Halloween Fun!

 Hi Friends!

Happy October!

What a weird year... The last time I wrote in this blog was April... woah. It feels like so much has changed since then yet somehow it also feels like so much is still standing still. This year has been, well, hard. As I'm sure it has been for most of you too. I guess maybe a better word would be different? And sometimes different feels hard. Especially when it's abrupt. I've spent the past six months thinking things would go back to "normal." any day now. As you can probably assume, that got exhausting and lead to several hard days. I finally feel like I've kind of let go of that idea and instead have just decided to try to do things as "normal" as possible in my home. We LOVE holidays around here. Like so much. I started to feel pretty bummed when I realized the holidays would look pretty different this year. I sat with that for a little bit and then just tried to figure out what I CAN control and what activities my family can still do to make the holidays fun. I wrote down all of our usual traditions and tried to figure out what we can still do, what we can't do, and what we would have to adjust. I then created an October calendar and started to schedule everything in to make sure we watched all the movies, ate all the fall foods, had costumes done on time, etc... I feel soo much better now and we are already making October such a fun month. I'm planning on doing this same thing for November and December so we can still have tons of holiday fun. I encourage all of you moms that are feeling in a rut to do the same thing! I promise it'll bring happiness to you and your family. Holiday traditions are such a blast and your kids will be so happy to have a little normalcy in their lives! Just make or print out an October calendar and start filling in fun fall activities! I made little graphics with some of my personal favorite activities! I hope this helps make your October a little more fun, a little spookier, and a little more normal. 

A few other things I didn't put on the graphic are: 

-Halloween family home evening. I made a highlight with ideas on my IG page! Doing themed FHE is something my kids love! It makes it so fun for them!

-We use a little spider called Spooky Ooky to promote good behavior. I literally just printed out a cute spider, laminated it, and called him spooky ooky. In our house he takes toys to his "cave" (haha just a drawer) and keeps them there til the girls earn them back. He also talks to the girls each night about how they are doing behavior-wise and gives them a hug before bed. At the end of the month he gives them a "Halloween surprise" if they have earned it. They love him so much. Britt from The Holiday Co. does a fuzzy spooking spider. She has a super cute book for it too and shares a lot about him on her IG page. I started doing my version before I knew about hers but I definitely would recommend checking hers out! It's put together so well! 

-Decorate cookies! The first year we moved to San Diego I was so bummed that there weren't very many fun family activities for the holidays since I was used to living in Utah where there is something to do every weekend! So, I threw a little mommy and me playdate where the whole concept originated from the idea to decorate Halloween sugar cookies. It got a little bigger as I started planning... but it was so fun! Since then I haven't thrown that big party but have still made an effort to decorate cookies! Here's a link to the party post! 

-A Spooky Halloween dinner/breakfast. Pinterest has soo many fun ideas but honestly, Trader Joes will be your best friend! They have so many awesome Halloween/Fall themed treats and foods from shaped pasta to pumpkin spice everything! You can also use food coloring to literally dye anything. Black pasta is super fun! I love doing orange pancakes with Halloween sprinkles for breakfast on the 31st. 

Again, it the little things like this that will make holidays soo much fun for the whole family! Figure out a few things that work for your family and run with it! And message me if you have any questions or suggestions!! 

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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2018 Matching Christmas Jammies!

This post is sponsored by City Girl Mercantile. All opinions are mine alone. 

