February Birthdays 2015

 Valentine's Day happens to be the day I was born. I've always loved having my birthday on that day. I'm not sure why, but it always makes me happy. Every year I do a big breakfast for Valentine's Day, and then Justin takes over for the rest of the day. This year he even got fancy with my cake.

 That weekend, Justin took me to Durango, CO. We ate at the yummiest restaurant. I had their beet soup and it was amazing. It was bright pink and I wanted to lick the bowl!

 We stayed overnight up in the mountains and spent the next day skiing. It was a warm sunny day, which made the snow a little slushy in places, but it was the perfect day on the slopes. We hardly needed our coats.

Then later in the month we made the trek back to Utah to surprise Bob for his 60th birthday. Taylor got a new carseat before we left and he was extra happy to be facing forward! He was such a good little traveler.

 Everyone gathered at Stephanie and Adam's house for the third time since we came home from Japan. We felt so spoiled being just a short drive from family! 

The birthday boy!

 We did some exploring in Park City while we were there and our favorite part was heading down the alpine slide. Even though it started snowing and we froze on the way down, it was a hit.

 On our way back to New Mexico, we hit a snow storm about 3 hours from home. We thought about continuing on, but didn't feel good about it. It was dark outside and you couldn't see anything. So we found a hotel and stayed the night. The next morning when we got on the road, we were so thankful that we waited until morning. Even in the daylight it was hard to tell where the road was. It was a stressful drive home. On the plus side, the kids were happy to play in it when we got home. 

Holiday Wrap-Up 2014

So I did all the writing for this post, which took me forever, and once I got back on my blog, it was only pictures. The writing never got saved. :( Super sad face! So, now I am going to write the quick and condensed version.

Justin's family was meeting in Utah for Thanksgiving. Luckily, we were close enough to go! We have not had Thanksgiving with family in years. I actually don't remember the last Thanksgiving we had with family, so this was fun. The boys had to stop on the way and see snow again for the first time since being back in the states.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had it in Adam and Stephanie's new house in Mt. Green. The view is ridiculous. We just sat and looked out the window in awe every time. I did the tables, which was really fun for me. I had a little inspiration from my friend Kara, and I was so happy with how they turned out! I love making Thanksgiving a big deal and making the table extra special.

Here's the whole crew!

Justin and I snuck in an early morning temple session while we had someone to watch our kids. We've always lived so far away from the temple, it felt silly to pass up the chance to go when you're 15 minutes away.

The boy's dream came true and it snowed while we were there. They played with their cousins for hours.

Once we got home, we got everything ready for Christmas. Our house in Farmington was so tiny, but it felt cozy with the tree and all the decorations.

Anderson had his first day riding the bus to school. He was watching and waiting for the bus to come. Once he saw it he could not stop smiling. It was a big day in his book. 

We decorated gingerbread houses and rode the Polar Express with the Heaton's. It was fun to have some cousins to do it with.

As Christmas was getting closer, we decided to drive back up to Utah to spend the holiday with family. We have lived so far away for so long, we figured we better take advantage. And we were so glad we did!

We enjoyed some more incredible views and did more puzzles than we had room for!

Christmas Eve and Christmas morning were magical. The feeling of joy and anticipation was strong and we were so happy to share that with Justin's family.

We even woke up to a ton of snow! It was the perfect Christmas. Jack and Anderson didn't even wait to finish opening presents before they were out playing in the snow.

Taylor got a new package of his favorite blankets and that was his favorite present. He just sat there pulling them out and snuggling with each one. It was adorable.

While we were there, Justin did some dental work on Carson and Stephanie was his assistant. They make the perfect team!

And this picture is really dark, but we were able to do another temple session, but this time with Bob, Denise, Adam and Stephanie. There is something special about being in the temple with family.

The day we were supposed to drive home, Anderson, Taylor and I all woke up sick. Fevers, body aches, chills, the works. Mine had me in bed for over a week! It was terrible. The worst sickness I have ever had. Luckily, Anderson and Taylor got over quicker than I did.

I was sick on New Year's and went to bed at 7:30pm. So after we recovered, we did a makeup New Year's confetti throw. Slightly pathetic, but the kids were happy.