Looking Festive around here.

I'll be honest there was something inside me that wasn't looking forward to decorating for Christmas. But thanks heavens for kids becasue they were to ones that snapped me out of that. They were all sorts of excited to decorate. So excited that I've never seen them so motivated to get the house cleaned up. 

Now that it is up and we were jammin to Pentatonix Christmas music we got the Christmas feel in our home. 

This little man is curious about everything though.

I made sure that any fragile ornaments were put higher on the tree to be safe this year. Haha.

I don't have a whole lot of Christmas Decor but it's enough to get things feeling Christmasy around here.

I hope I can try to make the focus this year on Christ. And teach my boys the meaning behind Chirstmas.

Thanksgiving 2016

This year might be one of my favorite Thanksgiving's yet. Well Moab was pretty awesome last year, so I should say it was my favorite Thanksgiving spent at home. I think what made it my favorite was the ease and the relaxation of the day. Why? Let me explain.

Since Chan got married last week my mom wanted to hold Thanksgiving with my side of the family on the Sunday after Thanksgiving (yesterday). So when I found that out I went to Heidi and told her we were all hers on Thanksgiving day. But she found out T&T and A&E were going with their in-laws because we were all together last year for Thanksgiving (and I'm sure because of our upcoming Smith family vacation to Mexico coming up in a few weeks).  So that left Mike and Heidi with us. Haha.

After talking about what we wanted to do on the day we all agreed it wasn't worth doing the whole production for just 4 adults. And going out to eat was looking to be too expensive. So we decided to just forget the whole thing just go to a movie and order pizza. Haha. So that's totally what we did.

Wednesdays night I was placing the order with Papa Johns and trying to have it ready for Thanksgiving day and realized that I better call and make sure they were open. Well they were closed. So I decided to order it and have it delivered. Keep in mind that it was about 9pm, snowing for the first time this season and Jesse was on duty. After I placed the order I got a phone call from Papa Johns telling me they couldn't deliver because of the roads and asked if I could pick it up. Desperate to have my Thanksgiving pizza I said Yes, but needed to clear my driveway.

I go out and try to get the snowblower to start and it wouldn't. So I started to shovel and realize it was going to take me forever. Feeling frustrated and realizing that my street was totally clear and didn't see why they couldn't delver, I called Papa Johns back and begged them to deliver it. After play damsel in distress to the manager he said he would. Yay.

I wanted to clear a path for the delivery guy so when he arrived I was at the bottom of the driveway shoveling. When he got out he asked "Having Fun?" I said "No" in a sarcastic voice. I also mentioned that I couldn't get the snowblower to start. He then offered to look at it and figure it out. And after several attempts he had no luck either. But I was so touched by taking the time to help me. He was so sweet. 

I finished shoveling the driveway just in time for the snow to start again. I gave up and decided to wait until morning. 

I left for the gym and thankfully the snow on the driveway didn't need more than a little salt to melt it away. I joined in on the GPP Pie Burn workout at my gym. It was long, sweaty and tough. But I love that kind of workout (especially since I was going to be indulging in pizza).

Our movie was at 1:20pm and before we left for the theater (where we were meeting Mom &Dad) I wanted to get a Thanksgiving Picture of our Family! 

We were seeing the new Disney movie "Moana" and got a picture of us all together by the sign.

The movie was way cute. The boys loved it. Fynn was a busy body moving from person to person on our row.

I had the Pizza warming up in the oven before we left and it was ready to eat when we got back. I had orderd a bunch of Small pizzas but different flavors so we could have a variety. Every bite was sinfully good. It had been months since I've had pizza and it was worth every bite.

The rest of the evening was spent playing games, watching more movies (mostly the kids) and chilling by the fireplace. We've had this fireplace this whole time but have never lit a fire before and now we are wondering why we havent. It was so cozy.

The evening came and my sister Manda and her 2 boys came by for a little bit to visit. Unfortunately , I didn't get a picture but it was nice to play games with her and the boys all play together.

