The Last Few Weeks...

After Thanksgiving, the last few weeks of the semester were FOREVER long! They were long without very much motivation from the both of us. It was very difficult to want to study or do any assignments but we survived! We both passed all of our classes which is happy and a relief and we are happy to be on break! Things that we did during these weeks..

1. Took Elle, David, and Graham's family pictures! Garrett is the best assistant for making babies smile and for getting them to look!

 

 

 

 *Garrett LOVES showing his nephews around*

2. Took my student teaching picture and got all of my papers and information submitted! I will interview in January and hopefully will get a spot for the Spring. 

3. Jon and Katrina got a golden retriever puppy! Seriously we were so excited! Garrett came up with a few name ideas for him and they picked one that Garrett suggested! His name is Tucker! Tucker the puppy dog! 

We puppy sat for them for a few hours right before we left for break and Tucker was a crazy/naughty puppy. He had a little accident, grabbed the rug and drug it across the room, took a bite at the blinds, etc. It was kind of funny but a little stressful. 

Elle and I also took Graham over to see the puppy! And it was as cute as you would imagine that it would be. Tucker would lick Graham and Graham would smile and laugh. Then we would get so excited that he would accidentally grab Tucker's hair/skin. It was the cutest thing. 

4. We (meaning mostly Garrett) made the cutest little gifts for a few people! We made little elves and Santas out of mason jars! They turned out adorable. As we know, I usually come up with the ideas and Garrett makes it happen and makes it turn out a million times better than I imagined. 

5. I'm an obsessive Aunt to both of my nephews but having Graham so close makes me extra obsessed. I only saw him a million times in those few weeks. But I have to soak it up while we are living close to each other. You might start to think that Graham is my child because of all the pictures that I post of him but I can assure you that he is not, we just really love each other. 

6. We received lots of Christmas cards and we loved each of them. We just happened to take a picture with Garth's. 

7. NOT PICTURED: a. us studying/doing homework b. us watching way too much Royal Pains c. us anxiously awaiting Christmas. Christmas post will be up soon! Can't believe it came and is already gone! 

THANKSGIVING 2015

Our Thanksgiving was kicked off by Garrett's birthday in Lander and it was a great way to start! Read the post HERE to read about his golden birthday! Wednesday Lander became a winter wonderland when it snowed ALL day. I didn't go out 1 time and I loved it! We played games, made pies, and watched while Garrett shoveled!

Thursday was THANKSGIVING! We spent the morning face timing Devin, Torrie, and Emmett! I made strawberry pie and we got ready for dinner. We planned to eat at 3 and there were 6 of us for our Thanksgiving dinner and it was delicious. We made mexican crazy corn and had ham with mustard sauce, turkey, sweet potatoes (DELICIOUS), rolls, and more! It was all so good! 

One thing we learned about Debbie while we were there was that she is a superstar at jacks! Who would have thought? She killed both Garrett and I! We were all very impressed! Garrett played more than one time trying to beat her. 

Whenever we visit Lander we keep Vince and Debbie up way past their bedtime playing games or chatting but we love playing games with them! We played rook and clue a few times which was really fun!

The day after Christmas, we went Christmas Tree Hunting! Mack was in heaven with all of the snow and it was seriously the perfect day for it! My toes were frozen but don't worry I still have all ten. And the hunting began here...

It was a longer hike than I think Debbie and I expected but the boys walked in front and made a little path and we followed behind. We first found the tree for the office (well Garrett did). He won the prize for this one so he chopped it down! He was very proud!

Then we found the tree for Debbie and Vince's house not too far away! We all gave it a good whack before it came down! Chopping the tree is harder than it looks. Let's just say my first try was a swing and a miss. And every once and awhile my lack of baseball skills will show and this was one of those times (don't tell Joel ;))

Then I got tired so I gave up and Garrett wen to finish it off and he hit it once and it came down. 

SO TIIIIIMMMMBBBBEEERRRR

It is a beautiful tree and we are grateful that Garrett and Vince were there to drag it back to the truck!

While the tree was getting tied down we drank some hot chocolate and Garrett was not impressed with it's minty taste. If you know him, you know he is a plain Swiss Miss kind of guy. 

 

We also watched Mack search in the snow and roll around like a pig in the mud.

I'm not a huge dog fan but I do love Mack and after a week in Lander for Thanksgiving, everyone knows that Mack loves me. So it works out. I now compare every dog to Mack and they don't even come close to how awesome Mack is. 

So our tree hunting was successful and it looks even more beautiful decorated. It was so fun to go all together and it was the first time Garrett and I went together!

We spent the next few days just hanging out, decorating for Christmas, watching the snow fall, the boys pulled out the sleds, and we played some games! Garrett and I also took his snowmobile for a little ride up above there house and it was quite cold without helmets, goggles, and pretty much everything else haha. We also made puppy chow or muddy puppies like Garrett wants to start calling it, and it was sooo good!

It was a great week and we can't wait to go back for New Years and have everyone there! (minus Colby and Micah of course) Thanks you Debbie and Vince for everything! 

It was G O L D E N

The month of November called for both Thanksgiving break and GARRETT'S GOLDEN BIRTHDAY! Garrett loves his birthday just like we all do but he reminded me all month. And it wasn't just a normal birthday it was his golden birthday and he turned 24 on the 24th of November.

To kick off his birthday week we went out to dinner at Red Robin with the Jacobs and had a great time! We ate way too many fries and annoyed our server but not on purpose. Although the Jacobs are in Rexburg we don't see them half has much as we'd like to so it is always good when we get to hang out.

Then on Sunday night we had the crew over. This included Elle, David, Graham, Carson, Morgan, Tate, and the Jacobs. We had pumpkin donuts which are heavenly, scotcheroos, and a hot chocolate bar to go with it!

Big shout out to Katrina for making the gluten free pumpkin donuts for us!!

We chatted and caught up and then played pit with everybody which was so fun!! Graham was putting on a show for everyone while he was there too! And good news for me, Graham got sad when I left the room! That are me pretty happy haha. 

 

Tuesday was his birthday but he had to get up early to do homework so I treated him with some Toast Ems' his favorite dollar store pop-tarts. And then he opened his present that had been sitting under our Christmas tree and he wasn't able to touch. I got him a vest and he was quite pumped. 

Before we headed out, I stopped by to see Graham because I knew I would miss him tons, and my mom needed the key for our house. He loves the front seat. 

Then we got Jimmy John's because Garrett loves it and got our pops for the road. His mountain dew and red-neck sup for me. 

 We had clear roads which is always a blessing when he have to go over Teton and Togwotee. At the top of Teton there was the perfect amount of snow on the trees and it was basically magical so we took pictures. Surprised? Me neither. 

 24 never looked so good! All the heart eyes for this guy!

Like is this real life^^^^^?

Then we made it to Lander and had a little party! It started with getting adjusted and it was much much needed. And then Garrett's grandparents all came over for dinner and presents! The highlight was that Garrett got..... GOLF SHOES from his parents! He only tried them on 4 times that night. 

I am so so grateful for this birthday boy. I can't wait to spend many many more birthdays with him! Happy golden birthday Garrett! I love you!