A little Christmas fun...

Ward Christmas Party...always a blast!

And Santa was there.....

Christmas Concert....

My parents were involved with a very special Christmas concert put on by their stake and we got to go to it. My Dad arranged most of the songs for the performance, wrote orchestra parts, spent hours making every note beautiful and my mom was a soloist and in the choir.

IT WAS FANTASTIC!

I could not have been more proud of my mom and dad. The music arrangements were AMAZING and my mom blew her solo out of the water! She TOTALLY nailed it. I cannot convey through a blog just how amazing it was. My parents are by far two of the most talented people I know. Here's a few shots from the night...

Dad getting ready for the show...

"Do it right, or else"

(Ha, can you imagine my dad ever saying that?)

Sound check before the show, not yet in full costume.

My girls were beaming when they saw their "boo-boo"singing!

(I was too.)

After the show...

My girls were in love with the ballerinas.

CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT YEARS SHOW!!!!

mmmmm, mmmmmm good...

This year we spent Thanksgiving at my parents house in San Diego. My little brother and his wife and baby surprised us all and drove down from St. George, and my brother Paul flew in from Utah, so my whole family was there! It was awesome. Plus, a whole bunch more people I love; Grams T, the Wilcox's, the Kaufman's, and DuVall's brother Ryan and his family!

Here's a few shots of the day...

The turkey frying...

The master turkey frier cutting the turkey. BOTH turkeys were AMAZING!!!

Stealing rolls BEFORE the meal....caught you Dad!

Proof that my brother Paul was there....he's the one in the background covering his face. How he managed to evade all cameras that day is beyond me. Love you Paulie!

(Brady you look very nice.)

Brady and Megan (or Brady with two heads, one is very pretty.)

Livi-lou (with straight hair)

Tom-tom! My nephew.

Mom and Grams, aren't they beautiful!

Abbi-girl, growing up too fast.

Ryan and his family. We LOVED having them stay with us!

Wilcox's not pictured because I didn't get a picture of them!!! What was I thinking!

Well, they were there and we love them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until we meet again...

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially to those we love. Even if we know its only temporary. This week I had the bittersweet experience of saying goodbye to someone I hold very dear to my heart; my grandfather, someone I love for so many reasons.

He raised a wonderful daughter who became my wonderful mother, was a fun-loving and energetic grandfather to his grandchildren, and a hero and favorite playmate to his great-grand daughters. And over the last few years he had become a wonderful and treasured friend. To me. And has left upon my heart an indelible impression.

Gramps, you were a man of honor, decency, loyalty, and love. You carried the worries of the world on your shoulders because your heart was so tender and so big. Your light never shined brighter than when you were singing, or playing your guitar, or teaching your family about music.

You loved my Grams so much and showed us what true love is.

I, and all who knew you, were blessed to know you and be a part of your life.

And while we are left behind to grieve our loss and miss you everyday, I know where you are and I know we will see you again. And I can see you now, as you sang to my beautiful babies here on earth, singing to another one of my beautiful babes who also waits for us. And that thought brings me more joy than I could ever express.

With all my heart, I love you Grandpa.

Gramps with me and my brothers.....many years ago.

Sweethearts Forever

For funsies...

The girls thought it would be fun to try on my boxing gloves. (I know, pink.)

They sure are cute.

Talking Dog...

Abbi is playing with our dog Harry outside...She just popped her head in and said "Mom, Harry just said that he's not my best friend!" Not really knowing how to reply I told her, "Go tell Harry to be nice."

I love this three year old. For so many reasons.

Way to Go Livi-lou who!

Olivia was awarded the Student of the Month award for Academic Achievement! We are so proud of her and wanted to take this opportunity to brag about just how awesome she is!

Of course, I left the camera at home so the pics are from my phone. Not super but you get the idea.

Great job Livi-lou. We are so proud of you!

The Award

With her teacher...

With her daddy...

I melted...

My girls were having a snack in the kitchen....I was hiding myself on the couch in the family room.

Abbi: "Livi, I really missed you today."

Livi: "I missed you so much too, Abbi."

Serious heart melting.

