Fatty and Katie's Wedding

On December 28th (this past Wednesday), my bro in law, Fatty (who's real name is Zachary but really goes by the nickname Fatty) married his beautiful bride, Katie, in the Mesa, AZ temple! We were so happy to be apart of it and welcome Katie into our family.

She looked beautiful in her dress and they both looked so happy.My kids were some of the first to run up and hug them. Katie is hugging Petey and Fatty is picking up Spidey. :)Spidey had to scoot himself down the stairs and we were all laughing because he was going really slow.Uncle Fatty and Petey.Uncle Fatty and the boy who didn't want to sit still for a single picture.Uncle John snuck into the picture I was taking of the girls. :)Petey with two of her 2nd cousins(?). They were such good friends all week and it was fun to see them play. Uncle Dan tried to keep Spidey occupied by swinging him around. It worked for about 3 seconds.Miss B was acting shy but I was one of the only people she would let hold her! It made me happy. I love my snuggly little B and wish I could see her more often.Petey posed for some pictures in her cute little skirt, sewn by Katie's mother.Beautiful Newman family. These two boys were my life savers at the temple. They helped keep Spidey occupied most of the time and were SO good with him.

After the temple, we had a luncheon together (no pictures) and then we got to rest for a while before the reception. As soon as we got to the reception, Leezer and Petey wanted a picture with Katie. They followed her around most of the night. :)

Besty cousins. :)Cousin love.Uncle Will (my little brother) was there too, since my family is friends with my husband's family.Ginger's sticking together. :)See? The little girls kept following Katie around. It was cute at first but after a while, we made them stop. :)Uncle Ben danced with Hayley and actually let me take a picture of him!These skirts were made for twirlin'!Toward the end of the night, Spidey was doing a lot of this..."sigh". Poor boy was so exhausted and tired of being told he couldn't run around. Best picture of my little B. She is soooo adorable! Doesn't this picture just make you want to squeeze her?This is the only picture I got of the 3 girl cousins. haha. Better luck next time, I guess.Petey found her Guthrie cousins and played with them for a while. S is so funny and it made me laugh that Petey was trying to copy him.The end of the night, Spidey wouldn't stop doing this and so we left. Boss stayed to clean up and I was left with two screaming children the entire way home.
It was a LONG day but oh so worth it. We are so glad that Katie is a part of our family and that we got to share in their special day...and also that my kids' cousins got to come down from Utah and play with them, if only for a day. :)

And that's how Suze sees it.

Christmas 2011

Even though I already blogged today. I was determined to get my Christmas post done before the weekend so I don't get too behind.
Christmas was a blast this year. The kids understood and enjoyed it and we always enjoy seeing their faces light up and teaching them about our Savior.
Santa was very generous this year and brought Petey and Pinkalicious bike and Spidey a Toy Story scooter. One of my kids REALLY loves their gift, while the other doesn't like it because HE hasn't figured out how to ride it yet. But I'm sure he'll figure it out soon. :)The kids were so exhausted because their silly Uncle Fatty decided to wake them up at 7am. Spidey wasn't quite sure what to think of his stocking and I had to take everything out so he would look at it all. :)Petey, on the other hand, is a pro at this stocking thing and was practically throwing her presents out of the stocking so she could see what she got. Santa knows how much our girly likes Fancy Nancy and put a new book in her stocking!Then it was time to open the first present, which was from Nana and Papa. Can you tell what it is?Mr and Mrs Potato Head! The kids love playing with them. We gave Petey a tag reader (her need gift) but unfortunatly, I got the wrong kind of books so we have yet to use this present. Nana and Papa got the kids a HUGE bin of play doh. The kids have already spend hours playing with this and love it. Spidey's spiritual gift from us was a vinyl sign that I made that reads, "Did you think to pray?". Petey also got a spiritual gift but I didn't get a picture of it. It is a pink CTR necklaces that I made for her with her initial on the back. Petey's favorite gift (her want gift) was this special Rapunzel doll. I've hardly seen her without it ever since she opened it. Spidey's need gift were these fridge phonic magnets. He loves putting the different letters in and listening to the songs. Nana and Papa got our family a waffle maker with circus animal shapes. I can't wait to try it out.Of course, what's Christmas without a new homemade dress from Nana. She always makes the cutest dresses and we love getting them and putting them on our special girl.Uncle Sam got our family some kids games. We got Dont Break the Ice......and Candyland! Petey was most excited about Candyland. :)I had to post this picture of the enormous monkey Uncle Fatty got for his fiance (now his wife), Katie. The thing is huge!Spidey's "want" gift was this awesome John Deere tractor that he can take to the park for some digging. For now, he enjoys pulling it around and around and around the house. :)Isn't this picture of Spidey with his potato head adorable? I love his goofy grin. :)I'm sorry, Katie, but I HAD to post this one. A while after we were finished with presents, Fatty called me into the living room and pointed to Katie, who had fallen asleep spooning with the enormous monkey. It was hilarious. She still doesn't know I took this picture. :)

Christmas was fun and we enjoyed being around family all weekend. We are so blessed and lucky to have so many people that love and care about our family.

And that's how Suze sees it.

2011 Review Extravaganza: October, November, December

October started out with a very special boy turning 2. He had a wonderful Toy Story birthday and made this face when opening most of his presents. :)

October also hosted many Halloween parties for our family. I loved the kids costumes this year but would like to do something easier next year with the little miss. I also went back to work full time for 3 weeks, starting on Halloween. What a fun day to begin work, since we dress up. The first weekend in November, my sisters were all in town and we attended Time Out for Women together. We had a blast going to the Science Center together that morning with no kids...since we really are all kids at heart anyway.Also in November, I won a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory so we took the kids and went on a family date. This almost never happens and it was so fun. The kids experienced Tucson through the beautiful backyard view of my in laws new home.November ended with a very special holiday, Thanksgiving. It was fun to spend time with my family (including one sister from out of town) and watch Grandpa play with the kids outside most of the morning. December was Petey's very first dance concert. She did so well and we were proud to watch her perform. Christmas seemed super busy but was such a fun couple of days. The kids were so excited for their Santa presents (which I have yet to blog about).One of the most special events in December happened 2 days ago. My brother in law, Fatty, got married in the temple to his beautiful bride, Katie. Both of our kids were excited and they love Katie SO much. We are so happy to have her in our family.

Hope you enjoyed this last review!
And that's how Suze sees it.