It's December...

I love this time of year with all the fun traditions. The school programs are a highlight for me... it's so fun to watch the kids perform the songs they've been singing around the house for weeks. Noah and Ellie did a great job and were quite adorable, I must say.

Our Elementary School does a "Mother & Son" dance every December... it's a busy month, but this is a "can't miss" event. Noah and I have a blast every year. I always promise during one dance to copy WHATEVER he does, and let me say that it gets a little CRAZY. (yes, I had to slide across the cafeteria floor and then "shoot" with my finger as just ONE of the delightful moves he came up with... trust me, he's very creative!) There are quite a few gals in the ward with sons, and so we met for dinner, and also caught up to some at the dance. This made it even better... more is always merrier!! :)

Really, how long is Noah going to want to go and boogie with his mom? I hope that it lasts a long time, because I loved every minute of it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had such a fun, lazy week! I REALLY enjoyed sleeping in! The first couple of days we played with friends and hung out as a family. Then, the Callaways and the Ekins joined us for the big day and it was non-stop fun until tonight! Even Uncle John joined us, and that was awesome to see him! Our house was FILLED with the sounds of laughter and the kids had SO much fun. We saw movies, ate yummy food, held cute baby Caleb, and enjoyed the time together. (and definitely missed Jacob and Jayne!) We went out today and took some more pictures. You can NEVER take enough family pictures. Thanks, Britt!! :) Thanks to everyone for a fun weekend, and best wishes and blessings to all!

A Love Story

No, I am not in love with Edward....(although he was quite handsome in the movie!) but I AM in absolutely enthralled with how much he loves Bella! As I read Twilight for the second time this week, I enjoyed EVERY second of remembering how FUN it is to fall in love! I was there at midnight on Thursday with the rest of the screaming fans... NOT just teenagers, for sure! It was so much fun to watch the movie, but I went there with pretty low expectations. How could they possibly make a movie to match my imagination for one of the most romantic and fun stories I've ever read? The movie was actually better than I thought, and quite frankly, I STILL can't stop thinking about it!!!

I have also thought a lot about my own personal "Edward"... :) Our anniversary is on Monday, and I have to share how lucky I am. Corey is an amazing husband and father. He works extraordinarily hard for us, takes me out often, adores his kids, cleans toilets!!, and encourages me going to things like "Women's Conference", or out for a girls' night... AND he LOVES to shop!! I also always tease him that I married him because he doesn't watch sports! It's been so fun this week to think about when we first started dating, and the magic that happens during this time. If only we could bottle that! But, thanks to Edward and Bella, I've been able to remember.... :) Happy 13th, Corey! (my lucky number!) Thanks for dazzling me!

Yosemite

We had so much fun yesterday in Yosemite. We have been trying to get there for several weeks, but have had other things come up. It was worth the wait! It was a gorgeous day, and we saw PLENTY of fall colors. We started the hike to Vernal Falls, and Corey insisted that we were going to the top. I thought, "Yeah, right!" We got to the bridge...(about 1/2 way) and kept on going!! The stairs at the top were brutal, especially for Corey who had Aidan on his back, but we ALL made it! I am so excited that they are good little hikers. Corey and I used to do all the time, and I absolutely love going as a family!! We definitely have a theme going for the year... VISIT the NATIONAL PARKS! I LOVE days like this. :)

SNOW!

The Callaways came to town this weekend. We always love having them here! We headed over to King's Canyon this afternoon. I tried to check the weather online, but had a hard time locating the forecast for the area. So, we got to about 5,000 feet, and it was SNOWING!!! The kids thought it was AWESOME... but we weren't exactly prepared for 32 degrees... So... we just made the most of our little adventure... We spent more time than usual in the VERY warm visitor's center, took as many pictures as we could stand in the cold, and even hiked to see the "General Grant" tree and then dried our feet in the car with the heater going full blast. We had hot chocolate when we got home although we had long since thawed. Success... and the sight of snow on pine trees even got me a little in the holiday spirit! Thanks for a fun weekend! :)

Happy Halloween!

We just got home from TRICK R TREATING!! Wow, do I love this! We go to an adorable neighborhood that we used to walk to from our old house. Tons of houses go ALL out and we went through several "spook alleys". The kids were in heaven, and it's SO fun to watch them! Happy Halloween!

Trunk-R-Treat

WOW. I could have done a whole slide show just for this night!! Everyone there looked SOOOO cute and I realize I should have taken more pictures! We went to our church "Halloween" shindig, and boy was it fun! The kids had a BLAST all dressed up. They played games, got their faces painted, giggled with friends, and of course, "TRUNK R TREATED". Austen brought her friend Gabby along and she even participated in the pie-eating contest! She was adorable (especially afterward!) :) A good time was definitely had by all! (and there's more fun to come!!!)

pumpkin patch

I love, love, love October in Fresno. The weather is mostly amazing... not cold yet, but not hot! It's the time of year to head outside. I also LOVE Halloween... it's such a fun holiday for kids. They get to be anything they want for one night, and people give you CANDY when you knock on their door!! How can you go wrong! And... the annual "picking of the pumpkins". It's so fun to go and pick out the "perfect" one to carve in a few weeks. We were happy the Madsens could join us! Their shirts were SO cute! The kids don't know this, but I really just take them for the photo opps! :) They just look SO cute all dressed up in their Halloween shirts. They're yummy! Happy fall!

Seriously. Sonora.

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Can I just share how much fun we had at Sonora this week!! I am SO happy I got to hang out with Austen and friends for a few days. It was non-stop fun and we definitely didn't get much sleep. We laughed a lot, and saw tons of cool things. What a beautiful place! I just loved sitting back and watching Austen have the time of her life.

Baby Caleb

We were SO excited to meet our newest member of the family.. baby Caleb! Mark and Lindsey came to Fresno for a quick visit and the kids just couldn't get enough of him. He is SOOOO adorable and smells so yummy. We loved meeting him and are so happy he's here! We always love when family comes to visit, because mom always cooks up a feast for us all. Thanks, Mom! :) We can't wait to see you again, Caleb.