let there be LIGHTS

We had so much fun freezing our patooties off last night with the Riggs at temple square. THe lights were gorgeous (though the boys seem to think they've scaled down a bit?) and it was nice to get out and do something relaxing and Christmas-ey with our friends. This Holiday season has been a touch too hectic for my taste, so this was a welcome change of pace. 

It was 19 degrees, so the only pic we got with Max was when we transitioned him from the car to the stroller. It was a MAJOR mistake to forget a hat. 

The lovely Hadley had a blast running around with her cousins. For the record, on the way there, she asked her mom if she was going to wear her wedding dress, and then later asked if she was going to see heaven and Jesus at the temple. How SWEET is that? Well Hadee, not LITERALLY, but yes. =)  Then when we were talking about the Nativity scene, she asked if she was going to be able to touch the baby Jesus. Mom and Dad said no, to which she replied 

"oh yea, because we don't have hand sanitizer."

HAAAAA! 

He got to soak in the lights thisaway. 

Really it was that freezing. he has another blanket, a coat and a scarf under there bytheway. 

I was obsessed with the floating candles

It was overall a beautiful night, and a little outing to Litza's Pizza afterwards didn't hurt either. 

mmmmmm....

Thanks for the invite RIGGS!

p.s. some of you remember the post where i mentioned busting out some cool temple shots to sell on etsy? I haven't forgotten. however, my camera bag was stolen with all my lenses but my 50mm f/1.8. A great lens, but rather limiting for this project given the scale of the temple. However, the first shot from this post WILL be added to the collection. It would perhaps be possible to make it available for Christmas. PERHAPS. e-mail me if interested. 

jesslkettle@yahoo.com

the rest of the project will resume after the first of the year and I am able to replace my equipment. thanks for your patience!

remember when we went to florida?

Oh ya, that trip I took over a month ago? maybe I should actually blog about it huh? Mostly, there was a lot of haning out at the beach, playing with friends and a little bit of Disney. Very fun. I am trying to get caught up on my blog, so I am going to try to keep it simple. 

my maxter loved the beach, but didn't like to get too close to the water. he's more of a sand type of guy. . .

Our friends the MOODYs were there too (we actually just tagged along for one of chris' golf tournaments) and we had so much fun with them! Noah and Max got along great and I had lots of fun taking pictures of him one afternoon- you couldn't ask for a cuter subject!

naked bum noah!

Max and Noah just chillaxin' on the balcony- they remind us of their dads!

On the way to DISNEY WORLD!

took this from the car window- actually kinda like it!

Max warmed up to Mickey and Minnie...

after an uncertain first impression. haha! We went to the wild animal kingdom and Disney World and we just didn't have enough time to make the most of it all. Guess we'll have to come back soon!

one of the ONLY pictures of the three of us during the trip! ha!

mr. kettle

oh how i love you, playing dress up to look just like daddy. i'll take YOU 

wrapped up in a bow under my tree. you can be my very special present and I will nibble your cheeks and pinch your bum all christmas long.

several people have asked what my camera settings were for the tree shot. here you go:

1/40 s f/1.8 ISO 640 and hold still. =) Also, I shot this in raw rather than jpg. the lights were off other than the ones on the tree. I did pretty much the typical editing, but I lifted the midtones quite a bit in curves.  

oooooh christmas tree

well, here's our whole tree! it's real and soooo yummy smelling! we've since added a few more presents, but still no tree skirt. I was going to make one... we'll see.

congratulations little genius

this is my little love lindsey, who i have been best friends with since 5th grade. 

i am so proud of her for graduating from USU in interior design this week!

way to go girl, YOU EARNED IT! 

now go use those brain cells and make your way in the big bad world. 

i feel like i should quote something from

"the places you'll go"

but i'll spare you. =)

modern granny

I have been really into doilies lately so

 when I saw this on the nesting blog, 

I had to check it out.

don't you think this chandelier

would be perfect in my kitchen?

or maybe my guest room. 

yeaaaaaa.

casa sugar has lots of modern doily ideas and

i want them. 

all of them. 

so glad they came...

