Monday, October 31, 2011

SugarFest 2011

BEFORE
DURING (note: Henry is retrieving his own candy...Mom strategic error #1)
AFTER (sugar literally coursing through his veins)

The costumes were a HUGE success in my mind. Cheap (t-shirts, like $2 each and paint), easy to make, low maintenance, and a 3-year-old who could not have been happier. He said to me this morning, "Hey Mom, let's pretend like we're the Angry Birds family again."

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Eu-tawh

We just got back from a two week trip to Utah. And I took pictures!

FAMILY TIME:
Henry and Kimball on the longboard. Did my heart stop watching my baby ride down the sidewalk with an 11 year old? No. I was totally cool with it {gasp}.
It snowed while we were there. Wow, Utah. Wow.
Henry's relationship with his cousins is complicated. They love him, he loves them somewhere deep in his heart.
Cole got a new suit. He looked very dapper.
My mom got to come home for the funeral. Not gonna lie, it was kind of awesome to see her. Missed my dad, and I'm so glad they are on a mission, but...wow. I miss them.
Nanna with Lucy and Eddie. Did I get a picture with my mom and my children? No. {boo, hiss, says Justin}






In Grandma Doris's unfinished kitchen, she let the grandbabies make Halloween gingerbread houses. So fun.
New nephew, Emmett. Sweetest baby EVER. He is so, SO cute (really, this picture doesn't even get the half of it).
One of the days, I took my mom to the doc (yay for U.S. healthcare!!) and Henry and I played in the waiting room. This kid was AMAZING. This was after two restaurants, a salon and a mall. And no nap. He was so good. Not so good since we've returned, so I'm just kind of reminiscing to the good old days.
GRANDPA'S FUNERAL:

 
 
Grandpa's casket.
My grandpa fought in the South Pacific in WWII. He was an amazing man. Probably couldn't say that enough.
My cousin, Justin. One of the Marines in my family. This will be an image etched into my memory.
Pallbearer's flowers. Because Grandpa lived such a long, full life, his funeral was a sweet experience for me. So glad I could be there.
MISSION REUNION:
Justin and I had planned to come to Utah for the weekend of Justin's 10 year mission reunion. Since I was already here, we got to participate fully in all the festivities. It started with a night at the Lion House Pantry and a session at the Salt Lake Temple. Amazing.
A lot of our really good friends come from Justin's mission service. Here we are with the Gibbs, the Cooks and the Peays. It was really fun to be able to listen to those who served together talk about their missions, and I was really glad that I already knew a lot of the wives. There was no shortage of talking. :)
Sister Clark made an awesome quilt with a tie from each of the missionaries that had served with them and the sisters' names embroidered around the edges. Justin's tie was, of course, the brightest tie on the quilt. That boy loves the limelight. :)
One of the parts of the reunion was a faux preparation day where they had lunch, bounce houses, face painting and balloon animals for the kids. Andrew is kind of upset in the photo because he was crying (not wanting to leave) and his shark started to run...He really loved that shark. 

Sunday, October 23, 2011

It's Autumntime...

Surprise!! We're still here.

First day of school...This boy was EXCITED!! He loves his teacher, class, friends, everything.
This guy, on the other hand...not thrilled about Brudder going to school. The first few weeks we spent a lot of time sitting by the door and looking out the window.
Nothing says school like the cutest shoes you've ever seen for little boys. These kids are rockin' the Sambas these days.
Only year of his life (hopefully) where him and Dad are going to school at the same time...
Struggling to coordinate the funny faces here. Come on, fellas...
Hot dog picnic...The school is so awesome and fun, but I'm pretty sure hot dogs aren't supposed to be the color of cement. I think I decided to be vegetarian right then and there. :)


Got the "old gang" together (minus Seth or Jane) for a little playdate. These three amigos CRACK ME UP! They were having too much fun to even look at me.
We ran a race. It was fun. Justin did AWESOME! He's a natural runner and I'm so impressed with him. He totally rocked it and ran faster than he planned. What a star!
Was this the day I threw the sandboxes away? Yes...Yes it was.
Just enjoying some produce. These boys are gross little monsters, but for some reason, I just can't get enough of their antics. I love that they are best friends.

In other news...I took the GRE and discovered Pinterest in September, so it was pretty much a bum month for me. Justin has been traveling to California every other week, still working for the company that he interned with. They offered and we accepted, so we'll be moving to the Sacramento area in December. We are glad and grateful and very, very excited that we got a good offer in a place where it doesn't snow! :) And of course, to live closer to family and (hopefully) not have scorpions in our house.

Coming up...long, unplanned trip to Utah. And hopefully some more charming and witty comments from yours truly. ;)