Busy...Busy...Busy

We are finding ourselves busier and busier this holiday season and we are loving every minute of it. But I must admit when we have the opportunity to catch our breathe, we enjoy the simple moments and quiet down time.

We had the opportunity to attend the Utah's Symphony Messiah Sing In, compliments of my dad and with the help from Grandma and Grandpa Maudsley who stepped in at the last minute to help with the kiddos. (Thank you so much). This event was such a wonderful way to begin the Holiday season. The music was so beautiful and the soloists sang with such power and grace. Did I mention that this was one of our first outings since Gavin had been born and I must admit it felt nice to actually be able to enjoy an evening with my hubby!!






Dad is truly the kids favorite person in the whole wide world. He is always up for a classic movie of Cinderella, and snuggle time.

Our play group attempted to attend the Festival of Trees with our kids Little did we know we would spend more time in the Kids Korner that actually looking at the trees. One tree that caught Kenedy's attention was bright blue with Cinderella apparell draped throughout.










A day of shopping at Southe Towne Mall turned into Kenedy's day of fun.

Tis' the season

After a long night of fighting the crowds and standing in lines I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a train. The day after Thanksgiving has always been the day we go and cut down our Christmas tree up near Farmington. Since I was not feeling so swell and Gavin was so young we decided to stay home and leave the tree cutting to Dad and Kenedy.

This is kind of a huge responsibility, ever since our first Christmas where I picked out the BIGGEST, FATTEST tree ever we have yet to find one as great as "Fluffy". Garrett knew the pressure was on, and after much time combing the mountain for the perfect tree Kenedy and Grandma Sydney found the perfect tree. I must say it is a monster of a tree and needed a little work but all said and done, and I would have to say it was a success.

As you can see it still needs a little work and a lot of decorating but when we are finished this baby will glow with pride.

Time flies when you're having Fun

I can't believe that we are already well into December, I am still recovering from Halloween (which I thought just ended last week). I am realizing that once summer ends and fall begins the months just blend together with never ending parties, good food, and wonderful friends and family.

So we will start with Thanksgiving: Garrett and I had been preparing ourselves for a full day of feasting, starting at Grandma Sydney's and shortly there after heading straight to Grandma Jo's for round 2. We were so excited but as we approached the first meal we realized that our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we were full with at least a half plate of food left to finish. No worries give me 5 minutes and I will be ready to continue. As we sat around the table and spoke of all the things we were thankful for I couldn't narrow it down to just thing that I am grateful for I thought I would elaborate a litle bit more:

1. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to live in this wonderful country and have the freedoms that comes with living in America.

2. I am grateful for my parents who taught me by example how to live the gospel to the fullest and the blessing that come from being obedient.

3. I am so blessed to have good health and youth currently on my side ( though my age continues to creep up on me faster that I would like it to).

4. I am grateful for my two little peanuts who make my life full of joy and laughter each and every day. I truly can't get enough of them.

5. I am grateful for a kind, wonderful, loving, patient, youthful-hearted husband who always makes me feel like I am the best at everything. I love his quiet wit, which I know he gets from Grandma Paitience. He is my best friend who I expect to also play the role of my best girl friend from time to time when I just need to vent.

6. I am grateful for the numerous temples so close and for the continued growth of temples that have become even closer for us. (Therefore, no excuses.)

I am grateful for so many things I could go on forever, but these are just to name a few.

Round 2 at Grandma Jo's started with a fashion show from Cinderella and Snow White, and was followed by another wonderful feast with great conversation and wonderful family. As things were winding down, I thought our little clan would head home and get ready for a good night sleep. I was wrong. Leave it to Andy to round everyone up for a shopping excursion starting at Midnight. He just couldn't wait to get out there and shop for his cute wife Jessica and I have a problem of not being able to say "NO" so of course I was in. What was I thinking? I avoid crowds at all costs. I don't even love to shop and here I was standing in the cold, sleep-deprived waiting for the doors to open.

At midnight the Christmas season became official and we went to town. I was mostly in charge of holding everyones bags or helping them find a certain size but we had a blast and partied all night long. Thank you Andy.

