One Wall Finished

Well, nothing blog-worthy has been going on as of late. Life has just been it's normal, busy self. But, since I haven't posted anything for awhile, I thought I would show you this. After all, it was you guys that helped me make the decision on what picture to choose...

This is the sight that now greets you when you walk into our house. A 30x40" print of our family in yet another of Mike's masterpieces (a.k.a. frames). The best part is that Mike was able to make this gargantuous frame for $88. There is no where in this world that would have made me a custom frame in this size for anywhere near that price. Based on what I've paid in the past, it would be at least 5 or 6 times that rate.

I love the way it turned out! We've had it up for several weeks now & everyone that has come over has raved about it. I'm really glad you guys talked me into doing the candid one because I think it shows off everyone's personalities! Plus, I love that it's different from what you usually see in family pictures. I'm pretty pleased...mainly because I actually got a family picture printed & framed within a few months of having the picture taken. Yes, I realize it will be outdated in a few months when our daughter gets here (I love saying that word...daughter), but we'll have new pictures taken next summer when she's about six-months-old, then have it printed the same size & just use the same frame. Yay for saving $$$ again!

So, now I have one wall filled...only like 36 more to go. Ugghhh, I hate empty walls. Someday I'll get there. Patience Lindsay, patience! --Lindsay

My Birthday Weekend

My birthday was on Saturday. I turned 29...again. I'm getting REALLY GOOD at turning 29! :) I wasn't expecting much for this birthday. A few weeks ago, my mom, sisters & I went maternity clothes shopping & I spent all my birthday money from everyone that day, so I kind of considered that day my birthday, but everyone still had a few surprises up their sleeves.

First, I woke up to breakfast in bed on Saturday morning, courtesy of all my men. It was pancakes shaped like hearts & balloons. They had all drawn cute little cards for me. Most of them had pictures of a stick woman with a ginormous preggo belly. Very appropriate, I guess! It was so cute of them!

Later that day, I had to go to work. But, in between shows, Mike showed up with a bouquet of flowers and took me out to dinner. We went to Tucci's & stuffed ourselves silly.

On Sunday, I figured all the birthday festivities were over, but right after my 5:00 show got over, my parents, Mike & the boys showed up and surprised me with a little birthday party at the station with all my co-workers. They brought a cake and everything! And, I have no idea what my mom is doing in this picture, but it looks like she's having a nervous breakdown. Haha...


The fellas helped me blow out the candles on the cake. Don't worry, we got them all! That means NO MORE CHILDREN (after this current one, of course!). YAY!! :)


And then we celebrated with all my co-workers. It was such a fun surprise! Thanks to my mom for coming up with the idea! And, thanks to everyone that helped make my b-day fun! I had a great birthday weekend! --Lindsay

Our Annual Moab Trip...Finally

We took our annual fall trip to Moab about a week and a half ago, but I'm just barely getting around to blogging about it! Life has been C-R-A-Z-Y! Here's what we did this year:

Friday, October 8th:

We got to Moab at about lunchtime & went to the guys favorite bike shop, The Poison Spider. Here's Cohen hanging out by the mural on the side of the building...


After that, we ate lunch & then checked into our hotel. The guys went and did a bike ride around Monitor & Merrimack...


They ran into all sorts of issues...Mike's chain broke halfway through the ride & Dan had some bike problems too. But, they still had a great time...

When they got back, it was time for some swimming. Cohen was a little hesitant about the water at first, like usual...

But, he enjoyed showing off his gymnastics skills by the side of the pool...

Later that night, we went to dinner at Pasta Jay's, one of our favorite places...

Saturday, October 9th:

On Saturday, the boys went on a bike ride called Behind the Rocks...

At the end, they were able to see Pritchard Arch...

While they were gone, the gals took the little boys and did a little shopping and then went to the park & farmers market...

When the guys finally got back, the kiddos wanted to swim. So, Mike & I took them swimming while the others went on a few hikes in Arches National Park. Cohen, as you can tell, still wasn't digging the water at first...

But, after a little while, he decided it wasn't too bad & actually turned into quite the little dare devil...jumping off the side of the pool and everything...

Look at my handsome men! Love them...

Then, we moved over to the hot tub for awhile & did what everyone does in a hot tub...made bubble beards...

When the kids were sufficiently water logged, we all got dressed and headed into Arches. We went on the Park Avenue hike & Cohen did the whole thing by himself! He didn't want to be carried AT ALL! This made the hike a little long, but he was having a great time exploring and jumping off of any rock or ledge he could find...

That night we went to a little Mexican restaurant, but now I can't remember the name...

And then it was off to bed...

Sunday, October 10th:

On Sunday, the guys did a shorter ride called Klondike Bluffs. This is one of their favorites and they do it almost every year...

While they were gone, the gals took the little boys into Arches & did a few small hikes. Here are the boys & their Tata at Balance Rock. The sun was in the EXACT wrong direction for taking good pictures, so everything is shaded, but oh well...

Cohen, once again, found every rock he could find & jumped off of it...

Then after that, we headed to Double Arch & then the boys met up with us to hike The Windows...

Our little mountain goat with Uncle Dan...

Aiden pointing out the Elephant Parade...

Turrant Arch, and the boys pretending they like each other for a few seconds...

Here's Cohen sitting on some random tree that was growing right underneath Turrant Arch...

Say cheese...

Here's Cohen again jumping off another big rock! I'll never understand this kid. He hates amusement park rides, but he'll jump off a 4-foot-tall rock! Ummm, crazy...

The boys on top of a big rock that they climb every year...

After Turrant Arch, we headed over to the boys favorite arch, Sand Dune Arch...

The boys love this arch because they can climb on top of it...

And, there is this narrow little canyon right by it that you can climb up. Mike & Connor were the only ones to do it this year. Looks kind of crazy to me...

Ummm...why is my almost 8-year-old standing on a ledge by himself while his dad takes a picture from another ledge that's probably about fifty feet away?

Cohen continued to find rocks to jump off of. See a theme here? Each one seemed to get bigger and bigger...

And the boys had to play in the sand for awhile...

After that, we went back to the hotel to do some more swimming, then went to dinner and off to bed.

Monday, October 11th:

This year, we ended up staying for a fourth day. Most of the time, our trip is only three days but we extended it a little this year & I was glad that we did.

The guys did the Slickrock Practice Loop in the morning...

And, Mike apparently found some random cave to explore...

This is one of Mike's favorite rides in Moab...

Afterwards, everyone went swimming one last time...

They did some flying as well...

And, of course, jumping...

And there may have been a handstand contest too...

After that, we checked out of the hotel & went on one last hike...Delicate Arch. This is a hard, long hike...but we did it! Cohen had to stop every once in awhile to (what else) jump off of stuff...

But, we finally made it to Utah's most famous arch...

Here are Mike, Poppy & the boys standing underneath the arch so you can see how big it is...

After that, we headed home...back to reality, where there isn't a swimming pool right outside your door & random rocks to jump off of all the time! Needless to say, the boys were a bit bummed that the vacation was over! It was another fun year! --Lindsay