continuation...

And the celebrating continues!!

My childhood best friend and our mothers have a tradition to take us out to breakfast for our birthdays...and since our birthdays are so close, we usually just combine the activity :)

This year though, Noelle wanted her free breakfast at Denny's which has to be on her actual birthday...my mom couldn't come because she was working, so we planned another birthday breakfast for me, when she could come...

We went to one of my favorite breakfast places, Cracker Barrel...

...and it did not disappoint.

My aunt Inge got to come as well, and the more the merrier, right??

 

 I can't believe it's be over two decades since we first started our friendships...I love you all so much!

happybirthdaytome

Birthdays.

I think this is the first year I wasn't looking forward to mine...

...not that 25 is old...

...it just means that I'm...older.

 I've reached my mid-twenties.

A quarter of a century.

Halfway to 50.

::gulp::

 Of course, I still had a good time celebrating my birthday, starting on the actual day by going out to dinner with my family and grandparents, who were in town. We visited one of our favorites, Haji Baba's, and then the girls sneaked away for a "quick" visit to Charming Charlies :)

Then, last Saturday, I managed to get the day off from work so that I could spend the whole day doing what I wanted! We first started with breakfast at IHOP (Cracker Barrel wasn't close enough) and then a hike up to the Wind Caves at Usery Pass. 

It was a chilling 36 degrees when we left for our hike, but the sunshine helped warm us up!

A little more than halfway, we stopped to drink some water, eat some snacks, and catch our breath. Logan had already fallen asleep at one point, and Wyatt was begging to be carried every other second. He was actually pretty good for the first little while, but then once we started hitting the steeper climbs and rocky areas, Jeff and I switched off carrying him.

 

He REALLY enjoyed the fruit snacks.

...and throwing them at the birds...

He's just trying to be a good sharer, okay?? haha!

...these aren't the actual wind caves...

...but I guess they'll do for pint-sized bodies, haha!

I'm proud to say we all reached the top, after hiking an 800ft elevation in 1.5 miles...

...we were pretty pooped. 

So we took our time up in the wind caves...

(and sadly, I didn't get a shot of our view, sorry!)

First off, I love that both boys are looking at me like I'm a crazy person in this next picture...

 And secondly...I'm pointing to a bee that Jeff threw on me...

Up at the caves there's a hive, and besides finding a huge web full of bees, Jeff kept finding them on the walls, just stuck, like they were frozen. They weren't "crunchy," which is what I would have normally described a dead bee as...you know, dried up and dead. They were instead, soft and fuzzy and still...pliable?? So I was a little worried that maybe they were hibernating? But I didn't know if bees hibernated on the walls of wind caves, so then I decided they must have died due to the first frost we had just experienced hours before...

...anyway, Jeff had a good time freaking me out in the meantime...

...one lucky, fat spider...

(I counted 17 bees caught in his web)

(and no, I did not go looking for that lucky, fat spider...)

After we were tired of the freezing air in the shadow of the wind caves, we decided we were ready for some more sunshine, and headed back down the mountain.

Jeff, being the crazy person he is, decided to carry both boys...

...ALL the way down.

I don't know how many times I offered to take one of them, but he kept insisting he was okay. I had my suspicions confirmed when he admitted he just wanted to see if he could carry them both on his own, and then tell everyone he could, haha! 

I'm sure every person we passed thought I was some kind of lazy wuss...

Before we reached the bottom, both boys were already mostly asleep, one slumped over in the backpack, and one laying his head down on Daddy's shoulder...

They both woke up though, as soon as we tried to put them in their carseats, stinkers.

We headed home after our hike and prepared for our kid-free evening out...

...in which Jeff took me to Sapporo for Teppanyaki!

 And besides being at a table with six screaming, beiber-crazed, non-stop-talking 12-year-old girls...

...it was amazing.

 So all in all...

...not bad for turning 25!

:)

a fire in the sky...

 Today's sunset was breathtaking...

...a real fire in the sky...

instagram dump.

soooo...I recently created an Instagram account...

...sigh...

I know, I can't really believe I did it either...

...but it happened.

And it's kind of fun, more because I like to see everyone else's pictures...

...but sometimes, when I happen to have a moment and I snap a quick picture, my pictures turn out cute and fun too...

baking (and devouring) cookies on a Sunday afternoon:

 "Hello?? Can you hear me now?"

Just put up the Christmas tree and celebrated by drinking a big cup of hot chocolate:

my little early bird:

stormy weather brings the most beautiful skies:

the legendary binky...before it became legend:

We're only good at making funny faces and eating really good chocolate:

this cold weather limits my fashion sense (tights under my sweats):

And then these are just a few shots Jeff took of Logan and I being goofy...

(and yes, Logan's hair is in a pretend-ponytail)

...and pardon my randomness...

:)

out with the old, and in with the new

Happy New Year!! 

Per tradition of the Van Capelle family, we had fondue with everyone and enjoyed the presence of my grandparents this year. It was delicious...just like it always is.

My dad also purchased some fireworks this year, and we all had a wild time outside, freezing to death, but wild and crazy all the same.

 (I'll have to try and obtain some pictures/videos of our adventures because we were ridiculous.)

...

This last year has FLOWN by! I'm a little embarrassed by my own emotional response to the fact that 2012 is over, that these memories have ended, but it was really such a good year for us.

We have been incredibly blessed.

I know I'm not always the best at being grateful or optimistic, but when I step back and look honestly in on my life and the true fortune I've been given, I can't believe how I could have ever took anything for granted.

