Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree!

Random

An old friend from High School came to visit over the Thanksgiving holiday. Carissa looks fabulous and is so happy. It was great to see her and know she is doing well.

Whenever I lay down on the couch Hailey gets a book and lays on me, wanting me to read to her. I love it!

Katie's House

We went to my dear friend Katie's house to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with her. She gave the girls Christmas presents which they absolutely adored! I also learned while being there that I am a terrible wii player!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Paul's Dad and brother. We enjoyed their company and the food was delicious! It was a good day and is always a wonderful time of the year to reflect on what we are grateful for. I am so grateful for my family, my sweet sweet husband and two beautiful daughters. Along with the gospel of Jesus Christ, my family makes my life complete. I am so blessed, the Lord has been so gracious to me. I cannot count the blessing and miracles that are so abundant in my life. I have been blessed!

Birthday Cake

We made Paul's mom her birthday cake. (Thank you Abby and "Hello cupcake" for the great ideas!) Her birthday is the beginning of November so we made a fall wreath to go on top of a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. The leaves are made out of chocolate, hand painted by Paul and I. The acorns are made out of caramels dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. It was a lot of work but was really fun to make!

Halloween!

We went to a ward Halloween party which was a lot of fun. It was raining outside so, instead of trunk or treating in the parking lot, the adults lined the hallways of the church and the kids went around collecting candy. This was by far the best trick or treating experience of my life! We dressed up with a Winnie the Pooh theme. I was Eeyore, Hailey was Piglet, Paul was Christopher Robin, and Aubrey was a chick. (We didn't have another Pooh costume for Aubrey). And, like the wonderful parent I am, I forgot to take pictures! So, about a week after Halloween we all put back on our costumes for some pictures. Nice! (Aubrey took the picture of Paul and I. She did a great job. We have a budding photographer on our hands!)

I went to Boise in November and got to see one of my dearest friends, Abby! We were next door neighbors in Iowa City and I practically lived at her apartment, especially in the evenings when the girls were in bed and Paul was studying. Thank heaven for wonderful friends. It was so great to see Abby and cute little Paige! (Hailey really was happy about the visit. She was unhappy about being confined for a picture.)

While we were in Boise my sister spoiled the girls rotten! Here they are with their new pillow pets and toys! Bliss!

This is my first cake using ganache frosting, (thank you once again to "Hello Cupcake". Thanks Abby!) It was unbelievably easy...OK OK, it wasn't real ganache. It was the fake stuff (that's probably why it was so easy) but worked like a charm. I decorated the cake with orange peels. I should have waited until the cake was more dry because the orange peels sunk into the frosting. Oh well, it tasted delicious! Yum!

Creepy Critter Cupcakes

My dear friend Abby gave me a "Hello Cupcakes" book for my birthday and it is awesome! It is amazing what you can do with melting chocolate wafers and m&m's. Cupcake anyone?!

Good Morning

I appreciate Paul's unwavering dedication to fulfill all his professional and church responsibilities. I also love slow mornings when I get to see this! The girls love their daddy so much and it is fun to watch them snuggle up together.

Pumpkin Patch

We love taking the girls to the pumpkin patch. This year the pumpkin patch was in a field in the middle of a subdivision; not the environment we are used to! However, they had a free kids corn maze, hay rides, and a great pumpkin selection. It was a lot of fun and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

The wheelbarrow mommy! It was so convenient to have a wheelbarrow when it came to hauling pumpkins and kids around!

Hailey loved the wheelbarrow and did not want to get out! She stayed in there almost the whole time.

Aubrey loved sitting in the tractors! This was her highlight. Our John Deer Aubrey.

