november 2016

November! Some darling photos of a dapper little chap at Target:

 Sweet face with amazing blue eyes:

Some super cute videos of Rob playing with Truman during his lunch break (11/10/16). Truman LOVED these videos and watched them over and over (reminder that you must go to sweetpetes.blogspot.com to see videos):

 The kids just think it is FREEZING when Rob opens the windows/doors in the morning to cool the house down...into the low 70's.

Rob and I were out one evening and came home to find these cuties playing Ninja! What sweet and good babysitters.

Rob was killing me one Sunday after church with this ensemble...the forced smile adds to the great dad-ness of it all:

 Truman was being really silly one morning (I'm glad he seems to have moved past this stage of pulling things out of cupboards). I'm not sure what he was doing, but he sure is happy (and cute):

A video of Rob and Tosh doing a little blues improv on the piano (too bad Truman started fussing at the end). The dancing he does toward the middle-end is fantastic!:

Enjoying Tosh's game together:

Liv's teacher asked us to do an "I'm thankful" leaf about Liv:

Rob was selected to go as a chaperone on Tosh's field trip to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. Looks like Tosh and his best buddy Tripp took some selfies on Rob's phone on the bus ride. Love these boys:

 Patti and Alisa were able to be with us for Thanksgiving dinner (as well as the Andelins). This meal sure is a lot of work, but always seems to come together well. Alisa and I did the turkey trot (10K)that morning, and I get a bit nervous about getting home in time to do the stuffing and get the turkey in on time. We did pies the day before (I made chocolate mousse pie and Patti made lemon and pumpkin), so that was helpful. Patti taught Alisa how to make (Grandma Watkins) rolls. I'd really like to learn, but I'm always busy doing the other food (potatoes, sweet potato pie, pretzel jello, etc.)... I'll have to learn when it's not Thanksgiving (or Christmas)! While Sue, Alisa, Patti and I were cutting veggies and working in the kitchen, I noticed that I had a view of Rob napping outside! It was so funny. You can see him in the background here and then a close up on the right.  To be fair, he did peel potatoes if I remember correctly. Ha!

Rob loves his stuffing. We made a TON!

Alisa with the yummy veggie dish:

Finishing up the pretzel jello-- the pre-dessert dessert.

Group photo outside. I'm thankful for this crew!

 The day after Thanksgiving was Rob's birthday. The whole family went to San Tan Jr. High for a little tennis. Patti sent me a couple of photos:

That evening, Rob and I went out to dinner at The Keg with Rob and Alecia Lundell. It's become a tradition for the Robs to celebrate their birthdays together. After dinner we went back to the Lundells for some cake. The birthday boys:

"Happy Birthday to us!"

Getting cozy by the fire.  These two crack us up!

Julie sent me a super cute photo of these cute cousins:  Anna braiding Liv's hair, August playing, and Burke reading with Kiefer.

A couple of funnies: I found this on the refrigerator...

Tosh kept trying to get into Liv's box so we suggested that she put bits of bread on top of it to keep him out! He came by and saw what we had done and tried really hard to hide his amusement (laughter). The plan worked really well: Bread to Tosh is like garlic to a vampire!

Selfie snuggles with my sweet (sick) boy:

Rob's brother and his family were here for a wedding during Thanksgiving weekend and stayed at our place. The kids had a great time together and Rob and John were able to go golfing one day.

(the rest of) october 2016

October was a busy month! Besides Hewitt's birthday and our trip to California, there's still a lot to cover. First off, this photo was from August or September, but got missed somehow. It's too cute not to post! We love playing games together. Our little game table in our family room may seem odd to the average person, but we love it and use it a lot! I sure love these three crazies...I think it's such a cute photo of all of them: 

We met up with some friends (the Fullers) at the park during fall break and had a great time, although it was a really warm day. Truman was hilarious and kept insisting that Hewitt get on this bus and then he would stand away and blow him a kiss as if to send him off to school (Truman goes with me every morning to take Hewitt to the bus stop). I thought it was the most darling thing and was happy to catch some photos of it.

 Out for an evening ride. I love getting shots of these two looking at each other (melt my heart):

A little fall cleaning (dust vac):

Some night basketball 3 on 3 with a very bright moon:

Lining up cars is very serious business. Such focus.

Sue sent me this photo (while she was watching Truman) and I about DIED!!! This is about the craziest photo ever! So funny and scary at the same time. Someone mentioned that Sue looks a bit like Julia Stiles and I think Truman looks like a little Gremlin that is about to nip at your heels!

A cart full of cars:

We did three different Halloween(ish) events this year. The first was a fall festival at Intel. They had dinner, tons of bounce houses, games, zip lines, etc. Sue and the boys joined us. I never got a photo of everyone as I don't think we were ever in the same place at the same time. It was a really hot day/evening so I decided to make Truman as comfortable as possible and have him be a "runner" as his costume:

It wasn't a surprise that he wouldn't keep the headband on...

 

Liv loved getting her face painted:

 And painting pumpkins:

 Truman is definitely a lefty! Learning to use a spoon:

A funny/cute selfie I discovered on my phone:

The branch had a fall festival and we didn't get the memo that no one dresses up. Oh well, it was just these two that dressed up and they were a pretty cute witch/cat duo:

 Truman kept throwing the hat (ears) I made off, and we had a hard time convincing him to wear it...

 I ended up having a wonderful time at the branch dinner/festival. Rob was keeping tabs on Truman outside where all the games were taking place, and I discovered a big group of women (mostly Native American) playing Bingo in the Primary Room. Up to that point I felt like I had been striking out with my attempts to get to know anyone. My usual, "Hi! I'm Tamsen..." wasn't being received as I was used to. It was so awesome to just quietly sit, feel a sense of belonging, and play Bingo. I got to know many names as different women would win and claim prizes. There was such a fantastic feeling in the room that beings tears to my eyes to think about. The prizes were wrapped up and great! Mostly trinkets and porcelain-type animals. I won a soap dish and then this awesome bracelet. I was so excited when I opened it and told the woman that bought all the prizes that it's perfect--my boys love basketball! I wear it to church often:

On Halloween night, the entire Lundell (extended) family was able to join us at our house for dinner (pulled pork sandwiches and tons of other yummy food). Rob (L.) brought over a decorated trailer for a hay ride! It was fun to all ride around our neighborhood visiting, and make stops for the kids to get out and trick-or-treat on each street. We didn't get to the entire neighborhood which is good (too much candy!). It was a really fun night.

Alecia brought over a cute candy craft for the kids to do:

About to start the hay ride!

It thought it was so funny that Bella and Addie were also a witch/cat combo!

Cute girls...and Truman!