Pumpkin Patch Kids

Last week, on Adam's day off, we headed out to enjoy a gorgeous evening at the pumpkin patch.  We got there, and **Brooks was just giddy to be able to run around, pointing out different "punkins" and throwing all the rocks his heart desired. Ava was content being on Daddy's chest. :) After we found a few pumpkins (orange, green, and white...all good in my book) we hauled them, along with Brooks and Ava, in the wagon to weigh our choice gourds on the scale and pay.  Then we took a few too-cute-to-resist photos of our pumpkin patch kids. Cheers to festive traditions! And this week we'll be painting and carving those bad boys...gold and silver will be involved... and I think Brooks is going to love it. :)

** Overall, Brooks was so happy running around the pumpkin patch, but little did we know his sad sniffles he had that day would turn into a dreaded cold (so the sucker probably wasn't a good call;).  Sickness doesn't get keep him down or ruin his spirits, just another reason I love that kid. He's been able to recuperate thanks to a rather low-key weekend...except when he helped me mow the lawn on Saturday, that kid thrives on being outside!  He's on the mend though. Daddy got a bit of the bug yesterday, but neither Ava or I have caught anything. Knock on wood! And thank goodness for bubble baths and our pumpkin souvenirs on our front porch that put smiles on my sweet boy's face. :)

2012 Kjar Sisters Retreat

This past weekend was the annual Kjar Sister's Retreat...it was my year to plan it, and anticipating each activity with these fabulous women was almost as much fun as the activities themselves. :)

One of my favorite parts was Friday's lunch at the Beehive Tea Room. Our afternoon tea party was just lovely. That establishment is a perfect example of how we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. After coming in from downtown Salt Lake City streets, you walk down a hallway and back into the most beautiful, enchanting rooms! The decor was eclectic and cozy, and the china and silver used was absolutely lovely as well. We all had a great time enjoying our hot cocoa and herbal teas with freshly baked scones (one was lavender white chocolate. So. Good.), 3 kinds of delicious tea sandwiches, and then dessert of fresh berries and whipped cream along with a rich cake-truffle. We talked, and laughed, and sipped...remind me why we weren't all speaking in English accents ladies?? ;)

The cooking class at Sur La Table was fantastic as well! We could tell our chef/teacher loved what she did, and we all had a great time learning how to make some fabulous dishes...sweet corn, tomato and pancetta risotto...grilled salmon with cherry-lambic barbecue sauce...zucchini carpaccio with shaved parmesan (my favorite)...and blackberry and sage-honey tart (my other favorite:).  

After a day of getting pampered, shopping, and enjoying delicious food together, the night was not over. :) Back at The Armstrong Mansion, a lovely B&B in Salt Lake, we changed into our pajamas and satisfied our sweet tooth (sweet teeth? ha) with some Nutella fondue and exchanged our "favorite things."  One of them even came from overseas...LaCol picked out a Venetian mask for each of us from her trip to Europe last month. They are gorgeous and we couldn't resist putting them on, and laughing our heads off at how crazy, err, fabulous we all looked in them. ;)  We also did a neat craft of transferring photos to wood. I first heard the idea from my brother, and I used the tutorial here. I think I still need to give it a few more tries and really master it before I do anything on a large scale, but I think we had fun and all the photos used had such special memories! :)

Saturday morning we all got extra beauty rest and slept in, then enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast served at the Mansion. I wanted the day to be super relaxed, and wasn't thinking about the time! We left at 1:00pm and I didn't realize that's when the Downtown Salt Lake Farmer's Market closed, our first activity for the day.  We rushed there and caught a few vendors selling their fresh produce (how was that lemon spinach Becc?). I love farmers markets! The plan was to get lunch from the vendors there and then go to Liberty Park and ride the ferris wheel. :)  Time just wouldn't allow...we all needed to get back to our kidlets. :)  So we had lunch at Tony Caputo's, followed by gourmet chocolate. It all came to an end too soon.

I look forward all year to spending this time with such incredible women that I'm blessed to call family. Thank you so much Mama & Papa Kjar for making it possible!! And I already can't wait for next year, Sharla is planning it, and I have no doubt it's going to be a riot! :)

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PS - The kids normally stay home while we "big girls" have our time away, but being that I'm Ava's breakfast, lunch, and dinner she needed to come along ;) and she was a sweet addition to the group! Everyone was so great with her, she was loved-on constantly. And thanks to my sweet Adam and  awesome friend Kira I knew Brooks was in good hands! He had a blast with Kira and her kids most of Friday, I loved getting pictures she'd text to me of the fun he was having! And I know he loved every minute of Daddy-time, especially their In-N-Out date. :) Thank you SO much Adam and Kira!

