Christmas Excitement!

I love Christmas season!!  Matt has almost a month off between semesters so we came back to Utah for a couple of weeks for Christmas.  We've had a blast so far.  McKay is loving the Christmas lights, trees, music, snow, treats, nutcrackers, presents...the list could go on forever because he is just loving all the festivities!!  He runs from one thing to the next so excited to see something new.  His excitement is contagious- our house is magical with him!

CHRISTMAS MUSIC...well, we listen to 3 Christmas songs- Frosty, "Pear Tree" (12 days of Christmas), and Jingle Bell Rock.  Why he has picked these as his favorite I have no clue!  He begs for us to play these songs and then puts on his Santa hat and dances away. 

This was so sweet- I walked in and he was sitting there talking to the Christmas ornaments.  I have no clue what he was telling them, but they must have been having quite the conversation!

We have had a week of snow.  After the first storm we built this snowman, then it rained and melted the snowman, and then over the next two days we got over 19" of snow!  We need to go build another one but Matt is pretty sick of the snow after pushing it for almost a week straight.

The snow is almost as tall as McKay but that doesn't phase him- he loves the outdoors.

We went up to Salt Lake with Matt's family to see the lights at Temple Square.  Bright me thought it would be fun to ride Trax up- a choo-choo train, the kids should love it right?  And it's just a quick ride right?  Well all the kids liked it except McKay and it isn't just a quick ride it is like 30-45 minutes...  At first it was exciting and new, but that ended fast and McKay and his Mommy were done.  We finally got there, enjoyed the lights, and thankfully McKay was so tired on the way back he just cuddled up with me and ignored all the "strange people"  (anyone who isn't Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, or Grandpa is strange in his book).  Next time I'll fight the traffic and parking and just drive into downtown!

We've had a blast so far and only a few more days to go...kind of bittersweet- I don't know if I want it all to end yet!  We hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

I am a terrible blogger lately- sorry.  Does anyone else go through those phases?  I take pictures like crazy and document everything for a while, and then I get sick of it don't do anything for a while....well I am on the lazy kick right now so hopefully by Christmas I'll be camera-happy again!

We had a great Thanksgiving back in Utah with all of our family.  It was so nice to see everyone and just spend time together.  McKay even started to warm up to everyone by the time we left so hopefully over Christmas he'll turn into a social butterfly (we can always hope, right?).

Elise and her family flew in for the holiday so we were all together for a few days.  It was fun to watch Brooklyn and McKay try to "play" together.  I think it was more a game of "My toy", "No, mine!"  But it was fun nonetheless!

 It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without all the pies, gingerbread houses, and chocolate houses and this year didn't disappoint!  We went from one party to the next all week long.  (I haven't been able to justify making cookies since we got home.  We ate too much!)

I don't know who had more fun with the train- Matt or the boys.  Matt and Daniel had a blast putting it together and McKay had a blast destroying it (It was very entertaining to watch!).

Our little family!   We had a great time spending Thanksgiving with our family.  We have been so blessed to have great family support and we love and appreciate each of them.  It is nice to have an excuse to spend time together.

Happy Halloween!

LOVE, ELMO

Wild Wild West

The Badger

Have you ever seen a badger?  Well neither had I until today... 

This little guy decided to make his home in our backyard among the prairie dogs.  I thought it was a raccoon at first, but then Matt informed me that this was no raccoon.  He is huge!  I am not a fan though because he is trying to eat my pet prairie dogs...  I hope he moves on soon!

Our winter wonderland

The cold temperatures have hit.  The snow didn't stay around too long but it definately feels like winter.  It is cold and the wind howls.  I am not looking forward to January...

 The carving of PUMPY

We carved Pumpy for Family Night.  McKay wasn't sure about the Pumpkin Guts at first, but then we told him it was dirt and he grabbed a spoon and dug in.  He was in heaven and the pumpkin was spread all over my kitchen.  He still loves Pumpy (especially now that he has eyes, nose, mouth, and teeth- he tries to feed him.)

Rowley Retreat

Last weekend we went to the Rowley Retreat at this cabin in Altamount, Utah.  It was a LONG drive but it was worth it.  The cabin had something for everyone- pool, volleyball, skeet shooting, rock wall, and more.  McKay wanted to ignore everyone and just play in the dirt- he's not really into socializing in big groups...  Matt had to do homework the whole time but did get to come out and eat occasionally.  We had beautiful weather and just enjoyed being together with all the family.

This is where Matt spent most of his time...

McKay, Makaiya (I know I probably spelled that wrong Jamie- sorry!), and Andrew were all content to play in the sand the whole weekend.

Relaxing...

