MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Swede and I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards this year (naughty us) but we still wanted all of our family and friends to know that we are thinking of you and want to wish you all every happiness this Christmas season and throughout the coming year! Merry Christmas!

HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES

It may be a bit early, but Swede and I have already carved pumpkins for Halloween. They are now wilting on our front porch, but I was SO in the mood for some yummy roasted pumpkin seeds that we invited some friends over last Tuesday for a little carving action. I'm thinkin this might be only round one... you can never carve too many pumpkins right? Check out our creations :)

We were also lucky enough to have my mom and little sister Sierra come visit us for some great weekend fun. We took them to the Dallas Arboretum and were super impressed with all its' Halloween displays... they have MILLIONS of pumpkins there.

Sierra also wanted Swede to teach her a little of his golf wisdom... so me, my mom, and Sierra, having never done anything outside of some mini-golf, tried our best to hit our very first bucket of balls at a golf range. I never realized hitting a golf ball could feel so funny, especially when Swede makes it look so easy. We first timers felt a bit like fish out of water but definitely had a lot of fun together :)

So along with my craft cravings (listed below, haha) I've kinda been on a cooking craze as well. So while the fam was here I decided to make a few things I've never made before. We had homemade donuts, festive wreath cookies, some rice pudding, and peanut brittle. Yes, SO healthy I know. But lets be real, its only fun making the truly tasty treats :)

We finished up with a bit of pumpkin painting and called it a wonderful weekend!

Yes, Dallas is wearing a Halloween sweater :) Compliments of the grandmuppie... haha

FALL MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER

You know that feeling you get when all you want to do is sit down by the fireplace with a cup of yummy hot chocolate and read a good book? Yeah, I get that feeling every time Summer starts turning to Fall. And maybe it's a bit early this year, but Dallas had a mini cold front that has caused me to go into 'Autumn mode!' So although the cold front has passed now and the temps are back up at ridiculous degrees... I can't fight this feeling any longer... my mind has officially transitioned into wanting to enjoy the Fall season's activities. And for some funny reason that means doing some crafts. I was recently down in Houston helping my mom paint her bedroom and all the sudden we were bustin out the glue guns and buying things to fulfill my craft craving. We turned her whole kitchen and dining room area into a disaster with all our junk, but we ended up creating some cute little decor items :)

First we made a little pumpkin wreath... which my front door is now loving :) Super simple: twig wreath from Michaels, a few assorted mini pumpkins, made a bow out of some 'halloweeny' ribbon, lots of glue gunning, and wah-lah! Like I said, I hung mine on our apartment door, but this darling little thing could go inside your house too. Try it!

We also had a hay day with some candy corn around the house. We started with some glass hurricane candle holders, filled them 1/3 of the way full of candy corn, then stuck white candles down into the center. Sounds real simple, but we put them on my mom's mantle with some decorative autumn leaf garland and it looked really great. We also took some mini styrofoam balls and went to town glueing the candy corn all over them for a cute poky ball look on top of some candle holders. And of course, we snacked on them the whole time too :)

Next onto some pumpkin decorating. We wanted to spice up your average orange pumpkin with a little glitz for a fun and fancy look. We used some glitter glue to draw the swirls all over the sides, then spiced it up a bit with some black rhinestones in and around the design. We also covered the stem with glitter as well as some autumn leaves that we glued on top. We finished it off with a bit of silver curling ribbon and its lookin oh so snazzy on my shelf now !

Now obviously this picture isn't a craft, but another fun thing to help get you into the Fall spirit is lighting some of you favorite holiday scented candles. I am loving my Hazelnut Cream and can't wait to light this Cinnamon Roll one too. There is nothing better than opening the door to a home that is filled with tasty Autumn scents. This definitely puts me in the mood for the season, and as we all know, Fall makes everything better! :)

LABOR DAY IN GLEN ROSE

Swede and I just got back from an exciting Labor Day weekend with the Moores. We thought it'd be fun to explore some new places here in Texas, so we decided to meet the fam halfway in the little historic town of Glen Rose. We started the trip off at Fossil Rim where we got to pet, feed, and see lots of fascinating safari animals. We had an awesome tour inside the facility and learned lots of neat tidbits about all the animals. The best part was getting to be so up close and personal to all the wildlife, such a cool experience!

