Gingerbread Houses

This year we continued our tradition of making gingerbread houses with my family. We had Jim's family party up north Saturday afternoon, so we decided to go up Friday and make gingerbread houses Saturday morning. The kids had so much fun and were very creative. Grandma even made homemade gingerbread cookies for them to decorate.

December

December is here and all the craziness of the season has begun. Last weekend we traveled up to Tooele for a family party and then up to Pleasantview for a baptism. We managed to squeeze in the lights at Temple Square on Saturday too. What a way to start off the Christmas season. The lights were beautiful and it was great to spend time with my family again. We will be traveling again next weekend for Jim's family party and then before we know it Christmas will be here!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Douglas Family! We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year as our kids were all gone. We enjoyed the day with Jim's family down in Hurricane. We had an early Thanksgiving on the 22nd with our kids, my mom, Alisha, Carisa, Sammy, Connor, and Dalton so we are all "turkyed out". Today (29th) we went four-wheeling with Jim's sister and her in-laws, about 15 miles south of Hurricane. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time!

Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween! We had a great Halloween here in Cedar. The weather was beautiful here and we only needed light jackets. Alex, Ellie, and Maddie were with their dad and step-mom on Halloween but at least we got to see them dressed up before they left. We had fun carving pumpkins together and the kids really worked hard on their designs. Enjoy the pictures!

Honeymoon

Jim and I had a fabulous honeymoon to Baja Mexico. We stayed in a beach house (about 4000 sq ft) which we had all to ourselves for a week. We had a blast exploring on the beach, bodysurfing, dodging tires on the freeway, and eating delicous seafood and Mexican fare. Jim was a lifesaver with his Spanish and even got us some good deals just because he spoke espanol. On our way home we decided to go to Sea World. I (Jess) had never been and was so excited! I felt like a kid again. The night we stayed in San Diego we stayed at a Marriot and ran into my cousin who was the manager at the hotel. She upgraded us to a really nice room and left treats for us...what a nice suprise! We had a wonderful time and are so grateful to all who helped with the wedding and with watching kids so we could have some time to relax and enjoy.

Ballroom dance

Alex, Trevor and Ellie had the opportunity to perform a pre-show for the SUU ballroom dance team. They practiced for two hours a day for three days and then performed on Saturday November 22, 2008. They all did a fantastic job and had a great time. They were so excited because one bama, Alisha, Carisa, and Sammy all came down and watched their performance.

A Wedding.......

Fall has been a busy time for the Wall and Douglas household.....now the Douglas family! On October 11, 2008 Jim and I were married by my dad. After a fabulous honeymoon to Mexico and Sea World it was back to reality for us. Putting two households into one and blending a family has been no easy task but things seem to be coming together well. The kids love being together and are sad when they are apart. They are all adjusting really well and love having a "big" family! We bought a minivan (which Jim actually admits to enjoying driving....but still loves his Passat). Lots of change but we are all really happy!