2nd Annual Don & Shirley Hallstrom Family Reunion

Grandma Hallstrom and I were in charge of the 2nd Annual Don & Shirley Hallstrom Family Reunion.  It was held on Saturday, July 12th.  I reserved my ward building so that we could eat lunch there and have a talent show.  We set up the gym the night before.

We ate pulled pork sandwiches, corn and black bean salsa, watermelon, jello, salad, etc.  The talent show turned out really nice.  Grandma was especially thrilled that some of her grandchildren sang for her.  

Aunt Janette's wonderful presentation

Dad brings back memories with classic old home movies.

Seth's awesome song about parenting

Nathan sings a song from My Servant Joseph. He played the role of Joseph Smith a couple years ago.

Julia - 11months

Family Reunion peeps - Jenny, Mom, Tyler, Mark, Katie

 Group Photo of everyone who came (except Tyler who refused to get in the shot).

 Calvin, Grandma Shirley, Janette, Sheldon

 Calvin, Grandma Shirley, Janette, Sheldon

 Karen & Jean

 Karen & Jean 

    Seth, Jenny, Karen  

We cleaned up after the talent show, took a group family photo, 
and went back to our house for visiting and dessert.  
We borrowed a giant Jenga game from Kevin and Becky Ward 
for something to do in the evening on our back porch.  It was a big hit.  
Thanks to all who came and made it such a memorable day.

Sarah and her Jenga Tower  

Surprise Baby Sprinkle

So, on August 17th, my sister, Jenny and her family arrived from Las Vegas.  

We decided ahead of time that we'd exchange babysitting all six kids 

so that we could each take our turn going on a date with our husband.

Jenny insisted that Sam and I go out first.  After Jenny's family got settled, Sam and I left.

Sam took me to Texas Roadhouse for a nice steak and potato dinner.  

Our frozen lemonades hit the spot.

Dinner with my favorite person @ Texas Roadhouse

#ilovesam #welovesteakandpotatoes

When we arrived home, I saw Grandma Hallstrom's car and figured she stopped by to see 

Jenny and her family.  When I walked in the kitchen from the garage, I was greeted by these ladies (and some friends and neighbor's) shouting, "SURPRISE!!!"

Laura, Jenny, Lisa, Grandma Hallstrom

Video coming soon!

My two sisters @ellewhitey1 and a neighbor friend@sweetshoppebeckie 

totally surprised me with a baby sprinkle (shower)!!! 

It was so fun. Thanks for all who ce and for making me and baby feel so loved! 

#baby#4 #ilovesurprises

Fun Baby Sprinkle tablescape #icecreamsundaes #baby#4 #ilovesurprises

Sundae toppings and extra sweet treats.

We enjoyed our ice cream sundaes and other sweet treats.  

We played the "What If" game and another game guessing music titles played 

that had the word BABY in it.  It was SO nice to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our baby girl.

Baby and I feel so loved thanks to some sneaky sisters and friends of mine. #baby#4

Olson Family Visit

My sister, Jenny and her family drove up from Las Vegas for a visit.  

They stayed at our house from Saturday evening until mid morning on Tuesday.

They came to church with us.  Jenny and I had two short getaways from the kids.  On Sunday's getaway, we drove up to the Logan Temple to walk around.  

We enjoyed the peace and quiet as we walked around the temple grounds.

                                         Hello HUGE pink flower at the Logan Utah Temple!

Everyone loves the trampoline!  The dads supervised.

On Monday, we went had a picnic lunch at the splash pad 

and then went to Willow Park to play and feed ducks.

Feeding the ducks is fun to do.

Willow Park's Teeter Totter with Olson cousins

And a hot day out in the sun isn't complete without Macey's soft serve ice cream cones. 

Ben and Tyler are buddies

Jenny and Seth went out on a date and Sam and I watched all 6 kids.  We fed them tacos for dinner, made the kids earn their cookies, and I painted Sarah's fingernails a dark purple color with sparkles!

                                   Cookies = bribe to get kids & cousins to pick up backyard

                                          Played Aunt Lisa and gave Miss Sarah a manicure 

After Jenny and Seth returned, we had a dance party downstairs complete with glowsticks.  

The Walt Disney Channel on Pandora is fantastic.    

Vegas Playground Videos

Instagrams from Vegas Trip

Sarah let me play with her hair   

After Bath - watched Curious George in our PJs

 hanging out with their favorite mom/aunt

 Tyler- my snuggler

 Making s'mores outside the night after Thanksgiving

 Katie got to hang out with her Aunt Jenny

 The Kid Table on Thanksgiving

Cute Cousins- Sarah and Tyler

How We Spent Our Long Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent several hours in our van.  Here I am with our fearless driver:

I spent most of my time sitting next to Tyler on the middle bench seat trying my best to keep everyone happy.  What do you think everyone wanted most?  Food of course.  When we couldn't handle the whining anymore, we stopped for lunch.

We stopped at a famous yummy burger joint (first time for me and the kids).  

Then it was on the road again.

We spent our Thanksgiving weekend at a place with trees that look like this:

In a home that looks like this:

And cousins that look like this:

Ben - 4 1/2 years old 

Sarah - 2 1/2 years old

Emma - 8 months old

 The cousins got to know each other better.

We visited some fun parks, one of which had astroturf instead of grass!

Ben and Tyler
Ben LOVED riding in our van!  

We went to a couple parks with him as well as a fun bounce house place.

Another fun thing that we did was go to Bounce U, a kid paradise filled with bounce houses.  

We also spent a day at Lied Children's Discovery Museum.  Fun fun fun!

Getting these kiddos to bed at night was interesting.  

They were just so excited to be together and it took them awhile to calm down.

I don't blame them one bit though, cousins are so fun.

More to come on our trip soon... including videos!  Stay tuned!