Another great perk to living in Texas is getting to experience and taste some the very best BBQ. We went to some really entertaining and yummy places the locals recommended, and we sure weren't disappointed. Although we had a hard time walking after stuffing our faces full with all the great eats, we all left feeling a little more Texan :)

After living in Utah and experiencing all the great outdoor activities it has to offer, we were all craving some good outdoor fun here in Texas. We were lucky enough to find the Brazos River where we got to rent some tubes and float down in style. It only took us about an hour to float it, but it was long enough to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the riverbank and have some great laughs. Definitely a fun water adventure!

We all stayed at a fun little bed and breakfast right on historic square and loved it's "old time feel" atmosphere. Although we had to convince the littlest one that there were no ghosts in the hotel, it was a comfy sleep with a yummy breakfast!

We ended the trip with a short drive to the Dinosaur State Park where we walked along a river bed filled with million year old dino footprints. We all thought it was especially cool knowing that we were walking in the exact same places where the historic dinosaurs used to roam. Very fun to see!

Thanks so much family for such a fabulous vacation! Love you!

BACK HOME IN UTAH

Swede and I are sitting in the airport right now waiting for our flight back to Dallas. We just spent the week in Utah visiting family and we couldn't have had a better time! Every time we come back here we never want to leave, it just feels so good to be home. While we were hangin out in Midway with all the Olsons, I had the chance to take some pics of all the grandkids. And boy are they cute! Here is a fun shot of Grandma Jone with all the little ones, this was a late mother's day gift... so great! We love and miss you all, thanks for a great weekend!!

SANDS OF FLORIDA

Swede and I got to vacation in Destin Florida a few weeks ago with my family, and we are wishing we could go back! The beach is definitely still calling my name. We had so much fun building sand castles, boogie-boarding, and hanging out with the fam. We were there for 6 days and it just wasn't long enough... Anyway, we also had a chance to take some family photos with the beautiful background of the beach while we were there. It was a bit windy, but I think we got some great pics :) Enjoy!

OH BABY

Photography has always been a hobby of mine, taking pictures here and there for friends and family. And I recently had a chance to play some with a friend of mine that just had a baby boy. I can tell you that it is much harder than it looks! From baby poop and throw up to creating good lighting and positioning, this ended up being a bigger challenge than I thought. However, it really was neat to experiment and have some fun with my friend and her adorable little baby. I thought I'd share my first little experience taking some maternity and newborn shots... enjoy :)

7 INCHES

We woke up to 7 inches of snow the other day here in Dallas.... thought we were back in Logan! It's been all over the news, school and work cancelled all over the city, records breaking right and left, the people are lovin' it. I even got to do some shoots in it with work... too much fun seeing all the little kids all dressed up and loving the white fluff. Snow day here in Dallas will definitely be a forever memory!

So I've got some sisters who just can't get enough of our little pup... and it definitely shows with these fun dance moves. Who knew a puppy could be such a good dance partner :)

FLUFFY. WHITE. TINY. BARKS.

Everyone say hello to little dallas! He is our fun new addition to the fam, and we are very much enjoying him. It is definitely fun having a pet to come home to who is excited to see you. The pup is super sweet and loves to fall asleep on your lap and lick your face whenever he gets a chance. Having the added responsibility has definitely been stressful at times, but he is such a little bundle of love that he makes it all worth it. Minus the initial peeing in the house, late night whining in the kennel, hyper activity in the mornings, and 24/7 supervision... he couldn't be better :) We hope you enjoy these short clips of him!