My Sister

I went to visit Becky and her Family for Thanksgiving. I had such a fun weekend hanging out, shopping, baking, making Christmas presents, spending time with the kids, and of coursing laughing! I wish we lived closer so we could see each other a lot more often. Brings me back to living in Utah together and celebrating every possible thing we could just so we could be festive together. Thanks for being such a good sister and friend!Ed and Rebecca

Callie Cat
Cater Bug (I don't think I'm supposed to call him that anymore :)
I love this picture of Cater and Becky, I think it is so sweet!Okay, we were driving to church and there was an alligator hanging out right in Becky's neighborhood. He was just chilling by the water. So on our way back home, he was still there. Ed was a good sport and pulled over so I could take a picture. I asked if they were supposed to call animal control and Ed explained that they don't remove alligators because if they did they would be doing it all day.....what the heck??? Alligator invested neighborhoods? Callie told me that you respect them and leave them alone. No one goes swimming in the Bayous b/c that is their home. I guess they do have alligator attacks but it is when a pet decides to take a dip. When Callie and Becky go running with Holly, Callie is really careful that she doesn't go down by the water. I'm just afraid the alligator we saw is going to grow into this size gator that we saw at the Bayou Wild Animal Park!!!!!

A Texas Thanksgiving

We got up Thanksgiving morning and cooked/baked like crazy. Callie and I were in charge of making mini turkey cupcakes. We were a good team and made a whole platter of them (plus the ones we ate as we were making them). Becky made all kinds of good sides and also some homemade rolls! It was fun to be in the kitchen with Becky and Callie. I love holidays and it was for sure a festive day!

The finished product! Gobble Gobble!Cater being silly on the way to Thanksgiving dinner. He is filled with holiday cheer!

We had Thanksgiving dinner over Becky's friend Jenny's house. Jenny was so welcoming and fun to be around. The dinner was fabulous. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, salad, and much more. Finished the meal with pumpkin and chocolate cream pie!Jenny's house was so festive. Here is the adult Table!Kids table! After dinner the kids went SWIMMING in an outdoor pool? What???? I'm used to Thanksgiving in Utah where it is chilly!

Cater lovin the turkey leg....reminds me of Mema, she always took a big bite out of the turkey leg for a Thanksgiving photo. Way to carry on the tradition Cater!

Sweet Callie and I snuggling on the couch chatting and watching a Dog Show Competition!I am so thankful I got to spend the day with Becky, Ed, Cater, and Callie.

Bayou Wild Animal Park

We had so much fun at Bayou Wild Animal Park. As soon as we drove up, animals surrounded our car. I'm not even joking, they practically got in the car with us. It was really cool.

Callie feeding a ram!
Check out Cater poising by this big huge hog. When it walked, its belly dragged. By the way, Cater's shirt says: It's not a party unless I'm there.
That is for darn sure. It is a party when Cater is around!
AHHHHH
There were all kinds of wild life including these camels hanging out behind Callie and I. We had just fed them. It was so much fun to be with Callie and watch her in her element....love her!

Seriously...Callie is in heaven being able to snuggle a reindeer. It was so cool just being able to walk up to the wildlife and have them be gentle.

My new boyfriend! My pretty sister getting a little wild with the animals!I love Cater!!! He had to remind me it isn't cool for him to hold my hand anymore. Ohhhh, he is growing up.

We had an authentic Texas lunch after the Wild Animal Park! It was such a fun day!

Hard to say goodbye!

It was hard as always to leave. I LOVE spending time in Texas with Becky and her family. I love it that Callie is so tender hearted and wears animal t-shirts. She for sure is a true blue animal lover. She is also fun to cook with and again....sweet as sugar!

Cater and Callie both play on basketball teams. Cater and I played basketball together right before my plane left. He is sooo good. I'm practicing for a rematch the next time I see him. Cater has such a cute personality. I can't believe how much he is growing up! He has a great sense of humor and totally cracks me up. When Becky and Callie took me to the airport, Cater got on his bike and followed us out of the neighborhood say "Don't go Aunt Carol." Wow, talk about feeling loved! Of course he was doing it in a silly way which even made it harder to leave.
Thanks for a fun Thanksgiving weekend. I miss you all like crazy!!!!

Christmas Shopping and Lunch

Jaime, the girls, and I went out to lunch and Christmas Shopping. We had such a fun time. Gracie, Elsa, and Anna were perfect little shoppers. I love them to pieces.

Look how adorable Gracie and Elsa look in their hats!!!! They look like they should be Gap Models :)

Gracie and I at lunch....we got shredded pork burritos, yum!

Ahhhh...Anna and Elsa at the mall. Anna loved looking at all the Christmas lights and Elsa was my little buddy. It was a fun afternoon. Jaime and I had a good time chatting and shopping! I love this time of the year. Steve and Ethan were at the last home Ute's game.

Melissa's Birthday

For Melissa's birthday we had dinner at Tuscanos. It was a very festive environment. Melissa was a good sport standing on her chair and shaking a tambourine like a rock star when then sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

Fancy birthday girl!

Melissa and I have so much fun together. I am glad we are such good friends.

Anna's Blessing

Anna is such a sweet baby. I was so happy I got to be a part of her blessing day. She is perfect and adorable. We all love her so much that she is always being cuddled. Here are some of the pictures from the day.

Proud parents with baby Anna. I love this picture. Anna is totally chilling, she is so strong and alert.

Gracie, Ethan and Elsa love their sister. Pictures after the blessing.

I love Anna!

I took a whole photo shoot of Elsa! Once I get back to digital scrapbooking I'll have a whole spread on her! Elsa told me that she looked like an Oreo in her dress, her cats name is also Oreo!

Ethan and Gracie at lunch. Ethan said that his croissant was in the shape of a "U" of course for the UofU, so he was a fan! Gracie went along with it!

Relaxing after the blessing. I love this picture. Mom and Anna.

Ashli and Anna

Cheesecake and relaxation!

Relaxing after the blessing. Yes, Elsa does have an 80s headband on in this picture! It was such a nice day. I am thankful for Anna and also for having such a good family!

Happy Halloween

On Halloween we decided to go to Cornbellies at Thanksgiving Point. Steven and Ethan didn't come with us because they were leaving to go to the U of U blackout game. Ethan is a true sports fan to be willing to miss Cornbellies and trick or treating!

Ahhhh, Elsa playing in the corn! Then she cruised through the pumpkin maze below.

We went into this lizzard/beast maze thing. Right now we are in the heart chamber and had just been freaked out. We had so much fun that Gracie and I went through again with Jaime! Embarrassing to say but we only made it half way through. When we got to the stomach area, the beast had indigestion or something and made this super loud sound...we got the heck out of there.Mining for gems! Gracie and Mom competing in the duck races!

Lost in the corn maze!

Gracie looks like a model here. We had such a fun time at Cornbellies!

Dad took a moment to hold Anna! She was just starring at him, it was so cute.

Jaime's yummy stew that she makes every Halloween! Thanks Jaime it was fabulous as usual.

What a cute 50's girl!

Elsa dressed up like Minney Mouse!

Trick or Treat! There was a huge group of us (Steve and Jaime's friends and their kids plus family) that took the kids door to door.Dad and Michael joined in on the trick or treating fun!Ashli trying to make Michael jealous with her new boyfriend!

After trick or treating the kids sorted through their candy and the adults played a fun dice game. It was a fun Halloween! Oh and the UofU won!!! Go Utes!