Christmas Preparations

I loved Christmas when I was a kid. Things have changed a bit since I've gotten old...I mean older. Christmas has become a stressful time for me the last 5 years or so. Not really sure why. I've tried to be better about it this year. I tried to start my Christmas preparations early this year and I think it's helped make things less stressful. Now I'm kind of enjoying the time I have to bake Christmas goodies. Last week I made two batches of fudge and 3 batches of toffee, (which actually turned out good this year, I've tried making it other years and it's never worked, Hurrah!). Yesterday I made a big batch of choc chip and M&M cookies for our ward party. Tonight I am making these http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/11/14/cranberry-bliss-bars/
for Evie's preschool teacher and neighbors. To me baking goodies is just a joyful part of the holidays for me. I'm getting excited for the upcoming Christmas celebrations and being able to spend time with family.

But most of all I'm happy to be celebrating this:

An evening with Santa

I found out about a company that is taking Santa pictures at Thanksgiving Point right now. I saw some sample pictures online and thought...HOW ADORABLE! How do they get those little kids to smile and hug Santa? Found out they have Mom or Dad dress up as Santa! What a genius idea! Last night we took the kids to get their pictures taken. Of course my little shy boy wasn't to happy about the whole experience. Even though Daddy was Santa Claus. They still managed to get a few cute shots of the kids. The photographers were wonderful and so good with the kids. I highly recommend these guys FotoFly.

Thanksgiving and post Thanksgiving

It's been a nice couple weeks, thinking of all the things I am thankful for. I am soooo blessed! This year I offered to host Thanksgiving. I even attempted to make the turkey. I thought it would be a nice break for my Mom and maybe a little less work she would have to do. I think this is the first time ever we have had Thanksgiving somewhere other then my parents. I thought it turned out to be a nice dinner and get together for the family. I hope everyone enjoyed it although I know some people had reservations about having it somewhere different. I think I counted a total of 26! Keeping with tradition, we had tons'o homemade pies.
My Mom made a blueberry cream cheese, avocado cream (weird), pumpkin, rhubarb, and sugar free pie for my dad. Julie made apple, chocolate cream, and pecan. I made buttermilk (my favorite), mixed berry and cherry.

Our black friday consisted of staying home and doing a little Christmas decorating. Sarah, and Deb came and helped me put up some of my stuff and Nick and Derek played X-Box games. I am still working on getting all my decore the way I want it. It usually takes me a couple days. Maybe I will post pictures when it's all finished. The kids were enjoying watching this little device today (I don't know what it's called) that Derek brought back from Germany. They always want to be my little helpers, whether I want help or not :).

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

Here are the kids getting ready to go trick-or-treating. Our neighborhood was pretty lame for the kids, not a lot of people home and too far to walk. So, we went down to the Fox Hollow neighborhood where the houses are much closer together. Then we drove to Russ and Mari's so the kids could trick or treat there.
Evie thought that was pretty cool. Any excuse to see cousins is a good one!

Evie with her preschool teacher. Mrs. Adams little boy that is standing behind them was a green lego. So adorable!

Halloween Balloween

I'm finally posting about Halloween...I think all the candy has turned my brain to mush!
I hosted the annual family Halloween party a few days before the actual Holiday. We had lots of fun! Everyone really made an effort this year on their costumes which was soooo much fun. Except the regular party poopers and you know who you are :) Will never did make it in his costume either that night. It was a crazy busy night for me. My dessert turned into a soupy pumpkiny mess. I also forgot to have everyone vote for their favorite costume. I also didn't have an umbrella for my Mary Poppins costume which REALLY bugged me. How can you be Mary Poppins without an umbrella?! Anyway, enough about the bad stuff. My sister Deb came up with the funnest and funniest game for us to play. We laughed ourselves silly. I seriously haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Thanks Deb! One of my favorite things about Halloween parties are the decorations. My sister Sarah helped me make the house look super festive. My Mom made a delicious white chicken chili and Deb made homemade rolls....yummo!! I can't wait for our next family party.

Fall Colors and Two Year Olds

There is nothing prettier, that I can think of, then the colors in the mountains this time of year. This weekend we took the kids up AF canyon to see the leaves and roast hot dogs and marshmallows. It's really the first time we've done anything like that with the kids. I think they enjoyed it, I'm not sure I would do it again though until Will gets a little older. He tried to run away at least 20 times, got waaaay to close to the river, (it's a good thing I was next to him or he probably would have fallen in) not to mention a roaring fire, as well as a road nearby, all hazards to an energetic 2 year old. Maybe next year will be better....maybe not. I'm pretty sure I will want to put a leash on that kid. :)

My Boy

I decided when I got a new camera, that I would try to take my kids photos when they had a birthday.

