Monkeying around...with the Monkey!!!

So quite a few comments on the last post were geared towards our new camera.  This time around we (yes boys and girls, this is actually Jeff) thought we would just post some really fun pics of what we have been doing lately, along with some snappy little photos taken with our new camera, and try to answer some of the questions we received.

The camera is a Canon 450D, more commonly known as the Rebel xSi.  It is a 12.2 megapixel digital SLR.  A nice camera has been on our wishlist for several months, but only a few months ago had we actually started shopping around.  We chose the Canon because of 

reputability in the SLR market, the mid price range of the camera, and ease of use and huge LCD display.  The camera is very easy to use, just turn on and click for the novice.  Yet, being like most other SLRs, you can be very creative and use some of the advanced modes/features to get some really cool looking photos.  We purchased the Canon from dell.com after scrounging the internet for a discount code. :)  We paid roughly $700 for the camera, which was about middle ground for SLRs these days.  Compared to the lesser priced Nikon D40, it seemed much sturdier and had many more features.  You won't find a whole lot better until you get into the $1000 range.  We're happy about it, and no regrets!  Here are just 2 examples of some neat pics we took of our cute little nativity scene.  The lens that came with the body isn't too spectacular, but does allow for some creativity.

We spent this Thanksgiving down in Sierra Vista with the Shaver family.  It was a beautiful weekend, and just a few degrees cooler than it normally is in the valley.  We also got quite a bit of rain which was fantastic.  Most of the family was able to come eat dinner on Thanksgiving day, and our new friend!

 Ellie's sister Amber recently got a new dog; Zoe, and she is adorable. She is a Jack Russel Terrier and Chihuahua mix.  She likes to lick people. We're hoping that Zoe will come stay with us while Amber finishes her last year at school. Dinner was fantastic, and as any good hearted American would do, we ate way too much.  We spent most of the weekend talking with family, eating, playing cards, eating, wasting $15 on the Twilight movie, and eating.  Yeah, we ate a lot.  I had to leave Thursday evening to come back to work, but Elisa was able to stay until Saturday morning and do some

Christmas crafting with her mother.  We now have a pretty little tree skirt ready for our tree to be cut down this weekend, as well as lots of other Christmas decorations made by Ellie and her mom.  We really tried to get a nice picture of Ellie and all of her brothers and sisters (those present), but honestly it was like trying to keep a bunch of sugar-craved 3 years olds out of the cookie jar; nearly impossible.  We took the spray-and-pray approach and this was the best shot we got.

We haven't done anything else real exciting in the last few weeks, but the coming weeks are sure to be full of excitement.  This weekend we'll be cutting down our giant Christmas tree, and next week (after numerous final exams...) we'll be at Disneyland celebrating our anniversary. We're so excited to get away from "normal" life for a few days and just have fun with each other, just like we did on our honeymoon!  Well, that's about it for me this week folks.  Did I mention how adorable Ellie is?

P.S. Santa, can you please bring Ellie a really cute pink bicycle for Christmas?  She really wants one, and I guess she has been pretty good this year.  And do you think you could get one with a basket on the front?  She wants to carry around her treats when she goes on a bike ride. Thanks!

P.P.S. I apologize for the funny layout of this post. After formatting and typing everything, I hit the "preview button" and it looked beautiful.  However, after publishing, it looks nothing like it did under "preview."  What is the point of having a "preview" function if it looks nothing like the real thing?  Dumb... 

Precious Primary Pizza Party

Maybe some of you can relate to being a newlywed and having your first calling in the ward being PRIMARY! Yup, it happened to us, and although we have had a lot of fun it can be hard at times as well not to get that adult spiritual boost that we often times need. Our favorite is when we go to ward activities and still get the..."So, are you guys new in the ward...what is your name again!?!" and we have been in there for 11 months already! It's kinda difficult to get to know other members of the ward when you are in Primary the whole time, and even harder when the people you visit teach are all in Primary as well.

Don't get me wrong cause there's nothing like hearing them sing those sweet Primary hymns and getting goose bumps while listening, or hearing them bear testimony of something you taught them, and you can't forget all the warm free hugs they give you every Sunday! It's truly been a blessing to see children at such a young age know so much about the gospel and they honestly amaze me. Being a primary teacher you kinda have to get creative in ways to try and trick them to be more reverent so Jeff and I came up with this idea where every time they were being quiet and reading from the scriptures or listening to us in class we would put jelly beans in a jar. The goal was to have them fill up the jar and the prize was a PIZZA PARTY AT THE SCHAUB'S with Rock Band included!! Doesn't sound to exciting, but trust me it really really worked. If they were naughty then they would have to sit there and watch us eat some of the jelly beans. It took them about 3 months to fill the jar, but they earned the pizza party so I wanted to share some funny pics from it.

This last one has to be my favorite...Ryan a boy in our class told me that his tooth was loose and I thought no big deal, but then I turn my head to see him and what had he done?!? Oh, he sure did pull it out! He didn't act like it hurt him or anything and just continued to eat pizza and play. From what I remember as a little kid...it hurts pulling a tooth out, but being the caring Sis. Schaub that I am I put it in a zip bloc baggie for him to take home to the Tooth Fairy.

A couple things we learned from our Pizza Party: #1. Why did I put 2 hours on the invite? We barely lasted...if there is a next time it will only be 1 hour! #2. Having eight 9 year olds at your house can be very very overwhelming! #3. After that party we knew that we could wait a bit longer for kids...it was like a different form of birth control. #4. Poor kids were so short and could not reach the peddle for the drums and were stomping the heck out of it, so next time an adult can do the peddle. #5. I think we won the title of being the coolest primary teachers ever because none of them wanted to leave the party!

Since I like squishing the updates of our life all in one post the most recent exciting thing for us is that we just got a new camera!! It's super nice and definitely worth the money.

Jeff is cute and has been studying up on how to use it and is now an official photographer, so if you want a free photo shoot come on over! We figured we needed a new camera, cause mine was getting super old and not functioning right, plus we wanted one for the holidays and for our vacation to Cali for our 1 year anniversary. Here are just a couple of pics he has taken.

Did I mention before that Jeff loves mustang's? This is his current one...doesn't she look like a beauty? I personally think that he loves them cause he likes playing the game where his exhaust is so loud he can make other car alarms go off! Ha ha! It's really really fast and most of the time he won't let me drive it! :'( It's probably best cause I don't need another speeding ticket on my record.