Christmas Tree for Max

We went a placed a Christmas tree by Max's grave in remembrance of his birthday last Christmas.  It seems like so long ago that we had him but at the same time short.  It's crazy to think that he would be one now! I see other babies that were born around the same time and think about how Max would be the same size. We miss him everyday and look forward to being with him again.

Christmas Cuties

Merry Christmas!

 From our Christmas cuties to yours!

Aaron's Birthday

Aaron is not big on having parties for his birthday, so we usually keep it pretty low key. We just went to dinner with his parents and then had cake afterwards.  I invited the Cumming's to come down for dessert with us as well and we all sat around and chatted for awhile and then called it a night. Real exciting I know- but that's all he wanted. Maybe one of these years I can convince him to have a party or do something fun. =)

Christmas Sing

Chloe had her first Christmas sing-in at her school so of course I had to go and listen to her. I was all ready and had my camera set to take videos and when the time came to record, my camera kept freezing for some reason. I only could record in four second intervals before it would freeze. I was so bummed!  However, I wouldn't have got any great shots of her singing anyways because she was hidden behind a tall kid in her class. It  also doesn't help that she is one of the shortest in her class as well.  But, it was a cute song and Chloe did great. They sang "Must be Santa" by Raffi.

Visiting Santa

It wouldn't be the holidays without a trip to go see Santa. Now, I wont lie- I refuse to pay to go see Santa. Luckily for me he came to the Springville library and we got to visit with him and take pictures for free. We got to listen to Santa read a story, then while waiting in line the library had set up some crafts for the kids to do. It kept them entertained while they waited and no one complained. Both girls happily sat on Santa's lap and told them what they wanted. Chloe asked for a new bike and a giant stuffed animal. Abby asked for a scooter and some bubble tape gum.  Let's see if Santa thinks they were good enough this year to get what they want.

Snow Much Fun

Our girls just love playing in the snow, so after our first big snow we had to go out and play.  The slide was covered in snow and the girls thought it was so much fun sliding down it.  See, you can even use your swing set in the winter =).

 These girls love each other so much!

Deer Valley Getaway

Heather and Travis invited us to go on a little weekend getaway trip to Deer Valley. They found a great deal and we shared a 3 room suite that had a kitchen in it- this way we could cook our own food and not have to go out every meal.

We went shopping, watched movies, swam in the pool, sat in the "hot hot bath tub" as Abby would call it, and went sledding.  It was a perfectly relaxing weekend and just what we needed at the time.

 On our way to the pool! It was too cold to just walk out in our swim suits so we all put on some robes and walked down. What a sight we made!

 Watching a movie in bed.

The day we went sledding was perfect. Normally it is freezing when we go sledding so our kids last about 30 minuted before they start complaining.  However, it was warm out so everyone actually enjoyed being outside and we spent a good 2 hours sledding.

 Abby loving being out in the snow.

 Love this face! She was having a blast.

Thanksgiving

This year, we spent this Thanksgiving with my family. The Huntington clan and some Hurd's were able to join us which was so much fun and made for a large crowd. In my opinion, for the holidays the more family we have around the merrier.  It almost doesn't feel like a holiday unless we have 20+ people.

We started off the day with having a big breakfast with my dad. We all thought this would be a good idea so that we wouldn't be hungry for lunch and would be excited for a big dinner. However, I guess we ate too big of a breakfast cause we were still full for dinner. After we ate breakfast, my dad had the girls help him decorate for Christmas. They were pretty excited to have free reign on the decorating!

It was a beautiful fall day so we spent a few hours before dinner playing outdoor games. We had out boccie ball, badminton, basketball, croquet, and we even through a football around. It was so nice to be outside playing and I was bummed when the sun went down and it got cold.

Dinner was great and I enjoyed just hanging out with my wonderful family.  This past year has made us really appreciate the love and support of family.  Our families are truly amazing and we love them all so much. We were also grateful for Aaron's new job, which he would start in December.

After dinner was over and done with, we headed out for some shopping and I scored some great deals.  I also convinced my mom to come with me which made shopping on black Friday much more enjoyable.

15 weeks

As excited as we were to announce our latest pregnancy and have a spring baby, the Lord had other plans for our little family. Earlier this week, I had a miscarriage at 15 weeks and thus a spring baby is now not going to happen.  Luckily for me, Aaron was at home when it happened and was able to help me with everything.  I ended up having to go to the ER because I was loosing a lot of blood and needed help completing the miscarriage.  The hospital was nice enough to take little molds of the baby and do his hand and feet prints. They are so tiny it's amazing.  The baby was another boy and now we have another little boy angel to look over our family.

Pumpkin Patch

Since it was such a beautiful day, I decided to take the girls to the pumpkin patch for some fun.  Aaron was at work so he couldn't come (don't worry, we went back with him a few days later to pick out our pumpkins) so I invited my dad to come play with us.  This is our favorite pumpkin patch because it has so many fun things for the kids to and its free!  This year, they expanded it even more and added some slides and a mini haunted house.  As much fun as the new attractions were, the girls had the most fun in the corn pits.

Chloe got super ambitious and jumped off a five foot ledge into the corn pit.  Abby didn't want to miss out on the fun either but she only jumped from about a foot tall ledge.  After the corn pit, we did a few hay mazes, saw the petting zoo, and went on a hay ride.  It was a great way to spend a wonderful fall afternoon.

Farewell Party

My sister Amber recently got a new job which we were all thrilled about, however it is located in North Carolina so we knew her little family would be moving far away- (we were not so thrilled about that part).   Since she wanted to see everyone before she left, we had a huge farewell party.  It was packed with friends and family wishing Amber good bye. We had wonderful weather so we all hung out out back for the night.  I am sad to see her go and be so far away but it was a great opportunity for her so we wish her the best and look forward to visits home.

Crazy Hair Day

Chloe had her first crazy hair day at school and her's how it turned out.  Not bad for my first attempt.  The best part of her hair was when we took it out that night. It was so curly she didn't even look like herself ( I wish I got a picture of it).

Smore Night

We decided that before it got too cold, we would break out our little fire pit and have a hot dog roast. However, we waited too long and the night that we finally chose, there was a strong, cold wind and we were all freezing.  Now, I'm sure your thinking "good thing there was a fire near by". However, because of the wind, we couldn't get too close without sparks flying at us.  We invited our neighbors to come over as well, and despite the cold, the kids had fun with their friends and enjoyed eating their smores after dinner.

Michael's Baptism

My nephew Michael was baptized in September, and we were lucky enough to be able to attend his special day.  Since they live in Idaho and the rest of their families both live here in Utah, they figured it would be easier to have the baptism in Utah so everyone could come. It was a wonderful meeting and afterwards, we all went to my mom's house for a party.

We also got to take a weekend trip to Boise in August for another special nephew Luke's baptism.  However, I didn't do a great job at taking pictures that weekend, so words will have to do =).  We are so happy that both of our nephews made this important decision to be baptized. 

"Carving Pumpkins"

So this year, we kinda skipped over the whole carving pumpkins thing.  We had every intention of carving them, but time got away from us and so we ended up coloring our pumpkins instead.  The girls had a blast decorating every inch of their pumpkins (bottoms and all) and they turned out super cute.  Want to know the best part? No mess!!