Thanksgiving Weekend

After a long move and lots of unpacking with Mom and Jessica's help the kids and I went to Spokane for a week. It just happened to be Thanksgiving, how convenient! We went to Moses Lake and had dinner with the Lybbert's. Grandpa Rick and Grandma Ronda came to visit us in Spokane, we had lunch together and played at the mall playplace and did a little shopping. 

We went out in the freezing cold and visited Duke and Scampy with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Randy. Both Logan and Brooklynn got to sit on Duke, it was too cold to do any riding.

This is Brooklynn trying to make Great Grandpa Lybbert's lawnmower go! She thought it was pretty neat. We had Thanksgiving dinner in Grandpa's garage with all the Lybbert's. And we did get to see a few Black Widows while cleaning it out first! 

Logan didn't seem to mind his first time on a horse!

The Byington girls taught Brooklynn how to play Mancala, it entertained her for a long time. She just loves playing with the big girls and always seems to gravitate to any big girl!

Yes, this is Logan licking a toy (at the mall), I know ewe. This is why I like the pacifier kept in his mouth. He does have a pretty good immune system though, wonder why?!

Cousin's having fun together!

Brooklynn will take hours (no exaggeration) to eat what she calls a "lollipop". She licks it until I get so annoyed that I tell her to chew it or I'll take it away. Logan just loves the camera, he always smiles for it, I love that! He is almost 11 months now and is getting to be so fun. We're now working on getting him less attached to me, he can't seem to have me out of his sight. I love it though, he a Momma's boy and Brooklynn undoubtedly is a Daddy's girl, she can't seem to have him out of her sight!

Quick Update

So we're all moved in to our townhouse in Rexburg. It is way cute and already feels like home! Thanks to my Mom and Jessy (and Carter) almost everything is unpacked and put away! The kids and I hitched a ride back to Spokane for a week and had a nice visit with everyone. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner in Moses Lake at Grandma and Grandpa Lybbert's. Patrick has been working in Cardston the past few weeks so he hopped a train and visited us in Spokane for the weekend. He is now back in Cardston for 1 more week. Randy dropped the kids and I off at our new place in Rexburg on his way to work in Wyoming. So now we're home and back to reality. I'm going to get some decorating for my favorite season done!!! It's been a crazy few weeks (thus the lack of posts) but as soon as I find that camera somewhere around here, there will be another post!!

First Haircut

This is Brooklynn's first haircut. I've waited for this day her whole life. Her hair was getting really long and straggly looking because the ends we're so thin so I decided to cut it. I thought I'd do it when it was wet, and cut a little to much off, oops. When it dried it bounced up and looked lots shorter than I intended, thus her cute curls are gone :( At least it's straight despite her being full of the wiggles. She didn't even care that I was cutting it, in all it only took me a couple minutes, I only did the back. I took some cute video footage of the haircut, but lately I haven't been able to upload videos to my blog, so you get the only 2 pictures we took!

GOING PRIVATE...

Come December 1st, this blogs going private. I guess with all the creepies in the world today, I would just feel safer. So if you would like to view this blog I am going to need your e-mail to invite you. Post your e-mail as a comment to this or send it to chrystalbluaj@yahoo.com. I love viewing others blogs as well, so if you blog too, please share your blog address or invite me to see yours! Thanks everyone!

This is my new favorite thing, and yes, I made it. It's kinda like the Moby Wrap. Logan loves it, he loves being carried. He's 20 lbs now and my shoulders kill when I carry him around. I tried the Bjorn, the sling and this one I love and thanks to my mother in-law it was free! I just wish I had made one when Brooklynn was born! My creative ideas are endless, I'm just waiting to have moving behind me so I can get started!!!

Halloween

This is Brooklynn showing off the Amazing Pumpkin, she drew the face and I carved it. It all took about 5 minutes from start to finish due to the softness of the pumpkin and the size. That's my kind of Pumpkin! This pic was taken before putting on her costume, she was so cooperative!

And this pic is after the costumes were on, not so cooperative. This is the best of about 10 pictures... then Logan fell of the step. 

I searched everywhere for Logan's hat, and as we we're trick or treating we we're informed that is got left at the church. The funny thing about trick or treating in Cardston on the East hill is that you see your whole ward in one night, either trick or treating or at their homes.

