Pictures!!

 We went to my sisters house yesterday and I was able to take these family pictures for them.  I think they turned out good.  I didn't want to post the REALLY cute ones because she wants to send some out as Christmas cards, but I thought I would post some of my Favs.  Isn't my sister beautiful and her family adorable.  Her family was so much fun to take pictures of because everyone was always smiling. I didn't notice the P in the picture above until afterwards, but I still think it's cute.

Love them!!!!!

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas!!!

So I am finally getting around to posting about Thanksgiving.  Which was awesome by the way!!!!  We were able to go to Vegas and see my brother and his family.  This was mine and the kids first time going to Vegas so we were excited.  But I have to admit I was a little worried when we first drove into Vegas because of all the billboards and signs,  I had to keep reminding Justin to keep his eyes on the road:)  But we made it through and had a yummy-lecious Thanksgiving dinner.   I didn't get any pictures of anything because the first day that we were there Bailee got into my camera and drained the batteries, she always does that. (I will have to get copies from you Des)

Friday I went Black Friday shopping with my sister-in-law Des.  We got up a little before 4am and got back around 10:00 am.  IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! I couldn't believe how fast the time went.  We both got some really good deals, which made it really worth getting up that early:)  It was soooo nice to spend so much uninterrupted time with Des and talk and laugh it was great,  Thanks Des, We should do it again!!!!!  When we got back it was the hubbies turn shop, but they didn't last near as long:)

Saturday they took us to a store called Bass Pro, it's a hunting/fishing store.  It was amazing, the store just kept going and going.   They had little projects for kids to work on, a huge fish tank and a fishing demonstration, an aquarium with sharks and sting rays, and throughout the store they had real stuffed animals in cool poses. Everything ranging from bears and moose, to lions and leopards to a giraffe. It was so cool.  I could have stayed in that store forever.  Then later that night after the kids went to bed we ate pie, played games and talked. 

It was so hard to leave.  I loved everything about being at their house.  They did and had so many things that reminded me of growing up.  Gummy worms, liquorice and Inspector Gadget.  Loved that show!!!! Then one night my brother sat in the hall and played his guitar, sang to the kids then read to them, which my dad did when we were growing up and I loved it.  I love being around family and watching my kids play with their cousins.  Thanks again Nathan and Des for everything, we had so much fun!!!!!

On the way home we hit a wonderful winter storm.  So the drive that should have taken us 7 hours took us 10 hours.  I couldn't believe how many people slid off the road and how many accidents there were.  Only in Utah do people think that with snow, ice and wind they can still go 65 mphs.  I am so thankful that Justin is such a good driver and he got us home safely.  Thanks Justin for taking me to see my family!!!!

Humbled

It is amazing to me how much wisdom a little 5 year old can have.  I have been having a rough week with the kids, and by the time bed time rolls around I am burnt out and cranky.  Needless to say there has been a lot of yelling, slamming doors and threatening on my part (so sorry to Justins family who has to listen to it :).  Last night the girls weren't going to bed and I was once again letting my anger get the better of me and I stormed in to the girls room.  Then I saw Bailee standing in the middle of the room ,with the sadest look on her face and then she tells me,

" Mom, I don't like it when your angry, can you please be happy and never be angry again." and then she crumbled in my arms.

Talk about heart breaking!!!!! Then it was my turn to crumble in her arms and tell her how sorry I was and how much I loved her.  Then Sydney came over and hugged both of us and said "Mom you need to be happy and leave the light on because it's scary".

Then Bailee asked if I would get into my pj's and sleep with her, which of course I couldn't say no to.  As we were snuggling she looks at me and rubs my face and says " Remember mom we always need to say sorry".

At that moment I knew that was my Heavenly Fathers way of saying "tone it down" and I knew that my little Bailee was teaching me something amazing.  Not only did she teach me that our actions REALLY affect those around us;but how simple and powerful the words "I'm sorry" can be.  I think that as parents we teach and teach our kids to say sorry and recognize when they have hurt someone.  But sometimes we forget to practice what we teach especially in our own families because, "we are the parents, and we can never be wrong".  But our kids need to know that we make mistakes, that we recognize them, and are willing to do what we are expecting them to do.

I knew all of this stuff before, but last night it really touched my heart.  I know that I will continue to make mistakes, and so will my kids.  I will have many more hard days, I 'm sure that there is more yelling to come,because hey we're not perfect.  But I know that I can always strive to be a better mom; and in tough moments let my pride go and let myself reach out for my children and ask them for forgiveness.  We can't be perfect parents or have perfect kids, but we can have perfect moments together and those moments will carry us through the harder times.

Anyways sorry to ramble, but I wanted to make sure that I wrote this down.

"Remember to always say sorry " -Bailee

Today was the day that we finally decided to update our family pictures.  Amber, Justin's sister was kind enough to take these pictures for us.  I love them, they turned out really cute.  Kudos to Amber for doing so well, because anyone who has ever taken pictures of this family knows what a challenge it is.  I updated all my pictures with the new ones, but here are some more just for fun!!

In between pictures we let the kids roll down the hill, then we had to pick all the leaves off of them. 

 We were making silly faces, well at least some of us were :)

 I love it.  When taking pictures there is only one thing that can make this man smile.  Any guesses???

After pictures Justin surprised us by taking us out to Wingers, yummo!!! Love their Asphalt Pie, it's to die for.  Even though the day started out rough and as we were walking out the door to take pictures everyone was fighting, I think it ended pretty well.