happy 1st maycie moo.

on tuesday my sweet niece maycie turned one. i can't believe it's been a whole year since this sweet little thing arrived.

^^look at her pony tail and tell me you're not dying. could she be any cuter?!^^

 

                                               
                              not sure when, but at some point we started calling maycie "maycie moo" which eventually turned into "moo moo"

for miss "moo moo" we had a farm animal themed party.

she wasn't interested in opening presents, so her older sister opened them for her. 

she had absolutely no idea what was happening, but she ran around her party as happy as could be.

^^ how perfect was her smash cake?!^^

if you remember how she handled her own piece of cake here you can obviously guess why we thought her "cake smash" would be super eventful. surprisingly enough, she wasn't super into it. her dad eventually stuck her hands in the cake then wiped some frosting on her face. she was upset and mad. so that ended that.

i'm so glad i never have to live in a world without miss maycie sage in it again. this sweet girl knows how to make her family happy. we love you moo moo.

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i still remember so so perfectly the first week of little maycie's life. 

 

they grow up way too fast.

see my post about when maycie was born here

happy 15th j man.

yesterday my little J dude turned 15 years old.... 15!!! which means he gets his learners permit, and is one year away from 'legally dating.' our morning started bright and early with present opening.

because i'm a slacker i didn't have his gift for him bright and early with the rest... but after work i quickly rushed to buy him some new joggers (my little brother asked for joggers for his birthday.. he also asks me for fashion advice... how cute is that?! he's seriously growing up) hours later after losing my phone in a parking lot (which was later picked up by some girls.... they found it buried in snow) going on a hunt to find the rescuers of my precious phone, buying my little brother his joggers, and buying some $7 plaid pleated skirts for me i FINALLY got back home - and just in time for birthday dinner. 

after dinner we had chocolate pancakes for dessert (an old family fave) they're eaten with a sweet butter - not syrup - and they may sound nasty but they're actually quite scrumptious. jackson opted out of cake, because his birthday is the 4th of 5 birthdays within one month. as a result we're all a little burnt out on cake.

jackson is such a sweet kid and no one makes me laugh harder than he does. he keeps this home happy and light hearted. i have such a stud for a little brother. happy 15th jackson, best of luck on the roads.... EEK.

see his last birthday here.

princess paisley turns 3.

on new years eve my little miss turned 3 years old. new years eve of 2012 will probably have to go down in history as BEST new years eve EVER. because it was the day i officially became an aunt, and nothing else in this world (yet) has been quite as honorable and exciting as being an aunt. it amazes me at how much little pais grows each and every day.

for ms. pais, we had a princess party.....

^^isn't the "when you wish upon a star" just the cutest princess party banner you ever did see?!^^ i must admit, i was super proud of myself for how cute all the decorations turned out.

i had to work in the morning, as soon as i got home i began to bake paisley's birthday cake. as the cake baked and cooled, i decorated. 

i made paisley the same cake i had made for my mom's birthday, it's proven to be a new favorite. we're thinking we'll start referring to this cake as "sugar cookie cake" because it's easier than saying "it's a mock kitty katrina cake from the chooclate. which is a madagascan vanilla cake layered with a vanilla butter cream frosting" and most importantly, it tastes like a scrumptious sugar cookie. makes sense right??

i topped pasiley's cake with purple frosting and lots of sprinkles (birthday girls request) we decorated the house with pink, purple, & gold sparkly banners. 

little pais ran around her party in her darling little birthday outfit. her outfit was complete with two little messy buns and a sparkly crown headband. every 3 year old deserves to dress up like a princess on her birthday (if not every day)

once all the guests arrived we started the party with eating pizza; but pais had no patience or desire for pizza - she was just ready for us to sing happy birthday to her. her wish is our command, so we began to sing. the sassy little girl burst into tears. what were we thinking? you can't sing happy birthday with PIZZA. happy birthday is to be sang with cake and candles. silly us.

we grabbed her mini cake (because next week her sister is turning one, which means she'll get a smash cake, and paisley felt like she needed one too) and sang to her, the whole time her bottom lip quivered as she tried her hardest to stop crying. it wouldn't be a party without tears now would it?

although this little princess is pretty sour, she can also be quite sweet. i mean, look at that face! there is no other 3 year old i'd take demands from.

after presents it was time for cake and ice cream, so we lit some candles & sang happy birthday (for the second time)

afterwards we snuggled up in our blankets and coats and headed outside for fireworks. when i say 'fireworks' i mean REAL legit fireworks. tyler had purchased them in wyoming, they are the type of fireworks you see at the rodeo, and at the city's annual firework show on the 4th of july. what a spoiled girl. what other 3 year old gets a her very own firework show on her birthday?

paisley fox rocks my world, i wouldn't choose anyone else to have as my dress-up partner. i love my little miss.

