OH! We Love Santa!

Carson could NOT WAIT to see Santa! He ran
right up there and gave him a HUG; it was so cute!

My sweet little niece Reese, big bro Ryan and his wife Nikki


My beautiful sisters and cousins



Carson's playing a game with his cousins where you have to wear a santa hat! They loved it!

Me and Cars at the Carter Christmas Party

HOPE everyone had a GREAT Christmas!
We LOVED seeing SO many family & friends!
I'll post pics SOON!!

Happy Turkey Day!

This year I wasn't very excited for our Thanksgiving plans. Our family on my Mom's side has gotten so big that we needed to have it at a church. I didn't like the idea because I have always loved dinner at home where it's warm and cozy. I love to lay on the couch and look at the shopping ads by the fire and the guys would always have a football game on too. Knowing that we couldn't do any of that at a church got me discouraged. But I have to say that Thanksgiving turned out to be really great. We had some pretty competitive volleyball going, and the kids were able to run around and play. And it was really nice to see all of my cousins!
I'm very grateful for my family. We are very close and do a lot together and I think that is very fortunate. I love having so many sisters too. Today we got up early and went shopping and it was so fun to be with them. We don't all go shopping very often, but it was good for us and I know we are closer today then we were yesterday.
I want to say that I'm also grateful for my little family. You all know how grateful I am for Carson because I talk about him being my joy all the time. But I just need to say how grateful I am for my husband Colby, and the things that him and I have been through the last few years. It's not ever easy to talk about, but who would I be without these experiences, I don't know. I am most grateful for his desire to change and want something so much more in his life. I can honestly say that it takes great courage to withstand most things that he has. He has stayed firm in very difficult circumstances, and stayed positive throughout this time and I have grown to love him in different ways I didn't know were possible. So I hope he knows that we miss him and love him very much!
So there's just a couple thoughts, mostly for myself; Hope everyone had a really great Thanksgiving!


Here is our wonderful fam!

Ryan and Nikki and the girls

This is my cousin Scott. We were best friends growing up and I had to get a picture for old times sake!

Family at Dinner


Carson and Katie



My mom and my Uncle Craig who thinks he's "Oh So Mocho!"


My Grandma and Grandpa Riding let all of us know how grateful they are for all of their family. They are such wonderful grandparents and always do so much for all of their kids. They have always made sure that each child, grandchild, and great grandchild know that they are thinking of them. They really are angels on this earth and I love them very much!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Glitter Graphics

I haven't been good AT ALL at posting pictures, and it's a little late to do Halloween, so I am trying to get ahead of myself for the holidays! This is Carson's face in most pictures these days. He had his 3rd birthday in September. I Love this age! (most the time). He is a stinker/smarty pants/mamma's boy! We have so much fun and he amazes me all the time. He is so excited for Santa Claus to come, which makes me excited too!

Delicious Cupcakes!

You have got to try these cupcakes if you haven't already! They are so so yummy. If you log onto this link for Utah Valley's Bests you can try to win some FREE!

http://www.sweetlifeinthevalley.com/

My Pride and Joy

Thanks to Tara Tomita I have the most treasured pictures of Carson. She did such an amazing job! Carson turns 3 in a few weeks, and I can't believe how fast he's grown. Being a mom is the greatest joy anyone could ask for. He is such a good, most hilarious little boy and I am so lucky to have him. Thanks again Tara for these memories!

MOAB Cont....

Here is beautiful Moab!


This is in the middle of hiking Fiery Furnace

This is my favorite arch we saw. It is the "Kissing Turtles" Can you see them?

MOAB

What's a camping trip without music around the fire? Uncle Todd brought his guitar and one for Carson to play along. He started to really rock out, it was hilarious!


I was very nervous to take Carson down the river, but he did fine. When it got rough I stuck him down on the floor in between my legs. He didn't ever cry, but didn't smile the whole first time we went down. When we went the 2nd and 3rd time he did a little better, and wasn't so afraid. My family is a little crazy when it comes to river rafting. They bring water guns and buckets and try to drench each others boats! It was so much fun. We had 4 rafts going down each time, so lots of people!


We hiked the fiery furnace the first day we were there. It takes you around to see lots of different arches around that area. I think it was a 3 mile hike. Not too bad, all the little kids could come.

He did it!

My little bro finally got his firefighting certification done. So as soon as he turned 18. He was hired on to Utah County's fire Dept. He's been out in California the past few weeks helping out there with several different fires, working very hard! Way to go Kev!

Camping Out!

It's been a while since I've posted any pictures....I guess it has just been a little crazy in the life of Marcie lately. Last weekend we took a much needed gettaway (not too far). We went out to Cherry Creek with my family and camped for a couple days. It was so nice to be out in the mountains surrounding you. Carson loved to be out on the four wheelers, if we weren't taking him on a ride...he was sitting on it, waiting for us to take him. We went on walks, looking for lizards and bugs, and played in the dirt. It wasn't a Hotel with a hot tub and pool, but I had such a great time.

This is Carson, and his cousin's Gage and Amaya

My sister Kim with her boyfriend Chad & My parents

I wore shorts so that my legs might get some color.....it doesn't look like its helping does it!:)

Brushing My Teeth!

I got a new Sonicare toothbrush, and I love it! I recommend it to everyone! It comes with a small and a large brush, and I have had Carson using the smaller one and he loves to use it all by himself. It times for two minutes, and its a struggle to get him to brush the whole time, but I figure even one minute of using the sonicare, it's doing twice of better job as if he was just brushing manually. The only thing about it is you have to keep it in your mouth while it's on, otherwise it sprays all over your face if your not careful. But it's well worth the investment.

Spring Break

Carson spent the week playing with his cousin Jake. They wanted to play outside ALL the time. It wasn't always great weather, but they didn't care, they played in those tire swings for days!

A hard day's play to get feet like that:)

This was the sunset of the warmest day of Spring Break we had. I wish it would stay!

A Day at Jumpin Jacks

Last week during Spring Break, My Aunt Terry and I took our kids to Jumpin Jacks to play for a while. Carson took one look at this Dragon Slide and got so scared. He was NOT going to go inside its mouth....so hilarious! He watched lots of other kids go inside and finally decided that he might be able to go inside too. This was the first time I have gone there. Carson loved it!


He was tackling this tree!


Carson's cousins Bree and Parker

Random pics of Us

Mission Accomplished!

In February I bought Carson a big boy bed, hoping that he would be excited to sleep in it, and would stay in his own bed at night. Uh...No. Night after night he would get out of his bed wanting to sleep with me. Thanks to Super Nanny I got the great idea of just tucking him back in bed time and time again, as long as it took, until he finally stays. And the key is to only say goodnight once, then after that, I would just pick him up and quietly put him back in his bed. Some nights it went on forever. I probably put him back in his bed twenty times, and it was really hard for me not to give in. But the rewards are phenominal! The last few weeks I have even looked forward to putting him in his bed, because he is so sweet to tell me goodnight and go right to sleep.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Tomorrow, April 9th we'll be married 3 years! How the time flies by! I love looking back at this day and remembering how happy, and excited we were to be married!




We're off to our journey ahead!
And yes, it's been quite a journey for Colby and I. We've had some really great experiences these last few years. Some very happy, some very difficult. But it's been through the most hard things that we have grown and become better people. I have to say that I am very grateful for my marriage and the Joy, and the challenges it brings me everyday!