Trick-or-Treat!!!

It's funny to look at this picture after having served a mission in Romania. Substitute some bright reds, purples, and yellows for the brown, and you've got a very decent approximation of an honest-to-goodness Romanian gypsy! Well done, Mama!

Tuesday Happiness

You know who will always be able to make you smile? Abraham. The 23-year-old version and the 2-year-old version. Although I don't think the 23-year-old version can even come close to the fabulous belly that the 2-year-old Abraham had.

Halloween Week!!!

Here's a little Halloween cheer to start your week.

Smiles for Sunday

And back to this generation of Frandsens. The light's not great on this picture, but I'm guessing this is blessing day for baby Brigham! Apropos of nothing, I wish pinafores would come back in style. For big girls as well as little girls. I feel like I could use the functionality of a splash guard/pockets pretty much every day...

And last but not least...

...Dave requested that I put this picture up with the caption: "Ah, the good old days when you could just set up a bishopric and knock them down like dominoes!" Can anyone pick out Grandpa Frandsen here?

Ruth Hintze and boyfriend

Could she possibly be 16 in this picture? Oh, those libertine girls of the early 20th century...

Harold Moses Mackay

Here's another that you'll recognize. I love that these pictures of our ancestors were part of our collective childhood imaginations. How many stories have we concocted about this little boy and his bike?

Grandpa Frandsen, age 27

There are a lot of great pictures of Grandpa, including some from his military days. But I thought this one just exuded goodness and honesty.

Young Grandma

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Grandma Frandsen.

Ruth Hintze Mackay

This week, I'm going to put up some pictures from a bit earlier in our family's life. I got these pictures from Aunt Joan, so they're all Frandsen/Mackay ancestors. I'd love some digital copies of Hansen/Bentley ancestors as well--Mama, do you know if anyone has any scanned?

So without any further ado, here's a picture you'll all recognize:

Mother and daughters

This isn't Halloween related, but I love this picture of our thoughtful mother listening carefully to her chattering daughters. (notice Brigham working out sophisticated mathematical computations on the chalkboard behind)

He ain't nothin' but a....

So do you like Daddy's Halloween costume? Actually, this wasn't for Halloween, was it? I've put up one of these pictures before, but here's the whole family in our 1950's garb.

That's a little more like it.

Okay, here's Brigham in his true Halloween element.

Honest, Clean, Brave, Thrifty...

You might think that this is just another Halloween costume--but nope, it's the genuine article!

Ice Cream, You Scream?

So are these three Frandsen kids excited about the ice cream or the chance to get their picture taken?

Getting in the mood...

We've already done some Halloween costumes, but I'm going to through in a few more as we get closer to Mama's favorite holiday :). How I loved that princess get-up, with the crown and the cape and the fancy skirt...

The Lord's Day

This may not have been taken on a Sunday--I suspect from the pants and the Christmas decorations that this was a Christmas afternoon visit. But any day at Forest Lawn felt like the Lord's day.

Penny for Your Thoughts

And speaking of our stake-librarian, Hebrew-studying, serious-student mother, here she is. Beautiful, intelligent, energetic, motivated--even just a month after giving birth to her seventh child (this is from the folder entitled 1987 March--and do I detect a chubby little baby leg sticking out underneath that legal pad?).

Friday Night Fever

I assume this tennis player is Daddy, right? It's hard to tell with all of those rippling muscles in the way. How in the world did our stake-librarian, Hebrew-studying, serious-student mother end up with this playboy?

Beautiful Rosalynde

This picture is the reason that I think purple is the most most beautiful color and lace wrist gloves are the last word in elegance. Rosalynde was peerlessly beautiful to my 10-year-old eyes. Anyone else remember why she's dressed up like this?

Boys Will Be Boys

Any guesses what these brothers of ours were up to? And why they're totally, completely, 100% knocked out by it? I love that our brothers were totally willing to play with the many girl toys that our family had accumulated over the years. Perhaps it explains Benjamin's great fashion sense?

Brigham wasn't the only one!

A blast from our Harmony Place past, and proof that Brigham wasn't the only one capable of smearing food all over himself while confined to a high chair :). Love the '70s colors and floral motifs!

Sister Frandsen

So what do you think? Is the next Sister Frandsen going to be heading out to the mission field a couple of years earlier than we all thought? We all knew that Eva was destined to surpass the Frandsen standards somehow. We just didn't know that the prophet would step in to help her do it! You're the first person I thought of after I heard Saturday's announcement, my amazing sister. And I hope you know that I'll be thrilled and supportive whenever or if-ever you serve a mission. But it would be pretty cool if you were opening your mission call at the end of your freshman year :).

Sunday Picture!

Hey, we're a pretty good looking family! I'm guessing this was Rosalynde's missionary homecoming, yes? It's from the Spring 1998 folder. If you click on the picture to see a bigger version, you'll see all sorts of gems: Rachel's fabulous forced smile, Abraham's wonderfully cheesy grin, and Christian's... hmmm... Christian being Christian :).

Work for a Saturday

I sure hope this tree didn't come down over General Conference weekend! Daddy wouldn't have gotten any of those Saturday session Foster Family Donuts if it did!

Playtime with Daddy

Look at that youthful, energetic father! Do you think he's trying to take credit for Christian's creation?

Future Fathers of America

Brigham would have been the president, if there were such a club. Look at those adorable little munchkins!

Mormon Ad

Let's have a caption contest, shall we? My (uninspired) idea was "Family Togetherness," but Dave came up with "Oh, so the 'E' on the tank means 'Empty'!" Any other suubmissions?  I love Rachel's little hand in her pocket, Brigham's big laugh, Abraham's dimples. Benjamin must have been with Daddy, huh?

Kisses for Benjamin

I've posted a picture like this before, but I just love the expression on Mama's face. I'm excited to have my own little baby boy to dote on in 4 more months!

Happy Monday!!!

And Happy October :). May this month bring you lots of kisses, hugs, and autumn happiness! Okay now, 'fess up, Rosalynde--was this really your first kiss?