gotta catch up!

aaaaa!!! how do i EVER get so far behind on my blog posts?! here's my best attempt at a quick catch up...in random order.

just cute..this girl loves monkeys.

caitlin was awarded the Scholar of the Month award in November. such a smart cookie!!

the girls went to the ward Christmas party with the Bishop's family because they wanted to sing in the program, and we had a residency Christmas party the same night. thanks guys for taking 3 extra kids that night!!

brooke and abs with st. nic

best friends

abs and ems wanted to push their beds together to make a giant bed so they could all have a sleepover in the same room.

abby received her Letter Master award the other day in her class. her teacher is so cute.

i flew out this past weekend for a short 2-day trip to my aunt gloria's house for my grandpa murphy's memorial. it was so nice to be there with family, and my mom and sister were able to be there as well. the memorial was PERFECT. i didn't get as many pics as i wanted, i'll get some from my mom and post them soon. these will have to suffice for now....

mom making some gourmet lasagne

my cute preggo sister sarah and i. she and jake were the masterminds behind the darling gingerbread men.

the military came to play taps and such for my grandpa. it was so sweet...a PERFECT addition to his memorial.

my mom and her siblings paying tribute to the wonderful man my grandpa was.

ok, so this was ADORABLE. my cousin's sweet little baby ryan was SOOO tired, but he just would not fall asleep. they handed him over to bob, and the SECOND he hit bob's shoulder, he was fast asleep.

abby wrote this message for me on her white board the other day and left it downstairs for me to find. how stinkin' cute is that? brownie points, for sure.

christmas time!

emma and the crazy faces she pulls. what a goofball.

my aunt sent my girls an aquadoodle after they fell in love with the one at her house. such a great idea...why have i never seen these before?

when we were in california in october, nate spent a lot of time in gary's shop making a coat rack for by our garage door. it turned out AMAZING...i love it!

the girls and our cute neighbor hayden havin' a sleepover.

first snow to play in....and the girls loved it (surprisingly enough)

thanksgiving at my mom's house with my side of the fam. cute cousins! no boys...and we're pretty sure sare is having a girl too. GIRL POWER!

nielson family thanksgiving. look at these good daddy's taking care of the babies.

boys on cleanup crew.

my girls fight over who gets to hold brinlee every time we're around them.

so i took the girls to feed the ducks/fish at a pond the last day of good weather this fall. we took a bunch of bread, rolls, and buns, and the ducks, seagulls, and fish were LOVING it. until some lady pulled into the parking lot on the other end, and unloaded BOXES and BOXES of bagels and donuts and bread into the pond. she must work for a HUGE bakery, and she must've been getting rid of the stale food. i was irritated at 1st because my girls were having so much fun feeding the ducks, until they realized there was better food somewhere else. but then we started noticing the FUNNIEST thing! the fish would eat the bagels, but they would be pushing them across the pond while eating them. it was so funny to watch a bunch of bagels moving around the pond seemingly by themselves. (video is on the bottom...if it shows up)