If you've been following along for a while, you know by now that I'm obsessed with matching Christmas jammies for my family. Our first Christmas I had every intention of starting the tradition but I was pregnant and tired and really just wanted nothing to do with clothes... ha! The next year we had Oaklyn and had SO much fun matching! We put them on Christmas Eve and woke up in them so we could open presents in our festive jammies. That has been a tradition ever since. Oaklyn totally got my love of all things festive so she was beyond excited when I told her that our Christmas jammies came in the mail. I was planning on just taking pictures in them and then saving them for Christmas Eve, but she was so happy that I let her sleep in them just this once. Seeing how happy she was and how much she loved them, I may let her wear them a few more times, too. We wear our jammies year round because they're always so cozy and cute! I'm so in love with the style we got this year! This year's jammies are from City Girl Mercantile and may be some of my favorites yet! They are all just a little different but also match so cute! Oaks loves the little polar bear, I love how relatable the sayings are, and Cam looks stinking darling in her footies! I love that they make them just a little different for each size. City Girl Mercantile has a ton of other adorable options, so you're bound to find a style your family loves. I will warn you that even though we love these jammies SO much because they are cute and comfy, you will absolutely need to size up one or two sizes depending on what kind of fit you like. Oaks will be 4 in February and I got her a 5t. Cam is 15 months and I got her size 24 mos. I'm a true s/m and got a small but honestly wish I would've gotten a large. Hunter is a true mens large and wishes he would've gotten an XL. So they're adorable, super snuggly, and arrived in a timely manner... but they for sure run small. If you haven't started many traditions in your family, add this one to your list! It makes Christmas Eve and Christmas morning that much more magical and adorable! Open your jammies, read a festive book, set out cookies for Santa, head to bed, and wake up in the morning snuggly and full of Christmas magic! Make sure to check out City Girl Mercantile's selection!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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A Cozy Christmas

This post is sponsored by Sleepyheads. However, all opinions are mine alone

Today marks only ONE MONTH until Christmas! Can you believe how fast that came?? Maybe it doesn't seem fast for the rest of you, but for me this entire year flew by! We're pretty busy planning our move to San Diego so I've been trying to get things ready for Christmas as fast as possible. One of the first things I thought of is one of my favorite family traditions; matching family jammies for Christmas Eve! Generally, I don't post about our jammies until Christmas Eve but this year I wanted to share the cute and cozy ones I found so you can snag some too! 

I found our jammies at Sleepyheads.com and we love them so much! They had so many options to chose from and they are seriously the comfiest jammies any of us own! Oaklyn thinks it is so fun that she gets to match mommy and daddy and cam looks so adorable in hers! I love this red snowflake collection because they had them in every size we needed! I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to find identical jammies for all of us this year but was so happy when I saw these! I love that they are footed jammies because I know the girls will be cozy sleeping in them. Hunter and I have the feet on ours as well, except ours zip off! This feature was so perfect for Hunter who is really tall. Hunter and I also have a little hood on ours.

So how does this tradition work? Well every year on Christmas eve I wrap up our jammies as one present. I let Oaklyn open it (now Cambria too!) and then we put them on right away! Then we read a Christmas book and get ready for bed. We wake up Christmas morning in our matching jammies and it just feels so festive and fun! We open our presents in our matching jammies and continue to wear them year round because they are just that cozy! I really love this tradition and plan to continue it until our kids find it embarrassing to match their parents, haha!

Because I love Sleepyheads SO much, I can just guarantee that you all will too! So, I have teamed up with them to giveaway up to 4 pairs of these same jammies! This is a quick giveaway so be sure to enter pronto! Comment here with what your favorite gift of all time was! Then head over to my instagram for more entires!

Giveaway will run for 48 hours!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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Blog Link Up: A Thankful Heart '16

Three years ago I decided to do a series of posts during the month of November about all the simple joys in life that I am genuinely so very thankful for. 

Each week, on Sunday, I would post a few things that made my heart feel that much more full.

It could be something as small as the meal I ate the night before or as big as my faith and family.

Either way, it reminded me of the many blessings I have been given and somehow my days felt brighter and my heart felt happier.

There are far, far too many things that I take for granted and it's about time they get some recognition.

Although I fully realize that I should be giving each of these things recognition no matter what time of year it is, November just seemed fitting :)

So once a week from now on, you will be hearing bits and pieces about the things that are giving me "A Thankful Heart"

Around June of this year I began thinking about this link up again.

That's the way things work in the blogging world, you always have to be thinking about the next thing before it happens.

I was so excited because the year had been going great for us and it was only halfway done.

I could already see my posts unfolding and I was just so excited.

Then, the unexpected happened.

On July 30th of this year, we received the tragic news that my father in law unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack.

It rocked our worlds and brought more sadness and stress into our lives than we ever could have been prepared for. 

Amidst chaotically packing and frantically trying to buy a new car (things we needed to do after his passing), this link up popped into my head once again. 

I literally laughed aloud, and to myself thought, "yeah that's not happening this year, there is literally nothing I have to be thankful for right now."

