Snow in AZ

It's a serious thing in AZ to go up for a day to play in the snow! Emma and Regan had never seen or played in "the sprinkles that look like diamonds" so I decided to join Aby and her family and Patrick and Alexa for an adventure. Thanks to my good friend Sheri for letting us use all their gear...we stayed completely dry and Emma and Regan thought they were so fashionable! Other than missing Brady- oh, and maybe the fact that I unrolled my window in Payson and it would NOT roll back up so I had to totally rig it just to stay warm...it was a DREAM!!!

Totally Worth It

We have great memories of going to Zoolights over the last several years and were looking forward to it again this year. Brady loves it and decided it was totally worth the money to take the girls. I wasn't convinced, but that changed when we pulled in the parking lot and I saw this...

I never forget the "singing trees", which I love, but I seem to underestimate all the other great displays. It was all so beautiful and festive!

It was a bonus to have my little brother, Patrick come along with us. Emma and Regan are already excited to go next year! Anyway, here a a few pics...made small because some are a bit blurred (not great of us, but I wanted the lights to glow), but you get the idea...

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

Actually, it has for a few weeks at our house! I took the girls to the mall and we ended up in line to talk to Santa (no pictures with Santa... you can see in the picture that Regan let me know right when we got in line that she wouldn't be cooperating) and then we put lights up when Brady got home from work. It gets more fun each year to see the kids loving the excitement of the season!

Emma's old fave & a new fave for Regan

Emma absolutely loves "The Polar Express". Last year she watched it everyday in December and she was so excited to watch it again this year that we decided to make it a party! We put blankets out on the floor, popped popcorn, and made hot chocolate.

It was no surprise that Emma liked the popcorn better than the hot chocolate and Regan drank all of her hot chocolate in one giant "sip"(as she put it...it was"just a sip Mom, I need more!"). Now she asks for a "hot chocate party" all the time! So, for the rest of the month we work on memorizing this fun movie!

Impressive

While the Cali Becks were here we did a Progressive dinner that included my mom's, my sister's, and our house. (my vote for next year is that we all end up at Trevor and Nicole's for breakfast!) We started with appetizers at our house, then the main dish at my sister's, and dessert at my mom and dad's house. The idea is to keep it simple and enjoy visiting and seeing each other's Christmas trees. Always great to spend 3 hours eating!

It looked like this...

Apples to dip in caramel, pineapple rolled in toaster coconut, crackers & cheese,

& bread with pesto, and pretzel fish for the kids!

Pizza muffins (bread and cheese wrapped around ham, pepperoni, and sausage) with marinara sauce and caesar salad.

Pumpkin pie, cream puffs, truffles, 3 kinds of cookies, and Oreos, bananas, & strawberries to dip in chocolate! (Mom- you did not keep it simple...we LOVED it!!) Lots of food, laughs, and fun.

Cali Becks!!

(Emma, Josh, Regan, and Gavin)

(Trevor & Jamison)

My brother Trevor, his wife Nicole, and their boys Jamison & Gavin were here for Thanksgiving and it was FUN! The time went by too fast and I wasn't great about taking pictures of everyone, but I got these and they were so cute that I had to post 'em.

Tagged

(Lynda- you tagged me weeks ago, but here it is...the fourth picture in the fourth file. )

This is Emma, the Panther going for the GOAL!

I am tagging: Kathryn, Bre, Holly, and Nicole... so let's see it girls- the fourth picture in the fourth file!

The Best thing about Thanksgiving... For HIM!!

Brady's favorite part of the Thanksgiving festivities is playing in the Turkey Bowl! He usually does a game of tackle football with friends from high school and some family and just who ever is "man enough" (huh?)! This year he turned over a new leaf and decided that the flag football game being held in our ward would be a better option. I was shocked that he was willing to forgo this event and happy that he'd fianlly come to his senses!
And then he came home after 2 1/2 hours of fun looking like this...

I am thinking this flag game turned to tackle!! I was just thankful that I wasn't eating my dinner at the hospital!!