October Dates

I'm finally getting around to posting about our October dates...even though we've already started on our November dates. I need to be better about posting these things right after they happen. I start a lot of posts out this way, don't I?

All three of the boys went to the fun center near our house again this month.  You'd think they'd be sick of it by now, but they still love it.  Connor went on his date with me this month.  We started out with some rock climbing...

After we got done rock climbing, we headed over to sign up for laser tag.  Well, as we were walking over there, we ran into some good friends from our old neighborhood, the Skinners.  Connor & Tait were great friends when we lived by each other, so we ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the evening.  Here are all the boys with their laser tag gear on & ready to go...

We ended up playing several rounds of laser tag.  Unfortunately, our team lost each & every time, but we had a ball.  Then it was off to ride the Frog Hopper...

And then a round of glow-in-the-dark miniature golf.  Here's a blurry picture of the fun...

It was a great night & it was so fun to run into old friends.  We need to "run into" each other more often, either that or I need to work harder to convince them to move up by us (believe me, I've already tried more than once.)  Thanks Skinners for hanging out with us!

Aiden went on his date with Mike this past month.  They played at the fun center as well, and this picture is the one & only picture taken the entire night...

Hopefully the statement "a picture is worth a thousand words" rings true here because I don't have many words to say about this date since I wasn't given a whole lot of info on it.  I know they did some rock climbing, laser tag & miniature golf--and that they had a good time.  That's it.  Sigh...one of these days, Mike is going to surprise me & come home from one of these dates with about 243 pictures.  I just know it!

Cohen went on his date with me in October.  When we first got to the fun center, he ran right to the pirate ship video game that he loves to pieces...

Then it was off to do some miniature golfing...

He got to ride the Frog Hopper all by himself because the place was totally dead the night we went...

Then we headed outside to ride the go-carts.  I'm so depressed to see this picture of Cohen & I outside without coats on just a few weeks ago.  You couldn't do this now.  It's been freezing this week & we have about six inches of snow on our front yard.  Please come back soon Summer, we miss you already...

After go carts, we headed back inside to do some rock climbing.  Cohen went up the wall about 6 feet (which is when I took this picture) and then he got freaked out & wanted to come back down.  Oh well...

After that, I told him it was time to go, but he insisted that he get to play the pirate ship game one more time.  How could I say no to this cute little face?

So, those were our October dates!  They were all great.  I love doing these little dates with our kiddos!  --Lindsay

Mike's Birthday

Okay, I have no pictures for this post, but I had to share with you what we ended up doing for Mike's birthday. As you know, Mike took me to "Thriller" for my birthday, which was so much fun.  After that, I felt some serious pressure to do something just as fun for Mike's birthday.  Luckily, I was able to figure out something pretty darn awesome.

We started out the evening with dinner at Cafe Trang.  It is a really yummy Vietnamese/Chinese/Thai restaurant.  Neither of us had eaten there before, and I knew that Mike really wanted to try it out.  To be honest with you, I'm not a huge Chinese food fan.  Chinese food is okay, but it's definitely not my favorite.  Because of this, I wasn't expecting much.  But, I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised.  My food was really good!  Mike absolutely loved his dinner too.  We'll definitely go back sometime.  Part #1 of the evening = success.

After dinner, I surprised Mike with tickets to see this...

Both Mike & I have always wanted to see a Cirque Du Soleil show.  We always say that "one of these days" we're going to take a trip down to Vegas for a weekend (preferably in the winter when it's freezing cold up here) & see a Cirque show.  But, with four kids & two careers, you can imagine how often that happens!

Well, as luck would have it, the traveling company just happened to be in Salt Lake City on Mike's birthday!  So I bought tickets & finally told Mike where we were going after we finished dinner.  We absolutely loved the show!  The stunts were incredible!  I'm not even sure how they do 93% of them!!  And, the set was amazing too.  If their traveling set is that cool, I can't even imagine how awesome the one in Vegas is!  "Someday" hopefully I'll get to find out.

So, that was Mike's birthday for the year.  Sorry for the lack of pictures.  Posts without pictures are so boring, but I had to prove that I had planned something fun for my hubs.  Happy birthday Mike!  I love you more than anything.  Thank you for always being there for me, for making me smile & laugh everyday, for being my calming influence in life, for working so hard for our family, for dropping work the second you walk in the door to focus on being a husband & dad, for being my daily personal masseuse (best backrubs ever), and for being my rock that supports me throughout everything!  Love you!  --Lindsay

This is Halloween

Halloween was a SCREAM this year at our house!  All the kiddos are at fun ages right now & they had a great time dressing up & Trick or Treating.  It was a pretty simple day all around.  We started out the day with Connor & Aiden's Halloween Parade at school, and then I helped with Connor's Halloween party in his class a little later in the day.  Cohen was at preschool during the parade, so I only had to take one child, uh ladybug with me...

