Christmas

check out the top of the tree. paul got creative with the candy canes since we didn't have a star. =)

note: yes, all the pictures in the frame are of melissa's family (two of the stockings are hers too), but the stockings were for my family.

Cinnamon Rolls

These are just for fun. Paul, feeling badly I think for not taking many pictures (meaning there are very few pictures of me) decided to try to make up for it in one night by documenting the cinnamon roll process Christmas Eve (and then morning) I felt like sharing. Enjoy, hehe.

note Nate in the b/g watching me. . .he DID eat 3 cinnamon rolls. ;)

Happy Christmas all. After everything I've done today, I'm ready to go to bed. . .and not a minute too soon either since it's already technically Christmas Day. Lots of pictures to come later.

Hope everyone's Christmas is amazing and fun-filled.

Night.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweetie!! I love you babe.

Thanks for taking such great care of us.

26 weeks, 6 days

I'm starting to really FEEL pregnant. There are really periods of time when I just kind of forget that I'm pregnant until a baby kicks me or I look down or I try to fit somewhere that I can't fit anymore. =)

Sometime in this almost-week that we've been here, a definite pregnancy feeling has set in. I can't walk as long as I used to without my feet aching, my belly is starting to feel pain from the pressure, and the feeling-like-I've -always-got-to-pee thing has definitely just set it. I'm also starting to fight the waddle. I have officially hit the 6 month mark, so hopefully the next 3 months aren't too hard on my body.

Temple Square

Last night we went to Temple Square because I've always wanted to see the lights in person for quite awhile. We went with Liss and Nate and met up with Jen and Paul. It was cold, but we had a really good time.

How much cuteness is this little munchkin?

I'm no photographer, but I really like this one and would love to print it and have it framed.

Took three tries to get this picture!

The whole gang. Good picture of all of us.

Tree inside the JS Memorial Building

I think Keith's dancing. . .

I love her. We have so much fun together.

I'm waiting for Paul to come over so we can take a picture together looking rather prego. . .

The stare down. . .
He gave her a kiss shortly after this

All three kids relaxing and getting warm after.

Busy!

We've been quite busy since we've been here. On previous visits, we've done a lot of sitting around, but this time we've been out and about or at least busy while we're at at home. Monday we went to Liss and Nate's and Liss and I got to go out shopping while the guys watched the kiddos. I finished my Christmas shopping (yay) and Lissa almost finished. Then, we came back and gave the guys a chance to go out shopping for us while we went wrapping crazy. It was a very productive day and I only have a few more things to wrap for each kid.

Then, last night we drove out to Herriman (all of us and Jen and the boys met us there) to visit long time friends, the Carrillo family. We made subs and hung around and talked and laughed and told stories. It was great! We've been very blessed with good friends and I'm grateful.

Today, Paul and I visited Beehive clothing, which was an absolute must, then we headed over to the conference center where we met up with Liss and Nate to watch an organ recital. Wow, super cool. What an awesome sound that comes out of that huge organ. We then all went to IKEA, then a fabric store, then a grocery store. Let's just say it was a long day on my feet. I'm sure the walking has been good for me.

I'm very excited for Paul's birthday, and even more excited for Christmas! We're almost there! Things are going well here. It snowed all day today, and I am very grateful we brought the suburban and that it has 4-wheel drive.

Hooray for the holidays. Looking forward to New Years too, though we don't have plans yet.

White Christmas

We're here! Yay. So much looking forward to a white Christmas here in Utah.

We left Friday afternoon. Turned out being much later than we planned, but that's okay. I didn't want to show up right in the middle of the night anyway. And for that reason, we decided to really take our time and enjoy the drive and not worry about making good time.

We stopped to switch places at that random gas station in the middle of nowhere on 58 (Boron?), then drove through to Vegas. We stopped in Vegas, and even found an Albertsons open late and took our time walking around and getting some snacks. Paul drove from there, we got gas there and then stopped again in St. George (or near somewhere) to switch places again. Had a nice leisurely breakfast in Springville, UT and made our way to Jen and Paul's place at about 8:00 AM.

Things are great and the woman we're staying with has been super awesome to us. I'm looking forward to the rest of the trip, though I have a lot of wrapping to get done before Christmas! We'll miss you all while we're gone!!

Fortunately, this is what they looked like for most of the drive.

i LOVE him

i've been sick since saturday and am just starting to really feel better today, and a little yesterday, so i should be way behind on my poor house, suffering the consequences of resting to heal my sick body. but i'm not.

i'm super grateful for a husband who takes really good care of me. i can't even begin to express the load he's taken off me by keeping the house clean while i was sick, especially since we're leaving next friday and we both want to leave a clean house behind. he also cooked dinner for four nights in a row (he joked, he thinks it's a record, especially since none were fast food, which, he said he counts).

it's a funny thing, a clean house. you wouldn't think it would have that much effect on your mood and the spirit in your house (and your motivation to do other things), but it does! it so much does. because he's been so amazing i feel like i can get some things done today that i've been putting off that desperately need to be done. i can focus. i can enjoy my kids more, and feel guilty less about the things i should be doing.

So, really, i just wanted to say,

HE'S AMAZING, THAT HUSBAND OF MINE! AND I'M SUPER GRATEFUL TO HAVE HIM.

oh, and life is good.=)

Baby A is now 15 oz. (SO close to a lb. just one more little ounce...) and Baby B is 13. So they're still a little different, but close enough there's nothing to worry about. Growing strong and moving a LOT. It's strange cause Baby B moves more but I feel him less. (He's turned right side up and then upside down again in the last month.) Still working on names.........

apparently i dislike mondays so much that i try to skip them every week. it never works, but my mind still persists in believing it's tuesday pretty much every monday morning. what's up with that?

Conversation with Keith

Me: "I gotta cook cause tomorrow's Thanksgiving!"

Keith: "YEAH!"

Me: "Do you know what that means?"

Keith: "Yeah."

Me: "What does that mean?"

Keith: "Eating!"

Guess he pays more attention than I realized... =)

a K. West original

Can you guess what (and who) it is? Don't be jealous of my son's mad art skills.....

birthday cake pictures

she wasn't so sure about it at first. just a little poking and feeling it. keith did the same thing.

she finally got up the courage to try some.

daddy gave her a little.

gotta have milk with your chocolate cake...

aww, that's refreshing.

little bit more cake......

and then she's done.

the victim
as you can see, she ate very little actual cake and mostly stuck to the frosting. yep, that's my girl.