Wedding Number 1 Part B

Also on our list was the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.  Every time we drive by it on our way to Grandma and Grandpa's Mark asks if we can go there.  So I finally made good on my promise.  The kids had a great time.  Mark was a little unnerved by the ambient sounds they play to make the exhibits come alive but he eventually got used to it.  We dug for bones,

almost got eaten by sharks,

sat on a dinosaur,

played in the awesome sand and water exhibit,

and ran with T-Rex.

After a few days at work Dad returned to us and boy were all the kids happy to see him.  They all needed his attention and hugs and stories all at once.

Thursday night was the Family Dinner/ Reception.  Benny looked terribly dashing and tired.

However, he was awake enough to really enjoy the mashed potatoes.

It was surprisingly fun to visit with many people I hadn't seen in years and catch up with a lot of families I grew up with.  Here is our little clan, clean and generally happy for a split second.

Wedding Number 1 Part A

So we will take the last few weeks of 2011 in small chunks because there was a whole lot going on.  First off we headed to Utah on the 15th of Dec.  The next day was my awesome brother's most eventful 30th birthday.  He graciously appreciated all the decorating his niece and nephew did for his party.  That same night we went with the beautiful bride-to-be to her first time through the temple.

The next day we had the pleasure of watching two wonderful people get married.  

 We then spent the next hour trying to keep warm while also trying to look fabulous for pictures- for our little family it didn't work out so well.

 Everyone cries at weddings I know!

 This little man looks good almost all the time.  He was super proud of his new suit and he even got to kiss the bride but I'll have to find that picture later.  Unfortunately for us Dad couldn't stay for all the festivities.  So back to work he went all by himself on Mon.  The rest of us spent the week playing.

 Near the top of the list was a trip to see the Christmas lights at temple square.  Uncles are the best I don't know how kids grow up without em.  They do all the heavy lifting.

 Here are a couple of my favorite photos.

More of our December adventures to come.

December Stuff

 I have done a lot of online shopping for Christmas this year (who wants to go to the mall with three kids?).  Benny is lovin on every box that comes and goes.  Maybe I'll just wrap one and put in under the tree.

 Megan and I have been exploring a great deal of hair options.  She and I have great plans now that there are two weddings to look forward to.  This one didn't make the cut but it looked really cool- bows made of hair, who knew?

 Benny got a little trim too.  He looks so handsome with his hair combed and of course something in his mouth.

 Benny is still not crawling but he loves to stand.  We moved this stool into the family room and he works his way around it pulling off all the toys and then yells because there is nothing left to play with.

He and Megan are best buds most of the time.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Oh the mess this always makes.  All the decorations were extra dusty from our garage construction but we got the tree up and everything put on it even if its not evenly spaced.

 Mark and Megan did an awesome job.  Thankfully Benny has not learned to crawl yet so were safe on that front.

 I love this picture and the excitement that Christmas always brings.

Thanksgiving

 We had the awesome opportunity to head back to Utah for Thanksgiving.  The drive up went really well and the next morning we started right in on all the playing we had to do.

 Raking leaves is a novelty for the kids.  Our dwarf peach tree is the only thing that really sheds leaves and all forty of them don't make much of a pile.

 Mike tried to get Mark to jump in the pile by demonstrating how to do it.  Mark wasn't about to get up close and personal with all those dirty leaves.

 Mark has been planning a "Man Night" slash bachelor party for Uncle Devon for a long time.  At home he would make up all these lists of things they were going to do.  He drew these cute little pirate themed invites for all the uncles and grandpa.  First on the list was a marshmallow fight.

 The uncles got pretty into it and we might have started a tradition.

 The rest of the bachelor party consisted of watching the movie Balto and eating pizza.  We really know how to throw a wild party.

 This is the Bride-to-be.  She has surpassed all the uncles on the coolness scale and is now the favorite.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving there were two bridal showers for her.

Megan was so excited to get to go to the girl parties.  She requested that her hair be done just like Lauren and had to wear her twirly dress.

A Few Random Pics

 A great deal of my life is spent looking at Lego's, picking up Lego's or threatening Mark to pick up his Lego's.  Here is one of Mark's latest creations.  Its a hook and ladder fire truck for those of you who are not Lego inclined.

 Wrestling is a family sport at our house.  The kids love it.  Megan usually cries at least once but she always gets back in the middle of it. 

 Benny is our little ray of sunshine.  9 months old and still smiling like crazy all the time.

Halloween Finally

 We decided this year to have the boys dress up the same.  Mark wanted to be a skeleton and was really excited with how his costume turned out.

 Megan is an adorable little lady bug.

 Benny the mini skeleton.

I just love this face.  Being so cute all the time is really hard work!