Birthday, Thanksgiving, Homecomings and Christmas Fun!

So I am officially a blogging slcker, it has been too long. We have had a busy and fun filled month! It started with Ethan's 4th birthday, which is so crazy, the time just flies by! We celebrated by going to Chuck E Cheese and hanging out with family. I love this little guy, he is getting so big and is such a sweet heart. He loves to play and be active, but also loves to cuddle and is great with babies, I just love him!

Last Wednesday my baby sister Ky came home from her mission in Korea! We all headed up to the airport and greeted her as she came out. The kids were all so excited to see her, and it is so good to have her home, especially in time for Christmas.

The whole group...

All the sisters!

A few Sundays ago we made a gingerbread train with some friends in our ward the Hiatt's, then this past Sunday my fam came over and we made houses! It was so much fun, I let Ethan do his own side and he was so creative, and got totally into it, that is what the holidays are all about!

Breakfast with Santa at the Grand America, one of our favorite traditions that we do as a family!

We always celebrate Thanksgiving the Sunday before with my family, this year it was at our house, and I am always amazed at how are family has grown, it is always good to get together!

All the grandkids with my mom and dad!

HaLloWeeNiE...

Every year my mom throws a Halloween party for her grandkids... They look forward to it every year. We all carved pumpkins and took them around to her elderly neighbors and the she made sloppy joes with cheese cut into jack-o-lanterns on top. It was so much fun!
Landon in his caterpillar costume... he wasn't so sure about this costume, he kept wanting me to put it on then take it off, but it was so cute!
The Johnson Halloween party, we ate yummy soups and the kids did a cake walk and decorated sugar cookies...
Our neighbors the Dickinsons throw a party every year and this year was so fun. We seriously laughed all night and we didn't leave until after midnight!
We were mobsters, or lobsters as Ethan would say
The whole group at the party
Ethan's preschool party, his teacher is adorable, he loves her so much, They made mummy cupcakes and she made a brew of apple juice and dry ice, the kids were in awe!

Then Halloween night we ate soups and treats at our house while everyone was going around trick-or-treating. It was so fun I think we will do it every year!

Family Pics 2009...

I've been wanting to do family pictures for a while... and I finally found a photographer that I loved, so I called her up and booked them for last Monday. Of course it was a beautiful day until around four when we were supposed to take them. I started sprinkling on my way there, and when she pulled up she asked if we should just reschedule, we decided to wait and see if it would stop... It never completly stopped but we shot a few, and they were turning out so we kept going. It was also a bad day for Landon, he is normally a great napper, but that day he sat in his crib and played. Despite all of that, she got some great shots! I am really excited how they turned out!

This one is my favorite of the family pictures...



Don't love this picture of me, but it is really great of James!

Six Year Anniversary Trip...

To celebrate our anniversary, we decided to take a little trip down to phoenix, because we found a good deal on a hotel down there! James loves a good road trip so we left Thursday and got the around 11, so we just checked in and went to bed. The next morning James golfed while I went to the gym and and laid out by the pool. That night we celebrated our anniversary and went shopping and to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory...my fave! James cheated and got me a beautiful ring even though we decided no gifts- he is so sweet! Then we went to a movie after dinner. The next day we did a session at the Mesa temple and went to a Diamond Backs game, and went and did some more shopping after. Last day we vegged by the pool and then went to the Cardinals game, and started making our way home. We spent the night in Page, and then drove the rest of the way the next morning! We had a great time, I can't believe we have been married six years, the time flies... and we have loved every minute of it!




We also went up to the canyon with some friends over Labor Day weekend and had a little campout... It was fun, our boys love being outdoors and getting messy!

Boating...

On Saturday we went boating up at Pineview reservoir with my family. We had a blast, the kids loved tubing and after we had a picnic on the beach and let the kids play in the sand...

Back to school parties...

Grandma's back to school pancake party... My mom threw a party for all the grandkids, she had races and an egg toss. Then she made letter pancakes that were so cute. Then she gave them all little school supplies. She is the best at throwing parties and always has the best ideas, you gotta love grandmas!

The pancakes-

My cute mom-



I was the chef in charge of making all the pancakes-

We also had a end of summer swim party with some of our neighbors. We all took pizzas and the guys played bball while the girls chatted. It is always fun getting together with these families, they are all so fun!