Thanksgiving

My favorite thing about fall is the last Thursday in November, Thanksgiving! There is so much food, family and fun to be had on the wonderful day. It is the one day where no one worries about how much they eat or how little they get done. Thanksgiving is perfect for me because I love to eat and it is the one day out of the year people can't make fun of me for how much I eat and still be the size I am!

This year we spent our Thanksgiving with the Revord family. I missed spending the day with my family but I love my second family. The house was anything but quiet with 9 people and 9 dogs! For those of you that don't know the Revord family they are the country version of the Enevoldsen clan. Everyone is extremely vocal, very family oriented, and laugh all the time. I am thankful to be part of the family! 

My Mother-in-law found out a few days before Thanksgiving that she had staff infection so Joey, Amanda and I took over Thanksgiving dinner this year. Ed had to work Thanksgiving so we planned on eating lunch by 11. We prepared most of the side dishes Wednesday so we wouldn't have to get up so early Thursday morning. We got up at 4:45 to put the Turkey in with some help from Jeff. We went back to bed and woke up at 7:30 with the boys and while they went coyote hunting we started getting everything ready. By 11:01 we had everything on the table and were sitting down to eat. It was the first time the girls made Thanksgiving dinner, and I have to add that we did a rather amazing job! The food was amazing and there was plenty of leftovers for the next couple days. 

After lunch, the boys shocked us by cleaning up from lunch. They cleaned all the dished and put away all the food! We are so blessed to have such wonderful brothers, husbands and father. It was weird sitting on the couch watching them clean up, but I could definitely get used to it!  

After the boys were done cleaning up we all sat down in front of the fire and cuddled up in the blanket and turned on some Thanksgiving day football. A few of us took the classic "turkey coma" nap! The rest of the day was a lazy afternoon while we waited for Ed to get off work. The boys went coyote hunting in the evening and by the time Ed got home from work we were rested and ready to play some Jenga. Luke and Collin became pros by the end of the weekend and reached level 31! Joey on the other hand wouldn't play because she was so anxious just watching everyone else play!             

Friday everyone was out and about visiting friends that were home for the holidays so it was very quiet in the house. Saturday was a different story. We all decided to go out with a bang on Saturday night so the girls took naps during the day to make sure we were well rested by the time Ed got home at 11. When the whole family was finally together we all sat down together with our drink of choice and began playing Catchphrase. Of course it had to be boys vs. girls and the girls were on fire! By 1 a.m. Carmen and Jeff had enough of us tipsy kids and called it a night! After many hours of sibling bonding, Catchphrase, dancing, Jenga, pictures, videos and singing, we called it a night at 4 a.m.

Sister-in-laws :)

There was nothing good about Sunday except Joey's Monkey bread. We were sad to see everyone leave on Sunday but Collin had to go back to school, Luke had work and Cody and Joey had to get back to Wisconsin. We had an amazing Thanksgiving and we already miss all our wonderful siblings! 

Omaha

This past weekend Ed and I headed to Omaha to visit Luke and Collin (Ed's brothers). We left Saturday night after Ed got off work at 11 and we, correction, I drove 6 hours all night while Ed slept the whole way! We took Buck and Miley with us and they helped keep me awake while I was driving. We finally arrived at Luke's house at 7 a.m. 

Buck also slept the whole way down

Ed trying to look noble! 

After a power nap we started our weekend off with a trip to, you guessed it, Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's. We spent over an hour at each which is amazing for the Revord boys and I was very proud of them! I personally think if you've seen one Bass Pro you've seen them all but my husband and brother-in-laws seem to feel differently! We walked around Cabela's talking about how many animals they were going to kill this winter and where they were going to hunt etc. After an hour of that we got to do something I enjoy, food! Then we went to Bas Pro and did the exact same thing, minus eating.
After our excursion of the hunting shops we headed back to Luke's house to relax.








The boys loved these hats and they looked so cute all matching!
Ed and I have found a new favorite game while we were in Jamaica, Jenga! We brought it to Omaha with us and the four of us played Jenga all afternoon!

Jenga!!

