Temple Square in Mesa

Last night for Family Night we ate at Cafe Rio and then went to Temple Square to see the lights. It is slightly easier to walk around the temple grounds for an hour here in AZ than it is in Salt Lake, considering it was 65 degrees last night! It is a fun holiday tradition that I hope I get to do every year of my life (here or in Utah)!
It was kind of hard to capture the whole fam with the camera on my phone, so here are all of my lovies!!

Our trip back east

Spence and I left the kids for 9 whole days last week to go on a trip back east. We left them with my mom for the first 4 days and then had our friends cousins babysit for the rest. They did awesome and didn't even miss us much, which made our vacation fun. (It would've broken my heart to hear them sad we were gone. But they never complained to us!) We went with Danny and Kasey Perkinson and had a BLAST! We flew into New York and saw the sights there for 2 days, then drove to Boston for about 2 days, then Montreal and then Palmyra. We had an incredible time and couldn't have without the help we received from our family and awesome babysitters! We feel so blessed to be able to go on a trip like this and enjoy time together, all the while knowing our kids were safe and happy.

So here are some pictures and I'm not going to comment much and explain everything because I'm totally tired and I'm a lame blogger anyway. So here it is.....
Rockafeller Plaza


At the MET, SO COOL! (To say the least! Just trying to keep it short)


Spence, Danny and Brett Crandall (Danny and Kasey's friends from high school who lives in Manhattan and met us at the museum) at the MET


Me and Kasey in Times Square


Freezing on the Staten Island Ferry at 1a.m. (My blood runs very thin now that I live in HOT AZ!)


And from New York we drove 3 1/2 hours to Boston, possibly the coolest city in our country, in my opinion. Spence grew up in Boston for part of his youth so we love any chance we get to go there!

The four of us in an area now known as "The Big Dig." It used to have a huge double decker highway running basically through the center of the city and in a effort to beautify (and probably more reasons than that) they dug an underground freeway that now runs under the city instead of through it. The area is now a beautiful parkway full of green grass and trees, fountains and places to relax, eat, read, etc. Fun fact: In the Big Dig project they used enough concrete to make a sidewalk from New York to L.A. and back 3 times! Crazy!



Paul Revere's Gravesite


In an old cemetery along The Freedom Trail in Boston


A Boston Landmark


There is SO much beautiful architecture there!!


We had the opportunity to go to the temple for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in each of these four cities (part of the reason we chose each city). The Boston temple is stunning, of course.


And then we were off to Montreal. We planned our trip so we could see the beautiful leaves change colors. So we got to experience a week of fall weather and stunning scenery! IT WAS AMAZING!! Spence served his mission in Montreal and so that was our motivation behind going up there. It was so fun to see a little part of where he was.

Here is the base of a huge statue in a popular tourist area in Montreal. Like most everything we saw....beautiful. (I wonder how many times I use that word in this long post!)


Warming up and getting hot chocolate!




Check out the beard my husband was working on! Well, it was really just lack of shaving for a couple weeks. He doesn't usually have quite this much hair!



Eating at a fun pasta place. Too bad non of us were looking at the camera!


We made fun of Spence's lazy eyes....


....so then he gave us this.


A huge catholic church in Montreal. Again... beautiful architecture.


After enjoying chili Montreal we crossed the border again and arrived in Palmyra, New York. Palmyra is home to a few very sacred places in our churches history and it was an honor to be there. I'll post a few pictures but we have a lot on another camera that we brought and I havent't put them on the computer yet. So I'll post some pictures of the Sacred Grove and some others when I get them. But here are a few.

Inside the Peter Whitmore home.



Does it get more beautiful than this?!


At the Hill Cumorah.


There will be a few more to come when I get them from the other camera.

just catching up.....again!

We'll catch up on the most important first.....kids! They are fun and pretty crazy.

Lincoln made this mask at his "Boys Will Be Boys" preschool class.
Quince is playing the piano and singing "on a mission" over and over again. It is his version of "I Hope They Call Me On A Mission." So cute!

Our Trip to Utah

Here are a few pictures of us on our trip. Thanks to Maggie and Mere for taking some for us!
Me and Linc at the Alpine Slide

Spence and Q at the Alpine Slide

Abe (my wonderful brother) and Lezlee at the Alpine Slide

Lezlee and her cousin Delaney going cowgirl style!