Yes, this was the best picture she would let me take of her--little stinker.  She would not look at the camera or smile.  Despite the grumpy look on her face, she really did love dressing up, especially in a costume that included wings.  In fact, she pitched a royal fit when I took the wings off for her nap that afternoon.  Such a girlie girl.  Oh, sorry--back to the parade.  It was a lot of fun.  I always love this parade every year.  It's so fun to see all the kiddos costumes.  Here's Aiden, uh Anakin Skywalker, I mean...

And here's Connor, oops--I mean Commander Cody, sans helmet...

Can you tell we're still really into Star Wars at this house?  It's just fine with me though.  I know that within just a few years, Connor is most likely going to want to dress up as some freaky, bloody, gory zombie thing every year--so Star Wars characters are just fine with me for now.

We did have one boy go as a non-Star Wars character.  Cohen--who is slightly obsessed with superheroes right now--wanted to be Spiderman.  Unfortunately, I didn't get an individual picture of him since he was at preschool during the school parade, and I just didn't think about it until it was too late, but you can see how cute he looks in this group shot.  Love the built-in muscles...

This picture was taken right before they all headed out for Trick or Treating with Mike.  Don't they all look so stinkin' cute?!?  This was Vivvie's first year Trick or Treating (she slept through it last year).  Let's just say she is a huge fan!  Mike pushed her in the stroller, and she just waved to everyone & ate her candy all night long.  The weather was so perfect this year.  In fact, we broke a record high temperature on Halloween by getting up to 76 degrees.  It was in the 60s during the evening hours when the kids headed out to get all their candy.  It was so nice to not have to put them in coats.  They were plenty comfortable in just their costumes.  Ahhh, I could get used to Halloween's like this!

While the kiddos were Trick or Treating with Mike, I stayed home & answered the door at our house.  Mike played Halloween music through our speakers on our front porch, which made it really fun.  I can't tell you how many times I would answer the door to little kids dancing to "Thriller" or "This is Halloween."  It made the night really fun.

Eventually, Mike dropped Aiden, Cohen & Vivvie off at home when they were tired & their bags were overflowing with candy.  But, Connor & Mike decided to stay out a little longer & hit up a few more homes.  Connor emptied his bag at home & then refilled it *twice* before coming home for good.  He & Mike stayed out until probably 8:45!  I think we'll probably be eating Halloween candy until at least Easter.  But, I see absolutely no problem with that.

It was a great Halloween!  I loved every second of it.  I'm so lucky to be the mama of these awesome ghouls & goblins of mine.  Love them to pieces!  --Lindsay

Connor is Double Digits!

Yep, I am the mother of a ten-year-old--and I can not believe it!  Where did those ten years go?  It seems like it should be closer to 3 or 4 years, not 10.  But, nevertheless, it really has been 10 years & Connor has entered the "double digits."  To celebrate, we held a Halloween-themed birthday party with a few of his closest friends.  It was a "late night" party from 7:00-9:00 pm on a Friday night.  Everyone wore their costumes & we played some favorite fall games, like eating doughnuts on a string without using your hands.  Always a crowd pleaser...

And unwrapping the Halloween candy while wearing mittens...

This was quite amusing to watch as well...

We also did some pumpkin bowling, using 2 liter bottles as the pins.  The kiddos loved this game...

Some of the boys had awesome form...

We also played "Hot Pumpkin" (which was just Hot Potato, but with a pumpkin) and good ol' fashioned "Murder in the Dark."  The boys loved "Murder in the Dark" and we played it over & over again.

After everyone had played all the games to their hearts content, it was time to put the kiddos on a sugar high, with this darling cupcake cake.  Yes, that's really just a bunch of cupcakes arranged in a shape & then frosted as if it was a cake.  I loved it...

Here's the boys singing "Happy Birthday" to ConMan...

Connor was obviously quite serious about getting every last candle out.  Wonder what he wished for...

After cake & ice cream, we finished off the night by opening presents...

He was spoiled by all his friends...

It was a really fun party & I think all the kids had a great time.

That wasn't the end of the birthday festivities though.  This past Sunday was Connor's actual birthday, so we held a family party that night.  We started out with a yummy lasagna dinner, made by the fabulous Chef Mike.  Then, at Connor's request, we went straight to opening presents...

He was spoiled again...

Here's the birthday boy giving hugs to Tata & Dan...

Showing off some of his new loot...

More loot...

After that, it was on to cake & ice cream...

Uncle Dan thought it would be fun to put trick candles on Connor's cake.  So Connor blew...

And blew...

Until he finally got them all out...

Oops, never mind--not out yet...

He was pretty out of breath by the time he finally got them all out for good.  It was a funny sight to watch, and Connor thought it was hilarious too.  Great idea, Dan...

