around the house

December brings lots of fun, and stress. I am pretty good at keeping Christmas simple, but finals make it extra busy. This was our first Christmas in our new home and of course Taylor makes it extra fun. Tia Lisa gave them this advent calendar which they loved.

This is my only photo from primary. When our ward split in August I got called to be 1st councelor in the Primary. Within 9 months our ward had to split again (I'm writing this in July, 2013), and I was released. It was a fun calling and I loved being in there with Cody and Ellie. I also got to plan the sacrament meeting program and we were so lucky to have the two best singing leaders Beth Black and Dave Osmond. I dare say it was the best program in primary history. ;)

Of course I love when big sis or big brother takes care of little sis. And I want to remember her mobile. One little paper cloud. I love it. I blow on it every time she goes to sleep and she reminds me to do it if I forget. Also that painting of the tornado I did when I was at UVU in 2000. I came across it last year and was so excited as Taylor was born of the night of the big Tornado in Knoxville.

They love movies, ugh.

A few photos from finals week.

Jann is so thoughtful, I got this on my doorstep, I finals survival kit. She's the best.

Taylor coming with me to UVU to print. She's getting so cute.

One of my final projects, a re-brand.

Tay helping me mop the floor. Mopping is my favorite chore. I love the smell of pine-sol. Laundry my least favorite.

A new Christmas decoration from my favorite store, Alice Lane.

Skiing Brighton with my friend Alissa. Now this is what I call a girls day out!

thanksgiving

disneyland

We go to Disneyland every other year with the Bankhead's. This year was especially fun because Cody and Ellie were old enough to walk around on their own. Poor Cody went on the Tower of Terror and was really scared. He started crying when we got out and said he didn't think we were ever going to stop falling. We had to take a picture of the ride so he would remember to never go on it again. I felt to badly for him. Taylor stayed home with Grandma Lori (post about her to come) and Tia Lisa. Thanks heavens for good people who love my kids and are willing to tend them.

around the house

Taylor is so silly. She has such a sense of humor I can't believe how funny she is, and knows it. Having a baby is so fun because they bring such happiness, laughter, and silliness into our home. We are all so in love with her.

halloween

I'm all about not hand me down costumes. Taylor's from aunt Jaime, Ellie's from aunt Calley, Cody from the neighbor. We had a great time knocking in our new neighborhood in Vineyard. We love our neighbors.

grandma bagley

My sweet grandma passed away on October 2. I feel a void in our family with her gone. She was the matriarch of our family and set the standard for almost everything. She influenced me more than I probably realize. I am sad to see this generation that valued thrift, hard work, agriculture and self-sufficiently pass away. They saw the world make huge changes during their lifetime. I loved hearing her stories of raising her children, she had a great memory. I will miss so much about her. She and Taytay loved each other too, and Tay always gave her kisses.

i detect a theme

Apparently I really like yellow and blue. Who knew?

color me rad denver

September 28 was our 3rd race of the year in Denver. I flew in with Ellie a couple days before. We were giggling and laughing the whole plane ride over. She is at such a fun age, I can make her laugh so hard too. Again, we helped at packet pick up and at the race the next day. Ellie and I ran the race with a deaf woman who had lost her group and had no way to find them. She was so sad and I asked her if we could run with her. It was a fun experience. This is Lindsey Leiker and her two cute kids. She loves mud runs, her husband is a Navy Seal, and she is an amazing mom. And endlessly positive. I just think the world of her. She's been crucial to the success of our races in Colorado. Saturday night we headed to downtown Denver to Larimer Street and walked around. It was magical. Window shopping, ice cream and checkers, dinner out on the patio. I think I loved it mostly because it reminded me of my childhood as an only child hanging out with my mom and dad and getting all the attention.

around the house - september

sundance . tree swing in vineyard . cute school girl . snowbird with taytay
notes from ellie . she stayed "birds on a traffic light" by cody . tay in the tub, photo by lauren vancott . kisses in the kitchen . snuggles in bed tootie . shower for mike thomas'girl stefanie . ellie conquered her fear . cody and dad at dirty dash in midway

stewart falls

Love this little family of mine. Hiking to Stewart Falls.

st george

I took the kids down to St. George for the weekend. We were having a blast at the dinosaur museum, red rocks, and the playground until.... A quick bike ride turned into an epic day of hiking back to my car by myself, crying on the phone to justin, and ultimately getting help packing up the car and driving home. A couple days later I finally got it x-rayed to confirm what I knew, a broken wrist. It's been 5 weeks now and the cast is off but it's far from better. I've been doing dangerous sports my whole life so I guess I was due, just glad it wasn't worse.

dirty dash - albuquerque

September 8 was our second race of the season. Colorado Springs Dirty Dash was the week before at the Pikes Peak Raceway. So the crew put on that race, packed up and drove to Albuquerque and set up. I flew in on Thursday and helped at packet pick up at a really cool running store. Justin's parents also drove in and we stayed at "our spot", Hotel Parque Central. The day of the race was 50 degrees, after a week of 90. Needless to say, sweatshirt sales were awesome. I couldn't believe people still ran through the mud as if it wasn't freezing. Jared, who is over production, did an awesome job and the race went off without a hitch. We even had mounted police help with the parking. Justin and I ran around talking to people, taking pictures and just watching everyone play in the mud. To be honest rolling around in the mud just doesn't do it for me, but it's really freeing for a lot of people, I think. They feel like a little kid again. After all these months of hard work and wondering how it would turn out - this was a great race and I'm so glad I could be there. The best part was watching Justin's dad walk around with a huge smile on his face - he had no idea how big these races are. His mom and dad had a blast and it was so fun to have them there. I think this race will be especially memorable because of venue and the charity we worked with. The race was held at Wildlife West Nature Park. It's We Bought a Zoo in real life. The owner is this old guy that tells the funniest stories and lives on the property, saving endangered species. He's so great. The charity we worked with is NMX - a place that gives underprivileged kids a place to go to learn graphic design, event production, lighting, film editing, etc. They gave us a tour of their warehouse and it was incredible. It was inspiring and humbling to see how passionate the some people are about giving back and improving their communities. They were so grateful to partner with us and it really gave them a boost. That's what I love most about Justin's job, it's very synergistic and win/win for everyone involved.