Family Time

My favorite part about the holidays now that I don't live at home, is having everyone come home for Christmas. We have been able to spend a lot of time with the entire family, and it has been so much fun.

Friends of the family...Gavin and Natalie. Jeff invited them over to our house for the BYU game

Lindsey and Kaleb

Corrie enjoying the game, and the food...as always

My cute parents

My dad...kind of a weird smile, but I took this as he was lying down so maybe that is why.

My mom...I hope to be like her someday

Mckenna and corrie

The two lovebirds watching the game...very focused.

The whole gang...

This is about the best picture we can get while everyone was watching the football game

Jeff and I at my friend Heidi's wedding reception

Lindsey and Kaleb at the reception

My dad

Mckenna and Mom

Corrie's Singing Group

So every year Corrie joins a singing group for Christmas. Their group sings at the Crech Festival, in a number of different programs, and their last performance is at the Mall in Temecula. This year Jeff and I were able to go, and it was so fun to see Corrie singing with her group.

The whole singing group

Corrie got to dress up as a shepherd while she sang...she looks so cute!

I didn't know shepherds had transition lenses on their glasses :) (lenses that get darker in the sun, like sunglasses)

All the kids had props and dance moves as well

Jeff and Kaleb...Lindsey has been dating Kaleb for about 5 m onths now, and has brought him home for Thanksgiving and now Christmas. It has been so fun getting to know him...he and Jeff get along really well, and my dad is very happy to have another guy around.

Corrie using her star to block the sun from her eyes...

She knew the dance moves so well, and looks so concentrated

Corrie looking a little bored

Say ch eese...we are still working with Corrie on smiling pretty...she doesn't seem to understand it

The cutest girl in the whole group :)

Puppy!!!

So I finally backed down and let Jeff get a puppy. He has been wanting one forever, and all of our friends have dogs. Every time he goes over to one of their houses, he is in heaven. He plays with them constantly, and I have never seen him so happy. I decided that getting Jeff a puppy for Christmas would be the ultimate gift, and nothing would make him happier. We rescued our puppy from a shelter. She is a mix of breeds, we are not exactly sure. She is about 4 months old, and she couldn't be sweeter. She snuggles up with you, and is so loving. She never barks or is loud, she sleeps all night long, and plays with Jeff when he is home. We are still working on potty training her, and hopefully she masters that soon.

Our family
Bella and I at the mall in Temecula

Jeff and Bella...if the tv is on, she will just sit there and watch it.

She has the sweetest look...if she wants you to play with her, she just looks up at you like this...how could we say no???

The newest addition to the Gallego household...Bella (no, we did not name her after Twilight, we just both liked the name, and thought it fit).

Our Living Room

So Jeff has worked really hard this last month doing side jobs after the 40 hours he puts in with his actual company. I told him he could use his side job money to get something he wanted...he chose to update our living room with a new theatre system, and furniture. He and his friend Ren put in the surround sound speakers, built a new equipment rack, and got the top of the line tv. The quality is very different, and it feels like I am in a movie theatre whenever we watch a movie. He also got a blu ray player, and has started his blue ray collection.

Our new kitchen table...it is a lot smaller than our other one, which is what we wanted because there really wasn't enough room for it

Jeff's new equipment rack...along with his new computer that his friend Ren built


The rack has a fan built in to cool down the equpment, and Jeff painted and sealed it


Our new tv...the Samsung 55" flat screen...and when I say flat screen, I mean it. The tv is about an inch thick, if that. It is pretty amazing.

Our new couch...much nicer than the previous one, and very comfy...gotta love craigslist

Jeff put surround sound speakers in the ceiling. These are the two on the back wall.

And these are the three in t he front, above the tv.

This is the tv from a front view

A picture of the tv at an angle...you can really see how thin it is.

The tv really opened up our living room. Before we had a tv stand, and a bigger tv...this tv is perfect!

This tv is Jeff's pride and joy...he is always looking for ways to invite people over to watch a movie...he worked so hard for it.

Thanksgiving...a little late

So I have been a huge slacker, and haven't posted any pictures in the last month. I figure I should post Thanksgiving pictures before Christmas comes in 2 days. Better late than never...right??? Anyway, this Thanksgiving we went to Panguitch, Utah, and spent a couple of days with Jeff's family. Jeff's grandparents own property there, and their whole family gets together a couple times a year. We really enjoyed relaxing, playing games, and getting to know Jeff's extended family better. Jeff really loved shooting his new gun that he got from his parents, and riding the four wheelers. I swear he was outside more than half the time we were there, and it was, on average, about 20 degrees.

