Mom's 70th birthday

Every once in a while, life smiles on you and gives you a nearly perfect day. My mom turned 70 this November, and to commemorate it, all five of her kids surprised her for an all-day party. Jenn and Adrienne "lured" her down from Cove Fort and her missionary duties, saying that they wanted to do a session at the temple with her. Which they did. But when they returned to the house, Russ, Ben and I were there too; complete with 70 balloons each with a favorite memory of Mom tied to it from family and friends.

Then we watched a video montage Jenn put together with all of our families singing, "I am a Child of God", before heading off to the "Escape Room"- a new experience for most of us. It's nice to shake things up a bit! Then we went out to eat for dinner, all the while singing along in the car to all of our old road trip favorites. "Rubber ball", "Tower of Strength", "100 pounds of clay" etc. After dinner we went back home to have some delicious cake and ice cream and open presents. Even though Ben and I had the drive back north ahead of us, it was hard to have the night end. So we watched some home movies together downstairs before heading home.

It was pretty much perfect. I didn't even mind the drive down and back in such a short amount of time because I got all this great one-one-one time with my brother, which never happens. It was so fun to talk all the way there and back. It may seem odd that my Dad wasn't there, or that our spouses weren't there, but they sacrificed to watch kids etc so that the original 5 and Mom could have this time together. I will cherish this day for a long, long time. I feel so lucky to have grown up alongside the siblings I have, and under the watchful care of my parents-some of my best friends.

Thanksgiving 2018

We had a lovely, low-key Thanksgiving this year at our home. Ross, Amanda and Emerson came out from California and stayed with us for a few days. We didn't plan any big outing, but it's always so nice to have those in-between moments to just chat informally. It's great to strengthen those family bonds and friendships. Christy did most of the cooking honestly, but we put a few dishes together at our house. We never really do a traditional Thanksgiving meal when we celebrate with the Garner side. It's always delicious though! We had some roasted chickens, a citrus winter salad, a sweet potato/apple/craisin salad, cranberry butter and rolls (my personal fav), and different versions of pumpkin pie.

We feasted, we played minute-to-win-it games, worked on a craft for Tanner, did some family history... It was wonderful to be with each other! The only downside was Benson's insanely rotten attitude. I can't get too mad at him, since we were the ones who scheduled dinner right at his nap time. But let's just say, I was plenty happy to get him to bed that night!

Baby Boy Ultrasound Pictures

The doctor's office we're going to this time did the ultrasound thing a little differently than we've had it in the past. They didn't print out a bunch of pictures for you to take home, they just sent a link with all the pictures so you can download what you want. I want all of them! :) This was more than a month ago, but I'm just getting around to downloading and posting. Can't wait to meet this beautiful baby boy!!

First Half of November

Kids impersonating Ned Kelley at homeschool group. :) He was basically Australia's Butch Cassidy.


More funny Benson sleeping pictures. :)



Lindy practicing her glockenspiel! Richie felt impressed to start a "family band" of sorts, after conference with all the talk of the 2 hour block and using our time at home more effectively. So he helped Miles learn "I am a child of God" on the uke and helped Gwen learn it on the piano. After their first Sunday practice, he could tell Lindy felt really left out. So he ordered her a glockenspiel the next day. HA! It both cracked me up, and warmed my heart. :) He helped her write out the basic notes and taught her how to practice. (It should be noted that the stand it came on was broken the day after we bought it. Life with kids.) She has been diligently practicing and improving. Right after I took this picture she said, "I'm going to practice lots today so that when Daddy comes home and I play it for him, he'll be so proud of me!"


Benson getting his new cast on. He's kept this one on! Only one more week!


Simple pleasures in life: Watching Mr. Bean re-runs, and hot-from-the-oven bread with honey butter.


An accurate depiction of a school day. Lindy was so proud she finally got that pose with the owls. It had been really frustrating to her (for a few months) so she was really proud.



Miles at Cooper's glow in the dark birthday party! What a fun idea!


Dad and Lindy on a date. Terrible picture, but proof that Lindy got to go have fun with her Dad. She's been dying to try the new Crumbl cookies store near us. So they went and got a cookie, then went to see the play being put on at the school Richie teaches at.


Fire season has begun and we're so excited about it. Well, I'm mostly all excited about it until I remember that having warm cozy fires also means ridiculous amounts of debris being tracked inside. But it's worth it. Both Miles and Gwen have been taking great pride in keeping the fire stoked all day if Dad starts one in the morning. This is a new thing. I don't remember them being so into it last year. There has been some trial and error, but for the most part, they are doing such a good job. This picture is on one of the first days I remember Miles being so vigilant about it all. Here he is, cozied up with Ginger, enjoying the fruits of his labor.


Science day! We were exploring different kinds of energy. The vinegar and baking soda in the bags was showing chemical energy, and the smores cupcakes were demonstrating heat energy. :)


That same day we got our Christmas shoeboxes dropped off. This year, I made the kids not only pay for their own shipping labels, but also for all the presents inside. They used their own individual money for the shipping, and they worked together for the present money. They pooled all of their can crushing money, garbage can rolling money, and pumpkin selling money, and ended up with $20 each. Parting with the money was harder for some than others, but they ended up getting really into it. It was awesome to watch them budget their $20 as they picked and chose what their person would really like the best. They put together some fantastic boxes. We're excited to see where in the world they end up going!