Once most of the chaos died down, I met up with Natashia for a play date at the park.

We sat and talked while eating lunch and watching our babies play.

I think I had talked to Natashia like two other times in my life, and yet I felt completely comfortable spilling my deepest thoughts and feelings out to her.

She listened and understood my emotion, and shared a bit about her miscarriage earlier this summer.

We sat there after sharing these deep feeling of sorrow and began talking about the blessings that have come from these horrible trials, and suddenly my world began to get brighter.

We started hanging out weekly along with Steffanie and it quickly became very obvious to me that these were the friends I had been waiting to find.

They made the craziest days instantly better and I felt so comfortable with them instantaneously.

That's when I decided that this link up has to happen this year, if only for myself... to understand all the blessings in my life amidst the chaos and trials.

So I asked them to throw an event with me to promote it and to co-host each week, and here we are doing my very favorite posts of the year all over again :)

This last year I decided to include every other blogger that wants to participate in this series by creating a link up so we can all read each other's reasons to be thankful easier and get inspired through each other's gratitude.

All the rules will be listed below the reasons I'm feeling extra thankful on this same post.

The linkup will go live every Sunday at 12 am MST. 

Bloggers will be able to submit their own "thankful heart" posts each week.
I'm hoping this link up will be a fun place to make friends, reflect on all you have to be thankful for, inspire and uplift, and grow your blogging community.

This is not just for those that claim to be "bloggers" but anyone that has a blog!

Anyone that enjoys writing on their little piece of the internet :)
Happy Posting!

1) My Motherhood Journey

Should I start out sappy? Yeah I think so. My Oaklyn girl is my best friend. She is everything I could have dreamed of in a daughter and more. She definitely has a spicy personality, but I wouldn't trade those tantrums for the world because she is my greatest adventure. I've been a mother for almost two years now, but the journey started nine months before that when I saw two pink lines on a pregnancy test with tears in my eyes. Motherhood has taught me more than I could've ever imagined. From the moment I felt my tummy and said "there's a baby in there, my baby is in there!" to just tonight when I kissed her little forehead three times while whispering good night just as I always do, it has been an incredible journey. My motherhood journey has been filled to the brim with highs and lows. I fought PPD for a long 10 months and dabbled with it on and off even after, I screamed into a pillow countless nights in a row when I was so tired I could hardly breath on my own, and I wondered if I would ever find "myself" again on the hardest days. However, motherhood has taught me exactly the person I'm supposed to be even if I never remember that carefree teenager I once was. It has taught me how to put someone else before myself and that being selfless fills me with the love My Savior has for me. Motherhood has also taught me the most pure, unconditional love out there. I can't believe my journey has just started as a mother. I am so thankful I have been blessed with the opportunity to love and be loved by a child I was able to create with my sweet Hunter. 

2) The Best Friends a Girl Could Ask For

I have been blessed with some seriously incredible friends. Those ladies in this picture just so happen to be two of them. That event I was talking about earlier, was this event right here. We threw a Friendsgiving and it was everything I could have hoped for. It would not have happened without these two incredibly talented friends right here. From the moment I told them about the event, they were nothing but helpful and supportive. Their ideas and abilities just kept amazing me and I couldn't think of anyone better to have thrown this with. Not only are they super good at throwing awesome parties, but they really are amazing friends and support systems. They have let me vent to them and they've trusted me with their own feelings. There is something to be said about a friendship when you feel completely comfortable when you are your complete self. If it weren't for these two, my mind would probably still be stuck in that rotten place it was a few months ago. I have no doubt that they were placed in my life just when I needed them. Along with them are my friends I've had for countless years. I can't begin to tell you how many wonderful people rallied around us when our family experienced the loss of Hunter's dad. The outpouring of love and support we felt from our true friends made me understand just how important it is to build relationships with those around you. I'm so thankful for the best friends a girl could have. Seriously.

