Donut Falls 2024

Winter hikes are always so much fun! We decided to take Rylan to Donut Falls up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a beautiful snowy day - but we did not anticipate the blizzard that hit!

The storm hit HARD on the way down!

Rylan and Tyleigh made some perfect snow angels!

It was an amazing day!

Gingerbread Houses!

The amount of talent these kiddos have will never cease to amaze me! They made gingerbread houses on Christmas Eve and they turned out SO cute! They tried to make it a contest, but there was NO way Rod and I could pick a favorite! We love them both so much!

Dax was sure he was helpful!

I mean, seriously, look at the detail on these things! They are adorable!

Merry Christmas 2024

I am the worst at taking pictures on holidays. 

Hopefully having a little one around next year will help me be better! 

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve this year since Carsyn had to work on Christmas Day. 

We had a super fun day together and it felt like Christmas should feel! 

I am so grateful for my sweet family and for our Savior's birth!

The sunrise was the perfect way to start a great day!

The Cutest Baby Bump!

Baby girl is growing and is half way! 

Camryn let me take some picture of her adorable bump. Isn't she the cutest??? 

I cannot wait for little miss to be here! These two will be the best parents!

A Little Christmas Spirit . . .

When Rod and I were students at SUU, Peter Brienholt came to the campus in concert.

 Rod took me to it and we both fell in love with his music. 

We aren't big concert people, but we do enjoy Peter Brienholt's concerts. 

This year, we decided to take our family to the Christmas concert to help us all get into the Christmas spirit. We had dinner at The Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square and then went to The Rose Wagner Theatre for the concert. 

I'm sure the girls didn't love the concert as much as Rod and I did - it's nostalgic for us with lots of memories tied to it, but it was so special to have everyone together. 

Peter Brienholt made a comment during the concert about how as we get older, Christmas is no longer about the gifts or the toys, but about the time we get to spend with our loved ones. 

It made me emotional to look at my crew all together in that moment. They are the greatest blessings I've ever been given, and time with them is not something to ever be taken for granted. 💕

Bicep Surgery

Rod tore his bicep tendon back in July.  We took Adam and Vanessa and their cute girls boating and he was trying to crank the boat up onto the trailer. He felt and heard a loud pop - and may or may not have dropped some cuss words. He has lived with it like this for almost five months and it just isn't healing, so it was time for surgery! The surgeon cut the bicep tendon the rest of the way, drilled a hole in his bone and reattached the tendon. Rod was a great patient - 

and told all of the doctors and nurses his long list of dad jokes!

Today is day one of a year of healing!

He was really digging the shorts they gave him.

I told him that if I made the girls take pictures like this, 

he wasn't getting out of it. 

He came out of surgery quieter than I anticipated he would. He still threw out his dad jokes and proclaimed his love for me very loudly (which I'm flattered by), and asked the same questions over and over and over. Love you, Rod!

Let's just throw these in to sum up 2024, shall we??

January

June

June

June

July

December