Merry Little Christmas

This family had the best Christmas. It was my favorite since I've been married, I think. I loved all the shopping and decorating and preparing more than usual this year. I am now sitting in a messy house wishing life could pause for just a few more days the way it does on Christmas. This is how we spent the holiday...

Christmas Eve Eve Eve - Miles and Betsey were on their way to Washington for the week so we had an early celebration of lamb stew, gifts and pool.

Christmas Eve Eve - The annual Arbon family Christmas party at Tim's parents' house. Lasagna and banana splits every year, followed by the kids' gift exchange and then the adult's As Seen on TV gift exchange game.

Christmas Eve - Our tradition of Mexican fare and more gifts! My mom has an amazing ten foot tree in her living room, but how adorable is this little tree with all of our childhood ornaments.

 

Christmas Day - Mason couldn't be bothered to have breakfast before presents, so he had to do both at once. Then ham dinner/lunch and more visiting the relatives.
 

 

 

The best part of all of these pictures has got to be the family. I love living so close to so many of the people we love! And just because I couldn't get a single picture of Mason looking at the camera with all those presents to focus on...

Some Things

Ahhhhh, the holidays are upon us. I love this time of year, just like nearly everyone else. I think the best part is how happy everyone tries to be. You do things you love with people you love. I can't think of anything better.

We kicked off the season with Thanksgiving with both families. Tim's for lunch, mine for dinner. I've been missing a lot of opportunities to take pictures lately, and I stole these of my mom's beautiful table from Emily.

Then of course - tree shopping. We get a real tree every year and it's a tradition I just can't give up. Mason thought the trees were both terrifying and hilarious. He wasn't about to touch them but he sure thought it was funny when we tried to make him.
 

 

Best of all, today is Tim's birthday! He was born 28 years ago today...that is reason to celebrate. I'm so lucky to have this guy as my husband. I could just talk about how amazing he is all day. It's so fun being in love with him.
 

And as a bit of side note, check out how much the kid has changed since today last year...

Harvest

Remember this post about my garden? It was a success! Actually, success is a bit of an understatement. Thing was OUT OF CONTROL. The squash took over the backyard, the tomato plants were too huge for words, I threw away about a million and fourteen peppers. I tried to can and freeze but I just couldn't keep up. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the garden in full bloom and we dug it up this weekend. I tried to pick everything at the right time, but this particular little bugger got away from me.

 

 

The Kickoff

When Mason was a newborn, Tim and I called him our little froggy because his skinny legs, tiny bum, and big belly made him look just like a frog. I should have let him be a frog for Halloween last year but I found this monkey and just couldn't resist. This year he loved his frog costume and when he wasn't wearing it he was carrying it around giving it kisses and cuddles. Wish I could get a few of those!

 Halloween this year consisted of three days of soup in bread bowls (really, we ate that three nights in a row at three different parties), family get-togethers, chocolate covered strawberries, pumpkin carving, pumpkin cookies, and of course, candy. I liked that Halloween was on Sunday because that meant more days to celebrate. I've never really loved Halloween but I'm definitely coming around to it.

That being said, the best part is that when its over, the real holidays begin! 

Not happy, but not necessarily sad

 

My baby brother, Kelson, left for his mission this morning. I know I've written a lot about him here lately. It just seems so bizarre that a few months ago he was just a teenager in high school and now he's a man leaving to live on the other side of the world for two years. I may have shed more than a few tears. We are so proud of him and grateful for his strong testimony and the example he is setting for us.

A few days ago we went to Temple Square to eat and spend a day before he left. Mason loves his Uncle Kelson. But everybody does.

We went to say good-bye last night since you just drop them at the curb of the MTC now. It was also Emily's birthday and Miles' is tomorrow, so here they are blowing out the candles of the fancy zucchini cake I made.

 

 

 

We're missing Ryan, boo. Love these people!