Halloween, Thanksgiving, and More

Happy December! Hinckley still can't sing, but is is awfully close.

We were on a roll this year, blogging once and sometimes twice a month for the first part of the year. And then we had a second child, and I (Greg) started fall semester, and the blog went silent. So, here is quick review of the last couple months.

Two munchkins all buckled up

Pumpkin patch

Dino at the church Halloween Party

In early October Kassie's mother came to visit. We enjoyed going to the pumpkin patch and Hinckley had loads of fun playing in the corn kernels. Kas and I finally went and saw Inside Out which we really loved. Grandpa Halverson had his 95th birthday! What a great man. Hinckley and I got to meet President Uchtorf (one of the leaders of the LDS church) when we went up to see Grandpa walk in a Christmas parade and speak at the This Is The Place monument village. 

Addie with Grandpa H

Little bear and her Mom

Halloween was a blast, something about having young kids around makes holidays much more exciting! We had a blast with my Mom and Dad, the Kays, and Kassie's parents going along Locust Lane with the kids. Hinckley really enjoyed chasing Logan (a little turtle) up to the porches of all the friendly neighbors. Sadie (princess) was very deliberate and dainty in her candy foraging activities H's dino costume was amazing, especially when he shook his tail around. Kas did a great job. Addie slept through the whole event in her bear costume, which seemed to keep her pretty warm. After we got home we convinced Hinckley to take just a few pieces of candy and sacrifice the rest to the "Great Pumpkin", and the next morning the great pumpkin had produced a new truck for him to play with. I wonder how long that trick will work. 

On November 1st we blessed Adelaide, and it was a special treat to have the Kassie's parents and grandparents in town as well as Grandpa Halverson too. She was a cherub and I thought her dress Kas made looked great! After the blessing and into the meeting Hinckley managed to break loose of his bonds and tore up to the stand while I was bearing my testimony on the stand and then started to hit the microphone –my testimony was shorter than planned, but it was probably for the better. 

Blessing Day

Proud Mom

Family Picture on blessing day

Hinckley went through a spell of being "super Hinckley" in which I tie a blanket around him and he runs around. He started calling Addie after her nickname "Addie-boo" and has even turned the name on to me calling me "Daddy-boo". The other day he also called Kas "Mommy-boo" he sure is a funny guy. He loves reading, entertaining Addie, and eliciting responses from us when attention his direction wanes. Lately he has taken to "reading" books in his bed before naps and sometimes bedtime. He is full of exuberance and excitement, doing everything at a run and a yell (though occasionally he will do one of his "roars" in a whisper, and he asked me in a very cute whisper last night to "sing a song Daddy"). He loves all the christmas lights, decorations, and especially a big stack of Christmas books we got from Kassie's folks. He is very sweet and makes you feel like a million bucks - unless of course he isn't getting his way! 

Kassie organized a volleyball event for a Relief Society this week, and finished making a really cute hate for Addie. She has been reading up a storm and always has some interesting insights to share. I attended a conference in Indiana early in November and Kas did a great job with the kids for the few days I was gone. She has been putting her flute skills to use this month in preparation for a community Christmas concert that happens tonight. 

Going for a walk in the cold

Raking leaves at Nana and Grandpa's House

Arcades - when the demo is just as fun as actually playing! 

November itself was filled with lots of work meetings for me, school assignments, and catching up on the Star Wars franchise in preparation for next week. We got a Blendtech which has increased the quality of our green smoothies and many other dishes about 100%. Kassie has named it the "official best purchase of 2015" which I think I would have to agree with. 

Eating pie with cousins and Nana

Opening a package of Christmas books from Grandma B

Thanksgiving was in Provo for us this year, we spent it with the Kays and my folks on Locust Lane. The kids ran around, we all ate a ton, and it was a good time had by all. Hinckley and I went with Brian, Logan, and Sadie to see Mignons –Hinckley's first feature length film in a theater. He did really well! Maybe we will give Charlie Brown a shot. 

The day after Thanksgiving we got out the Christmas stuff. A small snow gave us the exciting reminder that that Holiday season is fully upon us. We did battle with our Christmas tree and it is up and functional (after a couple hours of frustration! . . . but it wouldn't be Christmas without a little adversity in setting up decal :) and it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Hinckley has been pining to watch Joel the Lump of Coal and so it seems we have landed upon a classic. 

I spent some time on Black Friday making homemade whiteboards for our basement (a long time wish of mine). You can buy a 4x8 foot panel board from Home Depot for about 15.00 and then double sided tape and viola! Tons of white board space for Humanus Media HQ :) I am excited to say the least. The semester has come to an end, it has been lots of fun being in my Dad's final Qualitative Inquiry class. It is hard to believe how fast time went this semester! I am getting behind on my thesis, we are struggling to find our final participant but hopefully that will go through soon so I can keep on the timeline to graduate in April. I went up to SLC with the graduate entrepreneur association and toured some businesses which was interesting. I've been attending networking meetings almost as frequently as I've been attending classes. 

Mom and Baby Addie at the park

Addie's cute "Hello there" grin

Addie had her 4 month old check up and has gained all the weight she needed to be where she needs to be. She is a jolly nymph, but the shots she got brought a few tears and a big lower lip. She is incredibly cute and her presence demands your attention. It is hard to stop poking her cheeks (especially that dimple!) and holding her close. She has started learning about her hands and has taken to holding on like a little monkey once you pick her up. She has been making lots of squeaks and sounds, but rarely cries (a huge blessing I strive to recognize on a daily basis). We sure love her!

With the kids and Charlie (I promise the shirt says "start SOMETHING" not what it appears!)

 Christmas is upon us, and hopefully we can blog about that rather than in another 3 months. Time seems only to be speeding up.