Cousin Time

The last couple of days some of Addie's cousins came to visit from Colorado. She was so excited to have them come over and play at "Addie's house". We went swimming one day at the Rec Center, it was rather chilly. Addie loved it though and went down the kiddie slides all by herself, it's amazing how she changes in a few months time. I forgot to take the camera though, so I only have pictures of them running around on the red rocks. Addie loved running in the dirt and playing with her cousins.

Merry Christmas

We are so grateful for all of our wonderful family

and friends, and we want to wish you a very

Merry Christmas!

Random Happenings

The other day I was busy baking, cleaning, and doing the laundry. Andrew was at a meeting and Addie was so good to play with her toys on her own. I periodically would check and see what she was up to and at one point she had taken a loaf of bread that I had baked down to her play area and she was feeding it to her baby doll. I thought it was hilarious as she had also got her booster seat and set baby in it.Then as I was folding laundry I discovered her in the laundry basket full of clothes reading a book to herself.

After the bread incident I had to vacuum, Addie is afraid of the vacuum, she always runs and hides or sits on the couch until I am done. When I mentioned I had to vacuum this is how I found her and it is how she stayed until the vacuuming was finished.

Zion Ponderosa

Last weekend we stayed in a cabin at Zion Ponderosa for Andrew's work Christmas party. Each family gets their own cabin (which is bigger than our house) for two nights. Addie was so excited when we got there and ran around for hours, going up and down the stairs, jumping off the fireplace ledge to the pillows, and rummaging through the cupboards.

We finally convinced her to calm down by watching a movie and having some popcorn-it lasted maybe 10 minutes. The cabin had four bedrooms so we each took a room to ourselves. Addie woke up at 4:30 am on Saturday ready to play and watch "Care Bears".

We also attempted to take family pictures. On the way to find a place we saw some deer and then a lot of pheasants running across the road. When Addie saw the pheasants she called them "little pigs", hmmm, maybe we need to review animals with her. We had a dinner with all of Andrew's work people Saturday night. All in all it was a fun and relaxing weekend. We didn't want to come home and face reality.

Decorating the Tree

We bought our artificial Christmas tree our first Christmas together, because the real ones were too expensive for us. When we pulled out the box this year I noticed the price was still on it, $16.96! What a bargain tree to have lasted us six years now, I really want to get a pre-lit one but how can I part with a tree that holds so many memories and was so cheap, I'm pretty sure I'll find a way if the price is right.

The other day Addie and I put together our Christmas tree and decorated it. Technically as I was putting on the ornaments Addie was trying to take them off just as fast. She thinks all of the round ornaments are bouncy balls. Once the tree was up I told her she could not pass the line where the tree skirt began, she ignored me completely and crawled under the tree to her new secret hideout. It doesn't matter how many times I tell her or the way I tell her not to touch the tree she cannot resist, this is going to be a fun season.

Thanksgiving Fun

We spent the last few days up north visiting our families. We celebrated Andrew's Mom's 60th birthday, enjoyed a yummy Thanksgiving dinner with my family, attended Andrew's sister's wedding, and celebrated my Mom's birthday too. Addie had so much fun playing with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I think she is going to be very bored this coming week. We even enjoyed some Black Friday shopping, I stayed out all night with my sisters and niece, what a riot. We were busy all day long and ate a lot of food. Below are some of the pictures from the week. Hope you all had a fun Thanksgiving too. We are so grateful for all of our wonderful friends and family and we are thankful for all of our many blessings.

(Andrew's sister married a guy from Scotland hence the kilt that Andrew is wearing.)

Little Burrito

Not much has been going on around here since all the birthdays have been celebrated now. To pass the time Andrew thought it would be fun to wrap Addie up in a blanket like a burrito. It was actually enjoyable for a minute because she could not move or beg me to hold her.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday birthday to you! It's the big 3-0 and we hope you have a fun day celebrating 30 years of your life. We are so grateful to have such a wonderful husband and father and we love you so much.

Camping at ZNP

Yesterday we went camping for a night at Zion's National Park. The weather was pleasant and there were actually quite a few people who had the same idea as the campground was almost full. We drove around the park a bit then settled at our campsite the rest of the night around the fire, because once the sun went down it was quite chilly. It was so pretty with the leaves changing and the red rock. Addie had fun running around the campsite and under the tent calling it a tunnel. She refused to wear a jacket or a coat, I guess I'll have to invest in a sweatshirt the next time we camp late in the year. Addie tempted fate so many times by the fire I am surprised she did not fall in or get burned, she has no fear of dangerous things-which is completely opposite of me and thus freaks me out to watch her. We had a good time and wished we could have stayed two nights.

Thunderbirds

Yesterday we went down to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas to watch the Thunderbirds Air Show with my parents. The weather was perfect and the sun was so bright we had to buy Addie some sunglasses so she could watch the airplanes.

Addie would bury her head into one of our shoulders when the "big jets" as she called them flew by. I was afraid that we would be chasing her the whole day, but she stayed right near us as long as a jet was in the sky. When the Thunderbirds airshow started, Addie just about fell asleep on Andrew's lap, but one flew by at top speed and woke her right up. We had a great time and can't wait to go again next year.

Happy Birthday Addie!

Happy Birthday Addie, we can't believe you are two!!! Addie was excited to see her presents this morning even though she looks like she is still half asleep.

We celebrated the day by going to the library for storytime, which Addie loves.

Then we went to the Pizza Factory for lunch, because on your birthday they make a pizza in the shape of the year you are, so Addie got a #2 pizza for free.

Then we had to make a trip to Target where Addie thought it would be fun to lay down in the back of the cart. I enjoyed having a few minutes of pushing her in the cart instead of chasing her around the store.One of her presents was a wagon and she was so excited to get it that she sat in it the rest of the night, including dinner.Finally we sang "Happy Birthday" to her one more time. She loves to blow out the candles and so she blew them out about five times before we finished off the cupcakes. Happy 2nd Birthday!

Little Einsteins Party

To celebrate Addie's birthday we had some of her friends over for a "Little Einsteins" party. The kids made mini pizzas and then we played some games. I have no cake decorating skills and so I recruited my good friend Laura who was able to create rocket out of a batch of frosting, impressive. Thanks to everyone who could come and make it such a fun party for Addie.

Happy Halloween

Last night we had our ward trunk or treat and chili cook-off. We had a lot of fun mingling with our friends and having some tasty chili and cornbread. Addie loved running around the parking lot and playing with her friends. Her costume was to be an elephant, but it was so warm last night she kept taking off the top half, so she was half an elephant. Andrew was Napolean Dynamite, he does have a mask but somehow it didn't make it in the picture. I was a witch, obviously. We hope you all have a Happy Halloween and eat lots of yummy treats :)