Hendrickson Family

January Happenings

2012-02-01T11:46:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Great Grandma B's 80th Birthday!

We also celebrated Grandma Hendrickson's Birthday!

Noah started rice cereal...

He didn't like it very much. (I don't blame him)

He's tried green beans and mashed potatoes since then with a much better reaction.

Halle started tumbling...

Walking like a bear

Practicing cartwheels

Doing somersaults

Doing the snake crawl

She loves it!

The story of the missing book...

Caden has always been very responsible, especially with things associated with school. Every Tuesday they go to the school library and check out a book and get to take it home for a week. He always puts the book on his dresser so he doesn't lose it. I picked him up from school one Tuesday and I could tell he was distraught. I asked him what was wrong and he said he forgot to bring his library book back so he wasn't able to check out another book. I assured him it was ok and we would remember to bring it back next week. We went home to find the book and it was nowhere to be found. I looked in every closet, under every couch, in every toy box. It was gone. Now Caden was really upset. I told him he should say a prayer and ask for Heavenly Father's help, so he went straight to his room and did that. We even mentioned it in our family prayer that night. The book didn't show up that day. The next day when I dropped him off for school he asked me to please look for it again. I had no idea where to look. I was putting the milk away and I thought to myself, maybe I should look on top of the fridge. Well there it was. I have no idea how it got there because I never put anything there.
When I picked him up from school I put it on Halle's chair to see if he would notice. He was very excited. He said, "My prayer was answered!" It was an awesome teaching moment for him.

Awesome DI Finds

I was very excited to find the Bat Cave because I really didn't want to pay $40 for it. I got all these toys for around $13. Score!

Noah is 5 months old!

2012-01-12T15:43:00.001-08:00

Noah turned 5 months old today. Time is just flying by. I love his little personality. He likes to be where all the action is. He does not like to be left alone in a room. He prefers to be held all the time which makes doing things quite difficult. As I type this he is sitting in my lap. He grunts and growls all the time. I think this is how he communicates and when I can't tell what he wants, he grunts louder. I love watching him grow and change every day!

We decided it was finally time to change Halle to a booster seat. She was very excited when her pretty pink chair was delivered today. She exclaimed, "I finally get a cup holder!" Who knew that would be so exciting! She can be cute when she wants to, but don't let that fool you. She can throw a mega tantrum at a minute's notice. Every day I hope that the terrible 2's will go away, but they just keep going strong every year.

I can't believe how different Kindergarten is now. Caden uses computers and ipads all the time in the classroom. That's quite different than my experience. I remember taking classes in junior high about using a typewriter. I could never master the "how to use white out" lesson. My how times have changed!

Christmas and New Years 2011

2012-01-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

I decided to make the big Christmas Eve dinner a couple of days before so I could actually enjoy the night. We had hoagies instead. The kids got to pick out what chips and drinks they wanted.

After dinner we went to look at Christmas lights.

When we got back we acted out the Nativity story.

We let them open one present on Christmas Eve.
Halle- Littlest Pet Shop
Noah- Sound Machine (I hope it helps him sleep better)
Caden- Lego Batman for the Wii

Christmas Morning

Noah and I are still a little tired.

They were very excited to see what Santa brought them!
Caden got- a scooter, Legos, Mario Kart set, Battleship, Wheel of Fortune for the Wii, and books.
Halle got- a Furreal Kitty, Princess Squinkies, a Squinkies game, a scooter, Nickelodeon Wii Fit, ballerina doll, and books.
I think they were most excited for the toothbrushes in their stockings.
Noah got- a Noah's Ark toy and books.

We got to play with toys before we went to Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

Noah loves his Oscar the Grouch

Christmas at the Hendrickson's

Noah and Landon are 2 month's apart, but they are almost the same size.

Norma gave a lesson about the birth of Jesus.

We love to open presents!

Christmas at the Eyre's

The kids loved their presents...

Me and my cute sisters with our scarves. We are so stylish!

NEW YEAR'S EVE

We had a little party at our house for New Year's Eve. There was a lot of food, fun, and family. Heather and Adam and their kids came and my parents and Emily came.

We played a lot of Michael Jackson Dance for the Wii. I definitely dominated at Thriller.

We decided to celebrate at 10:30 because that seemed like a good time. We toasted and drank our Martinelli's . My kids actually made it to midnight so we celebrated then too. It was a fun night!

4 months old!

2011-12-22T14:29:00.001-08:00

Noah turned 4 months old on December 12th.

Here are his stats:
Weight- 14 lbs. 2 oz.- 34th percentile
Height- 24.5 in.- 35th percentile
Head- 16.75- 59th percentile

He is the sweetest boy ever! He loves when anyone gives him attention. When he feels like he's being neglected, he'll definitely let you know. He's loves to be held and cuddled and tickled. I love his crazy hair and chubby little legs!

Yesterday he rolled over for the first time! He is very proud of his new trick. I can't believe how fast he is growing up. I want to slow time down so I can enjoy every minute with him. We love you Noah!!

This and That

2011-12-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

Our Sunday Best

I will be very excited next year when we go back to 11:00 church.
It's so hard getting everyone ready by 9:00.

Here's Caden's GQ pose...

My cute kiddos

Our attempt at a family portrait.
Can you tell we were bored one Sunday?

Swimming

I put the kids in swimming lessons while Caden was out of school. He is off track from Thanksgiving to New Years so I needed something for them to do so we didn't drive each other bonkers. They did such a good job! I was scared because Caden hates to go under water, but he loved it. I think I'll put them in swimming every time he's off track. It's a good thing to learn.

Noah is such a cute baby! He's getting quite the personality.
I love watching him learn new things.

Sisterly love...