Linc, Q and their cousin Marc jumping on the trampoline at Grandma and Grandpa Critt's cabin. That's the back of Timpanogos and the Heber valley below. Very beautiful view from the ridge!

Some of the Crittenden grandkids climbing on the pro-hauler. We were taking family pictures that do so they were all dressed in white.

Four and Half Months. Seriousely, I'm Pathetic!!

I keep thinking that I'm going to give a recap of what's been going on in our family since the last time I blogged. However, I have let four and a half months slip by without blogging so there is NO WAY that I am going to do that! We'll just pick up where we left off.

We were in Utah on vacation for the last two weeks! It was SO MUCH FUN spending time with our family. We swam at the Fishes, played at Grandma and Grandpa Hux's, jumped on the trampoline around the clock, celebrated Lincoln's 3rd birthday, went to the Alpine Slide and Coaster (the kids kept yelling "Faster, faster!!), played at Grandma and Grandpa Critt's cabin, swam, rode horses, rode 4-wheelers, and had the company of amazing family and sweet friends the entire time! We are so blessed!!

All the while on this fun summer adventure our camera battery died and we left the charger and proper chords at home in AZ. So, here is one of the only pictures that we took. It is one of Lincoln blowing out his candles at his birthday party. It was the first day we arrived. We went to the Fishes and had dinner and swam. SO fun! Thanks Mags and Ryan for opening up your home, again and again!


Another fun time was the day we left. Lezlee had come down with the flu the night before. I slept with her that night to comfort her, knowing that I would likely get it. So the next morning I woke up very nauseous, of course. We left to the airport praying that no one else would throw up. I had felt okay for a while until I got up to take Lezlee to the bathroom. I came back to my seat feeling like I needed to find the little bag in the seatback pocket in front of me quickly! Spence and the boys were in the row next to us and so Lezlee went and sat with them while I laid down on our row. Yes, that's right..... I was laying there napping while my husband was crammed across the aisle with our three young kids! When we stood up at the end of the flight an older, very kind man, patted Spence on the shoulder and said, "You are such a great dad!" Which he is, of course! But I think that the other thought running through this gentleman's mind was, "Why did you marry her?!" I'm so grateful that Spence is so kind and that he is such a great dad! About one minute into standing waiting to de-board the plane Lincoln (with NO WARNING) threw up all over the aisle. He managed to not get a drop on himself, just the floor. Spence and I hurried to clean it up with as many wipe-ups as we had left but the stewardess was kind enough to bring newspaper to put on the floor to cover it up so everyone could walk by. It made me laugh thinking about the movie Big Daddy when Adam Sandler covers up his kids pee with newspaper. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.

We made it home safely and with no one else getting sick, thank heaven! And to the older gentleman sitting behind us on the plane, you are right, Spence is the Father of the Year!

I'm hoping now that I have posted once that I will get in the habit again. Sorry to whomever checks our blog wondering how we are doing on not getting jack from us!

More Head Trauma

Last Thursday we took Quince to the emergency room and left with 3 staples in the back of his head. Kind of a crazy night..... He was in a booster seat that was buckled into a regular chair and he pushed himself away from the table and the chair tipped over backwards. So he went with the chair and hit his head on the back of the chair and split his head. It could have been so much worse, though. He got back to his normal self very quickly and doesn't seem to notice them now. Poor little guy! No signs of any serious head trauma, so we are grateful for that.

One Smart Girl!

Last night Spence was putting Lezlee to bed and she started to tell him about a boy in her Preschool class. Here's how the conversation went.....

Lez: Daddy guess what! Yesterday, my friend Preston left his blankie in the mailbox for the "Blankie Fairy" and in the morning he went to the mailbox and there was a baseball glove!!

Spence: Really?!

Lez: I want to put my blankie in the mailbox and then the Fairy will leave me something cool!

Spence: But honey, if you leave your blankie then you will never see it again. The fairy will bring you something cool, but you won't get your blankie back.

Lez: Oh..... (thinking...) Well maybe I could just put in a blankie that I don't like very much and still get something cool.

Spence: (Totally trying not to laugh at our conniving 3 year old) Well sweetie, the "Blankie Fairy" knows if you don't leave your favorite.

Lez: Oh man!

