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. 

Family Pictures 2016

Family pictures are kind of a nightmare for us. I really enjoy putting outfits together and looking up places to go have the pictures taken. Getting the kids ready this year was pretty easy. Having mostly boys is nice for that reason- I only had Penny's hair to curl. Brody really didn't like the outfit I got him so we compromised and I let him put a hoodie over it. Beckam's outfit was missing something so during his nap that day, I made a little bow tie from some fabric I already had. It was perfect for his little personality.

We went to the Garden Park Ward House in SLC near the Harvard and Princeton streets. It was so beautiful. It made me want to move to the area just so we could go to church at that building.

 These are the church grounds. They are beautiful!

 This is a second building on the grounds where they have seminary (I think) and Sunday School.

Main church building where the chapel is. It was first dedicated in 1939 and the land has historic ties to the pioneers. It's the most beautiful area I can imagine going to church in.

It was pretty cold and we weren't dressed super warm. Everyone was happy and cooperative except Brody, who hates everything about family pictures. I made him let me sweep his hair to the side, I made him wear a yellow striped shirt (that he complained didn't fit his personality, hence the hoodie). He hated the cold and he hated smiling. I was worried that every single picture would have him moping. He eventually lost it and started crying. I pleaded and begged and then told him I would give him $5 if he would buck up and smile for a few more pictures. When we left, I just knew they were going to be horrible and my $200 was going to be a waste.

Leave it to Hillary Horman to work miracles. They are my favorite family pictures ever taken! I love the colors, the scenery and everything about them.

His eyes, though...

Bridger was such a ham. I love that his watch shows in some of the pictures- he looks so old. And I love the Superman shoes that he loves so much.

 This girl can't give a real smile for a family picture if her life depends on it, but if she has the photographer's full attention, she's a gold mine of happiness and smiles. She's perfect.

 I love love his hair like this. I love that he's looking like a teenager. I love that he went along with my controlling family picture ideas even though he didn't want to. I love him.

 His watch and his shoes....love.

 This is one of my favorites. I hope they love each other forever. 

 Bridger requested his pose. They would marry each other if it wasn't illegal and disgusting.

 This was Brody in very many of the pictures. "Why are you making me do this?"

 I'm going to frame this and put it all over my house. His real smile is amazing. His little dimple melts me and reminds me of when he was a tiny.