Beckam's ECG

Beckam has had tummy problems since he was born. We haven't known what to do- we took him off dairy 3 times to see if it would help, we tried probiotics, peppermint pills, chiropractor appointments, blood tests, and many other things. Nothing has helped. He complains about his tummy hurting ALL DAY. And eats more than anyone else in our family. The pediatric gastroenterologist finally suggested we get an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy). They basically put a camera down his throat, through his esophagus and stomach and a little bit into his upper intestines. They put him to sleep with cotton candy-flavored gas and it was only about a ten minute procedure.

 He was such a champ. He got a little scared when it was time to say goodbye to us but he was brave and went with the doctor.

 He woke up to orange slushy drink and his special Woofy dog. He was happy and maybe a little confused. He drank it all up so they let us go home right away.

 Before the procedure, they had a nice lady come and explain everything to him and let him touch the gas mask.

He was so excited to get a wagon ride out to the car when we were all done. He got a little pack of play-do for being such a good boy.

The results: no Crohn's disease, no Celiac, no ulcers. He has either too much acid in his system or too little protection from the acid. He is going on Nexium twice a day (just like his dad) and we'll see if that helps at all. 

Dinos with Remy

Remy turned 5 and for his birthday, we gave him a coupon for a date to the dinosaur museum with Beckam. He cashed in and the boys had a lot of fun.

They raced through the actual museum in less than 30 minutes (A.D.D. much?) but then spend a good amount of time digging for dinosaur bones.

The best part for them was the gift shop. They spent FOREVER in there looking and playing with all the toys.

Like Mother Like Son

It makes me so happy when I pass a skill onto one of my kids and they enjoy it as much as I do. 

I've been into cross-stitching lately. I design families and then cross-stitch them. It helps me relax at night and it's a fun gift to give to people I love. 

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Brody decided to do one of him, Bridger, and Scout. One Sunday, we sat together and worked on our own projects together. It made me so happy. I want my boys AND my girl to have sewing and creative skills.

Beckam's Paw Patrol Party

Beckam is OBSESSED with the tv show Paw Patrol. Four years old is when my kids get their first friend birthday party. Naturally, we decided on a Paw Patrol party. I really enjoy crafting up the decorations and party supplies.

Poor Beckam was off dairy during his birthday. Adam tried making some dairy free cupcakes but they were a huge fail. So we found a dairy free brownie mix and made them. 

I read them a Paw Patrol Birthday book. I had all kinds of puppy activities planned, but turns out they just wanted to play with toys downstairs. Fine by me!

 

I got some little fabric stuffed dogs and fabric markers and everyone got to color their puppy. They named them and we filled out adoption certificates for each one. It was so cute to hear the names they came up with. Beckam named his Marshall (his favorite Paw Patrol dog).

I told Beckam not to open the toys he had gotten but when I went to check on the kids in his room, I walked into this. I snapped a picture, and walked right back out before I had a panic attack. SUCH A MESS. And so many kids in one small area. Breathe deep and walk away.

After the party, Adam got the face paints out and worked his artistic magic. I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of Beckam's batman face.

Crazy Hair Day

 Red Ribbon week crazy hair and pajama day. These kids are hilarious.

I decided to surprise the kids for lunch. I put my one-piece jammies on and did a quick crazy hair. There were some amazing hair-dos at the school. I wish I had taken pictures.

Halloween 2016

This year, I started planning Halloween early. I wanted to have a theme for our family. We decided on Peter Pan, but the big boys weren't into that. They picked their own theme and I went to work. 

 Captain Hook, Wendy, Smee, and Peter Pan.

Mr. Frederickson and Russell from the movie "Up." Most of their costumes came from DI. Bridger's patch sash is Adam's from when he was in scouts. Putting his costume together was a lot of fun. Brody has the perfect grumpy old man face.

I was originally planning on being Tinkerbell and I even started making a costume, but I couldn't figure out how to make a modest but cute costume so I went with Smee, which was SO FUN! Who doesn't want to stick fake sideburns to their face with molasses and corn starch?

