"pending generation" reunion (october 2014)

Every few years the girls I used to sing with (in a group called "Pending Generation" as well as other performing groups with various names) get together for a reunion of sorts. Some of these friends I've known since I was very young (Liv or Tosh's age), but most of us were singing together since we were 10 or 11.  We spent SO MUCH time together in our teen years that we feel like sisters.

Here is a photo of a few of us from a shoot taken of our country western group in 1991, I believe (gotta love the big hair! Hilarious!):

Well, back in the spring, my fried Lori suggested that we meet in Arizona this year. I was happy to host, and certainly wasn't expecting that I would be 1. pregnant, 2. moving, and 3. having extended family living with us. The timing was kind of funny, but it all worked out great! The girls flew in on a Thursday and we got brunch at Joe's Farm Grill and went shopping. Then we had dinner at my place with the family that evening and visited and watched some old videos. On Friday morning we had breakfast then drove an hour north to the Phoenix Temple open house. Two of my friends are not Mormon, but have grown up hearing all about our church and were really interested to see inside one of our temples. The temple was really gorgeous and we had a really enjoyable time:

A closer up shot (from left: Shelby, Leslie, me, Erin, Jessica, and Lori):

An "ussie" from a golf cart at the parking lot:

After leaving the temple we grabbed some yummy pizza and salad for lunch and drove north to Sedona for the night. Our weekend mostly consisted of eating great food and visiting/laughing together. It was perfect!  Friday evening we went to a great Mexican restaurant in Sedona that I had been to last time I was there. Pre-dinner in the parking lot:

After more visiting and making breakfast in our kitchen we did some hiking Saturday morning. It is really pretty and relaxing in Sedona:

After our hike we grabbed lunch and did some shopping in the village-- everything was decorated so cute for Halloween!

We found a stage and decided to sit for a photo (instead of singing or clogging on it--we didn't want to create a scene).

We returned to my home on Saturday evening and had fun trying to sing together and remember our harmonies and lyrics to various songs.We laughed so much--it was a blast! I took everyone to the airport early on Sunday. It was such a great reunion and a reminder that you pick up right where you left off with good friends. These girls are truly my sisters!

fall overview (August-November 2014)

We told the kids we were expecting a baby by framing a photo from my first doctor/ultrasound visit. The younger kids had a hard time figuring out what it was, but Burke got it right away. It was really fun to see how excited they were.

Order up!

Burke receiving several awards at a court of honor:

The Andelin family moved to Chandler in August and stayed with us for a few months. The kids loved having their cousins around to play with.

They came right after I started feeling sick which was great timing as we REALLY appreciated all of the help we received! Sue took on more and more responsibility as I got feeling worse and worse in September. She did all sorts of things like help make school lunches, drive my kids to and from school, laundry, cooking, etc. etc.  We joked about Sue being my "sister wife" as she and Rob made a great team keeping everything running and even packing us up to move!  

The fantastic brother/sister duo!

 It was tough to move from our Elmwood home, but we got a great deal on a one-story home that I can picture living in forever. I miss many things about this place--CENTRAL VAC (but am finally starting to feel more at home here):

Tosh taking a break from packing up boxes:

Liv dressed up as an artist for "Community Helper Day" at kindergarten. She is looking more and more grown up!

This was taken just before leaving for our primary program in sacrament meeting (late October). Liv was really hoping to wear her bunny in this great style she came up with. Also, for the record our primary presidency was released a couple of weeks after the program. I had been the first counselor in primary for about 3 and a half years and now I am an instructor in the Relief Society (fourth Sunday--Teachings for our Times). 

This is a really cool thing Tosh brought home from school. Made me chuckle:

Speaking of Tosh, we chopped his mop off (his request)! He looks like a different kid.

We carved pumpkins for family home evening the Monday before Halloween which was fun (but too early as it was hot and they started rotting before Halloween hit just a few days later). 

All of the kids were really good at cleaning out their pumpkins:

Cool jack-o-lanterns! 

Tosh wanted to be "Steve" from Minecraft for Halloween. Aunt Sue is the best and helped him make the coolest costume out of a box and paint samples! 

The finished product:

Liv was a mermaid fairy:

Burke and I laughed about this candy he received--clearly leftover from Valentine's Day! Poor Robbie...

Liv was listening to some of Rob's music one night (after our neighborhood festival--thus the face paint) and when she heard a song with me singing said, "You sing, Mom?" Where has she been? Ha!

Liv and August taking a rest while playing outside:

Silly cuties:

Probably the best thing about our new home is that it is across the street and next to HUGE fields! It's like living on several acres of grass that we don't have to mow or take care of! The kids have spent so much time playing outside and it's fantastic!

I just had to document this event as it is likely to never happen again--simultaneous foot rubs by Tosh and Burke!

On "Auntie Duty" one day with Kiefer and August:

Liv missed a day of school due to an ear infection in November. After going to the doctor we went to Subway before picking up her prescription. Liv was super excited (she loves Subway!) and toward the end of her lunch she said, "When we're done eating can we talk here for a little bit?" She is such a sweetie. I just love and appreciate having a little girl.

Rob took Liv's training wheels off one night in November. He simply came in and announced that I should come outside and see Liv. She was such a pro--she can ride and pose (smile) at the same time!

I discovered this gem while going through a stack of Hewitt's school work; the assignment was "Draw the superhero you would like to substitute in your classroom." I can't get enough of Hewitt's drawings (and I love how much he likes to read!):

hewitt turns ten!

Hewitt turned ten on the 2nd of October. He is such a sweet and wonderful kid. We feel so lucky he is in our family. 

We had a birthday party after fall break was over. We decided to go with a "Nerf" theme:

Aunt Sue helped set up all sorts of sweet stations for the kids. We used various things such as little figures, plastic cups, moving boxes, balloons, etc. as part of the shooting range:

According to Rob, Tosh actually had a the best shot (got the most points) of all the boys! Grandpa Pete would be so proud!

Cute little August taking a turn behind one of the barricades:

The party turned out great and the boys had a great time. We sure love Hewitt!