The boys

After growing up with all girls, it is so fun now to have all nephews. Boys are so much fun. Rhett is 8 and always wants someone to jump on the trampoline with or to talk Star Wars lingo to. Ethan, who is 5, is a master burper, and can do the hugest burps on demand. With Sam egging him on, he burped the loudest burps I have ever heard for a good ten minutes. Really gross, but we could not stop laughing at him gulping down air as fast as he could. Kade is 2 and so darn cute.

Santa brought the boys a puppy for Christmas. Whenever Sam held him his legs would shoot straight up in the air, it looked so funny.

Family Traditions

It seems like Christmas is packed with us trying to get in every last one of our holiday traditions. I love it. I have so many good memories of doing these things that I love each Christmas season. I didn't get a picture of my very favorite tradition- our all day shopping trip with a break at Oregano's for lunch. Sam's tradition includes baby sitting the kids all day while we shop (what a great husband I have).

The traditional jumping picture.... Brooke is about to go down.

I love this picture. Expect for Brooke who is missing (on the floor, which explains why we are laughing so hard) , I think it captures how much we love being together.

We got to be there for Britt's big day - 19 years old!

And the traditional donuts... I love these things. The donut holes are impossible to stop popping in your mouth.

Christmas Break, Part I

This Christmas break we spent the first week with my family in Arizona, and the second week with Sam's family at a condo in Park City. It was a BLAST!

The traditional Christmas Eve nativity play, with not-so-traditional costumes. You didn't know Batman was part of the nativity? You really should read your scriptures more. Cody was Joseph, I was Mary, Sam was the donkey, Brittany the angel, and everyone else some sort of shepherd.

The traditional white elephant party. There were lots of rare finds, as always. Why does no one ever trade at this party? Ally got the only PG-13 aerobics video ever made.

Ashley got some rocks covered in dog doo-doo

And I got some Preparation-H, applicator included and all. It was used. Gross.

He did it!

Sam graduated Friday at the Dee Events Center. After 2 years at Dixie and 2 1/2 years at Weber, he was definitely ready. Sam started out college basically hating it, but knowing it was something that would be good for us. He ended college loving it, doing awesome in every class he took, and wanting to go onto the Masters program.

Sam's dad and sister came up for the day. His mom's flight got canceled due to the weather, she was so sad to miss it.

We had a fun day. We woke up early and met Wayne and Kenzie at Mimi's for breakfast. We LOVE eating breakfast there. Then was graduation, which went a lot quicker than I expected, with only a few short, but great, speeches. We came back to our house with everyone for a late lunch and spent the night at our ward holiday dinner. Congratulations, Sam! Now what?

Thanksgiving Thanks

I am thankful for... family, sunshine, a Heavenly Father and Savior, a husband who makes me happy, Christmas lights, summer, ocean, education, sisters, Breyers ice cream, friends, food blogging, the outdoors, Costco, my job, Friday night pizza and movies, cell phones, cars, laughing, Sam graduating, and so much more. So much to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving weekend brought... Brittany! I love having her got to college so close. She had a whole week off so we spent the first couple of days shopping, eating breakfast at Mimi's, watching chic flicks (including New Moon - better than the first one!), and laughing.

Brooke and the boys stopped by and spent the night on their way up to Cody's parents house. Nephews are so much fun. Sam's burnout video game is our only "toy" for the boys. They love it. We had fun staying up late talking, eating, and doing glitter toes.

We spent the last part of the week down in St. George with Matt and Jill and Sam's parents. We met up with Rachel and Richard and had so much fun rock climbing. Sam and I can't get enough of it. We spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing. Thanksgiving day after the big meal me and Britt fell asleep reading, one of my favorite things in this world.

