Valentine's Day!!

Valentine's Dayyyyyy!!!!!! The day of luuuuvvv! ;) It was kind of nice to have it on a Sunday. Since our church wasn't until noon, I made a special breakfast. Nutella and cream cheese stuffed French toast. It was indulgent. It was gooood. (I guess I'm still a little bitter about the let down that Snooze's stuffed French Toast was. It was supposed to be divine, but it was di-let down. {I'm so funny.} I am never more irritated than when let done by a "legit" restaurant.)

Then Mr. Evans had a little surprise waiting in the garage!!

Confession. I had used his car on Friday and heard something sliding around in the back. When I parked, I peered back there to find out what it was and saw a bike rack box. I promise you my stomach twisted. I thought, he couldn't have bought us bikes. Did he? But that is just too expensive. He really shouldn't have. I was a teensy bit upset with him. As I walked toward the store I mulled it over in my mind and then.... my next confession... I couldn't prevent a smile from creeping across my face. The pit in my stomach turned to pure excitement!! Eek! Bikes?! This could really fun. I just felt very guilty that I had inadvertently spoiled the surprise.

I don't think it mattered though because when I saw the actual bike (PINK! Did you notice?!) I was over the moon! Forget about when I actually got on and rode it down the street! Oh my gosh, I was not prepared for how that felt. Soooooo fun!!!!!! I felt like a kid again! In fact, I realized I had not had a bike of my own since I WAS A KID. Super lame sauce of me, but I admit, I even teared up a little. This was the best surprise ever!! Now I just need to add a bell and a basket and I'll be set. 

That night we had dinner at my mom's. We asked her if we could make it fancy! She did awesome!!! Goblets, silverware and REAL plates. We normally use paper and plastic everything! I added some candles. Sooo romantical. ;)

We overheard the boys clicking their glasses for a toast and saying, "Cheers!! To BACON!" Bahahaha! 

After dinner was the after-party!!! 

Two weeks ago I group text our family with a lip-sync challenge!

Just like on Jimmy Fallon.

Every couple was to pick a song and lip sync at least 1 minute of it on Valentine's Day. No rap.. since it was Sunday, after all. ;) I told them to think of duets or a love song or really ANYTHING fun! Jefferson and Craig could pair up or go solo. I got PLENTY of back lash from Casey and Austin but the sisters were on board!! I was SO excited! Travis and I couldn't narrow it down to one song so we picked two... Milli Vanilli, Girl You Know it's True, and Bare Naked Ladies, One Week. 

For One Week, we just straight lip synced. Holy heck it was HARD!! I literally practiced for the whole two weeks! Even looking at the lyrics we couldn't say them fast enough at first. We felt VERY accomplished when we finally got that down. ;)

For the Milli Vanilli song, we watched the music video over and over and choreographed a very {80's} dance to it. So, while everyone else was probably on a romantic Valentine's date Saturday night, we were busting a sweat, choreographing to Milli Vanilli. For the record, my husband rocks. I LOVE that he doesn't pitch fits about stuff like this and humors me without complaint!! He deserves a medal or something. ;)

OK, back to that night.

We drew numbers to see who would go first and my parents got #1.

We didn't know what to expect....

They were AWESOME!!! They chose Maroon 5, Sugar. And just like the music video, they came out behind a sheet. After the first verse they dropped it and started singing! We were dying!! My dad had his suit coat on and pulled an awesome Adam Levine! I was seriously so impressed that he was rocking out and getting into it! So was my mom! I guess one of his interviews had canceled that afternoon, so he spent 45 minutes in his office, trying to learn the words. Go Bishop Lindblom!!

Marcie and Austin did Dirty Dancing's "I Had the Time of My Life". Oh my gosh... they were my FAVORITE!! Austin!! He was actually really sick with the flu, yet he was all in! They had dance moves and even did the flying lift at the end! It was SO GREAT!! 

Then there was David and Abbey. They started off down the hallway and ran out in Grease outfits! Only, David was dressed like Sandy and Abbey was dressed like John Travolta. They danced to You're the One That I Want and David even held onto Abbey and she swung him around!! We were laughing our heads off. Super funny number!

Craig did a lip sync to a song that Sean Hayes did on Mother's Day with his husband. I had never seen it before, but Marcie showed it to us a couple weeks ago and I fell in love with it. Google it if you've never seen it! It was very fitting since Craig is the "chosen child", youngest and mama's boy. He rocked it. Yay, Craig!!

Shelley and Casey bailed at the last minute. They won't get out of it next time!

My Grandma and Grandpa were there for all of it. Hopefully they didn't think we were too sacrilegious, haha!

It was honestly SO much fun! We were laughing and singing along and I loved every second of it! I hereby declare this to the be the first ANNUAL Lindblom Valentine's Lip Sync Battle!!!

Weston turns 5!

Why does my heart just melt when I think of my Weston boy?? 

Oh wait, that's easy. Because he's as sweet, tender and lovable as a Care Bear. 

