15 YEARS OF LOVE & MARRIAGE~

A + S 

= 

True Love Forever

Andres & I celebrated our anniversary on the 21st!

Well acutally.. 

we started celebrating the night of the 20th.

I've always loved the day we got married,

21 is one of my favorite numbers,

I'm an "odd numbers" kinda girl.

Christmas cheer & twinkling lights fill the air!

It's a time to bundle up & play in the snow together,

have flirty snowball fights,

make snow angels that end with a kiss,

walk hand in hand down city sidewalks

window shopping for those you hold dear.

It's the most cozy time of year.. 

a time to snuggle up under a blanket 

by a warm crackling fire with a cup of hot cocoa..

romancing your one true love!

+

December 21st is the longest night of the year...

The Winter Solstice 

&

Our Anniversary!

Carly, our favorite baby sitter of all time 

is home from college for the holidays,

so we were able to spend lots of time together.

We were going to sleep over night somewhere the 20th & 21st,

but instead of spending a bunch of money just for a place to sleep...

we decided to go out 'til late on the 20th,

come home..

have Carly come back in the morning,

and go for the whole day 'til late again on the 21st...

It was so much fun!!!

The first night we went out to dinner at Magelby's, one of our favorite restaurants! 

It probably sounds funny to say that they have the best dinner salad ever..

but it's true! It is SO GOOD.. I crave it, and their rolls too... Oh my!

Love, Love, Love that place!

After dinner we went to the old dollar theater to see the movie RED!

The next morning we were off again. 

We started out at the mall,

Andres got a haircut while I shopped,

and then we shopped together!

He bought me a really cute eggplant knee length jacket with ruffles,

and a deep teal sweater cardigan that I'm in love with!!! 

After some shopping for loved ones...

we decided to get lunch.

We went to a place I've heard a lot about

and have been wanting to try for a while now.

-Communal-

The food was a-mazing!

I seriously can't wait to go again.

The side of chopped yellow beets with fresh parsley & cream...

Mmm--- I can't stop thinking about 'em!

For the rest of the afternoon,

we took care of some more Christmas shopping.

Come evening we still weren't really hungry for a big dinner,

so we grabbed some drinks & treats 

and went to the movies.

2 movies..

a double feature!

Remember those?

Growing up my parents used to take us to this old theater on State Street called The Avalon.

The movies were always oldies but goodies..

with actors like Cary Grant, Doris Day & Rock Hudson...

and they always showed 2, making it a double feature!

No wonder I'll always be fond of Cary Grant..

I've had a major crush on him since I was a little girl. 

Anywho.

Our double feature consisted of:

Harry Potter

&

The Tourist

..and that was us celebrating our 15th anniversary..

and the longest night of the year

the winter solstice,

cuddled close together 

in our cozy little home

whispering sweet nothings,

or somethings... I guess I should say.

Christmas Concert @ the Conference Center

A Family Christmas Party-

Full of:

yummy food & goodies

visits with Santa Clause

gift exchanges 

and more...

Sydnee was funny.. when she came back down from sitting on Santa's knee she whispered in my ear that "this Santa's helper" needs to be fired, his breath reeks and his Santa pants don't fit and look gross with his white legs hangin' out above his boots. Ha ha ha! She said that Santa's breath is supposed to smell like peppermint! Looks like Santa, "the real Santa" needs to do a check up on all the Santa Helpers and rid out the slackers before next year.

Birthday time with my man---

I love any excuse to spend the whole day with my man... and this time it was his birthday! 

We met for lunch at a fine dining restaurant with our parents & his grandma. 

The same place we went for my birthday actually! 

It was so good we decided to go back.

After eating we went to pick up the kids from school, they were excited to see him in the car with me.

When we got home they gave him his gifts. 

Tanner made him a cute card with a poem & his handprint at school.

All the kidlets gave him one of his favorite things ever.. 

25 year barrel-aged balsamic vinegar from Williams Sonoma with a list of their January cooking classes.

Later that evening, Andres & I went out for some time alone.

We went to a movie and did a little shopping together..

..and that was the end of a perfect day!

special little moments this Christmas time...

I can't believe how big my little buddy looks.. 

I dislike how quickly times going by....

One Sunday before church he looked so cute I just had take a quick photo. 

Sydnee made him a future missionary tag & pinned it on his suit coat. 

Kynlee washing her hands on her tippy toes!

..or more likely, just playing in the water!

One of her favorite things to do.

I think Pigwit thought McKynlee was a cozy little pillow to snuggle on one night!

Night on the town with the Browns!

Hey that rhymes..

Sushi dinner for Andres & Deanna's birthdays!

We love these guys, they're so much fun!

Waiting for the school bus on the last day of school before Christmas break!

The last picture I caught right as she was starting to let out a big laugh & I love it!

funny holiday sweaters + girls night out = lots of yuletide goodness

This year for a Christmas, Cher & I decided to plan a girls night out for some friends and family with a cheesy-ugly-goofy-80's-whatever you wanna call it.. sweater theme! A couple of us took it all the way, me being one of them! It actually had me laughing & feeling like I was back in high school when I was getting ready for the night.

We met up at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and of course there was a ginormous wait... so we ventured into the mall and found a lounge area to sit down and play our gift exchange game. I'm not gonna lie.. we were getting some pretty funny looks, we even ran into a guy and his wife that a couple of us went to high school with that we haven't seen in years. N-i-c-e! As far as I know, these types of "sweater parties" are nothing new... but I think most people who do them, hold them behind closed doors in someones home and we all went out in public! Gotta love it! hee hee hee... 

 My Mom & Amber

 Kim & Cher

Kim-Kara-Sandee-Megan-Rochelle

 ~Gifts Given~

I must say.. 

I made Amber do this silly pose smelling her yummy new lotion!

I love it.. she's so cute!

 ~sisters~

I love this picture of Cher... 

I told her that her frame matches her snowflake turtle neck!

I think I might make her a copy of this photo so she can put in that frame!

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Check out my outfit from head to toe...

If we would've handed out a prize for best-sweater-get-up,

I think I would've been a strong contender!

It still makes me giggle...

especially the saying on my sweater,

"Happiness is a homespun Christmas..."

Kim & her sister Kara were coming down to sleepover at my house after the get together, but first we had to drop off my Mom at home. We all go way back... Kim & I became friends in Kindergarten and we spent so much time together growing up. Seeing her at my parents house brings back so much love for our friendship and many happy memories... 

What a great gift this Christmas...

to spend time with Kim!