Happy Hallowen

This was the first year that Matt has ever been able to come to the school Halloween parade.  He got out of work in time to come!!!  (The benefits of his new job).  Bridger decided to be Captain American again because no one up here knew he was it last year.  Plus it's a great costume!!  Tanner was very entertained looking at all of the kids in their costumes.

The boys didn't have any friends to go trick or treating with so we went down to Amy and Mike's and hung out with the A's.  Matt and Jake took the kids out trick or treating. Isaac was some character in "Five nights of Freedie" which we had never heard of.  Chase wanted to be anything "scary!"  We found a scary mask and gooey knife on amazon and then he wore the crazy red wig.  Tanner did not like Chase's costume.  Tanner wore the frog suit that the other boys wore.  He looked darling in it.  Tanner lasted about 20 minutes and then Matt brought him back to hang out with me at their house.  Tanner had more fun handing out candy and then eating Amy's bucket of candy.  Matt, Jake and the boys stayed out about another 30 minutes and then they were done.  They didn't get as much candy as other years but it was a different year for us.  I felt very homesick for our old neighborhood and for Shan.  I missed her so much that night!  I missed not having Aliyah and Lily come trick or treating at our house.

When we were at Amy's house, she showed us a package she got....it was Flat Bridger!  Angie sent him to Amy's so he gets to have some fun adventures with Mike and Amy.  Bridger was happy to see him for a little bit.  I love this picture of Chase!!  In support of the drug free week, one of the days was "crazy dress up day."  So Chase supported the cause and wore this crazy outfit to school!!

Best Concert Ever!!!

I've always wanted to see Garth Brooks so when I found out he was coming for a concert, I wanted to get tickets really bad!!  Trisha was also performing so it was an added bonus.  Shan and I were at our computers the minute tickets went on sale and luckily Shan got tickets first and was able to get 8 tickets so Mom, Dad, Mylissa, Shan, Robby, Matt and I and even Mares came.  It was such a great night!!  We went out to dinner first at Little America, then headed over for the concert.  At first we were a little disappointed because our seats were behind the stage but once we got there and saw the stage, they ended up being great seats!!  Garth and Trisha did an amazing job of walking around the stage and making sure they put on a show for the people that were behind the stage too.  Our seats were just a couple of rows behind the stage so it was awesome being so close!  

It was probably the best concert I've ever been to. There wasn't an opening act, Garth just started off the show and then halfway through, Trisha came out and sang for a little.  I wish she would have sung for longer but it was still great.  They sang my favorite duet "In Another's Eyes!"  Garth put on such an incredible show!!  I couldn't believe how much energy he had and how he kept his energy and excitement going the entire show!  I was so impressed!  He believes that if you spend that kind of money for a concert, you should get your money out of it and boy did we ever!  

After the concert, Mylissa, Shan and I decided that we wanted a "Garth" shirt so we splurged and ended up getting matching ones.  While we were waiting in line, Mom told us to get one for dad too. We looked like real fans by the end of the night!

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Halloween at L

We wanted to use our L passes one more time so we decided to go the Saturday before Halloween and boy was that a big mistake.  It was so busy!!!  All the rides had long lines and we didn't want to wait in them.  So we stayed a few hours and then went back to mom's house.   Shan and her family didn't come because Aliyah is going through a "scary" phase.  During fall break, we sat around the table and told campfire scary stories.  It pushed Aliyah over the edge because she's been scared ever since.  One of the stories was about a clown so every time we saw a clown a L, we took a picture and sent it to Shan.  We thought we were pretty funny.

Even though it was really busy, we had a fun time.  Bud came over with his family for a couple of hours and then Mylissa and her family came for a little bit too.

You can tell from this picture that Chase is loving all the people at L.  We've been used to going on slower, less crowded days so he didn't want to wait in the long lines for the rides.  He looks so happy in this picture.  Bridger loves going on the big roller coasters now.  But he was so sweet and still came over to the kiddie area to go on the rides with Caleb.  It's fun to see what sweet little buddies they are.

Luckily Tanner fell asleep in his stroller for a 45 minute nap.  It was enough to recharge him and make him happy!

Caleb and Julie

Julie, Bridger and Michael

This is my favorite picture!!  I love mom and Marilyn!

Fall Family Pictures

I knew I needed to get Tanner 's 18 month pictures taken so I decided to turn it into a family event and use the pictures for our Christmas card.  Plus I didn't buy the school pictures because I knew these would turn out better.  After searching around, I went with the same company that has taken all of Tanner's milestone pictures because they do a great job (even though they're in AF).  We hit horrible traffic on the way down and it took us three hours to get to AF.  I was dying because I was worried that they would make us reschedule our appointment.  I called them and they were wonderful to work with us and still do our photo shoot.  I was so happy with how the pictures turned out!  I love the one of our three boys together on the bench!! 

