Christmas-y Cousin Sleepover

Mark and his brothers brought back an old tradition:

hunting.

Their dad used to take them regularly while they were growing up, but since he had passed away those six boys rarely went.

I don't know who got the ball rolling, but somebody did and the rest of the boys responded.  They all met up at the Panguitch cabin to hunt elk.  Mark was so happy to get back into it.

Indeed, he was so happy he didn't mind leaving me with three kids; one of whom was about three weeks old. Thankfully, I wasn't the only wife who had nothing to do while the boys tried to fill our freezers with wild game, and so we decided to combine forces and have a Christmas-y cousin sleepover.

Katie and Danika snuggled my very-new Harrison.  The kids ran around like wild people.  We talked ourselves hoarse.  

And we made snowmen out of baking soda and shaving cream.

And then exploded them with vinegar.

It is so good to have a family with so many people trying to do the same things I am doing.

I love the Gunns.

Christmastime at Home

You guys.   You GUYS.  Christmas in our own place?!

Magic.

For the first time ever, I got a real tree.

Our house smelled amazing.

Unfortunately, it had been so long since I had a real Christmas tree that I forgot they're supposed to be watered.

Mark had just put in brand new (fake) wood floors.  There was no way I was going to damage those.

So we had a dried up, crispy Christmas tree.
But I loved it.

Our house had no furniture, I hadn't even begun to decorate (first things on my walls were in fact Christmas decorations), and most of our stuff was still in boxes.

But it was ours.

We had fires in the fireplace.  

Mac made luminaries in school.  (I love his preschool.  It's just the greatest thing. Every day in December they talked about Christmas in another country; Mac came home with all sorts of stories about Sinter Klause and Los Tres Reyes ... it was just too fun.)

We tried to take pictures.  They wouldn't stay still.

 

Our ward had a Christmas party, and Santa Clause came with his wife.  Mac ran and hid while Belle plopped right on his lap.  Mrs. Clause hunted him down and promised extra Christmas presents if he would come take a picture.

Fiiiiine.

That's the best Santa picture I've ever gotten.

And sweet Harrison ...

Blew us all away with his quiet disposition.  He slept great. He was awake great.  Even his cry was great.  Not at all ear-splitting.

A magic Christmas indeed.

Family Pictures 2014

We had our first official family pictures taken.

(Gosh it is so fun to have money in our bank accounts!  Mark is just killing it at the office.)

Mark's cousin called saying she needed a practice family for her new job at a place called Camera Shy.

I was extremely pregnant when we went, and she did such a great job we went right back after Harrison was born.

I have these babies plastered all over our new home.

Belly Turns Three

Miss Belly turned this past November.

We gave her options of where to have her party, but of course there was only one place she wanted to be.

Bumpa and Nana's.

That worked out perfectly; her birthday was right after Thanksgiving this year, so we just stuck around for an extra couple of days.  My little cousins shared in the fun, and we had a cute little "Front-End Loader Belle" party.

What in the world is a front-end loader, you might be wondering?  At least I would have been.  If Grandma Gunn had never shown my kids that app called "Truck Tunes", I would never have understood the glory of dozens of different kinds of construction trucks.

The second song on the app is about a front-end loader.  So it starts with a bunch of kids yelling, "Two!  Front-end loader!" And then the song begins.

"Loaders often work with dump trucks
Helping them to fill their beds up
With rocks and gravel and other stuff.
Others might be better at digging holes
But no one loads a load like a loader loads.
He can't play many other roles.
Oh no there isn't any on the road as good at scooping up a load
Front-end loader, you're as good as gold!" 

 So for months leading up to her birthday, whenever I asked how old she was, she would reply, "Two!  Front-end loader Belle!"

This crazy girl loves construction trucks.  They jump and play and climb and talk to all her ponies and princesses.

It's quite adorable.

So her front-end loader party was more of the same; and my little cousins stuck around to make it extra fun.

Happy birthday, Front-End Loader Belle.  As I am writing this you are now halfway through your year of being Scraper Belle (the third truck on the truck tunes app) and it has just been too fun.  You are the best combination of all the good things in life.

I am so glad I have you!