Another Milestone....

PIGTAILS!!!!!!

I finally attempted to put Kate's hair in pigtails. I was suprised how little it took. A new episode of Sesame Street and a few Skittles and... TaDa!!! I'm pretty excited. Girls are so fun!

She wasn't super happy I was trying to take her picture during Sesame Street

I Finally got her to crack a smile

Temple lights and Goodbye

After a VERY busy, VERY fun week with the wedding and Thanksgiving, we finally had to say goodbye! Friday, after everyone recovered from Black Friday shopping and just before everyone left town, we met up one last time to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square! Even thought it was VERY cold, the lights are worth it and it was a VERY memorable experience! (time to consult a thesaurus),

Here are some of the highlights-

Family shot  (it was quite cold so we bundled Kate up with all the necessary accessories but she wasn't about to keep still and stay warm, so, our trip was a little shorter than we hoped)

Even though the pictures are beautiful, they don't do justice. Please, visit Temple Square at Christmas time! It's a breathtaking sight!

Our house guests for the week

What you don't see in this picture is the couple getting engaged in the snow-covered field just behind us! Right after the proposal our group caused quite the scene whooping and hollering for them. Really, we just helped make their moment even that much more magical by encouraging EVERYONE there to join in congratulating them! ( We tried to to get Allye to take a picture of the proposal so we could email it to them but it was an EPIC FAIL ;)

Like I said, it was cold. For a moment there towards the end of our adventure we thought Kate's face might freeze off. So, we bailed! But, it was so nice to see the lights with the people we love!

Thanksgiving Day 2010

Wednesday was a day of rest and preparation for THANKSGIVING!
I'm not sure what the final count was with all the guests in town for the wedding and all the friends with nowhere else to go, but I think it was a total of about 50 when it was all said and done!
We ended up using the church so we could all fit. Everyone did something to make it all come together and it wouldn't have been the same without everyone who was there. We started around 4 pm and ate and visited for a few hours at the church and then packed up and moved the party home!
Several families that were there had the tradition of going around and stating what they were thankful for so we carried on that tradition. It was neat to hear everyone's blessings and to remember those who had gone before us.
Here are some highlights...


Making it all happen

Waiting for the main event

The couple responsible for bringing us all together

Old friends

John and Nick made room for one more Thanksgiving dinner!

Sam and Ginger joined us

Awe

Instant buddies!

Nate set the tables up in a square so we could sit along the outside and face each other!

Drew!!!

I made my first turkey!

Leesa made banana cream pie! Soooo Yummy!

I avoided committing to Black Friday shopping while making phone calls to family.

The girls shopped the ads!

Spencer serenaded us! 

We got to see Grandpa after he'd been in Idaho for two months!

It was a great day!

Wedding Day Blizzard

I've heard it said that it's good luck if it RAINS on your wedding day...What about SNOW?...LOTS and LOTS of SNOW!?!?!

The party continued Tuesday with Brock and Sammi's wedding! A blizzard was heading to town so they were closing the Temple early that day. Brock and Sammi made it out just in time (so I'm told). I left early for their sealing to help with Sammi's hair and Marshall met me at the temple after dropping Kate off at Nate and Britt's. We knew there was a small chance the rumored blizzard would strand us somewhere that night so we made sure to leave Kate with everything she would need if we couldn't get back to her til the morning. This time it was just Kip and Nicole watching the kids all day and I must say it was really THEM that made this week happen. They basically spent their whole holiday babysitting so we could spend time together and enjoy the weeks events! Anyhow, after the sealing we braved the cold for a few minutes for some group shots and Brittanie powered through even longer to offer assistance while the couple snapped some more.

While we were waiting for them to finish, Allye told us the story of how Mike proposed and made the mistake of pointing out the exact location. Of course we had them reenact it! What was funny was the passers by who thought it was the real deal!