  When I looked at Chase's pictures it really hit me that he's a teenager.  He looks so tall and grown up in these pictures.   Chase and Bridger have been very particular about this style of hair.  They have to get it cut every 6-8 weeks to keep the sides short.  Then they grow the top a little longer.  The lady that cuts their hair calls it a "comb over."  I think they look so handsome.

Chase wrapped up his soccer season in October and started basketball right away.  Fortunately, he made the top competition team in town (there's only two but the other option is rec and he didn't want to do that).  We were so proud of him!  He has basketball typically one game a week with 2-3 practices during the week.  This team has turned out to be very intense but Chase has improved his skills.  His coaches are Nate and Clint and they're great with the boys.  I've had to get used to their yelling because sometimes they get after the boys.  Chase is really enjoying the team and has become friends with a few more boys.  One of the boys on the team lives in our neighborhood so it's been fun to see Reis turn into a good friend for Chase.  Chase loves to play on his iPad.  His favorite games are:  Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, and Mind Craft survival.  I think he would play on it 24-7 if I let him.  He doesn't like to read but he knows if he wants to play on his iPod he has to do his 30 minutes of reading.  Chase is really developing his piano skills. He's at an intermediate level.  He's working on hymns.  I love to listen to the boys practice their piano.  Chase is such a great big brother.  He's a good friend to Bridger and so sweet with Tanner.  He's a great babysitter.  

Bridger keeps us laughing.  Sometimes I look at him and think "you're crazy!"  The photographer told Bridger to make a silly pose so he did the monkey face.  It reminded me of me as a kid.  Bridger is a delightful child!  He's so happy and genuine.  He has such a tender heart.  I dropped Bridger off at school and he turned to me and said "mom, I made a goal to never be mean and so far I've been able to keep that goal."  It was so sweet!  Our move has been the hardest on Bridger which has surprised us.  He's had a hard time finding a little buddy at recess.  He and Brody were such a perfect match that his heart has missed Brody tremendously.  There have been many nights where he just cries and tells me how much he misses Brody.  But he's really trying to make friends.  Sometimes kids are just mean and he's having to learn how to deal with that.  He's doing great in school.  He excels in math and his reading has improved tremendously!!  Luckily he loves his teacher Mrs. H!!  Bridger is excited to start up basketball in January through the rec.  We haven't been able to find him a basketball team to play on.  He's taking a couple of baseball classes and through that we found him a baseball team to be on in the spring.  (Baseball and football are really big around here!)  Bridger loves to go to scouts each week.  He's getting to know the boys in the ward better.  Bridger is also really improving on the piano!  

When I looked at the pictures of Tanner, it made he realize that he's definitely a toddler and not my little baby!  He's getting so tall and slimming out.  The photographer did a great job getting pictures of him because he didn't sleep a wink in the car and was hungry by the time we got there.  Luckily she was able to capture some smiles!  Tanner is a very busy little toddler but is such a happy guy!  He loves to discover life!  He loves to read books, play outside, "ride" his tricycle, play with balls, cars and blocks.  He's learning to do puzzles.  He especially loves any books that make animal sounds. He likes to give kisses and hugs. It's so sweet! He loves Sophie!! Sophie is so good to put up with him because he tries to ride her and lay on her.  He's talking more every week.  He's still a picky eater!!  He's so good in nursery and is just happy to play with the other kids.  It's fun being in nursery with him because we can watch to see how he interacts with the other 14 plus kids.  He's down to taking one nap a day normally around 11:00 and he'll sleep for 2-3 hours which is wonderful!!  He loves his blankets and binki!  I call him Linus because he would carry his blanket around with him all the time if I would let him (plus his binki, it's a battle to get him to leave it in his crib).  There are times when I look at Tanner (especially at night) and I'm filled with such gratitude that the Lord answered our prayers and blessed our family with this special little guy.  He's added so much happiness to our family!  I can't imagine our life without him!  

After much convincing, Matt agreed to take a family picture!!!  I'm so happy that we finally have a family picture of us!!!  It was very stressful picking out and coordinating the clothes but luckily stores do returns.  I think my sisters and friends were so sick of me asking their opinions for clothes combinations but in the end it was all worth it.  Now we have it documented that we're a family!!

Fall Break in BL

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

I've been so excited for fall break.  Sweet Allan and Kaye offered their cabin to us over fall break. I ended up just taking Bridger and Tanner up around 4:00. Chase had a basketball game at 9:00 that night so he got a ride to the game with a friend and Mylissa's going to pick him up tomorrow. Unfortunately Matt is stuck at home because he is first call all weekend. I stopped by Allan and Kaye's on the way up and had a great visit with them. We ended up being the first ones to th cabin. Mom and Matilyn showed up next about an hour later. Shan and her girls arrived about 45 minutes after mom. Bridger was so helpful unpacking all the cars. We're just so happy to finally be here. 

