our good friend mckenzie is amazing. you can check out more of her work by clicking mckenzie's photos under my friends and fam.
mckenzie got a series of shots of jack "dancing" to his favorite song, jay sean's "baby are you down". that is correct, jack is a hip-hopper. and i could put sam in my pocket, he's so cute. check out those chub cheeks.
so we had the most fabulous thanksgiving holiday, i truly enjoyed every second. it was the first year having it at my house, my family came to our place and my las vegas cousins joined in the fun...yup that's right, 18 people eating turkey at my house. now my house is definitely bigger than our provo shoebox apartment, yet it isn't huge. somehow, we managed to fit everyone in comfortably. luckily, i had my mom to take command in the kitchen. the weekend included lots of chatting, games, movies, shopping, naps, christmas lights, and shooting with uncle tom. for all that we did, i should have many more pics, but i'm horrible at remembering to pull the camera out, darn it.
playing darts with dad.
jack LOVED having his uncles around, i pretty much didn't see him all weekend. he was in heaven.
what a blessed life we live. hard times come, but isn't it the greatest blessing of all that Heavenly Father will always grant us the peace and strength we need to make it through. for that, i can never thank Him enough.
is that a purple bumbo, you ask? yes, it is. why, you ask, if you have 2 boys? because i got it at a garage sale for $10 which i feel really good about because they're normally $40 in the store.
shawn has had a serious dilemma on his hands for a while now...jack LOVES baseball and was shaping up to be a lefty, which i guess in the baseball world is pretty cool. so shawn really wanted to buy him a lefty glove but wasn't totally sure if he would be a lefty...what if he guided him the wrong way and jack would never the be the ball player he could've been if his dad hadn't forced him into a left-handed glove? this is serious, folks. but one night i left shawn to watch the boys while i went to a baby shower (a much needed break, i might add) and when i came back, jack had his first glove. he's now a for-sure lefty. whew. by the way, you should see this kid throw...and i'm not just saying that cuz i'm his mom.
so yesterday was shawn's white coat ceremony. it's a big to-do where they receive their white coats and take the hippocratic/PA oath. it was very cool, although a little deceiving because it felt like a graduation ceremony and we're only just beginning. but i mentioned before that he rocked the first session and loved it all. i'm so proud of him, he worked SO hard. i'm incredibly grateful for a husband who is ambitious, works hard, and wants to take care of us. what an amazing blessing. and on we go with the second session...
shawn with his good buddy, aaron paxman. yes, there is a significant height difference, but they can still be friends.
my poor boys, they have a retarded mother.
1. halloween is my least favorite holiday.
2. i am not AT ALL creative so i have never, and probably will never piece together or make their costumes.
3. i will probably never dress up.
4. i do not think to try their costumes on them (which i did buy) until the night of halloween. that is why jack's costume looks like this. he's supposed to be an elephant, but the head wouldn't fit over his head. so he looked like a fat mouse with a huge elephant wedgie.
yes, you can feel bad for them.
and yes, it was hilarious to watch jack run in it.
yes, they are adorable.
we made some cookies the other day and jack likes to help mix. he got pretty desperate after the mixing was done...but really, who has not done this at least once? i know my dad still does regularly, minus the messy face.
we took the boys to a halloween carnival of sorts. the sign boasted free admission, but the tickets to do stuff were a dollar a piece. whatever. jack had a great time on the rides and the big gigantic slide. the weather is gorgeous right now - 75-80 degrees with a cool breeze. amazing.
we just got back from a long awaited trip back home. shawn finished his first session (and did amazingly well, i might add) so we headed to utah for two weeks. we had a great time catching up with family and friends. it was so good to see the mountains again. 
the boys.
shawn's uncle todd was kind enough to let us sneak up to their cabin up midway. grandpa and grandma gibbs and nate and callie came up with. jack had fun building a fire with nate and shawn and then we had s'mores. it was beautiful up there and we had a great time.
shawn says we need to fix this and i asked him how. he said he needs to lift weights, so it looks like jack will be hitting the gym.
jack was invited to another b-day party today and was pretty funny. it was at a beautiful park so the kids had a great time running around on the grass (a rare commodity in vegas) and playing on the playground. then came time for the "organized" games. keep in mind there were about 10 kids between the ages of 2 and 4.
so "red rover" was first. jack couldn't handle it. no matter which side was doing the calling and who was actually called, jack would run every time. once he got to the other side he said "tickle, tickle!" and tickled everyone's arms...like their forearms. are your forearms ticklish? don't know where that came from.
"red light, green light" was next. i tried to explain that when geoff said "red light!", he had to stop running. not possible. every time, jack was sent back to the line because he just ran all the way. who cares? he was having so much fun.
then we played "duck, duck, goose". so everyone sat in a circle (which looked more like a figure 8 by the time everyone sat) and the first goose was selected. once again, jack couldn't sit still. no matter who was the goose, he'd follow them and pat everyone's head and say "jack, jack, jack..." "jack" sounds like "duck", right? then when the real "goose" was patted, he'd run around like crazy, screaming his girl scream.
THEN it was time for the pinata. they had a bat to swing at the pinata...don't need to say anymore.
it was a great time. thanks, aleena and aria!
these pics are specifically for nate and callie, and my dad. with both my boys, my dad held them as tiny newborns and said "just wait till he's 3 months, his thighs will be so chunky". case in point. this is probably the only time it is good to have rolls on thighs.
jack was invited to his first 
birthday party for his friend, annie. it was a princess and pirate party with real live princesses Belle and Ariel. pretty exciting, even for the boys.
check out that patch...he had to kind of hold it up with his cheek. AAARRRRGH, MATEYS!!! thanks for the great pics, rachel!
shawn and i just had our four year anniversary and i've been thinking about how blessed i am to have him as my husband. since we've moved to vegas i've thought a lot about the crazy world we live in and how sad it can be sometimes. amongst all of that, the prevailing feeling is one of gratitude for shawn. what a blessing it is to feel comfortable and wanted in a relationship, not to have to worry and wonder when it's going to end. i'm so grateful that we both want the same thing, to be with our families and each other forever, and we're willing to work for it. i'm grateful and endlessly touched by what an amazing father he is, and am so acutely aware and thankful for how my boys will be blessed by that.
i love you so much, babe. happy anniversary.
