The holidays....!!!

I hope that you all had a great, filling weekend with your family. I will have to tell you this that I had a great time with my family on both sides and ate WAY too much food.

We had a great semi-relaxing weekend. We were able to go to Mat's parent's home on Thursday on Thanksgiving Day and spend most of the day with them. We came home later that night and just relaxed and watched Polar Express with the boys.

Friday we were able to just stay home, get up some of the Christmas decorations and get ready for my family Christmas Bingo party that night. My brother Jared and his family were able to come down for the weekend and we had a great time that night. My mom started an old tradition that my grandma did when I was younger and have a Christmas Bingo party and I loved it as a kid and now I get to see my kids enjoy and have fun getting a few presents from their Mama!! It was a crazy night, but that's what you get when you fit 31 people into my parent's tiny house, but it sure was full of laughter and smiles. We also played games as adults while the kids were playing with each other. It was a great night! We didn't go to bed until late, but we had a wonderful time with family we don't see that much.

Saturday we were going CRAZY!!! On my side of the family we get together with my mom's side of the family and have a great big Thanksgiving together. My mom usually gets some of the food together and have it all ready, but she was called into work when she wasn't suppose to and went anyway. So..... that left me and Mat and my dad to finish the stuffing, gravy, ham and the turkey along with the salads that we made. We finished cooking them, putting them together, put them in our car and over to the church in Mapleton. I was about to cry and was very frazzled, but Mat was there to calm me down and we got it done and it turned out really well. We ate more food and had a great time getting together with family. We also had a great TURKEY BOWL!!!! Mat was able to play this year without hurting himself... YEAH MAT!!!! Now he is really sore, but he had a great time. I was able to watch some of the game, but then went back inside to visit with family..... for a little bit before going to watch.... the big DUEL!!!

Yes we are big BYU fans.... and sometimes UTAH, but ..... BYU ALL THE WAY!!! We had DVR'd it and wow... what a game. It was a crazy house again because we were all back over to my mom's house and the kids had a great time playing with their cousins. We sure got our fill with food and family.

Tonight we are going to Temple Square to see the ligths with my brother Jared and his family before they head back up to Idaho. We are so excited. Corbin has been asking when the next time he can go to the temple with Mat and I. He gets upset when we go to the temple and he isn't able to come, but today he got REALLY excited!!! We love going up to see the lights. It's been one of our traditions since we moved back from Logan.

Hope that you all have had a great weekend and are getting just as excited as I am for the holidays! I love this time of year! Happy Holidays!!!

Filled with bounty!

I know that it has been a while since I have last posted. I have thought many a times that I needed to post today, and still have yet to do so, until now. I finally a small amount of time to put towards the computer for a little bit. So I thought since this week it is Thanksgiving that I would write a brief summary of the 10 things that I am most grateful for this year. (That way I don't go to long... hopefully.) (Not in any particular order)

#1 I am thankful for my husband. He has been there to support me and have confidence in me the last few weeks where I have been stretched outside of my comfort zone. And yet he has always known that I could do it so Thank you Mat!

#2 I am thankful for my boys. Although on some days they are a challenge and a stress, they do bring a smile to my face and always find some way to make me laugh and just feel so cozy and loved inside.

#3 I am thankful for my family. They are always there to support me and strengthen me in times of great need and even when I don't feel loved, I know my family is there for a shoulder to cry on.

#4 I am thankful for my mom. She has always been there to give advice and strength. Even when there are times I get frustrated she is there to reassure me that it will be okay.

#5 I am thankful for dear friends. Yes, all of you have a special place in my heart and have been there when I have needed you. You listen to me and can bring a smile to my face and we always have fun. Thank you!!!!

#6 I am thankful for the gospel. I would be so lost without the guidance of the gospel and the great opportunities for me to grow personally and most importantly spiritually.

#7 I am thankful for my testimony of the church and the doctrines that are taught. Although I do not share my testimony as often I am thankful for the Spirit that testifies to me so often of the truths and blessings of the church.

#8 I am thankful for the Mat's job and the help that it has given our family. Although we are still not in a place of our own, we know that Mat still has a job and opportunities to grow and progress there.

#9 I am thankful for the beauty of the outdoors. I love to just play outside with my boys and enjoy all that my Father in Heaven has provided for us. I love living so close to the canyon and be able to see the changes of each season and have the chance to go up the canyon whenever I want to. It's wonderful!

#10 Most importantly I am thankful for my Savior. He has always been there to listen, support, strengthen and forgive me of so many things. He loves me no matter what.

Thanks for letting me tell you some of the many things that I am thankful for this year. Most are the obvious ones but I don't think they need to be surpassed. Love you all and hope that you have a great and safe Thanksgiving weekend.

Happy Halloween!!!

Festive little outfit that I got from my sister-in-law a couple of years ago. Isn't it cute?!?! Anyway, we had a really great, crazy Halloween weekend. My parents have been gone to Florida to Disney World with my brother and his family and spent Halloween there, while we were here in Utah celebrating with my sister and her family. We had a really fun day on Halloween. Well, I guess not all of it was fun. Mat and my brother-in-law were moving out my parents old washer and dryer and we are finally going to be using ours that we bought 4 years ago. HOORAY!! We have been also moving out all of our stuff from storage and getting it situated and looked through. We are donating a lot of our stuff to our ward's swap and shop. It will be great. So the whole morning we spent it looking through things and moving things here and there. My parents will come home to a garage of our things at least at the back of the garage. We don't have that much stuff.

After that we got into our costumes and headed to my sisters for a fun filled evening of TRICK-OR-TREATING!!! We had dinner with them before which was fun. We had "wrapped mummies" (hot dogs wrapped in crescents), "fingers" (french fries), and tombstones (chicken nuggets). It was a lot of fun and the kids thought it was great. We then headed off to my sisters neighborhood PARK and TREAT! You just sit down in the park and hand out the candy. It's a lot of fun and an easy way for the kids to get a lot of candy in a short amount of time. We went to a few more home in her neighborhood before heading to ours. We ended up at my Grandpa Anderson's house and then headed home. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. It's fun to have the kids kind of understand the meaning of Halloween a little bit better each year. Oh, the funniest thing. We borrowed a lightsaber from my brother and Corbin would carry that all night and yet would not hold his candybag. Funny huh?!?! He wanted the lightsaber more than the candy. Hope it holds true!!

Yes I know that Corbin is bonking himself with the lightsaber, but he is such a ham and this was the best picture of our family as STAR WARS!!

My cute and adorable nephew, Easton. He went as a clown and was a trooper and walked the whole time carrying his bag of candy, that probably weighed more than any of the other boys combined. He kept grabbing more and more candy.

This is a normal look from Corbin lately. He loves to stick out his tongue. But here is my 3 boys as "STAR WARS" (not Jedi's, according to Daxton).

I had to show this silly picture of Hayden. He loves to attack the camera and he loves to get his picture taken. He is so silly and he is always making me laugh. Hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloween. Now, onto THANKSGIVING!!! Looking forward to fun, family and lots and lots of LAUGHTER!!!