Turkey Day!

This year we decided to shake things up a bit. It didnt make much sense for me to spend all of the time and money to cook for just our little family so we decided to head over to the Cracker Barrel. Best. Decision. Ever. No hassle, no mess, just a great night cozied up in from of a warm fire eating delicious food! We missed not being with our family back home, but we now are that much closer to Christmas where we get to spend 15 wonderful days in Utah!!!!

Our cute family, courtesy of delayed timer on the camera. Gotta love it.


There was a bit of a wait, so we hung out in the car watching a movie


The boys coloring at our table waiting for the food


Claire in the giant rocker outside of the restaurant

Dallin's Surgery

As most of you know, Dallin has blessed us with 4 years of sleepless nights. He would wake up 2-3 times EVERY NIGHT. Well after talking with an ENT about his history and based on all the symptoms he presented with the doctor decided we would go ahead and remove his tonsills and adenoids to help with any obstruction that could be causing him to wake up at night. I talked to Dallin about the surgery a few days before, and he actually was really excited! He couldn't wait to go meet the "sleep doctor" and get to wear a mask and hospital clothes! The best part about his surgery, was we got go receive a special visit from Grammie! We didn't even tell Dallin she was coming, we just pulled up at the airport the night before and opened the door. Grammie popped her head into the car, and oh my, Dallin jumped out of his seat so fast and wrapped his arms and legs around her so tight. It was seriously the cutest thing ever, I teared up for sure! It was great having her there to offer a little extra TLC, plus Andy and I were able to both go with Dallin to the surgery center, whild Grammie stayed home with Claire. That was very nice! The surgery went perfectly, and by the sounds of it we picked the best doctor. Dallin did fantastic and came out of the anestesia great! The nurses couldn't believe how well he was doing. He was a bit swoolen, but after a bit he was up in bed eating Jello! We were discharged a few hours later, and he did great the first two days! Day three was the hardest, he didnt eat much, and was in a lot of pain. From then on he just got better and better! I was soo proud of him for handling it so well. He was such a trooper, and was back to 100% after about a week!


In the waiting room


All dressed in his hospital garb, ready to go


Sooo sleepy, just out of surgery


Heading home, still a bit drowsy wouldn't ya say?


Day 2: Making cupcakes with Grammie!


As far as his sleep patterns, let's just say it's improving. It is still not what we want it to be, but it's getting there. Last week he slept 3 of 7 nights all the way through the night. That is a HUGE step for us. The other nights, he has been waking up around 11 or so and then sleeping until morning. That is also an improvement. He used to wake up at least twice. So, I am happy with the results so far, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it only gets better from here!!

Halloween Fun

We, like every other family on this planet, carved pumkins to kick off the Halloween festivities!

Andy and Dallin


Dall dug right in... for about 20 seconds. Mom to the rescue to help dig out the rest of the "guts"


My two cuties, and our finished products. Not too fancy, but that's okay, I am no artist!


Halloween was a lot of fun this year! I wasnt sure if Claire was going to understand it, but Dallin was definitely ready to hit the streets! We live on a golf course community with lot's of retired people so we thought that everyone would for sure be home. Actually, we were totally wrong. Basically every other house was dark, and nobody answered. We had to do twice the work!! Andy and I even dressed up a bit, which Dallin thought was pretty cool!

Surprise, surprise. Dallin wanted to be Spiderman.


Trick or treating was right up her alley this year. She loved being able to pick her own candy and put it in her pumpkin! And, she even kept her hat on the whole time, SHOCKER!


Spiderman and his little radioactive spider. Pretty creative, right? (actually it was really the only costume I could find on Craigslist about 2 days before Halloween, but we can pretend it was totally thought out)


HEAVEN!!


CANDY! Recently introduced to it, and totally in love!

Happy B-day to ME

I turned 28 (back in October), so I figured I should document it even if it's a bit late! We celebrated by going out to dinner at a local steakhouse, and then eating yummy spice cake with cream cheese frosting the me and the kids made! It was pretty low key, and I definitely missed my family (birthdays are a HUGE deal in my fam) but it was still a great day!

Me and Miss Claire


My two handsome men


Gotta love the "action" shot!

One day I will blog.. I promise.

Life in the slow lane

One of the things I am LOVING about living in Indiana is the fact that my life has become much simpler. We used to juggle both our jobs, run from grandparent's house to grandparent's house, from barbeques at a friend's house to birthday gatherings at another friends house. On weekends it was always, "who should we call"? Dont get me wrong, I absolutley loved ALWAYS having so much to do. But, I think I got caught up in it a little bit. Okay, a lot. After moving away it's made me realize just how C R A Z Y our life used to be. My poor kids didn't hardly get to bed before 9, I was never home to cook dinner, I had no schedule as far as cleaning or maintaining my house etc. but looking back, I didn't really know any different.That's how it has always been. Now my life is simple. It's quiet. It's organized. It's peaceful. It's MINE. I love it. I love that it's 7:40 pm and the kids are sound asleep and have been for about 20 minutes. I love that I get to go curl up on the couch with my amazing hubby, sip on a diet coke, munch on some popcorn and watch our "shows". Ahhh, so nice.

Life in the fast lane is fun, crazy and full of adventure, but sometimes it's good to pull over, and take a ride in the slow lane and enjoy the scenery.