Happy New Year!!

From all of us to all of you (I think there are 3 of you!), HAPPY NEW YEAR! We wish you all the best this coming year. May the peace and love of our Savior permeate every aspect of your lives. We love you!

Our First Carriage Ride!

Last Friday was such a fun day! We decided to take the boys to Temple Square to see the lights and while we were there decided to go on a horse-drawn carriage ride. Too fun! However, it took us about an hour to find a parking place! We weren't aware that it was the night of the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas concert, but quickly found that every parking place between Sandy and SLC was taken! :) It was crazy busy and EXTREMELY cold (around17 degrees!!), but so much fun. The boys loved the lights but really had a blast with that horse! Our driver's name was Mindy and our horse's name was Bart. The ride lasted about 30 minutes, but after walking outside for so long, Ben and I decided it would be best to get Noah out of the cold. So half way through the ride (as we got close to our parking place) Ben and Noah hopped out and ran for the car. They were very glad to get into a warm car! Matthew, Isaac and I finished our ride, but Isaac was REALLY upset that Dad left. So after about 5 minutes of crying, the carriage that had been following us pulled up to the side. It turned out that Mindy's husband was the driver of that carriage and came up beside us to offer Isaac a candy cane! It was SO sweet! He just said, "It sounds like someone could use a candy cane!" and reached out his hand. I jumped up as quickly as I could to take the candy from his hand as they zoomed past. How nice was that? Then as we road down the street we passed about 5-6 college students all dressed up as Santa. They had stockings full of candy canes and chocolates. As soon as they saw my two boys in the carriage, they ran along side us until they pulled out candy canes for them. Matthew and Isaac were in heaven! As we approached the end of the ride, our carriage drove north on Main Street and we saw the most beautiful view of the Salt Lake Temple. It was the most amazing night... even though it started out so frustrating with the traffic and parking, it really was a great experience to be able to enjoy the holiday season together. How lucky am I to have this sweet family to share it with? As Rev Run would say, "God is good!"

Here are some pictures of Temple Square, and a LO I did for our first carriage ride!


Wow! A photo with the whole fam! Thank you, kind stranger!


Look at that cute little bundle!


I think I took 186 pics just to get ONE where they were both looking at the camera!


This is one of my favorites. It's taken from across the reflecting pool...


Here is the LO I made. Find full credits here.

New LO!

Ok, so it's been too long, but I do have a new layout! :) It's my first page dedicated just to Ben. Ahhhh... Cute! Anyway, Britt designed this rockin' kit called "Snowbound" and I'm in love with it. This is the first page I created with it... Enjoy!

Credits

What's that? A HUGE Sale at Scrapmatter.com?!

Grandpa Texas

Brittney designed a little elements kit called "Thankful for Stamps" that inspired me to do a "Thankful for..." layout. This is the first one of many - Hopefully!! Anyway, I'm grateful for wonderful Grandpas for my kids. I couldn't have picked them better myself! :)

I've Been Tagged - TWICE!

Ok, so I was hoping to avoid it, but I was DOUBLE TAGGED! Both Megan and Brittney tagged me, so I guess I have to give in. But I'm not doubling my answers!! Ok, here it goes...

1. My favorite thing to do as a kid was play "office." I would gather all the paper I could find, get pens and crayons and note pads, and go into my room to set up my office. I loved pulling my dresser away from the wall so I could have a little area behind it all to myself. I also loved pretending to be a cashier. I loved playing with play money - making change, counting it, pretending to sell things! I've always kind of wanted to be a cashier, if only for one day! So now I really love doing the self-checkout thing! Weirdo, I know.

2. I am SOO happy when my house is clean. It just gives me energy, if you can believe it. I get a little bummed when the house is a mess, and I just can't get motivated for anything. But if the house is clean, I'm a new woman!

3. I love watching movies with Ben. I know it's kind of simple, but it REALLY doesn't happen that often. If you've got kids, you know that your time is no longer your own. So if and when Ben and I are at home at the same time AND the kids are in bed AND there is nothing else pressing that must get done, I LOVE watching movies with him! We watched Ocean's 13 last night and it was so fun just to be with him and do NOTHING! :)

4. My favorite time of year is fall. Not only because of the weather and the leaves changing, but because it means the holidays! I adore Halloween! It's one of my favs. I also like Thanksgiving and who wouldn't LOVE Christmas! I love all the activities that the holidays bring. Trick-or-treating with the kids, building snowmen (when there is snow), seeing the lights at Temple Square, going shopping the day after Thanksgiving, feeling the anticipation of the kids on Christmas Eve... Its all so wonderful!!

I was able to go to The Savior of the World performance at the Conference Center over the weekend and I walked out of it a different person than going in. It was remarkable. If you ever have an opportunity to go see it, PLEASE don't pass it up! I want to try to take Ben with me next time. It puts things into perspective better than anything I've ever experienced. It was amazing!

5. I love rice crispie treats. The store bought kind, not homemade. It is such a guilty pleasure! :) I've gotten over the obession stage. I don't need one after every meal anymore, but I still crave them! Mmmmm.... Wish we had them in the office!!

6. I can't wait until I can be a stay at home mom. I know a lot of people that have been able to stay home with their kids and are now itching to get out for some time on their own! Not me, I want to be at home. I've spent the last 18 years working and now I just want to be home with my kids. It's heartbreaking to hear your 3 year old ask, "Mom, you done wiff work? Can you stay wiff us now?" Can't wait for the day when I can tell him, yes, Isaac, I'm done.

Baby Noah

I was inspired by a new mini-kit that Brittney designed, so I pulled this favorite picture of Noah and created this new LO. Hope you like it!