christmas break fun

before i took christmas down, i snapped a few pictures in a panic because i hadn't taken any! i always take pictures for memories sake and i totally forgot. so here are a few!

and i had to post these next couple pictures... this tiny new baby is absolutely loved and adored by her sisters. it's pretty evident in these. she's screaming her little head off and look at her sisters' faces.

we took the girls downtown to see the windows at the grand. and also the huge gingerbread house.

nice lazy days with everyone at home with nowhere to be and nothing to do.

james and i celebrated our 12th anniversary by dining at our usual spot, the mandarin. it tasted extra delicious this year. not kidding. 

rosie turned 1 month old. fastest month ever. despite what it looks like, i think she's enjoying her time on earth so far.

my 34th birthday came with the sweetest celebration. my older girls kept me in my room until they were done decorating and while their dad was out getting me a delicious breakfast, diet coke included.

it really was the sweetest and i loved it! i spent the day cashing in on my birthday freebies and doing a little birthday shopping. james did the laundry (monday is laundry day even if it is my birthday) and then i took over folding at the end of the day. james picked up pizza for me from one of my favorite pizza joints, pizzeria limon, i watched a little new girl, and folded mountains of laundry. i loved it. honest to goodness.

new year's eve and new year's day was spent up at my parents'. we were lucky enough to have my grandparents and aunt barbara with us as well. the kids loved being together, sledding, playing, having a cousin sleepover, decorating cookies, and all of the things. i loved having extra adults around to love on my baby and prepare delicious food for me to eat. my aunt barbara introduced us to apple nog on nye and it was delicious! everyone worked together to make a new year's day feast and it was delicious. it was such a wonderful way to bring in 2020.

i've never been more grateful for family and good memories made. i love my little family and am so grateful to bring in a new year with them. christmas break was so good for my soul and i was so sad to see it leave. james took some work off and i loved having my whole family under one roof for days. can't wait for the next time!

new year's 2019

our new year's eve could be summed up as loud, chaotic, laid back, and exhausting. the girls loved being with cousins, doing a fun little countdown of their own, and then whisked off to bed.

the adults stayed up mostly just to say we did. we cheers'ed with some sparkling cider and then called it a night. we're really getting too old for that!

aunt haley did the girls' hair the next day and they loved it. mom's hairstyles get a little boring every day. they loved getting the one on one time with her and getting a new little hair do too! and they looked so cute! if i would have put money on it, i would have said that brooklyn's hair would have lasted the longest, but i would have been wrong. kendall actually kept hers in the longest and that shocked me!

we came home tired for sure, but so ready to start a new year and jump back into our routines at home and get settled back in to real life.

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james and i celebrated our 11 year anniversary on the 28th and enjoyed going out to a movie together and then dinner at the mandarin. brooklyn even babysat while we went to dinner and it was the best thing ever! we can't believe we're here at 11 years but man, we can't wait to see what the next 11 bring!

new year's eve!

buuut...to quickly wrap up the very end of 2017...

james and i celebrated our anniversary by going to a movie, the greatest showman, easily in my favorite top 5, sitting down to watch our wedding day dvd with our girls, and then dinner at the mandarin of course. my mother in law and tori were so nice to take them so we could do all of our outings without kids. it was such a fun day just the two of us!

and we lucked out finding this tree in bountiful while driving around looking at lights aka getting adi to sleep. the girls are obsessed with it, especially kendall. she said we need to see it 5 nights!

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two days later was my birthday and it ended up being a great day! i went to the gym with chelsea (who also drove me, AND took me to lunch at the cheesecake factory), i got to go shopping, to swig, to get my nails done, and go to target all by myself! there was also some cafe rio in there for lunch and then a drive up to coalville. we all left the kids with babysitters and the adults went for a late night dinner at denny's in park city. it was so fun to be together! especially because dev and kenz were in town for the holidays. my girls loved being with them and all of their cousins over the break. we ate delicious food, including homemade rolls twice (thanks mom!). watched lots of football, played games and dealt with a lot of chaos! 

new year's eve was pretty low key. we had a delicious spread of shrimp and dip, krab cocktail, chips and salsa, oreos, slush, and of course, sparkling cider at midnight. james got the kids into a movie and then they all went to bed. we stayed up just past midnight and then all hit the hay. it was such a great way to ring in the new year and luckily, catching up on sleep hasn't been too bad!

the next day we said goodbye to dev & kenz (and the dogs). we can't wait to see them again! we had sourdough pancakes and bacon, then it was more cousin time, a workout at the high school for the grown ups, more football, and then time to head back home. so much fun but i was so ready to get home and get christmas down and get back to the routine of life. we loved 2017 and can't wait to see what happens in 2018!