Andrew & Kelli's Open House at Mom's House

The holidays were over & kids were back in school. Things didn't slow down though--things were starting to pick up again. Andrew & Kelli were having their open house at Mom's home, so we got going & tried to get everything organized, decided & picked out for their day. My mom was amazing, as always, running all over town to find the little things she needed to decorate. I don't know how one woman does as much as she does, but I was more than impressed with the energy she had & how well she put the whole thing together. It turned out to be a beautiful night & I heard so many wonderful comments on how much fun they had. For as long as my parents have lived in the same house, they have gone through many ward & stake changes. When they invite many of their friends to a gathering like this, it's a great time for them to all get together again & catch up on old times & current happenings.
I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was running around with the rest of my family trying to keep the trays of food full that were on the tables. The colors were black & ice blue. My mom wanted it to have a winter theme, but not Christmas--she really put it all together down to the last detail . Some highlights for me were the ice cake (they had a real wedding cake in CA, so my mom thought an ice cake would be fun--it was beautiful!!), ice punch bowl, chocolate fountain, the tent off the patio door, the food (sandwiches, meat balls, fruit, everything you could think of to dip in chocolate & Cheesecake Factory cheesecake--YUM!), the whole winter feel & most of all FAMILY! It was a fun night for all of us. I am so happy is now officially part of our family & I look forward to many more family occasions where she will be there with us.

Brooklyn is my Sneak!

My little Brooklyn is such a sneak!! She crawls around the house & just hunts for anything. She's so quiet when she's "on the hunt", that I don't know where she disappears to & she doesn't answer when I call her name. I found her in my closet & she had gotten into my purse. After I saw the mess all over her, I quickly picked her up to go clean her up. A thought came to me to take a picture, so I sat her down in the kitchen & took a couple of photos. After I changed her I realized the box of candy was not in the photos, so I had her hold the box again, which she gladly did until she realized it was empty. It's a good thing she is such a cutie cause I would have been somewhat upset after I saw the mess. I guess I need to learn to keep things out of my purse (Junior Mint Caramels) & somewhere up high.


Such an innocent look!

Playing in the Snow

The last few days, we have gotten more snow than the whole winter put together, I think. My kids were very excited when they got home from school & wanted to play in it. They got all bundled up & headed out. Allie was gung-ho until she got snow inside her glove & then she was done. Nicole & Brittany were out for about an hour & then Nicole decided her fingers had had it. Melissa went out & helped Brittany shovel snow, just for fun. They were there until dinner time. It's so nice to see my kids play outside. We can get so couped up during the winter time--I love seeing them play out there. Notice I still stay inside & watch from the window--they are crazy! It's too cold! =)