Family Home Evening

We try so hard to do family home evening every Monday, some are good experiences, some not so much. Tonight was one I won't forget for a long time. We talked about Jesus' birth (and used our cute Nativity scene from Siri!) then when for a wagon ride around the neighborhood to look at all the Christmas lights. Down here in AZ people go all out and the kids loved looking at all the moving animals and manger scenes. We came home for some hot chocolate and toast (does anyone else love that combo or was it just my family!?) and finished with some Christmas books. It was a great start to what's going to be an awesome Christmas season.

Playing in the rain!

Well, playing in the drizzle that only lasted a minute or two....but we got wet and it was cold so it counts.
Have I mentioned how much we love Arizona??

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a day! It's amazing how much time and effort goes into making one meal...which I am not complaining about as I am not the one that did it. That's right, I let Morgan be in charge which meant Morgan did ALL the work. I am so grateful to have a husband that is so good at what he does! He set out to make an amazing meal and an amazing meal we had. From the turkey, the homemade stuffing, the gravy, all the way to the 10 layer jello, it was delicious! (He woke up around 5 to get things going and didn't stop until we sat down to eat. Thanks, babe, for all the hard work!)
We had our friends, Matt and Sarah over and are so grateful to have such good friends to celebrate this holiday with. The kids had a great time running around and writing down what they were grateful for. Some of their answers: papas, grammas, friends, family, and doggies. Good to be reminded of what matters most.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Enough pictures already! Help me get the jello in faster!

These kids are perfect ages to play together...how did we get so lucky to have such good friends?

Cute expecting mother and adorable Ella...love those dimples!

Seriously, Matt, when you take pictures of yourself with my camera, I know you want me to post them on my blog, so, here's one for you!

Max ate turkey ALL NIGHT long! I think he may have finished it off!

Our family

Yes, Disneyland again

Day One: Got up early and drove over to California. Thanks to Navi-dad (i.e. papa Mark) we got there without getting lost. We spent the afternoon at Disney and enjoyed walking onto almost every ride. Max told us he was ready to go home after the fourth ride.





Day Two: Max woke up at 5:30 a.m. ready to go. Disney opened at 8 so we got there nice and early. We walked onto most rides at Disneyland and got to have pictures with some characters before it got too crowded. Then we headed over to California Adventure. Max got to ride on Soarin' and said he liked it but when we asked if he wanted to go again, he said "Maybe tomorrow?" That's Max code for "No, I am never going on that ride again." He does that with Matterhorn.
After California Adventure started to get busy, we decided to hit the Newport scene. We went to Ruby's, walked around the beach, and of course did a little shopping at our favorite consignment store. After a while, we headed back to Disneyland in jammies just in time for the parade and some hot chocolate.












Day Three: Club 33. What else is there to say besides Thanks, John for hooking us up!!







Day Four: Another early day. Got to the park around 8 and it was pretty empty. Rode on a bunch of rides until Santa arrived. Max told him that he wanted a Razor scooter for Christmas, just like his friend Jack had. After we got a quick picture with Pluto and headed out. Santa was definitely a great way to end the trip!








p.s. That picture in Club 33 is from one of my all-time favorite movies...can anyone guess which one??

Such a girl

She LOVES wearing her tiara and tutu. . . and LOVES reading her princess books...and LOVES twirling around in circles until she falls down...

Halloween

It has been a BUSY week! We had major Halloween Spirit at our house, here are some pix from the last few days:

Pumpkin carving with dad



Trunk or Treat at the Ward. They had tons of fun things like a Haunted obstacle course, a cake walk, fishing for prizes, and trunk or treating. Max loved it!
The highlight for me had to be the Bishop's son dressed as Perry the Platypus and the Bishop going around saying "Where's Perry?" It was SO funny!





And of course, Trick or Treating around the neighborhood!





We also went to Morgan's school for some Office Trick or Treating and fun activites they had set up. Unfortunately we forgot the camera...
The funniest thing though, the Dean gave out Apples and even though Max had a bucket FULL of candy, all he wanted was the apple! That's my boy!