Alisha Beverly: 2007

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Steven and I are leaving this afternoon to travel to Idaho Falls to spend Christmas with my family. So we did our Christmas yesterday. Since I'm saving up all my Christmas money to purchase a NEW lens for my camera...

I didn't get any presents from him, but I got a stockng! And he did really good filling my stocking this year! I got lots of stuff I wanted including some kitchen utensils and the movie RENT! But two things I look forward to getting in my stocking each year is...

Glass Bottled Coke and...

Sparkling Cider!

I don't know what it is, but there is something to drinking coke from a glass bottle. When I was in Mexico on a missions trip a few years ago it was sooo hot. And all around where we were working there were those little street venders that family's and their kids ran. I'll tell you, nothing tasted better in that dry hot place than an ice-cold Coke! Ever since then, I look for them everywhere and they normally only come out during Christmas time. So you can imagine my excitement when I find them in my stocking every year!

And as far as Sparkling Cider goes, I just love it! I hardly ever buy it because Steven's not that big of a fan and they come in such BIG bottles. But this year, Steven found these real cute little bottles and got me a bunch! Now I can drink one whenever I want!

Thanks for a great Christmas honey! I love you!

2007 Christmas Program

I look forward to our church's Christmas Program every year. Doug, Jimi and Aubrey do such a good job. It really is very impressive.

To Doug, The Choir, and The Band, I have to say I was completely blown away by the last song, 'Go Tell it on the Mountain!' That was amazing. I was speechless. I was taking pictures so I couldn't, but all I wanted to do was stand up and start clapping. What an awesome number!

Thank you to all who made it such a huge success. Everyone had numerous practices and spent countless hours perfecting everything. Thank you! THANK YOU!

Some pictures to highlight the event:

And now here are some pictures I took of the kids after the program. They always look so cute in their Christmas Outfits!

The Best Christmas Movie Ever!

I have to admit, I love Christmas movies. Every year I make sure I watch Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch, Home Alone, The Santa Clause, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and a few others. But my all time favorite movie that I watch throughout the year at least 10 times is...

If you haven't seen it...please go rent it...or borrow it from me. This movie is so funny! You'll love it.

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite lines from the movie...

"Have you seen these toliets? They're GINORMOUS!!!"

"I thought we could make gingerbread houses and eat cookie dough and go ice-skating and maybe even hold hands."

"You like sugar, huh?" "Is there sugar in syrup?" "Yes." "Then YES!"

"We elves try to stick to the four main food groups. Candy, candy cane, candy corn, and syrup."

"You have such a pretty face you should be on a Christmas card."

Black Friday

I have never ventured out early during the famous Black Fridays. Mostly because I love my sleep and waking up before dawn just does not sounds like a happy time to me. My mom and I usually do go out but not until at least 9:30 am or 10:00 am. So this year that was our plan again. Get a good nights sleep and leave the house around 9:30 am. However...all that changed...

Our friends Morgan and Brian moved from Boise to Rigby (that's close to Idaho Falls for those of you north westerners) and we hardly ever get to see each other. So when she asked me to go shopping with her since I was in Idaho Falls for the weekend I couldn't pass up the chance. But she wanted to go at 5 in the morning! Excuse me!?! That would mean waking up at 4:00 am. I just don't do that. The earliest is 5:45 am to go work out and that’s rare and far in-between. But since my mom and me were going in the late morning the only time I could go with Morgan was the early morning. So I did it. I fought my better urge to stay in bed and I got up at 4:00 am!

We were meeting at the mall at 5:00 am but I wanted to hit Wal-Mart on my way over. I arrived there about 4:30 am and surprisingly it wasn't as crazy as I was imagining it to be. There were a lot of people huddled around the center displays like blenders, movies, TV’s, etc. I was wondering why everyone was just standing around. Turns out there were signs all over the displays that read 'Available at 5am.' That explains it! I looked at the clock; it was 4:45 am. I got out of there before the fists began to fly!

So I got to the mall right at about 4:50am and it took me awhile to find a parking spot. Once I did I made my way to the entrance. Um, HOLY LINE! Is getting to the mall right when they open at 5am worth standing in a line freezing in 10 degree weather? I guess it is, because we did it. We finally made our way into the mall and figured out that all the fuss was over free MP3 players that Old Navy was giving away. Note to self: Don't go into an entrance where a store is giving anything free away! Unless its a new car.

This was Morgan's first time to the Idaho Falls 'Grand Teton Mall.' She wasn't impressed but we still managed to each come out with at least three bags on each arm. We were done by 8:00 am! I was impressed with ourselves for finishing that quickly! I then ran to Best Buy (great movie deals) and Circuit City (I was in there for a total of three minutes before I got so claustaphobic and jetted out) and then headed home to meet my Mom for some more shopping.

Everywhere we went to was relativley sain. Everywhere but Kohl's. We could not beleive how l-o-n-g the line was. And that people were actually waiting in it! You've got to be kidding me! It almost wrapped around the entire store. No thank you! We walked in, and walked right back out.

We finally got done about 2:00 pm and I'll tell you, I was BEAT! I made my way to the couch and turned on some 'Man vs. Wild' and 'Rachel Ray' and about fell asleep. All and all it was a very tiring day but honestly it was lots of fun and I look forward to doing it again next year.

Thanks Morgan and Mom for being such great shopping partners!

Christmas Cheer

Right after Halloween is over (and sometimes before) the stores stock their shelves with Christmas wonders, the window displays in the mall are filled with snow and presents, we begin to see commericals on TV like the 7up red dot sliding down the chimney (Do you remember those? I loved those commericals.), we hear Christmas songs playing up above our heads in stores, and we begin to compile our Christmas wishes.

All of these things remind me that Christmas is coming! But beyond all those things, there is one reminder that is my favorite...

Starbucks Christmas Cup! I love it! They change it every year so there is always something new to look forward to. I don't know what it is about it that gives me warm fuzzies but it's my favorite!

Trunk or Treat 2007

Last night was our annual harvest party, Trunk or Treat, at Broadway. I always look forward to this every year. We had such a huge turn out.

I actually heard a guest calling a buddy and saying, 'You’ve gotta get down here. It's like the state fair!' How cool is that? That makes all the stress and prep-work well worth it.

I love seeing all the kids in their costumes. They have such vivid imaginations that have a chance to come to real life in their costumes. I guess Steven and I are kids at heart too because we pick a new costume to wear every year. I mean, come on! It’s Halloween, the one time a year you can be whatever you want to be! I was a queen and Steven was an inmate. It was great!

I really appreciate Jimi and Aubrey for all the hard work they put into making it a success. Everything was so well put together and organized. And I love order to chaos!

I was able to be the photographer for the event again which I love doing! Here are some pictures I took:

Tristyn & Aleana

This was my first experience of taking pictues of a two-year-old. Wow! What a ball of energy. On one of the first pictures we had her sniff a flower. After that, it was all over. All she wanted to do was sniff everything in sight! Thanks Aleana and Tristyn for being so patient!