Christmas 2010!!

Christmas this year was such a blast!! Last year I had a new born baby and a recent surgery to make me slightly less lively at Christmas time!! So, it was so fun this year to really be able to make the most of Christmas. We had a great Christmas Eve! This year we began the day by taking a ride around the Provo Town Mall on the "Mini Express." It's the cutest little train ever! Jane and Beckham both loved it!
Daddy liked it, too :)
Later on, each of the kids got to open a present. Of course, it was new jammies! Beckham got "Cars" jammies and Jane naturally got princess ones!
The evening of Christmas Eve, my whole family came over for a party and our traditional "Shepherd's dinner". Almost everyone was here this year which was fun! Bryan and Wendy came from Cali and Jared and Heather were here for Christmas for the first time in a long time. We missed Matthew and Courtney, but we had a blast :) Here are Braden, Ashton and Jane making reindeer horns...
...and here is the finished product. They were all very creative and they turned out so cute!
And of course, here is the magnificent spread of food for our "Shepherd's dinner" which gets larger and better and coincidentally less Shepherd's dinner-ish every year! It is delicious and fun though:)
Everyone enjoyed the food a lot...the company wasn't that bad either :) I have cherished this Christmas Eve tradition for many years and am so honored to be able to host it these passed few years!!
Wendy got to open a special gift from Beckham this Christmas Eve. A month ago, when Bryan and Wendy hosted us at their house in California, Beckham managed to find a hand made doggie bowl that belonged to their darling dog, "Bernie" and BROKE it...I was horrified. So, I made a replacement for them at Color Me Mine.
Hopefully Bernie likes it :)
Here's Mae being a little sweetie to Beckham even though he bit her so hard it nearly broke the skin...again, I was horrified. She's a good sport, and such a doll!!
Once all the Christmas Eve fun died down and everyone went home. Jane and daddy set out some cookies and milk for Santa and spread our magical reindeer dust outside to ensure that Santa would visit our house that night :)
I worked cause the next morning, Santa had come and left our kids some wonderful surprises. We are very blessed!! Beckham's favorite was by far his awesome rideable dump truck!!
Here's Jane opening her stocking!!
She got all things princess this Christmas :)
Jane's favorite was most definitely her Belle dress :)
After Christmas morning at our house, we went to my mom's house. Here's all the kids trying out their new pillow pets from my mom!
It was here that i got to hold my darling newest nephew, Jack. It was so much fun, I didn't want to let him go :) He is such an angel!
The next stop was at Ryan's parents' house where we enjoyed a delicious prime rib dinner. Ryan's mom is so amazing! Here is Beckham playing with the potpourri rather than his presents...crazy boy!

The night ended off with a visit to my dad's house!! Jane, Braden and Ashton were reunited and had a great time playing!!
Poor Ryan slept the whole time. Honestly, Ryan spent most of the day like this. We found out after Christmas that the poor guy had Bronchitis for the passed two weeks. No wonder he was so tired!
Well, another WONDERFUL Christmas has come and gone too fast!! But I am looking forward to a new year filled with more amazing memories and adventures!!

There's no way I am 27!!!

This passed December 22nd, I turned 27 years old. First of all, I still feel like I am 21 so hearing that I am actually turning 27 really freaks me out. Second of all, time flies WAAAAAAY too fast and I cannot believe that another year has passed and another birthday has come and gone.

Ya know it doesn't really seem fair that when you are young you just can't seem to grow up fast enough and now that I am older and actually want time to SLOW down so I can savor each moment more fully...it seems to be flying past faster than ever...oh well, more motivation to really make the most of every day :)

My birthday was so wonderful! It started off with a family breakfast at Jim's...the BEST ever!!
Midday was spent at home with the fam, where my sister came to visit. She's my bestest friend ever so that was GREAT! She got me the most darling footy jammies. I have always been jealous of kids when they wear them, they look so comfy. And they are!
And that evening, I got to go to dinner with my fabulous family at Iggy's. It was way too loud, but delicious and so fun. Everyone was there except for Matthew, Courtney and their darling kids...we missed you guys :) Our friends, Geoff and Holly and Jake and his new, cute wife even randomly showed up to the same restaurant and were seated right behind us...what are the odds. It was fun to see them too!!
Here's Wendy with my FAVORITE new little nephew, Jack. Bryan and Wendy were so sweet to come even with a brand new baby :)
The night ended with my favorite treat...a Cocoa Bean cupcake...yay!!
What a great year it has been for me and such a wonderful birthday to start a new fabulous year!!

