two boys + two girls

fort mckinley

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

i just found these photos tucked away among all the hundreds of other pictures on our computer, and thought i'd share them with you. these were taken on a day back in december, shortly after danny returned home from work. we built the biggest fort this house has ever seen.

and the kids loved it.

it's the little things like this, that make my "job" so worth it!

savory + sweet

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

the other day i was reading the newspaper and delicious looking pictures of crepes caught my eyes.

if you know me, you know that i love crepes. not only do i love them, but many fond memories were made during our weekly crepe parties at jenny's house during high school. we would invite over a bunch of friends and eat until we couldn't fit in one more bite. those were the days :)

anyways, those pictures happened to be showcasing a new eatery in town--savory and sweet.

(and when i say "in town", unfortunately i mean orem not the small town in which we live!)

the reviews were great so we decided to try it out...and we loved it. the food was great (especially the dessert crepe!) and the service was excellent. we had a lovely time:

we couldn't feed ave fast enough. she wanted to crawl onto the table...

...and into this:

max's many mannerisms (say that three times fast!)

2012-01-29T23:34:00.000-07:00

it's impossible to describe how much we love this little guy.

he is full of energy.

he is so sweet.

he is silly.

he is getting better and better at communicating.

he loves his baby sister with all his heart.

he is such a boy.

he loves his fruits + veggies (such a good eater!)

he still calls milk "nope" and it's the cutest thing ever.

he can throw some nasty tantrums.

he loves to be outside.

he is so curious.

he loves stories.

he could play with trucks all day long.

he's got quite the soccer kick (daddy's proud)

he loves to help out around the house.

he loves to play with daddy.

+ this is a common occurrence in our household.

danny taking max for a ride, max giggling his little heart out:

+ last thursday, max and i had craft time while avery was taking her nap. it was so much fun!! i need to do this more often. i was surprised at how long max sat still coloring, cutting, and taping. he is such a cutie. we made martha stewart's, wax paper crayon hearts...and while they didn't turn out as beautiful as hers, they are still pretty darn cute and max loves them. every morning he can't wait to open the curtains to see his hearts hanging in the window:

+ he's got some crazy dance moves!

not sure where he learned them... (ahemm...danny...)

+ he won't go anywhere without his "blue hat" and even insists on wearing it before getting dressed in the morning:

+ he loves his choo choo train!! my parents gave him this little track for christmas and he has such a fun time putting the tracks together in different arrangements. on this particular morning, i was in the kitchen cleaning up when he ran in excitedly and pulled me into the dining room. he had done this all by himself! i told him i wanted to get a picture and he posed right away :) he then went on to make two more different tracks, and each time he posed a different way, without me saying anything. it was hilarious.

+ his vocab really is improving so much. some of his most commonly repeated phrases include:

"self!!" (he has become quite the independent two year old)

"white shoes on" (he wears those white shoes everywhere! except to church, and then he cries...)

"choo choo train"

"too tight" (he complains of his diaper being too tight...silly boy)

"kurt's house" (he loves our neighbors!)

"blue hat"

"where daddy/mama/ave go?"

"what's daddy/mama/ave doing?"

"nigh nigh moon" (he just said this tonight as we were walking home from kurt's house. he looked up in the sky, saw the moon, and said, "nigh nigh moon, mama!" my heart melted.)

and this video captures some more of his favorite words on camera.

danny promised his classes he would bring in a video of max praying...and here it is!

he gets distracted a few times, but he did a great job:

we love you maxwell scott.

don't ever forget that.

xoxo.

it was fun while it lasted...

2012-01-26T22:12:00.003-07:00

the iphone didn't last long :(

but it sure was fun to play with while i had it!!

instagram was my absolute fav.

maybe one day...

oh, and if you think i staged the above picture of max...i promise i didn't.

that kid is silly and wears those glasses everywhere. i love him :)

provo beach resort

2012-01-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

what would we do without good friends??

a few weeks ago, my close girlfriends and i got together to say goodbye to dayna.

(she and her little family moved to chile!!)

we were quite the crowd with all of our little munchkins,

but it was so so much fun.

