Hollidays are here!

I meant to write a little about Halloween but since it's almost thanksgiving I'll just have to settle for posting some of the pictures we took. We have some great pics of all the kids with their cousins at a Halloween party at Grandma and Grandpa Eaton's. The kids all had a blast dressing up!

Since Thanksgiving is upon us I want to express thanks for a few of the things in my life that I have been blessed with over the last year. First and most important on my list is the atonement of Christ. A close second for me is my family. I am so blessed to have my wonderful wife and children. I love each of them so much. Lindsey is such a wonderful supportive wife. She helped me get through the toughest year of my life. and now she is continuing to help me through school and becoming a normal person again. Over a year in Iraq I didn't realize the toll the stress was taking on me. I'm so blessed to have a wife who is willing to stick it through with me. She truly is my better half. I'm so grateful for my extended family. My parents and my parents in-law. they do so much to help us. Whether it's watching the kids so we can go out for the evening or having us over for Sunday dinner. We have wonderful families and I thank God for them every day! There are so many things that I want to put on this list but for lack of time I want to wrap it up by expressing gratitude for my job. In this turbulent economy I'm grateful to have a secure job that is willing to help me get through school with flexibility and good pay. There are so many people in our country right now who are out of work or even those that do are struggling to even feed their families. I am truly blessed.

This Thanksgiving I hope we all remember what the lord has done for us in the last year individually. God is blessing each of our lives make sure and give back whatever you can to him and to those around you. Remember. "...When ye are in the service of your fellow man ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Scare Crow Festival at Thanksgiving Point

Lindsey and I were down near Mom and Dad Eaton's home in Cottonwood Heights at RC Willey trying to get our mini vans DVD player replaced and we decided that we should head down to Thanksgiving point to do something festive for the Halloween season. We recently were given a year membership there and the news letter said there was a Scare Crow Festival going on. We headed on down to Ma and Pop's place and convinced them to come along with Tyler. Brianna and Jenna were there while Gary and Ami went to a play and Heidi decided to come along last minute so we all trekked down to Lehi.




The festival was a lot of fun. The kids had a blast! They had everything a kid could want at a festival type event. bounce houses, BB guns, bean bag tosses, live bands, etc... They especially enjoyed the train ride and kids haunted house. We made sure they had plenty of junk food to eat and good times were had by all.




The kids completely crashed on the way home and we actually got a decent nights rest! what more could a parent ask for?

Weekend at Strawberry Resiviour!

We spent conference weekend up at Lindsey's grandma's cabin. It was a blast! We had mom and Dad Eaton, "Papa" Loveless, Dainebramage, Goober (Spencer), and of course our kids with us. We were hoping the weather would hold out for the weekend and we'd have some sunshine to go fishing with, but it was not to be. Friday on the drive up we could feel the cold air rolling in. The scenery was beautiful on the drive up though and the storm clouds moving in only accentuated the beauty of the aspen and pine all decked out in autumn colors. Lindsey and I stopped in Heber on the way to wait for my parents. Although I gave them likely the best directions anyone anywhere has ever given to any destination, Lindsey thought they still had a good chance of getting lost and since cell phones have little to no reception up there we (she) decided we'd better stop. So we did. We waited at the Dairy Keen. A wonderful little burger joint decked out in train paraphernalia. Even though I'm on a diet plan (from Hillari) I gave in to the sweet temptations of a pumpkin pie shake. I have no regrets it was probably the best shake I've ever had and I'd do it again in a heart beat. The kids ate fries.
Shortly after my run in with heaven at the Dairy Keen my parents arrived and we drove down to the local Smith's to buy dad a fishing licence. The nice lady at the customer service counter shared a cheese and cracker tray which I can only suspect had been recently returned to the store for who knows what. Dad ate I declined. I'm not too big on second hand food myself. A big change from my single days as anyone who's eaten Little Ceaser's Pizza with me will attest.
We finally arrived at the cabin right about sundown and met up with Lindsey's father who was patiently waiting. He fed us a wonderful King Crab dinner. It was amazing as his cooking usually is. He knows how to play host. We all got settled in and played a game of Dominoes that lasted till midnight or so.