So, that's how Connor celebrated his 10th birthday.  And, what an awesome 10-year-old he is!  Connor is smart, creative, brave, happy, strong-willed, loving & has amazing integrity!  I am so proud of the awesome young man he is becoming right before my eyes!  I know I already said it, but I can't believe I have a 10-year-old!  I'm not old enough to have a 10-year-old, am I?  Wait...don't answer that!  --Lindsay

You Can Add "Bear" to His List of Badges

Connor passed off all the requirements to earn his Bear Badge this month & he received it at Pack Meeting last week--five days before his birthday. Do you think we cut that one a little close? Everyone was there for the big event--Aiden, Me, Nana, Poppy & Vivvie (although Viv looks way more interested with whatever Poppy was looking at...and Aiden was way more interested with whatever was on the ceiling, I guess...)

There was also Grandma, Grandpa, Cohen & Dad...

Connor received his badge.  He also got the mother's pin & sash and promptly placed it on me...

Then I got a big bear hug from my graduating Bear...

Now it's on to Webelos!  Didn't he just start Cub Scouts?  How did we already reach the final year of it?  I can't believe how fast everything in life flies by lately.  Where's the pause button when you need it?  Great job on getting your Bear Badge, Connor!  Dad & I are very proud of you and all your hard work!  --Mom

Our Fall Trip to St. George

This past weekend, we headed down to St. George for four days. It was a blast! Nana & Poppy came with us & we had a great time. We started out the weekend with one of our favorite things--a hike.  On our way down to St. George, we stopped in Leeds (about 30 minutes north of St. George) to do the Red Cliffs hike.  The boys had a fun time climbing on all the huge red rocks that had fallen off the steep red cliffs...

Even Vivvie got in on the climbing action, with Daddy's help of course...

We found this really cool tree along the trail.  It was funny how it had bent & curved to find a path around the boulders that were in its way...

Love this crazy kiddo & all his weird hand signs he likes to do in pictures...

At one point, we had to cross the little stream that flowed through the canyon.  Boys + water = a bunch of wet, stinky feet...

Toward the end of the hike, there is a huge bolder that you have to climb over.  They have cut little notches out of the rock to use as steps & then you have to hang on to a rope to cross over it.  Here's Mike helping Cohen.  I was pretty impressed with how brave all my little men were about doing this...

Here's all the boys doing a "manly man pose" at the end of the hike.  I guess after using that rope to climb over a boulder, they were feeling pretty manly...

Coming back, we had to cross the big boulder again...

Mike helped everyone across & then ran around the rock.  Literally, he *ran* around the rock!  He didn't use the foot holes at all.  He just wrapped the rope around his arm & ran.  We were so impressed that we made him go back & do it again so that we could get a picture of it.  Unfortunately, we still didn't get a good picture.  This is the best one we got--right at the end.  Oh well...

Then we crossed back over the water--which made the feet wetter & stinkier...

Viv's favorite part of the hike was having people pick up rocks for her so she could throw them in the stream...

It was a fun little hike.  We all really enjoyed it!

After we finished, we drove the rest of the way into St. George & checked into our condo.  We stayed at the same vacation condo place that we stayed last year, Green Valley Resort & Spa.  Let's just say that we must have totally lucked out last year when we got a really updated, beautiful condo.  The condo we got this time was straight out of 1987.  I'm not even joking.  I'm pretty sure everything in there (appliances, furniture, etc.) hadn't been replaced for at least 25 years.  We found out that each condo is owned by a different owner & it's up to them how much updating/remodeling they do.  So, if you ever stay there, tell them you do *not* want to stay in 1508.  We were not impressed.  Oh well.  We ended the night by eating at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants down there, Don Pedro...

And then went back to the condo to veg.  My mom actually brought a 550 piece Star Wars puzzle down there with us & we worked on it here-and-there throughout the weekend.  Surprisingly, no one took a picture of the puzzle or any of us working on it.  We actually ended up gluing & framing it for Connor's room, so I'll have to take a picture of it & post it at some point.  It was a fun little activity to work on when we had a little down time.

The next morning, Mike & Poppy woke up bright & early to do a bike ride.  They rode the Gem Trail, the Rim Trail, & the Goul Trail.  They had a good time.  I guess the Rim Trail was pretty challenging, but the rest of it was pretty fun.  Here's some of the pictures they took.  Isn't it so pretty down there...

 

 

Mike actually got a really bad flat tire at one point--as in 6 flats in the same tire.  I'm sure that was fun to try to patch...

They eventually got it fixed & were back to riding through this beautiful place...

While the boys were on their ride, Nana & I took the boys to the local dinosaur museum.  It's small, but pretty cool because the museum is actually built around a slab of rock that has all sorts of dinosaur tracks in it.  Here's Cohen comparing his hand print to that of a dinosaur...

