Allison turns 3!

Allison turned 3 on Saturday. We decided to take her to Jungle Jim's for her birthday, which is an indoor place that has rides similar to the kiddie rides at Lagoon. Allison & Matthew had SO much fun there. Allison got over being sad that her friends were not there for her brithday 'party' really quickly once she got on the first ride. I'm not sure why she thought she was having a birthday party this year with friends...after all, she's only 3.


This one is the only ride that Matthew would not go on. It was way too fast for him. It was just like the musical express at Lagoon and I'm certain that it would have made me sick. Allison loved it though.After a few hours there, we went out to eat. And Matthew actually tried pizza. Amazing! So amazing that I had to take a picture!
Allison loved eating her cake and we ended the day watching a movie of her favorite princess, Snow White.

Christmas Lights

Last night we had dinner at my Mom's condo with my family. After Dave & I decided to take the kids to see the Christmas lights at temple square. It was REALLY cold; it's a good thing my Mom's condo is so close!

Daddy's Home!

Dave has today off of work and the kid's are in heaven! Me too, since I have to work and have a hubby and a 4 wheeler to entertain two kiddos who are extremely hyper and excited for Christmas. Merry Christmas Eve to all of you!

Glasses

Turns out Matthew is pretty much blind in one eye... He now has glasses and I don't think Dave & I are ready for the struggle. Matthew can be really stubborn with some things and it looks like wearing his glasses is going to be one of those things he fights. So, we'd love any suggestions on how to get him to tolerate his glasses more than 5 minutes at a time so he doesn't end up having to get a patch for lazy eye...

Happy Birthday Harley

Harley was born 8 years ago today. Dave & I normally don't do anything or rarely even remember that it is Harley's birthday, after all, he is a dog. But, he was our first 'kid' and he's definitely a big part of our family. This morning, Dave made the 'mistake' of telling Matthew that it was Harley's birthday... Matthew had to make him a birthday card and we had to scrounge up a gift for him and give him treats and hugs all day. Here a picture of him when we first got him, he really was a cute little thing.

It's tough to be little

She was one tired little girl. One minute asking for food and the next minute too tired to eat.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great in our family. We were able to spend Sunday night with my brother's family, my Mom and my Aunt at my Mom's new condo. I'm so grateful that the move is mostly behind her now for her sake. I know that it's harder than I can comprehend to move from a place you've lived in for so long. Here's a picture taken at her condo of the Utah grandkids.


I'm glad that I was able to take the day off of work and spend the whole day with Matthew the day before Thanksgiving. Dave's parents were really nice and watched Allison for me so I could take Matthew to an eye appointment with a specialist and volunteer at his school without having to worry about her too. Matthew has one eye that is pretty much blind and he does need glasses, but there is no disease in his bad eye, which is definitely something to be grateful for. Matthew had a fun feast at school on Wednesday that I was able to help with and they all made cute costumes to wear. They all sat in a circle and told their teacher things that they were grateful for. It turns out, the things that they are grateful for are the same things that I'm grateful for: Family, friends, our country, a warm house, Jesus, a healthy body, and toys.

Matthew's class:
Matthew in his indian costume:

Thanksgiving morning I woke up early and went with some friends from my neighborhood and did a 5K. No, I didn't run...walked the whole thing, but it was really fun and helped me justify all the yummy Thanksgiving food. :) Dave's family was mostly out of town this year and my Mom went up to Bear Lake so we ended up going out to eat with Dave's parents and my brother & SIL. We then went up to their house for a little while.

I bought Allison a hat a few months ago and she FINALLY agreed to wear it on Thanksgiving. She also actually let me take a quick portrait of her in our garage right before we left for our Thanksgiving lunch. It was pretty tricky not to get the cars in her background, but it worked and she smiled!
I hope that you all have had a great Thanksgiving weekend (despite the crappy ending to the Utah/BYU game). I still say 'Go Utes!'