Buddy the Elf

Buddy came back this year on December 1st. He's been a busy little guy. Here is some of what he's been up to.

Day 1- He came with his book so we read it together as a family.

Day 2- He drew all over the kids' pictures.

Day 3- He must have been tired of the naked tree. He brought up the ornaments so we could decorate the tree for Family Home Evening.

Day 4- He got crafty or was wishing for snow. I don't know why anyone would want snow, he had to just be feeling crafty.

Day 5- Buddy took a candy bath in candy cane kisses.

Day 6- He stuffed himself into one of our ornaments on the tree.

Day 7- He took over the man-cave. He monopolized the remote and made a mess with popcorn.

Day 8- He shaved Paul's head in the middle of the night. Gasp! 

Day 9- He must have felt bad about the head shaving so he delivered some of his favorite sugary breakfast items. He had the table all set for Sunday breakfast. I think this was the kids' favorite things so far. 

Black Friday

In the last five years, since I've stopped working, Paul and I have gone out shopping on black friday while the kids hung out with one of their grandma's. It's has been lovely. 

This year Emma decided that she wanted to experience BF with us. I wasn't terribly keen on the idea but I was willing to make it work. Andrew on the other hand was not happy about it at all. He wouldn't even get out of the car when we got to Smith's Marketplace. We took him some of the apple juice and donut holes they were serving and I may or may not have yelled at him, then he perked up.

We didn't buy a lot but we covered a lot of ground. It seemed like we were out all day long. We went to the new outlets, the mall and a lot in between. I can't believe another BF has come and gone.

Thanksgiving 2012

On the night before Thanksgiving our friends Jordan and Courtney invited us and a BUNCH of other people over for pie night. It was phenomenal. She has almost 20 different pies. It was so fun visiting with friends while eating yummy pie. I was so glad she thought to include us. We really enjoyed ourselves.

On Thanksgiving we went back to Tucano's for dinner. At first we thought we were going to be with my parents for Thanksgiving but that didn't work out. Then we thought we were going to be with friends but that didn't work out either. In the end it was just the four of us but we were totally okay with it. We had a wonderfully delicious and totally relaxing dinner.

After lunch we took some pictures and consulted with Zoltar. 

He gave both kids fortunes and was really creepy with his accuracy.

We drove over by the river to take a few pictures.

We had gotten white chocolate raspberry cheesecake to go with our meal so we ate that when we got home.

With the help of my good friend Marie (Calendar) I had made two pies that morning.

Our friends Brant and Ariel invited us over for pie on Thanksgiving night. It was great to spend some time with friends. 

These two together equal trouble.

Brant with the photobomb.

After we filled ourselves with pie we went home while they put their kids to bed. After the boys were in bed they came over to play Munchkins with us. We ate spinach dip and stuffed ourselves silly until late that night. The next morning we were ready to shop til we dropped!

Emma Turns 14

Way back in September Emma turned 14. She felt like she had been waiting forever since she is the youngest of her friends in her grade. She didn't want a store bought cake. (boo!) She asked me to make her one. After searching Pinterest this is what she selected. It was a chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting. It was amazing. It was VERY rich. We were giving away cake left and right because you could only eat a sliver before feeling like you were going to OD on sugar. She liked it though and I was happy I could make it for her. 

Jenna came over after school to give Emma her first gift. It was a photo album full of pictures of them. I had helped her with it by printing up a bunch of my old pictures. I love these two. They have so many year together and so many memories. It was a blast looking back on them all. Jenna is the closest thing to a sister Emma has. I am so grateful for her.

Emma and I are on a cheesesteak kick. She wanted to go to DP Cheesesteaks. We had gotten a sandwich there before a BYU football game and really really liked it. I was more than willing to go back for another round.

We came home for gifts and cake.

Andrew had given Emma an owl necklace that she was eyeing at a little boutique in town.

She got mostly clothes from Paul and I. It's so easy to shop for her.

He got this super cute bouquet of daisies from Sister G. She had visits from her youth leaders, friends and grandparents. I hope she felt the love.

Emma is Growing Up

Last night I bought Emma a new dress for church. It was $10 and I think it looks amazing on her. I had to take some pictures of my baby girl. Keep in mind it was 31 degrees outside so if she looks a little cold, it's because she is!