Christmas Time at the Brey's!

Home for the holidays!

The "Dicken's Christmas Village!"

One thing I love about being home with family for the holiday's, are all the fun decorations that have been gathered over the years! Growing up, my Dad would always put up this fun little village for us to all gaze at...some years he would put it up, and other's he didn't. It would take a lot of work and effort to lay out the design, make the wood structure underneath, and wire all the lights, etc. I was so excited when he said he was going to be putting up the "Dicken's Village" again this year! I knew that Gabe would love looking at all the little people, just like I did when I was a kid. So I thought I would post some pictures of how incredibly lovely our living room is. One of my favorite things is to turn off all the lights, except for the Christmas ones, and relax in our living room.

Another fun thing, Gabe & I have been doing, is growing our own Christmas tree. Of course, it won't be big enough for this Christmas, but it has been fun planting the tiny seeds and watering it everyday, and finally seeing a little sprig come shooting through! I even tried to smell it and thought I caught the tiniest whiff of pine...mmm. He's a cute little guy, so I thought I would post a picture of him too!

Remembering Christmas in Grenada..

I ran across this picture the other day and I couldn't believe that it has already been almost a year, since our last Christmas when we spent it in Grenada! Wow! Time does fly,...sometimes. ha! I loved this picture and how bright it was...only 10 more days until Ren is back with us!! YAHOO!!

Many Thanks!!

The whole gang!

All the kids with Grandpa!

Finding the "magic button!"

(P.S. I should clarify that Carrie is itching her nose, he.)

Carrie's triplets and Gabe with uncle Cole!

Last night, some of our extended family got together for a mini family reunion at the Olive Garden. It was so neat seeing our cousins and other family memebers who we haven't seen in over 10 years!! Crazy, I know! I think the kids will never forget Uncle Cole and his magic button on his hand....everytime they pushed it his leg or arm would fly up! Needless to say, they chased him around the rest of the night trying to push the "magic button!" Ha! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Only 6 more weeks!

Renny's, sister's husband, Wyatt was kind enough to snap some pictures of me so I could show Ren the growing baby bump. We went up into the Canyon and played around with some of the fall colors. So far Gabe and I have loved being back in Utah, but we really miss our Daddy! We know he is working hard and will be with us very soon!! Thanks everyone who has helped give him food! I wish I could hug you or give you a belly bump. he!

Swing time!

Poor Oakley..

I love this picture. I don't know what made my Mom laugh like that, but it cracks me up!

"Goofy Dog!"

Today, Gabe wanted Grandma to push her on the swing. I looked out the window and had to grab my camera, because of how cute Grandma and Gabe were. My Mom was trying to teach Gabe how to swing on her own, and Gabe was really, really trying. She was so stiff and would lean back akwardly while trying to hold her head upright, it was actually pretty funny. She did a good job trying and luckily, I was able to snap a couple of shots of the two of them having fun outside!

Fun in the leaves!

This past week the weather here in Utah has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Perfect fall weather, and perfect for a good-sized leaf pile! Gabe had a hay day when Grandpa raked together all the leaves in our backyard and let her go crazy in them! It was so fun to watch her run full speed at the pile and then throw herself into them, disappearing in the bouncy, crunchy heap! The last picture makes me laugh, because my Dad would not stop throwing leaves on the pile, even when my mom wanted a picure with Gabe. haha! So there he is, practically throwing leaves on them as I am taking the picture. ha!

Halloween Party!

Pregnant Raggedy-Ann and the most beautiful Mermaid in the Sea!

Gabe, her cousin Finn and a scary witch (Nanna)

Keely and Rick (can you find the green leaf?)

The Toy Story clan (I think Buzz was being called up by his Intergalatic friends..)

Getting hooked!

Building lego pumpkins!

The Goodies!

Dylan and his lego pumpkin!

Yum!!

Summer, Wyatt and Finn always put on a fantastic halloween party every year, and this year was no different! They decorated their house so cute and even had gummi eyeballs, lollipop fingers, gangly skeleton's and all the other spooky, fun things you see at halloween! Gabe had such a fun time being with all her cousins again for the first time since we have been back in Utah. It took her a minute to start talking, which is usually the case, but then she was off and trying to get the scary witch (played by Nanna) to come and chase them! Let me also say, that Nanna was having too much fun scaring all the kids! ha! Anyways, it was so much fun and a great way to get everyone in the halloween mood!

1 Cup of sweet

1 Cup of sweet-no border, originally uploaded by Casey McDaniel.

The sweet things in life, make living good. Today, I bought some strawberries and instead of letting Gabe eat the whole tin, I started to take a bite of one...and then another, and another. ha! I had forgotten how incredibly delicious a ripe strawberry could be. I won't be making that mistake twice!

A wedding in Autumn.

My sister, Nicki just got married 3 days after we arrived in Utah. Everything went very smooth on the day of the wedding which is always a worry for every bride and their mother. Luckily, everyone pulled it off up to the last minute and let the stress of preparation melt away as the ceremony began.
Can I just say, I LOVED her flowers. The colors were brillant and so exquisite together. I kept saying outloud, I love your flowers! ha! Maybe it had something to do with the fall tone and beautiful autmun hues they brought out, that had me remembering why I love fall so much. Nicki also looked incredibly beautiful! I loved her hair too! And the way she wore it that day. Here are a couple of pictures,..I need to work on some more, but for now this little bunch will have to do. :)

Sisters!

She'll be comin' around the christmas tree when she comes..

So it's offical! We finally have very concrete confirmation, that we are going to be having another little GIRL!! When I got back to Utah, I went in to see my Doctor and get an ultrasound, to find out for sure what we were having. The lady giving me the ultrasound was having a hayday looking at the baby, since it was so developed (I was 29 weeks at the time). We were both pretty excited to be able to see everything so clearly! Here are some pictures of the ultrasounds,...I know it might still be hard to tell what everything is, but for the most part, I hope you can make it out. :)
Also, my ultrasound put my due date ON Christmas Day, so after talking to my doctor (who is not working Christmas, and some of the other days nearby), we have decided the best thing is to be induced on Dec 21st! So, this new little babe is on her way during the holiday season! We are so excited to bring her home and add her to our little family!