(except for the part when krugh got lost...that was not fun at all!)

kim made yummy cupcakes and kate brought cake bites from the sweet tooth fairy.

it was wonderful.

love you all!

freezer meals

2012-01-24T23:31:00.002-07:00

one of the best things is not knowing what to throw together for dinner...

and then remembering that you have freezer meals in the freezer!

a few months ago, my friends kim and jessica got together for the first of (hopefully) many freezer meal exchanges! we started out simple the first time--we each made three of the same meals, and then swapped (so we came home with three different meals.) the next time we each made two meals to trade + a dessert. and the last time we did it, we each made two meals + a side.

we've come away with some awesome meals:

chicken taquitoes from our best bites

soup + rolls

pizza dough + sauce

cookie dough

ice cream

mini cheesecakes

calzones

breakfast burritos (we personally love these!!)

hamburger buns + patties

for our last swap, i made:

sweet and sour chicken

shepherd's pie

granola bars

the granola bars were a hit.

among the girls, and among my little family. i couldn't feed them to avery fast enough!

they are super yummy (the chocolate chip ones tasted like cookie bars!) and they are very healthy.

enjoy!

p.s. i even snuck some quinoa into the shepherd's pies!

cook the quinoa, mix it into the hamburger...and the meat stretches 3x as far!!

plus, when it's mixed in with hamburger, you can't even tell. the textures are identical.

do you have any yummy freezer meals you'd like to pass along?

happy things

2012-01-23T14:42:00.001-07:00

our weekend was lovely.

just a few things that have been going on in our lives:

+ danny and i attended a jazz game! (this was a first for me) jazz won by ten and right at the end the entire arena was filled with multi-colored confetti. it was almost my favorite part of the entire game :)

+ i had a freezer meal swap with my good friends kim and jessica. (this is our third exchange, and it just keeps getting better and better! watch for a post to come soon with some delish freezer recipes!)

+ we celebrated aaron and missy's graduation...and danny's dad's birthday!

+ we got excited to watch this show

(we still haven't watched the most recent episode...so don't spill any details!

anyone else in love with this show??)

+ went to gap and scored some amazing deals for the entire fam!

(we got everything seen below for $40!!!)

for him:

for her:

for the little him:

for the little her:

my personal favorite finds:

+ oh, and i got my diploma from BYU!!!!!!!!

what a wonderful package to receive in the mail!

what have you been up to??

little goose

2012-01-19T22:40:00.001-07:00

oh, miss. avery mae.

where do i begin??

you are growing up so extremely fast. nine months already?? i refuse to believe it!

you are energetic.

you love your brother.

you have two pearly whites on the bottom. they are adorable but sharp!

you can crawl so quickly (you've got to keep up with max!)

you have the most beautiful skin.

you just started sleeping through the night!!!!

(this has been an answer to many prayers)

you aren't super attached to your binky, but you like it when you go to sleep.

you have some favorite foods: pulled pork being at the top of the list

(we couldn't give it to you fast enough!)

you want to be able to walk so badly.

you can pull yourself up to the couch.

you love paper and always try to eat it. (you've been successful a few times!)

you have had a runny nose for the last month (at least!)

you love to read (and try and eat) stories.

you take two naps a day.

you love it when i sing to you (almost as much as i love it.)

you weigh 17 pounds. (max weighs 25!)

you love bath time.

(tonight you were fascinated with the faucet)

you like to be around max and take his toys.

you love to play with your daddy.

you hardly snuggle with us anymore.

you make some of the cutest, and silliest faces.

you love to eat and get very impatient when you run out of food on your tray.

you smile at yourself in the mirror.

you have the cutest little laugh.

...

and, you have brought so much joy into our lives!

wondering what this picture has to do with sweet innocent little avery mae??

let me tell you:

the other night, after putting ave to bed, she instantly popped up and started crawling all over the place. (not typical for her) i expected her to calm down but when i came back to check on her she was still just as wired. i kept watching her and decided to go grab danny so he could see our crazy daughter. we thought it best to put pillows around her just in case she toppled out of her bassinet. we kissed her goodnight and went out into the kitchen to watch a show. a few minutes later, i went to grab a drink...and what do you know??? avery has the most triumphant look on her face as she is CRAWLING INTO THE KITCHEN!!! it freaked me out! i was so shocked, but i also couldn't stop laughing. it was craziness. good thing we put pillows down!! both of our pack-n-plays were at my parents, so we had to make a late night trip to our friends to borrow one (thanks again linzy!) luckily, she hasn't figured out how to get herself out of that one...yet :)

we love you little goose!

holiday happenings // photo overload!

2012-01-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

the month of december was a complete whirlwind!! i still can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that it is already the middle of january. but even though december went by in a flash, we made some wonderful memories.