Halloween

This year Halloween seemed to be a party for the whole month of October. Between Neighborhood parties, family parties, work parties and play group outings Kenedy was able to put her costume to the durability test ( it barely made it to the 31st). She loved being a fairy and practically wore her Magic crown" to bed every night. Gavin got off a little easy this year. I wasn't planning on dressing him in anything, for he was too little to fit into much. As we were getting ready for the neighborhood party I stumbled upon a "red pepper" outfit that belonged to a friend. It fit perfectly and wasn't too uncomfortable for him. He was only tortured for one party and then he made sure to be asleep for all other outings so I wouldn't get him dressed up for the occasion. Here are just a few pictures of our Halloween festivities.

Children's Museum...again.

Quick picture of the Peanut "fix'n" at the Children's Museum. She is not letting her broken arm slow her down.

Life at home

With two little ones around we find ourselves spending our days at home. Sometimes we are able to get ready and others are spent in our comfys . Kenedy has become best friends with Meriam the mermaid and story time has become a favorite family time.

Our new little bundle

The big day had come, September 24th. I wasn't scheduled to be at the hospital until 3:30 that afternoon so we tried to fill the day up with things to make the time pass by a little faster. We enjoyed a mellow morning watching a show with Kenedy and taking her to the park.

As 3:30 approched grandma met up with us to stay with the peanut, I became nervous and emotional hoping everything with the delivery would go smoothly.

The drive to the hospital was quiet and after checking in and getting changed things were quickly underway. I was much more aware of the hustle and bustle of everyone around me. The anesthesiologist was wonderful she was our personal photographer inside the operating room shortly after Gavin was born. This picture was taken right after he was cleaned up and weighed. I was a little out of it because behind the sheet the Dr. is sewing me up and I am also told to say "cheese" for the camera.

Big sister took charge in caring for her new baby brother. She wanted absolutely no help in handling Gavin.

Biggest procrastinator….

I want to tell everyone (my family) I am sorry for taking so long to start my blog. I have had the site for a while now, but have been truly intimidated by the task at hand to actually post my first segment. So here we go, let me catch you up on what the Maudsley’s have been up to recently. pre-Gavin We tried to cram in as many outings as possible, because we knew as soon as the 2nd baby came we were going to be home for quite a while…
The Friday before I was scheduled to have a c-section we visited Hogle zoo for the last time as “the three of us”. Kenedy and Garrett enjoyed a stroll over to see the elephant exhibit.

We tried to convince Happy Feet (the penguin) to go for a swim but they were too busy soaking up the sun.

After attending a time share presentation in Park City we hit the Alpine slide. Kenedy refused to ride the merry-go-round, but had a blast with dad on the BIG slide.

Kenedy met up with her good friend Alexis for an outing to the Children’s Museum. She enjoyed making lunch for anyone who crossed her path.



Kenedy and Lexi chatting on the phone while driving. She had such a wonderful time we found ourselves purchasing a year long pass, so if you can’t find us at home we are probably living it up at the Children’s Museum.

Tasty Dessert

For those of you who know me at all know that I love to try new recipes. The most recent treat I made I took to Nash’s baby blessing. I had a few people requesting the recipes so I thought I would just post it here and say that these Caramel-Pecan cheesecake Bars are Super Delicious and rather easy to make.
Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Bars 1 C. Planters Pecans, divided

1 1/2 C crushed Nilla Wafters (about 50)

1/4 C. (1/2 stick) butter, melted

4 pkg.(8 oz.) Cream cheese, softened

1 C. sugar

1 C. Sour Cream

3 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp vanilla

4 eggs

24 caramels (Grandma TIngey also sugguested using the caramel ice-cream topping as a substitute.

1 Tbsp. water

3 squares Baker’s Semi-Sweet baking chocolate

Preheat oven to 325. Lone 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, extending over sides of pan. Remove 1/2 ½ cup of the pecans; set aside. Finely chop remaining pecans. Mix wafer crumbs, chopped pecans and butter. Press firmly onto botton of prepared pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream, flour and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.
Bake 45min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely Place caramels in microwaveable bowl. Add water. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until caramels are completely melted when stirred. Pour over cheesecake; top with the reserved pecans. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake; top with the reserved pecans. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake. Refrigerate at least 4 hrs. Use foil handles to remove cheesecake from pan before cutting into pieces to serve. Store any leftovers in tightly covered container in refrigerator. Makes 32 servings