happy hearts

ingredients for 2 wonderful game nights with family...

*snacks

*up, ratatouille, wall-e, how to train your dragon, finding nemo, home alone.

(my brother's wife martha and their little guy sam)

*a pen and paper

(i received many exceptional drawings from sam which included wonderful explanations)

*great company

(my niece ally is one of my favorite people.  she is so thoughtful, smart, pretty, and talented)

more on her thoughtful/talented side in another post

(will and mom....another award winning shot of you two)

(the center of  attention there is my sister rita, far left my brother russ, far right rita's husband devin)

*cranium

things got pretty wild during our game.  i thought i was going to have to break up a brawl at one point (we take our games in this family pretty serious).  when people weren't arguing over a win/loss they were laughing hysterically.  my sister rita was the winner for most hilarious drawings of the weekend.  she was also the person who kept us laughing with her contagious giggle.  my brother russ and his family (martha, ally, sam, kassy*not pictured because she is away at college in hawaii...missed her) were in town from california which was quite the treat.  i don't see them often enough but when we do spend time together it's always so fun.  being with my older siblings (my dads first 3 kids) is always bittersweet because it makes me miss my dad.  growing up my younger brother and i were so removed from our older siblings because of the age gap, they were all grown and raising their own families while we were young.  it wasn't until my dad left this earthly life that we grew closer.  i know my dad looks down on moments like these and smiles, i wish he could physically be here to laugh with us and see that he raised 5 wonderful people who are all now so close.  times like these make my heart very happy.  

 

skyelish shop christmas special

because christmas is around the corner i am giving a gift to all of you.....my friends. 
each item in my shop has been discounted.  that's right....every single item has been marked down from now until christmas (plus shipping cost is included in the price of every painting).  this discount thing isn't common and won't last long, so take a peek and see if anything tickles your fancy. 
p.s.  another shop update is in the works. 

thanksgiving continued

the rest of the day of thanks in pictures....

this here is my grandpa (my mom's dad)

loving za husband's mad scientist hair

(hopefully he doesn't care that i'm sharing his windblown look)

it's amazing how i can convince my mom to take a crazy face picture so easily.

i like how the front of our house looked like a car dealership because it means the house is full which makes my heart full.

this might be my favorite picture from our weekend. 

i managed to catch my mom and za husband napping with full bellies.

nothing better than seeing will cuddled up with a hello kitty blanket.

i decided a walk was in order after we stuffed ourselves, even if it was super cold and windy outside.

while walking i noticed our shadows. 

catching this action shot of us made me very happy.

p.s. sometimes i need a swift kick in the rear end.

the group who decided to brave the cold from left to right

(my grandma...mom's mom, my brother, my aunt, my cousin, za muzza, and za husband)

the night ended with a couple rounds of cranium, in which i sculpted this awesome rocking chair.

up next....2 nights of games with family from my dad's side, laughter, and possibly a toilet mishap. 

chef time

thankfully my mom came over to my house early to be my kitchen helper, while i prepared my first thanksgiving feast.  i had fun cooking with her.  in fact it brought up old memories of me cooking with her throughout the years, and every time we had so much fun.  over the holiday weekend there was much game playing, feasting, laughing, walks, shopping, family time, crammed into any open hour.  thanksgiving will be discussed in a few different posts and maybe a few embarrassing videos will be shared as well so that i document all of the goodness that happened. 

making the cranberry sauce has to be a favorite of mine.  i love the way the berries start popping and how pretty they are.  i think it's cute when the berries pop, my mom does too so we were quite entertained over that pan of cranberries. 

anyway the guests began to arrive and feasting happened and i don't think any tummy left unsatisfied. 

success! 

gram and gramps were there along with my aunt bobbie and her 3 kids bryce, dade, and mia.

           my grandmother was there along with my brother and of course za husband and my mom.
a little more on the time we spent with them next post then on to the other family who was in town from california. 
here is a preview of what you can expect from the next couple posts....

sorry it's sideways...i'm too tired to fix it so i hope you can still enjoy. 

wet nails

my mom stops by the house to bring me a few last minute needed items for our feast tomorrow.  she then tells us we are going to be meeting up with family for dinner that is driving in from california.  i decided i had enough time to paint my nails before meeting with the fam, so i enlist the help of my mom to pick the perfect color.  just as i finish the last few strokes of deep burgundy we get the call that our family is in town and ready to meet up.  awesome....how do i get dressed and put on shoes and fluff my hair with wet nails?  lets just say it's a good thing za husband and muzza were here to assist me.  i made it out the door in record time all fluffed and zipped with just 2 nails that need a little repair work. 

i didn't remember to take pictures at dinner but i did have my mom snap a few as we walked to the car.  i'm sure major family pictures will happen within the next few days.  hooray for thanksgiving time and the trillion other things i am thankful for!  i hope these next few days are magical for all of you.   

the facts

not sure why but i'm at a loss for words lately.
so let me just say that i REALLY love this guy

.......and i'm thrilled about tomorrow being my friday......and i'm excited/nervous to prepare my first thanksgiving feast for several family members. 
hopefully my writer's block will end soon.....if not it's another giant disneyland post next (although that isn't necessarily a bad thing right?)

the little artist and comedian

last night we spent a little time with the jacobs family, and had a blast as usual. 
i've decided paige is an artist and cason is a comedian.

i left with a handful of original art by paige and a smile on my face.  one of my favorite moments of the night is when i asked cason for a hug as we were leaving and he stop playing with his toy then turned around with puckered up lips and planted a smooch on my face.  i actually got 2 smooches from him before we left.

this is what we look like according to paige.

i never knew i had such long legs :)

she also gifted me with

flowers and a fish

a cat and a dog

a snail and a horse.

i'd have to say these works of art are absolute treasures.  i am such a fan of little kid art, especially when it comes with a great explanation. 

hopefully we can visit our new best friends that are an 1/8 of our age again soon.

images that create smiles

i am having one of those down in the dumps days.  you know, we all have them, for one reason or another or several.  sometimes i'm really good at pulling myself out of it but since nothing seems to be working i'm bringing out the big guns, pictures from our disneyland trip last week.

if anyone else is having a down in the dumps kind of day i hope these images help you like they helped me.