The next morning even though it was cold as a witches er... heart. we decided to go fishing. It was also raining which added that much more enjoyment to the event. Scott decided that we should rent a pontoon boat rather than stand on the shore so we went out on the lake like a bunch of idiots wearing clothing not suited to the weather and bringing with us two young children. even though it was cold we all were having a nice time attempting to catch some fish. they weren't biting where we had stopped our boat though so we decided to move. the boat had gotten us there fine however when we turned the key all we were blessed with was the heart warming sound of a spark plug firing blanks. we tried for a few minutes and deduced that we were stranded on a large deep cold lake with little shelter no food (except a few candy bars Lindsey had brought along) and no way to call for help. Lucky for us though Daine had his cell phone and after drifting a few hundred yards he was able to get enough signal to make an emergency call. After waiting on the lake for only 2 or 3 hours help finally arrived. We were delivered a new boat and were on our way. of course by this time we were all bone cold and had two crying kids so we went home. We were able to catch two Cutthroat trout while we were waiting so we at least caught a few fish on our fishing trip!
Back at the Cabin after thawing and drying out Daine and I played Ping Pong for awhile. I finally convinced Daine that he needed to quit after winning 7 out of eight games we played. The game he won I was holding the paddle upside down and hi still only one by 3. We then played the longest game of phase ten I have ever played. Almost everyone was nearing 1000 points by the end. poor Lindsey spent eight hands on phase three and quit. I don't blame her. After the trip Scott told me my family is the most competitive card players he's ever played with. It was an emotional contest. LOL!
Sunday afternoon the kids were begging to go down and play on a zip line swing. It's setup right there near the Cabin and it is a blast. We even got both my Mom and Dad to take a ride! Daine took a video on his phone if you run into him you can ask him for it. We forgot to bring our camera up so unfortunately I have no pictures of the entire trip.
That was about it for the trip. I had a great time and look forward to next time. Hope it was just as fun for everyone who came up with us.
see ya.

Everyone else is doing it!

I've enjoyed reading my sister's blogs so much that I've decided to start one for my family. I don't know how interesting my blog will be compared to some of yours that I've read but at least you all will know what Chris and Lindsey's family is up to.

I guess a good place to start is a little about us. As most of you know I have been home from Iraq since the end of may. I've really enjoyed being home but the transition has been much more difficult for me than I could have imagined. Lindsey can attest to that. It's very difficult leaving wife of three months (Pregnant none the less) and then coming home and having to learn how not to be a soldier but a loving husband instead. It's been difficult to say the least. I hope I'm starting to get it. Lindsey is a real trooper she has been very patient with me for the most part and I love her all the more for it.

Our daughter Madison (5) just started Kindergarten this fall. She loves it though she is very sensitive and whenever the smallest thing changes she gets very worried and scared to go. she found out over a week ago that today she would have a substitute teacher and she comes in and wakes Lindsey and me to tell us she doesn't want to go to school that day because she doesn't think she will like the sub.
She is a very sweet girl who loves to help out with everything. She loves to hold her baby brother, Bradley, and help bathe him. She also likes to carry him around the house which mom and dad don't like so much. She waits till we aren't looking and then tries to carry him off to another room to play. Bradley isn't a big fan either. She is learning to read and gets so excited whenever she successfully reads a new word. I think she memorizes the whole book instead of reading it each time though. It's kind of funny hearing her "read" a whole book without even looking at it.

Cameron (3) is growing up up up. He is two years younger than Maddy but wears the same size clothes now and outweighs her by a couple pounds. He has preschool a couple mornings each week and really enjoys going. He is a very good brother to Bradley and Madison. The other day we went to golds gym and Maddy didn't want to go to the day care there because the time before a little girl bit her on the arm. as we were walking to the door Maddy was crying and Cameron came over put his arm around her and said "don't worry Maddy I'll protect you." It was so cute.
He also loves to hold Bradley and carry him around the house. there is nothing that makes your heart skip a beat than walking into the room and seeing Cameron at the top of the stairs dragging the baby by his arms.
Cameron also thinks he is super man. The other day he was climbing on a railing between our kitchen our family room and decided he could make the leap from there to the couch. it's a good 5 feet and Cameron is only about 2 1/2 feet tall so that's quite a distance for him. Unfortunately only one leg made it over the couch. He was very upset to say the least.

Bradley (10 months) is growing up way too fast. He has recently learned to pull himself across the floor with his arms not quite crawling and not quite scooting. He is very happy that he can move around now. He would get so mad when he could see a toy he wanted but couldn't get to it. Now he is everywhere we don't want him to be. He even managed to break one of grandma Eaton's porcelin statues already. He loves to pull faces and scream at the top of his lungs. not an upset scream just to hear how loud he can be. he thinks it is so funny and laughs whenever he can startle someone. He will not eat baby food anymore because we fed him real food a couple times and he realized what a raw deal he was getting and he won't let us feed him because he can do it himself. except for mommy he does not like to be held because doing his "death crawl" (as Daine puts it) is a much better way to get around than being carried.

Lindsey has been quickly becoming the overachieving neighbor who every other woman in the neighborhood looks up to. She is always making cookies for her Friends in the Ward and she even painted one of her good friends doors for her because she "was already dirty and had all the stuff out. So why not?" She is a wonderful woman and I am blessed to be her husband. She is defiantly my better half. We were called to the nursery in our ward which isn't a bad calling I guess. We get to play for two hours of church. There are four nurseries in our ward! There are also two primaries! it is crazy. The bishop is always trying to have reverence in the chapel but when the children out number the adults 3 to one it's kind of difficult.

I'm working full time for the Law Firm "Parr Brown Gee and Loveless" I work as an accounting assistant while I also attend school full time. The job is wonderful as they are very flexible with my schedule and they offer all the benefits of full time employment. It's been a great blessing in our lives so far because it is close to school and I am allowed to study when I have no other obligations.

Well That's it for my first blog. I hope to keep up on this. I'll have some pictures posted soon.
See ya!