goodbye, 2016!

this year was a good one. 

we made lots of memories and did lots of really fun things!

from celebrating andrew's first birthday, to brandon graduating and getting his MBA.

to andrew touching the ocean for the first time and 

experiencing the magic of disneyland as a little family. 

we went on lots of camping trips with family and loved every single one of those trips.

we loved the simple every day life stuff too. 

from painting our kitchen white and making our home a brighter and happier place. 

to one of my favorite things of the year. 

planting flowers and a garden. 

going out every morning and watering them with andrew. 

those are some special memories to me.  

and taking a photography class. 

that was one of my highlights of the year. 

2016 you were a good one and i can't wait to see what 2017 brings! 

christmas!

christmas has came and gone and it was a good one!

we did lots of christmas activities this year and we really enjoyed this season. 

christmas morning was SO magical! 

andrew walked out and saw the presents from santa and he did the funnest face. 

it was a mix of excitement, confused and a little look of what the heck are those! 

once he opened a few gifts he realized what was happening and was all about it. 

it was the most perfect christmas morning!

^^if you asked andrew what santa says, he will say, "ho, ho, ho."

if you ask him what santa is bringing him andrew will say, "choo choo." 

and santa did not disappoint and brought him a choo choo!^^

this little guy is in heaven will all his new toys. 

christmas is magical i tell you. 

hope you had a lovely holiday will people you love! 

gingerbread house!

we decorated our gingerbread house over the weekend! 

this is one of my favorite christmas traditions. 

andrew was all about the candy this year... ha! 

he even helped decorate the house. it was the cutest. 

he acted so proud after he put a candy on the house!

this is my 4th year blogging the gingerbread houses we make.. goodness where has the time gone. 

2013 here, 2014 here, 2015 here. 

some photos below! 

^^always wants to be my his dad!^^

^^pure excitement!^^

^^my little lover... where did you get those pretty blue eyes?^^

^^candy helper right here!^^

^^helping decorate the house!^^

^^the final look!

every year i think we make the cutest one. i really like this years! maybe cause andrew helped ;) ^^

happy almost christmas everyone! 

little family update

some of my other favorite bloggers i follow do these little family updates 

every now and then and i love that idea! 

i would love to go back and read what was happening in our little life right now. 

so here goes the first family update! 

JENNIE: i'm just trying to be the best mom, wife, daughter and everything else i can be. 

recently i shot my first wedding and it was so much fun and so different then just shooting andrew! 

getting into photography has been so much fun. 

i love taking photos and creating memories for people. 

i really love the whole process from taking the photos to editing them! 

i'm also the activity day leader in my ward and its the best calling. 

we get together twice a month for an hour and i get to hang out with girls. 

besides cooking, cleaning, laundry, helping my mother hahaha love you mom 

and taking care of andrew i usually am busy and when i get a chance i love to read a good book. 

i love being a mom and its the best thing!

BRANDON: he loves working at L3 communication. that job has been the greatest thing. 

he normally works 4/10's but if he needs to he works overtime. its so great to have him home for a longer weekend. we love the weekends. 

he also started going into work earlier and working out. he gets up so early 

and he's always so happy still! 

he's the elder quorum president right now. he really enjoys working with his counselors.  

he's still all about the denver broncos and has already started brain washing andrew that they're the best team. ha! he loves to be home with andrew and those two are the best of friends. 

he loves to fly his drone with andrew! 

ANDREW: he's the happiest little 1 1/2 year old boy! 

he still loves tractors, cars and his newest obsession is trains. 

he loves to say what a train says.. choo choo!

words andrew can say are mama, dadda, tractor, up, no 

(thats his favorite and its the silliest cause if you ask him any question he replys back with the sweetest no! ha) also can say slide, cup, light and also has said grandpa before. 

he loves his chocolate milk in the morning and likes to get his hair done. 

he tells us when he poops and climbs into his high chair when he's ready to eat. 

he just got a cold for the first time in his life. 

poor fella had so much snot and coughing it broke my mama heart! 

he knows he needs a coat on to go outside, likes to put on his own shoes and takes one nap a day for 2 hours. he's the best little guy around and we're so lucky to have him! 

polar express!

we went last week on the polar express down in heber. 

it was so much fun. andrew is really into trains right now so he was in heaven. 

i made a little video... i'm all about photos but i also love a good video cause

andrew loves watching them and it really helps him remember!
enjoy. also, some photos below! 

^^once we got on the train... we got a cookie and lets just say andrew was all about it!^^

^^silliest cousins! ha ha^^

^^he really enjoyed himself. having a child is so much fun especially during the holidays!^^

thanks for taking us in laws! it was a night we will always remember! 

happy december!

happy december! 

i still can't get over how its even december and a new year is going to start soon. 

like when and how did that happen? 

this month always has me happy and excited. 

lots of christmas traditions and so much goodness. 

it finally snowed here and we're loving it. 

i hope it snows a lot this winter. 

i don't really have much to say here just besides the fact that its winter and christmas time already! 

i just felt like we were just camping. 

anyways, my goal this christmas season is to not just focus on the christmas side of the holiday 

but also the CHRIST side. 

happy holla-days!