Sunday Thanksgiving:
Mom put me in charge of dessert. Jessica brought the stuffing and my Grandma brought the veggie tray. But my parents put on the rest. Whoo. That's alot of work and it was all so delicious. And they have been in their new home now almost a whole year and they love having us over becasue of all the room they have. Their Great Room is pretty awesome. Get me excited for one day to have the same concept in our house.

Love this family.

We played games, drew names for Christmas and ate my yummy Southern Apple Crumble. It was an evening well spent.

Mr and Mrs Warner

Her big day quickly arrived and this baby sister of mine walked down the isle and become Mrs. Warner on Friday night. 

Thursday we actually had a Rehearsal at the Venue and then dinner at Joy Luck. It really was the first time that I had the opportunity to meet all of Tyler's family. And meeting them made me feel even better about the whole thing. Tyler comes from a big family and they seem grounded in the gospel and have Christ Centered lives. They were all very loving and accepting of our family that it made me feel so happy for Chantel.

I spend several hours at the salon getting myself, my mom and my sisters all ready for the ceremony. I love so much how her hair turned out. I found the idea on Instagram and I showed it to her and she was totally onboard with it. It suits her and complimented her dress.

I got ready at the salon and had Jesse pick me up after getting Ryker from school. My friend Bria (who I work next to) actually did my hair and makeup for me. Such a relief because this whole past week has felt extremely overwhelming and it was so nice to have one less thing to worry about. I trust her and she always does an amazing job.

Arrived at The Victorian (in Layton) an hour or so before the ceremony to take some pictures before the sun set. I went up into the brides room to help Chan with any finishing touches she needed.

Tyler still hadn't seen her in her dress yet so we all got to witness "The First Look". It was so sweet when he turned around to see her he just burst into tears. What guy wouldn't? I mean, look at her. She is breath taking.

A few weeks ago when I did her hair and makeup for bridals and as she was leaving the salon in her dress, I felt emotional seeing the whole look together. My friend Bria even said that she got chills when she saw her.

The sisters (missing Alexa who has sadly chosen to be estranged from the family) all dolled up in our bridesmaid dresses.

Sibling Love!!!

All their Nephews and Neice. Haha. It's been awhile since we got these kiddos together. They've sure have grown,

Living in this wedding moment for my sister brought back so many memories and feelings about our own wedding day. And how 11.5 years later I still love this man and forever grateful for how much that love has blossomed into what it is today.

Loved her colors and her whole bridal line.

The ceremony was tender and I got a front row seat as I was up front as the bridal party stood there witnessing them get married. Again Tyler was crying and I could see Chan shaking under her dress. They both were so happy and excited they couldn't contain their emotions.

Afterwards we all went back outside with give hugs and congratulations while the Venue set up the tables and chairs. It was quite chilly but our hearts were warm with love for these two.

When it came to Ryker's turn to hug her, he burst into tears. And they just flowed down his face for a really long time. He wouldn't let go of her and held her so tight. I then began to notice a circle forming around them as everyone was wondering what was happening. And as they witnessed this tender moment, they all started to shed some tears. I had held it together just fine until this moment. Ryker and Chantel have a very close bond ever since he was born. He was so happy for her that it just bubbled over. He's such a sweet kid and this picture clearly depicts that.

Gotta take advantage of a family picture when we are all dressed up.

Welcome to the family Tyler. We are so excited.

I love these boys so much. And I can't help but love them a little bit more when they are all dressed up so handsome and big bright smiles on their faces.

Mike and Heidi actually came up to the ceremony to help with the boys while we were walking down the isle. (Ryker got to walk Grandma Teresa down the isle, which he was so excited about). They stayed for a bit and after awhile they were noticing how miserable Fynn was because how tired he was. So they were so sweet and took him home for us and put him in bed. That way we could just enjoy the rest of the reception. The older 2 boys were having a blast with their cousins and Tyler's younger siblings (which they called their new cousins haha).

