I'm thankful for my family!

My sisters put me to shame with their skills in the kitchen. At family functions, I am the table-setter. For photos of my table setting, please continue reading.

The credit for the pictures that are the coolest from our holiday celebration goes to long-time family friend Phil Van Nostrand. How cool was it to have a real photographer at our Thanksgiving dinner?

Our dad was quite pleased with his arrangement of light and dark meats (above).

Above are homemade Lion House crescent rolls. Below is our leaf themed Thanksgiving table.

If you look closely, there are little punches of leaves around each goblet :-).

Above: "I'm full" faces.

We got to see little Ella live on facetime using our Dad's I-phone. That was a definite highlight of the holiday! We could sit staring at her forever.

After Ella time, we had some Harry Potter time and I admit, it had me entertained, even though I've only read one book and seen one movie. I am kind of interested in reading the books now.

Beautiful Ella

Our little girl is one amazing preemie! She is 4 lbs, 11 oz now and is growing so fast. It has been so fun to see the huge changes in her little self from week to week!

She is still over a month away from her due date, but is nearly a month and a half old. She is an amazing little girl and I can't wait to meet her and get to know her little personality. She must be quite the feisty thing for how determined she has been to finally go home and be with her mom, dad, and dogs!

Joe and Shana are incredible parents. They spend countless hours with their little girl and their love for her is so evident in every email and picture they send. I don't know how I got so lucky to have the family that I do!

The picture above is my absolute favorite. What a cutie!!


This next picture is a couple weeks old, but Anna did a cute little border with it and our family loves this picture!

After these messages, I'll be right back.

Sometimes I take a break from blogging when life feels hard.

I'm not back again because life all of a sudden got easy, but because life always goes on...and what a good week to start blogging again!

Presenting the Week of Cool:

Today, the cast list was posted for the school musical. Last week, I listened to auditions and helped with call-backs for "Thoroughly Modern Millie." I am the musical director and we have a new drama teacher who is directing and producing the show. Her sister is assistant directing and a friend of hers is doing the choreography. They are all very good at what they do and a lot of fun to work with. It's such a relief to be working in an area that I'm familiar with instead of trying to fake it up in the tech booth like last year! I was so proud of my 8th grade choir students who are so talented and brave. 4 of them snagged lead roles and several others were cast in the show. They all came to me that way, so I can't take any credit! But I'm still just as proud as if they were my own kids :-).

Tomorrow night, I get to fly home with Tina and Jer to be with my mom, dad, and Anna. Yippee! I'm sure my sisters will be baking lots of treats, which is something to blissfully anticipate and also dread (especially when I have to fit into a bridesmaid dress at the end of the week!).

Wednesday, Violet is cutting my bangs. In the evening, we get to watch, "All I Want for Christmas," a Houston family classic. "You gotta go to the real guy, at Macy's."

Thursday, I get to celebrate Thanksgiving with the people I love most. And, I get to have stuffing and gravy because I decided to take myself off the gluten-free diet recently. Whether or not that was a wise decision has yet to be determined. In the afternoon or evening, we'll probably go see a movie together as a family. That's a little holiday tradition of ours. We will miss Joe, Shana, and Ella so much.

Friday, I get to reunite with some of my best friends for our dear Kate Sonne's wedding! Friday is the groom's dinner and a big sleepover at the hotel where the reception will be held. I feel like Kate and I have been dreaming about this day for years and years because...well...we have been! I remember going over every detail of our dream weddings on a road trip once, several years ago. And now, it's actually happening. I can't wait!!

Saturday, I get to witness Darren and Kate's sealing in the New Port Beach Temple. That evening, we get to celebrate with a view of the beach and dance the night away. What a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving weekend (especially while the snow is piling in Utah...).

Come on baby, let the good times roll!

Dance the night away...

You know who never ceases to amaze me?

This little one.
She grows as a dancer every time I see her.

Here she is dancing her standard class compeition with her partner Caleb.


They danced the quick step!

The made it to the final round and ended up getting 4th place!

Did I mention that earlier in the day, she and Caleb won first place in the pre-champ standard competition?
Christina isn't the only dancer in the Pendleton family!

Jeremy is taking the beginning standard ballroom class that Christina teaches at BYU. He and his partner made their way into the finals and snagged a third place trophy!




He made his teacher so proud!


Right after accepting her award for her class comp, Tina hurried to change for the amateur smooth comp. Amateur is the tier of competition just above pre-champ.

Check out that dress!!
She reminded me of a little sunburst.

I was blown away by her performance. Her personality, sharpness, grace, and fluidity are astounding. She's always been an amazing dancer, but she has reached new heights!

I was not at all surprised to see her in the finals with 5 other couples...

...where she and Caleb earned a third place trophy!

Prepare to be dazzled!