Merry Christmas!

December Happenings

I can't believe Christmas is almost here, it seems like it should still be summer, but alas the Christmas season is in full swing. Josie has been really excited about everything Christmas this year. When my mom was decorating the tree Josie said, 'I so esited!' She was even excited to see Santa, that is until it came time to sit on his lap. I can't wait for her to open her presents because I have a feeling she's going to be 'so esited' about those as well.

This last weekend our friends Matthew and Michelle invited us to their cabin. Josie couldn't wait to get outside, we bundled her up like the kid from A Christmas Story, to make sure she didn't get cold in the snow. It was a fun weekend...we had a great time eating yummy food, playing in the snow and relaxing by the fire!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I didn't take any pictures at Thanksgiving and I haven't really taken many pictures this last month. :( We did however have a very yummy Thanksgiving and I made three banana cream pies, that turned out quite well, if I must say so myself. For now I hope you will enjoy this great quality picture that Josie and I got at the mall on Black Friday with our friend McGruff.

Family Pictures

My sister Laura took our family pictures last month and they turned out really well. Josie was actually pretty good, which is quite a contrast from last year!

Happy Halloween!

Josie was Snow White for Halloween this year. She absolutely loved her dress and warmed up to the idea of taking candy from strangers very quickly. She loves sweets... like her mom!

Cousins Kiya and Faith

Cousins Ty and Crew

Aunt Nicole

This has nothing to do with Halloween but I thought Josie looked cute in this picture with my slippers on and no diaper. It's a bit risque I know, I'm sorry. :)

Back in Idaho

I guess it's time for a quick update. Russ' parents came to Las Vegas and helped us pack all our stuff for the move back to Idaho. We were so grateful for their help!

We've been back in Idaho for two weeks now and are glad to be back home. Russ had a week off from work so we went to American Falls to visit his family... we took Josie bowling for the first time, which she quite enjoyed.

We went to the Boise zoo this last week. Josie's favorite things were the Tigers and sitting on this giraffe.

We really enjoyed our time in Las Vegas but are sure glad to be back in our homeland. :)

More Vegas Sights

For those of you who don't know, we will be leaving Las Vegas in less than two weeks and moving back to Idaho. Russ was offered a job in Boise and we just couldn't pass it up. We've really enjoyed our time here in Vegas, except for the heat, and are really sad we won't be around for the mild winter... it's what got me through the summer. :( I think Russ will miss the buffets more than anything else. Anyway we've been trying to see some more of the Vegas sights before we leave. This last weekend we saw the lions at MGM Grand and the Botanical Gardens and fountain show at the Bellagio. All three were quite enjoyable.

Labor Day Weekend and Josie's 2nd Birthday

We decided to take a last minute trip to California for Labor Day weekend. It was Josie's 2nd birthday on Saturday so we took her to one of her favorite places, the beach. We went to Venice beach, walked along the board walk and spent the afternoon playing in the sand and cold water. Josie could have stayed there all day. That evening we took our son (yes son, Josie was mistaken for a boy several times on Sat, I assume it's the lack of hair and the ambiguous gray shirt she was wearing) to a Dodgers game, where Josie yelled and clapped along with the crowd. I think she had a pretty good birthday. On Sunday we went to see the LA Coliseum, then stopped by a local Farmer's Market before we headed home.On Monday, during timeouts and half time of the Boise State game (which we are very happy about... I thought Russ was going to lose it), we quickly celebrated Josie's birthday. I had big dreams for Josie's birthday cake this year but after the first cake burned (thanks to our wonderful oven) and I realized I didn't have all the things I needed to make what I wanted, I made a simple cake with a crown on top. There's always next year.

Her favorite present is her new bus or as she says 'fus'. I can't believe it's already been two years since Josie was born. She has brought more joy to my life than I could ever have imagined. I am truly blessed to be the mother of such a special little girl.

Touring some Vegas Attractions

Last Sunday we thought it would be fun to go see Hoover Dam. However I'm not sure what we were thinking because it was 110 degrees outside which is slighlty too hot for an attraction that is outside and in the sun... Josie was miserable. It was a nice Sunday drive at least.

On Friday we went to the M&M's store and Coke Factory. Josie couldn't keep her hands off pretty much everything in the store, especially the chocolate (she takes after her mother). We got a sampler tray of Coke products from around the world. There were 16 flavors, some were really good, but the Beverly from Italy, with its nice friendly name, was absolutley horrible, like really horrible.

These following pictures are of Josie being her crazy self. She's getting good at saying 'cheese' for the camera.

Another Year Older...

I've decided that birthdays aren't quite as magical as they used to be. When I was little I used to count down the days until my special day and it seemed like it took forever to come. I remember older people saying that birthdays are just like any other day and sometimes they didn' t even want to celebrate because they'd rather not think about getting older. How could this be? I thought. But now I understand. I still love birthdays and enjoy celebrating mine, I just wish the years didn't go by so fast. The thought just occured to me the other day that I am now closer to 30 than I am to 20. How did that happen? I know it's not that old but it is for me because I'm still only supposed to be 16! :)

Anyway... for my birthday we got a Boston Cream Pie from Costco on Saturday and couldn't help but eat it the days leading up to my birthday, which is why you see a half eaten cake in the picture. Russell brought some flowers home for me and put them in a pitcher since we don't have any vases. I think they look beautiful. Josie colored a happy birthday sign for me, she also colored the wall. Even though it wasn't quite as magical as it was 20 years ago, I still had a great day! (Russ took a lot of really cute pictures of josie with my birthday sign and I couldn't resist posting most of them.)