A Lube Tube- 10 beers in that tube!

Sunday night we headed to the famous Quaker Steak and Lube. Luke and Collin had been talking about this restaurant for weeks, ever since they ate hot wings there. The thing about these hot wings is that the restaurant requires whoever orders them to sign a waver stating that they won't sue, eat at the customers own risk, etc. Also the boys had to wear gloves while eating the wings....We weren't brave enough to try the extreme wings so we settled with burgers and beer (I  enjoyed a daiquiri). Our favorite part of the restaurant was the cars and motorcycles hanging from the ceiling. The Lube Tube was Ed and Luke's favorite.

On Monday we visited the Omaha Zoo and it is the most amazing zoo I have ever been to. There were so many exhibits and so many animals. The best exhibits were all inside so we didn't venture out into the cold to visit the big animals. The one exhibit that made me feel like a kid as I clung to Ed's hand was the swamp exhibit. It was under the desert dome so it was dark and looked just like a Louisiana swamp. We walked on a bridge over the swamp and the only thing that separated us from the gators, beavers, and other swamp creatures was chicken wire and a rope fence. We caught glimpses of the gators as they splashed into the water, scaring me to death! I really felt like a little girl when Ed went around the corner and I saw a snake and then heard a huge splash; I went running and yelling for Ed. The good husband I have just stood there and laughed at me as I ran to him.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from the swap because it was so dark, but here are some pictures of our other adventures from the day! 

The gorilla wanted a picture with me :)

The Gorilla outlook

We loved all the fish! All the fish that I wanted to see were there; Nemo, Dory, Bruce, Crush and the rest of the characters from Finding Nemo (one of our favorite animated movie). It was a beautiful aquarium. 

It looks like there is nothing between them!

We loved all the cats. The were so close and there were so many different breeds! One of the Tigers had a kitten with her and we decided that the next pet we want is a Tiger kitten! This was Ed's favorite exhibit. 

The Rainforest exhibit, or as we liked to call it Jamaica :)

 Our trip to Omaha was a great experience and we had a blast! November has been a very exciting month for us, we can't wait to see what the rest of the month brings!

Jamaican Me Crazy!

When Ed and I got married in 2009 we decided to wait a year before we went on our honeymoon and it was completely worth it! We celebrated our honeymoon/first year anniversary at the Grande Ocho Rios in Jamaica!

A few days before we left for Jamaica we learned that Hurricane Tomas was headed straight for Jamaica! I was a nervous wreck the whole week, I had been planning this trip for a year and I wasn't going to let a Hurricane ruin it for me! I was on the internet watching the storm every 10 minutes till we left. We left Denver at 1 a.m. and arrived in Jamaica at 11 a.m.

Our honeymoon had officially began!

  Our villa in the hills of the resort. We love being able to escape from everyone and this is exactly what this villa did for us! The villa was up the hill from the lobby, bars and restaurants and it was quite a hike to and from our room; that is it would have been if we wouldn't have been upgraded to butlers! We had two butlers at our disposal who came and picked us up whenever we wanted to go somewhere. They were amazing.

   These are our amazing butlers Jackie and Shelly! They took us to breakfast and dinner every day and turned down our beds every night. They also made sure our room was flawless! We loved them and miss them now that we are back home.

Towel art that was on our bed every day.

Although we didn't get to participate in any of the water sports thanks to Tomas, we still had fun in the ocean! Swimming, laying on the beach and playing with the waves. 

 The pool that we spent most of our time at! The swim-up bar was the best part. They make the best island drinks.

Relaxing at the pool! This is what we did everyday after breakfast and most of the afternoon.

Out to dinner. The food was amazing! Four star dining every night, great views, and all you could eat.

Having a blast at the nightclub on the resort. Ed had more fun than I did! 

The fire-eater at the beach party! 

Ed and Matt (a great guy we met) singing at 1 of the 11 bars on the resort. They sang for an hour and they have great voices! 

Jamie and I making shots for the boys to judge! We had a blast trying to imitate the bartenders that were constantly creating shots that they had never made before! Our shots didn't measure up to our bartender Baboo but they were still good.

