December 2009

This month we went home again to Utah for the holidays, which always makes for great times and memories. Abby and I headed home a couple weeks early again and Nate followed 2 weeks later. We had plenty of snow, which Abby loved, and were able to spend quality time and have fun parties with family and friends. Loved every minute. :)

This is our cute unpacked and decorated house, just before we headed to Utah. We put it up a bit early so we could enjoy it longer. Just before heading home, we had a little late-night surprise with a squirrel running through our Christmas village on our mantle - it was cute, but also really freaked us out, so luckily the landlords closed the fireplace opening the next morning.

A couple of Abby's favorite hangouts at Grandma Pinnocks - she was a big fan of that flannel blanket and kept trying to convince us it was hers :)

Garage painting party

Beckett and Abby at Chuck-E-Cheese's

Abby loved the snow, and especially the cats :)

Annual Gingerbread Party at the Ivies

Visiting Grandma Sewell at work for lunch :)

Hanging with our favorite Utah friends, Brett and Julie :)

Braving the cold at Temple Square

Nate's 34th Birthday!! We had a great dinner at Tucanos and saw Avatar 3D. It was a ton of fun and a great getaway!!
I love you, sweetheart!!

Christmas Eve party at Grandma Pinnocks

I don't have many Christmas pics to post, but we had a fabulous Christmas, spending Christmas Eve and some of Christmas morningwith the Pinnocks, then spent the rest of the day and next few days with the Sewells. We had so much fun with family, and Abigail had a wonderful holiday.
Just want to make record of that since I was terrible at taking pics this year!!

The fun decorations at Sewells

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Shafers

We ended 2009 with a fun party at Aunt Nancy and Uncle Mikes - and a trip to the airport at 4 am to fly home. It was a fun party to end our fun trip, despite the 2 hours of sleep
Overall we had a really great time, and we loved being "home" and getting to spend time with family and friends. Thanks to all who helped make our Christmas vacation so amazing!!

November 2009

This month was a bit busy. I was able to get us almost fully moved in, Nate replaced our incredibly nasty kitchen sink, we painted Abigail's room a soft yellow, and she started going to nursery!! We had a Fabulous Thanksgiving with Nate's brother Brandon, his wife Julie, and their cute girls, London and Hadley. We had a great dinner (though no pics to prove it), a fun visit, hit Lincoln Parish Park, and went to Natchitoches for the big Christmas festival.

It was quite the nasty job, but soooo worth it! Thanks sweetheart!!

Abby's room color before...

... and after, though this pic seems to brighten it up a bit :)

Abby's new table, a steal I found on Craigslist!!

Setting up the tree, and a perfect capture of Abby's silly and naughty personality beginning to emerge :)
Great times at Lincoln Parish Park

Our Thanksgiving breakfast at IHOP :)

London was such a fun little entertainer

In Natchitoches (somehow pronounced "Nak-a-tesh")

Our group out in search of the "Steel Magnolias" home

It's such a fun Christmas Festival, and we're definitely planning to keep it a yearly tradition while we live in Louisiana.

October 2009

This month we had a chance to go to Dallas for a second training seminar for ASCH's Hypnotherapy Course for Nate, and while he was away learning great techniques to someday use, Abby and I played tourists. We hit the park, Fort Worth's Water Gardens, and as we were heading out, we wrapped up the trip with a visit to the Dallas Zoo, it was a fun family adventure :)

Abby LOVED our hotel's fish containing coffee table :)

... almost as much as she loved chasing the ducks at a great nearby park we found

Dallas Zoo

Abby was a great traveler with her cute nose-rubbing, self-soothing techniques

All decked out in her Halloween gear from Grandma Sewell :)

This year for Halloween, Abigail was once again a cute little fairy, (this time with more hair) and she LOVED getting dressed up for it.

We started the holiday with Nate's amazing Pumpkin Spice waffles with freshly carved Jack-O-Lanterns as decor ;)

Then made a quick trip to Abby's favorite pet shop...

...headed to our ward's fun Halloween Party - we're nerds, I know

...and wrapped up the day with a bath and a favorite pic of mine :)

We live on such a busy road, it was no surprise that we didn't get trick-or-treaters, but we proudly displayed our Jack-o-lanterns anyhow :)