HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!

I have the best husband in the WORLD!!!

Oh Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was as awesome as always. It doesn't get much better than Uncle Steve's cooking. Everything was overly delicious and perfect! Plus it's like the only day we get to eat on china... that's right, we're fancy. Well.. Jan is fancy. We had the usual crowd this year plus a few extras. We all got booked like 2 years in advance which was awesome since it's been a while that we've all been together for Thanksgiving. It takes me back to the old days. We also got to share the day with Kristi's family, which always makes for a good time. It's about time Dawn and I get some competition for "Just Dance" again... It's really starting to get boring blowing everyone out of the water. Dawn and I stepped it up this year... took "Just Dance" to a whole new level. (In our appearance of course, not our skills). Okay in all seriousness... I think I only beat John once ever and let's be honest, NO ONE will ever beat Morgan. As scary as that sounds, it's the truth.

Jan, Britt, Dawn and I finished the night out with some Black Friday shopping. It was chaotically fun. I bought two things that were the same price as they are every day. Haha. I didn't last long.. too many lines and people and chaos. But it was fun!

I guess I sort of feel like I should list a few things that I am thankful for... Obviously, I am thankful for my best friend and the greatest husband in the world. He is perfect for me in every way and so good to me. I am also thankful for family and "extended family" and the chance we have to be around each other all the time. I couldn't ask for better company in anything we do. I am also at this time quite thankful for my "new" job. I'm lucky to have a job that I love.

Any day that involves gathering with family at the Davis' is among my favorite days of the year! Laughing with (and at) everyone, telling stories, chasing kids around, dancing, and all kinds of other crazy things! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope yours was as good as mine!

Here are a million and a half pictures...

The man....

Bartender Britt... Servin' up the mixed drinks

Mom and Mat "ricing" the potatoes... It takes a physically fit and muscular man. Naturally we turned to my husband.

....and the rest of us just hangin' out!
And last but not least....... The 80's Dancing Queens. Enough said.

Cooling off after workin' it... and it was definitely work.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Monday is Dad's birthday so we all decided to get together and party tonight... It was a lot of fun. We don't all get to get together with Dad too much, so when we do it always makes for a good time. I made Dad's favs...Potato soup and German Chocolate cake. We just hung out and laughed as always. Ainslie got to blow out candles as usual, then we played the game Cranium with her, which was interesting.... and fun. Here are some fun pictures...

Evie was totally diggin' the cake.... as you can see. It was a fun night with family as always. We sure love Dad and couldn't live without him! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

I GOT MY JOB!!!

So... today I worked my last day as a part-time employee!! I finally got hired on full time in the Athletic Department at UVU! I am so excited! I LOVE my job so much, and to actually get paid decent and get benefits and all that is just the icing on the cake! It's going to be a crazy next couple of months, but I am ready to take it on with a big smile! I feel lucky to have a job that I love so much! The people, the atmosphere, the work, everything is fantastic! Mat will get free tuition and we wont have to pay a bazillion dollars in insurance anymore!

SURPRISE!

Mat surprised me yesterday and took me to see my FAVORITE band...or favorite guy, TYRONE WELLS. This was my fifth time seeing him in concert... and I could see him a million more times and have just as much fun! This guy is amazingly talented.

He played at Velour in Provo which is by far one of my favorite venues. I think I spent my entire first three years of college there... It was fun to relive those days a little bit with Mat! We had a ton of fun, bought a couple of new CD's, and may have unburied my music-loving inner soul... There is a good possibility that we will be frequenting the concert scene a bit more these days!

The World's Longest Blog Post!

Last night I was somewhat inspired by my best friend Cami to update my blog... It's only been like four months since my last catch up, but I suppose I can go through it again. Ha.

So we'll start with the most recent... Prepare for the longest blog post in the history of blogging.

Last night we went over to Cami and Marc's and carved pumpkins. I can honestly say that it has been at LEAST 6 years since I have carved a pumpkin. Probably more... and I'm sure you can all imagine how long its been for Mat. Haha. We had so much fun though! We carved all kinds of crazy things...

Here are some pictures of the work behind the pumpkin beauty....