This needs to be documented: Me and Brittany at possibly the dumbest movie ever made... Old Dog. Friday night we went out to dinner and to see Blindside with Matt and Jill and Sam's parents, but unfortunately Blindside was sold out, thus we saw Old Dog. It was painful. Both being broke, it was killing Britt and I that we spent almost 10 bucks on Old Dog.

mr. xavier rudd

Recently we got to see Xavier Rudd in concert with Rachel and Spencer. His music is great on CD, but AMAZING in person. I have never heard anything like it. The instrumentals were crazy. Xavier sings and plays the guitar, the didgeridoos, and a tons of other instruments while two other guys play a ton of instruments as well. Almost as good as the music was the entertainment from the crowd. Xavier tends to draw a hippie crowd, and this concert did not disappoint. Hippies galore. So for the price of being surrounded by BO we got a lot of good laughs. One lady repeatedly came up to Spencer and Sam and said, "I think you are ticklish!" in a freaky voice, and tried to tickle their legs. Another man, who was dressed in tie-dye gauchos and definitely on drugs, ran around, very fast, in little circles right in front of us for about 15 minutes. I could go on and on. I am already excited to see him when he comes back around next year.

What's so great about Fall?

That's what I used to think, having only lived in Arizona and Hawaii where there is no fall. But now I know. The camera can't to it justice- the combination of reds and oranges and greens are breath taking. The air smells like trees, and I feel guilty if I don't spend every second outside enjoying it.

Mugatu, he's so hot right now.

Sam and I are all about the homemade costumes. With a little material and a lot of staples, my husband has fulfilled his Halloween dream. He was Mugatu for a night. When it came time for the costume party, all it took was Sam screaming something about how he invented the piano key necktie and the prize (Helicopter ride for 2) was ours :).

Outdoorsy

Utah is full of outdoor fanatics. I always thought I was "outdoorsy" growing up- we hiked once in a while and spent summers swimming. I had no idea what being outdoorsy meant until we moved here. Almost everyone is an extreme mountain biker, rock climber, skier, snowboarder, kayaker, camper.... the list goes on and on. It has been kind of a hard transition for my klutzy self, but I am trying. Last weekend we went with a bunch of friends down to St. George, where we spent the first day mountain biking and the second day rock climbing. We spent the rest of the time with Matt and Jill and the kids. It was a blast, minus my small panic attack. We'll get to that in a second.I have climbed in a gym before. I figured climbing outside would be the same. I was wrong. Very wrong. So just to get to the start of the climb we hiked up. I don't know how high, but it added to the freakiness. Then you climbed straight up about 80 feet, where you clipped into the mountin on this little 1 foot ledge, to get ready to do the seond part of the climb, and then the third. I was the last one to make the climb, and since I was being buhleyed from above, all I could really see was this measly rope holding me up, and I started to panic. I honestly was sure that if I slipped I would die. So by the time I reached everyone else at the first ledge, I was kind of a wreck. As much as I loved hanging out on a 1 foot ledge, 200 feet above ground, I could not stop shaking and talked them into letting me rapel down while they finished the climb. After this climb we headed over to a NORMAL climb where you actually start on the ground and buhley from below. It was FUN. I loved it. Sam was in heaven. Rock climbing is all he wants to do now. I don't mind.

Funny story: So while everyone else was finishing the first climb, I really really had to go to pee. So I slipped on Sam's flip flops, hiked around the cliff and went, camping style. I have never been good at doing this. There is no control. I accidentally got Sam's sandal. I was hiking back, about to wash his shoe, when I hear this other rock climber saying, "Where are my sandals? I know they were here!" So I ask if the ones I am wearing are his, which they are, and quickly apologize and hand them over. Some things are better left not known. Poor guy. I really feel bad. Still.

good bye, summer. i will miss you.

We said buh-bye to summer with one last campfire with our friends. Have I mentioned how much I love our friends here? I think only about a million times. But I do. We had a fun weekend in Huntsville cooking foil dinners and s'mores and singing around the campfire to the one and only guitar hero, Richard. Oh yeah, and the guys shot guns at targets, such as a broken microwave (Hello, white trash). So long, summer. I can feel winter moving in.