Spring break part 2

To end our spring break week we headed out to Raft River on Friday. Casey's parents got a new play set. It had SO MANY parts and A LOT of instructions but with Casey's genius and our hard work we put together a pretty awesome play set for the grandkids to have some epic adventures on. After a while of having the kids "help" us we sent them with Grandma to go ride the tractor with Grandpa. Peter was nervous to go but liked it when he was riding. Apparently he was very concerned Grandpa would hit our car with the tractor because he kept telling his Grandpa to not bonk his car. When the kids got back Grandma was nice enough to distract them inside with a movie till Casey and I were closer to being done. The kids love the new play set but did get kid kicked off for a bit for fighting over the "cool" swing. Pete acted like a pirate saying "Arrrr" a lot and turning the boat wheel in the play house. Kendal liked it was and was proud she could climb the rock wall without help.

After dinner we made a fire to burn part of the massive crate the play set came in, the card board everything was wrapped in, and we roasted some mallows. The kids spent some time on the play set Saturday morning before it became too windy / cold to enjoy themselves. We headed into Paul for a our niece Ashley's first birthday party. Jordan's Dad brought over a fire engine for the kids to explore and see. Kendal and Pete got to spray the hose and loved climbing around it. They had fun playing with cousin's from both families.

On our way home Kendal had her first of two meltdowns over the fact that she would miss her grandparents, she loves her grandparents so much, and the didn't know when we would see her grandparents again. She's got such a big heart, and wears her emotions on her sleeve. They just become more dramatic when she's in need of more sleep which is definitely the case this past week.

Spring Break 2015

Casey had this week off for spring break. On Monday I utilized Casey's classroom projector and sharpies and Casey and I came out with an awesome world map for our dining room. The weather on Monday and Tuesday was rainy and to cold to play outside so we played lots of games inside. I spent part of Tuesday updating our 72 hr kits.

On Wednesday we headed up to Boise to spend a couple of days there. We stopped at the outlet stores and had a picnic lunch. After lunch we made our way into Boise. The kids have never been to Boise and I myself have only been once for a wedding. Being novices to the area it took us a bit longer to get our first stop at the discovery center. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing, exploring, creating, and discovering. It was as huge building filled with so many fun things for the kids to do. Casey and I took turns with the kids so we could each do activities with Kendal while the other wandered and enjoyed random parts of the museum with Peter.

We choose to eat at Goodwood BBQ for dinner. Casey really enjoyed the meal, I thought it was decent, and the kids were bribed to finish their chicken by a promise to swim at the hotel. After we checked in at our hotel we suited up and spent some time in the pool. Kendal got in some good float time and Peter clung to us for a while, but ended up enjoying himself.

We knew it wouldn't be easy for the kids to share a bed and go to sleep with us in a hotel room so it was no shock when arguing ensued, and space was invaded. They did take turns "reading" the hotel provided Bible before they gave up for the night.
We went back for some pool / hot tub time early the next morning before we had breakfast. The kids were enjoyed themselves and were sad to leave our fun hotel.
Our first stop Thursday was the zoo in Boise. We made it just before opening so we beat the (family / spring break / discount day) crowds. The kids loved it all and had fun seeing all of the animals. Kendal's favorite were the sloth bears, the wallabies (two of which had babies in their pouches) and the jelly fish. She also liked feeding the goats in the petting zoo area. Peter liked it all from a distance. He appreciated the animals that were very secured in their cages and kept asking if the animals in open pens could get out. He enjoyed the giraffe's, monkeys, and "donkey's" (aka the zebra's) the most. We took our time and spent the whole morning at the zoo enjoying the animals.

 After lunch we decided to go to the MK nature center. It has a neat area for people to go on designated paths and see nature in its element. We saw lots to fish, ducks, squirrels, geese, and birds.
Just outside the nature center we spent some time at a park.

 We decided to try and find the Hagerman fossil beds on our way home. My tablet lead us to the actual fossil fields instead of the museum which was our intention. However we had a nice excursion and saw part of the Oregon trail.
It was a nice getaway for part of our spring break.

family moments

This week we had a few windy days. We took advantage one night and took the kids out to fly kites in front of the middle school. We had Kendal's butterfly up and flapping in no time. I pieced together two kites into another workable kite for Peter to fly around. The kids were having a blast; it was such a great evening.

Yesterday we got to have Bryker and Keegan over for the day. Bryker and kendal got along so well and Peter and Keegan acted like two year olds but we're overall decent with each other. I packed up a lunch and we headed to the park for a while. The kids loved playing; Keegan was trying to get a cat the whole time, while Pete was yelling and running away from the harmless cat the whole time. After we watched Kung Fu Panda and then Kendal and Bryker practiced their "kung fu" skills. It was some good quality time with cousins.
Today we took the kids to see the new Cinderella. Kendal was over the moon to go, and Peter was "cited" to go to. Kendal loved the movie so much, she laughed, cried, smiled, and made comments throughout the movie. Peter was really into it until the snacks ran out than he took a nap on daddies lap for a good chunk of the movie (good thing he was free : ).
After dinner tonight we set up a croquet game in our yard and had fun playing a few rounds and then pushed the kids on the swings.
It's these simple moments that I cherish and have to write down so I can remember them and share with the kids later on. I love my little family dearly. I am truly truly blessed.

