkins (Fall/Thanksgiving).

When I found this particular background I found that I really liked the pictures and design but the whole thing was missing something, it just wasn't spaced properly and a few of the colors were off. Dave seeing how much I liked it but wasn't going to use it because of those few off things, decided to go into the code of the layout and changed it! He had me tell him what I wanted different and then changed it to make it that way (Yeah, I know my husband has skills.) So now it is perfect and I am thrilled that I have found the perfect solution to my
'You can't uses a Christmas background... It is not even thanksgiving yet!'
Problem!

The Christmas Season Begins

As most of you have realized Christmas decorations are already in the stores, all the Halloween stuff has been pushed to the back of the aisle and the Christmas commercials have started. Most people are in a uproar, it is not even Halloween yet! And as everyone is displeased with this development and expressing their hatred for this 'Christmas spirit before Halloween' fad, I chime in about how it is just plain wrong... but I don't actually mean it... That is right, I like it, love it even! I wish it would start sooner, and for me it does. I do all the secret prepping I can before it is socially acceptable to start getting excited, I buy Christmas gifts and even daydream about decorating... Lucky for me Dave does not mind, sure he is not quite as into it as me BUT I am wearing him down, it is only a matter of time :) He gets more and more into my definition of Christmas spirit every year and becomes excited for the holiday earlier and earlier, though I still haven't convinced him that decorating doesn't need to wait for Halloween... You could argue that it is people like me who made this 'unholy practice' start in the first place... And that is why I smile and agree how wrong it is to start planning and getting ready for Christmas before the 31st has even happened... You could argue it but then I will bake you some awesome cookies and pick you out the best gift and all of the sudden you won't care, I may be eccentric when it comes to my favorite holiday but I am good at it (it must be all those years of being Santa). I don't push my love for Christmas on anyone, that is why I haven't switched my blog background yet or started playing Christmas music. I keep it quiet, my ipod is filled with holiday apps, I have my blog background all picked out, and I have been counting down the days since August (63 days today) . It may seem odd but I can't help it! The snow, the lights, the music, the spirit of the season... I love it all and have ever since I can remember!

I apologize if my 'not so secret anymore' love for this awesome time of year offends anyone but what can I say... Except,
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

At first it seemed like a good idea... Really it did...

Dave and I have been teaching David (my fourteen year old brother) how to cook, mostly simple things. We are eventually working our way up to more difficult and intricate items but we were starting small, like omelets.... He was a fast learner and flipped the egg onto itself perfectly, he was a natural and we were proud... But then he gained too much confidence and that is when he went too far! He decided he was ready to branch off from simple omelets, he wanted something better... And that is when it happened... The 'Ch-Omlete'

I don't really know what his thought process was, it might have gone something like this
'I like cheese and I like omelets... I also like Cheetos. Cheetos are cheesy and omelets need cheese...'

Yes... he made an omelet filled with Cheetos, he called it the Ch-Omelet

He said it was good and ate it all...

After all is said and done I am glad we taught him how to cook (I just wish I hadn't been around to watch him eat it...)

Annie's Birthday Celebration!

Yesterday everyone (not including Helena and Kurt) got together to celebrate Annie's birthday!

I made her pink chocolate cupcakes instead of a cake. Knowing Annie's love for cupcakes I couldn't resist!

She was really excited about the pink cupcakes :)

Happy Birthday Annie! I am so glad we got to celebrate with you!

The Big 28!

Annie, my sister-in-law, had her birthday yesterday! Annie and Jimmy (my brother) celebrated last night but everyone will be together for a family party on Sunday, so I don't have any pictures of the birthday girl on her big day BUT I wanted to post a sort of birthday tribute for her on my Blog!

Annie at her best
(just kidding Annie! I couldn't help it I had to post it!)

I am so grateful to have Annie in my life, she is such a wonderful person and anyone who meets her would agree that she is a caring individual who always goes out of her way to make people feel special ! I love you Annie, Happy Birthday!

The State Fair

A few weeks ago Dave and I went with my family to the State Fair in Salt Lake City. It has become a tradition and we have gone for the past three years, we always get wristbands and go on as many rides as we possibly can! This was the first year my sister Helena did not come with us :( She got married and moved out of state (we missed you Helena!)

(Mike is Chantel's husband, Chantel is my younger sister, Evan is David's friend and David is my little brother)

Dave and I went on this spinning ride with Mike, Chantel, Evan and David (Evan and David are in the cup to the right, in the back of the picture). I took this when we were all spinning, we happened to matched up perfectly so I ended up getting a shot with everyone in it (is that impressive or what?)

