Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years!

Ok so I have a lot of catching up to do. We have done a lot in the last couple of months with holidays, traveling, graduation and other activities.
First... Thanksgiving. Jack and I were able to go back to Tennessee for the week of Thanksgiving and see Kyle and my family. My Grandma Barbara passed away earlier that week so Nikki and my mom went out for the funeral and the rest of us stayed in TN. So we were all together only for a couple days but we did a lot. One activity was going to Chattanooga to the Creative Discovery Museum. Jack was able to play in the water, dig in the sand, play instruments and do other fun things that they have. And of course for lunch that day we had Mellow Mushroom Pizza! So good and such a fun day.


When Ethan and Cody got home from their visit to Utah, Ethan and Jack had so much fun playing together. Jack also liked dancing to music, or even dancing without music... as long as someone was dancing with him.

A couple of weeks after Thanksgiving, we went back to TN for Kyle's graduation from Middle Tennessee State University. It was also the time that Kyle and his dad were going to drive our cars to California while our stuff was being shipped. We had a few days before the long drive so we had a little fun. One night we saw the Christmas lights at the Opry Hotel. They put them up every year and it is so neat to see.


On Saturday afternoon was Kyle's graduation! The ceremony was really long and I think even Kyle was getting tired, but it was worth it to see him walk across the stage and accept his diploma. I'm so proud that he's pushed through and made it through to the end. He not only finished, but also graduated with Honors... Cum Laude!
Another night while in TN, all of the boys decorated gingerbread cookies. Well... Ethan and Cody decorated while Jack ate his cookie. They actually did a good job decorating their cookies.


And now we come to.. Christmas! On Christmas Eve I made the dough for cinnamon rolls. It was my first time making them without my mom there to correct my mistakes so I was really nervous about how they would turn out. So on Christmas morning I cooked them up and they were actually really good! Yay! There was even a Jack sized roll so he got to eat one in his new Christmas pajamas.
Since church was at 11 o'clock we had a lazy morning. I got up and baked the cinnamon rolls, we ate and got ready for church. Jack had his new Christmas outfit but with it being so warm outside I think his shirt and sweater were a little too warm for him.
After church we wanted to get a picture of all of the boys in their outfits. Well as you can see, Jack was not very happy about it. But what can ya do. Oh well.
Now that church was over, we came home, had a light lunch, changed, and then...presents! I think Jack was definitely spoiled the most with gifts. But this year he could actually open the gifts himself for the most part and was excited to see what was inside.




The day after Christmas was a beautiful day! Perfect weather to go to the beach. So we packed up and headed out. The water was too cold to get in but it was perfect for sitting and watching the waves.



And now New Year's has passed and it is already 2012. The year 2011 was full of fun events, and also full of challenges. Hopefully this year will be a good one. Our family is certainly blessed and we have seen the Lord's love in our lives. I am so grateful for my family and I would do anything for them. Happy New Year!

Halloween

Ok so I know that Halloween is long gone and Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, but I still had my Halloween costume pics to post and they're just so darn cute I just had to put them up.

This year Jack was a caterpillar. His costume was a homemade job and I think it turned out pretty good. With the stripes down the back and the little hands going down the sides and the hat to top it off I think he made a cute little caterpillar.
Anyways, Friday before Halloween was the ward Trunk or Treat and Jack only lasted a few minutes with his hat on. But he got some good candy!

Monday, Halloween, Jack had some fun walking around the neighborhood. He wanted to hold his own bag and walk by himself (although he still did want to hold my hand while walking). But when we would get closer to a door, he would want me to pick him up, grab the candy himself, and then drop it into his bag. I think by having a trial run at the trunk or treat he knew what was going on and was able to have more fun for the real thing. We of course skipped the scary houses, but people love little kids so they would sometimes give him an extra piece of candy for being so cute! ;)





Overall I think Halloween was a success! Cute costume, good candy, and some fun while walking around and seeing all the decorations. Now I just have to prepare my stomach for Thanksgiving and get out the decorations and music for Christmas! Also, these last 2 pics are just of Jack getting his first "big boy" haircut. He's gotten a couple of trims before, but this was the real deal with clippers and styling all the way around. He's getting so big!

Pumpkin City

It's almost Halloween! Which means it's time to go to the Pumpkin Patch! Down at the Laguna Hills Mall parking lot, there is Pumpkin City. It's not the same as in Tennessee, but it's still a lot of fun. Yesterday we went and checked it out. Allyson had gotten some free tickets for rides and games from a friend and invited Jack and I to come along.
One of the rides was driving a little tractor around. Luke was driving and we thought Jack might have fun riding along with him. Well that was a mistake! He seemed alright once they started moving, but then something happened and Jack turned on the water works. We finally had to stop Luke for a minute so I could pull Jack off of the car. Oh well. We tried.
Once he was off the tractor, Jack was fine. Just wanted to be held some of the time and also wanted to go exploring around the pumpkins.
Logan chose to go on the train ride so all the other kids were standing watching the train go around.
Well Pumpkin City isn't quite like the pumpkin patches I loved in Tennessee, but it was still a good size and they did have some fun stuff for the kids.
The last thing the kids did before heading home was feed the ducks. Jack of course just wanted to watch them swim around, but at least he seemed to be having fun.
Happy Halloween (almost)!

Trying to keep up

Ahhh, yes... such a cute, loving, well behaved little boy. Well that's what you might be thinking as you see this first picture. Yes he is cute, and he is loving, but not always so well behaved (as he is currently crying in the background not wanting to fall asleep for his afternoon nap).

As any mom knows, keeping up with a little one is not always easy. Jack is almost 17 months, and full of energy! He loves to play outside, in the bathroom, and even in boxes. So it's usually not too hard to find him if he goes out of sight for a minute.
Halloween is almost here and Jack is going to be a little caterpillar. Nikki made this hat for him and this is the only picture I've gotten of it on him. He's doing better at wearing it, but this is the best I've gotten so far. Hopefully he will let me at least get a better picture with his full costume!
Of course... Jack is constantly running towards the computer wanting to sit on the chair and push all the buttons on the keyboard and move the mouse. It's a huge battle trying to get him away from it... every single day!
As I said before, Jack loves to play in the bathroom. And the first thing he goes for is my make-up bag. He walks in the bathroom, closes the door behind him, pulls my bag out of the drawer, and brings the bag into my room to pull everything out and play. He has even started to push some of the stuff under the bed as if to hide it from me. Sneaky sneaky.