Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Christmas at Zue-Zue's 2015

A couple of nights after our Jammy Christmas with Josh's family, we went over to his mom's house to have Christmas with her. Eli couldn't wait to give Zue-Zue her gifts and to open his!



Eli gave Zue-Zue a Christmas tree out of his handprints as his gift to her. She loved it so much!


Then it was time to pass out the rest of the presents. Eli handed out presents to the four of us and then we each took turns opening our gifts. 



Not going to lie, Josh and I were pretty excited about his Farmer's Almanac calendar his mom gave him. 

I was really happy about my Kate Spade glitter studs. I'd had my eye on these for several months and had given several pairs as gifts to some of my friends.  Now I had some of my own!


Eli is just starting to express an interest in Star Wars so Zue-Zue got him the first (really the 4th, I guess) movie in the series. He couldn't wait to watch it!


A new Tervis tumbler cup for Zue-Zue.

Eli LOVES his Magformers. These are a great gift for kids!


Our favorite Florida friends (The Glenns) sent Eli this set of Snap Circuits, Jr. 
Eli was so excited!


A new light saber for Eli

Pioneer Woman dishes for me :)

Zue-Zue's last gift...a new TV. 
Hers was really old and the picture was AWFUL! Now she has one that looks good!

Zue-Zue was pretty excited and Eli was just as excited about giving it to her. 

It was a great Christmas with Zue-Zue. After opening gifts, we all loaded up with our coffee and hot chocolate to go look at Christmas lights around town and to drive through the living Nativity at one of the local churches. It was a fun night! Now it was time to get our house ready for Santa Claus' Christmas Eve arrival!

Friday, May 27, 2016

Winter Garden

What started as a hobby has now become a passion. Josh and I LOVE gardening and we are now those people that always have something planted. I can't tell you the last time I bought any kind of vegetable from the store and I'm so proud of that. I love that every time we eat supper two or three of the items on our plates are from our garden. Plus, gardening is therapeutic. I love checking on my plants everyday and watching them grow. This year for our winter garden we tried some new things. We planted broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and mustard greens. Everything did really well and I loved having fresh veggies throughout the winter. 







One day before going to Josh's grandmother's for dinner I went out into the garden and harvested some cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli. I was so excited to see my beautiful bounty that I immediately took a picture of it and posted it to Instagram. 


Then I washed, chopped, and diced and turned my beautiful veggies into a veggie tray! How fun!! This is why gardening and growing your own food ROCK! Now get out in your yard and plant something! You won't be disappointed!



Thursday, May 26, 2016

A Jammy Christmas with Josh's Family

We left my parents' house late Saturday night and drove back to our house. We had to be home the next day because we were having Jammy Christmas with Josh's family. Jordan, Jessie, and I came up with the idea for Jammy Christmas because we wanted something different and fun to do. We were tired of the normal routine of get together, eat a big meal that no one needs, and then open lots of presents. I suggested having breakfast for supper and then one thing led to another and we came up with Jammy Christmas! We were all going to dress in our pajamas, eat breakfast for supper, play games, and open gifts. It was going to be lots of fun!


The kids had a great time playing together and the adults had fun visiting. Some of the adults (Jessie, Will, Sue, Reve, Brian) didn't follow Jammy Christmas rules and came in normal clothes, but the rest of us followed the rules and rocked our jammies. Poor Eli started running fever out of the blue before everyone got there so I gave him Tylenol and quarantined him to our bedroom for most of the night. I hated that he had to miss out on the fun, but I didn't want to get anyone else sick. He came out later that night for a couple of pictures and ended up being fine the next day.

We ate our yummy breakfast foods and then Jessie and Will taught us how to play a fun game called Five Words or something like that. It was quite fun and seeing how some of our people described certain places was hilarious. For example, to describe the Grand Canyon, Josh's mom said "Hoooolllee!" and made a big, sweeping motion with her hand. LOL! I don't know if Josh ended up getting the clue but Sue's description was the joke of the night. 

Scott

Finley

Addi and Finley

The girls who wore their jammies :)

Look at us having fun in our jammies!

Us doing an impersonation of Sue when she described the Grand Canyon :)

Our entire crew...what a fun night together!

Christmas at Grammy and Pop's House- 2015

Christmas at Grammy and Pop's house was lots of fun this year. We got there early Saturday afternoon and spent the day with my family eating, talking, and having Christmas altogether. I love seeing how my mom decorates her house. She just has that knack for decorating and making everything come together flawlessly. This year her Christmas decorations did not disappoint!

I spy a cute little Jameson :)

Entry table in the foyer

Christmas cards and the canvas Eli made her a few years ago.


The kids were in great moods and I was able to get cute pictures of them. Jameson is really turning into a camera ham and I think it's precious!


I love my niece and nephew so much!

These three have my heart! Look at Jameson's face...off the precious meter chart!

All of our stockings


Eli has gotten a guitar ornament every year from Grammy and Pop. 
They do a great job picking out ornaments for each grandkid to collect. 

Dad donned his Santa hat and shirt and opening presents began. He and Eli passed out gifts to each person and then we all took turns opening one at a time. We've always done it this way so everyone gets to see what you open and it lasts longer.


Eli was super excited about his camera!


Caleb and Kailey's wedding was just a couple of weeks away so a turquoise tea kettle was something they needed for their new house. 

We got Tinsley the movie Inside Out. It was her first movie to ever see in a theater so it holds a special place in her heart. She loved it as you can tell! 


Eli LOVES remote controlled helicopters! 

Mom made each grandkid personalized books. 


A camouflage watch

Tinsley got an art easel

Kailey and Caleb started getting presents for Baby Kaelyn too. Even though she wouldn't make her debut until late April/early May, Andrea couldn't resist the doxie backpack. Kaelyn's big brother is Scrappy the Dachshund and he's pretty famous. They're a doxie loving family! 


Doxie pajamas

We gave Andrea Kendra Scott earrings. Shopping tip: I bought these back in July during Nordstrom's anniversary sale and saved so much money! I'll be doing that again this year, too!

Mom's annal family calendar I made for her.

Kailey got a name badge clip for her new job at the hospital. 



Personalized blanket for Kaelyn.






A new stool for Dad to use in the shop he is building. 





A dachshund sleeper for Kaelyn :)

Some reading material for the soon to be new husband and father!


Normal Family picture

My crazy family...I love these people so much and I'm so thankful for each one of them!

We had a great family Christmas together. Everyone got great presents but spending time with each other was the best. The next time we would all see each other would be in a couple of weeks for Kailey and Caleb's wedding! It wouldn't be long before Kailey would officially be a part of our crazy family!