Christmas 2009!!!

Below are three slideshows I put together since I couldn't decide what photos to choose! :) The bottom one is of Christmas Eve, the middle is Christmas Morning, and the top is our family photos.



This year I had to work and we couldn't travel, so the Tribetts, Andersons, and Schwehrs came to us. We had a blast! We went to Temple Square on Christmas Eve (brrrrr!) and came back and had hot chocolate to get toasty warm. Emma was so excited about Santa! She left him out cookies and milk and went to bed like a good girl. Then the elves came out and got the place ready for Santa and he came with a full bag of goodies! When it was time to get up and see what Santa brought, Emma became very shy and hid in the kitchen. We had to coax her out, but once she got a closer look, she forgot her humility and dove right in! She had asked Santa for pretent make-up (the Santa at the mall) and Tinkerbell toys (in a letter). She got both, not to mention plenty more. She got toys toys and more toys. I didn't know where I was going to put them all! This is the 2nd year we spent with Laura Dave and Shae, and Shae had a great time too! She got all sorts of toys, one in particular was this tiny Snowwhite vacuum that sung Whistle While You Work. So cute! She pushed it around all morning. I think everyone got what they wanted and we all seemed to have a terrific time. We also went up the canyon for our family pics and froze half to death taking them, but I think they turned out great for just us amateur photgraphers. Dave had an awesome camera too! The day after Christmas, we joined the crowd and spent our gift cards at Walmart (a madhouse) and the mall (double madhouse) and played Dave's Wii thru the night. On Sunday, everyone went home and we realized how fast it went by. I always hate that. But it was soooo nice to see everyone and to spend time catching up and enjoying everyone's company. We got to meet my Mom's new husband Phil Anderson and we got to see how much Shae has grown. We got to laugh and play and we couldn't have asked for more. Fun memories....And now its a week later and the New Year is upon us.... 2010? What happened to 2009?!? To whom ever reads this, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!!!

Police Lollipops!

I wish I could have caught this on video!!! We have been driving around alot on our days off running with the Christmas crowd, and today we heard Feliz Navidad twice on the radio and the catchy tune was stuck in Emma's head. However, she has no idea what Feliz Navidad means or how to say it. My ears perked up as I was making dinner because I could here her singing the tune, but as I listened I realized she was saying, " Police Lillipops, da da da daaa, Police lollipops..." I was rolling with laughter and ran to get the cam, but she realized I was on to her and she went glib lipped and wouldn't sing for me. But how cute is that?!? Police Lollipops!

Christmas cookies!

On my day off this week, we had a full day of Christmas activities. We made paper snowflakes, baked and decorated sugar cookies, and watched Christmas movies all day! This was Emma's first real experience decorating Christmas cookies without assistance. She was so cute and did a great job! She particularly liked to dump on the colored sugars and chocolate chips. You can see in the above picture. My brother Steven got quite inventive and made the cutest snowman, an elderly gingerbread man, and detailed xmas sock cookies! You can kinda see in the top pic. We had a fun day feeling the Christmas spirit!

December!

December is here! Ahhhhhh! Where did this year go?!? Not even funny. Its only the 4th day of December, but I feel the pressure. lol. Actually I have most of my shopping done, but I still can't believe how close Christmas is and then New Years and then Emma turns 4! I cannot believe that! Where does the time go? :)

Count Your Many Blessings...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I realize this is a few days early, but we will be going to Las Vegas to have turkey day with the Fleming Family and I probably won't have time to post.

As a kid, this was not my favorite holiday. I much preferred Halloween and Christmas, but as I have gotten older I understand how much more important this holiday is. To remember everything I have been blessed with in my life and to appreciate these moments.

