O Christmas Tree

For the past couple of years my brother Wade has been going up into the woods to cut down his own Christmas tree.  This year my parents wanted to join him and his wife Alisha and I thought this would be a fun experience so I asked if me and my kids could tag along, too.  We went up into a canyon by Preston, Idaho where surprisingly there was snow which of course just makes a better experience.  We picked the day after Thanksgiving to go and it was perfect weather.

 

Along the way of the hunt for our tree Jayla found an interesting stick and of course insisted to bring it along and take it home.  That's what she pointing at the camera.  This picture just makes me smile.

 

I blelieve here Blake is telling Wade that this is the perfect tree for him.  He just looks so sweet in this picture and you just want to eat him up!...or maybe that's just me.  The kids were the best troopers and never did complain of being cold or tired.  We did almost lose Blake, though.  He was trying to follow Wade and Alisha down this icy slope and was determined to make it down even though he couldn't see them anymore.  Luckily, I notcied him about half way down and I had to go retrieve him because he didn't dare climb back up.

 

Here we are in front of our tree!  We got the prize of finding our's first. 

 

I hope that this is an experience that my kids will remember and it's one that we'll definitely be doing again.  Maybe not next year because taking a 5 month old baby hiking through snowy hills doesn't really appeal to me but we'll see.  It certainly was a fun day for me and I so much enjoyed watching my kids' excitment and enthusiasm through out the whole day.

 

 Our wonderful tree all decorated.  I love the unique shape.  We made some of our decorations this year.  The kids made snowflakes, stars, and trees out of popsicle sticks and then painted them.  We also made cinnamon ornaments but did them after I took this picture.

 

This was my attempt at being craft.  These snowflakes were also made out of popsicle sticks and it was idea I got from Pinterest.  I think they turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

 

 

I love that Christmastime has become magical again watching it through the eyes of my children.  How can you not catch their Christmas Spirit?  Our family party is tomorrow and it's something we have been looking forward to because it's always a good time filled with delicious food, lots of laughing, and family love.  Although it will have a touch of sadness because my brother Scott wasn't able to come home this year.  Him and I have a lot of Christmas memories and inside jokes that we share together and I can't help but feel like a piece of Christmas is missing when he's not here.  At least he's in Hawaii which is the next best thing to being home.

 

Happy Christmas everyone!

 

 

A New Chapter

Now I don't want anyone to faint because after a year I finally made a new blog post.  The other night I just started reading my old posts and realized what a good thing that I had done.  I had blogged about things that I had forgotten about and it was so nice to reminisce.  So hopefully this will renew my desire to keep posting frequently.  I'm certainly not going to play catch up of a whole year so I'll just start with one of the biggest events in my life...We finally have our very own home!

After months of searching and waiting, our purchase on a home in Magna, Utah was completed.

  It's split-level home with four bedrooms (two up, two down) two bathrooms (one up, one down) with a living room upstairs and family room downstairs.  It also has a big storage room with shelving downstairs.

 

 

When we were finally given the keys Jayla was swinging on the swing set in the backyard and she says, "Mom, it's so good to be home."  I couldn't have said it better and I got a little teary-eyed.  The kids were anxiously awaiting this moment just as much as I was...well, almost as much.

 

 

I was immediately drawn to the color choices and excited that I wouldn't have to paint!

This is the living room but looks much better now because we actually have things on the walls but I'm still looking for the perfect rug.  The previous owners put in bamboo wood floors which I love.

 

 

My favorite thing about the kitchen is the glass tile backsplash.  When we put in our offer we hadn't noticed that it didn't have a dishwasher.  We noticed when we were doing the home inspection.  It really hasn't been that big of a deal.  I hate doing dishes no matter what so I haven't really noticed a difference.

 

 

Another great color in the bathroom and I love the vanity.  The shower head is pretty awesome, too.

 

 

Our backyard is the perfect size.  It's kind of a weird triangle shape but it's not too big but not too small.  There's even a garden plot that's not pictured here.  I'm excited to finally have my very own garden.  I'm sure my mom has fainted if she read that.  I hated working in the garden when I was a kid but now I can't wait.

 

I'm in love with our home and there is no buyer's remorse here.  We like the neighborhood and the town and think it will be a great place to raise our children.  And we'll be adding one more to our family around June 15, 2013!  Hopefully at my next doctor's appointment in two weeks we will find out the gender.  We are all so excited for this baby and the kids can't wait to have another sibling.  I can already tell they're going to be a great help to me, which I'm sure I'll need.  This homebuying stuff has so far has been a great new chapter in our lives.