Holiday fun

This time of year always gets really busy, this year was no exception. I have been dealing with a bit of family issues and it's put a damper on my holiday spirit recently. I really need to just sit back and enjoy this fun holiday time because before I know it it will be gone. I don't want to miss out on any upcoming memories and I will always cherish this Christmas. Anyway it's been a little while so I will back track a little...
Thanksgiving was SO fun, we escaped down to Vegas and enjoyed a warmer climate with Jarrett's side of the family. Although the ride down was awful, we had a dead battery and a sick puking baby (you can't get much worse) it was totally worth it when we FINALLY got there. We had the best tasting Thanksgiving dinner to date and Ella had two darling girls (Jen's kids) to play with. Jarrett and I totally scored with black Friday sales (go to Vegas for black Friday and you will beat all the holiday rush, people were so kind and it was a breeze) plus they have great outlets and lots and lots of shopping places. Jarrett and I were talking the whole time about how we should just move there, the housing is so cheap and I could get a pool, keep dreaming.... Jarrett shouldn't get my hopes up like that! Anyway it was seriously so much fun, I can't wait to go again.




I finally got my Christmas tree up last week, and it's starting to feel like Christmas at our house! Jarre did a really good job putting up the lights this year (I'm really picky and like them really straight) I'll have to post a pic later because I forgot to take a picture of them.

Old stuff that I've had for years but when you start putting Christmas things out from past years memories come flooding back. I remember all our old Christmas ornaments and I get so excited to see them on my Mom's tree every year.

Ella has her own tree in her room. I got all the stuff on clearance last year and was really excited to put it together this year.

Ella just loves her daddy, she's such a Daddy's girl (when he comes home anyway) She calls him "Darre" -Jarre and hollers down the stairs at him. She doesn't climb down the stairs anymore she slides it's so funny she can even climb up on the couch all by herself. And if she has a hard time she'll drag random things and use them as a step stool, she is way too smart.
She loves to help me clean, here she is cleaning up some milk she spilled on the floor. She watches me clean the house and wants to help me. She is really good at putting away her toys in her toy box. She loves to carry that red bucket in the picture around the house and puts random things in it, it's too funny.
My sister brought her kitty over to our house when she stayed the night. She just loved that "Ki Ki" as she called her. The kitty was so nice to just let her squeeze her too, she just stayed on her lap as Ella mauled her to death! She is getting so big and she acts like a little person. I can't wait for Christmas this year, she will be so fun!

Grateful

Lately I've been wanting a lot of things, wishing I had more mostly. Thinking I had no clothes, wanting a different car. Wishing I had more money to buy things I "need". Stressing about Christmas and what to get everyone, more things that they "need". And then something happened, I had a 10 year old cousin pass away in a tragic car crash and my life was sort of put on pause.
You see I didn't know him very well but going to his funeral was absolutely heart breaking, his family is in agony. To loose a child would be the most painful thing I could ever imagine and I pray everyday that it doesn't happen to me, to anyone I know.
And then I read this blog about a young boy diagnosed with a brain tumor right before his mother found out she was pregnant. He barely made it to see his little sister and passed away yesterday, and it sent me over the edge.
How could I be so worldly, I have nothing to complain about. A healthy baby girl and a loving husband is what I'm blessed with and that is more than I could have ever asked for. I really want to count my blessings this thanksgiving. I really don't "need" anything more than what I have and it shouldn't have taken tragedy for me to realise it. I have such a great family and we've been though utter despair, it has been very hard. I'm just so grateful for the family I have, they are the best.
Mostly I've decided I don't want to teach Ella that the holidays are all about gifts, family is the best gift you have, it IS the most important gift!
When a family member has to leave from earth, a piece of you gets taken with them that will essentially never be replaced.
Hug and kiss your loved ones a little tighter, we are so lucky!

Caught RED handed!

We grew a lot of tomatoes this year in our garden and put the green ones in a cardboard box in hopes they would ripen. Well little did we know how much Ella loves tomatoes, who would have thought? EVERY time I forget to close the mudroom door, this happens
Notice the splatter everywhere? Yep she devours the entire thing and goes on to the next. At least I have no problem getting her to like her veggies, right?? I think it's just time to move the tomatoes to a higher place don't ya think?

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all had a fun Halloween this year, we sure did. Last year we had just got back from the hospital with Ella and were too exhausted to celebrate, I didn't even dress her up. I thought she would be born after Halloween for sure but I was wrong. Anyway I decided to just make her costume this year out of stuff lying around my craft room which turned out to be a bunny ballerina, Jarre wasn't quite convinced until he actually saw her costume. He really wanted her to be a pumpkin but when it comes to dressing Ella he always gives in (Ella will thank me when she's older).

I found this costume on Saturday for only 5 dollars for Maggie, can't ya tell she just loved it?

Jarre and I didn't dress up, we were pretty lame this year, we just enjoyed our little bunny prancing around the house. We went to my mom's house for their Halloween party and Ella had to go to the door every time the doorbell rang to say hi and bye to everyone. She loved all the attention she got.

My baby is 1!

