the magical forest

A few nights ago, we braved the cold (that ended up not even really being bad at all)

and headed to opportunity village's the magical forest with kelli and dylan.

Matix had an absolute blast to say the least.

He couldnt stop looking and pointing at all the lights,

and was just in little boy heaven running around and going on rides.

He braved the merry-go-round first.

Although hesitant at first, he ended up loving it.

The second time around, we even rode the pony together!!

Then we spotted frosty and matix was more than happy to snap a picture as a button...

Next we went down the kiddy slides. This may have been his favorite thing to do.

He could even do it all by himself (with some adult supervision of course)

He and dylan went down a few times each. They are such good little friends.

On second thought...

the train that went around the forest was matix's absolute favorite part of the night.

The line was a little rough to wait in but we kept ourselves entertained...

we finally made it to the front. he yelled choo-choo the entire ride with a grin from ear to ear.

it was pretty cute and fun if i do say so myself.

he also could not pass up the opportunity to play in the ole' shoe.

it took some bribing (with a candy cane) to convince him to finally leave....

we had a great time and even made it home just in time for bedtime...

i think it's safe to say that we will probably end up back there next year :)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

[i cant believe it's already christmas eve's eve]

Matix's new little lover...

cute church friends.

i cant wait til they can actually date...

i did it...

I finally graduated!!
I officially have a Bachelor's Degree
in Journalism and Media Studies
With emphasis is Integrated Marketing Communications
(which basically mean advertising/public relations)
and a minor in Entertainment Management

yep it's a mouthful. and isnt as cool as it sound.
but nevertheless i do not have to think about homework one more time...
and that my friends...is a great feeling.


unfortunately for me (and my family), i decided to graduate at UNLV's largest fall commencement everrrr. 2,147 students graduated (around there anyways) so the ceremony lasted nearly 3.5 hours. ( i was nearly an hour late to my own party..sorry guys!!) but the highlight of the ceremony was a 76 year old man finally getting his doctorate.
he was the cutest guy ever.

I didn't finish out my college career with straight A's as i had planned. uhh-hmm.
but im content with two A's and 3 B+'s.
It was a rough semester, and i had a mild case of senioritis.



now if only i could find an awesomely sweet job....

a.m.a.z.i.n.g

a coworker of mine from cinevegas just recently uploaded a picture of HIS Christmas tree on facebook....

{my jaw literally dropped}
he then proceeded to describe his experience as follows...

Lights: 5,200
Extension cords required to make all the lights work: 11
Ornaments: 623
Of those ornaments, Charlie Brown ornaments: 111
Hours to light: 7... See More
Trips to Walmart because I needed more lights: 2
Hours to decorate: 6
Chirstmas songs I went through on my ipod while lighting and decorating: 93. . .two times.
Me needing to get a life. . .Priceless.
Christopher Todd Hall

{my jaw then dropped a second time}

i hope one day i get that sort of Christmas dedication

**did i forget to mention that he is also a gay interior decorator...maybe thats why**

last week

may have been the hardest week of my life.

but more than that, i realized how much my heavenly father loves me.
and even though things don't always end up how we want them to...
everything happens for a reason.
It also didn't help that it was finals week.
luckily i survived it all.
and am so grateful for my family.
and my wonderful friends.
and especially for my baby boy.

"every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result...
come what may and love it."

Joseph B. Worthlin

{now im working on the love it part}

from the mouth of baby stinkerbutt....

matix is talking more and more.
he learns at least one or more words a day...
which is so fun to hear as a mom.
especially since half the stuff he says is in matix language...not english.
but we understand him as if it was.

some of my favorites...

beak=drink
[yet so does opening the fridge and trying to carry the ginormous bottle of apple juice, and by carrying i mean dropping at least three times on his way to find someone] needless to say, we now duct tape the fridge closed.
nak=snack, mainly fruits snacks or basically anything sweet
pease=please
papa=grandpa aka his favorite person in the world.
buckle/unbuckle=the kid is obsessed, car seats, high chairs, he's on it
amen=he folds his arms for prayer and says amen at the appropriate times.
horsey/moo= he thinks they are the interchangeable, oh well
two=[said extremely loud] means daddy throw me in the air like a crazy person so i can touch the 15 foot ceilings and give my mom a heart attack.] he hasn't quite figured out that the one and three are also necessary.
no=basically means anything from no to yes to stop talking to me..we havent quite figured it out yet since he says this to everything. even chocolate. and that obviously can't be right.
"ceanup and erybody"= are the only words he's mastered from the "cleanup cleanup song" its pretty dang cute though.

eat-ie=airplane. [dont ask me why]

ahhh-chooo=every time he or someone else sneezes. he's very consistent

hot hot=he knows everything that has the ability to be hot, and wont let you forget it.

that's all i can think of right now, but everyday he says something i haven't heard before and it is awesome.

california

A few weeks back, we went to california to visit my bestest friends steph and zach in Aliso Viejo, California! It was a super fun trip because we hardly ever get to see them...

When we got there Friday night, Steph planned an awesome steak dinner for us and her co-worker and his wife. It was bomb, especially the bread. yum yum yum. oh and we learned that real men like their steaks bloody. sickkkk. We ended the night rockin out at guitar hero!

The next day we headed out for the beach. We went to Huntington and Matix had the time of his life. He could play in the sand and pretend to play in the water for hours. (He would run near it, then when the waves would come in, he would run away as fast as his little legs could travel.)

He also turned 18 months while we were there! :)

That night we headed back to Huntington for my friend Lindsey's wedding. It was beautiful, and she was beautiful. and we got to hang out with Kelli and Dylan!!

It was a short, fun trip. :) I cant wait to go back!