Merry Christmas!

Well, I'm embarrassed to say that I never made the time to put together a Christmas card. If I had I might have used a couple of these pictures. Our family definitely has a lot to be thankful for this year (especially our newest little angel, Arabella). Merry Christmas and happy new year!

Santa's Gone Digital!

Did you know that there is a website where kids can send Santa their Christmas wish list? On this website kids can tell Santa what they want and write (type) him a letter. He will even send a letter (email) in return! I did this with Gavin and I thought it was pretty cute; not nearly as cute as the wish list Gavin made, but honestly where am I supposed to send that. He wanted me to be sure and send it to Santa and I considered sending it to Grandma, but now I can assure him that Santa will know what he wants since we sent him an email. Kids can also play games and listen to a Christmas story on the website. If you have a child between the ages of 4 and 8 you should check this out.

Boots, Boots and More Boots!

I am LOVING skinny jeans and boots right now. I especially can't get enough of boots since they are so warm and cozy in the these cold fall and winter months. Not to mention, they are uber fashionable. Here are a few boots that I love... The first 3 styles are Miz Mooz which can be found at Nordstrom and the rain boot is from Piperlime. I already have some dark brown riding boots and black slouchy boots, but I think I will need to add one of these lovelies to my wardrobe.

Halloween

We had a great Halloween! Gavin had been anticipating it for over a month and was so excited when it finally arrived. For the past 2 years he has known exactly what he wanted to dress up as... Last year it was Buzz Lightyear and this year it was Lightning McQueen, the race car from the Disney movie Cars. Arabella was a white kitty and I was a bumblebee. First, Gavin celebrated Halloween with his preschool class on Thursday, complete with a parade and trick or treating around the school. Then, on Saturday, we went to Tony's parents house and celebrated with the Allred cousins (Hayden, Corbin & Libby). They had a treasure hunt for the kids around the yard and house. Then we trick or treated around our neighborhood and there were a ton of kids/families trick or treating which made it really fun. In the last picture Gavin is counting his candy. He counted 47 candies (yes, he can count to 47).

Halloween Meal

I found these cute recipes on http://thefoodnetwork.com/. I made them for dinner a couple nights before Halloween. Gavin did a great job helping me make the chocolate spider bites and they were yummers (chocolate, peanut butter and pretzels)! The Snake shaped baked sandwich was so good. I made it with ham, turkey, provolone & cheddar cheese, Spanish olives, roasted red peppers and Dijon mustard. You just roll them up in crescent roll dough and bake it. I served the sandwich with tomato bisque soup (A.K.A Dragon's Blood) and chips. We had the spider bites for dessert. Get the snake bite sandwich recipe here and the chocolate spider bite recipe here. Give it a try next Halloween.

Arabella at 6 Months

Arabella is 6 months old this week! Here are some of my favorite recent photos. She has started eating some solid foods (rice cereal & squash). She can roll over both ways. She can put her feet in her mouth. She's close to sitting up on her own, but not quite there yet. She smiles and laughs a lot, especially whenever big bro Gavin is around. And she still loves to stick her tongue out.

Jana's Wedding

Tony's sister, Jana, got married in St. George last weekend (at Entrada no less). So we drove down there, stayed at my parent's place and played around for about 6 days. We went to the pool several times, Tony and I mountain biked, and we did lots of family stuff with the Allreds. Jana's wedding was beautiful. She looked gorgeous. The ceremony and reception were outside with the breathtaking red rock background. We watched the sun set while we ate dinner. And there was even some dancing. Gavin was right in the middle of it shakin' his little bum bum. The last photo of Arabella was taken at about 10 pm when she very sleepy. It was a great wedding and a great weekend.

Our Garden

This is the 2nd year we've planted a vegetable garden and it has really been producing. Like last summer we've had more tomatoes than we know what to do with. However, this year we have lots of perfect butternut squash (just in time for pureeing baby food) and 3 beautiful pumpkins. This photo was taken a few weeks ago and since then our pumpkins have gotten bigger and oranger (I know that's not actually a word). Gavin is especially excited to harvest our pumpkins for Halloween.

Arabella's Blessing

Last weekend we had Arabella blessed. My parents were in town and we had a wonderful weekend. Here are a few pictures from her blessing day. The 1st 2 pics are of our family, of course. And might I point out pic #2 where Gavin is insisting on a silly pose (that's Tony's favorite). Pic #3 is of Arabella asleep in the arms of her Aunt Donelle and cousins Kathryn & Christina (very sweet).

Summer Swim Lessons

This was the 2nd summer that we had Gavin in private swim lessons. He had a great time and learned a lot. Perhaps, next year we can just do some group lessons now that he has the basics down.

Tutu Precious

For those of you who attended my baby shower I'm sure that you remember this cute little tutu that my sister gave me (it got a lot of oohs & aahs). It's the epitome of baby girl femininity, which I thought I wouldn't be that into, but that was before I saw my little angel in it. I'm really beginning to embrace the joys of everything girl.

Solana Beach

We had the greatest time in Solana Beach (northern San Diego) for our Pyne family reunion. The weather was fabulous. The beach was gorgeous. Gavin and I didn't want to leave. Gavin even tried boogie boarding. This was our 2nd family reunion in Solana Beach. We vacationed there 3 years ago and loved it. It was great to return to Solana (sunshine) Beach and that beautiful little community. However, this time Tiffany owns a beach condo that we were able to use in addition to renting another one. Tiff's condo was fabulous. She's renovated and decorated it in a cool, contemporary beach style. It was very fun staying there. It was also nice to be able to see Cyndi (my best friend from Ventura), who came down from Huntington Beach with her family. During our week long stay we went to the San Diego Zoo, Knott's Berry Farm (pics below), and tried to fit in as much beach time as possible. I'm still daydreaming about it...

Camping & River Rafting

We had a wonderful time camping on the Grey's River near Jackson Hole Wyoming and rafting on the Snake River. This was the second year that we did this rafting trip with families of the men who work at Tony's station (#6). There were 6 plus families this year so we had a nice big group. Gavin loved rafting the rapids and did not want to get off the raft. He had no problem with the cold water drenching us (wish I could say the same). Tony and I had to switch off watching Arabella who slept a lot and hardly fussed at all. She loved the fresh air and being outside a lot. She slept better in the trailer than she has ever slept at home (8-9 hrs. straight every night). The Baby Bjorn came in very handy. I walked around camp with Bella in it a lot (picture above). We decided to bring Rowdy because he's been camping with Tony many times on hunting trips and we knew he wouldn't be a bother. Rocco had to stay with grandma and grandpa Allred because we knew he WOULD be a bother. The scenery was breathtaking. It will be fun to go back next summer.