Adventures in the Tundra

The boys and I were given a great Christmas gift. We were able to go to Ohio for 5 days and spend time with my parents and brothers. It was so much fun, however it was FREEZING COLD. We tried to play in the "snow" which was mostly frozen ice but Austin had a blast (well Mason too) and that was what matters. We were able to see Jennie again and we played my new favortie game.. Apples to Apples. It is sooo much fun. We visited most of the extended family so we spent time with Aunt Faye, Uncle Bob "the builder", Aunt Kathy, and Gary. We also were able to stop in at the Goddard School to visit old friends. And we just relaxed at Mima and Poppop's house. All in all the trip was real fun! (Experiencing some technical difficulties with the camera so will post pictures later)

EXHAUSTED

Saturday Mom was out of the house all day so Dad was in charge which meant the boys had no nap. This is usually ok because that means they will go to bed early, however, this was the night of the branch party so that wasn't such a good thing. Anyways we were running late and it was 30 minutes before we had to leave and this is the scene that Dustin and I walked into...

Branch Christmas Party

We had lots of fun at the Branch Christmas party. They had lots of fun activities that the boys enjoyed doing such as cookie decorations, and christmas tree decorating (paper tree). The food was so yummy.. the ham was baked with pineapple so it was very juicy. Although everything was nice I would have to say that the highlight to the night was SANTA CLAUS. Austin was especially excited to see Santa. He told him he wanted "lots of stuff". So I guess we can interpret that to mean that he would be content with anything. Mason was more excited to get the gift that Santa was passing out so he didn't even sit on Santa's lap by himself. Oh well here are a few pictures of the night.

Baby "Bath" Bliss

My friend Kimberly was suppose to have her shower on the 15 of November because she wasn't due until Dec 6, but baby Carter had his own time schedule and came early, so we had to postpone the shower. It turned out to be lots of fun and there was way cute and yummy foods. My friend Desi made this way adorable punch.. it was a turquoise punch with cool whip on top and rubber duckies floating in it.. it reminded me of a bubble bath. Then my WAY talented friend Tera made the cake. It wasn't just any cake.. I didn't want to cut it because it was so amazing. It was a 3D rubber ducky cake. The pictures don't do it justice. Anyways I wanted to honor Kim with this post and say congratulations on your adorable and sweet addition... AND I wanted to spotlight my cleverly, talented friends Desi and Tera.

Christmas Angels

This morning for part of my personal spiritual study I read a couple messages in the December Ensign (for those of you unfamiliar with what the Ensign is, it is a magazine that our church publishes). As I read these stories I noticed that the recurring theme was one of giving selflessly (Christmas Miracles). It really touched me to read of those who sacrificed all they had to help others in need. Tonight as I was searching for Christmas music to add to my blog I stumbled across a Martina Mcbride song titled "Concrete Angel". I have added it to my playlist and request that everyone click on it and listen carefully to the words. It is actually a sad song.. that speaks of a girl who overcomes her own trials. The sadest part of the song is not only the difficult abuse that she deals with but that those around her ignored the quiet pleas for help such as her tears and bruises. It is my hope that during these holidays we can all put aside ourselves and listen more carefully to the cries for help around us whether it be a prompting to visit a neighbor or call a friend. Maybe help an elderly person to their car on an icy day. Whatever our Christmas Miracle may be let us listen to our hearts, act upon them and be the instrument in the Lord's hand,

BLACK FRIDAY

My friend Tera had never been shopping the after Thanksgiving.. and everyone has to do it at least once in their life.. So I drug her out of bed and Tera, Kelly and I went shopping. We left at 6:45 in the morning. We went to Kohl's, Walmart, and Old Navy. It actually wasn't too bad.. I think the traffic and parking was the worst part. And we did find lots of good deals, especially at my favorite store.. KOHL'S. We all had fun.. here are some pictures to document Tera's first Black Friday EXTRAVAGANZA.

TURKEY DAY (s)

Before I post about Thanksgiving Day I will continue on our week and talk about Wednesday. It was a fun day. We took the most beautiful drive down the Foothills parkway. We drove on top of a mountain and eventually made it to Chilhowee Damn.. the whole drive was beautiful. Dustin compared it to something you would see in Colorado! Wednesday evening we went to dinner at our friends to celebrate Thanksgiving and their Daughter's first birthday. We had so much fun! Thank you for a delicious dinner Stocking family.. the cajun turkey was so YUMMY!!
Thursday we spent the day at Mammaw's and Pappaw's. We had so much fun we went for a wagon ride, ate lots of food, and relaxed. Here are some photos of our TURKEY DAY.

More Leaf Fun...

Twilight the Movie

Thanksgiving week was a busy, busy week for our family but it was full of firsts, and adventures. I know Monday we had fun but I am going to skip over to the big day. Tuesday Dustin didn't have to work so I was able to go to girls day out with my friend Tera. We had a blast! First we went out to eat and since she had never been to Panera I introduced her to a new love, and she loved it (of course part of her meal was the ever so tasty cheddar and broccoli soup). After filling ourselves with bliss we went to see TWILIGHT. And it was a good thing we went together because we probably would have annoyed lots of people otherwise with our laughter (there were only a handful of people besides us at the theatre.. we lucked out).. my favorite part was probably the previews. Just Kidding. There were some really good parts but there has to be opposition in all things so there were some really awful parts. The movie started out with bad acting by the end I wasn't laughing as much and was actually enjoying it. I think as the movie went on the acting got better. I don't know I just felt that they could have done a little bit better at keeping closer to the book.. I understand that they couldn't be exact but there were little things that could have stayed the same and made all the difference in the world. Oh well that is just my one opinion and hopefully the next movie will be much better.

Thanksgiving Fun!

Our little playgroup decided that we would start a tradition and have a party for all the holidays, so this is our "thanksgiving feast". The food was all very festive.. I thought these turkeys were extra cute especially since I know they took time and patience! We colored fun turkey pictures, decorated turkey cookies, ate, and played in the leaves. Austin loved the leaves (all the kids did)! Austin misses the snow so much and really wants to play in it. Since we haven't had snow yet and probably won't see much he decided to find a substitute and made leaf angels instead. We had so much fun as we jumped in the leaves, threw the leaves, and buried our friends in the leaves! (I was the supervising adult outside so I got to relive my childhood and I joined in the fun!) Even though it was one of the coldest days yet it didn't seem to phase the kids.. they still loved the leaves!