+ i started nice and early by getting our first ever christmas cards done before the craziness set in. i bought a super cute template from alma loveland and threw some highlights in from our year:

+ then i took the text from our card, added some snowflakes, and printed all our neighbor gifts out on brown paper bags. simple + sweet. inside i put a fresh fruit/spice potpourri. my mom always had this simmering on the stove growing up during the holidays, so now it is a staple in my home as well. smells so delicious! and with all the other christmas treats you get, it's nice not to have to worry about the calories :)

simmering scent recipe:

2 lemon slices

2 lime slices

2 orange slices

2 TBSP cloves

2 bay leaves

2 cinnamon sticks

+ celebrated carson's 2nd birthday! kate sure knows how to throw a party. she had delicious soups, a birthday cake with a frosting pine tree in the middle (it was amazing!) and then they took all of us for a hay ride in their trailer through the festival of lights. such a fun time.

+ attended the christmas miracle of jonathan toomey written by my uncle ward! how cool is that?!? danny and i went with my mom and little sister cami. we throughly enjoyed ourselves.

+ had a girl's night out! kate has started this awesome tradition of caroling to the older couples in her grandma's neighborhood. i wasn't able to go last year, so this year i was eager to see what it was all about. it was incredible! i haven't been caroling in years and going around to those who actually enjoy carolers is quite the gratifying experience. we met some of the nicest people, and i was reminded once again, of the true meaning of christmas. thanks kate for organizing such a wonderful night!!

+ spent christmas eve with my family (and cousins) we ate delicious "cafe rio", started and finished a 1000 piece puzzle!, and opened a few gifts.

+ made some adorable felt food for my sweet little nieces (if i do say so myself!) we had them this year for christmas, and when i stumbled upon these patterns i knew i had to make them. though much more time consuming than i had originally planned...i was extremely happy with the finished result. now i just need to make some for my own children :)

+ enjoyed a spiritual christmas morning at church and then returned home for a relaxing time opening gifts with my sweet family. i think this year was the very best yet!

+ learned that santa claus really does exist! a few weeks before christmas, we came home to find this giant box on our doorstep:

we have absolutely no idea who it is from...

but if you are reading this, thank you thank you thank you!!

max is in little boy heaven driving around this little red sports car.

this was the last gift he "opened" on christmas day...his excitement about it was priceless.

+ spent christmas day with danny's family

(and this is where the pictures end because i lost my camera!!)

+ played ticket to ride: german edition with sam + penny

+ went to sill's diner with caleb + lauren

(thanks again! you two are the best.)

+ went to boondock's with the mckinley clan. we bowled, played laser tag, and threw coins into the arcade games to our hearts content!

+ found out max caught a case of "hand, foot, and mouth" and tried to treat his poor hands back to health. (days after he caught hfm, he also had what sounded like croup. post-christmas sicknesses are no bueno.)

+ enjoyed every moment we could with all of our wonderful family + friends!

my little sister's wedding!!!

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

it happened.

my little sister got hitched.

to the man of her dreams.

miracles never cease to exist!!

(outside of sammy's, where they first met)

(above pictures taken by tony's talented aunt! + below pictures taken by the lovely bekah! i didn't have my camera during the ENTIRE wedding day. what terribly, horrible timing!)

december 30th was an absolutely wonderful day.

the wedding was at 1:20 p.m. in the salt lake temple which was perfect for those of us with small children. the kids slept a little in the car + we met up with danny's parents so they could watch max and avery during the sealing. we took a few pictures outside (they will be posted as soon as i get them!) and then it was back to provo for the luncheon + reception.

the luncheon was very low-key but the food tasted great and right after we were off to work getting all the last minute details finished before the guests started to arrive. alli + tony chose to have their reception in one of the oldest chapels in provo. it was perfect for their vintage wedding! i'll have to track down some pictures of the gym because it turned out so well...but once again, i don't have them. boo for not having a camera.

they wanted hot cocoa + donuts, so that is what we had! with lots and lots of mix-ins. yumm.

we even had live music (thanks to my very talented little bro + sis!!)

the dessert tables!

bri + cami

alli, tony + my cute nieces

kendra (the lady who introduced alli + tony!) + sadie (my beautiful cousin)

avery slept during almost the entire reception! it was yet another miracle.

mr. & mrs. anthony grae pawlak!!!!!

the parents.

one of the highlights of the reception (for me at least) was taking pictures of all of the guests with an awesome instax camera. it was a hit!! again, i don't have pictures of how we displayed all the little polaroids, but believe me, it was great.

and then, we sent them off with sparklers.

and just like that, my little sister became a wife.

we got to see the newly-weds the next day (new years eve!) to open gifts and say our good-bye's before they moved to sunny arizona. it was hard saying goodbye. we already miss them both like crazy. (especially max! last time we were at my parents he wandered through the house saying "alli! tony!" it about broke my heart.)

but this is all for the best! right alli? :)

dan takes on 8 cubic yards of concrete!

