memorial day weekend went down like this...

My Memorial Day weekend started on Thursday, May 22 (my birthday!) at about 12:30pm. I canceled my two afternoon clients, and I drove to Utah in Handsome Rob (with the windows down, because his AC doesn't work so well at all).

I...

I was about to get real wordy on y'all, but maybe I'll start with some pictures. (A LOT of pictures!)

Emmett from way on high.

SETH!

Peek a boo!

I had to beg him to hold still long enough for this picture

Jackson, doing what he does

How much do you love this picture? Gosh, Derek is adorable!

I met baby Aubree last weekend

Derek and Kaylee

Look it! Look at this sweet baby!

I love my Marshall boy...

I got a new car. a 2009 Pontiac G6. Her name is Pearl

Dad made Dutch oven potatoes. The onions and bacons smelled so good!

Pretty poppy in Momma's back yard.

Seth, Marshall, Emmett

Julie, Jane, Kaylee

Aubree bum

Combining sidewalk chalk with water painting

'twas a party!

All the kids had a good time coloring outside

Jules was ready for a nap...

Seth's an artist

Hi Jackson! Hi Amy!

I love the way they all play together

Tracing a Kaylee

Fake Otterpop time!

Jackson loves him some Otterpops

We stopped keeping track of how many we all ate...

I love Emmett's hands on his hips

Golly, my nieces (and nephews) are so cute!

 Long story, short: 

I had a great weekend. 

I had a really. great. weekend.

Trading in Handsome Rob happened more quickly than I thought it would, and leaving him at the dealership was somewhat bittersweet, but I'm totally loving my new car. (Her name is Pearl.)

I have a terrific family. Every single one of them rocks my world. My parents are the best. My brothers are the best. My sisters-in-law the the best. My nieces and nephews are THE BEST!

Food grilled outdoors is my favorite summertime food. All of it (minus seafood, obviously). I wish I could grill every day of my summerhood life. BUT: I don't own a grill. And even if I did, I'd want a man to do my cooking for me, because: grilling. The fact that my dad grilled for the family TWICE last weekend added to the overall stellar-ness of my time in Brigham City. 

One more thing: I got a new calling in my ward at church! I'm the new primary secretary, and I couldn't be more excited about it! I had my first meeting with the rest of the presidency last Wednesday (Diane, Karie, and Anna), and I must say: these ladies are fantastic. I think we'll get along just fine.

I've got more to share, but I'll save that for later on in the week. Peace out, my lovelies!

we need a little christmas, right this very minute...

Back in October, I signed up to hopefully get tickets for the upcoming Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. I also made my mom, dad, and youngest brother sign up, just to increase our chances of going. Mom's name was drawn (or however they do it)! And there was much rejoicing!

We went Friday night, and it. was. AWESOME. Deborah Voigt sang with the choir, and it turns out she's kind of a sassypants, and completely adorable. Also? John Rhys-Davies narrated. John. Rhys. Davies. That's Gimli, dudes! His deep Welsh voice is amazing to listen to! They did a Charles Dickens segment that was fantastic. Also, one of the organists (was it Clay Christiansen?) did a solo of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and it sounded like something the Phantom of the Opera would play. Incredible! (If you can ever find it on PBS, go ahead and watch it.)

The show was so. dang. good.

After the concert, we walked around Temple Square in the cold. Because Temple Square at Christmas is glorious.

Brent, Mom and me. This selfie was taken while Dad went to the car to get his coat...

On Saturday, we had our family Christmas party.

The Orgill family isn't small in numbers, and it keeps on growing (YAY!). There are ten adults and eight kids (between the ages of 9 years, and 8 months). All of us were at my parents' home in content Christmas chaos. I loved it.

We had soup and sandwiches for lunch, then the kids made a crafty Christmas treat, and then it was time for presents. (We missed Brent up until just after 1:00, since he had to work that morning. Humbug!)

Also, Aaron and Ryan arm wrestled, which was fun to behold.

Seth and his powdered doughnut mouth.

Emmett and his powdered doughnut mouth.

Kaylee making her doughnut snowman.

Jane is having a good time.

Julie liked snacking while others made her snowman craft.

Kaylee waved her snowman guy like a fairy wand against Seth.

The three girls playing ring around the rosy. Cutest thing ever.

Jackson laughed pretty hard when Goose tickled his back in earnest.

Ready. Set. GO!

The girls unwrapping their LaLaLoopsie dolls from gramma and grampa.

Emmett was so cute when he unwrapped his present; he said, "I got a box!"
Then he got really excited about the book and Snoopy...

Marshall was thrilled to get "don't break the ice."

And this Harry Potter-loving boy was ecstatic to receive this HP lunchbox.

Isn't he the cutest?

 It was such a lovely weekend, and I cannot wait until tomorrow to head back down Utah to see more of my family and enjoy the heck out of Christmassy stuff, and ALL OF IT!

so, thanksgiving happened...

There are about a thousand reasons whyThanksgiving is among my favorite of all the holidays. I think the only reason Christmas trumps Thanksgiving is because of the music and the twinkle lights...?

I took the week of Thanksgiving off. I've tried working the week of Thanksgiving, and I'm always sorely disappointed because I end up getting no-showed a lot. And that does not help me to feel thankful.

So I spent the entire week leading up to Thanksgiving with my family in Utah. And that helps me to feel extra thankful.

Abby and I saw Catching Fire.
We may or may not have screamed at the monkey part.

Fraggle Julie

Jane helped me make dinner;
when we put on our aprons, she said, "We are adorable."

Holy crap, Emmett kills me dead with his cute smile.

"Normal" is quite rare for a picture with me and Seth...

Told ya.

Jackson and his sock gloves.

We had a tickle fight. I feel like we both won.

Also: Jackson ate ham! PROTEIN, baby!

Mom, Dad and I visted with Gramma the day before Thanksgiving...

Kaylee painted my fingernails (and Mom's) after Thanksgiving dinner.

She also painted Mom's nails.
We loved how she'd grab one finger with her entire hand to hold it still :)

Checking to see if it's dry...

Oh, golly, this boy Derek has got my heart...

I love Marshall and his toothless smile.
My mom told him, "If you lose any more teeth, you'll have to eat baby food!"

I shellacked Janel and Kaylee's fingers and toes.
Marshall wanted to feel the warmth of the UV light (or, as we liked to call it, the "oov lamp.")

Jane put that banana there to make a face.
Isn't she awesome?

Jane helped me peel/core/slice the apples.
Her payment was bits of apple, plus some of the skin.

This cute little nugget wouldn't go down for a nap one day,
so I treated her to some popcorn and milk. Naturally.

 I also spent a lot of time with the adults in my family, but they're less adorable than their offspring, or their offspring's offspring...

Mom and I went to see The Book Thief in Ogden on Black Friday (away from the stores and the throngs of shoppers!). We cried. It was fantastic...

I was with my family for nearly nine days, and leaving them in Utah as I drove back to Idaho was a big bummer for me. Good thing Christmas is just around the corner. AND it's a good thing there are lots of fun and awesome things happening between now and Christmas. 

It really is the most wonderful time of the year...