december is my fave

i freaking LOVE december this year, a few good reasons:

 

experiencing snow for the first time this year

 

surprise visits from my favorite New York niece!

gearing up and going skiing!

 

 going to temple square and getting some of the best pictures of the year

 

having this guy jump out and scare me at my own house! FREAKING HILARIOUS!!! smith and edwards is the best store ever!

reese and bentley

reese at weber state, that is a real reindeer behind him!

i've also been drinking hot chocolate with real whip cream, like, EVERY single day.

been shopping for gifts for all my favorite people.

had some serious wake up calls about how blessed we really are. 

grateful we have enough money this year. 

life is good in december.

thanksgiving in texas

this year we went to texas for thanksgiving to visit brad's grandparents. they live about an hour out of dallas on lake texoma. our flight was at 6 a.m. so we left our house at about 3 in the morning. by the end of the flight reese was out. 

the first day we were there we settled in and papa dean took me and sally on a little tour of the city. then we all went to the golden corral for dinner. we were having a great night. i realized that i had seen reese going poop so i decided to take him to the restroom to change him. i scooped him up and then realized too late that he had had a massive explosion! i got him to the bathroom and there was poop everywhere. on every piece of his clothing, all over my hoodie, even on his shoes. so i just had to wipe him down with baby wipes. poor kid was stuck running around the resturaunt with just a diaper on. (of course it happened the ONE time i didn't have an extra outfit with me)

 cace and bentley at the oil well

 reese, brad, me and grandma

the next day we drove out to bogata. we went and visited papa dean's land. we saw his cotton fields, and his oil wells. we also went to three different cemetaries. sounds kind of boring, but i really enjoyed it. we went and visited aunt ruth that day too. she is an exceptional woman. i just love her.

brad and aunt ruth

we drove by this lovely little place on the way home. it's always nice to add in some culture.

we then of course had thanksgiving dinner. it was so weird for me to be away from home for a major holiday. we had fun, but i was feeling a little homesick. brad's grandparents were so generous and kind to us. it was so good to get out and see where they live. we went for a walk down by lake texoma, played kickball with the kids in the back yard, ate a lot of good food and just had so much fun.

just a few random tid bits

reese was sick all last weekend. doesn't he look miserable? well ever since he has been acting quite naughty and throwing tantrums over every little thing... it is ROUGH! i swear i want to throw him in the garbage some days, but then his sweet little self re-emerges and he gives me a big hug and kiss. i love this little guy. 

he really likes to wear my boots, they are a little big and hard to walk in though... 

our cabinets have gone from looking like this

to this:

they are still in the works. the bottoms aren't done yet. but they will be eventually. we got a new dishwasher too. so the kitchen is coming along. 

parsley is still cute and still around too.

halloween!

i married this old man for his money, did i ever tell you that???? 

meet miss flapper

and her old-fogie husband.

he isn't sure what to think about the in-laws. 

(an alligator hunter from the bayou and cat-woman-scandalis)

so in love.

we love our little pet nemo

chandler, lauren, reese and brixton

baby hallie and geisha lauren 

fauna and merri-weather. flora joined us later but i never got her in a picture. 

terra was the best clogger of the night and played a great hostess. 

the last couple of years kade and terra have thrown an awesome halloween party and this year everyone got into it! (if you can't tell from my parents hilarious costumes!) we all go and bring food and terra makes soup and chili and we eat all night and laugh and talk and take the kids trick or treating. it was freezing cold and brad took reese in the pouring rain. he loved it! once he figured out that people were giving him candy he didn't want to stop. it was an awesome night!

two!

reese is officially a two year old! i never imagined what he would be like when he was two, but he is perfect. he is still the sweetest child and loves to give hugs and kisses. we had a family birthday party for him, i think by the end of it he had it figured out. he knew it was all for him. i read him a special birthday book before his nap, ordered chinese food for lunch (his fave is ham fried rice with egg drop soup dumped on it), blew up a million balloons, put up the birthday banner and spent 15 bucks on ice cream! it was so good. my good boy deserves a good day.

opening presents. don't mind my g's

after he opened every single present he took it to my dad to show him. he was very excited... 

playing in the bag was one of the best parts of the party! 

he blew out his candles twice before we got through the birthday song. he had practiced a lot!

family pic on his two year old birthday. he got buzz and woody, and now we seriously cannot go anywhere without buzz. he loves him and makes him fly and kisses him. what a sweet boy! i love you reese!