He snuggles on me, pushing his head into my lap, just like a cat. Which is appropriate, given his insane love of animals. I've started to think that his obsession probably stems from a desire to squish and love on them. They are soft and furry and just seem like they were made for Weston's hugs. And he still woefully begs for one on a regular basis. One day we were on a jog when I saw a cat lounging on a neighbor's wall. So mundane. But, I pointed it out to Weston since I knew he'd love just seeing a cat. Oh and he did. Like, pop out of the jogger with wild, happy eyes, pointing and exclaiming and begging to go back to pet it. Then, later that day he went with me to Michael's where he saw a picture frame with a stock picture of a dog in it. Clearly the coolest thing ever made. He begged me to go down that aisle 3 more times just so he could stare at it and then PLEADED with me to buy him the frame. That evening (while relishing the memories, I'm sure) Weston happily shared that he had had such a good day because, "Mom. I got to see a CAT and a DOG today!!!" These are the sorts of things that prompt me to coax him to never grow up and always stay my little boy.

His birthday fell on a Saturday this year. The week prior, he got to be the Star of the week at preschool. Which means he got to share some pages about himself and bring in his favorite toy and treat.

They made him a glittery crown that he loved and gave him a kite which was the BIGGEST hit. The boys spent an entire afternoon just running laps around the yard.

I felt really bad tricking him, but we told him his birthday was on Friday because our Saturday was so busy, there really wouldn't have been much time to celebrate. Since we were going to be at Amazing Jake's on Friday night, we did his special, family birthday dinner on Thursday night. He chose spaghetti and meatballs... I think because that's what older brother chooses. ;) And they loved to the Lady and the Tramp slurp with us when we have spaghetti. Trav just loves it too, haha.

That light up ice cube was a great take home from Disneyland 2 years ago!

Birthday donuts for breakfast!

And one gift to start the day. He was pretty happy with the nerf gun, I think. 

We went to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch because Karen invited us for Olivia's birthday. Collin had a half day so we all went. Trav got home from work early and helped Weston assemble another present... Batman Legos. 

Once Olive was up from her nap, it was Amazing Jake's time! It wasn't a birthday party year, so we just invited Lane and Rusty to enjoy they fun. They spent almost 4 hours riding everything they could think of. 

This made me giggle. Rusty was going to play this game no matter what. Olive took note and was doing it exactly the same.

When it was time for grub, the boys helped themselves while we were getting ours and Olive's food. When we walked to the table the boys were snickering and Rusty immediately cracked, "Lane has Diet Coke!!" 

To which Lane quickly refuted, "No! No, I have root beer." 

Then Rusty piped up, "Uh, yeah, me too!... 

I mean, I have Pepsi. 

Just kidding. It's root beer."

It was comical.

I probably wouldn't have checked, but Trav is a strickler and started sniffing. He affirmed they were both colas and took the drinks and told the boys to go get real root beers. They were really good natured about it and laughed and ran to get different drinks. What was really funny was watching Trav sit down with their sodas and drink them himself. We are suchhhh good examples.

We brought our own cake and sang and did presents. His cousins got him a new Gravedigger truck (his favorite) and a Ninja Turtle. Perfect.

Weston sleeps with his head at the foot of his bed. 

He still wears a pull-up at night.

He is now 5 but still wears size 2-3T underwear.

He loves Spiderman, Batman and Ninja Turtles.

He is really good to play by himself with his toys.

He still sits in a 5 point harness car seat.

He loves preschool but sort of struggles with his letters. I'm not even sure what to do about it. "H" and "Y" must have done him wrong in a different life.

He is actually surprisingly coordinated and does well in sports and games. 

I've noticed with his friends, his favorite activity is "playing house".

He is a GOOF-ball. Total clown and very silly.

He LOVES to sing. The Sunday before Christmas, the ward choir was singing an intense, opera-esque number. There were "Deio's" going all over the place and I notice in the corner of my eye, Weston. Completely focused. Eyes on the choir. With each "deio" his chin would lift and his eyes would raise as he mouthed the words and "sang along". No number we've ever heard before and certainly not one you'd be capable of just joining in with. Yet, here was my 4 year old, trying his darndest to get in on the action. Music is in his bones. Dancing is too. He's got a corner on this spontaneous, jerky, break dance style. It's great. ;)

He loves to snuggle. Oftentimes he'll come up to me and say, "Mom, we haven't gotten our snuggles in yet today." And that's my cue to stop what I'm doing and go cuddle on the couch with him. I don't mind it at all. 

I have this fear. That somehow, someway, he's going to fall in love with a non-affectionate girl and marry her. It seriously gives me anxiety. He NEEDS affection. It is absolutely his love language. I'm afraid I'm going to be all sorts of protective when this situation comes about.

He has been on this kick lately of wanting to know how everything is made. Really... everything. All day long I'm peppered with questions like, "But how is there electricity? How do they make fans? How do you make clocks? How do you make a blueberry?" It is endless. And you'd think the first 1,000 times I tell him, I don't know, would deter future questions. Nope.

