December 26th

Happy third anniversary to us! We are so happy we made the decision to get married and every year just gets better and better! 

Past few months!

I haven't blogged in months...but here's a little catch-up of some stuff that has happened since September. 

We went to Lake Tahoe with John's family. It was so much fun and Jacob loved playing with his cousins 24/7. I had actually never been to Lake Tahoe (driven past it a million times), but every time my family has gone I was at BYU and unable to go. It's gorgeous!

Look at the blue water!

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

 Grandma Shafer with the boys and thanks to John's parents for setting up a fun trip!

We moved in September too! It was a crazy month. Here's Jacob helping to take stuff down the stairs to the car. He's actually a really good helper! He helps me with everything :)

Picking pumpkins at a pumpkin patch and dressing Jacob as a pirate. I was surprised he liked this costume so much...he thought the hat was the coolest thing ever. Mostly I picked this costume because it was in the first and only halloween store I went in :) It wasn't too baby-ish or too scary. So it worked for me, and luckily he loved it!

Trunk or treat. He learned how to say "Trick-or-Treat" quickly, but he had just as much fun handing out candy.

Halloween night we trick or treated at a few houses on our street and then came home to see what he got. I think the only candy he ate out of that pile were the m&m's (his favorite candy) and the pretzels. We still have a bag full of halloween candy in our pantry...I'm loosing my love for chocolate I guess ;)

October brought on some challenges as well. It wasn't an easy month especially with a toddler who suddenly decided one day he had had enough naps and was over them. I knew he wasn't ready to give them up for good though because he would be exhausted and crazy the rest of the day if he didn't have one. The main struggle was that he would try to climb out of his big crib and he was about to fall or he would completely climb out of his porta crib. For a whole week nap time was a fight and it often ended up with me giving in:

He won and got to fall asleep on the couch to a movie. Long story short...I had to retrain him to take naps and luckily it worked.

 Jacob has discovered his love for tools. Just like his dad. Enough said!

Getting his first haircut from my sister, which basically consisted of trimming off his curls.

Thanksgiving time brought a lot of fun as we stayed at my sister's house for a few days and parents' house for a couple weeks. He loved playing with his cousins.

We went to a few of Michael's basketball games!

We also went to a Lucy's (my adorable new niece) baby blessing and spent the day at Ben and Jenny's house.  

Checking out a train expo. He loved seeing all the trains.

He had so much fun at Grandma Cole's house that sometimes he just didn't want to go to bed. Who would want to miss out on all the fun?! Below he had climbed out of the porta crib and again had fallen asleep on the floor since he didn't know how to turn my mom's door knobs and get out.

December has been filled with getting our tree and putting up lights, play group dates, Christmas parties, and listening to Christmas music. I love December! And I love hearing Jacob say Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas ("Ho Ho mer mismas"), "Baby Jesus," and "Santa baby" :)

Weekend Fun

The last two weekends have been really fun! We finished off August with a weekend at both grandparents' houses and a weekend filled with fun at home. We first went down to see my parents and stayed with them for a few days and then we went to John's parents' home and stayed with them for two days. The only pictures I took that weekend were of Jacob with his cousin William (well besides the picture of John on the side of the road with our car and a tow truck...or should I say tow beetle. But that's another story). These two love to play together!

We always love to spend time at our parents' houses!

Labor day weekend was kicked off Saturday morning with a round of mini golf! On the first hole I was trying to teach Jacob how to hold the club...

...when he quickly said, "No!" He tore the club out of my hands and I quietly stepped back to watch the pro ;)

It was a beautiful day, and hot! 

Sometimes he looked like he was playing hockey...

Sometimes he cheated...

And at other times it was pretty fun to just run along the colorful paths!

We love weekends!

Shasta and Favorites

We went to Lake Shasta last week for a few days with my immediate and extended family. It was really fun to spend time with my siblings as well as some of my cousins that I don't get to see too often. This was Jacob's first time on a lake and I think it was a success!

Jacob loved throwing rocks into the lake!

Since we were on a house boat with lots of people going in and out, the only hope for a nap during the day was on the speed boat. He wasn't too fond of the life jacket at first, but quickly realized he had to wear it. 

My sister, Ash, got him to sleep on the boat one day.

Happy after his nap!

Michael on the wake surf. This is my favorite thing to do behind the boat! 

Hiking the "River Run" is a tradition. You hike up the river and at the top of the hike there is a small pool and natural rock water slide. It's pretty fun to climb up and go down the slide. I believe this the best kind of hike because even though it's 106 degrees outside you stay cool while doing it!

James and Jacob in their matching swimsuits! Sarah and I bought them together a few months ago and we finally got a picture of the boys wearing them together. 

And you can't beat the late evening boat runs! 

 The trip was short, but it was really fun! I'm so glad we went and were able to hang out with my family:)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks. It's been hot here (102, 104, 106) which I actually enjoy. Here's Jacob at a stake event drinking water. And don't worry, that's not sweat...we just poured water all over him to keep him cool :)

Gotta love that hair!

These two were holding hands at a ward party for awhile. They were too cute!

I've been seeing this face a lot lately. It's a new one. He's obviously not very happy and he'll make this face at people he doesn't know when they say something to him. Confession: I think it's pretty cute but I would never let him know that ;)

He loves trains and especially loves when we get to ride on one.

The schools in our town started yesterday and I'm happy I'm not personally affected by this yet. I love this stage of life and in my book, summer is still going strong!

Maui 2012

We went to Maui in the beginning of July but I'm just now sorting through all the pictures. July has been a really fun, memorable month and it's gone by way too fast! I just realized I was only home less than half the month, but I guess that's what summer is all about!

My two older sisters blogged more in depth on our Hawaii trip and you can read the more in depth, day by day versions here and here. I chose a few (okay, maybe a lot) of my favorite pictures from the trip and here they are:

Outside the airport.

Hike at national park.

Black sand beach.

Bamboo forest hike.

Downtown Lahaina.

Family :)

Loving the waves!

Married couples.

James and Jacob.

Sisters!

More family :)

Turned 18 months that day!

Scuba!

Cheeseburger Paradise.

Fake cheeseburger (he was hungry)!

4th of July

Parasailing.

Getting dunked!

Luau punch :)

Family pic before luau.

 It was a really, really fun vacation and the best part of it was spending so much time with my family! I can't believe the trip is over and done, but I am so happy I have the memories that will last forever.

And don't forget to check out this awesome video my brother in law, Dan, made of our trip! Just click the link below.