Matt and Jamie are a couple that were celebrating their honeymoon and we had a great time with them, I can't imagine our vacation without them.

Jamaica's version of American's Next Top Model and American Idol. We were 2 of the 12 white people in the room. It was such a fun experience.

On the pier looking over the ocean. We ate on the pier the first night and it was amazing.

Our rose petal bed. This was our butlers way of saying thank you and that they enjoyed having us! 

Downtown Ocho Rios. We went shopping in this area and it was an experience. We had people grabbing at us trying to get us to buy their merchandise. When we told them no they started asking if we wanted weed.

    

Relaxing while we wait for the Jittney! Jamaican's drive crazy, they put speed bumps all over the resort to slow the drivers! We loved how fast they drove; it was a so different from the USA. On our way to and from the Resort to the airport we had our bus driver make a two lane highway into a 3-way. They pass cars even when there is a car approaching in the oncoming lane! 

  Our last day in Jamaica. We were very sad to leave this island paradise!

The Beginning of Forever

Hello world! 2010 is drawing to a close and much has happened this past year I feel that it is time to finally join the blogging world. This will undoubtedly be my longest blog as I have much to share; so let's get started!

Our story officially began on June 27, 2009 when I became Mrs. Edward Revord. It was the happiest day of my life, I could not imagine a better man to spend the rest of my life with! It was a beautiful wedding, we held it at my parent's house and my two father officiated our wedding ceremony. It was perfect!

 On June, 28th I packed up my belongings and moved to Sterling to my beautiful house to begin my married life. It took a few months to finish organizing and painting the house till I was finally happy with it! We love living here; we have met so many wonderful people.
We moved here for Ed's job which he loves and I don't foresee us ever moving. He is excellent at his job and I am so proud of all the hard work he has put into it. He was recently involved in the escape team that went after the prisoner that escaped for 3 days. It was the longest 3 days of my life but he came back to me safe and sound which I thank God for.

I worked at a preschool for 9 months where I met some of the most amazing women, I love them all and count them as some of my dearest friends. I hardly considered it work playing with kids all day and working with my friends! I am now beginning my piano studio from my house.

Caitlin and I :)

During the summer we made a road trip up to Chadron, NE to visit Drew and Teran. We all took a trip down the Niobrara River. We spent 4 hours drifting down the river in a canoe and that was 4 hours too many for my dear husband. We spent 3 hours going in circles thanks to me; I could not figure out how to steer the canoe for the life of me and that drove Ed nuts! He swore that he would hit me with the paddle if I kept spinning us in circles but he never did, and I continued to spin us. We had so much fun it is on our To Do List for next summer.

 This sums up the day!

Perfect :)

This is how it was, I laughed and Ed did all the work!

In the fall of 2009 I attended my very first Pro Football game. Steelers vs. the Broncos. Of course I cheered for the Steelers. Since becoming a Revord I have compromised my feeling of Pro Football; I became a Steelers fan on the promise that Ed would become a Nebraska fan. I am proud to announce that I have converted a Colorado resident to become part of the great Husker nation :)

At my first every Pro game! Steelers won of course!

Winter was uneventful for me. We had lots of snow and cold weather which made it hard for me and great for Ed. Winter for Ed means hunting every morning and spotlight hunting every night! His final score for his hunting escapades were 1 deer, 2 bobcats, uncountable coyotes, 4 raccoons, 3 fox, and 1 badger. He also became his own taxidermist. We now have dead animals scattered throughout the house. I am overjoyed....

Spring came and went and before we knew it summer was knocking on our door. Summer brought three weddings, three of my cousins tied the knot in three different states and during the weddings/road trips we celebrated our first anniversary as well as Ed's birthday. Then came my 21st birthday! I didn't experience the typical 21st birthday bash; instead I spent the evening with my wonderful family playing cards and drinking. It was perfect.

"Fall in love with fall"...this has become our theme for this season. We took our late honeymoon/anniversary in Jamaica! Be looking for a blog for all the details on our vacation!  Here's a sneak peak ;)