An early Christmas gift

Christmas came early this year when Grandma and Grandpa Watrous had a new swing set delivered to our house. Afton loves going to the park. She loves going down the slide, playing on the swings, and going up and down on the teeter totter. Grandma and Grandpa decided that Afton needed her own swing set in her own back yard!

Once it was delivered grandma and grandpa came over to help with the assembly.
It was fun to watch my dad and Brett working side by side. They talked about football, basketball, and who knows what else! :)

Afton was asleep at first and I was able to sit on the back porch with my mom and chat while the boys worked. Once Afton woke up she was so excited to come outside and get in the middle of it all. She loves 'working' on things and was a very good helper.

By the time it got dark the swing set was almost put together, Afton was in heaven and we were all getting really cold! Brrrr

Shutterfly

I sure was excited when I saw this great deal from Shutterfly. All I have to do is show you some of my favorite cards and send you some amazing links for you to choose your own favorites and I get 50 free Christmas cards!  Yeah!

I have used Shutterfly in the past to create a birthday book for my little girl. The process was easy, fast and the price including shipping was inexpensive. I loved the finished product and plan on doing it again!

For now though I haven't decided whether or not I want to use a family photo or just a photo of my little one for our Christmas card so it was great to scroll through the hundreds of options to get some ideas.
 
There are holiday cards

            holiday story cards

            Christmas photo cards

            calendars

            birth announcements

            photo gifts

and so much more.... I got a lot of great gift ideas while scrolling this site.

Here are a few of my favorite cards!

I love this one because of its simplicity. I love the little tree and the little pop of color in the corner. I can see my little girl on this card. 

You can find more photo -holiday cards like this here.

In this next one I love the way the color pops against the black and white photo. It's so fun and festive and any picture would work. 

 

For more fun photo Christmas cards check this out! 

I thought this card was great because it has spaces on the inside for pictures and updates. What a fun way to share a little more information!

Go here for more amazing story cards!

Thanks to Shutterfly, my biggest challenge now is finding the perfect picture!

Shattered glass

A few nights ago Afton was sitting in the living room playing before dinner as usual.
I asked Brett to grab her and bring her to the table when dinner was ready.
A couple of minutes later we heard a loud crash. Brett and I looked at each other wondering what had just happened. We walked toward the living room to find the light fixture on the ground in pieces. It had fallen off somehow and shattered. Glass was everywhere and although we were all fine I was sick to my stomach thinking if it had been two minutes earlier, Afton would have been sitting right underneath it.
I don't know what I would do if anything happened to this kid. Whew!

Sunday snow storm

Brett and Afton spent a good portion of the day playing outside in the freshly fallen snow. Afton loved wearing her hat and gloves but got frustrated when the snow stuck to the bottom of her boots.

Brett was like a little kid, rolling snow into a ball and devising a plan to make a snow hill big enough for all of us.

They rolled snowball after snowball toward the garden and soon enough a hill started to form.
Afton loved climbing to the top for a rest!

I think this poor kid needs some snow pants!

Fall fishing with Dad!

Today was so much fun. I met my dad at a parking lot at 8:30 in the morning. We put on our waders and boots and hit the road. Once we found a good spot we put on more gear. Jackets, hats, another coat, glasses, and a fishing vest to be exact. I love the feeling of my waders when I first step into the water. I can feel the water pushing down on my feet and everything tightens.

As we moved through the water we would hit pockets of air that seemed almost warm with no wind and a few minutes later I would be freezing. It stayed like that the entire time we were gone and we kept thinking a storm was rolling in but nothing hit.

As we were taking off our gear and packing up our poles a gust of wind came through and almost blew me over. I stumbled and had to grab the jeep. We ended up driving a little further around a bend so my dad could get out and get his waders off. Whew!

We stayed for a couple of hours, moved to a couple of different spots and picked up 12 or so fish each. My big one got away...doesn't it always? Dangit

Pumpkin patch

Halloween / Fall Decor

If you know me, you know I don't like Halloween. My metal jack o lanterns and the skeleton face (below) are the creepiest things you'll ever see in my house!
I mainly wanted a picture of my wreaths because soon they will become something else and I know I'll want to recreate them next year! I am also excited about my harvest sign (I made a pumpkin sign as well)!

First snow day!

Barnyard Boo

Jen and Loni's Halloween Bash

Jen and Loni always throw a great party! The house was decked out, the food was delicious, the kids crafts were a hit, and Afton LOVED the theater room and pinata!
Not sure why I'm the only one smiling here...

Always glad to have Melis, Tally, and Holdy with us! Everything
is more fun!

The boys loved the doughnut eating contest and I couldn't get enough of Melissa's
homemade shoes.

Keetch Halloween Party

The Keetch Halloween party is always fun. Steve and Monique did a great job hosting this year. Their house was festive and we had yummy food, fun games with prizes, loud music, and lots of entertainment.

Afton started out in this cute little outfit. She loved her wings, she loved her necklace, she loved her headband, and she loved her wand.

But outfits like this don't last long...

Pretty soon her wings were bent, her necklace was missing and she was up way past bedtime.

We changed her into her favorite panda p.j.'s, gave her part of my costume and managed to squeeze in another hour of Halloween fun!

The craziness...

Afton's blessing

Afton was blessed in our home today. My dad gave the blessing and Afton sat quietly the entire time. Grandma W. brought some little tiny birds for her to hold.

Everyone was kind enough to come out on a weeknight to participate and we are appreciative.

We were missing Uncle Dan and Uncle Matt, both of who live out of Salt Lake. We missed them both but were able to have Uncle Tim attend while in town from Phoenix.

Keeley, Tally and Holdy played quietly upstairs during the blessing and came down after for dessert.

It was a wonderful experience and I am thankful for all who attended and participated!

Content

Afton and I woke up early today. We walked downstairs in the dark, in our pj's and snuggled up on the couch. After a while I got up and made Afton a bottle. I walked through my clean house opening blinds, looking at the frost on the lawn. The heater kicked on with a familiar smell and I couldn't help but feel grateful to be home.

I love Brett for working hard so I can stay home and raise Afton. We knew it would be hard but I wouldn't trade a minute of my time with her for any amount of money or any other experience.

Days like today help me realize how lucky I am and it feels good to be grateful!

Thanks honey!

A Sunday hike in Dry Canyon

Afton loves getting out. She is so adventurous and athletic. We went to Dry Canyon which starts out a little steep for someone so small but she didn't seem to mind. The sky was overcast and the air was just warm enough. We hiked and played and stopped to sit on rocks and throw dirt.
As soon as we got in our car and down the canyon it started pouring rain! Whew!