Last But NOT Least!

Ok this is my final post about Florida. Promise! Once my mom and sister got there we decided we wanted to go to the Gulf coast for a night. To get there you have to drive through "Alligator Alley". (Which is literally a highway lined with fences to keep the alligators off the roads) Coolest thing ever!!
Anyway, we drove to Naples, and then ended up staying in a fancy shmancy resort on Marco Island (We got an amazing deal)! So here we go.....

Joel was driving 80+ mph while I was trying to get pictures of the alligators... so this is as good as it gets! Can you see it? Ok I am not kidding when I say we had the camera on our shoulder pretty much this WHOLE trip! Well when we got to Naples we found this AWESOME beach with fun playgrounds, beautiful white sand, bathrooms, etc. We were standing there looking around letting Jaxon stretch his legs after being in the car for 2 hours, and Joel looks at the water and says " Those are Dolphins!!" And sure enough, probably 30 feet from shore were 6-7 dolphins swimming! It was SOOO COOL!! But of course the camera was in the car! :(

Once we got to the resort we went straight for the beach. The sand was like soft white flour... aw so nice, except this part of the beach was COVERED in shells! It was really pretty! I love me some seashells so we started gathering right away! Well after Joel started picking some up we discovered there were still things living inside the shells!

Yeah that one can stay! Ew and it was moving in there!! Sick!

It's an understatement to say this little boy had the time of his life on the beach! One of his favorite parts... burying us! Or his version... throwing sand on us and laughing his little butt off!

The sunset. Enough said.He loved this!! Bye Florida! We miss the beach, warm weather, and most importantly my awesome family!!!

{Our Sunny Christmas}

Christmas Eve!

This was the most beautiful, scenic park I have ever been to! We took Jaxon there on Christmas Eve to wear him out before his nap! We had a long night ahead!

In my moms family, Christmas Eve night is as big of a deal as Christmas Day. We all dress "nicer" then normal, have a HUGE meal, hang out, talk and of course dance! Jaxon LOVES to dance with my sister! It makes him so happy!Christmas morning Jaxon woke up a little grumpy and tired from partying the night before! BUT... he did cheer up and open his presents!{After we took off the HORRIBLE idea of slippers! Which were Lightning McQueen but he still hated them!}
After we opened our presents we changed into beach clothes and told Jaxon we were going to the beach to play with his new sand toys! Glass on, flip flops on, and he was on his way! With or with out us!
Then we walked here... awwww... picturesque or what?

That afternoon was yet another family party! More amazing food, talking, cousin gift exchange, and playing with new toys!
My cousins loved playing with Jaxon almost as much as Jaxon loved it! He thinks he is 22 months going on 7! He wanted to play nerf guns with the big boys... so they pretended to chase him!

I'm kinda obsessed with him! :)And that {in a nut shell} was our Christmas! Perfect.

Florida Trip!

We are HOME!! FREEZING.... and tan!!! We had a wonderful vacation and got so spoiled by my family! They are all amazing! We took over 1300 pictures... So where, oh where do I start! I guess at the beginning!

First Day at the beach. It was breezy so we didn't swim, but Jaxon was in love with exploring this new place!
The next day we went to the Miami Seaquarium! A small version of Sea World, but it was perfect for us! Jaxon thought this place was heaven!
While we were there Joel surprised me!
This is something I have wanted to do FOREVER!
And I was sad when my little sis did it before me... and without me.
But it was worth the wait!


I could not stop smiling! Dolphins are so freaking cute and smart! If the water had been warmer the 57 degrees I could have stayed in there all day playing with them! BEST early b-day present EVER! Thanks Joel and mom!
Because there were only 3 in our group we got to do a lot of extra things with them. Plus the trainers let Joel and Jaxon in to pet, feed, and play with one of the dolphins! So cool!Remember how I said we got spoiled? Well we aren't done yet... not even half way! My aunt somehow got 4 Miami Dolphins tickets for us! So Joel and I went with my aunt and friend! We had a blast even though they lost! :)
That's all for now... Next up, my mom and sister finally get there and the weather warms up! BEACH TIME.... CHRISTMAS.... FAMILY PARTIES... Etc!!

Early Festivities

We leave for Florida in 2 days!! SO exciting! But that means we have to get our Christmas festivities done early this year! With Joel in the middle of finals and trying to squeeze in all of the family parties and such... it's been a little crazy! Plus there is a good chance we will be moving the week we get back from FL! I LOVE the holidays, so no matter how busy we are... I always make it worse by squeezing in as many things as possible! Prepare yourself for a long post! :)

First up.. Temple Square Lights!
BEAUTIFUL as usual!
(We had great company that night.. Thanks Cam and Mary!)

Remind me why I even bother with a stroller?

One of my favorite things during the holidays is the Festival of Trees. I went last year... Jaxon did not love it. He was bored. But I still insisted on going again! I AM SO GLAD WE DID! Jaxon loved looking at all the different trees! His favorite were obviously the ones with themes he recognized! I want to buy a tree from there.... one day.

Elmo...

Cookie Monster! (Probably his favorite!)

And of course BYU football! (This one was mostly for dad!)

Pictures with Santa are a MUST! I thought for sure we would pay for a picture of a screaming little boy lunging from Santas arms. But...
I was happily surprised! He was a little nervous, but sat there until I went and picked him up! He even went back over to give him "stones" and get his candy cane!
This post is getting very long isn't it... I warned ya! For your sake I will skip to the presents! He got his Christmas presents early since we will be gone. Oh boy is he SPOILED!!
(Thanks grandparents!!!)And finally this....

Yeah he has a nicer car then we do! We asked Santa to bring this early... he of course was very accommodating! It may even be a year or so early because it's so big! But who cares he loves it and can drive it! He just can't steer yet! :)
Merry Christmas!
We will be back in January!

Change in the Weather

3 weeks ago we were enjoying the cool fall weather! Playing in leaves....

Talking to horses at Grandpa's house...

And running around in the grass!

Today we got to try playing in snow for the first time!

Even falling down in the snow was fun!

So was waving bye bye to Grandma and Grandpa!

And in less then 3 weeks from now we will be here.... Florida...nice and warm! But this time with Joel and a toddler, for 2 1/2 weeks!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Christmas Cards

I have never given out Christmas cards before, but I love getting them from everyone else! Shutterfly has some of the cutest ones I have seen. I have used Shutterfly to make photobooks and collages and I love them! So now I just have to decide on my favorite holiday card! This one?Or...Or maybe this one?

(All of these pictures are links to Shutterfly's website)

They have SOOOO many, it's going to take me a while to decide. I know they are all totally different styles, but it shows you how hard of a time I am having picking my favorite! There are probably 8 more that are in the running! I will have to upload my pictures and see which one fits my pictures the best!
Wanna pick one for your self?? Go Here or Here!
And Shutterfly is giving 50 free holiday cards to bloggers! So jump on the band wagon with me and go Here to sign up!

I believe I can FLY!!!

We went flying last weekend! By we I mean my dad, my sis and her friend! He is a pilot and took us flying in a little 4 seater airplane! It was SOOOO fun and the view was amazing! My favorite part was the 0 Gs he did... pretty much makes you fly out of your seat like there is no gravity! We would hold something out in our hand and it would float away! It was a day to remember!

~Ready to go!!~

~Me and my dad!~

~Stef was the co pilot and got to fly the plane!

~View from the plane!~