Frosty the Snowman...

IT SNOWED!!!! Ryan has been so bothered with the weather in Utah- so warm and rainy- ugh! But, It finally snowed...a ton... and Ryan and Jane both loved it!!
They made a snowman together- Jane's very first one. It was absolutely darling to see them working so hard together on "Frosty" as Jane called him.
I brought out some produce for the face and we had a fabulous "Frosty the snowman" in our front yard. Here are his proud makers...
A close-up of our rather grumpy looking snowman!
Here's Beckham outside for the big reveal!
Jane admired him for quite some time before I was able to coax her back inside.
Our snowman didn't last long. We came outside the next morning to a headless "Frosty"...Whether it was the warmer weather that was the cause or some naughty kids around the park (I wouldn't put it past 'em) we will never know. But, we loved him while we had him!! Thanks for the good times, "Frosty"!

HERO of the Day!

Jane saved Beckham's life!! A few days ago, I was talking to my brother on the phone while Ryan was watching the kids and doing this and that around the house. As I was talking, I noticed that Ryan went outside on our deck and left the door open. Any door left open in our house leads to a swift and speedy escape by both of our kids. Ryan is well aware of this fact. So, I assumed Ryan took Beckham outside with him otherwise he wouldn't have left the door open. So, I continued my conversation.

I saw Jane go outside who often plays on our deck and didn't think much of it. A few minutes passed and Ryan had not come inside yet. I had a nagging feeling that I should just go check to make sure Ryan had Beckham and Jane with him. However, I temporarily ignored it since I was occupied, jotting down addresses that I had asked my brother for.

Suddenly, I heard Jane yelling "Beckham, No! No, Beckham, no!" This sound is not unusual, since Jane and Beckham aren't the best at sharing- and fighting occurs often. However, I had a bad feeling about this one and I immediately ran outside to see Beckham at the top of the staircase to our deck ready to head down. And sweet little Jane had her arms wrapped around Beckham's waist, trying to stop him...looking seriously concerned. I ran and rescued Beckham and no one was hurt thanks to Beckham's sweet big sister Jane.

Though that was a very scary moment, it was so sweet to see that Jane was so concerned for her little brother. All this time, I was thinking that Jane disliked Beckham. When he was young, I couldn't leave them in the same room together. Jane was mean and sometimes mildly violent towards Beckham. And they fight all the time, even still. BUT, now I know that even though they may not get along super well, yet...they really do LOVE each other no matter what :) That was a really sweet moment for me and one I will always remember.

I love our sweet kids!!

Merry Randomness!!

I love the Christmas season!! Especially now that I have a child who is old enough to know what is going on and actually care!! Jane is so so fun to have around during this season. Nearly every day Jane will ask me, "Mama, is it Christmas time?" with a BIG smile on her face. And I will never forget how absolutely giddy with excitement she has gotten when we have done anything "Christmasy"...put up our Christmas tree, gone to see Christmas lights dancing to music, going to the Festival of the Trees and especially...seeing Santa!!
Jane has known what to ask Santa for, for quite some time now. So when Santa asked her what she would like for Christmas she declared "A Belle dress!" We had a wonderful time going to Jane's school Christmas Party at Kids' Village. Santa was there, a glorious array of yummy things to eat, an adorable craft for the kids to make and bring home and even a little gift for mommy and daddy that Jane had made that we picked up on the way out. So FUN!!
Here's just an adorable picture of my sweet little guy, Beckham, all decked out in his winter gear while we explored the Black Friday deals at Target...they were awesome by the way:)
Here's Jane with her cousins, Braden and Ashton, eating ice cream on one of our Saturday lunch outings with my family!! I have the BEST family in the world :)
And last but not least... this gem of a pic was on Ryan's iphone, taken at Disneyland while I was on some ride, and I just had to post it. I just think Beckham's face is hilarious...strangely similar to the Queen of Hearts:) Oh poor boy...he didn't know what the heck was going on! We had fun though.