I am a mother

I am a mother. I am not JUST a mom, or ONLY a mom, but I am a mother! I have two wonderful children who mean the world to me. I can kiss away their owies; I can sooth away their bad dreams; I can comfort them when sad; I second for a bucking bronco or a tickle monster. I am a great story teller and story reader...for hours and hours on end! When tummies are upset and the girls have thrown up so many times that we are running out of clean blankets to give them, I am the mom who gets to sit up and rock and rock and rock them to sleep, soothing their aching tummies and drying their tear stained eyes. I get to hold them and cherish them, knowing that they feel safe and secure and loved with my arms around them. Not all aspects of motherhood are glamorous or fun, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have been blessed with the two most beautiful girls in the world. I am so grateful to be their mother. I am a mother!

Go Team!

My sister recently sent us a BSU cheerleading outfit. Go Boise State!

Paul's Admissions Ceremony

Paul recently passed the Bar Exam and was admitted to the Utah State Bar. It was a great ceremony and I am so proud of all that he has accomplished! What a great man! Congratulations Sweetie!

The Smells of Fall

I love the smells of Fall! I love the smell of pumpkin, warm apple cider and the smell of cold fresh air. I bought a new candle the other day, mulled cider. I lit it and enjoyed that delicious scent all morning. Then I put out the candle and started simmering broth for homemade chicken noodle soup...with homemade noodles! Yum! All afternoon the aroma of warm soup drifted through the house and made me appreciate Fall! What a great time of year!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

My birthday was this last week and, for my birthday, I wanted to make a cake. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work due to all the colors I used. I had to re-learn a lesson that I first learned on the last fondant cake I made...don't roll the fondant out too thin! I also learned to really kneed and work with the fondant to make it nice and smooth before rolling it out. So, here is the first fondant attempt, looking more like old wrinkly skin. The second attempt turned out much better! For my birthday the girls and my father-in-law got me cake decorating supplies while Paul promised me a 1 hour back massage!!! Heaven! In all, it was a wonderful birthday!(Sorry we didn't get more pictures!)

Random Pictures

We went to a luau and Hailey immediately fell in love with all the leis. I took them off her but she started to cry so I promptly put them back on. She walked around all night like this. Adorable!

We enrolled Aubrey in a ballet class and she loves her leotard and skirt. It is so fun to watch all the little girls prance about! My little ballerina.

If the leis picture didn't emphasize this point enough, here is another picture to show just how much Hailey loves necklaces.

Twins

Many people comment that our girls look like twins. When out in public there have been countless times that people have commented on our "twins". Just this week I was at the store and a man asked if I got two for the price of one...no no, they aren't twins. We went to the doctor this week for the girls to have their routine checkups. Aubrey is in the 16% for height while Hailey is in the 75% for height. I guess that explains why they look like twins, they are practically the same size!

Case Lot Sale

I love Western Family and I love case lot sales!

Spagetti Night

Family Home Evening Chart

While in Boise my sister helped me make this family home evening chart. I love the way it turned out. It is a dark brown color with brass buttons for hooks. I had a hard time deciding what to for the name tags. I could have done our names printed out, or big initials, but when my sister and I saw the little dog stickers in the store I knew I found the perfect tags! It represents our family so well! The girls love dogs so much and are always going over to look at their puppies. Can you guess which dog represents who?

Ensign Peak

We hiked up ensign peak and the girls did a great job. Hailey wanted to walk the whole way and did not want to be carried!

Hailey is crying because she doesn't want to be held.

Aubrey found this cluster of rocks at the top of Ensign Peak and pretended it was her house.

Ice cream anyone?

Nutty noodles with chicken

This meal may not look like much, but it is delicious. Cook wheat noodles with carrots and edamames. Add the sauce which is peanut butter and low fat sesame ginger dressing. Top with cucumbers. Yummmmmmy!

Liberty Park

When we went to Lagoon both girls loved the rides, Hailey liked them because she could sit right by or behind Aubrey. We took the girls to Liberty Park and Hailey did not like the rides as much because the rides don't have two seats, just one. We took the girls on the ferris wheel and Aubrey loved it while Hailey cried. In all, it was a fun time!





We just had to get down on the concrete to get a closer look at the water.