CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK!

at the beginning of december my mom and i traveled to new york. it was my first time being in the city at christmas and it was every bit as magical as i knew it would be. i loved flying into new york and seeing this beautiful view. 

as soon as we checked into our hotel we grabbed some magnolia and then walked over to see the tree. it was gorgeous. my mom liked when i wore my red coat. it made it easier to see me in the crowds. 

saks played the most beautiful light/music show every night. 

the following morning we had breakfast (a cronut/the perfect egg sandwich/blossoming hot chocolate) at dominique ansel bakery. my kind of breakfast. 

then we walked off breakfast on the high line. 

just in time to eat custom mini donuts inside chelsea market. 

it was such a gorgeous afternoon that we decided to walk through central park too. the ice rink was pretty but too crowded to be tempting. 

central park. 

after getting an impromptu make up tutorial at bergdorf we wandered through the stunning lobby of the peninsula. 

that evening we went to see the rockettes! it was completely magical. 

getting ready for the 3d part of the show. 

final number (the only time i had the guts to raise my phone up to grab a shot!).

the next morning we had hot chocolate at city bakery and then walked around the flat iron district. i looooved the sidewalk christmas tree lots. so new york. 

lunch (i swear there is a delicious lobster roll on the other side of my french fry mountain) at pearl oyster bar. 

we spent the rest of the afternoon down at the 9/11 memorial. it was touching/inspiring/emotionally exhausting. i am so glad we went. 

later that night we walked over to rockefeller center to see the tree again. we were surprised how short the line was to ice skate so we laced up and went around the rink a few times. there was christmas music blaring and i was in heaven. 

the tree!

my favorite city. 

on our last morning in new york we walked around soho and had lunch at balthazar.

festive!

we had watched the macys day parade together as a family just the week before so i was excited to take a picture in front of the macys and send it to my boys. 

on our last night, we grabbed legit pizza and ate it while watching a great movie. the perfect new york night. we had a wonderful week in new york and i am very grateful for my favorite traveling buddy. 

thanksgiving 

kind of wish i wouldnt have seen this pumpkin pie banner on pinterest. i HAD to make it once i saw it but it was a beast to put together! i do love how it turned out though.

also the target dollar section really upped their game this year. i loved all of their thanksgiving table decorations!

always proud of a well executed bird!

and pie! :)

my favorite thanksgiving humans.

and for some reason i was still i the mood to bake pies after thanksgiving. i tried this apple cranberry pie and it was a winner.

nothing holds a candle to thanksgiving leftovers. simply the best meal of the year.

a day in portland for jocelyn's birthday

i drove down to portland a couple saturdays ago to celebrate jocelyn's birthday with her. i will NEVER figure out how we fit sooooo many activities in the 20 hours i was there. we went to barre in the morning, massages afterwards and lunch downtown at a very cool indoor market.

then it was off to an eclectic nail salon to have our custom nails did!

followed by dinner, a movie and salt & straw. such a fun day filled with all our favorite things.

close up shot of my pregnancy announcement nails. pretty proud of these puppies.... and the new baby! :)

weekend in utah

two weeks ago my mom and i traveled to utah to spend the weekend with my grandma. brooke joined in on the party at the last minute. we spent a couple days up in deer valley/park city. it was so fun. 

the weather was beautiful up there. 

while shopping at city creek the following day we stumbled upon the pinterest convention at the convention center across the street. could that BE more up my alley?!

on sunday we went to sacrament meeting and then had a big family (and friends!) dinner. it was a great weekend filled with laughter, good shopping (utah has the best home decor crap) and sodalicious cookies. 

HALLOWEEN!

we had a great (but suuuper busy) halloween season this year. nothing like a ward trunk or treat to get things started. and it didnt rain. so that was a plus.

pumpkins on the porch.

donut party invitations!

its so scary to make the donuts each year. the yeast, the 5 billion times they have to rise, rolling out the dough, cutting each donut out by hand. its a lot. but so worth it. 

craig's contribution each year is his amazing pumpkin ghosts. they are the best. 

spooky mudroom. 

the calm before the storm.

tess enjoyed the donuts. 

she couldnt get enough.

i cant blame her though. they really are so yummy. theres a reason we only make them once a year...... :)

the striped gang. 

the actual day of halloween was INSANE. dont ask me why but i signed up to chaperone sully's pumpkin patch field trip. it wouldnt have been thaaaat bad if it hadnt POURED the entire time, i had to bring tess and i slipped and fell in the mud while carrying her. so yeah. glad sully had a smile! 

the minute i got back from the pumpkin patch and changed out of my muddy clothes i had to go right back to the school because im the room mom and was in charge of the halloween party. holy crap.

after a relaxing afternoon (we allllll needed it) the kids got their costumes on and we headed out for some trick of treating. i was very proud of that freaking vending machine i made. what tagg wants, tagg gets. except next year he is wearing a store bought costume. 

tess had practiced her "trick or treat" and had so much fun running up to each door with her brothers. it was so dang cute. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2016!

a band aid birthday!

tess celebrated her second birthday last month! we had a little band aid birthday party for family. she looooooves band aids ("bamaids").

band aid birthday banner!

happy tess.

that night the boys chose the dirty bird (red robin) for tess' birthday dinner. that way, she could have the waiters sing to her. 

after dinner we came back home for presents, cake and ice cream. she couldnt sit still.

grandma cheri and grandpa rod!

just a few pictures of her during her birthday week. she loves a good stroll through target like her mom.

dont even ask what shes doing here but i loooove her smile. i think her brothers have taught her some bathroom humor....

i was fixing her piggies in the mall one afternoon when a stranger walked by and said i had to have an action shot. ha! 

happy birthday to our princess tess.

pumpkins

we took advantage of the perfect fall weather on the first saturday in october and went to the pumpkin patch. tess liked the adventure. except for the dirt. 

the advantage to tagg's little friend coming to the pumpkin patch with us... i made him take a family shot. 

our full wheelbarrow!

i love looking through past pictures of our annual pumpkin patch trip. it used to be just be craig and me. now there's five of us!! 

looking for her brothers. 

dont worry, i cut back all those unruly stems. :)

and last week we picked the pumpkins from our own pumpkin patch! my friend marissa gifted us pumpkin seeds last year and we planted them right away. it was very fun watching them grow all year. tess was pretty proud of her beautiful little light orange pumpkin.