A Tribute to 5 YEARS of marriage

On November 23rd, Ryan and I have been married for 5 years. Wow! I can't believe it has only been 5 years- it seems like we have been married so much longer than that. I don't mean this in a derogatory way...I just mean that so much has happened in our short five years of marriage and it makes it seem like much longer.

Due to the fact that we had just gotten home from a very long...very expensive trip to Disneyland, Ryan and I were unable to anything to extravagant for this very special occasion. We did however, order in Osaka (I have MANY very special memories with Ryan there :)) and we ate it after the kids were in bed by a fire in the fire place while we watched a good movie! It was nothing much but it was wonderful :) I just love being married to my best friend and getting to hang out with him all the time.

Here's the story of how it all began!! Please bear with me...it is long. I am reminiscing about this for myself but I hope you might get some entertainment from it as well (if you make through it :))

Ryan and I have been friends since High school. I remember him being super funny, care-free, adventurous, a little crazy...yet a secret genius! He was one of the coolest guys ever! However, I didn't start to really notice him as a potential boyfriend until I went through the inevitable high school heart breaks and some unexpected trials. Throughout all this, he was there for me right when I needed him and somehow made everything feel so much better with his light hearted attitude and his wonderful sense of humor.

We started dating our Senior year. Ryan was the BEST boyfriend ever. We were having unexpected adventures, going on beautiful hikes I never knew existed, and doing new things all the time. And most importantly, he made me feel more special than any guy EVER had. I really appreciated this about him. We spent the funnest summer I have ever had together after our Senior year and went to one semester at BYU together before he left for a mission.

Thus commenced a very hard two years of dating many other people who just never seemed to be able to measure up to Ryan. He was the most dedicated and wonderful missionary I had ever seen and he made me want to be a better person even from so far away. That is why when the time came for Ryan to FINALLY come home (after an extension), I was so nervous and excited all at the same time to see him again.

Our first meeting after he came home was terribly awkward! Both of us doubted the chances of anything serious developing. However, after several more awkward meetings with all of his friends we finally had a chance to go on a real date...just the two of us. This is where the old feelings started to return for me (and him too...I think). He was the same old Ryan that I loved just more mature- an unexpected bonus. This maturity, however, led Ryan to immediately take a job selling satellite dishes in Nevada for the summer to save up money for any future we had envisioned together. This meant more time apart.

I had become VERY close to another guy while Ryan was on his mission and my WORST fears became a reality. I had to chose between them. It is quite obvious which choice I made, however, I had to break the heart of the person who had been my BEST FRIEND while Ryan was away and this was literally the hardest thing I had ever had to do. Even more, this made the time while Ryan was away very difficult for me and as a result...Ryan was miserable, too. I wasn't the most happy, supportive girlfriend while he was away working so hard.

I am very grateful that Ryan is such a patient person, because even though I was so raunchy and unsupportive most of the time, somehow we managed to still get engaged. On one of Ryan's visits home from Nevada, we were hanging out like any other day except this time, he was taking me to many of our favorite spots where we had wonderful memories. Than later on that evening Ryan took me up Provo canyon to our favorite spot, a bench swing next to a friends cabin. While there, we had Earnie's subs (another kind of tradition of ours) and chocolate covered strawberries. He played the guitar and sang my favorite Jimmy Eat World song and asked me to marry him. After I said yes, he gave me 6 DOZEN roses and my beautiful ring!! It was such a wonderful night :).

A few days later, However, he went back to Nevada, to work. We had a rough engagement due to that fact that Ryan was gone through most of it. To be honest, we argued alot...probably most of the time. And I think both of us had our doubts as to whether or not marriage was actually going to happen. By some miracle, we saw it through to the end and we had a beautiful Fall reception on Novemer 22nd at the Bungalow and a wonderful sealing in the Salt Lake Temple on November 23rd. I am so glad I married Ryan and we made it through those mysterious rough patches. It seemed like after we were married all the contention and arguing stopped and we were so happy together...and a GREAT team, if I do say so myself :)

The rest as they say is history...and that is when all the real adventures began :) But those are different stories for different times.

Happy Anniversary Ry (even though this is late)! Thank you for being the most patient, kind, dedicated, hard working, fun-loving husband and father ever!! I couldn't ask for a better husband or a better father for our kids. I can't wait for the many adventures that await us in the MANY MANY MANY more years we can spend together :) Love ya!

