My empty nest... and a few other thoughts

I'm sooooo depressed. How on earth did I ever agree to #1: Adam leaving 17 days before my due date, and #2: Taking Bella away from me for a week!?!!!??! I dropped them off 5:00am, its been 14 hours since then, and I'm ready to freak out. The only thing I keep hearing is....it will only be till next Wednesday before they return, and that the time will go by fast....thats not working, and no, it doesn't help! I miss Bella sooo much and can't wait till she comes home :(

On another note...17 days till the mystery baby is due! ( as already mentioned)
Only a few Christmas gifts purchased, and the stress and anxiety of the holiday is growing on me.....
Dear Christmas,
Can we continue to celebrate Christmas by listening to music, decorating, eating yummy foods, and participating in fun festive activites- but just postpone the actually Christmas Day just a few more months?
Sincerely, me

Halloween

Halloween- trick or treating was so fun! The Olsons came over and baby Cole made the cutest lil elephant! Bella was a spider, Drew a mime, Abby an 80's girl, Brittany a pink lady, chandler the Queen of hearts, and the rest of us followed. Everyone made out well with a ton of candy.

Halloween Festivities were so much fun this year... Bella is at such a fun age where she can really enjoy and participate in Halloween pumpkin carving, house making, and trick or treating. The whole family got involved with the pumpkin carving, and we had a good time deciding which pumpkin was the best! I'll let you decided....

Crisp Autumn Retreat

Upstate New York is so beautiful this time of year. These past two weeks are known to have been the peak opportunity of beauty to see the amazing colors of autumn. I dont have one specific favorite season, but I LOVE the changes that take place, and looking forward to the beauty that comes with each season....
We were able to take advantage of out situation, and travel upstate to visit Palmyra New York and the amazing historic sites. We visited Joseph Smiths Farm, along with the Sacred Grove, Palmyra Temple, Hill Cumorah, and the Whitmer Farm, before traveling up to Niagara Falls, and heading over the boarder to Canada! We stayed in the Pop-Up camper, and enjoyed the fullness of the crisp autumn weather, and amazing color and beauty all around us. Everything was still green and bright, and brought a sweet peace that we were all able to enjoy for our 5 day getaway. I've only posted a few pics.... because the very thought of choosing, uploading, placing them into a slideshow, and labeling the pics makes my hair stand on end... but I've posted just short of a million on my facebook page.... So enjoy!!

Jersey Girl

I've split my Jersey vacation into 3 slide shows... The first one is a lil of this and a lil of that. We dont need to venture out in order to have fun- we spend time playing games, rockband, and hanging out.

The second of the slide shows I dedicated to the Camden Aquarium. We took a family trip up there and spent the day touching sharks, sting rays, and admiring the wonderful world under the sea!!! It was soo much fun, and everyone enjoyed themselves!- Not to mention, we took some really great pictures!

This last slideshow is of our beloved Cape May Beach, and the Cape May County zoo. We love to go to the beach in the winter, and can enjoy it just as much as the summer months. It's so peaceful, and such a beautiful blessing that we've had to grow up next to. Bella also enjoyed the zoo-the animals were all out and about!

No matter what we do- it's always a good time spending time with my family. I'm so lucky to have such amazing brothers and sisters- and such amazing parents that tolerate us all! I love you guys- and can't wait to see you soon xoxo

....to be continued....

Christmas this year was wonderful! We were so blessed with the company of family, and made out pretty well with items on our wish list. Bella and I left the next morning for Jersey... Here are a few pics from Christmas Day

Behind Times

So, Bella and I returned from a well needed vacation to Cape May. Although 3 weeks may seem enough to re cooperate, it's never enough time. I must say, reality was awaiting our return though. Yesterday, I took down the Christmas tree and decorations. I smiled as I took down what was left of the decorations on the top half of the tree..

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Oompa Loompa

Last week, I recieved a tex from my sister, Brittany, telling me that Bella hsould be an Oompa Loompa for Halloween. I laughed it off, and went on with whatever it was I was doing. Then I started thinking, Why not? I could make the costume, and it would be a fun, unique and cute costume for Bella to be- and since we didnt have a costume in mind for her..... So I went to Hancock Fabrics, and Got 1 yard of brown fabric and 2 yards of white fabric, and 2 brown buttons. Then, I went to town.... I think the costume ended up pretty darn cute( if you dont look too closely)- and Bella ended up being the cutest Oompa Loopma I've ever seen!! She was so excited, and loved running around going up and into the few houses we visited. She's enjoying all of her candy, and I'm sure she'd do it again and again. It was such a fun night, and I'm actually lready looking forward to next Halloween. Happy Halloween everyone!!

Star Valley or BUST!

This post is out of order, however, I just found where I saved my pictures, so I wanted to do a quick post with these fun pictures! So September 19th, Dena and I worked the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan. It was a great turn out, and it was even better to watch Landon and Sharman cross the finish line!! I'm so proud of them and really have so much respect for those runners and their accomplishment- it's something I dont think I could ever possibly do, so I enjoy watching them go through with such an amazing task. Anyway, Dena and I had a blast and used this opportunity to meert up, and decided that I would follow her back to her house for 3 days to hang out. She lives in Star Valley, WY. We scrapbooked a ton, and had so much fun hanging out and laughing. I just love being with Dena, she is such great therapy and is an amazing great great best friend. We always laugh till our sides hurt and our eyes tear up, and create such wonderful memories. I'm so lucky to have Dena apart of my life- and will be even more happy when she doesnt live so stinkin far away so I can see her more!!!
Spencer and her took us to Jackson Hole, WY to see the Elf refuge, and shop around town. It's such a neat place with so much history and so many things to do and see.
Thanks so much John, Dena and Spencer for such an amazing time and for being such good friends!