2012-01-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

well well well, my older brother brother thinks a hornet's nest, coupled with a bird's nest, tripled with some petzl climbing gear will oust me from my coveted position as good son... he apparently doesn't know how we roll down here in the countryside of Nephi! (i was gonna title this post "bathroom fan takes on 8 cubic yards of concrete" but only grayg would have understood. oh well)

so jess is always giving me a hard time about taking months and months to finish projects, maybe if she would buy me more tools (hint hint!) i could finish quicker. anyway, so sometime last fall we decided to till up the yard and put in sprinklers. see below.

our friend jamison, who has a heart three sizes bigger than normal, came over and tilled up our yard, he is also in the tractor selling business in case anybody is in the market. haha.

our driveway used to be two lanes and when it rained or snowed you would step out of the car into mud, yeah not cool. so during one of my ambitious moments i took out the lanes. what a dumb idea!

then i took out the ugliest looking pine tree ever. looked up a couple youtube how-to vids, borrowed a chainsaw (which i definitely need jess), and voila it came down just like i planned.

so anyway, life happened and i got behind in my projects and all of a sudden we laid down big wooden boards on our dirt lawn as a makeshift walkway up to the house. man we looked ghetto! but it was getting cold and our hopes of getting a driveway poured were quenched. sorry jess.

then winter decided it didn't actually want to come this year so jess said "hey let's do cement" and what do ya know we made plans that day. so we called our friend jeff, see how manly he is??? facial hair, sweet tractor-driving skills, going to the monster truck rally next month. yeah he's awesome!

(pic stolen from dansie's blog...i don't actually follow jeff around and take pictures of him on tractors!)

and he has access to this sweet bobcat, so we hired him to help us city folk out and he helped us get everything ready. well 8 days ago we had high hopes of pouring cement but then it snowed for the first time in about a month. of all the days! so then we prayed harder :) and planned on yesterday.

our prayers were answered; it was a beautiful 70 degree, sunny, january 14th!

speaking of prayers, i am blessed to know that God answers prayers and i want to share a quote with you by gene r. cook, a leader in the lds church:

"i believe that in the whole history of the world God has never failed to answer a humble, sincere prayer - no matter who offered it, whether male or female, young or old, weak or strong, member or nonmember. that's the way the lord is. he is so kind. he is so anxious to respond. of course, his answer might have been 'no.' or he might have said, 'yes, but not now.' or he may have responded in a still, small voice that the person failed to hear. but answer he did."

(receiving answers to our prayers, 1996, pg. 11)

i know God has time to listen to our prayers, let us speak with Him often.

so let's jump to the part with pictures!

this is the morning of, around 9 am and everything is in order for the cement truck to arrive. just ask jeff, i was sooooo nervous. cement is something i don't have much experience with. but we consider ourselves extremely blessed to have such good friends who live around us who have considerably more experience than us and were willing to help out. a HUGE thanks to jeff, chris, kurt, kevin, kids, danielle, lynelle (for moral support and treats!) + especially jess.

the kiddos taking a well deserved donut break!

holy moly doesn't it look amazing??? we are so extremely happy with the finished product! a huge thanks to everyone who helped out.

the end.

leaps and bounds

2012-01-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

it has been refreshing this last week to see all of the progress that we have made on our kitchen!!

these projects have taken us such a long time that sometimes it's easy to forget just how far we've come.

since i don't have the best camera in the world,

i couldn't capture the entire room all together...but i did the best i could :)

(just imagine you are standing in the center of the room and turning counter-clockwise!)

the finishing touches included:

this chevron rug from urban outfitters

(i'm pretty sure the price has gone up since i bought ours...but it's still a screamin' deal!)

and BLINDS!!!! from danny's parents. thank you, thank you.

i love the way it has turned out.