One year ago yesterday the sweetest most beautiful baby girl was added to our family and what a delight it has been. It is so surreal that a year has passed but at the same time I feel as though she has been in my life forever, every mom out there knows exactly what I am talking about. I'll never forget when the doctor handed her to me and I gazed into those sparkling blue eyes I knew there was such thing as love at first sight. Ella as your mom I understood the responsibility and teaching becoming a mom entails, but I never anticipated what you would actually teach me! Happy Birthday my sweetest baby girl (well toddler now but you will always be my baby) you definitely got spoiled but you deserved every bit of it!

It was so fun to watch her destroy her cake that took me so many hours to make! It was totally worth it:)

My sisters, mom and Grandma

She was totally posing for the camera here, ha ha you just have to know her personality she is such a ham!

Here are some pictures from the photo shoot we had at the beginning of October. She was not in a very good mood but somehow Amanda managed to get some great shots!

On her Birthday we sent this picture into Good Things Utah. She was the only birthday that day and Reagan commented that she was "just the cutest with the cake dress and big smile". Although they accidentally put up my name instead of hers, oh well:)

This one is my favorite picture, I'm a fan of the serious ones!

Jarrett's favorite picture, ha ha I love when she makes this smile.

Today it was time to box up some of her clothes that she has grown out of and it was a little emotional going through her newborn clothes. I know, I know I'm a little attached to them but oh the memories I have! It's time to make room for more that's for sure:)

Disneyland

My parents took us to Disneyland last week and we had so much fun! We flew out from Vegas and went to the Disneyland and California park for 5 days. I hoped that with all that walking I would at least loose a pound or two but NOPE, oh well. Anyway it was so much fun and my Grandma Egley came too and was more than happy to watch Ella on the fast rides. My favorite rides were the storybook (old school) ones where Ella could just enjoy looking at everything she loved it's a small world Winnie the pooh and peter pan. We got to ride the rides over and over again because we had a handicap pass so we got to go on most of the major rides of the park. I'll never forget the fun memories we made on this trip, we just had so much fun!

She loved the plane ride, She just wanted to look out the window the whole time, the ear pressure didn't bother her a bit.

During October they decorate the park all Halloween and The Nightmare before Christmas, I loved it!

My mom just had to get a Tinkerbell costume. They had trick or treating one night and Ella and Ali dressed up for it.

My sister and her husband Danny came too for 1 day, I unfortunately didn't get any pictures with them it it:( I just got a bunch of funny ones like this!

My grandma and Ella just love each other, moments like this are priceless!

She loved meeting the princess's. She ran right up to Cinderella and gave her a hug!

We went straight to Delta from the Vegas airport to be at Jordon's farewell talk on Sunday morning. He gave the most amazing talk, I don't think there were many dry eyes in the audience. He has shown so much maturity in the last little while, I can't believe how much he's grown. He and Kris have become my brothers and I will be so sad to see him go. But I am so proud of him and I know he is in the right place, doing the right thing. It will be hard not to have him for a few years but luckily we can talk to him through letters and emails. I know Danielle will be with him right by his side probably more than ever, I hope he shares all his experiences with us.

Random things

Ok so I've been needing to do a post about Ella because she is WALKING!! Ok so it's old news to us because she started a month ago so now she's a pro and can practically run. I was a little in denial that my 10 month old was taking steps but there was no denying what she was doing and it is pretty exciting stuff, well to us anyway. She's also throwing stuff, she especially loves to throw my nicely folded clothes off of the ottoman so I have to be quick to put them away before she can get her hands on them. She's getting a little naughtiness to her that I can't help but laugh at, as hard as I try not to. She understands so much, it's hard for me to believe what a little 11 month old can retain but she really amazes me. She says "my babba" before putting it in her mouth taking a sip and then trying to put it in yours. She can wave bye and holds her finger up for number 1 which she'll be turning at the end of this month, I know I know it's hard to believe.

Anyway We've had some fun mini trips lately and while I won't go into detail, we had a lot of fun. Plus a picture is worth about a thousand words right?? We'll start with park city a few weeks ago we got to stay in a condo with two other couples, I need to go back like now!

Ella could just stay in the pool forever, I don't have any pictures but she splashes and squeals the WHOLE time, she LOVES the pool so much.

So do we!!

Sitting watching the skiers do all sorts of flips into a huge swimming pool, it was amazing.

October fest was last weekend and it was a lot of fun, my only regret was not getting my face painted but I tripped pretty hard after holding Ella and we were kinda done after that.

This guy was funny it was his idea to take the picture, and after we did he thanked us, lol.

Everyone kept coming up to us and telling us how high maintenance our little girl was. Just because she was wearing a fur vest and legwarmers, ha ha I thought it was funny. People say the weirdest things.....

Anyway it was a lot of fun, that is perhaps one of the things I will miss most about summer is all the festivities. I was able to attend Steele days, Eagle mountain days, Art city days, Delta days, Swiss days, peach days and October fest in snowbird. Here we sat and listened to the yodeling, it was pretty cool.

Oh and this weekend Ella went for her first 4 wheeler ride. We went up the canyon with the Sorensen's and had a yummy dinner. My camera died so all I got was this one shot. It was absolutely beautiful up there the trees were so colorful. It ended up raining but we still had a lot of fun!