Family Night With The Nutcracker

Grandpa John and Grandma Edie carried on the holiday family tradition of the Nutcracker Ballet and invited us along!

The children absolutely loved it!

{Stretching their legs with cousins during intermission}

A very sweet young woman from our ward (church) offered to watch baby Timmy, so JP and I could both go with the older children. 

We were pretty excited to spend the evening together!

It really was a fabulous performance and quite a few giggles could be heard from the kids. 

The girls have been pretending to dance to the Nutcracker soundtrack ever since!

We brought home a Nutcracker souvenir, and the girls kept asking if we could place him under the tree so "he'll grow really big like in the Nutcracker Ballet!"

Sport had too much fun clamping the Nutcrackers mouth open and shut...

It was a night the Kid-Os won't soon forget :)

Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma!!

We drove home in a blizzard and woke up to a fluffy, white winter wonderland.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The Red Barn

I got to spend the whole morning with my little girl!

Just her and me...with about 60 other Kinders.

We had a lot of fun bouncing in the hay ride, hunting for the best apples to eat in the apple orchard, finding our way through the apple-crate maze, flying down the HUGE slide, hunting for the biggest pumpkins we could carry, and eating delicious cake donuts with sprinkles.

The most important thing was I got to play with my Princess without anyone else fighting for my attention :)

{Princess with her little girl friend in front of The Red Barn (miniature size)}

Riding with her fellow Kinder class out to the apple orchards and pumpkin patch...

Searching for the best apples for mom and her...

Getting ready to fly down the big slide...

There she goes!

Definitely a highlight!

She probably slid down the slide ten tines.

Mr. and Mrs. Rowley...

We found all kinds of awesome pumpkins!! 

But, it took forever to find the perfect one for Princess.

She was looking for a "cute little round pumpkin"...

She found two prospects!

Which one will it be?

{The one in her left hand won the debate. It was perfect!}

After the apple crate maze, she took a picture with her class and then loaded up in the wagon for a hay ride!

"Hey, mom!  Look, I'm listening for the ocean through the hay!"-said Princess with a handful of hay next to her ear.

Such a goof!  Cracks me up.

 

 I enjoyed every second I got to spend with her.

Mom loves you, sweetie XOXO

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a happy weekend we had!

Lots of family time! 

Which is just what we needed.

 On Friday we headed to Uncle Seth and Aunt Cami's to watch the BYU game!

We had a part-A with yummy food and great company.

The guys stayed glued to the T.V. while I had some girl time with my sister (whom I don't get to see much since they've moved, and I miss her!)

The cousins played non-stop and were completely tuckered out.
Thank you for the good time, guys!

We barely made it down the road towards home before we heard snores coming from the back seat...

Then Saturday afternoon Mr. JP took his boys out for some guy time.

They picked up vacuum bags for mom, ate ice cream, and rode the ferris wheel.

Any time with dad is a good time!

We also picked some of the last fruits and veggies from our little garden.

The autumn frost has been leaving it's chilly mark, so it won't be long before we'll have to bid our produce farewell until next year. 

The girls were excited to sample our juicy watermelon!

And Sport couldn't wait to eat omelets for dinner with our fresh picked tomatoes and bell peppers!

Only seven more months before we get to plant the first seed and start all over again :)

 

On Sunday we went to church, baked cookies, and took a family drive through the canyon to enjoy the vibrant fall colors.

What a perfect way to start a new week!

Sept. 2012

Daughter's First Date

I love being a girl.

Because I'm my daddy's girl.

And that rocks!

 

Time with their daddy is all they ever want.

It doesn't really matter what they're doing as long as they're with him.

But, Madagascar 3 was pretty hilarious!

Which made for an awesome daddy date.

Aug. 2012

Him...Me...Still In Love.

We actually went on a date this year! 

A real one.

Not the quick ice cream stop or walk around the block (Although those are nice too, and very much needed). 

Mr. JP lined up some babysitters (THANK YOU, Adrienne and Kate!!) and we headed to our favorite sushi bar on earth. 

The Happy Sumo :) 

It was delicious, as usual! 

Then we held hands like love birds and strolled through The Shops At Riverwoods.

Of course we had to play at Blickenstaff's along the way! 

It's become one of our family's favorite toy stores.

We get to see toys and treats there that we've only heard our parents and grandparents talk about. 

They also have a Vintage Candy Wall with candy from every decade since the 1930's. 

Everywhere you look they have scooters, cars, bikes and trains for children to play with. 

But, my personal favorites are the hand puppets. 

I want them all! 

We snatched up some Rieston Chew, Toblerone, Razzles, and Big League Chew then headed for the movie theater where we watched The Dark Knight Rises.

