Christmas Fun!

We have had such a fun month so far! Already full of so many memories and fun times.
We made gingerbread houses with Jared's family. I have never made one before, so it was really fun for me... and I already have a few ideas for next year's!

Then we went with our favorite neighbor's to Temple Square to see the lights. Always a fun tradition, but it was super cold that night. We bundled Zack up so tight that he looked like Randy from "A Christmas Story" (I can't put my arms down!) Hahaha!

On Saturday, Jared had his work Christmas party in Park City. We took a sleigh ride to get to dinner (which was fun, but I don't like being cold!) and then had a good time at the party.

A quick story... When we got there, they had cider and hot chocolate. Jared went to get me some hot chocolate and came back and said he almost got me drunk! He said the waiter asked him if he wanted peppermint flavor in the drink, and Jared knowing I love the candy cane hot chocolate, said yes. As the waiter got out the bottle to pour it in, Jared asked if it was just flavoring (which of course it wasn't!). Jared quickly said no thanks, but said it was a close call because the lid was already off the bottle and everything! Whoosh for me!! But my highlight of that whole night was the car ride to and from Park City. Jared and I got silly and were singing Christmas songs together, and man, we are good!!

Just marshmallows please!

And then finally on Sunday we went to my mom's house for Josh's birthday/white elephant exchange/ugly sweater night! What a FUN time!! As usual, we had yummy food (especially the cake that was almost stolen!) and then we had Josh open his birthday presents and then we all exchanged white elephant gifts. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!! We all had some 'great' gifts! There was one particular present that Zack either liked a lot, or he was scared a lot, but either way I couldn't get under control from my laughter to get a good picture of it! Let's just say, you had to be there!

Thanksgiving weekend

Mom and sister's on Thanksgiving. This is something to be thankful for!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We were able to make it to both my family and Jared's family for Thanksgiving Day... Up first was with my family (Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters and Mom) were all there!! It was so nice to be with everyone.
After a good visit, we went to Jared's parent's house for the rest of the night. Jared's "aunt" (really his cousin, but he always called her "aunt") was there, and she was so great to get to know. We also were in charge of making the turkey for the whole fam (We had such success last year, everyone wanted to try it!)... talk about pressure, but we pulled it off and it was yum!
Friday morning, this is one of the first year's that I have not done the official Black Friday shopping, but I did make it out early in the morning (8:00ish) to go out and get a few things. I love that day!!

Zack's new favorite place to be when I am shopping!

Then on Saturday! We had some family pics taken, watched BYU beat UTAH in the football game, and then went to see New Moon with Jared's sisters (This was of course my second time seeing it though.). What a fun weekend we had.

This is when I went and saw New Moon with my mom and sister's (minus Beck)

The Park

My sisters and I went to the West Jordan park last week to enjoy the last minutes of a warm sun before the snow came! What a fun park!! They had so many cute things in the play ground... an 'older kid' side and a 'little kid' side to it. It was awesome to see Zack trying to play (even though he is still little for everything), but it was even more fun to just be out with my sisters! Thanks for a fun day out!

Happy Hour

What's not to love about Sonic and their Happy Hour half priced drinks?! Yum!!

Halloween 2009

What a busy month for us! I figured I would condense a lot of posts into one this time because it all has to do with Halloween in some way or another.
On the 17th we had our annual family party. This has become my favorite thing for the whole month!! My family came to my house, and we all dress up, have dinner, have some kind of activity and "trick or treat" to the doors throughout the house! We are so silly, but we've been doing this for 5 years now, so we can't stop now (and it just seems to get better with every year!!).
Then on the 25th we carved pumpkins with Jared's family. This year was funny because I did a more simple design and Jared wanted to carve Michael Jackson!! It turned out pretty good considering how hard it was to carve, but within a day or two it was wilting pretty bad. I joked with Jared and said it was true to life... sorry!

On the 30th we had our ward Trunk or Treat. That was a lot of fun because we got to see all of our friends and neighbors in costume, and it was just a great time! Next year we'll dress up for it too.

And finally Halloween day. Zack dressed up as a giraffe, and he made a cute one! We took him around trick or treating to a few houses and it was so cute to see him try and hold his bucket or pick out some candy from our neighbors. What a fun holiday when you have kids!! Then we had a bunch of neighbors come over later that night to hang out. And that is always fun too!


This is some of our neighbors playing the wii!!

Whoosh, what a month, but what a fun one!

Birthday time

Zack at lunch on my birthday

My birthday was on the 7th of this month and what a fun day for me. It actually started on the 2nd when my family and I got together for a little party. I had so much fun and got some awesome gifts from them, so thanks for a fun time there!! Then on my birthday, Jared took the day off of work, so we went to lunch and did a little shopping, and just hung out. So nice!! Then on Friday night Jared surprised me and took me to The Homestead for the night. We had a not so great experience with bugs in the first room, so they upgraded us for free, so that was a relief. But it was great to just be with Jared for the night and was very thoughtful of him!!

Us at the Homestead

BYU Game

We went to our first BYU game of the season on Saturday and what a good time we had! I LOVE BYU football season, and this just made my day!! Zack was able to come with us this year and he did so great through the game... with no nap and all! And it also helps that the Cougars won the game :D

Keith, Keith, Keith!!

What a concert!! My mom and sister's and I went to the Keith Urban concert on Wednesday night, and man it was fun! Hands down one of the best performers I have ever seen. So genuine with the crowd too. And let's face it, he's easy to look at!
We were all so full of energy throughout the whole concert that I was sad when it was over... two hour performance was not long enough for us!!