i think it's safe to say the kitchen is now my favorite room in the house...

so now i can start cooking again! :)

we've gone without blinds for the last few months!!

with a window this big in the kitchen...let's just say it's good to have our privacy back! haha.

the fridge got moved to this corner due to it's humongous size.
it barely fit where our previous fridge was next to the stove,
but the right door would hit the wall and close on you...not cool.
we did a lot of rearranging, and decided we liked it best here.
would you agree?

also, notice the bead board on the bottom half of the wall??
we added that too.

we had to cut our computer table down
(it used to be running along the length of the kitchen window...)
but i think it's the perfect size. now, a considerably smaller amount of clutter can gather there!

the last thing i want to do is add a gallery wall above the stove/computer station.

similar to kirsten krason's:

via

so...what do you think???

p.s. sorry this is just getting posted! it's been a crazy day!

new appliances are the best thing ever.

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

it's amazing how you can go from this:

to this:

in less than a day! surprisingly, the dishwasher was easier to install than the chandelier!

(thanks to youtube, again) danny did it all by himself. no talented friends involved this time :)

and it doesn't leak!! i am so proud of him. he is turning into quite the handyman.

and miraculously, the fridge is in our home. being the smart people we are, we didn't measure our door openings before ordering our fridge on black friday. when the delivery guy saw our doors...he was less than excited! hah. but he turned out to be super nice + helpful and took off the doors to the fridge so it could fit into our home. good thing it wasn't curb side delivery...or we would have been in BIG trouble!

tomorrow marks the last day of extreme home make-over: mckinley edition!

i hope you've enjoyed it! :) i'll post the final pictures of everything put together!!

let there be light!

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

since the ceiling was covered in wallpaper, the ceiling fan had to come down.

while we were taking it off, we discovered that it was very unstable...and when the chain was pulled a little electricity was emitted :) not good. we put up a "temporary" light fixture (a single light bulb). however, it became quite permanent! it only took us a year to find something to replace it with but in this case, the waiting paid off!

before:

after:

a chandelier from urban outfitters...my new favorite store.

it adds some femininity to my kitchen, which is how it should be, right??

(i guess the pink knobs add as well :)

and since i'm sure you are dying to see the new kitchen faucet...

smaller, sleek, easier to use.

a much better fit. would you agree?

tomorrow's post: getting a new dishwasher + fridge!!!

(merry christmas to us!)

you'll never know until you try...

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

no offense to the faucet, but i knew it wasn't the right fit from the moment i saw it.

once we had a glistening, beautiful backsplash, i really knew it wasn't right.

so, we went on the search for the perfect one.

we found what we thought was the perfect one...got it all installed and everything (thanks babe!) but then i realized that wasn't the right one either. (i promise i'm not this picky about everything ha!) we lived with it for a while. it was definitely fun + funky, and i loved the coils wrapped around, but it just wasn't right. maybe it was a little too tall for the space? a little too metal-y? a little too forceful (the water did come shooting out...the handle was hard to ease on)? whatever it was, i'm glad we ended up picking a different one.

and aren't you dying to know which faucet we did choose?

well, that my friends, is for another day.

however, behold the cabinets!!!

i wanted to add some interest to our cupboard doors,
so we popped out the middle and switched it out for white beadboard.
sounds simple, right??

wrong.
it was not an easy job...it felt like it took forever.
but i am more than pleased with the finished product.

we also rubbed all the layers of paint off of the hinges (with nasty paint stripper!) and discovered they were beautiful without paint. i love them this way.

we painted the bottom drawers white to match the top and now it recedes back into the wall instead of being rightupinyourface. so so much better.

before:

after:

with the bottom cabinets painted, i also discovered that i like the look of my countertop! before it was pretty blah because everything was the same--the backsplash, (if you can even call it that!) cabinets, and countertop. now the countertop stands out just enough against the white and looks much better.

the finished touch on this project was the big, pink flower knobs from anthro.
they were a little pricey, but don't you think it adds the perfect touch?!

we love.

especially me :)

next installment: the final faucet choice + a new ceiling light!

subway

2012-01-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

once avery was born, we felt ready to begin tackling the kitchen once again.

the cabinets desperately needed some sanding + a new paint job, and as i said before, i hated the fluorescent light fixture above the sink.

so, we ripped it all out and started from scratch!