Some of the family eating dinner...there's Kimmy about 7 months pregnant :)

Jeff's cousin (or uncle, I can't remember which one) and his girlfriend Jessica

Some more of Jeff's family...there were so many people there it was hard to get to know everyone


Taylor, Tate, and Chase. It was so nice to see them...we never get to now that they moved to Washington


Jeff and Jen's newest addition, Beckham

Me and Beckham...he is the happiest baby I have ever seen. He never stopped smiling

Jeff and I in the car ride to Utah. We rode with Jerry and Kim.

Jerr drove the entire time

In the car

The beautiful Utah mountains...why can't we get any of those in Cali?

I love a good deal!!!

So I was at work today when my sister-in-law Jen called me. She had just returned from a grocery shopping trip at Albertsons, and wanted to share her shopping secrets with me. She told me what to buy, which coupons to print and use, and how exactly to check out and pay (I had to divide my groceries strategically into 3 different purchases...clever). I could not wait to get home and spread it all over my kitchen table and take a picture to put on my blog. I am not trying to brag, because all the credit goes to Jen, but I just get really excited when I can save money!!! I ended up buying 7 boxes of Progressive beef or chicken broth, 1 packet of Lipton soup mix, 2 packages of flour, 2 Wishbone salad dressings, 2 boxes of Cheerios, 2 boxes of Coco Puffs, 8 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (Jeff's favorite), 2 boxes of Trix, 2 rolls of paper towels, 4 Betty Crocker boxes of mashed potatoes, 6 packages of Knorr Rice dinners, 3 cans of Betty Crocker frosting, 4 packages of Betty Crocker cookie mix, 3 boxes of Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Reeses Brownies (my favorite), 7 cans of corn, and 4 packages of Yoplait yogurt. Are you ready for the total??? With coupons and the $15 off your next visit I got in each of the 3 transactions for buying certain products, I ended up paying $44.08, plus I got another $15 off my next purchase. I ended up saving $113.63. A great deal, and I was able to buy name brand stuff, not the cheap brands...Let's just say Jeff and I are really excited to eat "rich people" food this next week! Thanks Jen!!!

Happy Birthday Jeff!!!

Jeff's birthday was last week and my parents took us to go see The Lion King musical. It was playing in San Diego at the Civic Center. We went to dinner beforehand at California Pizza Kitchen where Jeff opened some of his presents. My parents gave him two new white church shirts, which he very much needed. The play was amazing. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

The birthday boy! Happy Birthday Babe!!!

On the car ride to the play...we were so excited.

At dinner

Corrie and I

My mom and dad...we finally got my dad to make a real smile :)

The two men I love most in my life...

Corrie loves her big brother Jeff

Rylee chose the play over a friend's Halloween party...hope you had fun Ry!!!

Corrie absolutely loved the play...all the animals, and she could even sing along

My mom and dad...23 years married in February

The whole crew...

Jeff and I before going in to see the play

My mom, Corrie and I

The only two men in the family...very handsome if I do so say so myself

There was a beautiful chandelier inside the theatre

Washington

Jeff and I made a quick trip to Washington a couple weekends ago to see his sister Jen. The Nielsons just moved out there and are staying with one of Weston's sisters. It was so much fun to see the kids, including their new baby Beckham. Jeff enjoyed showing me what he did on the farm as a teenager. He used to work on the farm every summer when Wes and Jen used to live there. It is definitely a different lifestyle out there...45 minutes from town...500 lb pigs in your front yard...and fly traps hanging from the ceiling in your house with about a hundred dead flies on them. We had a lot of fun and hope to go back sometime soon.

Jeff's expression once he realized he forgot to bring his drivers license to the airport...security had to call Washington D.C. and do a background check to make sure Jeff was actually Jeff, and we barely got through security in time to board our flight...talk about cutting it close.

Jeff and I waiting for our flight in our layover in Vegas.

This is the 500 lb pig that was pregnant when we were there...she actually gave birth to 11 piglets a couple days after we left.

They were huge...the people in town enter the pigs in contests and they get prizes for them...kind of like Charlotte's Web.

Just hanging out because it takes too much energy to walk around...what a life

Jeff feeding baby Beckham and watching Taylor play on the I-Phone before going to school.

Chase all ready for school

Tate all ready for school

Jeff and I while he and Jen are giving me the tour of the big farm...

The Nielson family owns thousands of acres out there in Washington...it was amazing to see exactly how big it was.

This is basically what all Washington looks like...kind of different than San Diego County

You could literally see for miles and miles....

It is soooooo flat

Taylor's soccer game was cancelled while we were there, but we did get to see the boys play. This is Taylor kicking the ball around at Tate and Chase's game. I am so proud that they are playing soccer...Jeff used to bring all the kids to watch my soccer game in high school, so I guess they decided to follow in my footsteps :)

Tate was a natural...