 

this post is waaay overdue, but I am trying so hard to get caught up! here are some pics and words about Owen and Brittany coming to visit (missed you Joe!). 

I snuggled him asap. that meant in the front seat of my car (duh, in park) while waiting for Britt to get her bag. It was heaven. 

we didn't have lots of time together, so we had to do our favorite things. ONE- shopping. Love this baby store! I don't get baby hungry much these days. ok, ever. but I sure was while trying out this sling with O-BABY. I feel strangely possessive of him and while I packed him around, I swear I could have kept him forever and forgotten that I didn't give birth to him myself. I guess that's cuz Britt is like a sister to me, so Owen is my nephew. But really, we're a lot like the same person, so maybe he really is mine...? logically. 

TWO: eating. sugar! the boys were drooling [more than usual that is] over the cupcakes!

cute place huh?

lots of nibbling...

even owen got a teeny taste!

don't let him fool you. 

that's what happened when they were gone. 

THREE: pictures. Here are just a FEW favorites. 

and a couple of Max too. =)

Asays we miss you SOOOOO much! come again soon. or better yet, we'll come see YOU soon!

btw, you can browse more pics of owen  and our adventures on my FLICKR page. 

it's beginning to look a little like christmas...

or at least the tree is finally up! My dear friend Lyns came up for a sleepover and tree decorating party on Saturday. It got a little messy...

But we had lots of fun. And we had a very lovable but very late night party crasher. Little booger. He loved watching us try to put the lights on the tree (pathetic as we were) and was so interested in all the ornaments. Secretly I loved that he was awake for it. There's something that feels a bit magic about putting up a tree and I have such fond memories of doing it with my family growing up. I love that we are starting the same thing with him.

 

This guy has suddenly started to turn into a TWO YEAR OLD [noooooooooo! not yet!]. It is alllll about attitude and mischief around here. Literally this hit over the course of the last week. 

I have a feeling that Max and the tree will be having lots of face time this year. Last year he liked the tree but was not exactly mobile. Therefor we were all in the clear (me, my ornaments, the tree and Max).

Talk about guilty! How funny is my little man- caught red handed!

don't miss it this year...

oh. you better believe i'm going to be there at 9 tonight!

caroline and i are going to go down early to set up her 

GORGEOUS JEWELRY

(she made the necklace I wore on Studio 5 last time)

Last year it was so much fun and I spend WAY too much.

 This is no vinyl party or cookie lee shindig. Everything is handmade and SERIOUSLY cool.

It's a little like Etsy all smooshed into one room. 

oh, and we're not bringing babies. 

can't wait!!!

wishing...

max whispered in my ear this morning that if he doesn't get these shoes for Christmas, he will die. really he did. 

i hope santa has lots of extra money this year... why are all the cute boy shoes sooo pricey?

I love you so much my gif. 

I can't believe you're 16!! wooohoo!

I am so blessed that God gave me 

a little sister

who is also my best friend

so kind

max's idol

a total babe

who leaves me little blog messages

and seriously way too cool

too gorgeous 

and talented for only 16 years...

instead of another little brother. 

Kenz, you amaze me. I love and RESPECT you so much. You are the most beautiful girl I know, inside and out. You have a heart like no one else.  I mean that. 

thankful

for my healthy, sweet, beautiful boy
my best friend, my husband
my crazy family
and that I was able to spend the holiday eating at ONE table with 40 of them
during our little getaway to Sandpoint
which is far more beautiful in the winter than I remembered.

I feel so blessed.

my sister is silly

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well hello everyone!!!!! this is jessicas sister Mackenzie!!!! just wanted to say hi. jessica left her blog logged in on my computer so i felt it would be patheticly dumb and lame if i did not take this once in a life time chance to write something!!!! well i love this girl and her fam!!! they are the greatest people ever! i love seeing them and thanksgiving was wonderful! for those of you that live in UTAH.... just wnat you to know that i am jelous...!!! well thanks for putting up with me!!!! love you jess danny and max!!!! 

                Love,    

        Mackenzie E. Rands

p.s. my sister took this amazing pic!!!!