Thanksgiving Week...(I am thankful for Aimee and her camera!)

Aimee saves the day again with her camera. She took these pictures of us, I had a million more on my camera that is now in a dumpster somewhere in Utah, but these ones are great and I am so glad she took them. I just wish she was there for all of our trip, especially the polar express!

Here we are at the lighting of Temple Square. It was so fun and the kids loved all the lights. There was a really beautiful Nativity scene and it was all lit up and there was music and the story was told over the loud speaker. It was really beautiful!

Jade was in awe, I think we all were.

I look forward to this gorgeous statue every time I go up there. There is such a reverence and magnificence about Him.

I LOVE this picture of my parents, it is such a beautiful shot of them and the temple. I love everything about it!

My sister Kait, going the extra mile for the perfect shot!

My fun sisters at Tassia's wedding! We have the best time together, I can't wait for them to come home for Christmas!

Sweet Jadey Bug quickly turned into tired Jadey Bug!

Micah was shooting webs at Tassia's new Grandpa-in-law, it was really sweet because the Grandpa thought that Micah was doing sign language for I love you, nope, sorry, he was shooting you with his webs!

Love this picture...so beautiful!

With my sisters again!!!

We're all obsessed with Kait, she is just so fun to be around! Can't you tell!

More kisses for Jade!

My gorgeous sister Aimee, she can't help it!

Mini Snow Ball fights!

The kiddos just loved Aimee's hammock, (Kait is included in those kiddos!)

We went snow tubing up in Park City and it was the highlight of Micah's trip. He still talks about it everyday and is desperate to get back there and inside one of those tubes!

Jade really loved it too, she is kind of a thrill seeker, especially for being such a little thing, she has no fear!

Are you kidding me with this photo...I love you Aimee!

The whole family! Please excuse Micah's pink boots, (the are Brielle's) and my overly puffy jacket...what? It was cold!

My two boys!

Love this one of Jade and her Gigi!

And of course, everyone needed a turn riding down the hill with Jade, so you could see her smile and hear her giggle!

This is our fun Aunt Leane, that we are so blessed to spend the holidays with! Children are drawn to her, we were as children and now Jade and Micah can't get enough! They love playing and reading and singing with their Aunt Leane!

We had to take some timeout for the swings!

Unfortunately, Little Jade fell off the swing, how you ask? Ask Kiki! Haha!

My mom with her "adopted" son, Vahe! We ate Thanksgiving Dinner at Vahe and Leisha's house. It was so fun and the food was amazing and man was there food!!! Plus Leisha made some of the best pie's I have ever had in my life! We are so lucky to have them as a part of our family! And their new baby Kyah, who is the sweetest angel you'll ever meet. She is so calm and peaceful! We just love them! They took some pictures too, so once I get those I will put them up!

Jade is her Daddy's girl...notice the huge spoonful of peanut butter!

Jade and Micah were completely enamored by little baby Kyah! They couldn't get enough, they wanted to hold her and kiss her and snuggle her every second. They could hardly focus on anything else! I don't blame them!

Jade had some serious static cling issues at this point! And she has no idea!

Jade with her uncle Jake! It was fun to see Kim and Jake together as a married couple. They were so cute and in love and it was fun to see their apartment together and their little love notes stashed all over the place! We are so lucky to have Jake officially as part of our family, we feel like he has been a part of us forever! Jake's brother Mike also came and we had the best time with him! He is so fun and we wished he had stayed longer! I got to sit by him in our "traditional" thanksgiving movie, The Blind Side, such an amazing movie, and don't worry it was his third time seeing it! (Must be the college football thing!) So, when I had questions I was in luck!

What? Doesn't everyone drink M&M's?

We had so much fun and we stayed with our great friends Chris and Tiffany! And we had a blast with them, when Mitch and Chris get together, they turn into like 15 year olds and stay up all night hanging out and playing video games! Unfortunately I have no pictures of them from this trip, but we were so lucky to stay and play with them.

An Unhappy Ending...

