October 2018 Part 4: Family Pictures in Idaho

While we were in Idaho for Fall Break, my mom helped me take our family pictures. I picked a spot next to the Snake River, up Kelly Canyon near Wolf's Landing. It's my favorite spot because it is SO pretty. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks in the river while we were there. 

Especially Gabe. More on that later.

We had a hard time getting Gabe to leave the river to pose for pictures, so we had to let him have one of his rocks in the picture. See this picture? Notice Gabe is holding a rock? And despite the tickling, he was not happy to be in this picture!

I took this picture towards the beginning, and I love how it captures Gabe right at this moment in October. I put him up on the stool, and he's slowly trying to sneak off of it! Ha ha!

Our Beautiful Rachel:

And I can't get over how grown up Michael is getting! Make it all stop!

Mom helped me take some new headshots for my website and social media. A photographer really needs to have recent photos or it really doesn't look good. It's my least favorite thing about it all. 

After we got home, I realized that I didn't get a landscape orientation photo, and I really wanted one for how I decided to switch up the photos on my wall gallery, so I made the kids take another round of pictures after church a week later. These are just in our front yard, and this top one is the one that's up on the wall.

I love my kids, my Brian, and I love my mom for helping us take these beautiful pictures!!!!

October 2018 Part 3: Fall Break in Idaho

We had a long weekend; we went to Idaho to help with my mom and dad's house. This trip's agenda was the wiring. It was so fun to see the progress on the house! There old basement had a new temporary "walk out" door. This is where the new basement would attach to the old basement, and was crucial so that the old creepy basement stairs could be removed. After the stairs were gone, a new floor was placed over the old stairwell in the old kitchen, which gave more space for the new master-bedroom. It was amazing to see the change!

The old house next to the new basement foundation. 

In this picture below, Brian is standing next to the old stairs. This is before they were taken out. The picture really doesn't do justice to this creepy basement and the creepy stairs. Don't think typical basement. Think cellar. That's really more what it was/is.

It's so crazy seeing the old part and the new basement.

While we were there, we got to see them pour the tiny gravel into the basement floor, in preparation for the cement.

David and Brian worked hard all weekend to wire the old part of the house.

Taryn and I got kid duty, and Taryn worked on her new baby's slickie with Grandma, and I worked on Halloween costumes...because I really had a big idea this time, and I needed Grandma to help me with my costume. It's so hard to sew for yourself!

Meanwhile, the kids enjoyed the animals, especially the neighbor's horse in Grandpa's pasture.

Rachel and Aaron enjoyed coloring and reading together.

One day, Rachel came into the house where I was sewing and said, "Mom, Gabe's stuck."

"What do you mean, Gabe's stuck?"

"He's just stuck."

I asked her to show me where he was stuck and couldn't help but be equal parts horrified and amused to find Gabe like this:

He climbed up onto the fence, but then his jacket got caught on the wire on the way back down, and he couldn't get out of the jacket. He was able to get one arm free, but that was it. He was understandably very upset, but thankfully, he was okay. It is kind of scary to think about how that could have ended so terribly differently. Hopefully, he learned his lesson, but I really doubt it.

I got a little frustrated and stressed, so I took Gabe and Rachel for a drive up Kelly Canyon, and oh what a balm it was to my soul, driving next to the Snake River that I love so much and to see the fall colors in all my favorite spots next to it. On the way back, we stopped to throw rocks into the river.

After our Canyon trip, I did much better. It's hard to try to keep track of three kids in a different place all by yourself. It's a good thing they had two sets of grandparents to help.

Brian is the cutest amateur electrician I've ever seen :)

Grandpa Linville was so good about going over and working on the house. He pulled so many nails out after we took the lathe and plaster out. Here he is working on taking off the outer shingles.

It was so crazy seeing my childhood home changing, but I was so glad that this was finally happening.

My parents were so good about sending us photo updates whenever anything new happened at the house. It's quite the transformation; I can't wait to share!

October 2018 Part 2: Rachel's Halloween Dance Recitat

Rachel LOVES to dance! She about drove me crazy begging me to sew her costume for her Halloween Dance Recital. This was a more informal recital, so I got to figure out how to make her look like a bat. We got some black and purple tulle, some black elastics, and pulled out the hot-glue, black felt, and glitter, and Ta DAH!

I think she makes a pretty cute little bat.

I did a strange thing for this recital. I helped out at a family shoot up Provo Canyon, past Squaw Peak the day of her recital, and I asked Lea if she would step in and get Rachel ready for her recital. Lara was also in town for a memorial service the next day, and she helped Lea. I ran late coming out of the canyon and hit rush hour traffic. I felt like the WORST mother on the planet, trying to get to her recital in time. I was so grateful that her two amazing aunts got her all ready and looking fabulous for her recital! Here's the crew that came out to support her. This was while we were waiting for the program to start:

Rachel knows how to light up a stage! 

We totally dropped the ball in the flower department. Brian grabbed a couple of flowers from a bouquet I had and added some snapdragons from my flower bed to try to compensate, but I must say it looked a little shabby. Oh well, we weren't empty handed!

And then afterward, I got to teach her the fine art of washing off make-up, which Brian considered to be a Kodak moment :)

We are so proud of our tiny dancer, and we are so grateful for Lea and Lara  making her look so amazing and getting her to her recital on time, especially since Mom was out of commission! What would we all do without our strong support team?

October 2018 Part 1: Michael's Birthday

Michael turned nine in 2018, which meant that it was his year for a one-on-one date with Mom and Dad. The Saturday before his birthday, we headed to Provo to eat at the BYU Creamery, pick up some BYU gear at the BYU Bookstore

and then head to Nickelcade for some arcade fun. 

Brian and I played all the ticket winning games to give Michael currency for prizes at the end. 

We made him a Lego Cake. 

And put his presents on full display for him to look at and think about all day, since there wasn't time to do anything about them before school.

We took his presents with us when we went to Texas Roadhouse.

He loved them all--books, model airplane, box of craft supplies (multiple varieties of tape, paper clips, rubber bands, that kind of thing).  After dinner, we went home for cake and ice cream:

Gabe loves birthdays and gets really excited whenever the birthday banner goes up. 

Michael switched schools this year to be in the Advanced Learning Lab, and the first two months were pretty rough on all of us as he adjusted to having to work harder! It was nice to be able to have some stress-free time together on his birthday to just celebrate the incredible guy that he is. He loves Legos, books, airplanes, tanks, and World War II. He also enjoys playing on whatever "play box" we had at the time, particularly Minecraft. We're so proud of him and the amazing person that he is!