I documented Hallie at 12 months in this post HERE, but I'm still (forever!) playing catch up, so I'm just now finally showing her little birthday party. :)
The balloon arch was so fun! It took quite awhile to make, and it was SUPER distracting for the boys all day long (face palm), but it was fun to have for the pictures...which is all that matters anyway, right?! haha
With covid and everything, we tried to figure out how to celebrate with Curt's family and my family, without overlapping. (Since we'd been getting together in person with each family separately, but we needed to be careful about not gathering too many people together, and figured it would be best to not mix families just yet.) Originally we were going to do two parties, one day apart, but then we found out that Chad & Lisa were going to be out of town for the whole weekend. And then since Collin & Rachel had just had baby Cash, they weren't going to be coming either way. So then we were just left with Curt's parents, my mom, and Cory & Allie. And with that few of people, it didn't make sense to do two separate parties...so we decided to do an in-person dinner for whoever felt comfortable coming, and then everyone else could zoom in for the cake smash. Curt's parents were trying to be careful, so they just joined in on zoom, and Chad & Lisa and Collin & Rachel were also able to zoom in as well, so it worked out perfectly.
Her lack of hair & beautiful physique inspired the theme, haha, and we had fun with it. Almost everyone joined in on the bow contest, and it was so fun!
Chad & Lisa and the girls all had amazing bows on zoom, and I'm so sad I forget to get a screenshot! Karli ended up winning for the biggest bow (she had made a bow out of ferns, haha!), and Cory won for most creative.
Everyone who came in person got to decorate circle (bald head) & bow cookies:
(I had the idea to take cookies to everyone who was going to be on zoom, so they could decorate their own cookies too...
but the thought came too late and we ran out of time to deliver them.)
And everyone (zoom & in person) got to guess how many bows Hallie had:
*I think the number was 56, and Tucker guessed it EXACTLY right! We thought he had maybe cheated, but he promises he didn't...just a crazy lucky guess, haha!
We had Hallie's favorite meal of teriyaki chicken & rice, and then we had these cute cupcakes for dessert:
A friend in our ward made the cake--and it was so cute! (And SO nice that I didn't have to worry about making it!) It ended up being almost as tall as Hallie, haha! For the first little while, she didn't want to touch it with her hands, so she just leaned in and gingerly ate it with her mouth. But then she started getting a little more daring and took a few chunks out of the side...and then she took the bow off the top and was LOVING that, hahaha.
The boys were RIGHT there by her side--the entire time. It was fun to see them so excited about it. :)
It ended up being a fun little party, and zooming people in seemed to work pretty well. It was so fun to celebrate her, and we appreciated everyone participating!! Here are a few other cute pictures:
She loved playing with the balloons:
We had this cute display of pictures of her throughout the year:
And I was so excited to give her her first doll!
And then lastly, I did this little photoshoot of her a few days before her birthday--she's so cute!
Happy Birthday, Hallie Girl!! We love you SO much!!
Super great picture showing how we celebrated the 16th (!!!) anniversary of our first date on Sept 3rd--
with Pollo Loco in the car, of course! (our covid go-to, haha)
Boat afternoon/evening with JUST our family! This was a big deal, because since having Hallie, we didn't know if we could handle going on the boat without extra people to help...but with this trip, we were able to do it!! The big boys helped take care of Hudson, and I helped launch the boat with Hallie in the car with me (after Curt got it set up), and it worked great! I can't explain the happiness that came from this trip--knowing we could do it all on our own. And we all had SO much fun! I even got out on the twister for the first time!! (Tucker held Hallie for me) And we blasted the boys' favorite music while they wakeboarded...it was so fun. I remember thinking as we drove back to the marina that it would be worth any amount of money to be able to create this kind of family fun and togetherness. I'm so, so grateful for our boat.
Me on the twister:
(Curt did his best to take a picture while he was driving, haha)
Ugh. Online school days are the absolute WORST. We were in phase 1 for the first month of school, and the boys attended 2 days in person, and then we had 3 online/"Home Study" days. The first few weeks were SO, SO hard. I talked about it in my August Phone Pictures post--but trying to help/stay on top of the three older boys doing their schoolwork, with Hudson running around making messes, and Hallie needing more attention, I just wanted to cry every day. (And I did, a lot of the time. As did the boys.) We slowly got into more of a routine, and the teachers started figuring out their workloads a little better (minus Tucker's teacher--but that's a whole separate story), so it got a little better, but it was still so hard. Thankfully, when I was at my wit's end and ready to just pull them all out and homeschool them so we could be more in control of the workload, the district moved to phase 2 at the end of September, so the boys started going in person 4 days a week (M-Th), and then they just have home study days on Fridays. It's still hard, but it's MUCH more manageable.
