christmas decor // 2014

...is pretty much the same as last year.

^a wreath made by my momma

^an elephant for ivory

^a bulldog for cuba

 

 ^kiss kiss!

^i got this idea from a fancy day blog. (i also got a blog makeover thanks to her!) we've never done an advent calendar and we tend to skip some fun activities that could be done around Christmas time. this has helped us have fun and make the season a little more magical. also, i got tired of re-arranging so the 24th is a little lonely.

 today, i read the post that i wrote last year about how i was feeling during the Christmas season. oh i was in a sad place. last year, i didn't want to do anything nor did i care to do anything that had to do with the holiday. i normally got a feeling of excitement when Christmas decorations started appearing but it never came last year. this year, i felt the excitement way back in October! i wanted this year to be different and i wanted to bring more cheer to my home. i can tell a difference in tanner as well as i've tried to implement our advent calendar for our date nights or just doing things at home. every day has a few scriptures we read that have to do with the birth of our Savior. every day we kiss under the mistletoe. every day i have my pine scentsy and cinnamon candle burning because that combination is Christmas. and every day i ask tanner if we can sleep by the tree. (that one hasn't happened yet) so far, this month has been wonderful and so different from last year. i've said it before and i'll say it again, i wish so badly ivory was here enjoying it with us, but i feel her near often. i can't wait to spend Christmas with ten little kids running around the house.

thanksgiving // mexico

we went to rocky point, mexico for thanksgiving. tanner and i had been there a couple times before about this time of year and it was always too cold to really hang out at the beach and pool. we got really lucky with weather in the lower 80's and were able to take full advantage of the sun. we flew into phoenix really late the night before thanksgiving and drove two hours to ajo to stay the night and drove the final two hours in the morning. we brought cuba with us and she was awesome on the plane and had the best time at the beach. i wish i got pictures of her and my brother in laws dog playing because it was hysterical. the beach was like a huge dog park and she made a lot of friends. we had our traditional thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings and enjoyed it on the patio of the condo overlooking the pool and ocean. we rented razors one evening and went crazy around the sand dunes. i had major whip lash for a few days afterward but it was super fun. we also went on a short 15 minute ride on a water weenie in the ocean. i didn't want to go, because i don't like tubing.. but i couldn't stop laughing! we didn't go very fast and i still had a hard time holding on but it was fun! as always, we went into town for tacos and drank our fair share of mexican coke. but my favorite tacos were ones that we made at the condo. we got fresh shrimp from the market and had authentic mexican cheese and tortillas. they were SO good. we definitely didn't go hungry on our trip. we ate a lot of shrimp because it was ridiculously good and on steroids. i got to meet my nephew, rockwell and that chunk is the cutest thing ever. i couldn't get enough of him. my niece, mccall was also there and i need to keep a journal of the funny things she says. she's a hoot and had a laughing the whole weekend. 

i have a lot to be thankful for. i felt spoiled going on this trip because, it wasn't needed, but i took advantage of it. i enjoyed being with family. i married into a wonderful family and i love getting to spend time with them. they're the best and i thank my lucky stars that i have them. i hope you all had a great thanksgiving!