St. Augustine Done Right

Our summer excursion to St. Augustine this year was the best one ever! I attribute it to my dad's retirement and the fact that I'm not pregnant or nursing a new baby! Seriously, it was awesome.
We saw friends, family, and my dad cooked dinner every night! That, in and of itself, was amazing. Jared doesn't cook at all, so I do ALL the cooking around here. It was nice to have a break from that and having to think about it. Instead, my dad just cooked my favorite meals ever and I overindulged because... VACATION!

I spent some time next door with my dear neighbor, Miss Carmina! She taught me how to make pastellios. They are a fried pastry with meat and cheese in the middle! So very delicious. It was even more wonderful to be in her kitchen once again. Many childhood memories here!

Just because I was on vacation, I still worked my business. Got to meet up with my newest coach, Janeen. I love hanging out with friends!

Naps were all over the place because we were maniacs and swam every day! My mom brought me a book so I could enjoy the nap in the van! She's the best!

Weston took a spill because he is a clumsy baby. You should see the other guy.

Poolside! This is the life.

We enjoyed tons of delicious foods! Dad even helped me throw a pizza party on Saturday. I didn't get any photos, but it was awesome!!!!!!!!!

Every morning the children ended up in Papa and Gigi's bed!

Workout in every day! Woot Woot!

Spent some time at the Rype and Readi Farm when Jared joined us after his three days at Scout Camp. Yummy veggies and baked goods. Cute animals too!

Jared and I learned from the master, Uncle Lonnie, how to boil shrimp! Seriously, the food we ate this trip was beyond delicious! So good!

Disney Done Right

We love the Cottle's for so many reasons! They have moved from friend status to family status. Earlier in the week, we were able to do a Disney day for Miriam's upcoming birthday. My mom (it was her actual birthday), Stacey, and Noah (his first visit ever) came with us. We had so much fun. The kids were super in to it and that is always my favorite part. Thanks for making this happen, Rachel and Brad!

 So it begins! I carried this baby 95% of the day. Our new friend, Anna, gets a shout out for the generous gift of her old Ergo. It has been saving my life lately.

Baby Devin is like, "This old place?" Hahaha. He's already a Disney pro.

Birthday girls!

First timer!

It was also Weston's first visit. The last time I was at Disney was in August 2014. Brad, Rachel, my four older children, and I were there. I had actually just found out I was pregnant the day we went. 

Too bad that crane is messing up my perfect shot.

Dumbo ride! My mom has a photo of her and I on this when I was Miriam's age. I need to track it down.

Babies' first Dumbo ride. Caught this photo while Devin was it the middle of a sneeze. He's so cute.

My boys are too impatient for character meet and greets, but Miriam really wanted to meet Minnie. We also got to meet Goofy, Donald and Daisy.

Noah hugged on Minnie for a little while. It was adorable. Noah is so cute! It was fun having him all on his own today. He predicted our visit would be "So Fun!" and he was right.

All she wanted to do was meet Minnie and then she was so starstruck when we had our turn. The hug was so quick, I didn't get it.

Jared didn't like these because he said Miriam looked too grown up. She does look grown up, but I love these because I can actually see her beautiful face. Girl won't let me put her hair up, so it's always hiding.

Despite little sleep. This guy did swell.

Birthday present from Gigi.Such a cutie.

Last week she was so sad to send Landon off to school She told me all she needed was a backpack and then she could go to school. As she received a backpack from Gigi on her Disney Day, she was ready to go the next day. Such disappointment that she couldn't go. I am definitely not ready for that!

Rounding out November

November was an extremely busy month. We partied hard in November! Here's a quick photo update to round out the month.

Jared and I attended the wedding reception of Sabella and Michael.  Sabella was in my Sunday school class 10 years ago! She was only 12 and I was 25.  I'm so proud of the beautiful woman she has become. It was a very special day.

Weston was sick, so he and I got a marathon snuggle day while everyone else was at church and Grandma's house.  He discovered Phoebe for the first time and was petting her. It was very cute.

Look at that sweet face.

The week of Thanksgiving, the children were all home from school. They made a new clubhouse sign. Apparently "the boss" is Grayson.

My brother, Tony, had a birthday the day after Thanksgiving. It worked out that Stacey, Tony, and I could get together without kids or spouses. We played a game and talked. It was wonderful to be with my siblings. They really are my best friends.

Christmas came to Krause Haus. It is our first Christmas in our new house and I am so excited. Jared and the children made these snowflakes (they are hanging all around the downstairs). I love them.

Our elf, Kristoff, is back. He just moves around and doesn't make mischief like some of those other elves. He has been a little lazy and sometimes stays in the same place for two or three days.

This year, we went to Santa's Christmas Tree Farm and cut down our very own Florida-grown Christmas tree.  It is very pretty and we had a great time at the farm.

I love seeing all these stockings in a row. The first two were made by my BYU roomie, Nicole, as a wedding present. When I got pregnant with Ethan, I called her and requested a stocking for him. She kindly made his stocking. I realized I couldn't call her up for a stocking every time I had a baby, so I requested the pattern so I could make sure all future stockings matched. With Aunt Teresa's help, I made Grayson and Landon's stockings a few years ago. I made Miriam's on my own. I also made Weston's on my own just last week. I finally used YouTube to learn a basic embroidery stitch, so Weston's stocking looks much more polished than the other three I did. 

Jared took the week after Thanksgiving off. It was so fun having him home! He finished several projects around the house, including a major one in the garage. He also got a lot of fun time in with the children. I think he should do this every year!

Halloween 2015

I did manage to make Halloween fun despite my lack of creativity.  Here are the photos to prove it.

This year we were so busy that we didn't carve our pumpkins until Halloween Day! It was actually really fun to do them on Halloween. Grayson, Landon, and Jared did most of the work. Ethan was too busy keeping his nose in a book.

We did decorate inside with paper decorations that we've made over the years.  I definitely need to get some outside decorations for next year.  We really were not keeping up with our fun neighbors this year.  Aunt Teresa did make me this beautiful fall wreath. Which, weirdly, makes me feel like I've got it all together.  

Trick or Treat! 

We took Batman, Minnie Mouse, The Great Pumpkin, Ninjago, and a Stormtrooper out trick or treating.  My parents were actually here for the day and we loved having them with us this  year. Our new neighborhood is all about Halloween and the children really made out in the candy department.

The Great Pumpkin fell asleep due to all the excitement. A little sad that he's my last little pumpkin.  

Spring Break!

Spring Break was pretty fun this year! I was worried it would be lame because I'm to the point of pregnancy when I just feel huge and uncomfortable and have a hard time keeping up with everyone. Thanks to our parents and our birthday festivities it was really fun and memorable.

We went to St. Augustine for part of Spring Break and spent one morning at the Alligator Farm.

I love these dangerous animals of mine!

The Galapagos Tortoises were amazing! They can live to be 150-200 years old. Pretty cool.

Checking out some gators.

Miriam wouldn't join in. I think she thought this guy was still alive.

Enjoying some crafty fun at Lyla's birthday party! 

 

The boys got to go to the Annual Deseret Ranch Rodeo with Jared's parents. They had a blast chasing pigs and watching the rodeo. 

Got to spend some quality time with this guy and his family. It'd been nearly 9 years since we'd seen David, but it honestly felt like yesterday. Life long friends are the best.

Jared turned 33 and we enjoyed a delicious cake from Charley's Bakery. We're going to miss that place when we move.