BYU Recruiting

In September, Dow asked Matt to go to BYU to recruit some interns. But this post isn't really about recruiting at all. It's about family again. Matt's mom, Saint Cheri, came out to watch the boys so Adele and I could meet him in Utah and visit our people. 

This was my first flight with just Adele, and I could not believe how easy and enjoyable it was! Especially compared to flying with my two crazy boys. I have been flying small children across the country at least twice a year, round trip, mostly by myself, for the last 5.5 years. I guess I'm at the point where one baby is nothing! Adele was a perfect little angel, and she got so many adoring looks and comments from strangers that I was a very proud, not exhausted mom.

My sister Stephanie picked us up from the airport and took us to meet up with Steven at City Creek Mall.  Then we dropped Steph off at work, and Steven took us to his apartment in Salt Lake. It took me back to the days of student life and trying to coexist with weird roommates. At least Steven has Buck. Adele was very happy to see him.

I promise my brother has a more normal face than that. He showed us his neighborhood grocery store, fancy Harmon's, and seriously, this place is so fancy. It has everything. Make your own almond butter, mix your own sodas, eat at the luxurious buffet while you shop, or stop to taste a million flavors of delicious gelato on the way out. Yum.

That afternoon, Steven dropped me off at what we thought was the train station so I could ride down to Provo. Turns out we were wrong, and I ended up running up a huge overpass and down a bunch of stairs with a big suitcase and Adele in the Bjorn so I could catch my ride. Didn't even have time to buy a ticket before boarding, but we made it -- a sweaty, smelly mess. 

But it was all worth it, because these cutest little twin nieces were waiting for us!

We got to stay with the Steeds for two nights in Springville! Adele had so much fun playing with Piper and Emmy. They could move around a lot better than her, but she loved to watch and grab at at them. It was endless entertainment for the adults.

Old Lady Piper liked my glasses.

 I've never seen Matt so playful and attached to babies other than his own. You know what they say, though...a man can be more certain that his sister's children are related to him than his own wife's children.

While the babies slept, (Matt's sister) Steph and Kevin would bring out the games! They introduced us to some good ones, like Seven Wonders. Steph also introduced me to a new yummy baby food recipe and the glorious Podee -- a genius bottle invention. She is an excellent mommy. It was so nice to spend some time with just this little family. I felt like I finally got to know my perfect baby nieces!

After Matt was done with most of his recruiting stuff in Provo, we went to Lehi to see my family. My parents and Julia decided to drive out to Utah for the weekend to be with everyone, so the whole family was together again. We started off with a bang by watching Elsie eat her first rice cereal. I love this chunk!

 Guess who ate sushi for the first time ever?! Like, four of us! We weren't raised to be adventurous eaters, but it's never too late to start! I have to get over the weirdness factor before I actually decide to like sushi, but for now, I'm pretty proud that I can tolerate it.

Adele and Elsie are starting to get big enough to play together. Twin cousins for life!

Steven's friends PK and Arlan came over a couple times to hang out. I like them a lot. Steph gave PK a very manly manicure one night. She's always beautifying somebody.

Grandma and Grandpa could not get enough of these babies. I've said it before -- there's not much better that watching the people you love adore your children.

One day, all the girls and my dad went to a craft fair and the BYU bookstore. Steph and the twins were brave enough to come along on a very rainy day. The boys made a long trip to downtown SLC for some fancy burgers, and the rest of us ordered from the glorious Cafe Rio. I spent the rest of the night making Nutella cookies and getting my hair done while people watched the new Captain America.

I made a little stash of baby food for Elsie, and Julia fed some to my piggy piglet of a baby. She just can never get enough food!

Family is what it's all about. Especially the weird ones! I am so excited to be able to drop in for the weekend more often, now that we'll be within driving distance. Drives of less than twelve hours are CAKE compared to cross country flights with kids. 