Evie's 4 year old pictures turned out so well that I thought I'd try Will's 2 year pictures. The lighting wasn't quite as good as last time but I still got a few good pictures of him. He's so cute, he makes the pictures look good. It's good practice for me so I can figure out how to use my camera. Here are a few of my favorites.



Evies First Day of School



Wednesday was Evies first day of Preschool. She has been soooo excited to start school. She has been asking me everyday for a week, when she can go to school. I fixed her a little present for her first day of school. I filled a little container full of school supplies, a few treats, and a few little toys. She was so thrilled to find her little surprise when she got home from school. I probably spoil my kids too much, but I just can't help it! She didn't have much to tell me about school but said she made new friends. That's my little social butterfly :)

Birthday Boy

Yesterday was my little boys second birthday. I can't believe Will is 2! It was fun having lots of family there to celebrate with us. He was so cute opening his gifts and getting excited about things. The first present he opened seemed to be his favorite. A little stuffed Elmo toy. He was so happy about that and kept saying "Elmos World" and giving it hugs. Evie helped him open most of his gifts and was just as excited to see what was inside as Will was. I really struggled right down to the wire what kind of cake to make him. It didn't turn out like I had planned but I'm sure he didn't really care. I think he was just happy with the motorcycle on top. He has really grown a lot in many ways. He has started talking in sentences and has grown a bit taller. He is such a sweet little boy, I'm so lucky to have my little Will!

Sweet Sweet Summer

I love summer. I never want it to end. I don't even really mind the heat. There was tons going on this summer as usual, but i've enjoyed it. It means lots of time with family and friends. The kids have been swimming a lot this summer which they've really enjoyed. I've been able to spend time out in the yard, cleaning up our awful looking landscaping. It's looking better, which makes me happy. It's been fun getting to know our neighbors. Evie has made quite a few new friends and enjoys spending time with them. She's my little social butterfly! Will is hitting the terrible twos. His birthday will be in only a few days. Crazy how the time has gone by. Here's to the last days of summer! I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

The kiddos with their cousin Kathleen. They have the best cousins!!

 I took this picture from my backyard on a lovely cloudy day.

My sister Deb shot this picture of us admiring my Mom's garden.

The Move

It has been a crazy summer for us so far. Not only did we have two long road trips in June we also put our house up for sale in Morgan. We expected it would be on the market for awhile. So we planned our trips and left for Wisonsin. Well, our house sold in about 3 days! I guess it was meant to be that we leave Morgan. We enjoyed our 4 years in Morgan but I'm happy to be in our new home in Saratoga Springs. We were lucky to find a beautiful home. We will miss the Brumbaughs in Morgan though. It was fun being so close to them. Most people really HATE moving but I have to say it wasn't to bad for us. We had family that helped us out a TON. I enjoy being busy and setting things up in our new house. The bad things are the unexpected costs of moving and there are always a lot of those. We have beautiful views of Utah Lake from our house and pretty sunsets. A few pictures from an evening when we were unloading all of our junk.



Family Reunion in Rockaway Beach, Oregon

Preface: I finally finished the last chapter about our Wisconsin Trip. Check out my other post if you feel like it.

To say we've been traveling a lot in the month of June is an understatement. I have to hand it to Derek for doing all the driving and to Will and Evie for being such good little travelers. A week after our Wisconsin trip we got back in the car and headed to the Oregon coast for the first Fotheringham family reunion. My sister Shelly and her family rented a beach house for all of us to stay in and organized every last detail down to the food, activities, and T-shirts. Thanks Shelly! It was so much fun! I fell in love with the Oregon coast and didn't want to leave. I miss the beach! The kids spent most of the day in the water, even when it was cold. We had to send them in to warm up so they wouldn't catch their death a few times. Some of the highlights of the reunion was listening to my Grandma Kennedys history and well as my Dad's. There were some stories from my Dad I had never heard. Also, spending time with family members I don't get to see very often. It was nice to have us all there (minus two).


The beautiful place we stayed, just steps from the beach.

Some of my cute nieces and nephews enjoying the waves

Some of us together

My grandma Kennedy and my lovely mother

Treasures on the beach-Grandma, Julie, Laura, Rachel, Dan, Mom (hiding) and Nicole.

Not sure what the circle is about around us but I'm sure Ethan enjoyed it none the less.

Emma, Evie, Kathleen, Carys, and Mari. Evie with her cousins and Aunt.

Who put those two in charge of the Pinata? Boys will be boys!

If you haven't had Tillamook Ice Cream you are really missing something.

The scenery along the coast just blows my mind. Such beautiful wildflowers!

Love my funny little nephew Ethan