2nd Annual Ugly Christnas Sweater Party!

Okay, so I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking, but here's the recap. It was tons of fun! How can it not be with yummy food, drinks and dessert? Thanks to everyone who came. Can't wait for next year!

Nothing makes you feel hotter than a sweet Christmas sweater, right girls?

Had we of had a contest for the ugliest sweater of the night, Justin would have won for sure... Oh, and notice Brett's comb-over. He grew his hair out special for the party :)

Mmmmmm, fondue. Need I say more?

The champagne punch was awesome.

Uh-oh, Bryce's shawl/dicky thing has come off...

Hmmm, not sure what to say about this other than Mark looks like he's enjoying this a lot

more than Brett is.

hahaha, Kirstyn's going to kill me for this one!

Thanksgiving 2009

I seem to be always a few steps behind with posting, but at least I'm getting there....otherwise I'll never remember what we did! This year, for the first time since being married, we spent Thanksgiving with my family (Diana had surgery just before Thanksgiving). It was a lot of fun to switch things up.

We spent Thanksgiving day at my parent's house with my Aunt Naomi, Uncle Montie, cousins Jared and Christian, and everyone but Charity and Justin. I don't have any pictures of the day, but it was spent eating, drinking Mark's homemade hard cider, listening to the guys talk politics and the economy and playing the wii.


The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at the beach. And a huge bonus, all three kids actually slept great!

This was Aspen's favorite part of the weekend - playing Star Wars video games.

He loves Star Wars right now.

Our two new cuties - Lilly 6 months and Willow 3 months.

Hanging out, enjoying the hard cider. A good addition to any family party.

Yep, we are having fun!



Charity getting in some Willow time.

We love the beach. It was cold, but we didn't have any rain.

Isn't this a cool picture? I like how everything is in motion except Aspen's face.

Aspen, Peyton and Journey getting some energy out on the beach with Justin.

Aspen 5 1/2, Journey 2 1/2

I'll admit, I was hoping to get them to do something cute like holding hands, but they weren't having it...this was as close as they were going to get.

There are so many things I am thankful for, and I feel incredibly blessed. Many times at night, when I'm up feeding Willow and things are quiet, I think about it all and pour out my thanks to him.

Life

These aren't in any order, and I don't have any great stories, but I thought I'd just post some pictures of normal life. We are really enjoying our life as a family of five. It's busy, but in a good way.

I do have to say though, that I feel so much "mommy guilt" with Willow. I feel guilty that I have to wake her from naps to pick up Aspen from school. Guilt over having to do normal grocery shopping. Guilt that I don't spend as much one on one time with her as I did with Aspen and Journey. Guilt that what I eat may contribute to her reflux. On and on it goes. Is that normal? She is the sweetest thing. I love her so much, and wish I could just sit and snuggle her more often.


Everyone hanging with daddy watching a show.



Aspen and Journey really love each other. The chores consequences have really curbed his antagonistic behavior towards Journey and their relationship has improved so much. It makes me so happy each morning when they are so happy to see each other.

Okay, so this is borderline animal abuse, but I also thought it was pretty funny... It's hard to see, but the little thing peeking out of the bbq is the cat's head. He cornered the cat and trapped him in the bbq. He was laughing so hard as he "played" with the cat. I guess the antagonism has to be directed somewhere... :)

Zoe 3 days old & Willow 10 weeks old

I love that both Journey and Willow have cousins so close to their age. I'm sure they will be great friends, just like Journey and Ava.

The girls ~ Willow 3 months, Journey 2 1/2 years

Weekly Menu Plan

Okay, for the few of you who read my blog, just ignore this. I used to post my weekly menu plan at my savings blog, but now that we've been taking a break, I realized that I missed doing so. I get many of my dinner ideas from various places online, and forget where I found them unless I have a link to look up. Also, I like to look back on previous weeks to get ideas.

So, like I said, ignore this. It's just for me.


Monday: Seared tuna, salad, basmati rice

Tuesday: Chinese chicken salad

Wednesday: Fajita burritos

Thursday: Hoisin Chicken w/ cucumber salad

Friday: Party!

Saturday: leftovers

Weekly Menu Plan

Okay, for the few of you who read my blog, just ignore this. I used to post my weekly menu plan at my savings blog, but now that we've been taking a break, I realized that I missed doing so. I get many of my dinner ideas from various places online, and forget where I found them unless I have a link to look up. Also, I like to look back on previous weeks to get ideas.

So, like I said, ignore this. It's just for me.


Monday: Hot & Sour Soup, pot stickers

Tuesday: Grilled salmon, roasted sweet potatoes over spinach

Wednesay: Ministroni soup, crusty bread

Thursday - Saturday: w/ family at the beach

Journey & Her Friends

Journey's best friends right now is her friend Eliza and cousin Ava. I love watching her play with other little girls. She is already a super girly girl, constantly loving and mothering her babies, but she changes into a giggly, flighty little girl. Especially with Ava. It's adorable.

Journey & Eliza

Journey recently had a play date with Eliza at our house. It was the first time for Liza to come over without her mom. I had so much fun watching them run around. The first thing they did when Liza got here was to run up to Journey's room. They came down minutes later with her wearing one of Journey's head bands. Aren't they adorable?

Next they had fun pushing Willow in her swing. Good thing Willow is so laid back and used to being pushed by toddlers....

Then they had a blast playing dress-up in Journey's closet. They decided that they wanted to wear matching pink leggings, and then tried on many different skirts before they each decided on which one they wanted to wear. See Journey in the background trying to pull on her skirt?

Looking good, girls!

After deciding on their clothes, they played in Journey's bed with their babies. I think I had almost as much fun as they did just watching them play. They did a great job sharing and I didn't have to break up any fights. It was all fun :)

Just a little fun in the backyard between rain showers.

Trying to get a good picture of Journey in our traditional fall picture spot. Ugg, Journey is SO not photogenic...drives me crazy!

Journey & Ava

I love having cousins close in age. Journey and Ava both love their babies, and their baby sisters, Willow and Zoe!

Caught in the middle of a picnic with their babies :)

Weekly Menu Plan

Okay, for the few of you who read my blog, just ignore this. I used to post my weekly menu plan at my savings blog, but now that we've been taking a break, I realized that I missed doing so. I get many of my dinner ideas from various places online, and forget where I found them unless I have a link to look up. Also, I like to look back on previous weeks to get ideas.


So, like I said, ignore this. It's just for me.



Sunday: Jamacan pumpkin soup, peasant bread

Monday: Fish tacos

Tuesday: Moroccan Lentil Soup, peasant bread

Wednesday: Crockpot Chow Mein, salad

Thursday: dinner at mom's

Friday: dinner out


Saturday: leftovers