(And in the end, this is how I felt on the inside!)

We went to Utah for Thanksgiving this year and we went for the whole week. We made so many fun memories, we went on the Polar Express train, we went to Temple Square to watch the "lighting ceremony", we had Thanksgiving, we played on the swings, we went snow tubing, and Jade got to see the snow for the first time. I took so many pictures that my card actually was full on the last day! I have never done that before.

Unfortunately, a few hours before we left to drive back home, our car got broken into. The guy smashed our window, stole my purse (that had a million important and not so important but fun things inside), my phone, camera, shoes and all my make-up. Our car alarm went off and a totally disoriented Mitch chased him down the street at 2am in his bare feet and "pajamas", but had to stop for obvious reasons- plus, it was like 20 degrees out maybe- but in his defense, the thief had quite a head start. So, we drove all the way home with cardboard and duct tape on my window. It was kind of a disaster. But one of the things I am most upset about is all those memories captured on film that we will never have. So, hoping my sisters have some pictures to go along with those memories!!! So sad!

Mitchy's Birthday: Part Two

On Mitchy's birthday we did our traditional "I Love Bagels" date. We meet there most saturdays after Mitch's finishes his morning surf session and we love this tradition! The kiddos look forward to it every saturday, and so it has turned into Mitchy's birthday breakfast too.

Micah was feeling a little sick so he kind of sat there in a trance while Jade and her daddy played like crazy!

(I edited this card in photoshop because what I wrote was just a secret between me and him)

(you'll understand what this card is if you read the paragraph below)

Then, when we came home Micah and I set up a game for Mitchy for his birthday. Micah's favorite game is when I hide dinosaurs around the house and he has to find them playing "hot & cold". So, I wrote one thing that I absolutely love about Mitchy on 29 different index cards, because he is 29. Then Micah and I hid them around the house and Mitchy had to go around and find them, while Micah told him if he was hot or cold. It was a fun game and I got to tell Mitchy over and over again how much I love and adore him.

The birthday boy and his babies

Later that night Mitch and I went out on a date for sushi, his favorite, and a movie...and when we came home we ate cupcakes that I made for him while he was surfing for his second saturday session.

Mitchy got to do the blow torch because it was his birthday and he loves all things fiery and dangerous!

See what I mean???

We were both obsessed with them...they were sooo delicious and fun! And the recipe is on my recipe blog if you want to make the best cupcakes ever! (Well, they are tied with the chocolate truffle cupcakes!)

Mitch wanted to see if he could do a whole cupcake in one bite...why is that something you need to know???

Mitchy's Birthday: Part One

My sweet husband turned 29 years old and so we decided to do a family party at Ferrell's with Mitch's family. Both Cindy and Vic worked at a Ferrell's when they were teenagers and so this was a fun experience for them. They said that the menu and everything looked just as it did back then.

Micah loves celebrating his daddy's birthday almost as much as his own.

The kiddos were a little bit like this on and off the whole time! It was a bit past their bedtimes!

Melis looks so cute in a hat, yeah?

I adore this picture of Melis! Just caught her in the perfect moment! You can feel the energy.

Micah hanging out with Grandpa!

The Birthday Boy and his little girl.

This is a Mitchy usual! We always have to take at least two pictures...one before he has the chance to do this...you have the take the picture on 2 instead of 3!

Jade loves feeding people...I'm not so sure that Vic likes being fed!

Jackson feeding Micah...

Blake is serious about his sundae!

We had to give all the little one's lollipop's just so they would sit still.

Love this photo of Jackson and the lollipop.

Kisses for Grandpa.

Jade ordered the "make your own" pizza and they brought the dough, sauce and cheese for her to "do it herself"...so what did she do? In true Jade fashion, she just sat there and started eating the cheese!

Bree and Jade were inseparable the whole night.

The former Farrell's darling's. It was fun to walk down memory lane with them!

(Seriously Mitch!!!)

Unfortunately this shot was taken at 3! 2 would have been a great picture!