T-giving and Apes

Ever since we returned from Utah for Brian's sweet Grandpa's funeral, I've been in a sweet, lazy funk. It didn't help that I got very sick on the flight home which cascaded into a sick little family for the next week.  There was a nasty virus that hit almost every member of my family.  At first, we thought it was food poisoning since my mom, my little sister, and I all had the same rough night. But as it swiftly diffused through eight other family members, we threw away that idea.
  I haven't had too many post inspirations lately, and that last month flew by. I cannot believe that its Christmas season.  Also, I'm turning 24 (I think) on the 12th of December.  Happy birthday to me!  Brian got me a nice new Canon EOS Rebel xs for a sneaky early present.  In the near future I'm gonna litter this blog with fantastic photography, probably!  Not today though, still waiting for the SD card in the mail.  BTW, I would love any tips on editing, lighting, how to  actually use my camera, etc.

Isn't she beautiful?

Lately, I've just been enjoying cold weather and comfort food and new friends and baby teething.  The baby teething part is a funny ironic joke.  Scarlett's world gets turned upside down when she gets a new tooth, and it  especially effects her sleep habits.  Curse you, stuffy noses and little fevers and wakeful nights! We had a great sleep system down! Sleepless nights aside, it is all totally worth it for sweet moments like this:

 Scarlett loves her dad and her apes.  Whenever I call them monkeys, Brian corrects me. She has a few different species of toy apes, not just in the monkey family. I am thankful for his insightful distinction.

Our Thanksgiving was awesome thanks to our Utah-transplant-orphan ward.  When we don't have family around, we just get together and make a new one.  We had a Thanksgiving dinner with the institute the Friday before actual Thanksgiving, then another meal on the blessed Thursday.  Thanksgiving morning we played volleyball with our ward and a flock of sweet silly missionaries, and after our meal we ended up playing basketball after we cleaned up the gym.  It reminded me of home.  I loved it.
    On Friday we slept in and did some midday Black Friday shopping and finally found Scarlett a coat.  Looks cozy right?

        Its basically a straight jacket when combined with her car seat, but she doesn't seem to mind.  It puts her right to sleep.  And those cute boots are from City Creek's H&M from Grandma Green.  We had such a great time paloosing around city creek and looking at cool displays and stuff we couldn't afford.   I'm so excited to visit for Christmas!