California Dreamin on such a winters day...

Ryan and I had been planning an early graduation trip to California/ Disneyland for a while now. Right when Ryan graduates, he is going to be whisked away to AF training. So, November seemed like a perfect time to plan an early grad trip, since Ryan had a break from rotations and November is a relatively slow time at Disney... not to mention it was all decorated so beautifully for Christmas !! Oh what an AMAZINGLY PERFECT trip it was :)

It all started with a pleasantly uneventful plane ride. The flight was pretty empty so we had two rows to ourselves and Beckham had his own seat and car seat which made the flight extra comfy for him.
First, we were able to visit my sweet brother and sister-in-law who have an adorable brand new baby boy, Jack! Oh he was such an angel...I could have held him all day if it weren't for my kids wreaking havoc on their house, being loud and crazy after a long journey and Beckham breaking priceless possessions...soooo sorry Bry and Wendy. They were so sweet to host nearly every member of my family that weekend...
Our only night in LA was spent at a rather frightening motel. Needless to say this is where we spent the majority of our stay there...quarantined to one of the random beds in the front room. At least it had three rooms and both the kids were able to sleep in their own area :) We roped my mom and my sister to stay at the same motel and they had a TERRIBLE experience...sorry you guys...we will NEVER forget at time at the Wilshire Motel hahah!
Bryan took us to the beach and it was soooo beautiful! Jane loved her first time at the beach, though she avoided the water like the plague. She thought the sand and sea shells were pretty special though!
I loved this pic of me and Christina and Mae standing in front of the ocean. I Love those gals :)
Bryan was a good sport and indulged my return to childhood as we dodged the waves together :)
Beckham, was such a patient little angel at the beach. He had a great time, too!
Ryan made sure we made a stop at Greystone Park- a new tradition int he making! It is such a beautiful place! Last time we were there, Jane was 9 months old! Time flies too fast
The house there is simply stunning!
Finally, we traveled to Disneyland. We stayed in the Castle Inn, which felt like a real castle after staying at our previous Motel. Here are the kids all decked out and ready for our first day at Disney!!
Jane loved meeting ALL the princesses. Tiana was the first one was met. Jane was so star struck she could barely move...that didn't stop her from giving Tiana a big hug though :)
Jane got to meet Princess Aurora, her long time favorite, several times and was in heaven!
Jane was thrilled to meet Mulan, too!!
Of course, she met all the Disney characters as well. Here she is giving Minnie a kiss :)
Several of our mornings there began like this...unbelievably foggy!! But it always cleared up and was beautiful our whole stay there.
We had a special Breakfast at Ariel's Grotto where an amazing breakfast was served (what you see there was only an appetizer!) And Jane got to meet 5 princesses here! Yet again, Jane was in heaven!
Jane was particularly excited about Snow White, the first Disney Princess she ever learned about!
And she was totally enamored with Bell's amazing dress!
Beckham had a good time too, downing more food than I ever thought was possible for a one year old...atta boy :)
The kids and Ryan met Pooh bear and friends while I was riding solo on Splash Mountain!!
Another very special treat was when Jane got a princess make-over at the Bibbity Boppity Boutique!! I have never seen her sit so still and be so compliant and polite in my life. They made her feel so special! And she looked amazing :)
Of course, we went to Pixie Hollow to meet Tinkerbelle, Terrence and Silvermist!!
Sleeping Beauty's castle looked GORGEOUS all lit up with Christmas lights at night!!
Here's Ry and the kids riding the Disney train around the whole park.
One of all our favorite rides was the Haunted Mansion all decked out with Jack Skelington and friends... it was so cute.
It got a little chilly in the evenings. Here's a cute pic of the kids both snuggled up in blankets!
Of course, we ate dinner at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, somewhat of a Harper family tradition! It was so yummy and fun!!
And last but not least, a good shot of the circus as we pushed our way through the airport. We were quite a sight. And, yes, poor Beckham IS under the car seat...he was such a trooper though and somehow, we made it work :)
This post just scratched the surface of all the fun we had!! It was such a blast and many life long memories were made this trip :) I love my little family and have sooo much fun with them!!