I am so thankful for my family. Phil and Emma are the greatest gifts I could have been given. They are the sunshine and hope in my day. I am thankful for my family(nuts included) and for Phil's family. Life would be nothing without everyone we share it with. I could not even imagine... I am thankful for all of our friends. They suprise us and remind us how fun life can be. I am so thankful for our health. I look around and see how fortunate we are that ear infections have been our biggest worry. To think some poor mother and father out there watch helpless or that a father or mother may even leave their family early....to know there is real suffering just breaks my heart. We are so so so blessed. I am thankful for our country. That we are free to pursue our own happiness and make our own destiny. I can be free to believe as I may. How truly lucky we are. These are but a few things, but all in all, I am greatful to god and his design. Without it I would be lost. It is with this purpose that I can even be here to be thankful. I am grateful for his plan and I am thankful for my life! To all a Happy Holiday! May we remember all our many blessings and what is most important in our lives all year through. Happy Thanksgiving!

New Ward

So our bishopric stopped by today after church. I, however, thought they seemed unfamiliar, but since we are still fairly new, I thought I was just being silly. We invited them in and visited for a bit, only to find out that for the last 2 months we have been going to the wrong ward! How funny is that?!? When we moved we had looked up our ward and time online thru LDS.org and never even gave it a second thought. Well, apparently back in July there were 3 ward splits and the web isn't updated yet. When we told our old bishop we were moving, they forwarded our records for us and that's how the new bishopric found us. Thank heavens or we'd still be going to the wrong ward! Isn't that funny?

A day in the leaves

We took advantage of the unusually warm weather and headed to Liberty Park. We fed the ducks and geese and made a huge leaf pile which Emma threw herself into over and over. Emma ran around and went down the slides and made a little friend as she always does. They pretended to be working at Burger King and were asking anyone who walked by if they wanted a Whopper Jr. Where do kids come up with this stuff? I thought it was fantastic! See the little slide show below. Took the pics with just the camera phone, but you get the jist. Fun day in the fall leaves!

Trick or Treat!

This year Emma was determined to be SilverMist from the Tinkerbelle movie. I found the costume at Walmart, but lets face it, fairy cotumes aren't very warm, so I had to put it in on over her warm clothes. We went out a little later than normal and the neighborhood was ransacked! Kids were everywhere again and houses even had notes on their doors saying they ran out of candy. That happened to us last year. BUT, besides the chilly weather, Emma had a great time as she ran from door to door, saying, "Trick r Treat!" and "Happy Hallowen!" And so we went around for about 3 streets while Emma said, " Mom, Dad, Hurry! The next house!" I don't think she noticed the cold until she slowed down because it wasnt until we were headed back to our car that she said, " My feet are cold. My hands are cold. I'm cold!" Phil laughed so hard I thought he might pee his pants. :) Emma had a great time and she's already planning next year! :)

Just before Halloween, It looked like this....

It snowed a few days before Halloween. Luckily it melted by then, but the frigid air stayed. I think Winter is upon us.

Carving pumpkins!

Fuuny Girl!

Yes, Phil's pumpkin is a tooth. lol.

Crazy us!

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil!

Bewitched!

There is a little place called Gardner's Village here in Salt Lake and in October they have a whole "Bewitched" theme for Halloween. Its this old mill that has turned all the old buildings into shops and they have all sorts of fun events like Witches Night Out and Ride to a witch. Its for all ages and is so adorable. They have a tractor ride, a witch who does magic, a hay maze and everywhere are hale bales, pumpkins, and....witches! So Emma and Mommy headed out and dressed up for fun! We were as they said....Bewitched!

Slideshow above.... :)

Day in the canyon...

We went for a drive up the canyon last weekend and I liked these pictures of us. Just my camera phone. lol. They were tiny in the post below so I thought I'd make em bigger. :) It was soooooo pretty with the leaves and light snow dust. Made us long for a mug of toasty hot chocolate!

October fun!

October has been a fun month so far! We have made Halloween cookies and cupcakes, we have had spooky treats, watched Halloween movies, and we drove up the canyon to see the leaves turning colors. Its cooled off and starting to seem like fall!

Emily's Photo Challenge

Below are 8 photos taken by me for Emily's photo challenge. We had to choose 8 out of 10 from her list and post them to our blog for her to critique and whoever wins gets a cute basket of goodies! I should mention that Emily is an awesome photographer and you should visit her blog. Its in our links below!

Oh and the page only shows 6 of the 8 so click older posts to see them all.

#1) Something you need everyday: Nutrition. An apple a day keeps the Dr away!