Yes, it was goooood.

Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway are some of my faves.

We felt like little kids all over again.

I'm looking forward to many more years and eternity with my best friend. 

I can't imagine what the future holds for us...eight years have already given us so much!

Aug. 2012

Someone Stole My Date!

Sport got to watch the Jazz play against the Golden State Warriors with dad at Energy Solutions Arena. 

He had so much fun!
 JP said, "The Jazz won in overtime. I think it was the nachos and churros that we ate. They gave us the energy to cheer louder!"

 

He would wear that T-Shirt everyday if I let him.

Any time with dad is a good time.

March 2012

Tubing With Dad

Dads work reserved Soldier Hollow for the night?

Bring on the daddy date!

It was sooo cold! 

But, they had a blast.
Uncle Seth making sure cousin Mae Mae was ready to go...

Princess said they went down the mountain so fast her lips almost fell off. HaHa! 

Sport wouldn't have minded staying there all night...

They hooked all the tubes together and took off!

Mmmm...warm hot chocolate to thaw out frozen toes, hands, and faces!

We pretty much have the best dads EVER.

Feb. 3, 2012

Date Night With My Favorite 3 Year Old

We shared a burger and frosty, just the two of us :)

Then we dressed her new paper dolls and talked about how much she loves ice cream. 

Such a sweet girl.  She knows how to make her momma laugh! 

My Date With A Princess

I always look forward to a little one on one time with my girls!
Today was my special date with Princess.

Aunt Cam told us about the princess party at the Disney Store and invited us to go along. 

Of course, we weren't about to pass that up! 

Princess dressed up as Bell, and we twirled, giggled, wrote a princess story, and created a paper doll princess of our choice. 

It was cute :)

These two are such giggle boxes together.
They pranced around and laughed at everything.
 

It was fun watching their imaginations take shape as they wrote their princess stories...

What's an afternoon out with the girls without ice cream?? 

Yummm....

I love our sweet Princess.

She's taken on the roll as moms helper and actually enjoys it! 

I count on her for a lot, and I'm so grateful to have her by my side. 

Her giggles, goofy jokes, and hugs help make our home a happy place. 

She brings sunshine to our life! 

Thanks for spending an afternoon with your mom, sweetie :)
It made her feel sooooo special.

Aug. 2011

A Wedding & An Anniversary

Little Dan is in a tuxedo and married... that's just weird! 

I watched Dan grow up and couldn't be happier for him :) 

He found his match, and she's a real sweetheart!  

{JP and Seth each took a turn being Dan's Young Men's President back in the day.  They enjoyed bragging about what a fine young man he turned out to be.  All thanks to them, of course!}

This was one of the most beautiful, spiritual, hilarious dinner receptions we've been to! 

And it was so great to give old friends from back home a squeeze. 

Congrats, Dan and Maggie!!

JP got to visit with some of his Young Men from Glenwood, AR. 

He may not be their Y.M. President anymore, but he'll always feel like it! 

He loves these kids.

Half way through the wedding dinner, it suddenly dawned on the husband and me that it was our seven year anniversary weekend!! 

How did we forget?  

Hm... it must have had something to do with kids, work, kids, work... kids... pregnancy, schedules, kids...work... 

Yup!  We're lame like that.  

But, don't worry.  We're still keeping our love alive :)

We decided to visit the Historic Beehive House on Temple Square after the reception at the Joseph Smith building.  

We had never been before, and it was the perfect opportunity to explore without little fingers touching and grabbing things. 

Besides, it was our anniversary!  We had to do something special, right? :)

Brigham Young's home is beautiful! 

The antique furniture, dishes, clothing, books, light fixtures, wall paper, wood work, etc. draws you back to the early days of the saints and helps you visualize their life.  

I'm a sucker for history.  So, I loved the experience and drove the sister missionary guides a little crazy with my slow pace...

It's hard to take in every little detail at first glance! 

The one thing that has left me stumped is their kitchen.
It was tiny!

How did those women make such large amounts of food for all those children in such a small space?

Not to mention, the dining room table only sat six (if I counted right).

Boggles my mind!

No more whining about my itty bitty cooking space.

I have a dishwasher, fridge, stove, oven, counter-top and running water.

What a load those modern conveniences would have taken off those amazing women.

So, seven years have come and gone.

Where did they go?  

It feels like my Jonny's always been a part of my life.

I can't imagine it without him. 

We have brought each other more happiness and sorrow then we knew was possible!  HaHaHa ;)

I'm looking forward to spending many, many more years and eternity with my best friend. 

Lots of adventures await us. 

I'm blessed to have Jonny to share them with.

Thank you for the best years of my life, JP. 

I love ya :) 

Aug. 20, 2011