OK, here's the BEST thing about Weston. If ANYTHING great happens to him, he wants to share it with Collin and Olive. He NEVER gets a treat, prize or candy at a birthday party, preschool or church, without saving it to share with his siblings. This is completely on his own accord. We don't make him share. He just wants to. And not in a guilty, begrudging way. It honestly makes him SO happy to share something he got with someone he loves. It just comes naturally. In fact, I've picked him up from parties before and the first thing he'll tell me about is all the party favors and how excited he is to go home and share them with Collin. And he truly is SO EXCITED and bursting at the seams that he has something great to give to his brother. It's so innocent and pure and I love him so much for it. It just shows how selfless his heart his. His brother isn't exactly the same way though, so when Collin comes home with treats, Weston usually gets his feelings hurt that Collin doesn't want to share. I feel like this is a drop in the bucket for how a harsh life is going to treat my soft-hearted Weston. 

Just writing this makes my heart ache because I never feel like I'm a good enough mom for Weston. I'm not soft spoken enough. I'M not affectionate enough. I'm not everything he needs from me. And I'm already stressed that my time is running out! He is growing up so fast! 5 is big!! 3 more of these and he'll be gone. I can't even handle it. I just thank Heavenly Father constantly for sending me this sensitive, caring soul to teach me to slow down and be more loving and thoughtful. Weston Travis Evans, you are a gift. Thank you for being mine.

Grandpa Jess turns 90

It was my Grandpa Jess's 90th birthday on January 27th!! NINETY YEARS! It's incredible! I asked the week before if I could take them out to lunch. My mom was available to babysit Olive, so I dropped Weston off at preschool, Olive off at my mom's and picked up my grandparents! I had baked a batch of cookies as my gift. I figure when you're 90, you don't really need "things" anymore. ;)

I let him chose the restaurant and he chose my favorite, Gecko Grill. Right around the corner! I brought a Happy Birthday crown and pin for him to wear. He was such a good sport about it. I asked him all sorts of questions I could think of about his life. About his teachers, his jobs, his family growing up, etc. Well, an hour lunch isn't near enough time to cover the smallest portion of it! I wished I had had all day. At the end, the waiters came out with a sombrero for him to wear and sang Happy Birthday! I loved it! I hope he did too. It was an honor to have his birthday lunch with him. Growing up, I always knew my Grandpa to be hard working and frugal. He always chastised us to "take all you want, but eat all you take" and "waste not, want not". He loves citrus, pomegranates, grape juice, family, history and Granny Annie. He is known for being a "talker"! :) He is still sharp as a tack and will rattle off all sorts of facts and figures on just about anything! Including people's names from long ago. He knows all my kids' names along with the rest of the great-grands. That's better than me! I didn't know this until I was an adult, but he has had his fair share of struggles. My blog isn't the place to share them, but I so admire his positiveness despite them. If you ever get down on the world, he'll be the first to remind you of something good to focus on instead! I think it's common and natural for people to age and get cranky. He seems to age and get more and more cheerful. What an example!

That Friday night was a big, birthday party for him! Hosted at Uncle Dwight's stake center. Grandma did an amazing job organizing it. We had pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, beans, pomegranates, grape juice and brownies. 

After we ate, we went inside and Aunt MaryAnn read a page written by his mother about his birth and early childhood. Grandpa was on stage and very emotional as she read. Made me tear up too! Then Grandma showed a short slideshow about his life. It was AMAZING!! I was just in awe watching it. From black and white pictures, to hazy 70's photos, ending with the present, it all seemed too fantastic to be real life! The stuff you see in history books. It boggles my mind to think of all he's seen and lived through! Then the microphone was handed to Grandpa and for the first time in my life I saw him speechless. He literally started crying, waved his hand and tried to give Grandma the mic. Once he composed himself, he kept it really short. He emphatically told all of us that the most important thing in life is to have a testimony of of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It was a moment I won't ever forget. 

Well then we sang Happy Birthday, took pictures, and DANCED! Alex DJ'd and we had a grand time. I didn't want the night to end. I was so sad Travis and Collin had to miss it due to Collin's strep throat. I left, nibbling on one of Uncle Kent's pork roasts. A good night indeed. :)

Oldest to youngest, MaryAnn, Dwight, Kathleen, Sharon and Kent.

Here are some pictures from the slideshow. I almost included the whole thing! 

It was a large family of 11 kids! He said that he felt grateful for a pot of beans for dinner.

I guess this is when his mother, Leah, was trying to learn to drive and backed into a ditch.

1944, A senior in high school! He's in the middle.

He was in the navy during WWII, but the war ended as his ship was sailing out to battle and he never saw combat.

On the ship with fellow sailors. He's on the left.

He served a mission in England.

This is one of my favorite pictures ever.

He married Shirley Ann Evans in the Mesa temple.

To the left is my great grandma, Olive!!

My mom is on the far left in both pictures.

Married 25 years!

They served a mission at the Liberty Jail visitor center.

This is pretty outdated, but I don't think I'm in the most recent one. ;)

The Udall clan is a mighty one. I count myself lucky to be born to a righteous heritage. Knowing the smallest portion of the sacrifice and hardships that my grandparents have been through is a humbling thing. Dedication to Christ and family is their legacy. I hope we all follow their example and bring honor to their name.