Happy Hynes Family Halloween!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM MICKEY MOUSE, JACK FROST, AND HIPPIE LUCY!!

On a less-festive note, we got our house painted!!! Goodbye "big, blue house by the park." Hello "grown-up grey house". The kids were a little bummed, and honestly, so was i! Elliott said, "now it just looks like a normal house…" True, but at least it looks fresh and shiny now!

I'll leave you al with some Archie-antics. Here he is looking, dapper in his sunday blazer,

Scottish in his shirt he put on himself,

and extra-sassy in Mommy's shades.

Jumping Back to September

We had such a treat in September!!! Some of Mike's relatives from Korea came to visit!! His aunt and uncle have been to visit before, but for his cousin, Kimin, and his family, ChiHyun, Hyun Jin, and Yung Jay, it was a first!! They stayed for 3 weeks, ate way too much sugar, and hopefully, had a great time. 

This is Korean Harmony helping Elliott harvest his watermelon.

And this is Archie enjoying the watermelon!!

Some things we did: Played at many parks,

Got free Donuts on National Talk Like a Pirate Day because Mike's Aunt hurt her eye and had on a very pirate-like eye patch,

rough-housed…A LOT!!! They are a very physical bunch, and Lucy and Elliott spent most of the time telling them it was time to "Hajima!!"(stop!!)

 

Korean HadAbogi was such a good sport. He is always smiling.

They came to watch all of Elliott's american football games, and we explored some downtown parks.

They even stayed at our house for a night, we played Super Mario Brothers on the Wii (their first time), and had crepes for breakfast. The two little ones LOVED video games!! One of the first english words they picked up was "game", and they asked for an iPod or iPad every time we saw them. I guess some things are they same no matter where you're from!

After crepes, they all came to church with us for the first hour because it was the primary program, and Lucy was giving a talk: SWEET!!

We had some fun barbecuing: Korean food and American food.

 Lucy was so excited they were all here to celebrate her birthday!! She got a Kindle reader and LOTS of attention, just like she likes it.

The boys took Kimin golfing, a rare treat in Korea.

There was so much amazing Kimchi and Korean games to play. It was so fun to watch the cultures come together and learn about each other.

 They loved playing rough with Uncle Mike.

They could not get enough of Archie!!! (But really, who can?!?! The kid is so stinkin' cute!!) The two little boys would just follow him around and rub their faces in his head. We never did decide if they were smelling his hair, or if they just liked the way his hair felt on their noses. Funny.

 We got them sugared up really nicely at a local all-you-can-fill frozen yogurt shop. ChiHyun just kept saying, "too much sugar…" That's right. That's why we like it so much!

 The last night they were here, we just played badminton and soccer in Harmony and Had Abogi's backyard. It was so great, they are the sweetest, happiest people!

 They were very impressed with Archie's soccer skills; he is a born runner after all- the boy doesn't walk!!

 It was a great way to say goodbye. 

This is just a picture of some of Archie's little personality. You can see why they loved him so much!!

 Elliott's football pictures!!! He was completely, 100% dedicated to football this year. He made great friends on the team, practiced in all his spare time, and they made it to the semi-finals in the tournament!!

Lucy had her first of 3 tests for her second degree blackbelt while the cousins were here. They are in taedwondo as well, so it was fun to see how similar it is here in America. 

She is showing off her birthday presents at Elliott's football game. Always reading!!

Elliott Turned 8 and Chose to get Baptized!!

Elliott has turned 8!!!!

He had the funniest wish list for his birthday this year; all technology of course : iPod touch, kindle, computer, xbox…not going to happen!!! But, we decided a kindle was a perfect choice, he could read and play games. I think he thought so too; look at that face!!

We only do friend parties when the kids have landmark birthdays: 5, 8, 12, 16. This year, instead of choosing a destination party, he wanted a football party. FUN!!! We had cute invites, pin the football in the goal post, football themed goodie bags, build your own pennant, a football toss game, (notice Lucy's awesome lunge in this picture. Even though she isn't excited about football, she was very excited to be a great helper at the party. She was the ball-fetcher--as you can see here-- and she was the boy-rallier; I couldn't have done it without all her help and enthusiasm!!)

Football cake and decorations,

a football piñata that we threw a football at, then when that didn't work, 

we let the kids punch it! I think it was a success. Elliott's favorite part was the piñata!! MY favorite part was the piñata too, but not for the same reasons. As the boys were walking away from the piñata, one of Elliott's friends was disappointed because he only got 3 things. Here's the conversation I heard: Elliott, "I only got a few things too. Do you want some of my candy? Here, you can have it all if you want." WHAT?!?!?! It was his birthday, his party, and his special day, but he wasn't focused on himself. He did share most of his candy with his friend, and he never complained at all. I'm so proud of him.

 It's fun when a birthday doesn't end, and this year was a doozie!! Birthday party with friends on Saturday, dinner with my family on Sunday, pick up embossed scriptures on Monday, Papa and Gramma come with gifts on Friday, baptism and more gifts on Saturday!!!! He is such a happy, grateful boy.

 He has always wanted a suit with a vest for church, and I thought it was time he got one. He looks so dapper, right? He also looks so LITTLE!!!! He's my big boy, so sometimes I forget he is still a little boy!! He makes so many great, mature choices, and his faith is overwhelming to me sometimes. He understood the covenant he was making in being baptized, and he wanted to  make it. Mike said that while they were waiting to be baptized, Elliott was sitting still and ready, no fidgeting or goofing around. He understood, and he was ready!

Elliott, like Lucy, chose to have Papa Lund confirm him and give him the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It was such a beautiful blessing. He told him all the things Heavenly Father wanted him to know. He said that Elliott could use this Member of the God Head as his constant companion, and that He would help Elliott see and know right from wrong. He also said that in a "very distant land," Elliott would be blessed to teach on his mission. WHAT!!?!?! He's only 8 Papa, let's not get ahead of ourselves!!! :)

After the ceremony, when we got home, Elliott went straight to the TV; no surprise there. But what did surprise me is when he said he wanted to watch Book of Mormon shows on the Mormon Channel. I smiled as I told him that he was feeling the Spirit from his baptism, and he didn't want it to leave, so he was making choices to keep the Spirit with him. He is amazing.

Today, Sunday, when I went in Elliott's room to wake him up, he sat right up in bed, smiled at me and darted out of the room saying, "I'm going downstairs to read my scriptures!" Perfect way to start your first full day as a member of the Church, Elliott.