Seriously! Maybe all other 3 year olds are this smart and I'm the clueless one! But really, she can find a way around ANYTHING!!

Oh My Sweet Lezlee!

Lezlee and Lincoln were playing "Doctor" last night. It was very cute as they took each other very seriously. They came to the kitchen and asked if I had set up an appointment yet with the doctor and then told me that they could take care of that for me. It was sweet. So a little while later I asked Lezlee if she wanted to be a doctor when she grows up and she said, "No." So I said, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And she didn't even hesitate when she said, "I want to be a mom. I want to be a mom just like you, Mommy!!" Oh it was so sweet! It made me feel like I might be doing something right sometimes. There was something in her tone that made it seem like she thinks it is a great thing to be a mom and I am so thrilled that she thinks that! If I can teach her one thing about myself it is that I LOVE being a mom! I want my kids to know that every day of their lives..... that being home with them is exactly what I want to be doing!

My Mother

"A mother has far greater influence on her children than anyone else, and she must realize that every word she speaks, every act, every response, her attitude, even her appearance and manner of dress affect the lives of her children and the whole family. It is while the child is in the home that he gains from his mother the attitudes, hopes, and beliefs that will determine the kind of life he will live and the contribution he will make to society." -Eldon Tanner

Last Saturday (that's right, Valentines Day!) was my mom's birthday. My sweet dad decided that it would be fun to fly me home for a day so I could be with her on her birthday. I flew into Salt Lake on Thursday night and Mags and Ryan and Soph picked up me and Quince. (Q came because he could ride on my lap for free.) We slept over at their house that night and it was soooo fun!! My dad planned a little surprise luncheon for my mom on Friday and invited the women in our family and some of her close friends. When she came to the luncheon she was so surprised to see everyone! I stayed seated in my chair so that she wouldn't see me and had my sisters, Grace and Chlo'e, help Quince walk up to her. It took her a couple seconds to realize it was Q-ball, but when she did she looked up to look for me. So I went and gave her a hug and we both broke down. She was so surprised! She had told Abby and my dad earlier that day that all she wanted for her birthday was to see me, just to have all her kids there with her. She is so sweet!

Referring to the quote that I wrote above, it is so true of my mother and in the best way possible. My mom has impacted my life tremendously. I am so grateful for her example. She is a woman of faith, virtue, integrity and hard work. She gives her life to those she loves. She serves others with no thought of reward. She does it because she loves the Savior and she tries to see people through His eyes. My mom has set the bar high for our family. She believes in us all, and she tries to help us accomplish our big dreams however she can. I love her very much. She and my dad are an amazing team! I am grateful for them! Happy Birthday Mom!!!
I had the most wonderful weekend! Quince and I were there in Salt Lake with my family and were able to celebrate my mom's birthday with them! Then we flew home on Saturday around noon and I was able to go on a date with my sweet husband for Valentines Day!

Quince is quite the "hefty" boy weighing in at 28 pounds. And he isn't very interested in walking, which is fine because I can have a little bit of control over where he goes. I know that when he learns to walk, he'll learn to run, which he'll LOVE! And then he is free to go wherever he pleases, which is a little scary. Quince's personality is similar to Lezlee's..... CRAZY! So I'm a little nervous. However, this rather large child has been attached to my right hip, (I just can't seem to ever carry him with my left, much to my chiropractor's dismay!)for months. He is a bit of a "mama's boy" and needs to be carried everywhere so that I can keep up with Lezlee and Lincoln. My point is this, we got him shoes that squeak with each step in hopes that he would like the noise each step makes and he might want to walk. We think it is working, but it's only been a couple days. And we're still at the entertained stage, not yet to the annoyed stage that I'm sure we'll get to as soon as he walks well. The makers of these shoes were genius and made it possible to take out the squeaky part so that they can wear them as normal shoes! Wohoo!

Another Quick Recap

Our little family

Here is Lezlee on Christmas morning. You might ask yourself, where are her Christmas pajamas? Oh no, the girl won't leave her room still in her pajamas. Wierd! I could live in mine!

Linc thought he was so funny putting on his cousin, Addi Cate's bow!

Spence LOVES to tease the kids!! Here he is squishing Q's cheeks. They are just to irresistable!

Our trip home to Utah was OH SO FUN!! And COLD!