After a long time of trick or treating, I was surprised that Logan never fell asleep. Brooklynn shocked me by how far she walked, I think she liked seeing all her friends from church more than the candy itself!

But it didn't take long for her to dig in, her favorite was the white candy sticks, (the ones that look like cigarettes). It's almost all gone, not that she ate much of it. She takes a bite and hands it to me because she doesn't like it. She definitely doesn't have a sweet tooth, unlike her cousin Carter!

The Amazing Pumpkin!

This is the Amazing Pumpkin in all it's orange glory! In the spring I planted 6 Pumpkin plants, I watered them all summer long. The plants we're everywhere, taking over. Beautiful green vines with beautiful yellow flowers. I was truly amazed by what I had accomplished. These 6 plants yielded a whole 3 pumpkin! I was disappointed, but at least I had 3. Then in September we got frost and the once beautiful pumpkin patch turned black and one small pumpkin remained. It grew and grew and grew to a whole 6 inches! I brought it inside and it slowly turned orange. And that my friends is the story of The Amazing Pumpkin! Maybe I didn't inherit my Mothers green thumb. I did learn one lesson though, I will never ever, ever grow pumpkins again.

 

The Halloween party...

Here we are decked out in our Halloween attire! Patrick is a pirate, Logan is Peter Pan, and Brooklynn and I are Autumn Fairies! I think the costumes turned out pretty good! I was excited that Patrick consented to dress up this year. Last year he was a firefighter, regular attire for him. Logan couldn't stand his hat and he was ready for bed the start of the party. Brooklynn's Tutu dress turned out cuter than expected, if only she would have stood still for a better pic. And our fairy wings are my favorite part, the pictures do them no justice!

Logan's eyes aren't closed, he's just overly smiling!

I think Logan just likes our new camera, he smiles most everytime I pull it out. Maybe it's the big red flash that he thinks is pretty funny! 

This is Brooklynn's new look, the crooked mouth thing. She's been doing it for a few days now, a lot and it's not so cute! On the flip side, her fairy costume is!

Funny boy!

This is how his pacifier is supposed to go...

And this is sometimes how it ends up! It doesn't work so well this way but he doesn't seem to really care! 

Lately when I tell him to 'smile' for the camera, he does, it's so cute!

A Tribute to our TJ

TJ is Patrick's oldest brother. Tj was born healthy and at the age of 6 got viral encephalitis, leaving him permanently brain damaged and functioning at the level of a 6 yr old. At 40 years old he was living on his own with daily help from caregivers. He had a great love for the Calgary Flames hockey and the Calgary Stampeders Football. He collected all the paraphernalia, including; lighters, flags, figurines, jerseys, games, pins, pens and just about anything else. TJ had to have the daily Calgary Herald, unwrinkled and unripped, no matter to what extent it took to find one, just for the sports section! TJ had a great love for his family and enjoyed big family get togethers, especially if there was good food! TJ passed away on Tuesday the 14th due to head trauma. He had fallen the evening before in the road and sustained major head injury, leaving him unconscious. TJ's passing was sudden, he was prone to seizures but otherwise very healthy. It was his time to go, his work here on this earth was done. I only knew TJ for 4 1/2 years. In that small amount of time TJ taught me patients, persistence, and a love for the handicapped . TJ was full of fire at times, thats when patience was learned or when he would call at 2 am to ask us to fix his DVD player, or what teams are playing tomorrow. We will miss TJ dearly. He always wanted a wife and to be like his siblings. TJ, now is your time, you have completed your mission on this earth, you have fought a good fight, and we have all benefited greatly from knowing you. Thank you for your sacrifice on this earth on our behalf!

McNabb life update:

We're moving...again. I'm sure it isn't much of a surprise to most of you. We move a lot and when we're not, we're still thinking about it most all the time. So I am filling boxes and totes like crazy. We are moving to good ol' Rexburg, Idaho. Patrick is starting school in January and will be getting his RN. We're super excited for a change. Life just isn't progressing here in Cardston. I will miss this place though, especially our wicked cheap rent. Most of all we all will miss being so close to the McNabb family. So, yes back to packing and selling what we don't need. All the while Logan has had a very cranky week, turns out he has an ear infection, a cold, a horrible rash on his tummy and he just cut 2 more teeth. So it's been crazy here. And it's freezing outside, supposed to snow tonight. They all say it's even colder in Rexburg, bring on the sweatshirts and hot cocoa!

