My First Crane Christmas

Although I missed my family in San Diego, the perfect weather, all the traditions I am used to, eating my nana's tamales, and snuggling with my sisters...I am happy to report that my first Christmas with the Cranes was a success. They have a few of the same traditions that my family has (i.e. caroling, eating a lot), which was very comforting. I thought a lot about my mom and the rest of the family, especially my beautiful sisters. However, it was great to bond with my mom-in-law and my sisters here (even though not all of you were here)...I was so glad to have Ash, Maddie, and Brooke! This was also one of the first times when the Crane family gathered together and there weren't 15 grandchildren, there were only two this time. I really got to bond with Cohen and Eden.

This is what we did with our free time. Played on my mac with photobooth.



We took the bart down to San Francisco to go shopping. This was Eden and Cohen's first time on a "choo choo." The pictures are of Jeff with his brothers, I love seeing them play together. We spent the whole day shopping, along with the rest of the San Fran population, it was so crowded. Oh, and did I mention it rained? I actually didn't mind too much.



Someone had to be Santa this year...guess who it was? Just look at the eyes. Diego, I wish I could have spent the time with you!



This is us in the city. I want a a tree like this one. In our house.




My mom-in-law gave each of her daughters a beautiful apron. Each fit our personality. The far left is Jeff's youngest sister, Ashley. Then it's me, Brook and her daughter Eden, then Maddie.




One of the traditions in the Crane family is to turn on loud music (more specifically N'Sync) and dance in the kitchen. We missed you Kelli, Rhino, Traci, Chad, Bret, and Emily. We'll do it again Christmas 2011. Be there.

One of the Reasons I like being a Teacher...

Being a teacher does have it's perks. Summer vacation off, paid; all holidays off, etc. Well, one of the things I love is Halloween. My students and all the teachers dressed up and we had so much fun together. Our parents put together a fabulous party for my kids, and there was lots of treats involved.
I know I'm a couple weeks late, but here are some pictures of my Halloween adventure. Enjoy.



These boys did not want to reveal their identities.



This boy won for best costume, hands down. I didn't even recognize him when he walked through the door in the morning, and neither did his classmates. I'll never forget it.



This is our exchange teacher from England. Everyone here is always asking him to say "Harry Potter"...so of course he dressed up as Harry for Halloween. He's a good sport.

I love Birthdays, especially when it's mine!

I have a pretty cute husband, great family, and good friends. I woke up in the morning with kisses from my husband. Then I got a million phone calls from family and friends. That night Jeff took me to Tucanos where I ate everything in sight. We felt sick to our stomachs. Then we went to Stake Conference, and when we came back...SURPRISE. Jeff and Lynzy had planned a surprise party. It was so fun! Sorry to Emily because I was on the phone with her and she was telling me a cute story about Zachary and then they yelled surprise and I pretty much hung up the phone. I feel horrible.

My friends had decorated our house and it looked so cute! Of course all of the decor was in Spanish.



The next morning I had another surprise breakfast party. It was so sweet. The Williams (our backyard neighbors) planned it. This picture below is probably one of the ugliest pictures of me and my cheeks look ridiculous. And yes, thats candles on a pancake and lots of bacon.



These are some of the girls who were there (Lynzy, me, Bre, Andrea, and Eva)



I ate a lot again.



They made a "Jackie Wall." It was nice. Made me feel warm inside.

Do You Bleed Blue?

If I have learned anything about my husband, it is that the Crane's are big time BYU football fans. So, I thought I would dedicate this post to some of the good times we've had this season going to football games. Yes, they are very long, and yes I get embarrassed when my husband gets so mad and yells like crazy when they are losing, but I have learned A LOT about football. I had no idea that there are so many rules!

Jeff and I with the Wright's (Jeff's oldest, but still so young sister) tailgating.

Jeff kind of getting tackled by our favorite man, Rhino.

Doesn't my husband look so happy playing football? He is just so cute.



And really tough too.


We have bonded so much with the Wright family. They are such great examples to us. We love spending Sunday dinners together, eating Kelli's amazing food.Thank you Wright's for living in Utah, so we can have family around. We love you.

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend, Jeff and I spent our time in San Diego. We had so much fun. We got to meet Diego and went to his fabulous baby shower at the San Diego Bay Hilton. I also got to see my best friends married for all time and eternity in the San Diego Temple. Here are some of the highlights.

Melody's baby shower was absolutely incredible. Over the top. It was a brunch at the Hilton and beautifully decorated. Diego is such a good boy, only cries when he's hungry or need a change.







Time with my sisters and mother is so vital to me. I love being with them, especially since we don't get too much time together. Especially since Cando lives in Virginia and I'm in Provo.



Amanda and Michael's wedding. I haven't seen a couple so happy since my wedding. She looked stunning, and he was glowing. I can't wait til they come back from their honeymoon! Lala got to fly down from Utah and spend some time with mi familia.



