Ice Castles

I forgot to add this into our family fun post… 

During our break with Ry we visited the ice castles in Midway. 

 It was freezing and beautiful and so much fun. 

Family Fun

Ry had a couple weeks off before he had to start his Anesthesiology rotation, so we've been taking advantage of every minute.  :)  Some of our adventures: 

Bowling!  Logan's favorite part is the shoes he gets to wear.  He asks to bring them home every time.

Bowling buddies.  Logan watched the screen intently, waiting for his turn.

Logan's face every time he knocked over some pins.  We had the gutter up, so this happened a lot. :)

Mia clapped and said, "Uh Oh!" every time she knocked pins over. 

Her favorite part was the snacks.

My bowling buddy.

Love these silly kids.  They love to take pictures of themselves with the computer.  I walked in on them doing this yesterday.

Mia loves her silly big brother!

Logan at the zoo, watching the "Creatures of the Deep" movie.

This is the big girl bed set I made for Mia.  She's getting her own room when we move in a few months.  I love my new sewing machine!

I think she likes it.  At least I hope so!

Little nut

Some more pictures of the quilt..

Pillowcase...

Other pillowcase….

and accent pillow.

Mia eating toast...

…..

Yep.  Every time.

18 Months Old!

Our pretty, little lady is 18 months old!

Some things she has been up to:

Mia can pretty much tell us anything she wants now.  

She has so many words down, I can no longer list them.  She is so smart, and picks up everything so fast.

She loves yogurt.  Like, eats it every day and still wants more loves it.

She refuses to say please, but says thank you like a champ.

She loves babies and stuffed animals.  

She will chase ladies down in a store/church if they are holding a baby.

Her favorite things are her bear, Bubbles, and her pink blanket.

She also loves her Minnie.

Mia is a perfectionist with a temper.  If she can't get something just right, everyone better look out!

She loves to line up all her stuffed animals, just right.

She loves to spread out blankets.  But if there is a wrinkle, you will see her wrath.

Mia loves to torment her older brother.  All.the.time.

She gives the best hugs and kisses.

She loves to do things all by herself.  Put her shoes on, brush her teeth, you name it, she wants to do it.

Mia loves to read stories.

Mia is such a girl… she loves pretty things… necklaces, purses, shoes…

Actually, one of her favorite places in the world is Payless.  She runs around grabbing a trying on shoes like a mad woman. :)

Mia likes her personal space.  If someone gets too close, she will exact vengeance.  Beware the fingernails.

And the teeth.

She blows me kisses every night.

Her best friend in the whole world is her big brother.  He get more hugs and kisses than anyone.

She loves to make silly faces at everyone.  Crazy smiles, sticking out her tongue, squishy faces.

She loves when her daddy wrestles with her, and tickles her, and swings her upside down.

She pretty much just loves her daddy like crazy.

She loves to hide in my cupboards and dump all my cereal on the floor.

She loves, loves, loves baths.

She loves to stack and carry blocks all over the houses.

We are so incredibly in love with this little sweetheart.  I can't believe she is mine!  She is growing up far too quickly, but gets more fun every single day.  What an adventure she has added to our lives!

We love you, our crazy, little Meeze!

Our Very Merry Christmas

What an end to a crazy year!  The first week of December brought a wonderful getaway for Ry and me.  We were able to escape to Texas for some of Ry's interviews, thanks to my wonderful and amazing parents who took care of the naughties for us.  It was so nice to finally have some alone time with the man of my dreams, and get a look at our maybe future home!  I fell in love with Temple, TX… it was so cute!  Houston, not so much.  :)  

Ry was home for about 24 hours before he had to fly off again to other parts of the US for more interviews.  During those 24 hours we drove back to Ely to retrieve our littles, decorated a Christmas tree, and basically tried to squeeze in as much family time as possible before we had to drop him off at the airport again. 

She's a rockstar.

Such good helpers!

While Ry was interviewing in a whole bunch of really cold states, we kept ourselves as busy as possible...

Logan made lots of "inventions"

We also attempted a new ornament recipe..

The kids found new hiding places

and discovered new ways to drive their mom crazy.

Logan tapped into his artistic side...

and so did Mia. :)

We hung out with family for one of our lonely weekends...

and the kids attached themselves to their Uncle Aydan.

We made gingerbread houses...

and the kids discovered that they can double as vacuum cleaners.

Cookies were made...

And we played lots of "Find the Mia"

She is very tricky...

:)

Finally, after two long weeks away from me, and three away from the kids, Ry came home!  And he is never allowed to leave me for that long ever, ever again. 

Daddy pulling Meezy on the sled

The only thing this boy wanted to do was eat the snow

and crush our baby snowman.  Mia protected him though.

Not too long after Ry got home we took off for Ely!

Grandma and Grandpa Beckwith treated all of the grandkids to a ride on the Polar Express!  

Cute little things, aren't they?

When we got to Ely, Ryley became obsessed with the idea of a giant snowman and used up all the snow in my parents' backyard to complete his project. 

Mia was the prettiest/scariest angel anyone has ever seen in the Nativity play.

The Cast

Christmas morning just gets more magical as the kids get older.  It was so fun to watch Logan set out cookies on Christmas Eve, and run up the stairs in the morning.  Mia still didn't really get it, but she loved all the presents she received!

Logan and his Leap Pad

Mia and her baby & stroller

But, really, who needs presents?

Love this kid.  Love him.

Sledding!

New Years Eve was so much fun, and involved old home movies, lots of cousins, great food and running around like crazy in a school gym.  

Grandma and Mia playing on Aydan's Christmas present.

Cammi and Kassi being the best Aunts ever.

And of course, to end the post, a cute Mia bath time shot. :)

We are so extremely blessed.  Always, but we especially feel it at this time of the year.  Surrounded by a healthy, loving family, we realize that life really doesn't get any better than this.  We are so thankful for the love that surrounds us, this beautiful country, the many opportunities we have been afforded, and most especially, our Father in Heaven who has given us all that we have.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.  We hope that your days are as merry and bright as ours.