Thursday, October 15, 2015

  I think we were all really tired because we all slept in til 8:30 (even Tanner)! We had a nice lazy morning. The weather is beautiful! I went for a bike ride around 12:30. I headed south on the main road and it was so envigorating! I love biking in Bear Lake!!! As I was heading out, I passed Mylissa. I'm so glad they finally made it up here. She just had too much to do to get away last night. But it worked out perfectly because Matt met Mylissa in Brigham City so Chase could come up. Shan and the kids went on a walk. The kids have played so sweetly together! Tonight after dinner, we watched the movie "Cinderella." It was so fun sitting around together watching the movie and eating treats. Even Tanner stayed up and watched it. He was so good to sit in my lap. Plus he was loving all the treats. Maddie and Chase have turned the basement mud room into their teenage hangout sleeping room. Bridger is sleeping on the bunk bed with me and Tanner. 

Tanner loved watching the birds on the front porch!  Luckily the weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of time outside watching the birds and looking for animals.  

Friday, October 16, 2015

  This morning we had yummy sweet rolls and scrambled eggs. Tanner had a rough night so I was pretty tired this morning. He woke up at 4:00 and didn't fall back to sleep until 6:30! Every time I would put him back in his crib, he would cry.  Tanner went down for a nap around 11:30 so Mylissa and I headed out the door for a bike ride. We headed out to the North Shore. I love going that way because there is less traffic and the view around the lake is so beautiful. It was around 65* while we were biking which is perfect fall biking weather! It will probably be our last warm fall day because a storm is coming in tomorrow. Around 3:00 we were getting ready to go to the lake when Shan shouted "moose!" So we ran out to the side deck and up on the hill was a bull moose with an incredible rack and a female moose. We sat out on the deck for an hour watching them. It was awesome! Finally around 4:00, we headed down to the lake. The water was a little cold at first but then we got adjusted to it. We had so much fun playing in the water. Tanner LOVED it. His diaper got so soggy that I finally just took it off and let him run around naked. He liked being naked! We ended up staying an hour and a half because we were having so much fun. When we got home, Shan kept driving up the hill and saw a momma and baby moose so we jumped back in our cars and headed up the mountain to see them. When we came back down, there was another moose just down the hill from the cabin. Five moose in one day!!!! We texted Dad and he said "you must be in moosetown!" After dinner we watched the Disney short cartoons. Around 9:30 Robby arrived! Once the younger kids went to bed, Maddy, Chase, and Bridger stayed up with the grownup and watched "Divergent." It's been a great day! 

My bike ride to the North shore with Mylissa. I love my bike rides in Bear Lake.  I rotate between riding to the south end or the north end.  There are things that I like about both sides.  The view is always beautiful no matter which way I go.

I love this sweet picture of Mares and Tanner holding hands.  She is so sweet to help us out with the kids.  I think it's neat the relationship they have with her.

Luckily we hauled the chairs out with us because it was nice to have something to sit in for Mom and Marilyn.  They enjoyed watching the kids play in the water.  Even though the water was super cold, the kids didn't mind and they still played in it.  Tanner liked to play in the little puddles because they were warmer.

I love this picture of me with my sisters!!  I'm so lucky that we're close and get along so well.  I love them and can't imagine my life without them!!!

I think this picture is sweet of Shan walking back with her girls.  Little Lilly's bum is too cute!  We didn't have swim diapers so their diapers got so soggy so we ended up taking them off.  They loved the freedom!

I felt so bad that Matt wasn't with us to enjoy the break.  Even though Matt's not with us, I love this picture because I can always remember the fun time we had at the lake.  

It's all fun and games until you get cold!  I think Tanner would be happy to join a nudist colony.

I had just gotten Tanner out of the tub when Shan called and said that they found a moose up above Kaye's cabin so I threw all the boys in the car and we headed up to look at the moose.  

On Saturday, Mylissa and I were able to get in our last bike ride.  The weather was perfect!  It's October and we were in shorts!  We rode out to the North shore again.

I love these pictures of reading time with Grandma and Mares.  This is what the cabin is all about,  time together!!!

Mom, Marilyn, Robby and Mylissa went home Sunday afternoon.  Shan and I stayed until Monday even though my kids had school on Monday.  It was wonderful because we were so lazy on Sunday and then Monday we got up and cleaned everything and headed out by noon.  

On Sunday I took my boys for a walk.  I love this moment.  I captured a sweet moment of the boys holding hands.