Chase loved using his hands...even when he wasn't goalie.

All the kids had the chance to rotate in as goalie, and Tate did really well at stopping the balls

Chase kind of got a little bored during the game...he would kind of just hang out until the ball got close. Soccer probably won't be his best sport...

Taylor hanging out...

Tate warming up before the game...

What a handsome kid...look out Jen and Wes, this kid will be a heart breaker.

Baby Gavin!!!

I am a huge slacker and haven't posted anything in awhile...including the fact my good friend Jessica had her baby. Baby Gavin is finally here!!! We was born at 4:35 in the morning on the 29th of September, weighing 7 lbs and 12 oz. He is so adorable, and gets cuter every day. He is now a little over 3 weeks old. Jessica is doing fine, and loving being a mom. Jeff and I were able to be there a couple hours after he was born.

The proud new daddy :)

He is so cute!!!

Rocking him to sleep

The new mommy...very tired but so happy

Gavin sleeping

Jeff holding Gavin at the Hospital

Today's Accomplishment...found out I am very boring

This will either make you feel accomplished, or make you feel completely boring...Unfortunately, I found out that I am very boring. The object is to copy & paste the list of "99 things" to your blog & bold the things you've done!! It looks like I have some things to do in the next couple of years...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo..... Duet, but no solo...
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (want to, need to)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Visited a Castle
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Spent New Years Eve in Trafalga Square
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone...no bones, but I tore a ligament
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle...four wheeler, I don't think I have done a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Have been published
81. Visited the Redwoods
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Testified in court...does it count if my dad made Jeff and I "testify" in his courtroom to tell that truth when we were dating???
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Our Finished Remodeling Project

Well, we have finished the remodeling in our new house...for the most part. There are still more things we want to do, but the major renovations are over. We were able to have a housewarming party this weekend, and it was a lot of fun. Our camera taker for the party failed miserably, so we don't have any pictures of the actual party, but I took some pictures of the house.

My new kitchen!!! This is my absolute favorite room in the house...and the biggest party of the renovation. It was so worth the wait. I love cooking here and I absolutely love every inch of it.

My mom also helped decorate our kitchen. She brought a lot of fun things to put up above the cabinets, and it really helped it to look more personal, and more like a home.

We also got all new stainless steel appliances. We found them all on craigslist...our favorite store...and got an oven/range, microwave, dishwasher, and fridge, all for $750. A steal of a deal.

Our countertops are granite tile. We were going to go with laminate, but ended up choosing the granite for a slight price difference. It was well worth the money.

This is looking into the kitchen from the dining room...by opening up the wall, it makes our house look bigger, and it allows us to visit with friends even if we are in the kitchen.

A view from the dining room into the kitchen...this used to be a solid wall, but Jeff and his brother knocked it down and created a bar height pony wall so you can see into the kitchen...I absolutely love it.

Our dining room...we were given this dining set by Jeff's parents. We eventually want to get something a little smaller...probably a dark wood table that seats 6 instead of 8.

A view of dining/living/front room. This is what you see when you first walk in the house. We have a beautiful picture of the San Diego Temple on our table which my mom gave us. She bought it at Costco...I am still amazed at the things you can get at Costco.

Our living room...we still need to get a new coffee table...one that is preferrably not lime green.

We love our fireplace and can't wait until winter when we can test it out. I also love the mantle because there is so much room to put pictures on. Eventually we might change the brick, but for now we are grateful to have one.

We still have the same T.V. We eventually want to get one that can mount on the wall to save space, but that is something for later down the road.

Guest bedroom

Guest bed...we still need to get some bedroom furniture for this room, but for now the mattress is just on the floor. Eventually, this will be a great baby room. :)

Guest bedroom entry from the living room.

Guest bedroom shelf and currently our piano is in there.

Our guest bathroom.

Guest bathroom toilet and storage shelf.

Guest bathroom vanity and mirror.

A view of the guest bathroom. I still need to do some decorating, and definitely get new towels...it looks like Halloween in there.

Behind the bi-fold doors is our washer and dryer. We used to have to go to the garage to do laundry...it is so convenient having it in the house now. There is also a linen closet which is great for extra storage.

This used to be used as a wet bar...now Jeff converted it to a laundry room with a linen closet

Our master bedroom...we still have to paint and decorate a little more, but for now we like it and are excited to finish it.

We recently got our bed set and we love it. We also got 2 sofa chairs to go in our room. They are really comfy, we just need to recover them.

Jeff also recently put blinds in...we used to have a beach towel as a curtain.

