Preparing for the Holidays...

Grayson has some incredible friends and their mamas are one of the main reasons these boys are so amazing. We get together once a month for our "missionary moms lunch" and this month we each brought 7 of the same gift for the missionaries. Everyone was so creative and the missionaries are going to love their Christmas packages from the moms!

I also won an instagram giveaway! And the best part was it was something I've tried to sign up for multiple times and haven't been able to get in. Cake by Courtney classes at Orson Gygi sell out within a minute of being posted online. I won this $125 class from a third party and enjoyed every second of my three hours learning from the pro, Courtney Rich. They even saved a spot for my friend Misty to sign up so I'd have a pal. I'm saving the amazing Caramel Apple Pie Cake for my pre-Thanksgiving family dinner Sunday...

And these beauties came in the mail this week and there's no other socks I'd rather wear!

Early birthday celebration the Disney-way!

Hillary and I both love amusement parks and she chose a one-day hopper at Disneyland/California Adventure for her birthday gift this year. I was happy to oblige. We used the Disney MaxPass for the first time and it was awesome. 

We got to the parks early enough that we were the very FIRST people on Cars and with the MaxPass, able to ride every single ride we wanted to on one of the most crowded Saturdays of the year. Where standby lines were up to an 80-minute wait, our Fast Passes got us through as quickly as a 6-minute wait up to 20 minutes for the longest.

Small World was totally decked out for Christmas and they sang Jingle Bells instead of "It's A Small World."

The castle was beautifully-lit, however the smoke from the fires in Thousand Oaks didn't make a great backdrop.

Happy 27th birthday Hillary!! We walked and ate our way through the parks and enjoyed every second of it!

And Cooper was waiting anxiously for my return since I've been gone so often recently...

Happy 25th Garrett!

Tried making a homemade cake for Garrett's birthday and it tasted delicious even though it was a little lopsided :) Garrett still enjoyed his favorite flavors of peanut butter and chocolate and we had a fun party!

And Cooper enjoyed his morning walk on Garrett's birthday and a few modeling poses in the leaves...

Us Elevated Marriage Retreat

I've been helping my dear friend Georgia with some of her business efforts as Know How Mom. She is a Certified Active Parenting Instructor, Gottman Trained Educator, and Trainer for the Protective Factors for Strengthening Families, and has been facilitating family and parenting education classes for over 25 years. I was her assistant when she directed plays at Rogers Memorial Theater as well as one of her actors. I love Georgia and believe in what she's offering. She holds a 2-day marriage retreat/workshop at Bryce a couple times a year. John and I attended this weekend so I could experience it and help. It was amazing! 

After an intensive morning workshop and lunch, we were led on a gorgeous hike from Sunset to Sunrise Points in Bryce National Park. It was so fun to have our good friends the Holms, Sechrests and Mowers join us this weekend. We also got to meet 9 other couples who signed up.

I would highly recommend this workshop for anyone newly married, married for 25 years, grandparents, engaged, or celebrating 60 years of marriage. It is a winner!