Grandpa Belliston's Birthday

Grandpa B's Birthday was back in September so I'm a little slow adding the pictures.

Here's all the grand kids and great grand kids that were at the party.

My family with Grandma and Grandpa B.
I can't believe how little Noah was.

Grandma Eyre with Noah

Belliston Family Christmas Party

We had the big family Christmas Party yesterday. I forgot to get the camera out so we don't have a lot to show for it. Karen did a great job hosting it! It was a lot of fun seeing everyone and the games were awesome!

Lucas REALLY liked the scarves...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!

Happy 4th Birthday Halle!

2011-11-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

Halle turned 4 years old!

About Halle:
Favorite food- grapes
Favorite color-pink
Favorite shows- Curious George, Word World
Favorite thing to do- play with Jacklinn, Maren, and Leah

She was very excited to be spotlighted at preschool!

Halle chose to go to Burger King for her Birthday lunch.
(Lucas and I were glad that it wasn't McDonald's)

Opening presents...

She was one happy girl!

The Birthday cake

Noah turned 3 months old!

My skeleton children
(Gracie gave Halle some pajamas so now they can all match)

Halloween Festivities

2011-10-30T16:23:00.001-07:00

Haunted Heber Creeper

We went on the Haunted Heber Creeper with Lucas' family. I was a little nervous because Caden scares easily, but he assured me he would be OK.

First we went to Bridal Veil Falls and had a picnic. It was beautiful!

Boys being boys...

I think Neve was more interested in eating the dirt and rocks...

Noah was trying to keep warm...

The kiddos

The Hendrickson cousins
(Noah is hidden in the stroller, but we know he's there)

The family

And then we moved onto the train...

Adam protected Halle from the scary people...

Noah the Jedi...

Halle wasn't scared at all, except when the scary people got in her face.

Caden was terrified. (that wasn't a surprise)

Hollywood Connection

We had some coupons to use at Hollywood Connection so we decided to go. The kids loved it!

Caden loved driving the cars...

I made Lucas take the kids on this ride. I hate rides that spin and go in circles. Makes me sick.

My kids are obsessed with the Merrry Go Round. I think it's their favorite ride.

Caden had to ride the ostrich, which he thought was a goose.

Noah was content in his carseat...

We ended the night with rollerskating. I was kind of scared to see how they would react, but they loved it!

Halle has worn many costumes this Halloween season. She can't make up her mind.
Costume #1
Halle as Rapunzel for her preschool party...

Here's the kids all dressed up for the Ward Halloween Carnival...

Costume #2- Halle the butterfly and Caden the skeleton
They really know how to ham it up for the camera

Caden wanted to be the character from his favorite book, Dirk Bones, the skeleton detective.

Aren't they a scary bunch?
Costume #3 Snow White

The cute Eyre grandkids
Halle, Eva, Noah, and Caden

The girls...

The twin skeleton boys...

Hendrickson Family Halloween Party

Of course we had to do the donut game...

The powdered donuts were a nice touch!

And we decorated some cookies...

Caden the shark!

And of course we went trick or treating. Halle decided on the butterfly costume for this night.

Caden wanted his face to look like a skeleton. My mom would laugh at my artistic ability, I have none.

It has been a fun Halloween season!

Noah is 2 months old!

2011-10-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Noah turned 2 months old on October 12th. I know I'm a little slow posting this. I think it's funny that all my kids were born on the 12th: May 12th, August 12th, and November 12th. Now we just need to have a baby on February 12th and they will all be 3 months a part.

Here are his stats, he's pretty average:
Weight- 12 lbs. 5 oz. -53%
Height- 23.25 in. -52%
Head Cir.- 16 -57%

Noah and the Bear

He is such a happy baby! He loves to smile and talk to everyone! I joked before he was born that he would have red hair since Caden had blonde and Halle had dark brown. I was really surprised that it really is red and everyone comments about it. He is such a cute little baby!

The Happenings

2011-10-11T12:46:00.001-07:00

We have been putting this off for far too long...taking off the training wheels. Caden is a very fearful child and he would never let us do it. We kept telling him that most of the Sunbeams can ride a two-wheeler. (except Halle, but that's a different story) He finally gave in a let Lucas take them off.

There were many tears shed and he eventually gave up, so the saga continues. Hopefully he will muster up the courage to try again. Maybe he will acquire the skill before he moves onto college. We can always hope.

Basketball

We told Caden if he played soccer last Spring, then he could play basketball when he got to Kindergarten. He was very excited because that's what he really wanted to do. It is so funny to watch 5 year olds play basketball because most of them have no clue what is going on. There are a select few that actually know how to play the game and they definitely dominate. I wish we would've taped the tip off because that was the best part. All of the kids watched as the ball rolled down the court and all of the parents are screaming "Go get the ball!". Finally all of the kids understood and there was a mad dash for the ball. It was definitely entertaining.

All of these pictures are just because I love my kids and they are very cute. (enough said)

Noah's Blessing Day
October 9, 2011

Lucas gave a beautiful blessing! Thank you to all of our family that came to share that special day with us!

The Many Faces of Noah

2011-09-23T15:24:00.001-07:00

Noah is 6 weeks old today! I feel bad because I feel like I don't take enough pictures of him. With Caden I took a ton of pictures and with each child the picture taking has diminished. Sorry Noah, I really do love you.

He has started smiling more and more. He's getting to be more interactive and I love it!

Halle loves her brother! Sometimes she loves him too much and he gets mad.

I'm starting to get more energy back each day so I'm not a sleepy mommy all the time.

Noah loves his daddy too!

Caden was too busy playing the Wii so he didn't partake in the picture taking.

Here's the picture of him and his Lego creation that he wants to submit to the Lego magazine.
(Don't ask)

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!

Noah and Bear

2011-09-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Noah turned 1 month old yesterday. I can't believe how big he has gotten already!

Here's Noah and the bear...

I tried to take their picture with their cute shirts, but of course they didn't cooperate.

I love his crazy hair

He's definitely out of his sleepy newborn stage. I really wish he would sleep more.

Lucas, Caden, and Halle went boating with Lucas' family.

Noah thought Lucas looked pretty funny in his hat. He wouldn't stop staring at him.

Caden is so brave!

Caden, Kylee, and Halle on the tube.

I am definitely ready for fall now. I'm weird and I love the colder weather!

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-06T18:02:00.001-07:00

Halle's turn finally came! Every time I would take Caden to preschool Halle would freak out because she wanted to go too. For the past year she has been asking me if it was her turn to go to preschool. She was very excited that today was the day!

She was thrilled that she got to wear her new clothes that she picked out like 3 months ago.

I was trying to take pictures at the preschool, but it wasn't working so well. I was trying to hold the camera and Noah and trying to get Halle to smile and look at the camera.

She didn't shed any tears. She was ready for me to leave. In a way it makes me sad that my kids are ready to get rid of me. Deep down I know they love me.

She survived her first day and she can't wait to go back!

2 Week Check Up

2011-08-27T17:18:00.001-07:00

Noah went to his two week check up!
Here are his stats:
Weight: 8 lbs. 10 oz.- 46%
Height: 20.75- 55%
Head: 36.5- 38% (I was surprised how small his head was because usually my kids have heads in the 90th percentile.)

Here are his cute hospital pictures...

Baby Noah

2011-08-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

The Big Day!!

Waiting for the fun to begin...

Noah Brent Hendrickson

Born August 12, 2011
12:05 pm
8 lbs. 3 oz.
20.5 in

The Proud Mom

The Proud Dad

His first bath at the hospital...

We love him so much!

Our first family picture.
(someone really should have told me to fix my hair)

Caden and Halle are in love with him...

Kisses...

Halle really liked to sit on my bed...

My kids can't take a normal picture...

Grandma Eyre and the kids...

Halle and Grandma Hendrickson

Grandma and Grandpa Hendrickson and Noah

Noah Brent and Grandpa Brent

The aunties...

Kylee, Mason and Heidi even came to visit.
(sadly, Kylee was having a meltdown during this picture)

We finally get to go home!

Caden and Halle put up signs to greet us!

First bath at home. Can you tell he hated it?

He is such a mellow baby. We are so grateful to have him in our family!

I'm pretty exhausted after taking care of 3 kids. Hopefully it gets better when I get more sleep.

Of course we had to take his picture with the bear...

Welcome to the family Noah!

Kindergarten has begun...

2011-08-05T11:55:00.001-07:00

I still can't believe I have a child old enough to be in public school. This was Caden's first official week of Kindergarten. We are on year round so he started a little early. I guess I'll find out how much I like year round the first time he is off track. He was very excited to start. He asked me every day since preschool was over if Kindergarten was starting that day. When I dropped him off he didn't even want me to get out of the car. That made me kind of sad. My little boy is too independent. He even had to pick out his own outfit and do his hair. Needless to say, I was the only one that shed tears that day, he was ready to go. I'm very proud of him! He makes such a cute Kindergartener!

On a side note, I'm probably getting induced next week! Yahoo! The end is in sight!

Progression of the Baby Bump

2011-07-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

5 weeks left! (hopefully less)

20 Weeks

25 Weeks

30 Weeks

35 Weeks

I am very miserable and can't wait to meet this little boy! Now we just need to agree on a name.

On a another note, Lucas was gone for a week of Scout camp and Caden and Halle were VERY excited to have him back! This is Lucas' mountain man look. I made him shave shortly after this.

Summer Catch Up

2011-07-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

My blog has become neglected. I don't have a lot of energy to do many things, so my blog has been put on the bottom of the list. I only have 6 more weeks until the baby comes! I probably still won't have time and energy to focus on my blog after that, but I will try my best.

We have been doing a lot of fun things this summer. We bought Summer Passes to the Syracuse Fun Center. I probably could have saved a lot of money taking the kids to the Arctic Circle or McDonalds play land, but I guess you live and learn. They only like to play on the bounce house and the trampoline. Laser tag and glow in the dark miniature golf freak them out. They will bowl from time to time. We also got movie passes for the kids movies at the theater. Luckily there's only been a few melt downs. They have really enjoyed that.

We finally put our fence up. I thought the day would never come. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that Caden figured out how to open the gate. I thought the fence would contain them. Oh well. Thank you to all our family and neighbors that helped us!

During the project...

Lucas loves the cement mixer!

I think he was permanently gray for a while.

The finished product! I love it!

Roy Aquatic Park

We went swimming with our ward at the Roy Aquatic Park. The kids had so much fun! Since I don't own a maternity swimming suit and there is no way I was getting into one, I took the pictures.

Halle and her best friend Maren.

Halle and Caden even went down the big slide!

4th of July

We were able to go to Nephi on the 2nd of July for the carnival. I was very excited because we hadn't been for a couple of years. Caden and Halle didn't really like the bounce house because they thought it was a little too dangerous. I assured them that they would like the fish pond. That was always my favorite growing up.

They were very excited to win prizes!

Caden won a lot of tickets playing games.

Fishing some more...

You gotta love the prizes!

We went to the Magna parade on the 4th. Caden refused to have his picture taken. Halle loved the candy!

Luckily the parade was short and overcast. I was afraid I was going to be miserable, but it was quite bearable.

Dinosaur Park

I found a really good deal on City Deals for the Dinosaur Park so we decided to go. I would never pay full price, but it was a nice family outing.

They had really cool exhibits in the museum.

I love this picture. Don't they look scared?

Thanks to Dinosaur Train, Halle thought all the dinosaurs were Pteranodons. (yes I had to look up the spelling for that)

Don't these creatures look scary?!

Halle the cave woman...

They got to visit Fred and Wilma's house...

And dig for fossils...

Caden the prehistoric cowboy...

The kids had a lot of fun! Luckily it was overcast so it wasn't so miserable.

I can't believe Caden starts Kindergarten this month! The summer is going by too fast!

Caden's Preschool Graduation

2011-06-01T19:11:00.001-07:00

Caden graduated from preschool last week. He's very excited to start Kindergarten. He asks me every day when it starts. Since we're on year round schedule, he starts the end of July. I'm fine with that, I don't think I could last a whole 3 months of summer.

Here's Caden's class. I think there were 14 boys and 5 girls. His teacher had her hands full.

They sang a lot of cute songs!

When they sang the bubble gum song, they threw bubble gum at everyone. I kind of feared for my life. They were flying everywhere!

His cute graduation hat...

Caden and his teacher Miss Connie. I really don't know what he's doing with his face.

Caden and Miss Kelsie

Caden and his best friend Gabe. I think it's funny that he's two feet taller than him.

Our attempt at a family picture. Halle's mad because she didn't get any cookies and play dough. We tried to bribe her with a dollar.

Caden and cousin Sam...

Grandma and Grandpa Hendrickson, Neve, Sam, and Caden

Grandma and Grandpa Eyre came too!

Congrats Caden and good luck in Kindergarten!

Caden's Birthday and Studio 5

2011-05-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Caden turned 5 years old last week. I can't believe he's starting Kindergarten in 2 months! He's growing up too fast!

He had to make a poster for his Birthday spotlight at preschool. Can you tell that he was thrilled when I wanted to take his picture? I guess he's too cool for that. He was really embarrassed when I made him wear his crown.

We decided to do a friend's Birthday this year. Lucas was really surprised when I told Caden he could only invite 5 friends and it was only going to last an hour. I'm so glad I set those rules in place because it was a little overwhelming, especially when I'm 6 months pregnant. I have much more respect for Caden's preschool teacher. There's 15 boys in his class and they are all out of control. In spite of all that, it was really fun.

We decorated some cupcakes...

The present opening process was organized at first...

And then everyone gathered around and started ripping everything open..

Here's all the little pirates!!

Gabe, Caden, Connelly, Peyton, Aiden, and Taylor

We told Caden he could pick where we go to dinner. Of course he picked McDonald's. (since they have the play land and the best happy meal toys)

Halle saying Caden is 5...

Caden is obsessed with Star Wars so he got a lot of Star Wars presents.

You have to have Star Wars underwear...

Grandma Eyre even gave Halle Princess Leia so she could play too.

Uncle Jer gave Caden a picture of Darth Vader that he drew in High School. Caden is very proud of it.

Caden loves to draw so he was very excited that Kylee gave him an art kit.

My attempt at a Star Wars cake. Luckily I found some toys at the DI (of course I cleaned and bleached them) I think it turned out pretty good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CADEN!!!

I also got to go to the Studio 5 show with my mom and sisters last week. I love that show! You either love it or you hate it. I was very excited that I got to go to their first live audience show!

Brooke and Darrin...

My favorite Studio 5 contributor is Matt Townsend. He is hilarious! He is a marriage counselor and he is so funny. I am always excited when he is on the show!

Here we are with our cute bags we got. I know I'm looking rather large.

Thanks for the fun day!!!

Happy Anniversary!

2011-05-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today is our 7-year anniversary and so I thought as part of my present to Liz that I'd actually post something on our blog. It might not be the high quality post that most of you are used to because I'm trying to do this quickly so that I can finish while Liz is getting ready for the day.

It's hard to believe that it has been seven years since we got married. On the one hand, it has gone by so fast (time flies when you're having fun right:), but on the other hand, it's hard to remember what it was like before we were married.

We've had some awesome adventures along the way. From our first (blind) date at the 49th street galleria (aka Fun Dome) and sconecutter, to fun times and memories at Utah State, to our European and Oregon Adventures, to our continuing adventure in Syracuse, UT, it has been a great ride.

Here are some nostalgic photos:

Here's a shot of the 49th street galleria. It was probably known as the Fun Dome by then, but growing up it was known to me simply as "The Galleria". Liz and I went here on our first date back in December of 1999.

My good friend from High School, Meghan Hatton, organized a group date with a bunch of her friends from Utah State and some of us from Cyprus. Blind dates can be hit or miss (usually miss) so I didn't have high expectations going in to this. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get set up with Liz. The girls planned the date and I actually had a really good time. Besides thinking that Liz was kind of a crazy driver, (I'm pretty sure we ran a couple of red lights on accident that night) I remember thinking that Liz was really fun and really easy to talk to. We went rollerskating and I remember how dazzled and impressed Liz was with my world class technique and rollerskating prowess. I won't mention if there were any face plant or floor burn injuries that took place, but I think she appreciated my willingness to act like a fool to break the ice.

We followed up rollerskating with some ice cream at the Sconecutter in Taylorsville. I don't think either one of us could have guessed that ten years later we'd be married with a couple of kids. Life is kind of funny that way.

Our first anniversary was a memorable one. The photo above is from May 7, 2005. This is the day I graduated from Utah State. After the graduation festivities, we moved all of our stuff out of our apartment into a storage unit in Logan. We were set to leave on our European Adventure on May 9th for three weeks.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of us on that trip:

Chillin' at a cafe in Paris with some refreshing Fanta Orange.

Venice, Italy.
Kind of a crazy picture of us in Vernazza in the Cinque Terre along the Mediterranean in Italy. This place was awesome. I'd definitely go back there if I had the chance.More Fanta Orange in Rome. Ice cold with lemon wedges.

This is Liz and I at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. I had visited this place when I was 16, but I think I was too immature to really understand and appreciate what took place here on D-day. I was glad I was able to visit again and take some time to ponder the selfless sacrifice those soldiers made for their fellow men.
Nothing like some authentic "frites" with a big glob of mayo to top it off. Yummy!

The above picture is Liz and I on Cannon Beach in Oregon with Haystack Rock in the background. Another great adventure for us was the time we were living away from family and friends in Oregon. I think for the year and a half that we lived there we really learned a lot about each other and learned to rely on each other.

The adventure of parenthood has been by far the most challenging and rewarding. Liz is a great Mom and it's really cool to see her teach and interact with the kids:

Here's to more exciting adventures on the horizon. Click on the link to get a sneak peak into our future once we've grown old together. Love you Liz!

Thinking of London

2011-04-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

I must admit, I didn't wake up at 3:00 AM to watch the wedding, but I watched the highlights of it the next day and I bawled the whole time. I thought it was magical and a perfect fairy tale. I know I'm not a guy, but I think Kate is beautiful. My favorite part was when Harry turned around to sneak a peak of her as she was walking down the aisle. She really was stunning.

Watching it made me think of our trip to Europe and our small stay in London. Before we left on our trip, I was most excited to go to London. Lucas was the least excited to go to this place because he had already been there and he didn't think it was that great. I was really excited to see Buckingham Palace. I had a lot of expectations for this part of the trip and everything came crumbling down when we were there.

We flew there from Prague and our flight got there in the middle of the night. We had to navigate our way through the streets of London in the dark to find our hotel. As we were walking down the street that our hotel was on I got very excited because all the hotels were so cute. We kept walking and we saw one that looked awful and it had all the windows boarded up. I joked and said, "That better not be ours." Well it was. I almost started crying. Our hotel was supposed to look like this...

All the pictures I saw of it when we booked it were great, but it didn't turn out that way. Since we already made reservations and it was the middle of the night we had to stay there. The owner apologized and said it was under construction. Lucas got mad and the guy gave us a few pounds back to make up for it. Since it was a Bed and Breakfast I was curious to see what we would have for breakfast. He gave us a hard boiled egg and tea. I asked him if he offered any other drinks besides tea. He made some "hot chocolate" but it didn't taste like that to me. It was awful!

So we decided to go sightseeing. This is what I was most excited about.

Lucas had been getting sick and that day he felt horrible. We knew that they had free health insurance there so we decided to go to the hospital to see if they could give us some medicine.

This is where we stayed most of the day....

Apparently they don't work very fast at the hospital. It took forever, but they finally gave Lucas some medicine.

I was really bummed because we were only going to be in London for one day and it was almost over. We decided to ride the double decker bus to see as many sights as we could. It was a cold and windy day. (typical for London) I thought I was going to freeze on that bus.

We tried to make the best of it.

I finally got to see Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards. This was my favorite part of the day!

Westminster Abbey, where Kate and William got married...

Big Ben...

That night we had to take a train to Portsmouth so we could catch a ferry to France the next day. We didn't make reservations for a hotel before because we figured we could just find one when we got there. We didn't realize it was spring break and every single hotel was booked. We walked around forever, but everything closes really early there. We ended up sleeping on a bench by the ferry dock. I thought I was going to freeze and pee my pants. It was the worst night of my life!

I really wish I had a better experience in London. I guess I'll have to save all my money and go back when I'm 60. I can always dream!

Soccer and Easter Fun!

2011-04-26T13:23:00.001-07:00

Caden has been playing soccer for the past couple of weeks. He was really excited at first, now he just casually walks down the field.

Here's some action shots...(he is number 12)

Cheese!!

Muscle man pose...
He told us that we had to make a sign for him so Grandma Eyre was nice enough to make one for him. He was really sad when he found out they didn't show all his games on TV. He wanted everyone to be able to watch him.

Easter

The day before Easter we had an Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Hendrickson's house. We got to use GPS and walk around the neighborhood to find them.

Let the race begin...

Here's Caden...

And Halle..

Here's the kids checking out all the cool stuff the Easter Bunny brought them...

Caden was very excited for Luke Skywalker! He's a little obsessed.

Lego Star Wars shirt...

I think Halle was most excited about the candy.

Candyland! (notice she has a piece of candy in the other hand)

I love her bed head!

Halle in her new Easter dress...

Caden was not cooperating. This was the best smile I got from him.

We had a yummy Easter feast. The menu included: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, yams, rolls, and fruit salad. I think this is only the 3rd time that we've cooked a whole turkey in our 7 years of marriage. I know that's pretty pathetic. It was so good! I think Caden ate like 10 rolls.

The Easter Bunny left me a yummy treat too...mmm...my favorite!

Exciting News!

2011-04-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

We found out yesterday that we are expecting a baby boy! He's due August 21st. When we told Caden and Halle that we were expecting another baby, Halle was really excited and Caden cried for an hour. I think he thought he was getting a new toy. Then all he could talk about was that he wanted it to be a boy. In my heart I wanted it to be a boy so Caden could have a brother. Now he is very excited!! We can't wait for the little boy to arrive!

Spring Cleaning

2011-03-24T13:21:00.001-07:00

I guess since it is Spring now, Spring cleaning should commence. Every year I tell myself I'm going to organize my whole house. My house isn't messy, but if you opened my closets, I would be embarrassed. I decided I would tackle one project a day. Then I don't set myself up for failure. My first project was the pantry. That was the closet that was the worst.

Here is the before pic...

This is during the process. This is usually the point when I want to go hide in the corner and cry. Just ask Lucas, I don't deal well when everything is in chaos. I have a mini anxiety attack. I made it through it with no tears.

This is the after pic. Lucas came home and asked where all the food was. A nice "thank you" would have been appreciated. I feel much better about that closet now.

Last week Lucas entered the "old man" stage of life. (I can say that because I'm already in the "old woman" stage) He even has the bad back to show for it. We were at my parents house for his birthday and I forgot all the ingredients for his pumpkin pie on our counter at home. I didn't want to go out and buy all the ingredients, so I I bought him a frozen pie. Lucas is a pumpkin pie connoisseur so that was very blasphemous. I made it up to him and made him a homemade pie a couple of days later. Hopefully that didn't ruin his birthday. (I think the Aggies losing ruined it more)

Caden started soccer this week. He says he likes it. I think he likes to chase after the other kids. I don't think he fully grasps the concept yet. It's funny to watch the mob of kids surround the ball. They need to work on their strategy at the next practice.

I brought my camera and of course my batteries died. I'll have to take more pictures at the next practice.

Caden's number 12...

Eva Mae and More...

2011-02-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

My new niece, Eva Mae, was born February 22nd! She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. As Halle would say, "She is so cute!!" My kids were very excited to meet her. They would ask me every day if she was out of Audrey's tummy. Of course I forgot my camera when we went to the hospital so I had to take pictures with my phone. They are a little blurry.

Halle was very excited to give her a present...

We got to watch Jason give her a bath in the nursery. Caden made a few comments that made me proud to be his mom. He was watching her and said, "She sure has a funny looking penis!" Yes, that's my son. He was also very confused why she came out of Audrey's tummy naked. That's just how it happens! (Lucas was really embarrassed that I put that, but I don't care. Sorry if you're offended.)

We got to go visit baby Eva again after she came home from the hospital. Luckily I remembered to bring my camera this time. Halle kept asking me when she got to hold baby Eva. She was very excited when it was finally her turn.

She didn't want to give her up. She kept saying, "I have to hold her because she is so cute!"

Caden is a proud cousin also...

Now onto Valentine's Day. I know it was over a week ago. I'm a little slow.
My kids were very excited to open their Valentine's present from me and Lucas!

They got cool books and their favorite Veggie Tales movie. Now we can stop checking it out from the library constantly.

Caden got his Valentines ready for preschool...

Caden got invited to his friend's Birthday party. He was very excited it was a Harry Potter party and he got to dress up. This was our best attempt at Harry Potter.

Of course Halle had to have her picture taken too...

I'm going to try really hard to take more pictures. I've really slacked off. Hopefully I'll remember!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

To celebrate Christmas Eve we played some Beatles Rock Band. Caden always wants to play it and I never let him because it's such a hassle to get everything out. He was very excited when we told him we could play.

Halle fell off the couch and turned into Rudolph...

Our Christmas Eve feast...

Caden did a very good job of telling the Christmas story.

Then they got to open their Christmas pajamas.

Halle got Dora jammies...

And Caden got Sponge Bob jammies...

Caden wanted to leave a special treat for Santa...

He wanted to make sure he knew where the milk was...

Christmas Morning

The kids were very excited to see what they got! (I don't know what the white ball is next to Halle's foot. My guess is that it's a ghost)

She loves her Abby slippers...

Caden got Lego Star Wars and Toy Story Mania...

Of course Halle had to get more Dora stuff...

I think her favorite present was her unicorn Pillow Pet...

Playing Lego Star Wars for the first time...

Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa Eyre's...

Christmas day at Grandma and Grandpa Hendrickson's...

It was such a fun Christmas! I'm glad we got to spend it with all of our family!

Parties and Programs

2010-12-20T14:54:00.001-08:00

This year was the Birthday I've been dreading for a while. I was leaving my twenties and entering my thirties. This really scared me. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to my twenties. I guess it hasn't been that bad. Now I'm not looking forward to the forties. That is hard to write. I don't have to worry about that for a while.

Here's my family at Hires. It was yummy! I threatened Lucas that I didn't want a big party.

Here I am modeling some of my presents...

Blowing out the candles with my two helpers...

We had the annual Belliston Family Christmas party. It's always fun to get together with my relatives because I don't get to see them very often.

Halle was excited to get Caillou for her present, but she really wanted the body wash that Jason got. She was willing to trade.

Caden had his Preschool Christmas program. He did such a good job! He was such a good singer and dancer. I think he was the only one dancing. It was pretty funny. He was nervous the whole week because he knew Santa was going to visit and he is terrified of him. I assured him that we could leave before he came. That made him feel a little better and he was willing to go. Little did I know that Santa was going to make a surprise entrance when they were singing Santa Clause is coming to town. You should've seen the look of terror on his face. He did not know what to do. When I could tell he was about to burst out in tears, I went and got him and told him he didn't have to talk to him. Boy was he relieved! We got it on video and every time we watch it he has to leave the room.

He still got to open his present from Santa. That made him happy.

Every year I have great intentions to send a Christmas card, this year was the same. Sadly I didn't get my act together to send one. Consider this my Christmas Card to everyone.

Merry Christmas!!

We've done a lot fun things so far this Christmas season. Some of them include: Forgotten Carols (Lucas' favorite), Mo Tab Christmas Concert, looking at Christmas lights, watching Christmas movies, making Christmas treats etc. etc....
We are very excited for Santa to come! Five more days!!!

Halle's 3rd Birthday!

2010-11-21T15:03:00.001-08:00

Here's the Birthday girl on the morning of her Birthday.....

Caden is obsessed with Birthdays and he really wanted her to open the presents from him right when she woke up.

He gave her some Dora and Blue's Clues books...

And a pony...

He also made her a really nice Birthday card...

We took Caden and Halle to Chuck E Cheeses for lunch. PBS does a nice job of advertising for them, all I here is "When can we go to Chuck E Cheeses?" We got some really good deals on City Deals so we decided to go.

Halle loves pizza...

We got a lot of tokens because we thought they would be really excited to ride the rides, but all they wanted to do was play on the playground. We could've done that at McDonald's.

Halle wasn't a big fan of this ride...

They were very excited to get their picture taken with the Chuck E Cheese statue, but as we got closer to it, they were both kind of scared. (especially when it started to sing and dance)

Some more rides...

Later that night we had a party. Here's Halle the fairy princess...

Opening some presents...

Here's Halle with all the cool things she got...

I had really high hopes for Halle's fairy princess cake, but it didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to. The cake is supposed to be her dress, but it just turned into a big mess. I tried.

Blowing out the candles...

Since we are cheap and don't have cable, everyone had to watch the Jazz game on Lucas' phone.

My friend Devon was nice enough to make the decorations for Halle's party. They turned out so cute! Thank you Devon! She has her own etsy shop that she sales decorations. If anyone wants her information just let me know!

Halle is such a fun little girl! I'm so happy that I get to be her mom!

About Halle:

Favorite food-Mac and Cheese and chocolate milk
Favorite TV shows- Dora, Kai Lan, Curious George
Favorite Book- PB Bear
Favorite thing to do- Go to the Library and play with Caden

We love you Halle! Happy Birthday!!

Halloween Festivities

2010-11-05T12:41:00.001-07:00

We did lots of fun things for Halloween this year. Sorry it's taken me a while to blog about it.

We carved a pumpkin. We bought 4 pumpkins, but I could only handle carving 1. It's such a big mess! It was still fun.

Halle didn't help much, but she's still cute...

Caden drew the face on it and Lucas carved it. Caden was very proud of his creation.

We got to go to the Hendrickson Halloween Party. Here's Darth Vader and Strawberry Shortcake. My mom made the Strawberry Shortcake costume like 30 years ago. My sisters and I all wore it. I was very excited that Halle wanted to wear it too!

We played a lot of fun games...

The donut game...
I helped Halle cheat...

Logan and Ella donated their bodies for the mummy game this year...

We decorated some sugar cookies...

Halle enjoyed putting her hands in the frosting more than decorating...

I love Neve's smile in this picture...

Caden chowing down...

Here's Adam's costume...

Heidi and Eric were Ken and Barbie from Toy Story 3. Very cute costumes!

Darth Vader and the Dragon ready to go trick or treating...(We thought the dragon costume would be a warmer choice for Halle)

Lucas made some yummy homemade bread for us on Halloween...

It was a very fun holiday this year!

What we're reading...

2010-10-11T19:06:00.001-07:00

We started reading chapter books with Caden and Halle. I was kind of hesitant at first, but they have really enjoyed it! We finished our first book, The BFG.
Here are our favorite parts:

Lucas-Wizpoppers
Liz-Snozcumbers
Caden-When the giants played ball with the BFG
Halle-Little Sophie

We started our 2nd book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Does anyone have any other favorite books that we should read? We're open to suggestions!

Norma reminded me that Lucas was a pantless cowboy when he was young too...

Like father, Like daughter

(Yes, I know there is a pause symbol on this picture. I couldn't find the actual picture so I took a picture of the one on our wedding dvd.)

This is our life...

2010-10-05T09:47:00.001-07:00

The last couple of weeks I have tried and tried to potty train Halle. She's almost 3 so it's about time that she learned that. I potty trained Caden in 3 days, but Halle has definitely been a struggle. We have our good days and we have our bad days. Luckily the past couple of days have been good. I'm hopeful it will eventually stick with her. She finally completed her first potty chart. She got to pick a prize at the dollar store and she was very excited. She picked the princess wand which she broke in 10 minutes. Thankfully Grandma Eyre was able to fix it.

Caden felt left out so we decided to make a chart for him. Not a potty chart, but an "I can wipe my own bum" chart. I know that's way too much information, but it's been a struggle for him and this has seemed to help. He picked the light saber for his prize. This is his Luke Skywalker pose. He's really been into Star Wars lately.

Onto something else...
Since Caden was so good on our trip to California and he was really brave when we went to Disneyland, we told him we would buy him a fish. Lucas and I thought it would be a really easy pet, but when we went to the pet store we had no idea all the stuff you had to buy for them. We wanted the fish to last longer than 3 days, so we decided to splurge. We are happy to report that he's been alive for longer than 3 weeks! We'll see how long I can keep him alive.

Bob the fish...

And for your viewing pleasure...Halle the pantless cowgirl...

Uncle Jerry

2010-09-16T10:15:00.001-07:00

We'll miss you Uncle Jerry!

Jerry Gordon Belliston

September 11, 1957 - September 11, 2010

Caden's Preschool

2010-09-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

Today was Caden's 1st day of his last year of preschool (does that make sense?). He was kind of sad because he wasn't going back to the one he went to last year. I found one that was closer to our house. We can even walk there! (and I sure do need the exercise) He was very excited when we showed up and a lot of his friends were in his class. I think I counted 5 kids from his Sunbeam class. That made him more at ease and me too. I'm very proud that I didn't even cry this year. I'm sure when he starts Kindergarten it will be a different story.

Here's Caden and Halle before we left...

He was very happy when I picked him up. He didn't stop talking the whole way home!

Caden, Peyton, Dax, and Connelly (some of Caden's friends)

I'm glad he had such a fun day!

Oceanside

2010-08-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

Lucas' family planned a big trip to California. Here's a "few" pictures of our vacation. (it's kind of picture overload so beware)

We stayed in Las Vegas on our first night. We got to so see the aquarium at the Silverton Hotel...

We celebrated Mason's birthday that night too...

We went to the Mormon Battalion the first day we were in California. They've renovated it and it is very cool. The kids loved it!
Here's the grandkids in the covered wagon...

Dallin got to dress up as a soldier in the Mormon Battalion...

Here's our typical family picture...

The kids got to pan for gold...

We got to learn how they washed clothes...

Caden's on the lookout...

We were able to see the San Diego temple while we were there. I was kind of sad they were cleaning it so all the scaffolding was up. It's still a beautiful temple!

We stayed in Oceanside and our condo was right by the beach! We loved spending time there...

Halle likes to wear her glasses upside down...

Caden loves the ocean!!!

Lucas bought a body board which entertained him for days...

Caden was very daring in the water, Dallin had to hold him back...

At first Halle wouldn't touch the sand and the next thing you know, she's rubbing it all over herself...

Family picture by the sunset...

I was very excited that we were able to go to Disneyland for one day. You can't be that close and not go!

Riding Dumbo...

Me and Dumbo's bum...

The Tea Cups. I refuse to go on them. They make me sick.

It's a Small World! Halle sang that song the whole day.

Caden and Halle with Jessie and Woody!

Winnie the Pooh!

Caden got his drivers license!

Lucas and Caden driving in Autopia

The kids love toy story! Caden, Kylee, Mason, and Halle

We watched Captain EO. It brought back memories of my childhood. Halle insists on wearing her glasses upside down.

We rode the Merry Go Round A LOT. The kids loved that ride.

Caden was brave enough to ride the Matterhorn, Big Thunder, and Splash Mountain!

Caden driving the car in Bug's World.

It was a long day...
Poor Adam got stung by a sting ray while he was body boarding. Lots of people offered to urinate on him, but he declined.

Dallin was nice enough to let Caden sleep with his Mickey...

Chillin' at the condo...
Caden insisted that we go to Legoland. Since it's mainly for young kids, we thought we better go before our kids get too big. I was pleasantly surprised. I think we had more fun than we thought we would.

Caden was a pretty good driver!

Poor Halle and Neve spent a lot of time waiting while everyone else rode rides. Hopefully next time they will be tall enough.

Me and Caden on the Jumping Bean ride. I will not ride the Rocket at Lagoon, but I can handle the kid's version of it.

Hallle and Heather on the airplane ride. I think this was Halle's favorite ride.

Caden and Lucas on the giant slide...

Halle and the princess...

Ride 'em cowboy!

Caden the knight...

Heather, Dallin, and Logan on the Pirate ride. Everyone got soaked!

Caden loved this ride!

Caden, Gracie, Ella, Dallin, and Logan by the Lego pirate...

Halle was not very happy at Legoland. Luckily she took a much needed nap and was much happier after that...

I think the log ride was everyone's favorite. We waited an hour to ride it and it lasted like 10 seconds with 2 very small hills. We'll know better next time to stay away from it.

Sam, Caden, and Lucas...

Doesn't it look scary?!

Caden and Halle love Bob the Builder!

Lucas and Caden on Fairy Tale boat ride...

Me and Halle on the Fairy Tale boat ride...

Caden was very excited to see Lego Harry Potter...

Lego Hagrid

Riding the boat...

Looking at the amazing things made out of legos in Miniland USA

My favorite thing made out of legos...the churro stand

The white house...

Legowood!

Caden and Halle by the Lego witch woman...

I need one of these at home. It would work great for time out!

Caden and Halle in the Lego Castle play house...

Bionicle tea cups

Lucas broke his glasses on the bionicle teacups...

Caden and Lucas and scary guy...

Caden and Chewbacca...

Caden and Darth Vader...

Lucas fighting Darth Vader...Luke I am your father...

Caden and R2D2...

Caden asked if he could live at Legoland...

The boys in their Oceanside pirate shirts...

It was a very fun trip! Hopefully we can do it again!

July Happenings

2010-07-17T19:49:00.001-07:00

On July 3rd we hung out with Lucas' family.

We went to Heidi's house and watched the Magna parade. Luckily it was nice weather.

I think this is the cutest picture of Dallin and Caden...

Halle and Heather...

Dallin, Adam, and Mason hanging out on the swing...

The kids love to play in the hot tub!

Of course the family party wouldn't be complete if we didn't play on the tramp...

On July 5th we hung out with my family. We went out to lunch and went to Antelope Island because Emily had never been there before. It was a lot of fun!

Last Friday we went to Nephi for the Ute Stampede festivities.

As you can tell from Halle's hair, it was the hottest day of the year...

The kids had fun gathering candy at the parade...

Caden was trying to perfect the parade wave...

Watching a parade in 100 degree weather isn't very fun.

Lately Halle has had an obsession with dirt. She would play with it all day if I let her.

Lucas was happy to be there...

I was happy to be there too...

The meltdowns started so sadly we had to go back to Grandma B's and miss half of the parade.

After some food and a quick bath (Halle really needed it), it was time for the rodeo!

Waiting for the excitement to start...

Isn't Em pretty?

Here's me and my sisters...future rodeo queens

Every year they have a guy sky dive into the arena with the flag. My favorite part is that they play I'm Proud To Be An American. Every time I hear that song, I think of the rodeo.

And then the meltdowns started again so we knew it was time to call it a night.