Our family

My mom was trying to teach McKay how to wiggle your nose like a bunny- it was hilarious to watch them!

Grandma Margaret sent McKay this pumpkin- He loves it! 

-He sits on it and rides it like a horse. 

-Matt put it outside at first and when we brought it in it was cold.  So McKay pulled the blanket off the couch and was trying to warm up the "Pumpy". 

-The other day he hauled his pillow over, laid down next to it, and put is arm around it ready to take his nap.

Family Weekend

We had a blast this weekend with all the Wright Family up here in Casper.  We are so glad they could all make the trek and come up!  I was worried McKay wouldn't play well or share his toys, but he did wonderful!  He was so excited to see everyone and have friends to play with.  He also loved being spoiled by his grandparents for a few days.  I took so many pictures it was hard to just pick a few to share, but here we go...

So happy to be with his grandparents

 Kissing Lizzy's "Owie" better.  Everything is "otay" after a kiss better.  It will be a sad day when kisses don't fix everything anymore.

We hiked up to a pretty waterfall Saturday morning.  It was so pretty with all the leaves changing.

McKay and his Grandma

Us & the waterfall

Grandma & Grandpa & the grandkids

Thanks for coming and visiting- it was a fun weekend.  Come again soon!

Private Time

I know I'm a hypocrite...I've said a thousand times I don't like private blogs because you have to sign in and can't just pop over to see what's new.  But with this crazy world we live in, we'd rather be safe than sorry.  I'll be locking up our blog in the next couple of weeks so leave me a comment or send me an email if you want to be invited in (call or email me if you have any questions- [email protected]).  I love being able to keep in touch with everyone so let's continue to keep in touch and thanks for your friendship.

It's Fall!

This is a bittersweet time of the year.  I love fall, but I hate to see the warm summer go and have the cold winter move in...I guess we'll enjoy fall while we can!  The leaves are changing on the tree just outside our apartment.

Fall means another school year.  Here is Matt in his official scrubs off to school.  We went to a program at the University the other night where they officially welcomed us to the Nursing Program.

McKay loves horses.  This fence was lined with these horses and McKay had to kiss everyone of them as we passed.  Matt is getting worried he is going to cheer for the "horsies" not the cougars...

so we had to go home and get in his BYU gear and remind him which team we cheer for!

To Infinity & Beyond!

We found a way to enjoy Windy Casper- Kite flying.  We took Buzz Lightyear out and he flew without a problem.  Growing up I remember flying kites and we would have to run all over to get them started and keep them up- nope, not here.  He took off and flew away.  McKay let go of the string one time and the kite took off.  Matt had to sprint across the park and barely caught the string before it was lost forever!  Let's go fly a kite!

Daddy's kite assistant

A Summer of Pictures

Since I haven't posted for over a month, this post is going to be an overload- sorry.  Summer got crazy and I haven't stopped to record any of our activities.  McKay is officially a little boy and loves water, mud, bugs, cars (actually anything with wheels), and especially loves being dirty.  Matt finished his first semester of school and starts again tomorrow.  We enjoyed a nice two week break together and are sad to see it end.  Here is a summer of pictures- enjoy a snippet of our summer adventures!

My boys playing in the water

Wright Cousins playing in the sand

We spent a day with my family and hiked to Stuart Falls- it was so pretty and nice to get up into the mountains away from the busyness of life.

Daddy & McKay getting wet in the Falls.  The water was so cold but that didn't seem to phase McKay at all.  He loved it!

Grandma & Grandpa- McKay just wants to get in the water.

CHEESE!

We went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.  It was really fun but too crowded to really enjoy.  We'll have to go again when it isn't so busy.

Sorry it is sideways, but you get the picture- he loves mud!

My assistant forklift driver- McKay came out and visited me often as I worked cherries.

My handsome little guy

We went up Casper Mountain and started to walk along a trail when a sherrif stopped and told us a black bear had just been spotted less than a mile down the trail, so we turned around and came back.  Maybe next time.  We didn't want to get any closer to the bear.

CHEESE!  Thanks for the outfit Elise!

Family Night

For Family Night, Matt made McKay a car/spaceship out of diaper boxes and duct tape.  I'm not sure who had more fun with it- Matt making it or McKay pulling the steering wheel off and carrying around the house saying "vroom-vroom"!  I had to go to the store to get duct tape and did you know how many colors duct tape comes in?  I was in shock- you would of thought I was picking out paint swatches- there were tons.  Leopard print, tie-dye, peace signs, neon, and then every shade of every other color!  I finally settled with BYU colors for my boys- I think they liked it.

(notice how he holds the steering wheel so he can drive- you pulled it right off and now carries it everywhere!)