Quick snapshots of what home study days look like. Boys sprawled out on the couch (though I've started making them work at the table so I can see their screens and make sure they're not messing around), and Hudson creating messes everywhere. (face palm)
Cute little Hallie in her sun hat, watching Tucker play soccer. :) With everything covid this year, we only signed up Tucker for soccer this fall, and we stayed with the district league, Provo Fury. Teams got changed around a little, which was frustrating, but it meant that Curt did NOT have to coach (hallelujah!)...until the end of the season when the coach's wife tested positive for covid and Curt had to step in and coach for the last two weeks of the season while the coach was at home quarantining. But we were only able to watch a few games as a family because covid restrictions got tighter with our rising numbers, and they only allowed one spectator per player. So this picture makes me happy that we were all able to be there. And Cory & Allie actually came to watch this game as well--so nice of them!
Morning snuggles (and laughs) with Hallie--and Bronco photographing. :)
He loves her so much.
We were watching a documentary that showed bears grabbing fish from the water, and Hudson brought his bear right up to the TV so he could see the fish up close. So funny!!
Me holding Hudson & Hallie together, and Hallie REALLY wanted Hudson's cup, haha:
Hudson & Nutella--he just can't help himself...he always makes a giant mess:
Bronco has always enjoyed dressing up at random times, and he was on a spiderman kick for a little while and would wear this whole setup and pretend to be spiderman, haha (he asked me to take this picture so he could see how realistic he looked, haha):
Hallie just trying to eat a giant glass bowl. No big deal.
I don't remember what prompted me to take this picture, but I love it. All four boys being crazy and brushing their teeth at the same time. They drive me crazy, and test my patience constantly, but I love these boys so much, and I love being a boy mom. (most of the time) ;)
Curt got a tent that goes on the back of his truck, and he's really excited about how awesome it fits:
Playing Jenga at my mom's house during family dinner--they got it stacked so high, and it was amazing!!
TUCKER GOT BRACES!!! (9-14-20) The time finally came! He's been looking forward to this for the last few years, and then in the last few months he decided he actually really wasn't that excited about braces after all, haha. But it's going to be great, and totally worth it! It's also crazy that we have reached that point in our lives where we will be making monthly payments to the orthodontist for probably the next 15 years straight, once we go through all five kids haha.
He was in a lot of pain those first two days, so I made him a special banana pie shake to eat while he did his schoolwork.
Another boat night. Ah--we miss these boat nights SO much!!! Utah Lake was our jam during the month of September (the water was GLASS, and there was no one else there!)--and we went five times in a two week period, if I remember right. It was SO FUN! It would get chilly by the time we pulled off the lake, but it was still warm enough to get in and have fun. It was perfection.
Cory & Allie came with us on this particular trip, and it was the most amazing water and most beautiful sunset I've ever seen. And Cory & Tucker & Calvin all did AMAZING at wakeboarding!!! I have so many videos that I want to compile together...but I don't know if I have time to get to it. (Life with five kids, plus trying to blog, is hard!) P.S. Bronco took this picture of Allie, haha:
Curt caught some pretty awesome air off the wake--just laying in the wrong direction, haha:
And this picture of Tucker with the sunset--ALL the heart eyes:
Cory & Allie gave Tucker these American flag swim trunks as an early birthday gift, and he was so excited to be able to match Curt!!! (crying face emoji)
Hudson holding Hallie--it always makes me laugh when he asks to hold her, because it lasts about 2.8 seconds before he says he's done, haha:
Curt took the three big boys out on the boat with Dave Kunz & his son Cash, so I took Hudson & Hallie on a walk while they were gone. I was trying to not let Hudson know where Curt and the boys were gone to, because he LOVES being on the boat and I didn't want him to be sad...but he noticed the boat was gone within the first minute of us going outside, haha. Smart kid. He kept asking to make sure Curt would bring the boat back, and for a few days afterwards, he would exclaim with excitement, "Dad bring boat back!!" hahaha. P.S. This was Hallie's first time sitting in the actual stroller seat, instead of in her carseat attached to the stroller:
The boys modeling the school's customized masks for a campaign picture. It's still crazy to me that this is our life right now--having to wear masks whenever we go out--but the boys do so well with it and never complain.
Hallie & the twins on Tucker's birthday. None of them were excited about taking a picture, and it looks like Hallie is punching Millie in the face...so funny but so sad!! It's crazy how the twins have already passed Hallie up in size--we knew it would happen, but it happened so much faster than we thought, haha!
Sunday walk as a family, and Calvin held Hudson's hand all on his own--made my heart melt!
