Christmas Tree Hunting and Holiday Update

It's hard to believe that 2013 has come and gone, and with it another Christmas has past.  We had a wonderful Christmas season this year.  To kick off our Holiday, we went Christmas tree hunting (we cut down our own tree).  We left the day after Thanksgiving for Star Valley, WY.  This was Abigail's first trip up to Star Valley.  We were able to stay the night with Steve's grandparents.  On Saturday, we went with the Harris' and Oma and Opa to find the perfect tree(s).  We had a few hiccups, such as Abigail falling asleep in the car and having to carry her up a snowy mountain and the chain saw losing it's chain after cutting down 3 out of 5 trees, but all in all it was a good experience.

For our Family Home Evening the following Monday, we set out to decorate our tree and the rest of our house.  Here is the finished product--it has a nice unique personality all it's own.

There is just something about Christmas decorations that warm my heart.  Some of our other Holiday events included hosting a Christmas party with my friends from high school, the annual Harris (I guess technically Johnston) Candy Making Day, making goodies for neighbors (matching aprons thanks to Grandma (Shirley) Harris), and our ward Christmas party where Abigail was able to meet Santa.  She started to understand Santa a little bit this year.  She could say "Santa," but didn't necessarily grasp that he is the one who brings presents on Christmas Eve.





 

Santa definitely visited our house this year.  We were all very good, so we received some nice gifts.

We were able to spend time with each of our families over Christmas Eve and Christmas. Abigail has been enjoying all of her gifts since Christmas.

Other events of note:

Abigail had her first dentist appointment, and everything looks good.  She enjoyed riding up and down on the chair.

We celebrated our one year move-in anniversary in our home on January 1, 2014.

Happy Halloween, Viva Las Vegas, and Over the Hill

We had a fun Halloween season this year.  To get into the festivities, we decorated our house...well as much as we could with the few Fall decorations we have.  It's always fun to add a little color and splash.  We also carved a pumpkin this year. Abigail helped scoop out the seeds, though she wasn't quite sure what to think of the squishy texture.

We once again decided on a family themed costume (we have to take advantage of the time before Abigail wants to choose her own costume).  After some deliberation, we decided on the Three Amigos, since this will most likely be our last Halloween with just the three of us (NO! This is not an announcement, just a general assumption based on our plans).  We dressed Abigail up in her costume for Steve's work Halloween party.

 Then we all dressed up together for Halloween.  When we took Abigail trick-or-treating, she couldn't say "Trick or Treat," but when people gave her candy, she would say, "Tank You."  It was adorable!

The next day, we made our way down to Las Vegas to see Chris (Steve's brother) graduate.  Abigail did great on the car ride.

On Friday night, Steve took me out to celebrate my 30th birthday (yep, I guess I am now over the hill, at least the small hill that is the 20's).  Abigail stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and went swimming with the cousins.

On Saturday we went to see Abigail's cousin Ryan play in his soccer game.  That night the whole family, plus some of Chris's friends, went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.  Sunday was the graduation.  Chris was one of the speakers.  He did a great job.  We were all very proud.  It was a fun trip.  Abigail enjoyed playing with her cousins, grandparents, and great-grand parents.

Cousin love (just missing Tyson)

Isn't this just such a precious picture!

I guess Adios would be the most appropriate sign off for now :)

The Prodigal Blogger has returned: Summer in a flash

Well, let's just say we took a summer hiatus from blogging.  It's not that we didn't say, "Oh we really need to catch up on our blog!" It's just that having fun and working in the yard took precedence (hopefully we will do a yard/home improvement post in the near future).  So, to give you a little smattering of what we have been doing all summer, I will break it down into Adventures and Abigail Growing Up.

Adventures:
After Abigail's first birthday, Daddy had a birthday too.  We were able to spend some time together as a family.  One thing we did was go to Seven Peaks (thank you Pass of All Passes for the free admission, though it did cost $7 for parking).  We didn't do much, seeing as Abigail was still a little tike, but we had fun in the wave pool, lazy river, and kiddo slides.

We were also able to go up to Clarkston, UT to visit Steve's cousin Aerika and her hubby Curtis.  Abigail loved, loved, loved their goats and dog.  We went to watch them play the roles of Joseph and Emma Smith in The Man Who Knew pageant (the Martin Harris Pageant).  It was a neat experience and we felt the Spirit testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  Plus, how many kids can say they got a picture with Joseph and Emma.

Abigail and mom have had some fun adventures around the Valley as well.  Here's a little photo journey through our fun times:

Park by our house. Abigail asks to go several times a day by pointing at the door and saying "wee"

Hogle Zoo giraffes

Hogle Zoo monkeys

Thanksgiving Point Farm.  She loved riding and petting the pony.

Thanksgiving Point Farm 

Cornbelly's.  She would have been content to dance to the music, pick up trash (handing it to me and saying "Tank You"), and climb on the hay

Cornbelly's

Wheeler Farm

Abigail Growing Up:

Abigail is certainly growing up.  It seems like every day she learns a new word, tries a new physical feat, or masters something that she couldn't do before.  She is walking and climbing over everything.  She is saying a few words independently and copying many that we say to her.  For example, she says "Tank You" when she hands us something or we give her something.  She also says, "Yeah" in answer to our questions.  She makes some animal sounds ("Wuh, wuh" for dog and almost anything else that moves, "baa," and "meow").  She knows several body parts, such as nose, eye, toes, feet, teeth, head, and sometimes ear and mouth. And daddy even taught her to copy him saying "b," "y," "u" (mommy is still working on U of U or Utah).

Abigail loves to do what mommy and daddy do.  She is becoming a big helper.  She especially likes to help make the bed by bringing us the pillows, and dust or sweep.  She enjoys playing the piano.  She also "brushes" her teeth whenever she can.

Abigail loves to play dress up.  Anything that can fit on her wrist is a bracelet, around her neck is a necklace, and on her head is a pretty hat.

Well, that's the quick version of our summer adventures.  We love our little girl and can't believe how fast she is growing.  Hopefully she is not driving before we write again!