David and Even on the octopus ride, this was the first time Evan would go on it. David has been trying to get him to ride 'the octopus' since we started going to the fair and finally his persistence paid off!


This is the 'super shot' it was about six stories high... And for some reason my family thought it would be fun to go on... I did not agree, so I took the pictures instead : )

My uncle Ron, My Dad and Jimmy (my older brother)
This is them on their way up, they looked thrilled...

This is David (you can't really see him because he got cut off in this picture), Mike and Chantel dropping down from the ride. I am so glad I got a picture that captured their expressions!

And this is right after the ride ended (you can see David better now), they seemed to have enjoy themselves!

We all had a great time, though everyone did get really sunburned.

Bachelorette party!

JoAnn's bachelorette party (the party was on the 21st, so I am a little behind...)was a big hit! Helena, Annie and I threw it right after Chantel's wedding (I know you are thinking "what are you crazy!?! Right after Chantel's the wedding... But the day is crazy enough as it is!" and it is true, the day was crazy, but JoAnn and my Dad were getting married the next morning and it was the only time to do it!)

After Chantel's wedding was over the 'girls' (Helena, Annie and I) kidnapped JoAnn and we went and had a fun little party. We kept it low key and made sure it was not too long (we all had a long day!) A few other people were able to make it too (one of them was Joann's Close friend of thirty years!)


Annie made this awesome cake for the party. Everyone had a great time!


So the 'girls' kidnapped JoAnn and the 'guys' (Dave, David, Kurt and Jimmy) kidnapped my Dad and took him to play laser tag for his bachelor party! They met up with a few other guys too (a few of my Dad's close friends) and played for a while, they were going to play a half hour game but after it was over they decided to play for another half hour (I guess that means it was a hit!) Dad and JoAnn were really excited that we threw them the parties, they weren't expecting anything and even though it was late everyone had a blast!

The picture is of the guys getting back from their game, everyone was ready for bed by the end of all the festivities!

The Bride

Chantel looked so wonderful on her wedding day! I just had to post a picture (this picture doesn't even do her justice!) this was taken in the brides room right before Chantel and Mike's reception.

Fun fact-
Because the reception center just opened, Chantel and Mike were the first people ever have their reception there!

Jump On It!

I get to blog about (at least to an extent) Chantel's bachelorette party! The first part of the party was completely tame, which means it is completely blogable!

(my sister Helena, my sister in-law Annie, my sister the bride Chantel and me!)

The party consisted of just 'the sisters' so it was filled with a lot of fun and a lot inside jokes: ) We blindfolded Chantel and then threw her in the car so we could take her to the surprise location for her bachlorett party. She was incredibly confused as to where we were going (partly because we tried to confuse her.... We kept giving 'hints' that MIGHT have been a little misleading) When we got to our destination we all had to sign waivers saying we wouldn't sue if we got hurt... (Chantel still didn't know where we were...) That is when she started to get a little concerned : )

We went to this awesome place called Jump On It, it was a warehouse sized building filled with connecting trampolines that you... well jumped on...

Little known fact-
It is really hard to get a good picture of people jumping...

Jumping is actuality a lot of work (Dancing too...) And a lot of fun too!

(Hilary the pink elephant And Chantel)

We had a great time and it was a wonderful way to start Chantel's bachelorette party!

And The Fun Begins

This past week has been a kind of crazy (My sister Chantel got married on the 21st and then my Dad was married on the 22nd) so I have a little catching up to do with my blogging!

At the beginning of last week JoAnn (the woman my Dad married) took Chantel and I for our first manicure and pedicure to get ready for the weddings! My Grandma Kaiser, Rachel (JoAnn's daughter in-law) Andrea (JoAnn's daughter) came too, we made it into a fun girls day/night out! I had Chantel and JoAnn wear 'bachelorett' sashes during our outing, it was a nice way to let everyone know they were getting married :)

After our day of pampering we all went out to dinner at Olive Garden, It was a really fun day and a great way to start off a hectic week.

(In case you were wondering what the awesome sashes had written on them-
JoAnn's said 'bachelorette and had little devils horns decorated all over it and Chantel's says 'caution bachelorette at play')

A Night To Remember

Chantel had her bridal shower last week on Saturday, it was really fun and she had a great turnout! I planned all of her games and everyone had a blast!

