New Carpet

The carpet we had was the same carpet that was originally installed when the complex was built. It was very light and showed stains easliy. The stains also weren't coming out very well. There were black marks on all the high traffic areas. It was also incredibly uncomfortable. You could feel the cement underneath. But it worked. We didn't complain. We just made due with what we had. 

My parents came to us one evening and asked if for Christmas they could redo all our carpeting and padding. Talk about generous. It was extremely kind and unnecessary, but very thoughtful and appreciated. 

Scott and I looked at different carpet ideas and finally set up a time to have some installed. The night before we spent moving as much furniture as possible and making sure nothing was on the floors. 

 BEFORE

My parents and sister watched Chloe that day so she wouldn't get in the way. Plus she had way more fun and space to move than she would have if she stayed home with me while they installed it. The nails, staples, and tools on the floors wouldn't have been much fun to try and avoid. 

It took them about five and a half hours to complete. Then Scott and I moved the furniture back (other than the big stuff which they took care of). 

AFTER

It is amazing how much new carpet can change the feel of our entire home. It is so much more comfortable as well as warm and homey feeling. We no longer feel the cement underneath. We are so happy with the way it turned out. Scott told me afterwords that after we tiled our bathroom, done some other small updates of our own, and finally my parents getting us new carpet, that our home is finally looking beautiful and they way we would want it to look. Of course there are still other things we hope to change over time, but it really has made a HUGE difference.

Thank you so much mom and dad. You did way more than we could have ever asked, and it is appreciate more than we can say, more than you know. Thank you! We love you!

Breakfast with Santa

I watch a little girl named Amelia a few times a week. She is the sweetest little girl and her mom and dad are great. Her mom works at a nursing home and every year they have a breakfast with Santa. Kids come and visit Santa and have a yummy breakfast. This year it fell on a Saturday when I was watching their baby girl, so I brought Mia and Chloe. My mom came with to help me out too.
We had pancakes, bacon, and fruit, and Chloe ate 6 donut holes haha. It was so good. Then Chloe ran around being anything but shy and saying hi to everyone. It was so cute to see her so outgoing (not that she has ever been very shy).

When it was Chloe's turn to sit on Santa's lap, she wasn't sure what to think. She started to fuss a little but the moment I told her it was okay she stopped and just seemed unsure. It was her first time meeting Santa. After she got off Santa's lap she was able to pick out some small toys. She took a bell necklace, a rubber duck, and a whistle in the shape of lips. I was so glad to be invited to go to this this year. Chloe enjoyed herself and so did I. It is such a sweet idea. 

Our Second Thanksgiving

Holidays are always a little hectic, but they are my favorite. We get to see family that we don't see often enough. We are so blessed to live so close to both Scott's and my parents. We love it, but it definitely makes splitting up time on holidays a tricky business. We always to our best to split the days up evenly with both families, but no matter what I feel left a little disappointed to have to leave one family early, when it would be so much fun to stay longer. I also feel the same disappointment showing up to the other side of our family late and wish we could have spent more time there as well. This also keeps Scott and I from having much of our own time as a family together on holidays. You can't have it all I guess.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to complain. I  just wish there was a way to please everyone and not have to sacrifice time with any family. 

After splitting up Thanksgiving this year with both families, Scott came up with the great idea to have a second Thanksgiving. The Sunday following Scott made another turkey and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal just for him, Chloe, and I. 

I loved it. I can't wait to make this a tradition every year. 

Family Pics Nov. 2013

In November, our sister-in-law Kenzie came to visit with her most adorable little girl Eden. We were able to see them a few times while they were in Colorado. We ended up stealing a little bit of her time two afternoons and she so kindly took our family pictures. Chloe wasn't too thrilled to be doing this but you wouldn't even be able to tell by looking at the pictures.

She did a great job. We can't wait to see them again for Christmas!

Utah - October 2013

Mid October we got to go to Utah for a good friend's wedding. It was a quick trip but so much fun. We drove up through Fort Collins to pick up Mark, who tagged along with us, and then went through Wyoming. We left around 6pm, hoping Chloe would sleep almost the entire way there. We didn't get that lucky though. She only slept a little. Once we got into Wyoming we hit a snow storm. Hardly any visibility, which meant driving slow, and some white knuckle driving for Scotty. I was car sick the first half of the way. We stopped at Q'doba for dinner, which probably wasn't the best idea, since an hour or so after I threw up in our to go bag and had to toss it out the window. YUCK! Scott and Mark both informed me that I am the quietest person they know while I am puking. From that point on I felt a million times better though. Thank goodness. We got there around 3:30am and went straight to bed after no sleep the whole way there.

The only time she slept the way there. 

We got to see Tyler, Kenzie, and the "Bay" Eden. She is just the cutest.

We went to their wedding on Saturday at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was beautiful but so windy and cold. The ceremony was beautiful as was the bride, Eden. It was so great to see Adam and Eden and celebrate with them on their big day. 

While we were at the wedding, Scott's wonderful cousin Mamie came over with her family to watch Chloe. Chloe loved being with their kids Belle, Cash, and Paige. It was so nice to see them. I'm sure Chloe wished she could have stayed with them. It was obvious that she had so much fun with them.

Later that night we went to Cornbelly's to celebrate Scott's birthday with the wonderful Mullins family and Tyler, Kenzie, and Eden. 

Watching Paige and Chloe playing in the giant corn kernel pit was the highlight. They LOVED it!

I love the chances we get to spend time with family. Even though we will see them all again soon for Christmas, it was still so hard to say goodbye. 

Halloween

If you know Scott, then you know that his favorite holiday is Halloween. He loves the costumes, scary movies, haunted houses... the whole deal. He gets so  into it, while I on the other hand would be fine if Halloween didn't exist at all. Don't get me wrong, I still have fun and enjoy the children trick-or-treating and dressing up. I just don't see why it is such a big deal and I HATE anything scary. I can only enjoy haunted houses once I get through them and it is done. If I watch a scary movie I wont sleep that night and I trick myself into seeing and hearing scary things.
Anyways, Scott got very into it this year and picked out costumes for all three of us. He also went over the top coming up with ideas to decorate our car for our Ward's Trunk-or-Treat this year. We were all clowns (pretty fitting right?).

Chloe enjoyed getting dressed up but it was pretty cold outside so she wasn't a fan of that during truck-or-treat (which was the night before Halloween). On Halloween, because it was still so cold, we only went trick-or-treating to see both sets of grandparents. She still got plenty of sweets though. Her favorite is M&M's. 

We had fun, it will be interesting to see what Scott comes up with next year. 

Plus, Chloe will actually be able to go trick or treating next year.