How, I wonder...

This is how I found Logan yesterday morning. I just can't figure out how he could have done this. He's a funny sleeper, every time I get him he's always sideways, usually kicking the bars.

It's nice to have visitors every once in a while

We had visitors; Grandma Mary, Papa Randy and Uncle Zac. They we're only here for a few days, but it was fun and eventful! Brooklynn was so excited that someone was coming to her house. 

We spent a day hiking in Glacier National Park. We we're so excited to show everyone the beauty of Logan's pass, but to our disappointment it was closed due to road construction. So we hiked to some falls and it was still beautiful! Logan loves to play in the water, in the shower he sticks his tongue out and tries to catch the water in his mouth. In the above picture we are just above the falls, I think Logan thought that he was close enough to taste it!

This picture is the best of many family pics taken that day, Brooklynn wasn't the most cooperative, and I am blocking the falls. The camera captured us well!

So the pictures are really out of order... here is Zac with Brooklynn. Zac thought his name would look very nice from the air so he chalked it out in bright blue and eventually filled it in with hot pink. Grandma Mary is looking very smart in her glasses. Logan is accepting the fact that he has to wear his toque! (and for all you who are probably wondering what a toque is, it's a winter hat, I have converted over to some of the Canuck language!)

Yes, Logan sits and he does it quite well. He will just sit and play for a very long time. Today was exciting, he actually got up on his hands and knees. I know your all saying to not encourage him, but I actually want my 8 1/2 month old to start crawling. As if I don't have enough excitement in my life :)

Here's a picture of Logan doing his favorite thing, eating! He eats anything and everything. His favorites being sweet potatoes, squash and bananas, he even likes steak! And to heck with baby food, he won't even look at it.  He just got his 4th tooth and they are all barely poking through. No one ever said you needed teeth to eat steak.

I took this picture from high above Patrick and Brooklynn. Patrick took Brooklynn down a steep rock so they could touch the cold water below the falls. The funny part was when Patrick tried to get back up and struggled. We'll just say he's um outta shape. He ended up with a nice scrape on his leg.

Brooklynn loves playing games lately. Everything is a game to her, no matter how serious mom is. Here is Papa Randy playing tag with her and below she is playing hide and seek. It's by far her favorite game. She is always hiding. She likes the counting part and counts all the way to 14 and then all the numbers after that are also 14. We're working on it!

Uncle Zac found this cool car for Logan, he loves it. I searched far and wide for one of these. This is the same kind of car Zac had when he was Logan's age. 

Our visit with Papa Rick and Grandma Ronda...

We had a fun time in Moses Lake. Brooklynn helped Papa Rick husk the corn, she picked a Watermelon, Got her nails painted by Aunt Chelsi, watched princess movies with Aunt Kayla and wore herself out!

(she said the corn had hair like me, I wish my hair was that silky:)

Logan finally conquered sitting, yay! And he colored for the first time with Grandma Ronda! Uncle Brian tried to trick his friends at school that he had an 8 month old son and Logan happened to fit the part. We went to Brian's first varsity football game/practice (a scrimmage, I think) and he carried Logan around showing his son off. He even toted him to Sunday school class. After all, babies are chick magnets!

It was a fun weekend!

Happy Birthday Grandma Mary

Happy Birthday Grandma Mary! We had a great visit, picking Beans and Tomatoes, jumping on the trampoline, shopping and camping out in the backyard! 

Carter, Grandma, Brooklynn and Logan

Watering Grandma's pretty flowers!

Grandma Mary grew too many beans, so Brooklynn and Logan had to help pick them

Believe it or not Logan loves beans!

Summer is...

Riding Bikes

Going for stroller rides

Eating toys

Bugging your big Sister

The Cardston Heritage Day Parade

Mom getting exercise

Learning that the faster you run, 

the more candy you get at the Parade

Wearing Daddy's Fire Helmet

Just hanging out

Dancing at the Pow Wow

Seeing some amazing costumes

Playing in Tipi's