Me and my best friend since 7th grade



Meet the Moffats...



That's what I'm talking about...

Jeff and I just got our wedding pictures! Jared Aiono is a fabulous photographer. Here are a few photos for you to enjoy...I want to have another wedding, same groom though.

What's the difference between "nice" and "romantic"??

My friend, Lynzy, and I were talking the other night about the difference between "things that are nice and things that are romantic". Most men don't know the difference. I know mostly women read my blog...take the time out to show this post to your husbands. Maybe it will help them. If you have something to add...please comment!

Things that are nice: Bringing home flowers for me after a hard days work
Things that are romantic: Flower pedals leading to a romantic dinner
Nice: Rubbing my back, or feet
Romantic: Turning our bedroom into a massage parlor, lighting candles, and massaging me until I fall asleep
Nice: Telling me I’m beautiful
Romantic: Writing a note to tell me I’m beautiful, and hiding it for me to find it sometime during the day
Nice: Buying me a gift on Valentines
Romantic: Buying me a gift you would usually buy me for Valentines, but it’s not even close to Valentine’s Day
Nice: Letting me have a girl’s night
Romantic: Planning my girl’s night out, and impressing all my best friends with a well thought out evening
Nice: Setting time aside to watch a movie with your wife
Romantic: Picking your wife’s favorite romantic comedy, snuggling up with her, and having all her favorite snacks ready, including chocolate covered strawberries.

Amanda's Bridal Shower...

Amanda Allred, my best friend since 7th grade, is getting married. We threw her a bridal shower. I wish I had more pictures, my camera wasn't working right, so this is the only one I have. Lala, Amanda, me, and Mari.

Traci and Chad, congrats on your beautiful (I mean handsome), little baby boy. Blake Chad Stephenson was born on August 15th at 2:11 am. 7lbs...19 inches long. He's a healthy looking boy. We are so happy for you both, and excited to meet him. Someday.

Diego is here! Diego is here!

My new nephew, Diego Marcos Corvalan, is finally here. My oldest sister, Melody, is my hero. She had her baby on Sunday, August 9th at 4:51 pm. She had make-up on and her was done. That is what I hope happens to me. Also, she had the baby all natural (I'm all about the drugs).



I don't get to meet him personally until labor day weekend, his baby blessing. I can't wait. They keep telling me he is a very hairy little boy. At least he'll never go bald. I want to smell him, feel his little feet, and squeeze his little bum. He's my favorite nephew on my side of the family. Mom, sorry you're a grandma now!



So this picture is a little revealing, but all the goods are covered. Anyway, the man with the white hair was the Doctor who delivered Diego. He also happened to deliver my little sister, Ceecee, who is on the top left corner, Audrey, bottom left, and Zoe, bottom right. He's been delivering in our family for the past 19 years. I wish he could deliver mine.

Melody, you looked beautiful and I am so happy that your family is growing. When is Diego going to have a sister?

After we got out of horrible San Jose, this was our horrible drive to Arenal, the volcano town. I was so glad that Jeff was driving. Did I fail to mention that there are ZERO street signs in all of Costa Rica. So mapquest does not help whatsoever. I really had to trust in my husband. We are so glad that we both speak Spanish.



At our resort, there was a beautiful butterfly garden. Jeff went picture crazy. It was as if these butterflies were trained. They would flutter by, then land right next to you, pose, then fly away. They were definitely not scared of humans. I was just trying to stay out of spider webs.



This was our third day, in Arenal. We hiked down to the most breath taking waterfall I have ever seen. On our way down I saw my first wild boa constrictor. Getting down was like a free stair master workout.




This is the waterfall up close and personal. Jeff wanted to do a "mermaid pose"...so look to the left corner of the picture and you will see my cute husband, not a mermaid.



That same day, we went to the hot springs. This particular one was so hot that I could only put my feet in. I believe it was 112 degrees. Of course, Jeff got all the way in. This hot spring wasn't even the hottest one there. There were a total of 7, or 9, I can't remember. It was so relaxing.



We were sad to leave this great volcano town...but we were ready for the rain forest. On to our next city, Monteverde. Below is a picture of something we encountered on the drive. This little animal walked right up to our car. It must have done this before because it was not scared of us. Jeff decided to feed it cheese balls. We might've killed it. After we drove away we saw a sign saying "Please do NOT feed the animals." Oops. Better to ask for forgiveness then to ask permission, right?



A little bit more down the road, this was stuck , blocking the road. These men were torturing the cow to get it on to the tiny pick up. They even bit her tail so hard. I was hoping the cow would get mad and kick them and run free. We don't know what ended up happening because we were able to off road a bit and move around it.



This was just a large tree that I thought should be in some kind of Disney movie, don't you agree?



Jeff and I got to go on a canopy tour. It was amazing. Words just can't describe it, so here are video instead.



At the end of the zipline tour they snapped us from the stomach and we got to fly over the rainforest like superman.