My mom bought us the two pictures to go above our nightstands...she has a great eye for decorations. Now we just need to add a picture to go directly above our bed.

"Buzz your girlfriend...woof?"

Can anyone name the movie???

While I was at the Moonlight Theatre in Vista with my family, we had a little fun messing around...

Corrie has always been able to impersonate Buzz's girlfriend in the movie Home Alone. We all tried to make the face, but nobody does it quite like Corrie.

See the resemblance?

Jessica's Baby Shower

My friend Jessica is having a baby in a couple months, and I had the opportunity to go to her baby shower a couple of weekends ago. It was so much fun!!!

Jessica 7 months prego

The shower was at Jessica's friend Alexandra's new house. It looked so beautiful, and Alexandra really did a great job hosting the party.

These are two of Jessica's friends

Jessica, her mom, sister-in-law, and her daughters

Jessica's mother-in-law Dana, her sister-in-laws Natalie, and Annie, and her friend Steph

These are some more of Jessica's friends, Alexandra's mom, and Jessica's grandma.

Alexandra put me in charge of the dessert...and Jessica asked me to bring the chocolate fountain. There is nothing quite like a preganant woman eating chocolate...

Family Reunion

Well, we took a break from all the house remodeling, and flew to Utah for a Snell family reunion. The reunion was at Aspen Grove, a family camp sponsored by BYU, up in the mountains. It was a lot of fun spending time with the Snell family because we do not get to see them that often. We enjoyed playing sports, rockclimbing, games with the family, swimming, paintballing, and just having time off work.

Here is my Zoolander pose...

This is Jeff and I at the Salt Lake Airport

Mom and Corrie

Playing games with the family...

A view of the mountains

A General Authority playing paintball

Taking pictures before church on Sunday

Me and Mckenna

Me, Mckenna and Rylee

Jeff Repelling down the rock wall

Jeff, Jon, and Audi

Jeff on the zipline

Jeff climbing up the log

Jeff in his rock climbing gear

The family paintballing

Remodel Day 10-20

We also went to Home Depot this week to buy our cabinets. We were initially going to go with a medium wood because it was the best color they had in their pre-assembled selection. However, the night we went to buy them, Jeff and I found these dark wood cabinets for about the same price. I am so glad we found them...they look so good. The cabinets also ended up being a little cheaper than we expected, which was awesome...considering we have been spending at least $100 a day from Home Depot.


After painting, Jerry came over and helped us assemble the cabinets. Tonight he finished them, and I can't believe how great it looks. This project is almost over, and although it was a nightmare, it was so worth it. I just can't wait to have people over and be able to use the kitchen. I am so grateful to Jerry for his help. We wouldn't have been able to do it without him...he is such a good brother to have...Thanks Jerry!!!

Remodel Day 6-9

Once the drywall was on the walls, we spent a couple of days mudding holes and corners. Once everything was mudded and sanded, we hired a texture guy to come and texture the walls to match the rest of our house. He charged us $300 to do everything...which is a great deal, and well worth it. Once he finished, we primed and then painted...and it is coming close to look like a kitchen. Jeff also worked on the electrical stuff this last week. He put the cans in the ceiling, and wired all the circuits for under cabinet lighting as well as pendant lights to go above the pony wall.

Remodel Day 4

The 4th and 5th days of the remodel was really all Jeff. I went to Temecula for a couple of days to spend with my family, and when I came back, Jeff had pretty much put drywall on the entire kitchen. He has been working so hard lately, and I am so grateful for a husband that knows how to do this kind of stuff.




This is the laundry room/linen closet that Jeff framed out by himself. The laundry is in the garage right now, so it will be so nice to be able to do laundry in the house.

Remodel Day 3

The 3rd day of our project was pretty easy for us. Jeff's brother Jerry and his friend Jason came over to help us cut out a wall, and build a pony wall.


This is the wall that they cut out...it is looking from the living room to the kitchen.

Jerry and Jason built a little pony wall. When the kitchen is done, there will be a bar height eating area...this really opened up the front living and dining rooms.

Remodel Day 2

The next day we removed the drywall. This was fun for the first little bit, but after awhile it got very exhausting and boring. In the end, Jeff was the one who did the demo, and I cleaned up the mess that he made by taking all the junk to the backyard...we have a pretty nice collection back there now.

We also had the privilege of finding the remains of a rat in our wall. It was in between the drywall and the insulation...pretty nasty!

Remodel Day 1

The first day of our remodel project we spent hours tearing out the existing cabinets and countertops, as well as the ceiling. It was a lot of hard work.




As we were taking out the cabinets, we found dozens of egg sacs. I can't believe that I actually wanted to keep the existing cabinets...we would have been living with thousands of spiders!