After we goofed off a little more, we headed to the Spaghetti Factory, (a family favorite), in Trolley Square for a nice family dinner and reception. By the time the reception was wrapping up the above mentioned blizzard was beginning.
As we left the restaurant, it was snowing pretty steadily but it was a deceivingly peaceful snowfall. Not the whiteout, windy, stay inside or loose your life kind of snow. Or at least we thought.  As we headed to the I-15 from Trolley Square we slid a few times and had to take it slow but we had NO idea that we would be in any danger if we kept on. We were wrong. By the time we were getting on the overpass to merge onto the freeway we knew we were in for a stressful ride home. Our rear-wheel drive BMW is an EPIC FAIL in a blizzard!
As we were trying to get onto the freeway we slid everywhere, I mean everywhere. We slid back down the ramp multiple times and nearly hit the walls of the ramp as well. Unfortunately, once we had made the decision to try and get on the freeway there was no turning back. We literally had no way out. After a stressful few min of sliding everywhere, we finally got on I-15 South and got some traction when a Jeep sped by us and sent us sliding toward the wall. We didn't hit it but fishtailed and spun our wheels the whole way home. As we approached the point of the mountain Mike and Allye passed us while we were mid-slide and got a small idea of how our journey was going.
We decided to keep on keeping on and brave the point of the mountain because conditions where such that trying to exit was going to be just as dangerous for us as pressing forward. The point was windy, white-out conditions pretty much the whole way. There were several times that we slid inches from falling over the edge and I had to finally just close my eyes and pray because I was certain that we were going to spin into the path of another vehicle.  Marshall was AMAZING and stayed relatively calm and drove like a champ!
After a little over an hour (total drive time) we made it to our exit!
Others who left before us and were in better suited vehicles had got stuck trying to get up the hill. So, we decided it was best to park our car at the park-n-ride and wait for Nate to shuttle us home from there in his Jeep. He and his buddy Michael came to get us. Nate even made the news that night when he was buying milk at the gas station but was mistakenly identified as "Jake Beeson" hahaha!
Anyway, It was an eventful day to say the least! I'm so grateful Heavenly Father blessed us with safety that night! There were so many times it could have ended badly and the fact that it didn't was no coincidence in my mind!

Something to be thankful for...

This Thanksgiving was pretty memorable. Marshall's cousin Brock,( who is very close with Marshall's family almost like a brother), got married two days before the holiday in the Salt Lake Temple. We knew shortly after the couple was engaged that the date was set for the Thanksgiving break and that Brittanie and I would be hosting all the family for not only the wedding but also Thanksgiving dinner (more on that to come). We planned with Allye, (Marshall's sister), and Amelia, (Marshall's Aunt and Mother of the Groom), all the details. It wasn't easy deciding who would sleep where, how we would have enough bedding and towels, what would happen when, and how we would feed everyone for the week AND Thanksgiving Day... but it was TOTALLY worth it! It was by far one of the best Thanksgivings ever! There was something planned for practically every minute of the week which was exhausting but also so much fun! It was so nice to have all the family around and to laugh, work, reminisce, and just celebrate all our blessings together!
We started the festivities with Theo's blessing Sunday night. After the blessing, we stayed up late starting the food preparations for the next days festivities.
Monday, Brittanie's parents and little sister watched the kids while we all went to the Salt Lake Temple with Michael and Amelia. It was their first time going through the temple and it was such a special experience to get to be there with them that day. The spirit was so strong. It was also the first time I had done an actual session in the Salt Lake Temple. Marshall and I were sealed there but I had never been for a session. I feel really grateful to have been there that day and it will be a day I will always remember!

Afterwards, we ate lunch at the Joseph Smith Memorial building and then headed home for shower and bachelor party preparations. That night we had a small family shower for Sammi at our house, and all the boys went paint balling for a "bachelor party". 

Here are some of the dipped strawberries we stayed up late making the night before.

We had soooooo much fun at the shower. I'm not sure Sammi would ever talk to me again if I got too specific with the details, but lets just say everyone had a good time and I think we all had sore stomachs the next day from laughing so hard! I'm glad Brock chose Sammi and that she said "yes", she's a keeper that one!

Beautiful Sunset

While we were hanging out at Nate and Britt's before Theo's blessing Kip (Britt's dad) snapped a few shots of our family in front of a beautiful Utah sunset. The pictures don't do it justice. I wish I had thought to have him take some more. It was so impromptu that we aren't that composed, but the background is breathtaking so I had to post them anyway!

It's rare to get a shot of Kate and I where we are both looking at the camera and smiling so I had to include this one!

Theodore K Beeson

The first official event of our Thanksgiving holiday was Sunday night when Nate and Britt blessed their second son Theodore K Beeson or "Theo" for short. Everyone who was coming in town for Brock and Sammi's wedding came just in time to be there for the blessing too. Here is a group shot with all the Beesons in attendance. Welcome to the world Theo! We all love you!