We also made pumpkin seeds which was a first for me... They actually turned out delicious thanks to Cami and I being the domestic gals we are. Maybe if I was the one to separate all the seeds out from the pumpkin mash I would have though differently, but I left that job for Mat and Cami...
After all that we ate some delicious apple crisp and ice cream and then played the game Settlers of Catan. If you haven't ever played it, you really should. It's quite fun in a laid back sort of way. We also played a game of slap... Mat's the reigning champion and has yet to be dethroned. Cami and I think it's because of his big ol' hands. Anyway... The night was a ton of fun! Pumpkin guts, delicious seeds that came from the guts, apple crisp, and fun games!

We have also been enjoying the rainy weather a bit... We took a trip up the canyon and gazed at all the beautiful colors, we got free car washes, we didn't have to water the lawn, and last but not least it ruined our plans of spending all day Saturday weeding... shoot. The dog's have been loving the rain as well. Here are some pictures of our little dirt balls....

Josh is getting old. We had ANOTHER birthday party for him... He's almost 30. Okay he just barely turned 29, I guess I could wait a bit before throwing out the "almost 30" card. Haha.

This was also the night that I came to the realization that we are ALL getting old. Our family functions are no longer grab a pizza and hang out and visit all night at Josh and Janae's. Now we ALL have houses to hang out at, and this is what we do instead...

Haha... Mat looks so happy. Maybe that's why we don't have kids yet. Kidding... Mat usually is the one playing with all the kids while everyone else sits and talks. Let's be honest... with 8 billion nieces and nephews, he's probably had the most experience.

Mat and I finally bought a tent and went camping! It was a short trip due to a late start and strange illness... but we had fun just hanging out and exploring instead of reading and doing homework. (Yes, as long as your spouse is in school, there is homework going on at all times...even if its not yours). Our tent is awesome... It sleeps about a million people. We could set up like a whole apartment in it.

The dogs were so funny... They slept outside and stood guard all night. I don't think they got a wink of sleep because in the morning when we got up and we're making breakfast, they both crashed out.

When we headed out we stopped and this little beach-like reservoir and played in the water for a bit... the dogs had more fun than we did though because it was windy and cold.

The wind blew this chair over and shortly after Sage was all over it and sniffing all around it.. then all the sudden she like dove under the chair and was trying to get to something but she couldn't quite reach it. Mat and I just sat there and laughed.. it was so funny. Turns out there were some fish bones under there. She finally got to them and Mat promptly took them away. All that hard work for nothing.

One Sunday in August we went up to Mueller Park in Bountifulish area... We had a lot of fun roasting GIANT marshmallows and eating tinfoil dinners. Mat and I also had a great time playing "Poo Sticks" with Ainslie... When we got the invite from her, we weren't so sure. But Janae informed us that we would be playing "POOH sticks" as in.... Winnie the Pooh. Apparently Pooh throws sticks in the river and watches them float down... who knew?

The best part for sure was the mallows.. and the good company of course. I think Ainslie worked on one marshmallow all evening, or maybe it worked on her... The rest of us enjoyed a few.

Others of us weren't as lucky and got stuck with watermelon rhines and water....

We had a sweet fiesta birthday party for Uncle Steve... I promised Ainslie we would have a pin-ya-tah (as she calls it) at our next get together, so we turned the whole thing into a fiesta. We ate tacos and enchiladas and chips and salsa and all that good stuff... But the real fun came with the pin-ya-tah. Davis, Blair and Ainslie LOVED it! (for the most part). Here are some fun pictures of hanging out and whacking the practically indestructible pin-ya-tah ...

Pin-ya-tah action.....

The Loot....

The Birthday Boy....

Party people.....

I couldn't help posting these last two...

Davis got stuck like this while playing on the swing. Poor little guy. We were all sitting there talking and all the sudden we hear this faint whimpering voice yelling, "Mooooooooooooomm". Totally felt bad for him, but it was the funniest thing!!

Mom kept trying to get a cute picture of she and Evelyn, but Evelyn wasn't having it. She kept making this face every time Mom put the camera in front of her. We have like six pictures with this face. So funny.

Somewhere in between all this fun..... Mat started school again. He has a pretty rough schedule this semester so that next semester he can have it a little easier during Track season. At least the end is in sight now though... not too long until he is right where I am. Or in Grad school... haha.

We are happy as can be lately... livin' the dream.