The rest of the reception was just perfect. Everything was so great and they had so many people show up. It's nice to see all the love and support from everyone that came. And I loved seeing old faces from the home ward an family members I hadn't seen in awhile.

I thought this moment when the bride and groom danced with their dad and mom. The parents were emtional. This was my parents last child getting married and Tyler was the first to get married in their family. So they had opposite emotions. But all the same happy feelings.

Cutting the cake. Chan tried to shove it in Tyler's face, but he kinda won and got it all over hers. It was funny.

Then the garter toss came and to my surprise Ryker caught it. Haha.

Then that was a wrap. They were on their way to start their lives together.

It was such a beautiful day. I felt overly joyed for them. It was a good day.

A very good day!

Veterens 5k

A few weeks ago the boys came home from school with a paper to get pledges for the upcoming Veterens 5K their school was putting together. The pledges said if they got like $25 in pledges to get a free race entry, $40; Free race entry and Tshirt. $50; Free race entry, Tshirt and Causal Dress day! Then the one who raised the most in each grade got to throw a pie at their teacher. 

Ryker and Cyrus went out 3 nights in a row to get pledges and I was totally shocked how much they got by the end. Ryker ended up with $105 and Cy got $56. And they went out all by themselves through our neighborhood. Door to door. I was so impressed by how brave and confident they were to do that all by themselves. 

So they both got the highest goal. Which they were so excited about. With them having a free race entry I needed to buy a race entry so that I could run it with them. Grandma Heidi wanted to come too, so she bought an entry as well. I was so grateful that she could participate. 

They started the race out with a color guard with the Navy Seals. Super cool. 

Once the race started I loved seeing these Veterans running with the American flag. Felt very patriotic and grateful for our country.

As this event was coming closer Ryker told me that he wanted to run the whole 3 miles. Which he has never done before. He's an active kid and runs alot during his football games. But he's never ran 3 straight miles. But I was confident he could do it and so was he. I love that he has that confidence in himself.

Race started and he and Cy took off. I had to catch up to him. Eventually he slowed down and I told him to keep with me and we could keep the same pace. Cy fell behind but Heidi found him and they ran/walked it together.

There were a few moments during the race that Ryker would speed and and slow down. But I just kept reminding him to stay at the same pace. Near the end he wanted to stop because he felt like he was going to throw up, but I told him we were almost there. That's when he saw the school and he took off. Finishing with a time of 30:25. For his first 5K I was VERY impressed. Not very many adults can run a 10 min paced 5K and finish strong like he did.

I loved being able to run with him. It made me excited for future races together.

Bedroom update

The past few weeks Jesse has been working on the finishing touches on the Master bathroom and other things around the house because we wanted to get the house reappraised. If it appraised for a certain amount over what we owe on it we could drop our PMI(Private Mortgage Insurance) which would save us nearly $200/month. 

We also cleaned the house top to bottom in order to give it a fresh clean feel. By doing that I thought it would be a great opportunity to take some good pictures of the Master Bedroom. Love it all so much. Still so amazed at all the work that Jesse has done. He's talented and remarkable in his work. 

Concrete Countertops

Double Shower heads, Rain head and body sprays.

Bridal shower

I was invited to one of Chantel's bridal showers today. Yup thats right! My baby sister is getting married. In 2 weeks actually. Her and Tyler's engagement is only 6 weeks so it was a bit of a shock when we found out the news. But I'm excited for her. 

I was grateful that I have been able to be a support for her in all this. I have been the only sister around to be here for her. It's also really surreal that I am old enough to have my baby sister get married. I feel like her second mom. Super protective and care for her. So it's a good thing I like Tyler and trust that he'll take care of her.

Also they asked to Rent our basement. So that'll be a great way to start having renters. Helps them out and us. So it's a win win all around.