*Olivia is gone all day at school and every Tuesday/Thursday Abbi is in afternoon preschool. The girls don't get as much time together as they are used to. So, when they do get time together, its like heaven. They just play! And its so fun to watch.

I LOVE that they LOVE each other.

Not sure its blog worthy...but....

I started a boxing class. 6am. For those that know me well you know that is not my best hour. BUT, I am loving it! Even though every single muscle in my body is sore and I have to be in bed by 8:30pm every night just to survive, it really is super fun. Makes me feel tough. And if it helps me drop a few LBS then I really will love it!

Here's to tough chicks!

(Maybe I'll be one some day...)

How did we get here?

How did we go from this.....

To this!!?

Olivia started 1st grade last week. My sweet little chubby baby is not so little anymore. (Or chubby!) And it seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye. I should be loving that she gets to spend a full day at school now but I'm not. I miss her.

And how 'bout this one?

Didn't I just birth her?

Nope, she's a big Preschooler now!

Today was her very first day and she loved it.

I thought she might have a little hesitation but I was wrong. I got a sweet kiss and a hearty "goodbye mom" and she was off and running.

Good thing its only two days a week for a couple hours.

I'm not ready to be home alone!

I'm the luckiest mom in the world to have two beautiful girls. I hope to have a bunch more just like them someday...but if not....I'm still the luckiest.

Seven Wonderful Years....

Today DuVall and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. Looking back I never could have imagined all that we've been through together so far on our journey. Incredible joys, deep sorrows, so much stronger because of both. Not a day goes by that I don't realize how lucky I am to be married to my best friend.

No one can make me laugh harder, no one makes me feel more safe, and no one loves you more than I do DuVall! Thank you for seven wonderful years. I look forward to many, many, many, many more!

I'm a big kid now...

Abigail had a birthday!

Now she's a big three year old!

I cannot believe it.

We celebrated at her grandparents house with swimming, BBQ, cake, ice cream and presents.

It was a great day.

To our little sunshine,

You brighten our days and make us laugh.

You are such a bright spot in the world and we know you will do great things.

Please stay little, a little longer.

Oh, how we love you!

Happy Birthday Abbi-girl!

Good times, good times...

This past week we traveled to Southeast Utah for a family camping trip. It was awesome. We spent some serious quality family time, enjoyed the amazing and unique landscape, did some hiking, lake swimming (and bathing), forest playing, tramp jumping, camp food eating, late night fire talking, and much, much more. We were also able to visit my father-in-laws' grave which made our trip extra special.

Our trip began with a visit to this little guy and his parents in St. George. My girls cannot get enough of their cousin, or his toys. Thank you Brady and Megan for letting us play and crash. We miss you already!

On our drive we past many amazing sites, one of which I had never seen before. Lake Powell is beautiful...I wanted to stay!

Monument Valley in the background. Really amazing.

Of course we took Harry with us! He had some serious outdoor fun, chasing squirrels and deer, hiking, eating leftovers, etc.... Pretty sure he's depressed now that we're home and he is once again stuck in the backyard.

At the Cabin...

Abbi and this little chica were pretty much joined at the hip. Best buddies for sure!

Olivia became quite the hiker on our trip. Although it was boiling hot and she really had to hang in there she made it through all our hikes. I was so proud of her!

Hanging out with her Auntie Juli in the hammock.

Grandad's gravesite...

A very small portion of his grandkids....

Dwight loved this part of the country so much. It is terribly hard not to miss him when you are there.

DuVall and his sister, Juli, standing in front of the rock formation, Mexican Hat.

Southeast Utah is filled with unique rock formations like this one. Something to marvel at for sure.

I love trips like this for so many reasons. My girls get to learn how to play in the dirt and build forts out of tree branches and make friends with their cousins and enjoy the beautiful world around them. They learn the difference between and "country road" and a "main road", as Abigail called them. They get to learn about their dad's roots and where his family came from. They learn to jump in lakes and sleep with bugs. And when we come home they recognized just how blessed they are. ("Mom, we have the best toy room ever", said Olivia.)

Now we are home, loving the memories we made, and really enjoying our running water and flushing toilets! Until next time familia!