Family Pictures 2011

My dear friend Amy Christensen always takes our family pictures. I LOVE them! They turned out great.

Halloween

We had a great time with all the Halloween festivities this year. We carved pumpkins with the boys, I coordinated Cole's party at school, we went to Microsoft, had dinner with friends and then did a little trick or treating.

I made a witch's brew for Cole's class! They loved it.

Cole at his school party.

Riding the spooky train at Microsoft!

This is the only time Ethan wore his costume! I was a little sad because I thought he looked so cute!

A little ladybug! Tess loved Halloween so much she didn't take a nap until 2!

The boys love their bones shirts so I had to get Tess one this year. I love these kiddos!

Pumpkin Patch and BYU game

Matt took Cole to a BYU game in Oregon and Cole had a BLAST! Cole enjoyed jumping on the beds at the hotel, hanging out with Dad and eating lots of junk food. They met up with some friends during the game and Cole loved it.

Since they were gone I had the bright idea to take Ethan and Tess to the pumpkin patch because Ethan needed a pumpkin to carve at school. I even invited Jen to come along with her two girls. I didn't think through the fact that we would be out in the freezing cold and mud and then we would have to drag a pumpkin from the patch, to the tractor, to the weigh scale, to pay and back to the car all while toting around a baby in a front pack and keeping Ethan in tow....Needless to say it turned out to be quite the painful afternoon. I couldn't walk very well the next day! I think my friend regretted taking me up on my invitiation.

I also forgot about the fact that Tess needed to eat. She was ticked off on the tractor on the way back!

That expression pretty much sums up the afternoon!

Tess at 6 months

Tess is six months old! I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She is a busy little girl playing and exploring. She can now sit up and it starting to try and get to new places. She loves sitting in her saucer, highchair and johnny jumper! She still hates her carseat but that is about the only time she cries unless she has an ear infection. We are currently on number 2 for the month.

England

This September I took Tess and flew to England! My Nanny wasn't doing well and so my sister Becky and I decided we would go and see her. We mentioned it to our siblings and all five of them ended up coming with us! It was a huge blessing because I picked up my sister Kate in Chicago and my brother Ken in North Carolina and we all flew together. It was so nice to have extra hands to hold Tess. We then met our brother Byron, his wife Monique and our sister Becky at the airport in England. We all got in a taxi and headed over to my Aunt's house. We were then able to go and visit my Nanny in her apartment where my mother was staying to help take care of her.

It was so great to be able to see my Nanny! The last time I had seen her was when Cole was a little baby and she was in America. We all took turns spending time in her room and talking with her. Sunday we went back to her apartment and spent the day there. She wasn't doing very well and early in the morning on Monday she passed away. It was bittersweet for us and I am sure a relief to my Nanny who missed her husband terribly and was in a lot of pain at that point.

Christina was able to fly in on Tuesday to be with us all. She ended up losing her passport so came a little bit later.

We had the funeral on Wednesday morning. I was able to help dress my Nanny in preparation for the funeral. It was a nice service and great to be with my extended family. We all met at my Aunt and Uncle's house afterwards. We took a "cousin" picture of all 12 cousins together! We were able to spend a lot of time with my cousins and second cousins. They are all wonderful! 

While there we also were able to go to London twice. We cruised around on the underground and went to the Tower of London and St Paul's. We climbed to the very top of St. Paul's and it was an amazing view! It was a little tricky climbing up all the stairs with sister in the bjorn but it was worth it. We also did a river tour and bus tour of London the next time we went. It was so much fun seeing all the sites again. Tess was amazing the entire time. My siblings helped lift the stroller around whenever we hit stairs and she was happy to be out and about.

Christina and I were able to go shopping with my cousins Bernice and Debbie. We found a fun store with very cheap prices! It was great to spend the day with them.

While there I indulged in all kinds of delicious chocolate, lots of bangers, mash, pies, fish and chips and a traditional roast. I also drank my fill of squash.

It was such a nice trip and so lovely to see my Nanny, spend time with my siblings and extended family. Christina and I flew to North Carolina together and then Tess and I made it direct after that. She was so good considering her time schedule was messed up and she was dragged from pillar to post! It took awhile to adjust back as she only slightly got on England time the day before we left.

This is how Tess spent most of the time....smiling!

At the Gatwick airport on arrival!

London with the cousins and siblings.

Self explanatory!

Ahhh, a London photobooth with Kate and Becky.

How Tess spent a lot of her time in London!

Tess at 5 months

Tess weighed in at 15.4 lbs!