**see paisley's second birthday here**

christmas day 2015.

christmas morning is always an exciting one. waking up with your siblings and hardly being able to contain your exicetment over seeing what "santa brought" is a magical feeling. obviously as i've grown up that "santa magic" feeling is gone (tear tear) but christmas is still such a happy day. the foot of fresh powdery snow made this christmas morning even 10x better. we looked out a window to see everything covered by the thick white blanket, my heart stopped. white christmas's guys..... there is nothing better.

everything about this picture....... everything.

after opening presents i helped my mama make a big christmas breakfast of quiche and pumpkin coffee cake. while in the middle of cooking we got a skype call from SISTER HILL. we got to talk to her for over 3 hours (just like last year) and it was the greatest christmas gift of all. crazy to think this is our last time skyping with her as a missionary, she'll be HOME in just a little over a month. she is such a sunshine! i love seeing her big smile and hearing her happy laugh.

after skyping it was time for christmas sledding.

 earlier this year - my big brother - tyler's corolla had broken down. he took the hood off and saved it to use as a sled this winter. we took it out to this huge field, hooked it up to the back of our fourwheeler, and went HAM. the hood was convenient because you could fit multiple people on it at a time. my brothers took turns driving the 4 wheeler and they went absolutely nuts. they'd go speeding over jumps & we'd catch hella air. they'd take sharp turns and drive in circles & we'd go flailing off the "sled" and through the air. as you can see from the photo above we got  absolutely wrecked.... and it was the funnest experience of my life. living with brothers has it perks - they're never cautious, and they're completely wild 100% of the time.

after hours of intense sledding we came back home, got in dry warm clothes, and my mama popped some take and bake papa murphys in the oven. our family does christmas a little different then most. we never have a nice sit down dinner on christmas; instead we always have a big breakfast, snack throughout the day, then eat some papa murphy's that my mom had picks up the day before. what's better then yummy breakfast and take and bake pizza??

 "bear cheeks"

the rest of the night was pretty calm. tyler, chels, and their girlies went over to chelsea's parents house and colt and nicole headed over to be with colts family. it was quiet and peaceful as me, my parents, heather, and j man played some banana grams & spot it (our new christmas games.) as the night got quiet i couldn't help but feel so content. this christmas may of been the smallest christmas i've ever had. don't get me wrong; my parents spoiled me with a lot of nice things! i got a stunning turquoise ring, a heated blanket, a new curling wand, & some other fun stuff; but compared to years in the past we defs kept things much more simple. even with the simplicity and the fact that less money then usual was spent, it was such a great christmas. it may of just been the best christmas yet.

i was able to really slow down and just soak every last moment in with my family and loved ones. i was really able to focus on the savior and the fact that he was sent here to this earth for ME. to imagine Christ as a new born babe wrapped in swaddling clothes all fresh and new from heaven makes my heart full. that tiny babe would change the world. because of him heavenly fathers plan could finally happen. i imagine the night of Christs birth as such a calm one. i imagine a peaceful feeling filled the air that night. the moment that everyone had been waiting for had finally arrived. i know that the birth of Christ was a monumental moment. reflecting on the night that out savior was born fills my heart and humbles my soul.

**see last christmas here**

christmas eve 2015.

okay okay..... so i'm a tad bit behind. but better late then never right?? christmas eve was full of traditions and family. my mama's mother came down to stay with, we had a hill family christmas party, we went to in-n-out for dinner, and the fam went and saw our 'christmas eve movie.' this year our christmas eve movie was "daddy's home." i'll admit, it made me laugh.

the night ended with a sibling sleep over in the family room. we would've fallen asleep watching elf (like usual) but this year we decided to watch keeping up with the kardashians instead. it was really a win win situation because lets be honest, you can't go wrong with elf or KUWTK.

what a magical happy day.