merry christmas & happy new year...one week late!

i've been avoiding this re-cap post because every single picture i took on christmas eve & christmas morning vanished from my camera. i have absolutely no idea what happened. i really don't like to think about it. nevertheless, we had a mostly magical christmas (besides having random bouts of sickness throughout the break) and our two little munchkins made it a million times more fun. because i was mad at my camera all break, we gave our new iPod touch plenty of love (follow my on instagram @jessmckinley)

//christmas day in the car//like father, like son//

//storytime was abundant//love these kiddos surrounding me//

//me & my little goose & her zulie (with nail polish on her cheek!)//

//spark date with the besties!!!!//it was fabulous (minus the part about me getting food poisoning and/or the 24-flu...it was brutal!!)//

//love little laney//

//cousin bonding time with the wii//

//my christmas present & christmas break read//loved it!//

//monopoly deal & ticket to ride with danny's family//we.love.games//

//a failed attempt to fill max's three cavities//maybe next time...//

 

//sledding with cousins//max & reed are the cutest//ave does not like to be cold...like mother, like daughter//

//somebody hacked into our ipod...they look so guilty don't they?//

//best movie of 2012!!!!!!!!//

//rode trax to slc & max had the time of his life!//visited the children's art museum, the kids had a blast//

//snowshoeing with my sweetheart//first timer for me!//

//avery tickling the ivories...with her bum//

//the amazing edemame hummus i made for our new years eve (vegan) feast!//

//cute cute cousins//love max smashed in between all those girls//

//jam sesh with uncle bri//

 

//ringing in the new year!!!!//

//tried out my mom's new curly fry maker//made delicious whole wheat bread for my first time!!//

//came home with this gigantic pile of laundry after a week full of fun with family & friends//

goodbye 2012! we welcome 2013 with open arms!!!

there's no place like home for the holidays!

my sister alli, and her husband tony were able to visit last weekend from sunny arizona. i've only seen her twice since she has been married and boy do i miss that girl!! we had a wonderful weekend with them (until the flu took over my family!) and were sad to see them go, much too soon!

we started off the weekend by heading up to salt lake without the kids (i took them up to be with their grandma the day before) to see my little brother brian perform in the acapella christmas concert. so proud of that boy! i absolutely love listening to this choir sing...brings back many memories :) 

^^first spotting of this lady. love you alli!!^^

^^i look like i'm twelve here, and apparently i didn't get the memo to wear a dark shade...but it was the only picture i got of the whole group.^^

^^love my sisters & mama^^

^^and this good looking bunch of guys^^

after bri's concert and walking around temple square, danny and i were able to attend the mormon tabernacle choir christmas concert with alfie boe and tom brokav. it was incredible!!!!! definitely put us in the christmas spirit. highlights of the night included: hearing alfie sing "bring him home" from les mis // the story of the "candy bomber", seeing him in person, and watching "candy bombs" drop from the conference center ceiling! the entire night was spectacular and it was so much fun to be with my sweetheart. after the concert we grabbed a bite to eat at blue lemon (my fav!) and even though it was freezing i enjoyed many cupfuls of their amazing ice (i'm a bit of an ice-aholic!)

we slept in layton friday night and saturday morning packed up the kids and headed to provo for some quality time with my sis! mike & bekah arrived friday night as well so max & ave were able to have a blast with their cousins. they are all so cute together.

it was a fabulous weekend full of family, laughter, good food...and the flu :( luckily i felt pretty good, but the rest of my little family got slammed!!! danny missed the entire week of work. it has been (and still is!!) rough!

^^ave has a giant crush on her uncle bri^^

^^sick kiddos :( ave fell asleep sitting up. broke my heart^^

and just so i don't leave you on a sad note, here is my studly brother singing one of the many songs that he has written (he wrote it this summer while my mom was at girls camp.) he is AMAZING. oh, and isn't my sister the cutest cheese grater you've ever seen?? :)

articles of faith

happy friday everyone! it has been a terrible week over here (full of sickness) so we are happy to see it come to a close! these videos were taken a few weeks ago (the kids look so healthy!) but i thought we could all use a little uplifting. this is the weekend before christmas after all! crazy!!!

max now has the fourth and fifth articles of faith memorized! we work hard almost every day at lunch and max & ave love watching the finished product. (don't mind max's horrible table manners! next i've got to teach him not to talk with his mouth full!):

avery has also been working on a few skills of her own: