Skip to main content

Airplanes and Cheesecake

  Lydia was thrilled to receive her first Kiwi Co box. It was so fun! She made these cute puppets and put on a puppet show. 



  There was also this fun turtle race. Lydia named her's Jewel. 
  This box has been the best thing ever. You really don't need much to entertain kids. 

Preschool pics!


  Allie's favorite part of preschool is snack time. 


  We were excited to get to take Aaron for a few days while Mom and Dad Peck went to Saint George with some friends. 

  We had Logan over one afternoon too. The kids had a blast chasing each other outside and playing Eye Spy. 


  We had Chris and Kristen's family over one evening since their quarantine was over. Both Chris and Kristen got Covid but luckily their symptoms were pretty mild. 

  We tried to enjoy the beautiful fall days as much as we could. 


  Allie was so very excited to dress up for her school Halloween party! She fit into Lydia's old dress, which made my mom heart a little panicky. I guess that means my little girls are growing up into bigger girls. Sure love this princess.







  And then there's this guy. Never a dull moment with him. His hugs and kisses are his saving grace. 

  Speaking of saving grace, we finally caved and bought this baby lock kit. It's been life changing. No more constantly shutting garbage, dishwasher, oven and cabinet drawers! 


  Two days before Halloween I remembered we hadn't carved our pumpkins yet. So we took them out to Avon and had ourselves a fun carving party! Or painting party in Allie and Hudson's case. 



  Pretty sure he ate as much paint as there was on his pumpkin. He was one happy kid. 

  So glad these two have each other. They have a blast. 

  The day before Halloween we had our traditional Halloween dinner complete with corndog mummy's, chicken fingers, apple smiles, a jack-o-lantern and worms in dirt. It's time consuming for me but makes it worth it to see how excited the kids get. 







  The kids have had a blast digging and playing in our newly tilled garden. 

  Halloween was different this year. Because of Covid we didn't do our traditional trick-or-treating but opted instead for a candy filled piñata. First we stopped at Grandpa and Grandma Rigby's to show them the kids' costumes. 

  Five minutes before we left I realized Hudson didn't have a costume. I told Loren I was just going to throw on the ladybug costume we had lying around from when the girls were little. He decided to take matters into his own hands and turned Hudson instead into Super Green Hero Guy. I was impressed, good job, Daddy. 

  This was the best picture I could get of all the kids. They were sure cute! From right to left: Aaron (10), Atticus (6), Lydia (7), Livi (2), Allie (4) and Hudson (19 months).

  The kids had a blast with the piñata. When it finally broke they gobbled up the Kit Kat's and left the Reece's, much to the adult's happiness.


  We finished up the evening watching Shaun the Sheep. Hudson enjoyed his front row seat. It was a great Halloween!

  Allie's Kiwi Box was really fun! She made a xylophone, dancing ribbon and tambourine. I love the creativity and learning that comes with each box. 

  We were able to go on one last bike ride to Firefly park before it got cold. Hudson is getting really good at climbing. 


  Loren had the opportunity to fly in a plane with Janos, one of his dad's friends. Janos even let him take control of the instruments and fly by himself! If I had known that I would have been a lot more worried. He had an amazing time. 


  They flew over our house! Can you spot it?

  They also flew over Avon, which is where we were at the time. 

  We couldn't believe how low they got! I felt like I could have jumped up and touched them. It was crazy and the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. 






  Our house!







  Last weekend we went with Chris and Kristen to Salt Lake for an overnight get-away. They are celebrating their 10th anniversary and invited us to hang out with them for the weekend. We had so much fun! We stayed at the Plaza hotel which is right next to Temple Square and the City Creek Mall. It was amazing to see the construction on the temple up close. They're fortifying the foundation the make it earthquake proof. Apparently it will take four years to complete. 


  We had a great time walking around City Creek and then going to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. There was an hour wait but it was totally worth it. I couldn't believe how long the menu was, it took us forever to decide what to get. I got chicken and biscuits and Loren got a shrimp dish. It was lovely!





  As amazing as the dinner was this cheesecake took the win. It was incredible, I've never had better cheesecake in my life. I got the lemon raspberry swirl and Loren got the 30th Anniversary. Soooooo good. 

  We played Masterpiece and watched Mulan that evening. Then in the morning we went to Kneaders for Breakfast and hung out at Deseret Book for awhile. It was such a relaxing, fun weekend with these guys. I'm grateful for the laughs and memories we get to make with them! So grateful for Mom Peck for watching the kids for us, even on her birthday. 