Pumpkin Guts

If there's one part of Halloween I dislike, it's pumpkin guts. Growing pumpkins all summer is fun. Carving is fun. Being elbow-deep in cold stringy goo and making myself smell like pumpkin innards for days...not fun. Because my children are not big enough and/or brave enough to clean out their own pumpkins yet, we just don't cut them open. Instead, we paint.

Adele wore this cute little pumpkin shirt a lot in October. Here she is trying to do a back bend in the grocery cart, because obviously that's the best way to reach the bananas. She's a problem solver.

We went to our ward chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat at church. My white chicken chili won a prize (recipe from my sister Stephanie)! The boys saw a couple more Power Rangers there, but Jude stayed on my lap most of the time because he said there was a white-faced scary kid chasing him. I think it was a little girl dressed as Maleficent, but we won't tell him that.

Here is Josh hiding from the camera during the costume parade around the gym. His best friend Luke is dressed up as Robin. Those two together are so much fun.

Adele was the cutest eensy weensy spider you've ever seen. Thanks to my mom for sending the costume. I never would have picked it myself, but everyone loved it! Especially when they saw her helping me pass out candy in the trunk with her fat little baby hands.

That week, we made a bunch of Halloween sugar cookies. Because when you have cookie cutters for every holiday, you have to use them once in a while or you can't justify such purchases in the future.

I still have no idea what the number one signs are about. Maybe I should teach them about peace signs. Or duck faces.

She doesn't stand by herself yet, but I like to pretend she can.

Josh's Power Ranger costume got dirty at school that day, so on real Halloween, Josh dressed up as a Transformer again. Neither of them wanted to bundle up, and it was starting to snow outside when it was time to trick-or-treat. So five minutes after they left with Matt, they came home with frozen hands and faces to put more clothes on. It was kind of hilarious, but only because I didn't have to be outside.

I got to stay home and pass out candy to freezing kids with THIS little helper.

A couple days later, Matt and I went to a Day of the Dead costume party. We were pretty proud of our costumes. Too bad only a couple of our friends actually knew who we were. Come on, people! Nobody's too old to know Zoolander by heart!

September Stuff

In completely the wrong order, here are some pictures from September.

A nasty rain and wind storm knocked over a bunch of my flowers in the garden. So I picked them up and made myself a bouquet for the kitchen. I love my garden in September. And I hate wind.

Our friends, the James family, came over to help us eat an enormous cookie dough ice cream cake. (I had a coupon to the creamery and HAD to use it before it expired.) We only got through half of it.

We took advantage of our last full month of outdoor playtime weather, both in the backyard and at the playground after school many days.

Adele actually really loved the Bjorn. That face looking up at me is my favorite thing.

Went to the Smiths' house to celebrate Winston's first birthday. Matt is holding our neighbor Libby, who is a few months younger than Adele.

A few mornings were spent playing volleyball at the church while the kids ran around the gym recklessly. Here are Jude, Marston, and Blake in a rare, quiet moment.

I found this lovely little love note when I opened my chocolate stash cupboard. Apparently Matt had printed it off years ago and forgot to give it to me. He colored it himself. 

We celebrated Jude's half birthday with brownies. Matt put in three candles and laid one down to signify three and a half. Brilliant.

Oh, hello baby jeans!

Adele loves taking walks. I could watch those little legs kick forever!

I had a couple nights out with the moms. Pictured below:  Erin, Emily, Lauren, Jordan, and Ashley. 

Today, I read an article that gave a sociological explanation for wanting to take a bite out of those cheeks. Basically, when we feel very strong emotions, we sometimes react with the opposite emotion to maintain the balance. Not sure I buy it, but it's true in this case!

Little Jude has been practicing letters in his very own workbook. He loves to feel like a big kid.

I started buying girl winter gear for Adele. I hate that the cold weather invaded September, but she does look cute.

And here we are eating homemade chicken noodle soup, taking a picture to make my dad jealous. Mission accomplished.