However, after the concert when we were getting in our cars and starting to drive away, I was driving down the street and this big, fancy bus from Tennessee pulled out and was driving next to me. Yes, I think it was Keith's bus (and I don't want to know different if it wasn't!), and yes I was freaking out! The good times just kept coming!

Cedar City

On the 19th, my little sister Becky turned 18 years old and moved out in the same day! Whew!!! She moved away to go to college at SUU in Cedar City.
So my mom and sister and I decided to make it a little girl's trip/moving day/birthday party/time away weekend. And talk about some silly times... to sum it all up:
We had sticky fingers, swimming, wrong apartment keys, shopping, cupcakes, handstands, cousin bonding (bathtime!), magic beans, "hitch hiker"/roadside help, Monoglian BBQ, sleep talking, breakfast in the pj's and breakfast not in the pj's (hmmm...), a little "hey diddle, diddle" singing time, horoscopes and fortune cookies, In-N-Out, crying, picture times (some good/some not so good... Amanda!), cribs that looked like a jail cell, and plenty more...
Oh how I miss my sister Beck already, but what a great time in her life right now! Thanks for a fun weekend, Fam! Loves!

Happy Birthday Mom!

OK, so I know that it isn't Mother's Day, but it was my mom's birthday on the 12th of this month (I know, I am only a couple weeks behind on this!), and I just wanted to let her know how much I love her!! She is the most amazing person I know, and I look up to her so much. How lucky am I to have her as my mom and friend!! Anyway, this was a Mother's Day tribute that the church made this year, and my sister Becky is lucky enough to be in it for a short moment (she's the first one you see!). I get tears in my eyes every time I watch it because it sums up the importance of mother's and the love that you feel for them...
So Happy Late Birthday Mom!! I love you!

So much seemed to have happened in the past week... unfortunately I don't have many pictures to go along with it all.
On Thursday, Jared's family planned to go to Park City for the weekend. We were able to go Thursday afternoon and stay until Friday afternoon. It was nice to be able to get away a little, go shopping, and even play on the Alpine Slide/Roller Coaster there too. The only bad part was that Zack was sick, so he didn't have much fun :<
On Friday my older sister had her baby. She had Lucas weighing in at 7 pounds 1ounce. What a cute baby! The weirdest part for me was seeing how little he was and trying to remember that Zack weighed that much when he was about 5-6 months old!
Then on Saturday was my grandma's funeral. We had a simple graveside service with just the immediate family, so it was nice to be able to all talk about her and her life.

8/1/09

On Friday I got a call from my dad saying that my grandma had a severe stroke and was in the hospital. She lives in Washington so we were all in a waiting game to here any updates. My dad obviously flew there immediately, and yesterday afternoon she passed away. What a sad day for us all to hear that, but what a full life she lived. She will be buried here in Utah, so we are just waiting for them to bring her "home" so we can be with the rest of the family.
Death is never an easy thing, but it also makes you appreciate the family (and even friends) you have in your life that much more. I just love my family so much! My best friends for sure!!!

Lava Hot Springs

On Saturday my family and I went to Lava Hot Springs for the day. What a fun time. We started out with breakfast then hit the river! Last year when we went tubing down the river we had so much fun, and this year we did too, but we all got beat up this time around!! Every one of us came home with scratches and bruises to prove it, but don't think we won't be back there again next year!!
After the river, we went to the big swimming pool and played there for the rest of the afternoon. The sun was hot and we also got sunburns, but again, no complaints here!
I just love the good ol' family days in the summer! These are the memories that last, right?!

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!

Our branch was recently split into a ward, and Jared and I were called to be Sunbeam teachers in the Primary!! We are so excited to be teaching these little kids. What a fun age they are.
However, it was quite an eye opener for me on Sunday when we were sitting there with Zack in Primary, and how excited he was to be there! He actually was holding his hands/arms up watching the chorister lead the music (I don't know if he was trying to copy her, or if he was just really excited!). Either way, it made me realize that although he is not old enough to be a Sunbeam yet, he will sure make a cute one... and sooner than I think. I love that he is already so excited to be in Primary!

5 years later...

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to my sweet hubby! I married such an amazing, yet weird guy!! We have some great times together, and I know I am very lucky to have him. What an awesome husband and dad... I love you!!

4th of July

We started out our day by running the Kaysville 5K. What an achievement for me!!! I decided as we were training for the run, that I don't enjoy running like I want too, but I have always wanted to run a race. But I was so happy when I crossed that finish line.

After that we went with Jared's family to the Kaysville parade. That was a lot of fun for the kids because they threw out so many things... candy, beads, and even stuffed animals (Zack got a special one!)

Then we went with my family for a picnic and swimming. Perfect weather for that! Then we went to my grandma's house for a BBQ and fireworks. It was nice to get together with so much family on one of my favorite holidays.

Zack's Birthday Party!

What a year it has been! One year ago today I was admitted into the hospital for severe toxemia (which ended up being HELLP syndrome), and was told that I was going to have my baby either that night or the next morning. A year later, with a crazy, crazy year behind me, I planned Zack's birthday party!!
On Saturday we had our family's over for a pool party to celebrate Zack turning one! It was such a fun day. Swimming, food, cake and ice cream, and just having fun together. Perfect!
Lately, I can't stop thinking about how much has happened over the past year... and that a whole year has past. I truely can remember details as if they happened last week.
Zack's year has consisted of being "out of the house" (able to go to stores, restaurants, etc.) for the past 3 months, in the hospital for his first 3 months, and then in our house for the other 6 months! Wow!
We have so much to be grateful for!! What a fun and energetic little boy we have. We love you Zack... Happy Birthday!!!