E is for Elliot, B is for Backhoe

The kids and I headed to Logan Thursday to visit family and meet our newest nephew/cousin Elliot. The kids had fun outside at Grandma's house on Thursday. Peter surprised us by climbing onto the bigger bike at my parents and riding it around. He spent as much time the rest of the weekend on it riding his heart out. After we ate dinner Thursday we headed up to David and Anica's to meet Elliot. He's had a touch of Jaundice so he was snug and comfy in his light bed when we got there. He's another perfect little man added to our wonderful family. The kids loved meeting him and were overjoyed to be at David and Anica's house.

Friday morning we ran errands and played with toys at Grandma's. Grandpa came home at lunch time so I could take my Mom to the Temple. The kids spent the entire afternoon playing outside. Kendal helped put the swings back on the swing set, the kids biked, and played with some of Grandpa's tools. Friday evening was great because Aunt Katherine showed up and Campbell came with Uncle Andy. We got David, Anica, and Elliot to join us for a bit and we enjoyed having the whole family together.

Saturday morning my Dad and I took the kids to ride in his backhoe down at his workshop. The kids were in heaven digging into a hill of dirt. Once Peter saw how into it Campbell and Kendal were he was all for the adventure.

We stopped by CAL ranch afterwards to see the chicks. Campbell wanted to take some home and was sad they didn't have homes yet. (I knew Andy wouldn't be so keen on that ; ) After lunch we headed out to spend some time with Nana. The kids love Nana and had fun playing at her house. Campbell and Kendal turned her closet into a time travel machine and went many places. Peter pulled out the three generation old cars / tractors, and had a blast playing with them. After Nana's we had a bit more play time at my parents before we headed home. I had to teach primary today and we were missing Daddy. It was a good visit; we loved meeting the newest little Loosle and spending time with family.

A bit of our March

We were home with nothing much to do a couple of Saturday's ago so we spent the day out. We headed out that morning in hopes of having Kendal practice her bike riding at the church parking lot but it was too windy. Lucky for us Casey has keys to the school gyms so we just went there for an hour. Kendal is doing so well and can ride all on her own. We still have to help her get started, but she can ride on her own and either stops on her own by catapulting the bike in one direction and herself in another, or she sticks her leg out to stop ( mom and dad's preferred method). Saturday afternoon We took the kids to the heritage center at CSI. We looked at their (small) museum and did their scavenger hunt around the museum. Peter liked the life size "elephant" (mammoth replica) and Kendal enjoyed the glow room and finding things around the museum. There were magnifying glasses in one part of the museum and the kids had fun "eyeing" everything around them. After the museum we hit up the local toy store to let the kids play for a bit. It's a very big store with many toys out to test / play with. Both kids were loving their time their and only left because the store was closing. We went to Chili's for dinner with the kids (Thanks Mom and Dad for the gift card : ).

We had a regional stake conference on Sunday watching a broadcast. We got to hear Elder Perry speak. He was funny and great to listen to. In the past two months we've had three "stake" conferences (one stake, one "special" stake, and one regional stake) we've also had a ward conference. I got a call and went in that night and was called back into primary teaching my same class of seven yr. olds.
Every Wednesday we head to the library for their preschool story time. It's become part of our routine and the kids look forward to it and enjoy it. Last Wednesday they celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday. The kids got to listen to classic Dr. Seuss books. They played a couple of games, and made a craft. They were even given a new book and pencil to take home. Kendal loves to find books for me to read and lately we've gotten books for her to read also. Both kids love helping the librarians with checking our books out.
This past Saturday we had the opportunity to go and clean the church. We got assigned the Chapel. The kids went nuts spraying and wiping things down while Casey and I vacuumed. After that we went to Home Depot to pick up some wood for a project and ended up staying an hour because they had a kids make and take activity going on. Kendal and Peter got to paint, glue, and nail together book ends. Kendal was all about painting and loved it. Peter wanted to hammer everything and only helped me paint a bit before he was done.

On Sunday we were able to go to Filer and to see our nephew Grady's blessing. We had a bench full of little's again, but I think the chaos was better contained (that or I just chose to ignore it, and listen ; ). We ate lunch at Sarah's parent's home and enjoyed talking while the kids played. Between the Haney's and the Darrington's there were 21 children 7 and under.

Later Sunday evening we got the joyous news that our latest nephew Elliot was born. This is David and Anica's first baby making four grandkids on the Loosle side. I've loved every photo of Elliot that's been sent and can't wait to snuggle him tomorrow when the kids and I go down for a visit.
This week I've been in charge of Preschool. On Monday we focused on the letter V. The kids got to play Veterinarian and bandaged / took care of 75% of the stuffed animals in our house. They loved playing doctor to them and used up a heap of band aids and wraps doing so. We did some vegetable painting, and had the kids print with broccoli, celery, a pepper, potato shapes, and carrots. Kendal loved it , and Peter wanted to stamp everything but his paper. We read some stories, made a book about things starting with V. We watched a video about volcanoes than the kids and I erupted our own volcano.
Today's theme was Frogs / Snakes. I had the kids make patterned snakes for a craft. We learned about different animal groups (mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, etc.) and then went into specifics on frogs and snakes. We read a couple of stories and sang some songs (I'm being swallowed by a boa-constrictor, five little frogs). The kids enjoyed getting party blowers and practicing their frog tong catching and smelling like a snake. We also attempted leap frog and another snake game but those quickly fell through so we ended with puzzles for free time.
The kids got to play for a couple of hours at the park yesterday with their cousins. It's nice to see how well they can get along and as they're getting older they can play together better. I got to snuggle with my two little nephews and chat with Sarah and Vanessa.


 Below is a picture of my Nana an Papa back in the 50's when they were married. Monday would have been my Grandpa's 85th birthday. We celebrated with ice cream and memories of Papa.