(don't mind the incredibly cluttered kitchen!! i can't stand messes...ask danny :)

after sanding and painting, we started to tile the backsplash. thanks to youtube, we were able to get it up quickly and without any major complications! thank goodness for technology. we used a simple white subway tile and i couldn't be happier with the finished result:

another one of danny's friends lent us his tile cutter!!

i'm not sure we could ever fix up a house on our own...

the process was relatively easy...

except the tile spacers kept falling out so we kind of just had to eyeball it in some places.

during the tiling process, another one of danny's talented friends installed the perfect lights i found for our cabinets:

and once the tiles were set, we were able to grout and finish it completely. we were a little worried, since we've never grouted anything before...but miraculously it turned out!!

one of the hardest parts for us was finding the balance between waiting long enough for it to dry...but not too long that it wouldn't come off. luckily, we found it! it took a little bit of arm strength to wipe it clean (~~our~~ my arms were definitely sore the next day...)

but i must say, it was worth it.

glistening clean. isn't it lovely??

next up: the first faucet installation + the cabinet renovation

the seven layer wall

2012-01-03T16:34:00.002-07:00

once we knew we were moving in, the wallpaper was the first thing to go.

from first glance, we thought the walls were the only things covered...come to find out, the entire ceiling was covered as well.

seven layers of wallpaper later, we found the original paint color.

beautiful, isn't it?? :)

some of the wallpaper we uncovered was extremely vintage looking. our house was built in the 1920's. i would love to be able to see pictures of our home throughout the years!

since danny has connections with some incredibly talented people, we were able to re-texture our ceiling and walls...thanks to cody! then, danny's dad painted the ceiling. what a good man! (i promise we helped too!)

and then, we were finally able to paint! we got a sample of one, but it was a little too green for me...

and then we found this:

and that's where we'll end today.

next up: the tile backsplash + cabinet lighting!

evolution

2012-01-03T16:13:00.001-07:00

one of my biggest goals last year was to work on fixing up our home. there was {and still is!} plenty to be done but we have come a loooong way from the first time we stepped foot in our little place.

over the next few days, i'm going to have an extreme home make-over: mckinley edition :)

taking you step-by-step through the evolution of the kitchen.

the kitchen has been our main focus mostly because i spend a lot of time there. i wanted a space that i loved to be in...and what we started with was something ~~almost~~ frightening.

see for yourself:

mis-matched cabinets had to go

kitchen scissors attached to the wall (!!!)

random single cabinet seemed out of place

stove was from the dark ages

one foot of counter space next to the oven was ghetto...believe me.

oh, and the wallpaper!!! it was everywhere. covering the walls + ceiling!! layers and layers of it too.

frilly curtains...not my style :)

wallpaper under the windows in the mudroom

the pieced together backsplash was a definite eye-sore

fluorescent lighting is not a favorite of mine

...and the faucet was un-stable. as in, it moved every time you turned it on. awesome! :)

would you agree with me?

something needed to be done!

get ready for tomorrow's next installment of pictures :)

p.s. i'm wanting to enable comments again on my blog but i can't seem to figure it out.

any pointers?? jessie.lynn.george@gmail.com

happy new year!!

2012-01-01T20:52:00.002-07:00

what an incredible year it has been!!! there have been plenty of good times, and some hard times but all-in-all i think it's safe to say it's been the best year yet! here's a recap:

january

.decided on new year's eve to spend a week in oklahoma to help out mike + bekah

.tore up the ceiling in our living room!! it was a disaster for a long time, but it is beautiful now

february

.started the trading post blog

{one of these days i may start it up again...maybe :) anybody want to help??}

march

.began the renovation of the yard

april

.welcomed baby avery into our family!!!

may

.began the renovation of our kitchen!

{as of now, jan. 2012...it is almost finished! pictures to come!}

.built growboxes and planted a garden!

june

.blessed sweet baby avery

.celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary!! so glad we were able to go.

that was the last time i saw my wonderful grandpa.

.snuck away to the large city of price, utah for a seminary training :)

max stayed with the grandparents.

july

.celebrated the fourth of july with friends and family

.ran a 10k!

{next time i will train...}

.spent lots of time outside + ate tons of popsicles

.went to the ute stampede

.camped with the mckinley family

.spent three jam-packed days in salt lake city with danny's family

august

.took a somewhat relaxing family vaycay to st. george

.graduated from BYU!!!

.took family pictures

.celebrated three years!

september

.max turned TWO!

october

.installed a sprinkler system! ...with the help of many

.spent halloween weekend up at fish lake with close friends

november

.went to idaho for my grandpa's funeral

.happy thanksgiving!

