Our Christmas extravaganza!!

This Christmas our family stayed at our home in West Virginia. It was to say the least a little quiet and not in anyway "White" but was also a very special year. We were able to start several different family traditions that we can't wait to do again next year. Brig is almost two so the magic of the season had his little eyes sparkling and Seth and I giddy like little kids.. we were so excited for him to experience everything. We love this time of year, its pretty awesome how despite the fact that most the world gives little regard to why we celebrate Christmas, its still a season filled with warmth and giving and other emotions that so closely describe our Savior. Christmas eve our family was able to spend the evening with some of our closest friends out here. We attended "A Gingerbread Ball" at a local ritzy hotel and i can't even begin to describe how amazing it was! So i thought i would post a few pics to better share our festivities:)..

Our Family picture next to a ginormous actual gingerbread house ( after Santa went home we were able to sneak a quick picture in his chair)

Me and Brig on the dance floor.. he LOVED the music and dancing. it was so cute and i had to take full advantage of Brig asking me to dance with him..

Briggy Boog on Santa's lap, he wasn't scared one bit!

life sized ice sculptures out side. There was santas sleigh and all eight reindeer. including Rudolf! This was set up for the childrens activities, the decorated center pieces for our table later that night at the ball then went outside for smores, hot cocoa, apple cider, and roasted chestnuts. so fun and so yummy:)The ice looks a little thin in this picture.. it was in the high fifties and so they weren't going to last long!

This was seriously the biggest man made tree i have ever seen and it was made from poinsettias. they were white and red and some how stacked up more than fifteen feet high! it was amazing.. sorry i didn't get a better picture.

This is also from our "Ball" they had lots of different activities going on, dinner, dancing, live bands and Ballerinas, those jumpy toys for itty bitty kids, balloon art and then these pictures. Seth INSISTED we get this done as a family, he had never had a caricature done before so he wasn't about to pass it up:)

Christmas morning brig licking the spoon with left over icing from our fruit pizza..

Our holiday Fruit pizza, this was so fun to make with brig, he thought it was pretty spectacular to have all that fruit on a pizza.. i guess it is kinda a odd thing to take in when your just used to cheese and pepperoni:)

These were actually from our family homevening activity. our neighbor Jack came over and made these with us, its such a blessing to have great people around. Brig had been begging for over a month to go make a snow man and so of course we got none.. instead we got sixty degree's and a sad little boy who doesn't understand.. so we got Styrofoam, beads, glue and glitter..and wallah!

Private

So we're going private. we want to keep in touch with as many friends and family as possible so please leave your email as a comment and we will add you. thanks everyone!

When Best Friends Come to Visit

My Sister and her family came into town for Thanksgiving and it was SO nice to have family around! Briggy and his cousin Flynn couldn't get enough play time in. Its been so fun to see the two grow and become such good friends.




Hoopes's we miss you already! come back and play soon!

Snow In West Virginia?!

I know i know its hardly even a skiff but out here.. this much snow is a big deal. Its kinda funny. We woke up this morning with maybe a full inch on our deck and like 1/2 inch on the lawn but i guarantee school is canceled! As funny as it may be for us to have the roads BARELY even covered yet bare of cars because everyone is so afraid to do anything when it snows i am SO SO grateful for a little white during the holiday season. Its good to know that even though we can't be home with family to enjoy a white Christmas we can still have at least a tiny taste of it..

Tagged

Thanks Norm! Here goes..
**5 things I was doing 10 years ago** I hardly remember being thirteen! 1- i was obsessed with basketball. 2- was awkwardly small:) 3- trying to find my grove in life. 4- transitioning between friends. 5- loving the high school scene..(i miss it!)
**5 things to do on my list today** 1- do some sort of exercise. 2- clean our sunday morning always running late mess. 3- start on my next craft project. 4- spend time with my husband that i have hardly seen in DAYS! 5- most likely play trucks or tag with brig instead of everything listed above.
**5 snacks I enjoy** 1- Chocolate milk 2- iced oatmeal cookies 3- chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream 4- homemade cookies 5- BROWNIES:)
**5 things I would do if I were a millionaire**1- not be in debt up to my ears! 2- make Seth still finish school.. just pay for it rather than loans. 3-take my entire family on a huge vacation together. 4- buy us and my dad a ton of Wy farm land. 5- go home whenever i felt like it..
**5 places I've lived** 1-Star Valley, WY 2- Orem/Provo, UT 3- Napa, CA 4- White sulphur, WV 5- Lewisburg, WV
** 5 dreams i have** 1- finish school 2- one day sell my paintings and photos 3- to have my own little family stay close. 4- to have all my kids grow up respectively.5- to have all these years in medical school actually pay off ( well keep our hopes on the next election !)

Thanks to daddy's intermurals..

So brig found Seth's sweat band in my load of wash and decided its his new favorite hat. After that everything else just sorta fell into place. it really doesn't take them long to literally watch and learn! its so fun to see him picking up so many new things..yes even if one of those is playing a little ball shirtless makes you feel a lot cooler:)

Thats right, he really is ALL THAT!
Check out that strut!

do do do.. BAT- MAN!

