Oh Christmas Tree!

I am a BIG believer in REAL trees. I mean, c'mon the fake ones are just so... fake! I'll get a real tree every Christmas till the day I die!
We had to get our tree while Dan was in town... hopefully I can keep it alive until Christmas! My house smells wonderful and it feels so cozy.
Ah the perfect tree!
Just need to top it off with a star... any ideas where to get one?

Thanksgiving

At about noon we all went bowling! The big kids had fun, but the little ones got kinda bored. I beat everyone the first game then finished dead last the second...lucky maybe?

The Great Grandparents came and gave all the kids presents!
Papa and Grandma have new bean bags at their house. The kids love to watch movies and wrestle on them!
Dan was able to come home for Thanksgiving thanks to some wonderful family members! We realized how it's so easy to take someone for granted when you see everyday. I really appreciate him more now and can't wait for Christmas. Grayson and Madison were all over him the whole time. They were so glad to see him! It was great to have Dan home, and we miss him already.
Grandma bought carrot cake from the Lion House Pantry... it's Grayson's favorite dessert, so he was in heaven!
I am realizing how much I need a new camera. This picture is my new favorite and it's poor quality. BUMMER!
After dessert the kids lined up and sang songs. The only song Grayson knew was I am A Child of God and it was so stinkin cute when he sang it. He couldn't quite keep up, but the words he got in were right on!

My Beautiful Girl

Natalie took some candid shots of Madison on Sunday and I think they are so darling! Notice she's got 2 teeth now... they are sharp little buggers! P.S. I can't believe she is already 7 months old :(
Since Dan has been gone we have been staying busy with family and friends. I don't think I've cooked one meal in the last 11 days (oatmeal and eggs n toast don't count), I think that may just be the only good thing about him being gone! BUT I would much rather cook dinner every night of my life if it meant having my hubby home. We are missin him like crazy!

Bouncin off the... ground?

We celebrated Katie's 5th birthday party at Bouncin' Off the Walls. All in all we had a blast except for the part where Grayson rolled off this big slide and bounced the back of his head off the carpet covered concrete floor. He let out some big screams and passed out in my arms for a couple of seconds. After about 5 minutes of snuggling and crying he hit the slide again and continued the night like nothing ever happened.
I just LOVE his face!
In an amazing effort by Natalie and I, we got BOTH Grandparents to look at the camera. Amazing!
I bet he went down this slide 50 times! It was his heaven!
Of course I had to try it out! Big inflatable slides... not JUST for kids :)
Wasn't even close to popping with these big boys on it. Heavy duty!
Yay, Isaiah got a haircut! He has the cutest little smile.
This was the other day... I NEVER make Madison wear jeans because even size 12-18months (the size pictured above) is too tight. So on this day she just wore them unbuttoned and unzipped.
This baby is so stinkin delightful. She is just so happy and fun to be around. She gives me big open mouth kisses on my cheek then hides her face in my neck. She's rolling around and babbling all the time. So close to crawling...but I hope she's not in any hurry! I'll have my hands full when she can move a significant amount.
We were chewing bubble gum and he was really excited about it!

So long farewell I hate to say goodbye...

So today is the day. The first day of the longest 4 months of my life! We took Dan to the airport to fly to Maryland to begin his 'Public Affairs' training for the guard. Basically he's learning everything there is to know about shooting video, still photography, and conducting interviews. Why he can't learn that in Utah is beyond me:) So here's to 4 months of getting in shape so when he comes back I will 'wow' him with my oh so hot bod.... :) And 4 months of enjoying ALL of my time with my kids. Hopefully when he comes back I'm still sane! We will miss him like crazy. He DOES however get to come home at Christmas time for a week. I've never been so excited for Santa in my life!

So the other night a few friends wanted to see Dan once more before he left, so we went bowling! We had a nice time and Grayson quite enjoyed it except for the pooping in his pants sitting in time out part. I will definitely take him again!
Aren't they a sappy bunch?! We are so lucky to have such good friends!
Madison, "blah blah slobber spit" Milo,"Uh Oooh!"

Halloweeny!

I made this picture black and white because the flash made it really bright. We both had costumes but forgot to take a picture all dressed up! DUH!
He loved playing in the guts. When that white bowl was full he stuck both his hands in and wasn't paying attention... Grayson and the bowl went crashing on the floor. What a mess!
Haha.
Dan hates to eat anything pumkin, but LOVES carving them.
Mine is the easy one on the right. I don't have the patience for all that detail crap.
Our two pumkins with our two... Punkins!

On Friday the kids went trick or treating at Dan's office.
We went to my parent's neighborhood on Halloween night and got plenty of candy!
Here he is enjoying the spoils. I let him pick 3 to eat... the rest I'm not sure what to do with!