2012: be the good

Is that print just stellar? I found it on pinterest :)

Its simple yet inspiring words are what I'm centering my New Year's Goals around.

BELIEVE THERE IS GOOD IN THE WORLD:

I am going to do better to see good in the world...to see good in people...to see the Child of God in the those I love and in the strangers I meet.

BE THE GOOD:

I am going to have a more forgiving heart...I am going to be more dependable...I am going to be a more thoughtful wife...I am going to be a more attentive mother...I am going to smile more...I am going to help others feel the love of their Savior.

I am not expecting to master those goals over night (wouldn't that be nice;)...but I do have high expectations for myself of trying each day to do better and be better. Thankfully I have the best partner in the world, and I can't wait to go over our specific goals and discuss how we'll help each other make them happen. This next year with Adam is going to be incredible. Our little boy Brooks will turn 2 (two!) and we'll be adding another sweet babe into our family...who knows what else 2012 will hold for us. I can't wait to find out :)

Now for a little bit of our New Years Celebration! We said goodbye to 2011 at home sweet home :) The first of the night was just the 3 of us...perfection. We made pear & gorgonzola pizza, said "cheers" as we clinked our glasses of sparkling grape juice, snuggled, and I enjoyed kisses from both of my boys :) Then a little after 11pm my parents and 2 of my sisters pulled in from their drive from Washington! We were able to enjoy Nutella on toast then stuff 12 grapes in our mouth at midnight, for good luck of course...followed by a few rounds of Balderdash and the girls stayed up to watch "Ever After" (a favorite among us sisters)...

It was so wonderful to ring in the New Year with Adam and some of my family!

Wishing all of you a BRIGHT NEW YEAR!!! :)

And tomorrow Brooks and I are driving with my fam (Adam has to work, we'll miss him!) up to BYU-Idaho to help take Corrie and Celeste to school for the winter semester. I'm so excited!! Celeste is a freshman at college, and oh she has some amazing things ahead of her. :)

Christmas Weekend 2011

Our Christmas weekend was full of:

Caroling with the Kjar family at 2 retirement homes. I love Christmas music...and seeing the smiles on the sweet elderly peoples' faces was magic.

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Putting Brooks to bed veeeeery late on Christmas Eve (was it because he was so anxious for his presents the next day, or because his nap schedule that day was all sorts of crazy?)

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After placing the presents under the tree, Adam and I snuggled up to a movie and shared a pint of Haagen-Dazs.

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Opening presents with Little B!...that took fooooorreevver because he wanted to play with each gift before opening the next ;)

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Making a breakfast of french toast from Kneaders cinnamon bread. SO GOOD.

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Getting our wiggles out before church. Jumping on the bed with Dad is always a winner.

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Enjoying a beautiful church service. Brooks gave Adam and I a little present and slept the whole time in my arms. Loved the messages of celebrating Christ's birth, listened to beautiful musical numbers, and soaked up every minute of my sleeping babe in my arms.

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Brooks getting his first hair cut...he did great! Mom did not...more on that later ;)

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A lovely Christmas dinner at Mom & Dad Kjars.

(During one of Brooks' melt downs, his Aunt Katie came to the rescue and let him share some of the Christmas ham with her sweet dog Milo. Brooks & Milo both loved it!)

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Talking to Danner!! (Adam's brother who's serving a mission for our church in California)

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Face-timing with my family :) Can't wait to see them this upcoming weekend!

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Going to see a movie Monday afternoon in our PJ's..."We Bought A Zoo" was darling.

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Brick oven pizza, games, and dancing at the Kjars. Such a fun night!

And do you know what?? While we were able to enjoy a beautiful weekend with our family...there were certain plans/traditions that fell through and didn't happen, and for whatever reason Brooks was having a really hard couple days. Christmas was wonderful, yet it wasn't quite as I had hoped. Through tears (pregnancy hormones anyone?) I expressed my selfish feelings to Adam Sunday night...he was so sweet and just listened...and by the end of my little crying session I felt such a strong feeling of the Savior's love for me. I told Adam that even though it wasn't a "perfect" Christmas with our normally cheerful boy, all those little things didn't matter. This incredible holiday is dedicated to celebrating Christ and His miraculous birth into the world. I love Him. And I'm so grateful for His example and unconditional love for me. And because of Him and His gospel, our little growing family of 3 (almost 4) can be together forever! I love Christmas and how it reminds our hearts of what's most important!

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Spiritual Health:

Read "What Happily Married Couples Do" in the January 2012 Ensign magazine.

Loved it, and I'm excited to read it again with Adam tonight :)

Physical Health:

Going to the gym...kind of excited because I haven't done anything really physical over the past four days, yowza.