I made Adam's jacket from a pattern- my first time sewing with a pattern. I learned so much and it was a really cool experience. I should have measured him because I made it WAY too big. We were trying to figure out what pants for him to wear. Captain hook wears maroon-ish pants. While we were talking about it, Adam looked at me and said, "You're wearing maroon pants. I'll just wear those!" And so he did. He wore women's maroon skinny jeans. 

 Penny's wendy hair. The curls lasted about 20 minutes. 

We let the boys go out trick-or-treating on their own every year now. They love the freedom and the ability to go faster and get more candy (they each got about 11 pounds of candy!). They met up with some friends and went trick-or-treating with them.

Sorting and trading candy is one of the best parts of Halloween! I couldn't believe how much candy the boys got.

Baby Lena

I have a new niece! Baby Lena Sophia was born on October 24. Michael and Mary let us come meet her at the hospital. She is so sweet! Penny had just recovered from being sick so we kept her away from the baby. It was hard for her to watch everyone cuddling the baby.

Fall Break Vacay

We decided to be brave and adventurous (vacations are stressful for me) and plan a fun trip for the kids' Fall Break. It ended up being a lot more driving than fun, but I'm so glad we did it.

We started at Hill Air Force Base at the Aerospace Museum. There is a whole section named after John A. Lindquist, who is Adam's great great grandpa's nephew. I'm not sure what that makes him. Some kind of removed cousin?

 This is the kind of plane that John Lindquist flew during the war.

We drove to Logan that night. Adam took the kids swimming at the hotel while I worked on homework. Then we went to the Logan Cemetery where a lot of Adam's relatives are buried. We hurried and found all the Lindquists we could find so we could get back in the warm car. Then we found a really cool pizza place for dinner called Factory Pizzeria. It's in the basement of another restaurant. The food was good and the atmosphere was fun and family friendly. There was a pool table and all the tables have been carved into by hundreds of people. 

After dinner, we went to the Aggie Creamery where Adam has memories of going with his Grandma when he was young. Adam got Aggie Blue Mint and it was AMAZING. I regretted my choice of cookie dough. Penny got a flavor that tasted like Froot Loops. 

In the morning, we drove to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho to check out their hot springs. On the drive there, we saw so many beautiful little towns that we dreamed about living in. We were on the Utah Real Estate app checking out how much houses and land would be in each town. Adam has decided he was born to live by the Snake River. 

The hot springs were....HOT. They had different temperature pools but they were all hot. Bridger went to the hottest part and went underwater! He came out steaming....

Then we drove over to the indoor hot springs pool. It was much cooler, but still a perfect warm. The kids had so much fun in the kiddie area.

After having our fill of water fun, we drove to Pocatello and stayed with my cousin Dennis and his family. My kids warmed up to him immediately.

We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then stayed up late talking, laughing, and telling stories. This Dennis is a treasure. He is so real and I love that. He is hilarious and I could listen to him tell stories for hours. His wife, Krysten is the sweetest. She got us donuts and poptarts in the morning for breakfast. Beckam loved playing with little Denny.

 Bridger loves himself some babies!

Next we were on our way to Caldwell to see my Grandma and Aunt and Uncle. We stopped at Shoshone Falls. It was amazing. I can only imagine how much more amazing it is in the spring when the falls are full.

We got to Caldwell right at dinner time and my grandma had dinner waiting for us. I hadn't seen her for 3 years and it was so good to see her. She lives on the same land as Uncle Bert and Aunt Lova now so we got to see them all. She made curly noodle casserole and the kids got ice cream cones. It was really neat for me to have my kids in my grandma's house. They were so sweet with her- especially Brody. He even fixed her broken lamp.

We got a tour of Uncle Bert and Aunt Lova's new beautiful house and had a good talk with them. In the morning, we walked back over to Grandma's house for a pancake breakfast. I wish we had had more time with her, but we had to head back home.

I love her so much. I have such tender memories with her. She is a really great lady.