Way Behind

When I started this blog, I decided I wouldn't let a long period of time go by without updating it. I've had things I could blog about- a fun anniversary, a new fishtank, get-togethers with family, udpates on Christopher, etc, but I obviously haven't done anything about it. Sorry to those of you who actually visit my blog. But I will do an update soon. Very soon.

A New Look?

Last night during dinner, Christopher got banana hands all over his hair:
After washing it out, he had a crazy hairdo...
And then I had some fun...

I haven't decided yet which is my favorite look. Which is your favorite?

(I should give credit to my sister, Becky- some hairdos were inspired by her ingenious creativity and special touch).

Christmas Activities

We have had a wonderful month, filled with fun Christmas activities. We enjoyed making yummy treats, decorating our tree, listening to awesome music, looking at the lights, attending some concerts, seeing family and friends...most of the typical, fun traditions. One of our traditions growing up was also going to see Santa, so I of course had to take Christopher. I expected him to cry, but after staring at the beard (which was real) and studying him for a minute, we got him to smile. (We decided to pass up the option of getting the 'Rudolph Package', complete with 5x7s, wallets, a CD, etc for $47.95. And the cheapest option was $14.95 for 1 5x7. Fortunately they allowed you to take one picture with your own camera!)

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow!

Our Little Mover

Christopher has recently discovered the joy of being mobile! He has been doing the army crawl for a while, but just a couple of weeks ago he started actual crawling. Not only that, but he is also using just about anything to pull up to a stand. He thinks he's pretty neat and bounces up and down, smiling, once he's standing up. Unfortunately he hasn't figured out how to get down safely, so he either stands there and cries or loses his balance and topples (leaving some sad little bruises on his cute face.) He also likes playing on his knees, which cracks me up!

We are definitely loving this fun stage he's going through!

(Next post will be more Christmas-y). :)

Attitude of Gratitude

I have so much to be thankful for every day, but I often take what I have for granted. So I decided to make a little list today, it being Thanksgiving Eve and all.

• My supportive and loving husband


• Christopher David, who always makes me smile


• Testimony and membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


• My health


• My own piano


• My mom, who has always been there for me


• Awesome sisters


• Brothers who make me laugh and care about me


• My ward


• Living in a free country with the rights to worship and with opportunities to become who I want


• Good music that uplifts and inspires me


• A warm apartment


• Marrying into a great family


• Employment for Chris and jobs on the side for myself


• Good friends and cousins I had growing up


• The opportunity I had to go to BYU-Idaho


• The Internet


• Testimony of life after death/Looking forward to being with loved ones who have passed away


• Being able to watch and interact with children


• Ancestors who sacrificed so I could have the things I have today


• Supportive extended family


• Good food, like I will be enjoying tomorrow!


• Each of the seasons


• Latter-day Prophets


• Cell phones


• Nauvoo and early Saints


• Beautiful nature


• Temples


• All my friends and family who support me now!

I could go on and on; this is just a short, kind of random, list of things I am grateful for.

Oh, and I told some of you I'd post a picture of Christopher in his Halloween costume. Sorry it took so long!

North Dakota

My siblings are some of my best friends, so I have always felt bad for people who didn't have siblings they were close to. We love any time we are able to spend together, so when Chrissy said she had seen cheap flights, we immediately made plans for me to go visit her. Christopher and I were able to fly out to North Dakota after the wedding and spend 5 days with the Thomas family. We enjoyed watching our kids play and interact, and I got a kick out of watching April constantly tell Christopher "no" (despite Chrissy's many efforts to stop it). I figure the 3 boy cousins will give her a hard time as they grow older, so it was ok for her to have her moments being in control. :)

While we were there, we had a Discovery Toys party, played piano duets (this was top on our to-do list), watched a couple of movies, went for walks, enjoyed Chrissy's great meals, talked and laughed a lot, and played many games. Kevin joined us for some of the games and movies but was pretty busy with school and work. And my dear Chris stayed home for school and work. What awesome, supportive husbands we both have!

Here are some of the pictures of our fun trip:

It was a tight fit with the 3 car seats in Chrissy's little Honda.

Bundled up for a walk.
I can't figure out why this picture is sideways, but I think its cute anyway.

I hope all the cousins can be good friends when they get older.

Too bad we didn't get any pictures with everybody. Thanks for the awesome vacation, Chrissy and fam!

Wedding Fun

A lot has happened this past month or so, but instead of doing a massive post, I will just go back a bit and catch up little by little with different posts. I'll start with my sister's wedding. Marie got engaged late August to Tia Purcell and decided to get married September 25th. With such a short time to plan a wedding, she did a great job and it turned out to be a lovely wedding. It was a very fun occasion to get all the family together again. Here are some of the pictures from the wedding: