White Tail

So for another Shepherd Family Adventure we decided to go to White Tail, a ski resort up in Pennsylvania that was only a 90 min drive from my parents house.  Dustin had to work, so I went with Mom and Dad, David and Josh and Jesse's Fiance Carter. 

It was a day to remember that is for sure!!

So just a few months later we went again and it was a MUCH better experience. I only fell 6 times my 2nd time snowboarding....but Dustin sure did work it and got a lot better during the day. We will for sure do this again! And I got to wear my new coat I got for my Birthday!! And I didn't hurt my tailbone this time!

Here we are getting set for our first run down! 

 It really is a beautiful view!!

 I love that my dad skis in jeans!

 Dustin getting ready to go off of a jump. I missed the good shot, he actually did very well!!

 Tired and ready to go home!!

I am pretty sure we'll go again! It was awesome!

Nicki's Birthday!!

So for my birthday we had the most wonderful day. Dustin was so great and just did whatever I felt like that day. It started with him bringing me breakfast in bed. Ok, it really started with us sleeping in and waking up and him telling me I'm not allowed to leave the room so I stayed and read for awhile in bed.

Then he brought me some french toast and he came and ate in bed with me. But he had never made french toast before so he looked up how to do it on YouTube. That is my husband, he doesn't look up a recipe, he looks up a video! It tasted great!!

Then we decided to open some of the gifts before getting ready for the day! Here is Dustin and his amazing wrapping job! The suitcases were from his parents since I didn't have any and I have seemed to be traveling a lot lately...and Dustin bought me this awesome awesome coat that I LOVED when we went to REI a few weeks before but it wasn't on sale then so we didn't get it. I LOVE that coat! It is so great and keeps me warm and was perfect for when we went snowboarding again a few weeks later!

Then we went to Mt Vernon since I had never been there and had talked about wanting to go there since I moved here 18 months ago. So we took on the rain and grey weather and went and got season passes, so if anyone wants to go we'll come with you! I especially want to do the National Treasure tour when they take you to the tunnels that are on the grounds that are in the movie, and also the Christmas tour. It is BEAUTIFUL there. If I was George Washington I'd rather have stayed there too! The property is gorgeous. So there we went and there I am sporting my awesome new coat!

We then went to Ben's Chili Bowl which I first heard about on Food Network and how it was supposed to have the best chili around. You also go for just the atmosphere. The line was out the door at 3pm on a rainy Saturday, and they are cash only. Yes they are that good! We got their turkey chili dog and it was amazing!! So glad we went there and will for sure go again. We'll take anyone who comes to DC! It is truly an awesome experience.

We then headed to my parents house for some delicious dinner of Quiche and fresh rolls and some Chocolate Zucchini Cake and the BYU basketball game. Then we played games and ate cake and it was great! Just a fun night with family. I was super super excited about my new rice maker! And of course me new knife and heat pad. I am so blessed!!

The Great REI Extravaganza!!

So it is not new to everyone that Dustin and I love being outdoors and like sports, etc. So when we found out about the REI Attic Sale we decided we weren't going to miss out on this one!! Dustin and I could easily spend thousands of dollars here. So we made a plan. We went a few weeks before to go try things on make a game plan, decide what we needed and what we just would like, and what we just wanted. We were told that they hand out tickets at 8am to the people in line, and then at 10am they open the doors, only letting in 25 people at a time, in the order that they handed out the tickets, so you get your tickets and then go somewhere for 2 hours and come back. But then they told us that there was a lot bigger store and so they had a larger selection and we thought we'd go there instead.

So on Saturday morning we woke up at 5:45, dressed, ate and got in our car with some warm clothes and snacks. When we got there, there were just 13 or so people in front of us so we thought we had it made, and it was only 7:15. But 8am came and went, and then 8:30, and we had by then met the people all around us in line, and we found out that they just open the doors at 10am and let everyone in and it is utter chaos. So we took turns waiting in the car trying to warm up, it was freezing!! Here we are waiting in line.

People came with camping chairs, and their sleeping bags, and yes, someone put up a tarp to keep the wind away.

The line continues to get longer and longer....

Dustin trying to warm up in the car!!

The line still keeps getting longer...

Yes, there were that many people, and more in this tiny room in the back! The attic sale is the discounted prices of all the returns. So you get great deals, but they might have something wrong with them, like a little pull, or missing a bolt or something, or they were just returned. But you cannot return them once you buy them at the attic sale.

