festival of {trees}

this past saturday we decided to head up to south jordan to see the festival of trees. i've never been, and danny hasn't been since he was a little tyke, so we thought it would be a nice activity to ring in the christmas spirit.

my favorite part was looking at all of the AMAZING gingerbread houses. they were incredible. i couldn't stop thinking of all of the new ideas i wanted to use on my gingerbread house this year.






the tree's were fabulous as well. they had everything from a "fancy nancy" tree, to rock band, to a "twilight" {it always rains in forks...clever}, to an upside down tree, to a "goodnight moon" tree. we had a wonderful time...and even got to run into sammy yarbrough and dave + sarah.






p.s. max has been taking a killer morning nap, so i've posted about five different posts...make sure you check them out :)

is it possible...

...for him to be any cuter??? i think not.

sugar and {spice}

i don't know how i got so lucky, but within the same week i got to see four of my all-time fav little girlies.

ella + audrey {my sweet little cousins from north carolina} were up visiting for thanksgiving, and last monday night danny and i got to go over and play with them while tom and greta went out to dinner. ella was loving her pink unicorn that she got because she earned five stars for going potty {at least that's what she told me}. and audrey is the cutest little chatterbox. i couldn't understand a word she was saying, but goodness her voice is cute.

then, on wednesday, mariah + laney came to visit!! bekah came up early with the girls so mike could focus on all of his finals, and bekah took off for the week for her "sister's conference" down in arizona. so the girls have been staying with my parent's for the last week. i got to watch them while mom was at class...what fun! i've missed them so much--it's amazing how fast they grow! laney is now walking and talking...and mariah is even more of a princess. {i asked her how her flight was from oklahoma and she said "oh it was just perfect!" thanks to fancy nancy her vocabulary is quite exquisite.}

rub a dub {dub}

there is no question about it: max's absolute favorite time of the day is BATH TIME. the second he hears the water running in the tub he perks up and if he's crying, he stops instantly. he's been splashing and kicking more and more, he loves getting his hair washed, and if you get your fingers wet and stick them right up to his mouth he starts licking you like a little puppy. probably the cutest thing ever. i think it's fair to say that it's becoming our favorite time of the day too.

blog {book}

i finally got around to making my blog posts into a book! and i couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. i ordered it through blurb.com {i also made my wedding book through them...} and they do a fantastic job.

i decided to do our first year of marriage in one book, and next year i will make year {two}. each month has a different background and lots of pictures. if you've been wanting to make your blog into a book, i highly recommend them. they "slurp" your entire blog onto their website, so basically all you have to do is design it how you like.

pizza pie {cafe}

because we all met up in rexburg, idaho while attending byu-i we thought it would be fitting to eat at the brand new pizza pie cafe here in provo {from the makers of craigo's in rexburg}.

linds, jordan, kierstin, kent, danny, max, and i all had a great time! i'm so glad that:

1. we finally got to meet kierstin's fiance! {yes, it's true, somebody finally tamed the wild stallion!}



2. linds and max were able to bond so well through music and dancing {i really wish i would have taken a video of linds singing "party in the usa" while dancing with max!}


3. we got to eat as much pizza, salad, and dessert pizza as we wanted! we went straight there on our way home from idaho so we were huuuuungry.

4. we all got to hang out together. it's always a party with those girls.

give {thanks}

isn't thanksgiving just the best holiday ever?? ok, i suppose it ties with christmas, and the fourth of july, and halloween....basically i like every holiday out there. but this thanksgiving was one to truly be thankful for. being a mom with a wonderful husband and a little baby is reason enough to realize that i have so much, and am so very blessed.

this year we made the trek up to rexburg, idaho for the thanksgiving feast. before heading up, though, we stayed in layton tuesday night. danny had to get two cavities filled {thanks tim!} and then we had a nice dinner with danny's mom and brother. after dinner we got to meet the newest addition to the mckinley fam, little baby reed. what a cutie he is! max and reed are only six weeks apart...pretty awesome.



the next morning we left for idaho, and max was such a good traveler! he slept basically the whole time. what a trooper. and when he wasn't sleeping, he was chewing on his fist...his new favorite past-time {he does this right after he has eaten, so i know he isn't hungry}:


we stayed at my aunt sue's house and it was such a PARTY! there were probably a total of 20 people in that house at any given time. the rest of wednesday was spent visiting with our wonderful friends, {while we were visiting with linds and jordan, max held his own bottle! he never ceases to amaze.} and preparing food for the following day's feast.



thanksgiving morning we ventured out into the arctic cold and went for a stroll around the neighborhood. my aunt and uncle are surrounded by farm land, which is absolutely beautiful in its own way. we had fun sliding on the ice and visiting their neighbor's horses.

max sported his little bear outfit. that, along with eight blankets, kept him warm enough for this:



while we waited for everyone to arrive, joey and tom played christmas songs on the piano and max was passed around and adored by everyone! {actually, he was passed around and adored all WEEKEND! he was a very spoiled boy by the time we got home...and now he expects to be held 24/7} he loved it.



at two o' clock we began our thanksgiving feast...my oh my we had some delicious food! all the teenage boys weighed themselves beforehand and ate MORE food than i have ever seen anyone consume at one sitting. i can't believe that one day max will be like that: eating us out of house and home! we had a great time and later played hours of nertz and speed scrabble. i LOVE games with the georges. good, good times. the boys also had an INTENSE ping pong tournie. we are quite the competitive family. max took a great thanksgiving nap...and woke up super happy. don't you love that?? he has quite the smile.


friday morning danny and the boys played basketball at the church and then around noon we decided to head home. thanks again sue and craig for letting us crash at your place!! we had such a good time. before we left rexburg, we stopped by meagan and ryan's again to say good bye and snap some pics of the little bebe's together. {meags, i love your guts!! how fun that we are both mommy's together. we can't wait to see you again in april!} brinley was totally passed out during the photo shoot, but she did manage to hit max in the face...and then hold his hand. so funny. here are a few of my fav's: {check out meagan's awesome post of the event here}


hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving holiday!!