  Speaking of Mom's birthday, we were able to celebrate later that evening with vegetable lasagne (her favorite!) and an amazing chocolate cake made by Lindsay. We are SO blessed to have such a loving, selfless, giving, INCREDIBLE mom in our life. We love her so, so much. 


  She becomes more beautiful every year. 

  There's something magical about the first snowfall. 


  It didn't last long though! These kids were able to play in it for about an hour before it melted away. Hudson loved his first time in the snow. 

  I woke up one morning to Loren banging on the girls' door. Apparently the hardware in the handle broke and it wouldn't turn left or right to open. Allie was locked inside and couldn't get out. Lydia had weepy eyes and would cry, "We'll never get her out!" It was nice to see at least she was concerned for her sister. I kept thinking of that scene in The Emperor's New Groove when Esma and Kronk are stuck in the closet with no door handle. Esma says, "Kronk! Break the door down!" That's a little how I felt when we tried for over twenty minutes to get it open and no success. Finally Loren decided to pry the molding off the wall closest to the door. After he did we were able to use a knife to jiggle it free. 


  Free at last! At least there were books and games to keep Allie occupied. It probably wouldn't have been as fun in a closet or bathroom. 

  We took a trip down memory lane and played Mother, May I at my parent's last night. The girls had a blast and even Todd got in on the fun for a bit. My family's had a rough two weeks. My dad had 3 uncles, our good friend from Hyrum and my Aunt Susan pass away. We were there when my mom got the news about my Aunt. It was a complete shock and has been really hard for my mom as they were quite close. Our hearts are tender and we pray for my Uncle Bruce and his kids. Susan was about my mom's age and I just thought about how empty my life would feel without my mom there. I'm sure they have a rough journey ahead but I pray the Lord will be with them to strengthen them when they need it. The funeral is set for Saturday and I hope we can make it down.


  Em and Tyson were able to come down for a day last week. It was so fun to be with them. We were able to go through my totes of baby clothes and set her up for the first three months. I've been so looking forward to the day when I could give her those clothes! We can't wait to meet their little girl in February. 
































Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Home Again!

  The end of another school year is here and with it brings our cross country road trip to Utah. Yay! We planned our trip two months in advance because my dad needed time to book our hotels. At the time, it seemed like common sense to leave right after Loren's last final on Thursday. I mean, what did we have to wait around for? The sooner the better!    Fast forward a week before we were to leave, I was seriously questioning our decision making abilities. Why didn't we just wait to leave on Friday so Loren could help me pack and finish cleaning? I still had a million things to do and couldn't get any of it done with Lydia wanting my attention. Loren was busy studying for finals and I felt guilty asking him for any help. What the blazes were we thinking?! It was a stressful time, to say the least.    One morning we woke to sirens and fire engines blaring. The visitors center had caught on fire! There was smoke everywhere and we spent the rest of the mornin...

"Grandma and Grandpa- Fun!"

  One thing i've really missed while being in Virginia is going to our siblings competitions and events. It's been so fun to be able to see them all in action this month.    Todd and Brendan were both involved in a debate competition. I was really impressed with how well they did, it's a scary thing but they did great!   The Wellsville mile is one of my favorite events of the year. It seems like theres more kids every time and they keep getting faster. We were so proud of Todd and Brendan, they both ran personal best times. Lydia had a blast watching all the kids, she wanted to run with them! Todd's enterauge. Emily and her friends were able to run with him. Great job boys!   This girl has amazed me with her dancing. She's grown so much from last year and is such a gorgeous dancer. It's so much fun to watch her. We went to her end of year dance performance and had a great time. Thank goodness for Loren, he's the only one who remembers to camera to take pictu...

Thanksgiving Bash!.. and Crash

  I have to say, this past week has been the most fun and exhausting week we've had in a long time.  But before we get into that, we had our first snowfall a couple weeks ago.  Lydia was DYING to make a snowman so daddy went out and helped her make one. They had a blast!   Here's some of Lydia's school papers.    The weekend before Thanksgiving our basement flooded.  One of the tubes that hook onto the gutter was pointed directly towards our house instead of away.  Thus, we had water in our family room and the unfinished room.  It kept coming in for two days.  About every 10 minutes we had to suck up the water on the first day, then about every hour on the second.  I think we have learned our lesson and plan on digging trenches to make a more efficient drainage system.  Thanks to everyone who helped! No permanent damage was done and we're so grateful.   Loren had a guys night with his...