We were sad that we didn't make it to Michigan for the big Turkey day. But we made the best of the sunny skies and enjoyed thanksgiving with the Arizona family.

 Matt loved this butter in the shape of a turkey. He wanted to cut the head off so bad....










And a basketball hoop!! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa J. James wants to start a pay and play system at our house to prepare for the broken windows that are sure to come!!!!
Great end to a great day!!!

I look at these pictures and thank God for the gift of friendship. These two buddies are blessings to each other, and to everyone else around them. I am so thankful Matt has a friend like Ben, who is closer than a brother. Even though we figured out if baby C marries Ben's little brother, then they could be brothers officially. That really got them excited.

But look at these two elfs, they did this all on their own. Giggling, singing, laughing, working together. Ben reported it being the worlds best sleep over. I think it was for all of us.




 Major fire risk right? How could I stop them. They kept pulling out more and more lights. This was all done by them. They figured out how to connect the lights.. the whole thing. Holiday paradise.

 Do you love the christmas sweater Matt hung in the background? They never took off their elf hats.

Pure joy!

Thank you Lord for the gift of little boys, and their imaginations.  Someday these two are going to make the best husbands.

We found out during this photo shot.. Matt doesn't like heights. We are up on the Mogollian Rim (sp?) up in Payson. Its such a beautiful background. The sun was setting and the sky was amazing. Don't worry, we are not on the edge. BUT... pretty close I guess.
I thought we might loose Einstein. Ginger couldn't be bothered to leave the car.
How is Matt going to be a pilot with this new found fear?

Our day in the mountains was so much fun and so refreshing. The whole house was happy and content. I mean.. look at what matt got the dogs to do. And they kept these hats on while Matt skipped around the house, decorating, pulling things out of the garage, singing. It was awesome to watch.




 Look at gingers neck rolls... yikes..
 I know.. something is wrong with gingers eyes. I tried to get rid of the red eye. Didn't work right with pet eyes.
 At one point I returned to the living room to find rudolph out. Like I said. Matt was so full of joy, he was pulling out all sorts of things from the garage. Don't worry, ruddy is now outside.. where he belongs.
He thought this was so funny. It is Matt.. you are a great little elf.

Well, honestly this is my favorite time of the year. And one thing that I love about James is that Christmas brings out the "sparky" in him. In true Griswald fashion James announced to us that he had purchased a permit to go cut down our own christmas tree from Payson. Matt and I were so excited... and a little scared. You know.. the how will we find a tree? Will it be too big, how do we get it home, how do we cut it down..
James assured us.. he had it all taken care of. 


And he did...



 This is the scene.. driving that tree home.
 6 months pregnant tromping around in the snow. Which was  a surprise... we thought blue skies for sure. Or at least I did. So not quite prepared. I had to steal James coat. Poor guy. Good thing he still has some Michigan blood.
 The great hunt. Its a lot harder than you think to find the perfect tree.  It took a few hours, a leaking tire, getting stuck in snow and sliding down ice... to find "the one". Remember we have the ford fusion.. not a four wheel drive. Again.. did not anticipate snow.
 Matt was in heaven.  He had a ball. Finding trimmings, a mini tree, discovering you really can make a snow angel. He loved it!!!!!
 Never complained of being cold. He believes that because he was born in Ohio, he will never get cold.
 Snow balls thrown....
 Icicles discovered. He couldn't get over the fact that you can eat these. With bare hands... yikes..
 There he goes... it happened so fast I didn't have time to video. I thought this process would take much longer.
It was heavy with all that snow. But.. let me tell you. It smells so good in the house.
Success!!!! It was a great day. I find so much joy watching the boys get excited and enjoy these little adventures. And we even brought the dogs. So you can imagine all the action. I laughed the whole way home. With a hot chocolate from McDonalds.
Thanks sparky... this was a hit.