3) Photos

A photo is worth a thousand words. I've always loved capturing moments, but more so now than ever. This photo is Hunter's absolute favorite of him and his dad. I don't want to share too much from the week after his dad passed away, but this memory is one that will forever be engrained in my memory. While in the car on the way down to California, Hunter brought up this picture and how badly he wanted to find it. It was all he wanted. I couldn't understand why he wanted this one thing so bad, but I knew it meant a lot to him so I helped him look. We looked through stacks and stacks of photos and thought we might never find it. Then we found it and Hunter's whole face lit up. As he held it and looked at it, his huge smile quickly turned into tears rolling down his cheeks uncontrollably. He explained that he remembered how incredibly proud his dad was of him in that moment. And seriously, you can just tell by his face. Hunter was an incredible quarterback and led our high school team to several victories, but this game was one for the books. His dad was hands down his biggest fan and Hunter loves those memories with him. He always wanted to watch Hunter's practices, he arrived to games hours early, he coached him to be his best, and he genuinely loved watching him play. All of those memories and emotions flooded Hunter when he held this photo in his hands and I understood just how important it is to capture moments that will last a lifetime. I have a photography business on the side and love capturing moments between loved ones. I love capturing candid shots of my daughter and being able to look back and say, "that was her first this or that." A photo holds an incredible amount of emotion all bottled up into a memory. I'm so thankful it is so easy to capture and store memories nowadays. 

Link Up Rules:

1) Please subscribe to, follow, or just check out your host and co-host's. (first 3 links)

 2) Visit and comment on at least 5 other blogs. This link up is meant to create a blog community so don't be shy!

 3) In your post, please either share The"Thankful Heart" image above or link back to this post on your blog post.
4) Make your post more appealing and creative by adding whatever pictures you please and as many reasons to be thankful as you'd like! (remember that the post you link up should be about what you are thankful for!)

(#5 is optional but, very much recommended!)

 5) Share your post on instagram using #thankfulheartseries (with your choice of picture) and go check out other posts! Be a friend and comment on or like other posts :)

An InLinkz Link-up

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A VERY Merry Christmas

Oh, hey old friends!

I've taken a much needed break from my blogging life while spending time with friends and family in our home town of San Diego.

It was perfect in every way.

But, I'm also so entirely happy to be back at it!

I have quite a bit of catching up to do... like seriously it's overwhelming.

So I'm going to delay most of it a little longer and start with a recap of Christmas :)

As mentioned above, we spent our Christmas is San Diego.

We stayed with Hunter's family, but lucky for us, my parents literally live 5 minutes away so we saw them just as much.

All of Hunter's family came into town and all of mine plus my grandparents!

It made for a very busy, yet also very relaxing 2 weeks. 

We went on several shopping trips, went out to eat a bunch, opened lots of presents, played a whole lot of games, and saw quite a few movies.

But the best part, was just being with family.

Christmas Eve is when we celebrate Christmas as a family with Hunter's side and it never disappoints. This year however, was exceptionally fun!

We played game after game and ate the most delicious dinner.

I'm so lucky to have married into such a fun, crazy, and huge family that really goes all out for Christmas.

We started with a yummy omelette breakfast, then played nertz, followed by a gingerbread house competition, the newlywed game, boys vs girls table decorating (the girls definitely won, but their tree napkins were pretty snazzy!), dinner, a reenactment of the nativity (so special), and of course our Secret Santa gift exchange!

Hunter and I won the newlywed game and got 2nd place in the gingerbread competition!

We seriously had a blast.

The Boys table. Not bad, but a whole lot going on for the center piece, ha!

This is the girls table! Nothing was planned it was all spur of the monent

Boys fancy Napkins

Girls Fancy Menus

We then spent Christmas day at my parents house where Oaklyn got completely spoiled on her first Christmas!

She got a crazy amount of presents from all of us and we loved watching her experience opening her gifts for the first time!

Our little family wore our matching Santa jammies (a new family tradition) as we opened presents and at my mom's famous Christmas morning casserole. 

The rest of the day was really relaxed as we cooked, talked, ate, and watched Oaklyn be the cutest little baby.

We really had the best time with our families making it SO hard to leave. 

This Christmas season I spent a whole lot of time reflecting on Mary, Christ's mother.

Can you imagine being her?

Giving birth to the Savior of the world?

What a special role she played in Jesus' life.

This amazing song by Pentatonix is the reason I though about her so much, I hope to be as selfless of a mother as her.

How was your Christmas this year?

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

Ps. I got Hunter a trip to the shooting range this year for Christmas. He seriously won't stop talking about it! I'd say it was the perfect gift ;)

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