Best Christmas Gift Ever

We got the best surprise ever as we came home from LA.  We sealed (most) of our family for time and eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. It was absolutely the most beautiful day in recent memory.

On the way home..

On our way home, we stopped at Cove Fort - it was so neat! I had no idea it was there and that it was a mid point between northern and southern Utah.

Los Angeles in December Part 3

La Brea was so neat! There are tar pits all over the grounds there, all kinds of little spots with a fence around it.  I love this kind of stuff.

Sam was a little freaked out at first... it moves, lol.

These are plungers in tar.. dang they were hard to pull up!

More moving things... giant cat... Sunbun's cousin?

Ok, so this is an LA icon... but I never paid attention until we were here... The mama and the baby are on the banks and the daddy is stuck and sinking! So sad.

We had fun.  Missed Jacob though.

Los Angeles in December Part 2

All about town.

 Awesome Australian candy maker! NO CORN SYRUP!!

Santa Monica sunset.

Sariah's first trip to the beach. She thought the sand was crazy, she squealed with delight the entire time.

The Doctor's turn.

Los Angeles in December Post 1

We started our trip in Saint George.

Missed in November

All I want for Christmas.....

Everyone loves the backpack! Thanks Nikki!

I swear, she is the goofiest.

The Gnomes Home. LOL

We get so many compliments on these hats.

Lala and Aunt Laura bonding over hair dye.

Sunbun's turn.

Halloween festivities

I volunteered to make cupcakes for the church party. This is just a portion of them. 5 dozen.

Lala and Grandma Catherine. Grandma made her skirt, Grammy provided the shirt. It was super funny for me, I think I was her age when I wore the same get up. 

Community pumpkin picking...

And carving :)

Are you sure I shouldn't have this sucker???

Catching up.... again

I got way behind so I am going to put some posts in here by month :)

Here are some fun family pics.

She is so serious.

He is so big.

Silly  Daddy.

We lost Aunt Linda this year. The odd side effect is that we get to see family that we don't always get the chance to visit with. SIL Trish and I with the little ones. My dad in the middle and uncles at his side.

Sickness & Sofas

It really was a crazy week. Sariah wasn't herself and I kept thinking that the teething monster had her. She has been the hardest teether. By Thursday I figured she had a bug. Friday morning I left for the Temple at 6am to grab dear Debbie and when I returned there were people barfing and popping and oh my. It wasn't long and the whole house with the exception of Super Sam was infected. We spent all day Friday and most of yesterday being sick or doing laundry. By late last night it was gone, thankfully just as fast as it came, but it knocked us all out. Today was a day of recooperation. I fiddled with the house more and got all the boxes unpacked from the living room/school space. I am super excited to get the school portion finished over the coming week. Erik has a couple cabinets to mount for me and a chalkboard to paint and hang. Oh and a rail to put under it. I am demanding aren't I?

I feel so blessed. We are all loving our space.

Oh and the sofa part... Tuesday I decided I was sick of the old futon mattress so we came home with this nice bright yellow one. Daddy's favorite color.

kitchen all unpacked

I just unpacked the last kitchen box, took a long cool shower and started tomato sauce & gnocchi for tonight's community potluck.  I am feeling pretty good.  Tired, but good.

It feels so good.

New Spaces

This morning I took my last shower in our old house. I gazed out the bathroom window over the land we held so many dreams for. The place where Ellie and I would get to spin. The tree that was to be the shade for our sweet bunny and a space for our hens. The garden. Sigh. The garden was the start of the mess. After all the tears, my Father in Heaven showed us a new path.

It has taken us a bit to get used to the kindness and love the people at Wasatch Commons have shown us. Wow. There really are real life people that are as nice as we strive to be!

The photo above is the path that leads to my new front door. More pictures coming :)

Krishna + Llamas

Two things that you wouldn't think about at the same time, unless you were at Llama Fest! The Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah hosts this fun festival each year. We had so much fun! The Krishna Temple is one of my favorite places, it is so pretty plus the Hindu clothing shop is fabulous! My MIL and I had too much fun there, LOL.

Ellie and Grandma had a great time getting some henna, Llamas of course! I found some great wool sweaters for Sam and Sariah at a great little Peruvian booth. We chanted Hare Krishna and listened to a Beatles tribute band. What an evening!