Pride Before the Fall

I took this picture about thirty seconds before she tipped that milkshake over and spilled it all over the table and her clothes.  I would have taken a picture of that, but I was busy cleaning up sticky strawberry milkshake.

Painting Fun

Building Hogwarts

Helping Daddy build the Hogwarts board for the Lego Hogwarts game.  It was actually a pretty fun game!

So close!

Making Christmas Memories

She's only six, but this has become one of my favorite yearly traditions: waiting at the top of the stairs while her daddy starts a fire and gets the camera ready.  It's the epitome of Christmas morning anticipation, complete with her trademark crazy morning hair.

Cookies

The cookie Rachael made just for me. 

Family Picture

We took our own snapshot with the remote.  Believe it or not, this is the picture we didn't use.

School Ornament

Love love love homemade ornaments!

Cookies

We all chose one treat we like for Christmas and Ryan chose sugar cookies. (Rachael picked cake pops, and I picked English Toffee.) Since those were his pick, I made a few Millennium Falcon cookies in addition to the Christmas ones!

Chinese Chocolate

This is how Ryan and the team survive long days working in a factory!

Daddy's Home

Ryan had some extra time in Hong Kong on this trip, and he managed to find this robe ("dressing gown" if you're a fancy girl) for Rachael.  She loves it!

First Annivesary Cake

Last year our friends Josh and Jessie were married in the Louisville Temple.  As a wedding gift I made their wedding cake, my first ever four tier cake.  Jessie had planned to keep the top layer of the cake to eat on their first anniversary, but somehow it got lost, no one knows what happened.  So when their anniversary was coming up she messaged me and asked if I would mind making a new top tier.  (It was much easier to make one six inch cake!) She was thrilled with the cake and I'm excited they were able to celebrate their anniversary without year-old frozen cake.

Sleepover

Since Ryan is in China, we decided it would be fun to have Rachael's friend Madi over for a sleepover.  This is Rachael's time to have a friend over at our house.  The girls had a great time!

More Star Wars Fun

Han Solo Peppermint Bark

Laundry Helper

She dragged this entire basket of clothes downstairs all by herself!

Paper Snowflakes

The snowflake love continues...

Fancy Fingernails

Holly painted fingernails!

Crooked

I'm starting to think this tooth may actually fall out out at some point...

New Ornaments

Can't resist new snowflake ornaments... even though I don't need any more!

Lighted Snowflakes

These are my lighted snowflakes (there are 10 total) that I hang on the front porch every year.  They are one of my favorite Christmas decorations!

Uncle Wiggly

We played the Uncle Wiggly board game for FHE.  It's fun to have Rachael old enough to play!

A Cozy Fire

Marching

So much more fun to march down the street dressed like an elf and twirling a baton when there is someone else to do it with you!

Traditions

I posted this on the family blog too, but I just love how ridiculously happy she gets over the train at Southern Lights.  Every year.

Christmas Countdown

Let the countdown begin!

Volunteer Lettuce

We have some lettuce that grew all on its own in the garden this fall.  (I suspect it's from the lettuce we planted this spring, that bolted and went to seed quickly in the unseasonably warm June we had.) I'll take yummy lettuce any way I can get it!

A New Ornament

My Tree

Leftovers

I mostly followed this recipe for a Thanksgiving turkey panini.  It has turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy.  I used the rest of Jenny's bread to make the sandwich.  We loved this so much I think we will add it to our regular rotation of leftovers!

Christmas Helper

Guess who loves decorating just as much as I do!

A Project

I picked up this weaving craft project at the store for $5.  It was totally worth the price for Rachael to have a project to work on at home for a few days!

Family Time

Rachael had the day off from school so Ryan took a vacation day and we went to breakfast and then to see the Muppets. It was a fun family day!

Thankful Turkey

Our annual family home evening tradition for the Monday before Thanksgiving.  We all write things we are thankful for on the turkey's feathers.

Home Teachers

Awesome cookies from our awesome home teachers!

Louisville Temple

We loved spending some time at the temple tonight.  A big thanks to our friends the Jasinskis who watched Rachael so we could go.

Silicone Spatulas

These are some of my favorite kitchen tools!

Thanksgiving Countdown

We made this countdown tree last year for Thanksgiving.  Since it's my favorite holiday, I thought we should have a fun way to celebrate it just as well as Christmas!

Applesauce

Finally made applesauce with the apples we got in Pennsylvania!

Croc Slippers

These are my Croc slippers I got at Disney World a couple of years ago.  They are so cozy I spend most of the winter wearing them.  And I smile every time I look at the cute Mickey Mouse shaped holes.  (Because there is nothing else cute about Crocs!)

Moonrise

Fall Color

Fall color at Lake Reba.

Upside Down

Roses

Still blooming.  In November.

Girls

Love Rachael's cute friends Madi & Mikayla.

Bach

Thanks to our friend Nathan for the tickets to the Back concert at the Presbyterian Church.  The concert was wonderful.  (The hard wooden pews, slightly less so.) 
[I did not take this picture during the concert.  This is during the intermission; Nathan happened to be practicing for a few minutes.]

Weeble Castle

Probably one of the favorite toys of all the kids that have ever played at our house.

Wildlife

We love finding "wildlife" around the yard.  This is the second praying mantis this fall! We also get ladybugs, cicadas, all kinds of other bugs, toads and even an occasional turtle.

Antibiotics

Second ear infection this year...

Bubbles

How to entertain yourself while waiting for trick-or-treating.

Bunny Ears

Some gags never get old...