Christmas Party with Friends

Christmas is only nine days away. It is time to party! We kicked off the party season with friends. We got together at Jen's house for an excellent turkey dinner and gift exchange.

Each person that came contributed something to the dinner. I made the turkey all by myself and it was delicious! Once dinner was cleaned up, we handed out the gifts. Just before Thanksgiving we picked names out of a bowl for our Secret Santa. We tried to keep things as much of a secret as possible and I think it was a huge success.

Charles bought Craig a bowling ball bag and he is getting a green sinister bunny (from the game Killer Bunnies) embroidered on the side. Craig has been joking about wanting to get that bunny tattooed on him somewhere and I think this is a great alternative.

Brayden couldn't let Deana open her gift on her own.

Deana bought me this gorgeous picture frame and to top it off, she had already filled it with pictures. I absolutely love it. All of my favorite memories with friends is represented in this frame (Vegas, camping, etc.). I can't wait to hang it up.

Jen was sweet enough to buy a gift for Brayden. It's a puzzle of one of his favorite cartoons.

I really love our friends. They keep us smiling, even when life gets hard. I'm so glad that we got to celebrate Christmas with them. Merry Christmas, everyone!



Playing in the Snow

The last few days have been beautiful, but that meant that there was no snow on the ground. It is hard for me to really get in the Christmas spirit when it looks and feels like October. It finally snowed last night, so I decided to take advantage. After getting us both all bundled up, we headed outside.

The snow was very sticky; perfect for building a snowman. I've never built a snowman before for as far back as I can remember, but we figured it out. Brayden was a really big help.

After that, I got down and made a snow angel. Brayden thought that was pretty cool, so he tried to make one. As you can see, his first attempt wasn't very successful, but we made it work in the end.

Once we were both sufficiently cold and wet, we came inside for cookies and hot chocolate. What a great way to spend a winter day.

Please Keep the Water in the Tub!

Does that face look guilty to you? It sure does to me. Just moments before this picture was taken, Brayden asked if I could get him a drink. I agreed and asked him very nicely (I may have yelled a little bit...) to please keep the water in the tub. I offered to shut the curtain so he could splash without making a mess, but he said, "Oh no thanks" while smiling sweetly. This is what I found when I got back. Not a big deal, but kind of hilarious.

Putting Up the Tree

As awesome as our Present Tree was, we felt that we needed an actual tree this year.

For some reason, Craig let me buy a fake tree this year, which is a really big deal if you know Craig. It will be nice to have even if we don't use it very often. Brayden was really excited about the whole process of decorating the tree and he was quite helpful.

Now we have a home for all of our presents and Christmas can truly begin. Merry Christmas!

The Disney Tree

Now that December is finally here, it is time to start enjoying the Christmas season and I know of few better ways to put you in the holiday spirit besides going to the Festival of Trees! I love wandering along each aisle basking in the sights and smells of the season. This morning was extra special because we found a Disney trees and anyone that knows me at all knows that I have a very soft spot for all things Disney!

This is almost the exact tree that I would like in my front room someday. Mickey was in every detail of that tree. It was beautiful and you can't keep from smiling as you walk past it.

They even had a cute Mickey snowman (above) and an adorable bench (below) next to the tree. I'm pretty sure I need that bench on my future front porch. Anyway, we had a great time and now I can't wait to go home and set up our Christmas tree.

Thanksgiving with the Furse's

My parents invited us over to their place for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Dinner was absolutely amazing, as usual. My parents are pretty incredible cooks when cooking for large groups. They included some of the traditional favorites like my mom's homemade strawberry jam and her spinach salad, but they added candied yams this year. I've never found a recipe for yams that I like, but this one was incredible. I'll have to remember to get the recipe!

While everyone cleaned up/goofed around after dinner, Brayden played with my parents' Marble Works set. Kira and I used to play with this when we were younger. It's fun to watch my son enjoy one of my favorite toys.

And for the best part of Thanksgiving...dessert! I've found that people become very nice to you when you are the person holding the pie and ice cream. We had a lot of fun playing with my family. And I can't wait to celebrate the holidays when there are a few more grandchildren running around. In the meantime, here are the people that were there.

Craig (and obviously Brayden and me)

Dean and Travis

Mom, Dad and Kira

We really missed Haylie this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Bouncin' Off the Walls

Today, Brayden and I spent the morning at Bouncin' Off the Walls. I really love that they have a time set aside for kids under 5-years-old. His favorite thing here is the obstacle course and bounce house. He still has a lot of warming up to do to the ginormous slide, but we are working on it.