So we didn't get a picture of all the items we got, but we wanted winter stuff mostly for me since I didn't have much. Dustin had the mission of grabbing boots for him and me, and I went for the coats, gloves, clothes, etc. Then we met outside the tiny room and stood in a corner and tried things on.

We ended up getting Dustin a pair of North Face really really nice winter boots for $50, me a great pair for $30, and a pair of nice hiking boots for $10. Then I got a long sleeve running shirt that is super nice for $5 and Dustin got a pair of knitted gloved for $8, the kind that the top flips off and the thumb top flips so you can expose your fingers but keep your gloves on. Then we got liners, and ski socks and snow pants, and some other stuff and we actually stayed in our budget!! It was a fun time and we're very proud of our spoils, but next time we're going to the store in Fairfax where you only have to wrestle 25 people at a time and stand in line for 1 hour instead of 3!!!

Random Happenings

Not long ago we were told that we live very exciting lives and keep very busy. This post is to show you how ordinary we really are and that we live pretty simple lives. The thing is I only really blog every few weeks and so you only see the exciting tidbits of our adventures.

So on a regular day we usually go to work and come home, have a very simple dinner, watch a movie, or an episode of whatever T.V. show we are currnetly into off of Netflix, or we read or play Rook and then go to bed. The only difference is on days I don't work (I usually only work 3 days a week) I make dinner, clean, do laundry, grocery shop, run errands, etc.

Here we are on a Sunday after church. I get cold easily and so I like to wear pajama pants under my skirts when we get home from church and today I wanted to spice up my life a little bit and wear Dustin's Batman P.J.'s.

This is Dustin in his new sweater we got using our gift cards from the wedding (yes we are still using the last bit of some of them!) and also his VERY short haircut. I bought new clippers since we'd always borrow my moms, and the sizes are different than I'm used to...and we discovered this after I had already started to clip...oops!! But Dustin was very good and appreciative and just reminded me that it will grow back!!

For our 8 month anniversary we decided to celebrate since we weren't able to celebrate our 6th month. This entailed Dustin's church basketball game at 8am, then us coming home and me taking a nap. I came to the front room to find these beautiful flowers waiting for me! Then we went and I played in the women's church basketball game and we went out for frozen custard and came home and watched a movie. It was a great and relaxing day, and we just did exactly what we wanted!!

This is us playing Rook, which is something you'll find us doing frequently at night. If you have any suggestions of more fun games for two we'll take them!!

So there you have it....and bit of a better look into what we really do each day!!

Coco Sala

The other Saturday we got invited to go with some friends with them to try out this chocolate restaurant they had heard about, Coco Sala. Everything on the menu is supposed to have something chocolate in it, or at least I think most of them....But we decided to go and try this adventure with them!

Here are the results of our adventure, peanut butter and white chocolate hot chocolate, salted caramel, chocolate chunks in our salad, and a lot more! It was really really good! But we recommend going for the lunch special like we did since it isn't the cheapest restaurant, but we highly recommend this place for all chocolate lovers!!

Below are some of the dishes we had between the four of us.

Pumpkin Custard

For Christmas Mom and Dad Hinton gave me these cute little ramekins and a torch for creme brulee. I still have yet to make the creme brulee but I did make this pumpkin custard! We thought it turned out pretty good!!

Jess and Sarah off to College!!!

So few weeks ago on New Years Day Jessica and Sarah took off to BYU-Idaho for Jessica's Junior year and Sarah's first semester as a Freshman! They will be living together and have been blessed with some awesome roommates and are keeping busy that is for sure!

But we were sad that they left behind a loving family, and Jessica a very sad but extremely supportive Fiance.

In the Escalade we had to borrow from some friends since it was the only thing that was going to fit the girls luggage :)

Jess and Carter got banned to the back seat so they could "be alone" so Sarah shared my seat with me.

Dustin got his own seat.

Saying good bye to Daddy!!

The luggage line up!! We are grateful for Southwest and that you can still check 2 bags with no charge!!!

Green luggage = Sarah, Red luggage = Jess

And we're off!!!!

These will be some very well dressed girls!!!

waiting in line...Sarah showing off her boots she got to help her survive those Rexburg winters!!

I am pretty sure he was checking football scores....

getting ready to say good bye again at security...

Sisters!!!!

I couldn't resist..... :)

WE love and miss you so much Schwesters!!!!