my world...: January 2014

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Becca's 30th birthday!

Sean's sister-in-law, Becca, celebrated her 30th birthday a couple weeks ago! Jenna and I wanted to throw her a surprise birthday party, but since she is 6 months pregnant we didn't want to cause any stress or anything, so we did a "surprise" birthday party. She knew we were having a party, but she had NO idea how "all-out" we went! She loves owls, so that was our theme!

Owl cheese ball. Pin

Owl cucumber sandwiches: made with Dave's bread from Costco, garden herb cream cheese and cucumbers. We bought a penguin cookie cutter and cut out the ears on top.

Salami and cheese plate. Pin

Mozzarella and tomatoes with italian dressing.

We cut the ears into the cheese.

Owl cupcakes with Oreo/Reeses Pieces eyes. Pin

The spread!

Owl and feather decorations

Pin and Pin

The masterminds!

Birthday girl!

Oh, I made a owl-shaped cake too but it stuck to the pan and didn't turn out so pretty.

We had such a fun time eating good food (all of our favorites!) and spending time together as family. Eve was crazy, as always, and was very entertaining. Mason loves watching her. Here are some pictures from the day!

The Parker men

(I should mention Eve tried to get in the picture. She is sitting next to Grandpa.)

Mason's favorite position: standing. Where did my baby go??

Becca snapped these two pictures earlier in the day. Mason could watch Eve play all day long. In fact, when they are over, he often misses nap time because he is fascinated by her.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday Becca! We sure had a good time!

(P.S. Special thanks to Pinterest and their secret boards option for helping us plan the party.)

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Visiting Cousin Oakley!

Two days after Sean and I left Rexburg, Carly went into labor and gave birth to her beautiful baby girl!! Don't worry, she did text while in labor and asked why I left haha. Anyway, all was well, and they got home Sunday. I drove up Monday with Mason and got there around 2pm. It was so fun spending sister time together with our babes! I stayed through Wednesday night and left Thursday morning around 8:15. I won't mention the horrible snow storm I drove through… let's just say it was awful and I didn't drive for like 3 days after that. But anyway, here are some fun pictures from the week!

It's hard to believe Mason was ever that little and crunched up!

Oakley just watched Mason play from my lap. She looks up to him already :)

First outing together!

I can't remember which morning this was, but Mason somehow unbuttoned his pi's in his sleep to get his feet free.

Oh yeah, and Mason learned to SIT UP while we were there!

(He could already sit, but I was always behind him. Not anymore, I can walk away and he's fine!)

Mason slept in his pack n play in the kitchen so Oakley could use her crib.

But sometimes they hung out together.

Little angel!

Proud new parents!

It was so fun to snuggle a new born! Mason snuggles less and less.

I'm so glad I was able to go up! The only helpful thing I did was give rides to the doctor and put the dishes away, but that's okay right? We had a good time together. Oh and Mason slept well in the absence of Sean, so that was nice not having to wake up in the middle of the night with him :)

New Year's Eve/Carly's Birthday

My sister already blogged about this here, but here is my version of the story ;)

Around Thanksgiving, I had the thought that maybe I should go up and visit Carly for her birthday. She would be very pregnant by that point, and really not be able to celebrate like the 22 year old she would be ;) haha. So I told Jen and Mom, "Don't tell Carly, but if the weather is good we are going to go up to Rexburg for New Years' and surprise Carly!"

So all through December I prayed and prayed that the weather would be good so we could go up. And about a week before, when I could finally check the weather, it looked good! So, I called Bryce, told him our plan, and he was in on it! Carly wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner, and then play games after. Sounds good to me!

We left Provo around 12:30 or 1pm on the 31st, which put us in Idaho Falls (where Olive Garden was) about 4:45pm. So, we swung by Sean's Aunt Karen's house to hang out until it was time to go to the restaurant. We got to Olive Garden at 6 and they got us seated pretty quickly. But, Bryce and Carly (and Todd and Jessica) weren't there yet! So I told the waitress, "we are waiting for my sister and her husband and friends. She has long red hair and is very pregnant. She doesn't know we are here, so when they get here will you lead them back to the table?" They did, and it took Carly a minute to figure out what was going on. We both cried when she did :)

We had a delicious dinner (Mason had some yummy green beans and a bottle), and then drove back to Rexburg. We stopped at the store for breakfast supplies and New Years treats, then went home and played games. We played Cards Against Humanities (the edited version: Carly and Bryce went through and threw away all the questionable ones) and laughed a lot! Then we watched the countdown and went right to bed. Mason broke in Oakley's crib for her haha.

What's with all the pink, Mom?

Happy New Year! Now let's go to bed...

The next morning we got up, watched some of the Rose Parade and ate french toast and sausage and bacon. Mason learned a new trick, and decided he likes Uncle Bryce because Uncle Bryce gives him candy ;)

He was pulling the funniest faces...

This game is called Flash Pad. If anyone wants to get it for me for my birthday, please do.

New trick!

We left around noon or so and drove back to Provo. It was a quick trip but was so fun to surprise my sister! Little did I know I'd be headed back just 5 days later…

Oh and Mason did this all on his own that morning:

Night In Bethlehem

A family in Sean's neighborhood does a live nativity every year. It is a huge production called Night In Bethlehem. They have an old carriage house that they turn into a market, and there are chickens and sheep and people everywhere. Then there is a decree from the tax collector that everyone needs to go to the city of their ancestors to be taxed, and then all of a sudden there is a donkey being led by Joseph, and a pregnant Mary riding on the back of the donkey. They walk through the village and go out the back. Then the whole group goes outside where the angel appears to the shepherd, and then there is a curtain drawn and you see Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in the manger. The shepherds go worship, the wise men come, and a couple of other villagers, and they also throw in a Roman soldier, which I thought was a nice touch. It is very moving, especially when the crowd sings Silent Night together. If you are ever in the area for Christmas, you start at the old church building on 200 S and 100 E in Provo. They do it on the 23rd and 24th usually. It is amazing!

My father-in-law, the Tax Collector

Christmas 2013

We had a really low-key Christmas this year, which was fantastic. I love being lazy all day on Christmas. It was wonderful to spend time with Sean's family.