#2) Something lost and now found: The glasses, not Emma! lol

#3) A happy placein our house: Our bedroom for snuggles, prayers, and night night...

#4) Something I ate today... :)

#5) A picture of a picture

#6) Something "Fall-y"

#7) My favorite color: Red

#8) Something from my To-Do list: The never ending laundry pile....

Silly Girl!

Emma says the darndest stuff! On Monday Phil was watching a movie and Emma asked what he was watching and he told her Star Wars. Later, Emma and I were playing and Phil came in to ask a question, I can't remember what, but then he got down and started tickling Emma. She kicked and struggled while laughing and blurted out, "Daddy, go back and watch your Star Whores." Phil and I just laughed and laughed. Of course she has no idea what that is, she just couldn't pronounce Star Wars. I worked with her for a few minutes, but to no availe. We just end up with Star horse. Oh well, thats better at least. Haha.

Fall is stetching her fingers into Utah.....I am waiting in anticipation. Its my favorite time of year. :)

Happy Anniversary!

It has been ten years! I cannot believe how time flies. A decade? It's amazin. We have had our fare share of ups and downs. Times of plenty and times of stife, but it was, and is, all worth it. Life will never be perfect, but as long as we have eachother, nothing else matters. Love conquers all! :) It really does seem that it wasn't very long ago, but when we dissect the time...we realize 10 years indeed has passed. 10 years of absolute bliss.....haha. We took our trip to Hawaii, so our big ta do was already done, but we decided that we'd go to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Yum! Then we relaxed and watched a movie. It has been a weird year, but all in all, the last 10 have been an adventure and I can't wait to see what the next will bring! I still cannot believe it...10 years. :)

So Emma arrives in my bedroom one morning looking like this....(this is her Hula top)
She says to me, "Mama, I have to wear my garments today." Seriously the funniest thing ever! She wanted to wear it all day under her clothes. How cute is she?

Kid Quote

Emma is sitting next to me at dinner and is telling me about her day and what she learned and then looks over at me and says, " How are your Boyz?" I had to think a minute because one, I thought this was hysterical, and two, I wasnt sure I knew what she meant. She then says, "The boys at your work, mom." Like she was all grown up and could sense my inside laughter. I thought it was the funniest thing. I do work with mostly men (boys really) and she always gets a lolli pop when she visits, but she refuses to speak to any of them. So the fact she'd ask how they were, is absolutely funny. I told the guys the next day and they thought it was adorable. lol

No IF's AND's or ....

Baby Shae (as Emma calls her) came for a visit! Aunt Laura and Uncle Dave moved to Montana and they are now only a 5 to 6 hour drive away. Emma and Shae had a ton of fun! They could not get enough of eachother and Shaelynn is adorable! We visited and had a picnic and went for a hike in the mountains. It was beautiful weather. At one point we tried to fly a kite, but to no avail, no wind. It was nice and relaxing and so good to see them all. Seeing Shae next to Emma, Emma was a giant. I can't believe how both have grown, but Emma is no longer a baby and the pics are proof. :) Sniff Sniif.

We have Moved!

It is official. As of this weekend we have moved across town and..... we FINALLY have internet and cable! Whoo Hoo! We haven't had any for like a year or more and now I can finally get on the computer at home and surf thru 250 channels on TV. I am soooo stoked. I think I am more excited than Phil, which is saying something because we have a ton of boxes to unload and he's glued to Karate Kid on On Demand right now. hahaha!

Hawaii Trip

We took our 10 year Anniversary trip to Hawaii! It was amazing and so much fun! We went for a week and slept in, ate whatever we wanted, went wherever we wanted, and relaxed on the beach. Who could argue with that? We were only 5 minutes away from the beach, we went out to dinner every night, we even went to a Luau. It was a very memorable ten year anniversary! Below are some posts and pics of our trip.

Hanuama Bay

This is an amazing place! It is an old volcano crater that is now under water and has tons of marine life and coral. You can snorkel or just get a nice tan. (of course unless you're Irish like me. ) But this was a place that you could just feel like you were in another world. Amazing. And doesn't it look like Hawaii? Blue water, beach, and palm trees.....so pretty...