Jazz vs. Kings

Greg scored tickets to the Jazz game from work, so we were able to leave Sof behind while enjoying 8th row seats. I was 9 the last time I went to a Jazz game. Since then, the arena has been renamed and the colors have changed, but I still had a lot of fun. Greg even allowed me to get a pretzel; I love pretzels :).

There is something strangely attractive about watching Gordon Hayward play. I had a hard time watching the other players. I'm just going to go ahead and say that Greg agrees ...

Bowling Babes

Our Elder's Quorum put on a fun activity for the younger families in our ward. With the oldies looking out for themselves, it was nice to be around people our own age for a change. It has been years since we have bowled, and our scores showed it, but boy did we have fun!!

And, Release!

These cute girls are our neighbors and Sofi has so much fun with them! 

Yes, Sofi has a slice of pizza in her hand while bowling. I'm pretty sure it was her 3rd slice, in between her 2 cups of Root Beer. Like I said, it was a fun day.

Grand America

One night Greg took us on an adventure into Salt Lake City to the Grand America to see the giant gingerbread house everyone and their dog had been talking about. Just like everything else, this was mine and Sofi's first time. Parking was a fiasco and Greg and I were at our wits end. Luckily we parked before harsh words were spoken. But seeing the windows and gingerbread house turned out to be pretty fun. Aaannnddd we got a free cookie. I guess the hassle of parking was worth it.

Poor little deer didn't know what hit it

She tried to kiss it but hit her teeth instead. 

Free cookie!

She would plop down wherever she wanted just to enjoy her cookie

Macaroon snob (and please agree with me that her legs look long here!!)

It was a good cookie.

Sofi and Santa Claus

I knew what Sofi's reaction would be well before she even saw him, but that didn't stop me from trying to "temper the storm" so to speak.

Sofi knows who Santa is, and can point him out whenever she see's him, so this gave me a tiny bit of hope that she would like to see him. I was wrong. I kept telling her to give him a hug and high five, but she didn't remember to do any of those things.

Poor girl.

Stiff as a board sliding off Santa's lap.

She didn't forgive him until he handed her a candy cane which instantly calmed her down and made it so they were friends afterward. She kept saying, "Santa nice. Candy." Oh Sof....

Centerville Lights

Before I post about the Centerville lights, I realized I never mentioned we braved the traffic/parking hassle of going to see the Tree's down in Sandy. It was fun, but a definite one-time thing.

Sof is going through a major Minnie Mouse phase right now, so luckily there were plenty of tree's with her on them. However, she had more fun dancing around this pole than anything else. We pretty much had to drag her away from it. Hopefully it's not a glimpse of what her future prospects will be.

The lights in Centerville are so fun to see. Last year they were so amazing, covered in 1 foot of snow, and this year we walked on bare grass because the long drizzle we received over a few days melted all the snow we did have. Regardless, the lights are fun to see and I'm glad we live so close.

Bundled & squished

These two were my favorite

And of course, instead of enjoying the lights, all Sofi wanted to do was this ...

Christmas Bus 2016

We participated in the annual Spjute Family Christmas Bus this weekend, and it was AWESOME! The holiday's are so much more fun with kids, and Sofi brought out the big guns for the Christmas party. She let uncle Jake carry her around for quite awhile, and even let Grandpa hold her without bribes from the candy drawer. She had so much fun playing with her cousins, ate pizza like a crazy person, and giggled like a drunkard the whole time she was on the bus. I continue to be amazed.

This is too good not to share. Greg & Mark with matching Griswald Family Christmas hats (thanks April & Toby!). I made sure to get mad at Greg for not smiling. His response, "My dad is broken."

The Christmas program this year was at an old folks home in West Farmington. Sofi was happy to run around the halls singing "Let it Go" at the top of her lungs while everyone else put on a great program. Luckily, Mark forgot to have Greg sing "Guard Him, Joseph" so I was content to chase her and fill in the missing part of her song. However, she was not happy to be forced into her angel costume for the nativity. She became known as the "fallen angel" as she cried through pretty much the entire thing. Happy Day.

She pretty much skipped out to the bus after the program - she couldn't get enough of that thing. I don't know if it's because she wasn't in her strapped into her car seat or surrounded by people, but she loved every second of it.

Owen's photobomb is the best.

Temple Square did not disappoint and I was so happy to see multiple pink trees!! They are my favorite. By now, Sof was pretty tired and was content to sit in her stroller and allow us to go wherever we wanted without complaint; that doesn't happen very often. Her pink snow pants came just in time and were perfect!!

Squished.

She insisted on walking just about every wall she saw.

Traditional temple selfie - why does it seem like the best ones are always blurry?

Sofia got her second wind on the way home from the bus and gnawed on 2 squares of rice krispie treats (she must be my child). I didn't get as many pictures as I should have, but suffice it to say that we had so much fun and Sofi now wishes we had a bus instead of a Santa Fe.

Month of Thanks

I've had different experiences over the past month that has made me realize how blessed I really am. I was home when a close family friend was tragically killed in a four-wheeling accident. His family shared a backyard fence with mine growing up and I have some fond memories of that man. How sad it was to hear that his life had been taken so quickly. Luckily, his daughter was able to hold him in her arms while he passed from this life to the next, but I keep replaying the scene in my mind wondering what the situation would have been like had I been in her shoes.

So because I was able to be in Cedar City surrounded by family at this man's funeral, to laugh at the stories and grieve with the family about the sudden and unexpected death, I have been able to put my own life into perspective and wonder should anything happen to me, would anyone attend my funeral?

Life is short. Life is sweet. And life is just taking each day one at a time. For this reason, I am grateful for the realization that each day is new, and each day something unexpected could happen. So, I have taken time to enjoy Sofi and Greg just a little bit more, to (try to) complain less, and smile at the things (and people) I would normally grumble at. Because life is too short to be endured, and too sweet to be bitter.

I Love Them All

I have been wanting to get family pictures taken all Fall, yet have been dragging my feet for so long that all of the leaves have fallen off the trees and it has snowed (once). So, I finally just up made a reservation at Fotofly studio in Kaysville and am beyond happy at the results! They have our business for sure! The photographer was amazing and Sof was a dream (thanks to Greg's preparation by stuffing his pockets with candy). Our pictures are amazing and I am going to post Every. Single. One. that I feel should be posted.

Enjoy!

I hope this girl always loves books.

Her chubby arms!

I LOVE this picture!