.cut max's hair into a mullet...for a few minutes :)

december

.chopped off all my hair!

.threw alli a bridal shower

.celebrated christmas eve with delicious dinner + a puzzle

.had a wonderful christmas day + vacation {post to come...}

.celebrated alli + tony's wedding!!!

{post to come as well...}

.rang in the new year!!

here's to an even better year. yay for 2012!!

temple square 2011

2011-12-12T13:29:00.001-07:00

when i cut my hair, i went to the lunatic fringe in sugar house.

since we were there, we decided to drive the extra ten minutes to downtown salt lake to walk around temple square.

we scored an extremely close parking spot, {which was a huge blessing because it was freezing!!} loaded the kid's into the double stroller, bundled up from head to toe, and walked around in the snow.

it is always so beautiful and i hope we can make it a yearly tradition. we don't take max + avery to the temple nearly enough but it was fun to see max's face light up as he looked up at angel moroni. he kept saying "te-ple" all night. what a cutie. oh, and avery was an absolute angel. she looked adorable all bundled up with only her face exposed. even though i could do without snow for the rest of my life...i must say, i love christmas time!

my little sister's bridal shower

2011-12-11T15:04:00.001-07:00

i still can't believe that alli is getting married!!! what a wonderful few months it has been :)

we absolutely love tony...and even though i'm going to miss alli tremendously when she picks up and moves to the sunny state of arizona (right after her wedding!!) it will give me a great excuse to head down to a warmer climate!

my mom and i threw her a little shower last thursday night which turned out to be a huge success. we all had a lovely time and lots of alli's good friends came to support her. we had delicious food, played the video-bubble gum game, and just hung out.

the spread:
{i made these mini cheesecakes and they were a hit. make them for your next party. they won't disappoint!}

heart-shaped veggie tray:

post-bubble gum game:

alli and her girls:

cute avery eating blueberries:

{she loved being invited to the shower. she was on her best behavior the entire night!}

alli and i:

the girls in the family
{except for bekah + her girls...we missed you!}

thanks to all who came!
p.s. you may be able to tell in the pictures...but i chopped all of my hair off!!!!
i am now proudly sporting a pixie cut! i absolutely love it.
more pictures to come...

splish splash

2011-12-01T08:22:00.001-07:00

bath time is getting a little more exciting over at our house...

our baby girl has turned into a energetic, sitting up all on her own!!, crazy little girl.

and max...is still max! running non-stop, making ave laugh, and being a two year old :)

we love these two little ones.

oh, and happy december! it has certainly snuck up on us! we got the tree up the other day, but ran out of lights half-way up the tree...and we still haven't gotten any more!

also, i've been a little consumed with my beautiful sister's wedding {in less than a month!!} i just got her invite's finished though and they look beautiful! (if i do say so myself!)

and yesterday this email showed up in my inbox from byu:

HALLELUJAH!!!

hope you have a wonderful first day of december!

my grandpa joe

2011-11-20T21:11:00.001-07:00

on november 5, 2011 my wonderful grandpa passed away.

what an amazing man he was!!

his funeral was held last saturday in rigby, idaho and i am so glad that we were able to go. the entire event was nothing short of a miracle--ALL 40 of my cousins {except the two on missions} were there and almost all of their spouses + children!! we were quite the crowd.

my grandpa loved music and some of my fondest memories are singing songs at our george family reunions. the funeral was filled with music--all grandkids over age 16 sang "how firm a foundation" and for the closing song all of his descendants sang "we'll bring the world his truth." the spirit was so strong and i know it wasn't just me with tears in my eyes.

though the reason we were all together wasn't the greatest, it was so neat to be all together as a family. it has been at least twelve years since that has last happened. big family gatherings like that seem to give me a little glimpse into heaven.

my grandpa was an incredible example to me and i am so glad that i got to be his grand-daughter. i will always cherish playing pictionary, eating farr's vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries on top, having delicious popcorn, picking buckets full of raspberries from the garden, and listening to his calm, sweet voice.

we love you grandpa!!

Joseph C. George

Joseph Carl George passed away at his home Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, as a result of complications of Parkinson's disease. His family cared for him with the assistance of Solace Hospice of Rigby.

