Emily's Birthday

Emily did have her birthday about 2 months ago, and we had a little family and friend party.  She loved opening her presents, and playing with them. 

 Aunt Gayleen got her these red boots and they are the cutest things.  Plus, she can put them on all by herself, which is a big plus.  They are a favorite around here.

 Giving out hugs at the end.

 She did a really good job blowing out her candles.  I'm not sure where she learned it, but it only took two blows (one for each candle) and that was it.  No hesitation or anything.

 Her flower cake.

 This little girl loves ice cream.  The cake wasn't as big of a deal, but the ice cream was gone!

 Bowl cleaned and everything!

We are so blessed to have this little ball of energy in our family.  She is a handful, but she is worth every stress.  She is so loving and so smart.  This little munchkin is talking in full sentences, and she figures so much out on her own.  She also loves to read books, and would sit for an hour straight just reading books.  We are currently working on potty training, and it's just a matter of her wanting to do it.  She is very strong willed!  But she is full of life and energy, and it is so fun to just sit and watch her.   We love our Emily, Happy Birthday.

Projects

Well, we have gotten around to some of the projects that need fixing around the house.  One of which is the window down in our basement.  The middle strip was taken out, and it was 'sealed' with masking tape.  Which, if you didn't guess, doesn't insulate all that well.  Or keep bugs out for that matter.  So we bought a new window, and with the help of Brandon's uncle Len, we were able to get it put in. 

 Isaac was very good to go down into the window well and shovel out all the dirt that had fallen down by the window.  He thought it was great fun. 

And this was the finished product.  It is so much nicer down there, and the lack of spiders and other bugs is very wonderful. 

 Isaac working away...

The other major project we finished up was our pantry.  We finished most of it a while ago, but we never did get it painted.  We had an open house for Brittany and Nathan, and so I decided it was time to get the pantry painted. 

 I did the painting and Brandon finished up the caulking for me. 

 I think it turned out really well if I do say so myself. 

 We even got the moulding all finished up!

Yay for home improvements!

Christmas in Utah

Because we spent Christmas in Oregon, we made special arraignments with Santa to visit our house on a different day.  We were able to do our own family Christmas when we got back from Oregon. 

This was our tree.

 The night before we make cookies and decorated them.  The kids loved it, and did a pretty good job. 

 We left a plate out for Santa and some carrots for his reindeer.  This is what we found in the morning. 

 The kids got to get out their gifts from Santa before breakfast.  Isaac got a crane from Thomas.  It is almost as tall as him.  He was very excited about it. 

 Emily got some dolls, and if you look closely you can see her holding them tightly while she drinks her milk. 

 This is the crane.  Isaac played with it nonstop for almost a week. 

 After breakfast we opened all the other gifts.  Dad passed them out to us, and the kids had a blast opening even more presents. 

 Emily got a stroller, and absolutely loves it. 

 The kids giving Dad a hug. 

It was fun to be able to have our own Christmas, and it was especially nice because Aunt Gayleen got to come over.  Santa even left her a stocking! 

Christmas in Oregon

Because Brandon's sister got married over the Christmas break, we made the trip down to Oregon for Christmas again this year.  The kids had a blast, as did we.  It is always so nice to take a break from life and enjoy your family.  These are pictures of Christmas day.  We spent the morning at the Garners house, then we spent the afternoon evening at the Browns.  The kids were very excited about all their gifts. 

Emily looking through her stocking.

 And then showing off the contents to all who would watch. 

 Isaac examining his car with Uncle Corbin.

 They did a really good job opening presents together. 

 Emily got a doll, and loves it. 

 Here she is reading to it.  This rocking chair is from Grandma and Grandpa Garner, and it is the coolest thing ever.  It is made up of several different pieces that all fit together, and it has a monkey face on it.  Emily calls it her rocking horse.  They both sit in in to read, or just to rock. 

 Also to give others a nice relaxing rock. 

 Then at the Browns.  I only got a few pictures before my camera died, but it was a lot of fun.  We were all there except Art and his family.  They are down in New Mexico and that is a long, long drive.  We missed them though and thought of them!

It was a great Christmas day, and it was nice to be able to go to church as well.  We were grateful that we were able to make it up there and spend time with all of our family. 

Thanksgiving

Okay, so I am trying to do a little catching up.  For Thanksgiving the Garners were able to drive down with Lara's sister Annie and Bronson and Lara were able to come down from Idaho.  We had an awesome day on Thursday, but I didn't get any pictures.  I'm horrible about that.  But we had a lot of fun, and lots of yummy food.  We were also able to go up to Temple Square and see the lights on Friday night.  We all had a good time at that as well.  It was freezing cold, but we all managed to stay warm enough.

I love this picture of Emily, I think she was admiring something. 

We also stopped in at Deseret Book up in Salt Lake and they had their cookie making display all set up.  We got a free cookie, and David Artchuleta was there signing autographs.  Some of us walked past where he was, but there was a huge line to get something signed, so we skipped that part. 

Afterward we stopped at IHOP and got a late dinner.  We all had fun there as well. 

Grandpa tasting the different syrups. 

Bronson and Grandma playing football.  The loser had to eat a packet of the fake sugar stuff on the table.  It was so disgusting to watch. 

And of course coloring.  Gotta keep the kids entertained while we wait for the food. 

Just some of the lights on Temple Square.  It was beautiful of course. 

We were so glad they were all able to come down.  It is really nice to see family, but not have to travel!  The kids are always in heaven when any family comes.  They feel in love with Lara's sister Annie.  They were asking for her even after she left. 

It's a Boy

For those who are interested, we are having a little boy.  When the tech told us what it was, Isaac leaned over to me and whispered, "But I wanted a little sister."  For some reason he really wanted it to be a girl.  But he's good with it now, and is excited.  Which is good, cause you can't really send it back to be changed.  Both Isaac and Emily are excited about the baby.  Isaac likes to try and feel him kick, and Emily loves to give the baby kisses.  We are also excited and now we just have to come up with a name...

Raking Leaves

We raked up the leaves in our yard the other day.  Here is just some documentation.