Tucker also had a youth fireside that Sunday night over zoom--and it cracked me up seeing him in his suit and tie on top...and basketball shorts on bottom. Covid does have it's perks! (crying face emoji)
Bronco was taking this picture of Hudson, and Hallie smiled perfectly in the background too!
Last boat night of the season--so, so sad. But we lived it up and made the most of it! Tucker & Calvin did the best wakeboarding runs they'd ever done, and everyone was so happy!
Hudson even got on the tube with the boys, and he LOVED it and didn't want to get off! I think he did three runs before we finally made him get back in the boat. It made me super nervous having him out on the tube without an adult, but the big boys held him tight, and Curt drove very carefully. And Hudson had a blast!!
Last family selfie on the boat for 2020:
And that water and sunset...I'm dying to go back!
P.S. We did try to go out on the boat one more time as a last second thing, and Cory & Allie & Collin came with us...but when we got on the lake it was SO choppy--like dangerously choppy--so we had to turn right around and pull off the lake. A very sad and anticlimactic way to end. So we're just pretending that this family run we did was our actual last time on the lake, since we were thinking at the time that it would be anyway.
This was my end of summer entry way decor that I wasn't in love with at all--but it was what I had on hand. I can't wait to go shopping and just walk the aisles of Hobby Lobby looking for decoration inspiration like I used to do before covid.
Our neighbor/friend Rebecca has been on the school board for the last 4 years and was up for re-election this year, so Curt became her campaign manager and designed all of her signs and everything. She had most of her signs printed, but we made a few giant ones out of vinyl, and we had a late night with Geoff and Rebecca assembling them together. Fun times!! (And spoiler alert since it's past election day now that I'm finally blogging about it--she won! Hooray!!)
Curt also made one last GIANT sign that we put up in my mom's backyard (because it overlooks a major intersection)--and he decided to make it last second on his own while I slept on the couch...and he was up until like 2 or 3 am. He is a good man! (I took this picture as I woke up and realized what he was doing)
I didn't want to let covid ruin the annual "Favorite Things" party I like to host each fall, so Nora encouraged me and helped me figure out how to to a covid-friendly gathering--we stayed outside and wore masks and sat 6 ft apart, and it worked out perfectly! And it was so good for the soul to be able to get together with some of my favorite people.
Curt took this picture of us:
*Also, not pictured, is the intervention my family had with my sister earlier that afternoon. I don't want to talk about it on here, but I want to remember that it happened. It was a long-time coming and was really, really hard, and started a long, grueling process of legally evicting her from living in my mom's basement studio apartment. So, so sad. But we did it out of love, and hopefully Kelsey will understand that someday.*
I love my little Hallie girl so much!!
She still loves sucking her feet, hardcore haha:
Curt's newest side gig has been reviewing Amazon items. He got involved in a facebook group where Chinese companies send him their products to review (he first pays for the products, and then after he reviews them, they refund part or all of the purchase price). He only does it for products we would actually buy, and something he feels good about reviewing, and it's been an awesome little thing. We've gotten some pretty neat stuff, but this one by far is my favorite--a battery-powered vacuum! It's lightweight and can be big or small, and it works perfectly to pick up stuff throughout the day until the roomba goes at night. Hudson LOVES this little vacuum and uses it all the time...and actually does a really good job with it!
Random fun with some disguising glasses...
This was/is a big deal: Curt participated in an 8-week biggest loser competition at work, and he lost 23 pounds!! (And he also shaved off his giant beard on the final weigh-in day--hallelujah!) It went from the beginning of August to the end of September, and I was so proud of him for cutting back on the amount of food he ate, as well as choosing healthier options. He exercised a little bit, but mostly he just tried to eat better, and I'm amazed at how much it paid off! And even though he's not being as strict as he was during the competition, he's still trying to eat better overall, and he's continued to lose a few more pounds. Way to go Curt!! (I joined in the competition just by trying to not snack so much as I feed the kids, etc, and not eating treats with Curt every night like we used to do, haha, and I lost 8 pounds in those 8 weeks, and now 10 pounds overall up to this point! Woot woot!)
Curt didn't win the competition like he was originally hoping to do, but it was still totally worth it to kick-start us both to being a little more healthy.
Duke got groomed again at the end of September and looked so handsome!
And we'll end with these videos.
Chad & Lisa gave Tucker these inflatable bubble shields for his birthday, and the boys had a blast with them (until one popped a few days later, face palm):
And this was Hudson asking to see Allie, and then being really sad and then funny, haha:
And then here's a video from August that I forgot to post--Hudson saying "helicopter" so cute:
