halloween 2015.

this year for halloween, miss gracie jane was a strawberry. i got the costume a few weeks ago, and we've both been excited for her to get to wear it. it was a little small (18 month size) but i figured it didn't really matter and i thought she looked adorable anyway.

she hit the jackpot trick or treating, which her father and i were very grateful ;)

i realized, though, a few houses in, that our new neighborhood is quite hill-y and the big pregnant lady maybe should've just stayed home and passed out candy. oh well. i survived and it was way more fun to see her experience her first real trick or treating outing than to stay home and pass out candy to a bunch of kids i don't know, even if i was huffing and puffing at times.

black island farms.

we had a little mid-week family date night this week out at black island farms. pumpkins and tractor rides and haystacks and goats and baby pig races and face painting (or in our case, arm painting). so fun! we've never done something like this before, and i was so excited about it.

at first, we were sweating it was so warm out! but after the first hour or so, it started to cool down a bit and was really the perfect weather. we got there early too so we beat a lot of the big crowds. i'm so glad we went.

after our farming fun, we made a stop at sill's for some breakfast-for-dinner dinner before driving home. such a fun night! i'm really trying to soak in all the time we have left the next few weeks with just our family of three.

^^ some family picture bloopers. it was really bright ;)

easter 2015.

this year was a little more exciting than last year, mostly because gracie is older and starting to enjoy the holidays and fun things that go with them more. obviously she still doesn't really "get" it, but it's fun to start doing more things with her anyway.

we had a couple egg hunts this year - a smaller neighborhood one with some of her little friends, and the big farmington city one (jae has to work it, so we tag along) with hundreds of people. she's not the biggest fan of tons of people and gets super sidetracked and a little anxious and unsure sometimes, but it was fun to get out and help her find some eggs!

i only took pictures at the neighborhood hunt, none at the city one.

and then for the actual Easter day, we spent the afternoon having a picnic at the park. the weather was beautiful and we had to take advantage. even zo pup got to come!

i had to work in the evening, so i missed out on dinner, but jae and gracie got to spend the evening with my family. it was a lovely day spent together, listening to the leaders of our church give wonderful messages & remind us of the important things in life. i kind of loved having easter and conference end up on the same weekend. less eggs, more Christ :)

and of course, the little lady in her new Easter outfit!
(i totally forgot to get a picture of her in her dress before i went to work, so my dad was nice enough to snap a few)

(hello, teething!)

christmas.

Christmas is always a special, fun time of year, but it was even more exciting this year because we had our little gracie to celebrate with! even though she's only 2 months old and has no idea what Christmas is nor can she open or appreciate any presents, it was still fun to add her little stocking to the mantel and wrap presents with her name on them :)

gracie and her favorite uncle Jordan on Christmas day

I didn't take hardly any pictures of our festivities this year. too wrapped up in spending time with our sweet little family to bother. this year, jae surprised me with a new kitchenaid mixer, I got him some nice stacy adams grey church shoes, and gracie got some new additions to her wardrobe, as well as some toys and books. zoey's present was getting to rip open gracie's presents for her. she loved it.

we had a great holiday season. hard to believe it's already over. we had a great time spending time together, which is what's important. I love my little family and it is so fun celebrating these holidays.

labor day weekend 2013.

here's a bit of how our weekend went:
(yes - all iphone photos, so not the greatest. also, a lot more work was done by jae and other family members, which was AWESOME...i just didn't get pictures of it all. i'll have to show you later exactly what they did.)

date night! we're really good at good pictures.

 

jae's favorite: mo bettah's (ekolu special)

 

my favorite: coldstone (cake batter ice cream, brownies, fudge)

 

you can't really tell, but it was an awesome stormy sky sunset with sun rays shining down through

we actually went to see a movie! first time in months.

{ps - since when did movies cost $9.25?? good grief.}

 

somehow convinced my family to come spend their labor day at our house - laboring on our behalf.

 

pup was super helpful with putting together a bookshelf.

the big pregnant lady & the dog working together - you can imagine how quickly that work got done.

 

the finished product! bookshelf for baby girls room :)

i absolutely love it.

 

finished off labor day with this absolutely delectable brownie.

it was soooo good.

so long, sweet summer!

4th of july!

just stopped in to tell everyone 

happy 4th of july!

my favorite holiday.

have a happy and safe weekend :)

scenes from our fathers day weekend.

we started our father's day weekend by celebrating Jae's moms birthday at Joy Luck.

we ended it with a tired pup who collapsed on the bed with her bum cupped perfectly in my bra.

it was pretty hilarious.

Karen and most of her boys. good lookin bunch.

Grandpa got to sit at the kids table & loved every minute, i'm sure :)

Jae made fire. in his church socks.

Milo the watermelon fiend.

how adorable is he with his crossed legs and watermelon?

caught Zo in the act of the beginnings of a yawn.

papa got 23 tickets to a Bee's game. i wonder who he's going to take....?

quick snap of the bump - 23+ weeks

Zack less than thrilled about his mess of a s'more.

perfectly roasted mallow.

reeses s'more

my mom whipped our her rarely seen tetherball skills. i think the grandkids were impressed.

baby girl's gift to her daddy. i guess she couldn't find another bag quick enough so she wrapped it in a VS bag! (present below...)

i am so grateful for the wonderful men in my life. 
i love you all so much!

my dad. i am such a daddy's girl. always have been. he's always been such a good example to me of a humble, grateful, giving, loving, caring, hard working husband and father who's always willing to go the extra mile when any of us need anything. don't know what i'd do without him.

my brothers-in-law. they all became part of our family when i was still pretty young, so they've always been like real brothers to me. they've helped raise me and teased me and treated me just like older brothers would. they're amazing husbands and fathers in their own families and i'm so grateful for the great bunch of guys we got lucky to have in our family.

my father-in-law. although he lives across the country and we don't see or talk to him as often as we should, i appreciate the good qualities he's passed on to his boys and example he's given to them of what it means to be a good dad.

and my Jae. he's a father to our sweet pup, and she loves him so much. obviously a dog and a baby are two totally different things, but i get a little glimpse what it'll be like when our baby girl comes and the amazing dad and friend he's going to be for her. as it gets closer and closer, i seriously can hardly wait. it's something i'm looking forward to more than anything about our baby girl's arrival.