Christmas 2013: Portland, OR

I have the worst luck with flying. Like, terrible. There's ALWAYS a cancellation, delay, mechanical issue, puking, missing pilots, etc. For Christmas break there was a huge snow storm and our flight was cancelled. Instead of taking TRAX back to Provo and then up to SLC again the next day, we decided to get a hotel and start vacation despite the roadblock. Although it was tough to stay overnight without a pack-n-play for Vincent, he managed to have lots of fun swimming, watching Super Why and eating Pizza.

The next day we were able to fly out without any issues. Hallelujah! We had a wonderful time in Portland and Vincent absolutely loved playing with all of his cousins. Christmas in Portland was much different than a typical Christmas for me, but it was a lot of fun to understand how Paul spent his Christmases growing up.

 

 

We finally made it back home a few days after Christmas.

Home Sweet Home!

Merry Christmas!

Birthday Girl.

It's true folks, I'm another year older and wiser. Twenty-four. That's almost a quarter century. Scary stuff. But let's focus on the day and not my age. This was one of the first years I haven't really cared about a fancy birthday dinner or gifts. I'm at this point in life where I have everything I need and I'm not left wanting much. Plus, Paul is insanely busy with school and work and I didn't want to make him stress about birthday plans.

I did, however, wake up to a cute birthday note on the fridge! Vince was planning on taking me to Denny's for my free Grand Slam and then he had the stellar idea to invite Kait and Rylie. The rest of the morning and afternoon were nice and low key. At 4, Paul came home with a dozen GORGEOUS fuchsia roses. We dropped Vince off at the sitters, grabbed some grub and snuck it in to the movies to eat while watching Catching Fire.

Presents were to follow. My favorite tradition is receiving a birthday letter every year. It means so much more than gifts that break, grow old or get forgotten over the years. Paul did great with gifts too. I took my time and tried to guess what they were just by feeling them. Then we had some pumpkin pie. You'll just love it when you see how Vincent asks for more...

Thanksgiving Day.

I'm sorely disappointed that I took so few photos on Thanksgiving Day, but these will have to suffice. Throughout the month of November we started a new tradition of making "thankful leaves" to hang on the fireplace. We had Vince color on the leaves and then we would write something he is thankful for. It's definitely a tradition that will stick around for a while.

As for Thanksgiving Day, we started out the morning with the Burt's. They were kind enough to let us join them for their annual Thanksgiving Croquet Match. Ruth and Paul tied for first place and Dan brought in the rear with last place but with lots and lots of revenge. To stuff ourselves silly we drove up to American Fork and had a fantastic family meal with the Dave Paulson family.

Thanksgiving was more meaningful this year than ever before. As a child, Thanksgiving was mostly about eating pumpkin pie. At least that's what I thought. But as I've grown up, moved away and started my own family it has evolved into so much more. Gratitude is a beautiful thing.

O-H-I-O

Yes, I'm a BYU Alum. But that doesn't mean I bleed blue like a cougar. On the contrary, I bleed scarlet and grey. And with a few more years, I'm hoping the rest of my family will too... I think I'm off to a good start :)

Leaf it to Vincent.

This little boy cannot get enough of Fall. We've always been a cuddly family but now he has piles of blankets and thick jammies to add to it. And let me tell you, it is nearly impossible to keep this child inside. Most of the leaves are raked up and thrown away by now, but there were a few weeks where the minute Vince set foot outside he would charge toward the piles of leaves.

Fall is slowly winding down but we're doing out best to enjoy the occasional warm days at the park and on walks. There really isn't anything better than seeing the pure joy on Vince's face when we play outside. So here's to Fall, my favorite season of the year!

Can't stop.

I can't stop listening to Christmas music.
No.
I won't stop.
Loving this extra holiday cheer!
But at least I save the Christmas tree until after Thanksgiving, right?

Happy Halloween!

Last year our attempt at a family costume theme was a complete bust. I'm proud to say that this year was much more acceptable than last. That being said, don't be too surprised if we're lazy and repeat next year. But who knows, maybe I'll get creative again.

Cornbelly's.

One of the happiest moments of every year is jumping on an over sized, super inflated, cornbelly. The thought alone reduces to me a fit of giggles. The first year I went to Cornbelly's was in 2009 with my Brittany roommates. Since then I've returned almost every year [it got away from us last year because Vince was still so little].

Marlee and Ashley are pure genius and had the idea to reunite the Brittany gals at Cornbelly's this year. Although this time it was a little different, seeings as two are now RM's, two are now married and we have a baby! Regardless, it was blast to be reunited with some of my favorites for the first time in 3 years!

Water Baby.

Ice Skating in October.

We're cheap, which means we love our "Pass of all Passes" to death. We used it numerous times this Summer to swim and zip down slides, a few times to play Putt-Putt and now we can check free ice skating off our "Pass" list. The catch, however, was that we had to go ice skating before the true ice skating season even began. Early or not, we had an enjoyable time and Vince was as cute as could be on the ice. Three cheers for cheap, wholesome, family entertainment!

This is Love.