Shoveling Snow with Daddy!

Avery got to do some snow shoveling with her Daddy yesterday morning. 

She did a great job, and they looked so darn cute that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a picture of my two favorite people! Happy snow day!!

Melt my heart.

The Festival of Trees

We took another girls day and went up to Salt Lake for the Festival of Trees. We had a good time enjoying the talents of other people. There were so many beautiful trees, wreaths, gingerbread houses, quilts, and other odds and ends to see. Some of the trees were funny, others were sad. The proceeds all go to the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake, so many of the displays were dedicated to children with illnesses or who have passed away. Reading their stories broke my heart. How grateful I am to have a healthy baby girl!! 

Avery loved it. There were so many kids for her to see, bright lights, fun colors, etc. She is also learning to wave, and spent much of the day with both arms in full swing, saying hello to whomever we passed.  

I took the next two pictures for my sister Allison. She loves ice cream, and so do I. This display was called Happiness = Ice Cream, and included all things ice cream. There was even a year supply of ice cream from the BYU creamery. I wished that I could have bought it. Yum, yum, yum. 

 I had to get a close up of the ice cream cone nativity. So cute!

And this gingerbread house picture is for my wonderful husband, Josh. I thought he would be impressed with the hobbit homes...I certainly was.

Thanksgiving 2012- St. George

This year for Thanksgiving, the Pugmire clan made the trip down to St. George, UT to visit Grandma and Grandpa Wright. We had such a wonderful time! The weather was, of course, beautiful! We enjoyed clear skies and 65 degrees. 

Grandma Jean had her Christmas room all ready for us. She loves to get all of her snowmen singing at one time. And so does Hayden... 

 The chefs. Thanks you two for a delicious meal!!

 Noobs.

 I don't know which picture is better....but with the combination of both of them, you get both Avery and Grandpa Lynn looking at the camera. 

One of the highlights of the trip for me was when Tami, Jean, Josh and I got to go to the St. George temple. This is something that has been on our St. George "bucket list" for a while now, and we finally made it happen! It was my first time in that temple and I was amazed. It is so so so beautiful! When I think about those early temples and how much work went into building them, I am filled with gratitude for the early saints. They sacrificed so much so that they could enjoy the blessings of the temple and share those blessings with others. What amazing work they did! 

The Boise Temple Dedication

We had the opportunity to go up to Boise for the rededication of the temple. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. My testimony of the temple grew so much as I sat in the sealing room where Josh and I were sealed and had nearly an hour to just ponder. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood. I am so grateful for temples on the earth today. I am so grateful that Josh and I were able to be sealed for time and all eternity. I am so grateful that Avery is also able to be with us forever. What incredible blessings!!! We are so blessed to have temples. I wish that I could adequately express the peace and happiness that they bring into my life.

I was really bad about taking pictures on this trip. So here is the one and only picture that I took. Matthew, Benjamin, Avery and me.

Halloween 2012

This year for Adobe's Halloween party, Josh dressed up as "photoshopped". We had fun getting his outfit together. Clean cut and sharp on the left, zombie on the right. Here are a couple shots of the whole get up. We were scared that Avery would be afraid of the face paint, but she didn't seem to mind. 

Halloween is a big deal at Adobe. This year there were over 9,000 people in attendance at their party. Josh worked hard with his co-workers to decorate all week long and we had a wonderful time!

Avery was an adorable little cupcake, and I was a baker!

 Kiley and some other princesses at the party.

 Courtney and Matt.

The cupcake and the baker.

And on Halloween night...we added the chef! I personally loved the mustache. We had a great time.

Pumpkin Carving

 Hayden loves carving pumpkins.

The Finished Product.

Witch Fest at Gardner Village

We had a girls day today at Gardner Village's Witch Fest. Tami, Kiley, Cheri, Cara, Carli, Ellla, Avery and I went up together and we had a wonderful time. We look at cute clothes, walked on crunchy leaves, took pictures with pumpkins, and enjoyed all of the cute Halloween decorations. 

 Cute witch with her frog.

He he he. If you can't read that...it says Witchy Poo.

Pumpkins.

Grandma.

Melissa's Golden Birthday

This year, I turned 24 years old. Thus, it was my "Golden Birthday." I had a wonderful day. Josh surprised me with flowers, we got to have lunch with him at work, dinner with the Pugmires at Wingers, and then Courtney and Matt came over that night. Birthdays always help me to remember how blessed I am. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life who love me and go out of their way to make me feel special.

The Pumpkin Patch

We got to take Avery to a pumpkin patch to pick out her very first pumpkin! 

 This one was a little too big....

Avery wasn't quite sure about pumpkin shopping. But Mom and Dad had fun! We think this will be more exciting as she gets older.

Our little pumpkin. We love fall.

Making Breakfast for Grandpa

Avery and I get the opportunity a couple of times a week to make breakfast for Grandpa Junior. Some days I get it done and up to him before Avery ever wakes up, but other days...she's my little helper. Last Wednesday, Brian came down as Avery was helping me and  asked if he could take a few pictures of Avery. He felt that it was just the perfect picture, and I have to say, they turned out pretty cute. Here's a few of them:

Therapy with Grandpa Junior

Avery and I have been taking Grandpa Junior to therapy a lot. We have fun while he works hard. His therapist, Shane, often brings out balls or other toys for Avery to play with. She is the star of the show. When we don't come with him, everyone is always asking about where that cute baby is! Here's a picture of us after one of our walks down the hall and back with Grandpa.