Thanksgiving

We spent the holiday weekend in UT with family, and as always it was fun, but exhausting! Thanksgiving day we had dinner at Jim's house in Provo and played b-ball at Provo High (Jim coaches there). We spent the next couple days in SLC, where we stayed w/ Kimi, saw our good friends the Boyers, went to the Gateway Discovery Museum, and saw the lights at Temple Square (with my mom and sister). Oh, and don't let me forget the BIG game-Eric got tickets from a guy in our ward to the Utah vs. BYU game and took Matt (a fellow Ute), my dad (a Cougar), and Kevin (unbiasis). Too bad the Cougs pulled it out, but at least it was a tight game (went into overtime) and they had fun together. Sunday, we drove up to Kevin's house and hung out with this family before heading back home. Here's some highlights of our trip...

The pictures say it all...

Everytime I see these pictures, IN SEQUENCE, I have to chuckle because first of all, it's such a "boy thing", but second, it's so OUR BOYS. Austin doing his typical thing, bugging his little brother, with a michevious grin, all the while Carson is completely unaware (or better yet, used to it!). Someday we will look back at these pictures when we're old and our memory has failed us, but still laugh because these snapshots say it all...

"New Moon" madness

Allyson, me, and Heather waiting outside

Some of our group, along w/ "Edward" (a movie theater employee we joked that looked liked Edward. He really didn't, but he sure loved the attention.)

Debbie, Jeanell, and Tiff-love them

Getting excited for the movie to start-I think we took up 4 rows!

Madness was exactly what last night was. That's what you get when you take 35 grown women who probably don't get out enough, put them in a movie theater to see the midnight premiere of "New Moon" packed w/ screaming teenagers (and moms!), and you have pure, utter madness. But don't worry, the crazy night started out with dinner at a restaurant where we gabbed, laughed, and ate yummy Italian food until our hearts' content, then standed in line outside the theater in the freezing cold for a good hour (with more gabbing and laughing, some at the expense of the movie theater employees who were a little too excited to be working that night), and then anxiously waited inside the theater for the movie to start. It was worth it too. Yes, even though I'm paying for the lack of sleep that night, hanging out w/ friends and seeing Jacob without his shirt on for most of the movie was well worth it. Oh, and speaking of Jacob, I might have to convert to Team Jacob for awhile. Edward, you don't stand a chance against that 30 lbs of muscle Taylor packed onto his dark, delicious frame for that movie. Am I getting a little carried away??? Don't judge. :)

Grandma and Grandpa visit

We were lucky to have Grandpa and Grandma visit us for a few days last week. It was so much fun to have them around as played, went to the park, watched movies, did errands, went to Boondocks, and made treats together. Grandpa and Austin had their fair share of light saber wars (esp in the dark garage!), nerf gun wars, and playing with Transformers. Grandpa really is just a big kid! (Good thing he has grandsons too, because he loves boy toys and playing rough!) Austin and Carson, of course, had their dose of Grandma lovin'-playing under forts, telling stories, reading books, and lots of kisses.

We had a blast with them and can't wait for more fun in CA at Christmas time. We love you guys more than you know and can't get enough when you're around, we only wished you lived closer! Until next time...

Daddy time

Everytime Eric gets home work, the kids maul him and seem to get every little last ounce of energy on him. It's so cute to see them wrestle w/ him, get tickled and chased, and climb all over their Dad. After all, what are Dads for?! As the Primary song goes, "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home"-so true!!!! (for the moms too)

Is it time to ski yet???

Yep, it's official. Austin is just as excited as his Mom and Dad to go skiing this winter. We went the Annual Bogus Basin Ski Swap last night (which is one of the biggest in the Northwest), and found him his first pair of skiis and boots. We bought them a little big too, so he can wear them next year as well (which then will get passed down to his brother). Plus, we found a helmet and goggles, and walked out only paying $65 for everything. Sweet. Sure, they're used, but who cares! He's 4! You can bet that he was playing w/ his new gear all morning too-putting his boots and skiis on, pretending to ski! I love it. He even told me that when he gets bigger, he wants to race. Even better.

I'm so glad he takes after us and loves this sport because it really is our favorite thing to do as a family. And good thing kids are FREE at Bogus until 7 yrs of age too. Sure, we might be kickin' it on the bunny hill most of the time (until they're older, that is), but we have a GRAND time skiing and laughing together on the slopes. The other thing I love about skiing? It gets you OUTSIDE in the wintertime to enjoy the beautiful outdoors!

Fun fall pictures

My friend, Courtney took some pictures of the kids a couple weeks ago, they turned out great! Here's some of my faves... (too hard to narrow down, hence the collages)

{CLICK ON TO BLOW UP}

Austin really wasn't into getting his pictures taken (he just wanted to run around), but we captured a few really great ones anyways!

This cutie was hammin' it up, mostly for Mom who was chasing or tickling him, but nevertheless, we got MANY cute ones of this little guy

Kids together, a little tough to get them both looking or smiling at the camera, holding still, or not getting on each others' nerves, but still, we captured some good ones. Do they look like brothers or what?