Thanksgiving Weekend

My family came down to Utah for the Thanksgiving break and it was so fun! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws house, shopped, rode horses, saw the lights at Temple Square, attended the infamous Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork, and had one crazy game of Monopoly! We also had a special guest of honor, the BFF Brittani! I hadn't seen her since she has been home from her mission, and it was so great to spend some quality time with her! Thanksgiving went by way too fast, now I am counting down the days until we get to go to Washington for Christmas Break!

Good thing we had Britt with us to be our Tour Guide through SLC. This picture was taken on the TRAX, gotta love the public transportation system ( just so you know I am a total regular riding the UTA these days- funny) We all look so happy in that pic- the bus started to move unexpectedly right when the picture was snapped- priceless!

The kids loved riding horses and running around out in the fields with them. Collin kept turning to me and saying, "I thought these horses were tamed Kari!" he had a little bit of a rough ride on Little Bug.

And of course, I have to add this picture in just for good measure. My sisters are the bomb, seriously.

I am grateful for...

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I have been thinking about all the things I am so grateful for in my life. I have been so blessed in so many ways, especially in the past year. My top seven things I am thankful for this year...

1. I am grateful for Zachary- Love this man- don't know where I would be without him!

2. I am grateful for my Family - Seriously, my family is the bomb- they are coming tonight and I can't wait!

3. I am grateful for my Johnson Family - My in-laws are amazing, and I am so grateful to live so close to all of them; and those nieces and nephews of mine are so stinkin' cute!

4. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be going to school and finishing my education. I love school and the friends I have made in my classes- I just have to keep reminding myself my homework really is a blessing!

5. I am grateful for good friends and the fun times we share.

6. I am grateful for the freedoms I enjoy while living in this Country.

7. I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Ward I attend, and my calling to teach a Sunday School class, those 12 year olds teach me so much!

I can't wait for Thanksgiving and am SO excited to spend some much needed time with my family (wish you were coming Kristin and Dave!) We plan on doing some shopping, some 4 am shopping the day after Thanksgiving, some eating, some game playing, and lots of laughing! Hope you all have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Loving these pretty necklaces from Anthro. I want ALL of them!

Pumpkin Carving

We had our friends Lance and Portia over last week to carve pumpkins. Portia is one of my friends from school and I don't know what I would do without that girl in my classes- truly a lifesaver! We always have some good laughs and keep each other entertained!

All of our beautiful pumpkins- don't even worry that Zachary carved the "groovy" pumpkin with heart shaped eyes. I learned I should stick to a pattern! This was the first year that I made pumpkin seeds and they turned out so good, we can't get enough of them! A lil' birthday shout-out to my best friend Nataley who celebrates her birthday on Halloween- love you girl- hope your birthday was awesome! ;)

King of Bonkers Tree Trunks!

The past two weekends we spent up at Zachary's parents cabin property clearing out these huge trees and brush! Let me just say, I am SO grateful for the modern machinery we have that can help us do this huge task! It felt good to get out in nature and do some work, and we had some fun times dreaming about our future days up at the cabin when it is all done and built!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

For Family Home Evening on Monday night we went to the Red Barn with all of the Johnsons (we missed you Kirk and Rachel!) It was so much fun and we made it out of there just before the sun went down. Of course we had to get some ice cream afterwards which was the bomb. I got Blueberry pie and it was delicious! I was so happy with that pumpkin that I picked out, I can't wait to carve a big jolly face on it!

All the cute kiddos. We're so glad we have our nieces and nephews to tag along with for all these activities. It just wouldn't be as fun without them! I took about 15 pictures of this pose and believe it or not, this is the best one I got!

Zachary with our cute nephew Cam. Cam forgot his shoes so Zachary was carrying him around the pumpkin patch and would tip him down to the ground head first to check out the pumpkins he thought he might want. They were quite the pair!

We had so much fun and it was so nice to spend some extra time with the family, I definitely think we will need to make this a tradition! It is so weird but I am already totally in the Christmas Spirit. I hope it's just a phase or Christmas will take forever to get here!

Does anyone know any classic Halloween movies we could rent that will get us back into the right season?

love on the inside

I am lovin' this CD, and can sing along to every song. That's when you know it's good.

We had a great weekend spending time around the house. Conference weekend is always so relaxing. We loved the talks that were given and were uplifted and inspired. In between sessions Zachary taught me how to ride a dirtbike which was an adventure! I am a total pro now and ready to hit the trails, Just Kidding!