He was born in Rigby on April 18, 1927, and was 84 years of age. His parents were Hilmer M. George and Edith Kinghorn George. He attended school in Rigby, where he excelled in scholarship and athletics. Following his high school graduation in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy with a group of his friends. At the conclusion of the war, he received an honorable discharge and returned home, where he attended Ricks College for one year. He served as class president at Ricks and then left for an LDS mission to the Northern/ Great Lakes States mission. He served under President Creed Haymond, and chose to follow in his profession. Following his mission he completed his pre-dentistry classes at Brigham Young University in Provo.

Joe met Carol Cordner of Stillwater, Oklahoma, at the beginning of the school year and they were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on June 19, 1951.

In 1955, he graduated from Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago. He and Carol and their three children returned to Rigby to live and he began his practice of dentistry upstairs over the Royal Theatre. In a few years he built his dental office on Main Street. Dr. George enjoyed his work and the association with his assistants and office managers. He especially enjoyed the opportunity to know his patient families who came from throughout Jefferson County. Joe loved Rigby and appreciated being able to raise and educate his family of eight children in this growing community. In 2010, Joe and Carol received the Lifetime Service Award from the Chamber of Commerce.

His commitment to his church was a top priority in his life and Joe served as a Scout Master and Bishop of the Rigby 4th Ward. In the organization of the Rigby Stake, he served as Executive Secretary, High Counselor, Counselor in the Rigby Stake presidency, and served for almost ten years as the Rigby Stake Mission President. He enjoyed teaching, speaking and missionary service.

Joe loved Idaho and the opportunities it presented to hunt and fish. Ice fishing with his brother, Reynold, was an important activity after he retired. He was a fine gardener. His family was the center of his interest and affection.

Joe is survived by his wife of 60 years, Carol, and the following children: Cyndi (Lyle) Wakefield of Rexburg, Joseph D. (Barbara) of Salt Lake City, Richard (Sally) of Rigby, Kenneth (Rose) of Bountiful, Utah, James D. (Shaunna) of Provo, Utah, Mary Beth (Ward) Wright of Orem, Utah, Ralph K. (Cathy) of Rexburg, and Susan (Craig) Bell, of Rexburg. He was the proud and happy grandfather of 40 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren. He is survived by two brothers: H. Reynold George of Idaho Falls, and Dr. Dennis George of Boise, Idaho.

He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant daughter, an infant brother, and his brother, Donal, who was lost during a flight over the Sea of Japan at the conclusion of the Korean War.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011, at the Rigby Stake Center, 258 W. First St. North, Rigby. The family will receive friends from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Eckersell Memorial Chapel, 101 W. Main St. Rigby, and for one hour prior to services at the church. Burial will be in Rigby Pioneer Cemetery under the care of Eckersell Memorial Chapel in Rigby.

"flesh" lake

2011-11-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

our halloween was amazing this year!!
and we didn't even go trick-or-treating.

{more on that later...}

our friends, sam + penny invited us up to their amazing cabin at fish lake {a.k.a. flesh lake} with some of our close friends. we arrived friday night and had a weekend full of FUN. seriously, i wish we could have stayed longer. we stayed up until 2+ a.m., ate delicious food...and lots and lots of treats, played tons of games.

i LOVE getting together with this crowd because they are some game loving people!
we played ticket to ride, speed scrabble, quiddler, pit, and had michael jackson dance competitions {which i was horrible at but it was entertaining to watch penny, danny, sarah and dave!}

we ate yummy caramel apples, watched the village {danny and i had never seen it before...not sure how we felt about it. not the scariest movie in the world!}
and had a wonderful time with our fabulous friends.

they even let us bring max + avery and they didn't send us home when max threw up all over the kitchen floor!!! we love them for that :) everyone was such a good sport and cheered max up when he wasn't feeling his greatest. max and danny were still feeling sick on halloween, so we didn't make it out but we got a total of about TEN trick-or-treaters. we're big time, huh??

thanks, sam + penny for the much needed getaway! we love you guys!
oh, and thanks to caleb + lauren for the group shot and the single pic of max :)

up and running!

2011-11-07T10:21:00.002-07:00

i have exciting news today! my mormon.org profile is up and running!! i hope to add more to it soon, but in the mean time, check it out here to better understand why i am a mormon.

oh, and while you're at it, you should create your profile too! :)

i'd love to see yours if you have one!

f.y.i: the church has to go through your profile once you've submitted it, so once you finish, it takes about 1-2 weeks to go live. have fun!