All my boys next to a big ol' leg bone...

The kiddos & Nana in front of the slab that has all the footprints, with a fake dinosaur too...

Cohen had to have his picture taken with the fake dino...

The big boys really liked this little skeleton on the wall.  They sat & looked at each of the little bones...

After the museum, Nana & I passed the kids off to Mike & Poppy so that we could have a little "Girls Day Out."  We went to the outlet mall & hit up a couple quilt stores for Nana.  While we were gone, Mike & Poppy took the kiddos swimming.  Unfortunately, they realized that we had forgotten to pack Vivvie's swim diapers, so she just got to sit on the side of the pool all afternoon...

She didn't seem to mind much though.  She's kind of a water wuss anyway...

The boys, on the other hand, are fishes & had a blast playing in all the pools...

That's one thing we love about this condo complex--there are pools everywhere.  No matter what building you're in, there is a pool not too far away. Our condo this year was right by the main pool complex where there were two outdoor pools, one indoor pool, and two hot tubs.  So, that made up for the fact that our condo looked like it was a time capsule from the Reagan Era.  I wish we had taken pictures of it so you could see just how lovely it was.  Why didn't we take pictures of it???

On our third day, the boys got up early again to do one of their favorite rides--Bear Claw Poppy...

They love this ride & have to ride it every time we visit St. George.

After the ride, Mike & Poppy took the boys miniature golfing--another fun feature at the condo complex...

Then we all went on a hike to Johnson's Arch by Snow Canyon...

It was a really pretty hike.  It started out going over these huge fields of black volcanic rock you see in this picture behind Cohen & Poppy...

Here's a panoramic view near the beginning of the hike...

About halfway through, we came to this huge crevice of volcanic rock that you can see behind us...

There were huge boulders that were teetering on the edge of the crevice, just asking for the boys to try to push them in.  Much to their dismay, the boys were unsuccessful in their attempt...

After that, the trail took us up a narrow canyon...

To Johnson's Arch.  It's kind of hard to pick out in this picture.  Can you find it?

After seeing the arch, we headed on to the end of the canyon...

The kiddos had a great time playing in the desert sand.  And, they brought about 279 pounds of it home with them in their shoes, socks & shorts...

Connor found a long skinny tree branch laying on the ground & decided to use it to make his own arch, which he creatively named "Connor's Arch..."

Aiden then decided the trail needed a better name, so he dubbed it "Aiden's Trail" and wrote it in the sand.

It was a great little hike.  Not hard at all, but not boring either.  There was always something unusual and/or pretty to look at all the time.

After the hike, everyone decided to go swimming again.  Cohen turned into quite the little daredevil on this trip & started doing flips into the water from the side of the pool.  It was pretty fun to watch.  I need to get this kiddo into gymnastics...

Viv even got the chance to swim this time, thanks to the purchase of a pack of swim diapers.  She wasn't so sure about the water at first (what's new?) but she did find a fun game to play.  It's called, "walk on the yellow square that goes around the huge checker board."  She walked around this square probably 235 times.  It was so funny to watch.  She never left the yellow line.  She just followed it around & around...

Eventually, we were able to coax her to the side of the pool...

And, a little while later, we were able to get her all the way into the water.  But, her favorite thing to do was this...

Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?  What a little diva!!!  She did this all on her own & stayed there for quite awhile.  I don't know if she was just really tired, or if she's already turning into a sun worshipper.

The boys just pool hopped from one to the other all afternoon long.  Connor loved jumping off the diving board the best.  Oh, look at those palm trees in the background.  How I love palm trees, said the girl who is currently looking at snowflakes falling outside her window {{sigh}}...

After swimming, we went out to dinner & then came home to eat these heavenly little cupcakes from 25 Main in celebration of my dad & my birthdays.  I may have almost dropped the box & squished one of these delicious little guys.  Bet you can't guess which one...

The next day was our last day in St. George.  We packed up & left the retro condo.  Before leaving, we decided to stop & take a tour of Brigham Young's Winter Home.  For those of you that don't know, during the later years of his life, Brigham Young bought & remodeled a house in St. George.  He would live there during the winter months to help relieve the pain of his arthritis & other ailments.  I must have really been into the tour because I forgot to take any pictures, but it was very interesting.  I loved learning about life in St. George during the pioneer days.  Once we finished the tour, we started the drive home so our boys could get to their wrestling practice & my parents could make it to a concert they had tickets for.

It was a short, but very fun & relaxing, trip.  I loved every second of it.  I love our little fall trips that we take each year.  It's nice to escape the cool fall (or even winter) air that is just beginning to settle into northern Utah, and take off to somewhere warm & sunny for a few days.  Although, it does make coming home just a little bit harder.  --Lindsay