Family picture practice

Well we were going to get family pictures taken in October and we got all ready for them when I got the call from the photographer that she would not be able to take them because there was a funeral happening and she was sorry for not letting us know sooner. Well I took the opportunity to have a dry run and I learned that it was good to practice. I learned that the children don't like being "positioned," have a hard time holding still and all looking at the camera. Here are some of the gems taken by our neighbor for our practice.

This is my favorite picture of all of them 

Now our pictures are scheduled for November 9th, which means that it will be colder and I get to come up with new coordinating outfits for everyone, the only downfall to the postponement...

September

Here are some pictures from September 

Connor being forced to sit up for a picture, such a sour face.

Hunter stole his Uncle Jordan's hat while he was here for the baby blessing and hid it under all of Bryant's hats so that Jordan would not be able to find it. 

The kids also had fun making a cozy party on Tucker"s bed! It sure is fun to stuff four kids into one bedroom :)

I was a major slacker and did not take any pictures of Connor's baby blessing. He barely fit in the button up shirt we had for him so Bryant took it off him before Sacrament meeting was over, then he pooped all over the rest of his church clothes during the third hour. It was so fun to share the day with everyone that could come out and support us. We are blessed to have had my parents and Bryant's parents and brother Jordan drive up from Arizona to be in attendance. We are also blessed to have so many good people around us here that came out too!. 

Connor turned 2 months old the day after his blessing! He is over 15 lbs, He outgrew his 0-3 month clothes at 1 month old and is transitioning out of 3-6 month clothes at 2 months. He also refuses to smile for the camera.

Hunter's first day school was September 2. His school was able to hire another kindergarten teacher a week before school started and the principal decided to alter the way kindergarten would run as a result so kindergarten started two weeks later than everyone else. The school got rid of half day kindergarten much to my dismay! We still had the option to send Hunter to school for just the morning but then he would miss out on all of the extra-curriculars like music, p.e., art, and library. I felt like they had forced my hand and really did not like it. It has taken me awhile to not feel super grumpy about it. 

This is Connor completely filling a 6 month onesie. 

This is a video of our everyday lives. Brylee really wanted me to video her flying paper airplanes. 

Connor falls asleep when he is tired even if I sit him up on the couch to keep him awake for a little bit longer. 

hmmmm....do not disturb....Connor is in deep thought

Every year an outdoor shopping mall does an event called "Chalk the Block." Lots of artists come and draw pictures in the parking stalls and chalk is handed out to guests to color the sidewalks of the mall. After seeing all of the pictures we found a place to start drawing. Well I drew a large dog for Gunnar and then everyone else wanted one. Hunter came up with the idea to start coloring it in and got everyone else to follow suit. 

Here is Hunter with his finished dog.

Tucker's dog was way too big to finish before we left but he was able to make a rather nice mask on the dog. 

Brylee wanted pictures with lots of her creations

I wanted a picture of Brylee in this watermelon dress because I think it is super cute, for once she didn't want a normal picture and so she posed like this ;)

Funeral for Marjorie Whiting

Bryant's grandmother passed away at the end of September so we made the trek to Taylor, Arizona for the funeral. We drove down on Friday and were pleasantly surprised that it only take 9 hours to get to Taylor if we drove through Moab rather than take the 89 to Flagstaff and catching another freeway to Holdbrook and then to Taylor. 9 hours in the car is easy cheesy :) We stopped in Moab to stretch our legs while I fed Connor. The kids had lots of fun at the park and I was glad that it was not far off our path. This park had some interesting toys like this weird insect/creature that Tucker was climbing on 

They also had these toys to ride on. I loved these when I was little.

This four way rocker was my favorite thing. 

Hunter had lots of fun climbing up :)

Taking the path we did, we went through the heart of Navajo country and we found a rather ominous face in one of the mountains. We also learned not to stop in Many Lands for gas. We likely could have made it without stopping on the reservation but someone had to pee. Then someone had the need of another bathroom break only 10 minutes later so we stopped in Chinle as well. It was an interesting adventure to say the least and now we know to make a stop before the reservation and then again after if necessary. 

Amazingly our children traveled well. Normally, I am stuck sitting on the middle bench of the van helping the children be happy but with 5 children there are no seats for me other than in the front. Tucker and Hunter took turns on the middle bench helping Connor and passing food to the back row when needed. Gunnar had a moment where he was super upset and would not calm down without a hug, not even an air hug (blow a hug like blowing kisses) would not suffice. Otherwise everyone got along and helped each other be happy. 

Here are some pictures from the funeral taken by Hunter and Tucker. 

After the funeral we all went to Grandma Whiting's house to reminisce. We left there right after a major rain storm hit and drove to Flagstaff to visit with Michelle and Daniel. After learning about the 9 hour drive through Moab I had second thoughts about traveling 3 hours to Flagstaff to travel 9 hours to home the following day but I'm glad we stopped there. It was so nice to stay up and chat for awhile and then visit more Sunday morning. Family sure is the best!