Briggy had the hardest time deciding what he wanted to be for Halloween this year. mostly because he had no idea what i was talking about when i would ask him or show him costumes. So i took him down to the store and he got to really see them all and finally picked batman, even though he had no idea who or what batman was. When we got home i youtubed batman so Briggy could see, and of course he picked up the theme song right away! So every time after that we would talk about Halloween he would sing do do do.. sometimes a few more do's ..then yell BAT-MAN! I loved that he was so excited about the holiday and CANNOT wait til Christmas:) everything is so much funner with him around. I love my Boog!

Brig at our neighbors house..
this was the first house we took him to and i had been trying to tell him about the whole trick-or-treating experience earlier during the day. So to say the least he was a little confused when our adorable elderly next door neighbor gave him a brown paper sack w/ an apple and a cup cake in it. Brig just kept looking at the brown bag then back up at the little old man and saying trick-or-treat Jack ( Jack is our neighbors name). He was so confused why Jack wasn't giving him a treat.. ya know the yummy little candy kind.. when he was saying his lines so perfectly. it was so cute we couldn't stop laughing! too cute, way too cute!

moon over the town lights, once again just a random pic from the night that i thought was pretty cool.

My Little sis came out and stayed with me for a couple weeks. it was a ton of fun and always good to have her around. I am pretty much a lucky girl, its nice having one of your best friends one of you own sisters! while she was here we took her to see some of the sights and to experience D.C. shopping:) China town was to say the least a dissapointment.. but there is always next time!..






random pic but i love this building..

Boogs Fall shoot

I figured it was about time Briggy had some good pictures taken.. so we went down in papas fields and had some fun. luckily he is photogenic and likes his picture taken. notice they are all in black and white.. i love black and white, maybe a little too much. anyway i thought i'd share a few of my favorites with you.

Randon summer pics

This summer has been crazy and i feel like i haven't posted anything1 so i decided rather than sitting here at the computer and updating all night i would just add a few of my fav's from the last mo. or so:)

Family Picture.. Destin Fl(sick Briggy)

Daddy & the Brigs playing in the waves

The sweetest boy..

wait..what happened??

deep sea fishing, Destin Fl.

Briggy conked out on the beach

Stolen kisses

pines & blue skies.. home sweet home

View during a hike to swift creek lake

Soakin' it all in

Briggy loving his popsickle and swimming pool

Playing peek-a-boo with grandma, all covered in grass.. i love this pic!

water park in omaha, it was so fun and perfect because it is SO hot there!

Briggy's very own table and umbrella.. thanks mom and dad, way fun idea!!

i was reminded today of yet another reason i am SO excited to go back home...

need i say more???
I had just pulled up to our house from getting the car serviced and outside my bedroom window this is what i found!! you would think after an entire year of seeing things i am petrified of i would some what get used to it but somehow there always seems to be something new, something i have yet to seen.. lucky me! thankfully our home was built in the last five years rather than in the 1930's (which is most every thing considered to be east) because then these sort of creatures would most likely find a way inside..yikes:(
bugs out here are beyond nasty not to mention freakishly huge!!! This is probably just some ordinary moth that anywhere else would oh i don't know die at some point due to cold weather.. but not here i swear these bugs just keep living and GROWING!! i think the very first thing i noticed last summer was a dandy long leg spider about the size of Seth's palm. yep that's right and i only wish i was exaggerating!

Hey all! it has been quite a while since i posted but we have been completely boring and there isn't much going on to share! HOWEVER, we are leaving to drive home for the sumer.. yes thats right i said drive, this saturday!!! i am so excited i can pretty much not contain myself. all last week i had to keep talking myself out of packing( just incase for some odd reason this week got super busy!) the anxiety is killing me!! I am so excited to go home to my home ward.. odd of a thing to miss as that might be i miss it so much. I can't wait to spend all the time i want to with family and good friends.. not to mention show brig all the things that make summer time in SV so awesome!
Seth gets a full Two Months off of school so we are planning on pretty much living it up.. seeing how it will be what seems like more than forever until he will have another break of any sort. I hope that we will get to see you all during our break!! And for those who are unfortunitely like us and far far away.. i will continue to post our at home adventures:)

my baby babe..

Ever since Briggy's first birthday I have been noticing more and more his independence and his desire to all the big boy things he sees other kids doing. Never in a million years did I expect that this would make me SO sad! Sure I get so proud when i see him accomplishing new things and making such huge strides but that doesn't always mean its easy seeing your baby become a little boy. I was looking through his baby album the other day and couldn't help but notice how so many of his pictures look alike.. I mean of course they would they are all of Brig but i noticed something I can honestly say i hadn't noted we had captured in his many baby pics.. we had caught little pieces of his bubbly, lovie and comical personality. I thought i would share what i mean..

Little expressions he does while concentrating,

or no matter where you go having to find the "perfect" little bench

for him to have some alone time.

His little smirk he ALWAYS gets when he is really proud of himself,

Or his wacky face he pulls when he is beyond silly..

After looking through all of his pictures a dozen times (like i always do) I realized that no matter how big he gets (even if he is less cuddly and is developing a temper :( ) He will forever be my Lil bud and he will always have his same sweet smile ! I love my Briggy boy oh so much.. and sometimes wonder what i would ever so with out his sweet kisses!!