We started the party off with a good old fashion game of 'Pin the lingerie on the stick figure Bride' Everyone at the party designed their own paper lingerie... I provided them with feathers, pom poms, fake jewels and all sorts of fun stuff!

Helena pining her lingerie on the bride!


JoAnn and Annie's creation, they went all out! Because they had sort many pieces to their outfit, they decided it would be easier if they each took a few pieces and pined them on at the same time (I especially like the shoes)

Chantel (aka the bride)
This picture doesn't do her lingerie justice! The feathered top and jeweled bottom... It was awesome!

The winner of the game!
Mike's sister Mendy ended up pinning her lingerie on almost perfectly! It was impressive!

Chantel dancing in her cooking apron! The girls at he party then had to try and recall what utensils Chantel was wearing... After she was done dancing of course.

Chantel modeling her magazine wedding dress! I split everyone into three teams, the first did the top half of the dress, the second did the bottom and the third did all the accessories
The dress turned out great!
(the team that did the top half ended up wining)

I had a few more pictures I wanted to post but my Internet is being slow and is taking forever to upload my pictures... I have decided it is really not worth the wait (the pictures aren't THAT great!)

Cheesecake Factory

Last Friday Chantel had a cheesecake tasting party at the Cheesecake Factory! The happy couple (Chantel and Michael) have decided that they are going to have a 'wedding cheesecake' instead of a 'wedding cake' Michael is not a fan of regular cake, so this was their solution.


We ended up trying eight different pieces, these were no mere pieces either.... (they were huge!)


All of the cheesecake was really good and REALLY sweet! It was hard to taste them all because they were so rich but it was totally worth it : )

Day at The Museum

Dave and I took David to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point yesterday. Dave and I have been re-watching the Jurassic Park movies and I felt like going and seeing some real dinosaurs! David has never been to that museum before, so we thought it would be fun to take him along. Turns out I was right and we had a blast!

Dave not getting the whole 'raptors are not friends' thing

The incredibly large sea turtle

If only he had looked behind him, he might still be here today...
A fun fact it that teeth they found from this thing were 7 inches long!


They look so casual for having a T-rex fight in the background

These sea creatures sure seem irritable

Dave and his new friend


for those of you who weren't sure David is fine and wasn't really attacked by the shark replica

Sexy Housewife

A few weeks ago Helena (my sister) had her bridal shower, this post is a little late… but I thought better late then never! As the Matron of Honor I felt the need to make sure all of the games were up to a high standard and I made sure they accomplished a few things-


1.They needed to make the bride look good

She had to answer questions about Kurt (the groom) and for every answer right she had to chew one piece of gum and for every answer wrong she had to chew two!

The finished product.....

2. They needed to help her with ideas for her wedding dress

The blushing brides!
(Joann and My Grandma Kaiser)

3. They needed to help her with her coking skills

She needed to make a cake without any measuring cups or recipe. Annie (sister in-law) put out a bunch of different ingredients on the counter for her to choose from, some of them you would normally put in a cake…. Helena took the ‘safe’ way about it and just put everything in her ‘cake batter’ butter spray, vinegar, different types of oil, you know the usual stuff.

The cake turnout a little dense… after trying to decide what to do with it, we settled on turning it into a penalty for losing a game! You lose a game you eat a piece of ‘cake’

4. They also needed to showcase how giving she is

Toss the wedding bouquet is a great way to not only practice sharing but it also helps with getting out pent up aggression!
(My Grandma Kaiser ended up winning, but Helena did make it to the final three)

The bridal shower turned out really well and everyone had a lot of fun, I would post pictures of Helena opening her gifts but the theme of the shower was Sexy Housewife and the gifts followed that theme : ) I don’t think she would want those pictures posted!

Hello everyone!

I have really enjoyed reading all the different blogs for friends and family members and feel like I have gotten to know them better and seen a little bit more into their lives. Living so far away from the majority of Dave’s family I haven’t gotten to know all of them as well as I would have liked but being able go to their various blogs I have gotten more of an insight into who they are, but then I realized I haven’t been doing the same, I haven’t been letting people get to know me! So I decided I really wanted to start a blog of my own so that you all can get to know me a little better too.

Now let me explain about the name : ) it is called Hulihaiser, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to call my blog and then Dave suggested this (he was mostly joking) It is a combination of Hulihan (my married name) and Kaiser (my maiden name)… I couldn’t think of anything better… so Hulihaiser it is!
I hope you all enjoy my blog!

Ps. Comments are very welcome, they let me know that people are actually reading what I have to say!