My life is brimming with happiness...

I mean, just take a look at these two darlings...

 

When looking back at the past year, I am amazed.

Here are a few of my favorite highlights from this year:

• I gave birth to our second child, Logan Peter Downs!
• We bought a new (used) car to compensate our growing family, and we LOVE it...annnnd it's almost accrued over 20,000 miles already...
• Jeff graduated with his Bachelor's Degree!!! (It's been fairly recent...as in, within the last month...)
• We went to DISNEYLAND with the boys!! AND they got to experience the ocean (in Logan's case, for the first time)
• Wyatt celebrated his 3rd birthday, Jeff celebrated his 27th birthday, and I celebrated my 24th birthday
• I chopped off 13 inches of my hair
• Jeff and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary!
• Wyatt started talking for real...like, actual sentences!! Although sometimes it's still hard to decipher him...it's a work in progress ;)
• I gained another nephew (Houston) and found out I'll be getting another one in 2013!
• We took so many trips with our families: camping, to Overgaard, California, Utah, Idaho...

Happy New Year! 

And here's to 2013 being even better!

Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was spent with the Downs clan...

...and there was a LOT going on...

(which means I took a bajillion pictures...consider yourself forewarned.)

Waaaaaaay earlier in the year it was decided that our Christmas gift from Mom and Dad would be a ride on the Polar Express, and since it would involve a trip up north to get there, we also decided it would be fun to spend our Christmas in the snow. Jeff's parent's found a house that was rented out for that specific purpose and so last Saturday night our little family made the trip up to Williams. We were worried there wouldn't be any snow, but because of the recent storms we'd been having, we were in luck! Thankfully for our drive up, the snow was a few days old and the roads were pretty much clear...

The next morning was Sunday, and we all dressed up and headed to church for sacrament meeting.

They had a very music-filled and peaceful Christmas program, and we sung almost every Christmas hymn in the songbook. The kids had fun being with their cousins and grandparents, and we might have had a few disruptions because of their delight, but it was still fun anyway. 

After church (and conquering the icy sidewalks in my 4-inch heels WHILE carrying a baby) we headed back home and got dressed up to play in the snow...

...unfortunately, that first day Logan missed out because he was napping, but he made up for it later...

Christmas Eve was also filled with lots of snow-playing and sledding...

...and pretty much every day after that too ;)

At one point we sent Wyatt down with Jacob, by themselves, and they had a little accident and flipped the sled over. Unfortunately, because Wyatt was sitting in the front, and was less experienced than Jacob, he fell head first into the snow. He had a lovely goose-egg for the rest of the day and a incredible fear of sledding for the rest of the trip...

(so when you see the scrape on his forehead, you'll know what it's from, haha)

Christmas Eve was also the day it was forecasted to snow...

...and we were not disappointed!

 

The snow would fall softly and beautiful one second...

...and the next it would be full force and all over the place!

And this is the event Wyatt missed out on...when he was taking a nap...

But Logan was there, making up his lost time!

But besides playing in the snow all the time, we managed to do some other things too...like walk through the shops in town...and watch Christmas movies...and eat good food...
But we also decorated sugar cookies for Santa Claus!

(I was busy making dinner and taking pictures, so Jeffrey helped Wyatt with this one...and it was sooooo cute.)

(Wellllll...I guess Santa couldn't eat all of them, haha)

Looking back, Christmas Eve was our most eventful day, besides Christmas itself.

That night we dressed up in our jammies and headed to the Polar Express!!

Keep in mind now, it had snowed all day and so everything was covered in a powdery white...

...including our car and the roads.

(and being the smarty that I am...I was the only one to forget a jacket. I was FREEZING. Thankfully, it was only until we got into the train car, which was heated!)

The whole experience of riding the Polar Express was amazing.

It was so much fun for the kids and the adults had a pretty good time too.

When we first sat down in our spring-action seats (it had shocks or something, and was very bouncy and fun), and after the train had started moving, the "chefs" of our train-car handed out hot chocolate (at the perfect temperature) and cookies from Mrs. Claus. For extra cookies and hot chocolate we were able to answer trivia questions about the Polar Express...Christmas music was constantly playing, the conductor came by and punched tickets, and the boys had fun looking out the window. Once we reached the "North Pole" the train stopped in the little light village that had been created and we all looked out our windows to see Santa Claus and his reindeer-pulled-sleigh. We weren't able leave the train, but as soon as Santa was on-board, we started back towards home. Santa Claus walked down the isle and handed Christmas bells to every single person. Wyatt was so excited to see him. As soon as he left, the chefs initiated singing Christmas tunes and the whole train-car burst into song until we arrived back at the train station.

It was definitely memorable :)

When we got home, the kids left out cookies and milk for Santa, and spread reindeer food on the back porch...

...once they were in bed, Santa's helpers came out to set up stockings and such ;)

...and then...

CHRISTMAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!

It was still dark out when the kids woke up...

...but they were all so excited!

We opened up our stockings first, and then moved on to what Santa had brought.

The house was so full of presents and squeals and giggles.

We spent the rest of the day spending time with each other, opening gifts, sharing toys, and loving the Christmas season.

We enjoyed the time we spent with our family and were glad that we all could make it. 

We truly had a wonderful time. Our families are such a blessing in our lives and we thank them for the love and happiness they bring to us. I hope your Christmas this year was one of joy and peace, and that you were able to spend it with the ones you love.

Merry Chirstmas!