Wednesday, December 13, 2017

November Happenings


What a fun and wonderful and busy month we've had!  Do I ever say anything different at the beginning of these posts? Ha!  But it really was.  And it flew by quicker than most, with birthdays to celebrate (Ev) and family in town (my parents) and parties to throw, and Thanksgiving to celebrate.... so here is a little report.  We hosted a few holiday get togethers at our home... by far my very very favorite thing to do!   Our annual service night, and a favorite things party for all of my girlfriends. I love having a full house and having friends who are amazing in every way.  Of course my favorite thing was these new magnetic eyelashes that I ordered off Amazon.  They are fantastic!  I also gave every guest a fun little rustic wooden photo stand with an Ann Taintor quote to take home.  She is my absolute favorite and I think everyone appreciated her humor!  
Loved sending memes back and forth between friends and seeing pictures of my family back home.  Jamie and Jason's little Aidan is going to a new home tomorrow so I loved any and every picture of our sweet little Aidan boy.  Jamie is going to be so heartbroken to give him up- but the family who is adopting him is absolutely wonderful in every way and it is a fantastic situation and one in which she feels very blessed and grateful.  Still doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to a cute little boy you love with all of your heart.  Speaking of little boys-- love seeing pictures of my newest nephew Chris!  He is darling and whenever I see his picture I have to snap it and save to my own camera roll because it makes me so happy.  Can't wait to meet this little man in person.

This month we celebrated a darling friend of mine TWICE! Haha!  Sameen's husband surprised her with a night out at an Escape Room-- all of us girls showed up at the grocery store where she was doing her weekly shopping in stockings over our heads and a big van.  We kidnapped Sameen and enjoyed a night out to dinner and giving it our best shot  escaping a CSI lab.  It was really fun-- I'd never done it before but would definitely love to do it again!  And then of course, we celebrated her original plan of dinner out at Cheesecake factory in ugly Christmas sweaters and bright red lipstick.  We  first met at Sears to get our pictures taken... it was such a hoot!  

This month the kids had quite a few days off from school.  We enjoyed spending time with the Jones... dinners, movies, sports.  I rarely take pictures, but we are always meeting up with them on the weekend per Grant and Dane's request!  It is always a good time.  This month we hiked up Annie's Canyon with the Jones and baked cookies afterward.  It's always such a blast to have a day off school to do whatever we please.  Especially as soccer is winding down and we are not so committed in the afternoons.  I am LOVING it.  LOVING it!!!

Another adventure we like to plan when school is out- is going up to Grandma and Grandpa's house. This month we enjoyed the best day ever- playing at Grandma's house, going out to lunch and then to see the movie Wonder, which we completely adored.  And then ice skating at the Spectrum.  It was a fun filled day and we enjoyed every minute of it.  Such a fun time and so proud of the kids for giving it their all with the ice skating.  They are better than I am at it-- that's for sure!

So many fun times ... the only hitch was the bit of stress I experienced in finding out that I had another melanoma on my back:(  It was a bit of a surprise and I had to quickly do the surgery to fix the problem.  You can see from the picture that it was no small fix and my back was aching for a few weeks.  But hey, I am so grateful they found it and that they removed it!  Once I recovered, it was back to planning for the ward christmas party decor, and the school crafts and cocoa!!!  Among other things.  Tis' the season to have WAY too much on your plate- haha.  I loved this Christmas checklist I found.  I'm trying, really trying....to slow down and enjoy the season.  So much to be grateful for!