April showers. . . bring on the Mayhem

The day before Easter we went to Raft River. All of the siblings made it this year!! 16 grand babies! I stole and snuggled sweet Madelyn for a good part of the day!! We hung out while the kids had fun playing around the house and outside. After lunch the kids got to do an egg hunt outside. Casey's mom always goes all out for the hunt. The kids are very spoiled and very happy!

 

  

Easter Sunday Casey got to stay home from extra meetings! Kendal and Peter found their baskets quickly and set to work finding their colored grass. Alice slept in longer, and had plenty of help finding her goodies. I didn't get pictures of the hunt (just enjoyed the moment, chaos, and joy.) Each kid got new summer sandals and a shirt. Kendal and Peter got a little Lego figure. Each child got an activity book. Kendal got Mad Libs, Peter a maze book, and Alice got a coloring book. The older two got gel pens with their books. Alice got a Pez bunny also. Church was great! I snapped a couple of pictures after church of our trio (too windy outside). I'm so grateful for my little family. Because of Him they are my forever!

 

 

Wednesday for story time the Library did an Easter hunt. There were 700 eggs for seven kids to hunt down. Alice gave up after a bit and started putting her eggs back. They ended by handing in their eggs for one filled with candy.
That afternoon I went with the youth to do baptisms in the Temple. It's always a good experience (even if I'm stuck on locker room duty every time).  After the temple, we had a dinner for the youth at the church. Because I was gone, Casey took the kids to Arctic circle for dinner (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the Easter gift!)

 
Last week was Peter's turn to do the math club that built mini bunk beds. He enjoyed the club, but was more excited to use the big tools on Thursday when everyone who did the club this last month and their parents went to the school to build real beds. Peter quickly found he couldn't handle, and wasn't given, the big tools, but he got to help here and there. Kendal was at a screwing station for a while, then tried to handle a sander for a couple of minutes. Both kids goofed off and wandered for part of the build, but it is hard for smaller kids and the oldest group plus parents kind of took over. I found myself sanding for an hour and a half trying to keep track of a wandering Alice who happily found a bucket of ice with water bottles. The kids were very proud of the little beds they built and what we were able to do in the big build.

 

  

We took the kids swimming Saturday to  prep them for their lessons this week. (Learning from past years they need a refresher and warm up before lessons start.) Alice was a bit cold but still enjoyed herself. We encouraged (cough cough bribed cough cough) Kendal to swim across the width of the pool and she did! Peter was confident and happy which is great going into lessons.
We had a ward dinner that night at the park. The kids ate their fill of treats over dinner and played with their church buddies. Alice stole helmets and wore them for a bit, followed kids across the street, and got down on all fours to lick her brothers cookie for him. So eventful and fun all around.

 

The kids started swim this week. They have two lessons under their belts and are doing good and growing in skill already.  I didn't think I could keep Alice from the water so I took her swimming Tuesday. She's definitely fearless and wanted to be in the deep end like brother and sister. She was everywhere! Thankfully, track is done now and Casey kept her today so I could just watch the other two without my active sidekick.

 

 

 Casey is officially done with track for the season. His boys had a good season and overall won most meets. It's getting harder for the students to come in with a good drive and work ethic anymore in sports. While there are a few who give it their all the rest of the kids lost steam by the end. : (  I'm proud of Casey and the dedication, time, and heart he puts into coaching and teaching; theses kids are so lucky to have him!
We have a busy month ahead. The kids have swim, then track starts in a couple of weeks. Darrington get together is next weekend. Field trips, tests, plus other school happenings, then school ends. Piano, and choir performances. We'll be busy, and I'm sure it will go fast.

Rain rain go away, plus no more owies; pretty please with some sugar on top

Conference weekend we went out to Raft River. Casey helped patch the roof. Vanessa brought her kids out for the day. The kids did conference bingo for awhile then played the rest of the day. Casey took Alice to see the new electronic dairy with grandpa. She was intrigued, but hated the big "red tow". We stayed into Sunday. Peter put together a big puzzle all on his own during Sunday morning conference. We made orange cinnamon rolls that my friend Kate bought for me. For the afternoon session Alice napped (which she wouldn't do the day before) while the kids played well together. It was a good uplifting conference. I had a conference packet that I was looking for young women values along with some personal upliftment.
(Ironically the conference talks that got me the most were about making our homes sanctuaries, and we're currently dealing with new neighbors that smoke, swear profusely, and yell all day long. I've got my work cut out for me. : /

 

 



We've had lots of rain mixed with some sunshine, and endless wind! Casey's meet had to get postponed a couple of days last week. However amongst the rain, there are often rainbows and I caught a beautiful one the other day.

Alice and I  ate at Arctic circle a couple of weeks in a row. First Cheryl took us out because she was in town. The following week I had a lunch date with some friends and their kids.  Poor Alice got hit in the slide. She cut her gums, got a bruise, and a fat lip. She bled a lot and the little boy felt horrible, but luckily she's though and was only upset for that afternoon. Later that same week we went back to Arctic Circle with Peter for Ice cream while Kendal was at a party.

 

Peter is loving any  sunny day that he gets time outside. He's worn holes in half his pant knees from all of his play. After Ice cream last week I took him over to Casey at practice to hang out. Peter was rollerblading Saturday and ended up running into the fence. Poor kid got a long sliver and a little sliver stuck deep in his hand. Peter has a very low pain tolerance. It took three days of meltdowns, threats of Dr trips with shots, and a bribe of Legos to get the slivers dealt with. He also climbed and fell off my bathroom counter getting a cut behind his ear before church. He's been on cloud nine with his Legos I got, but I don't even want to think of future injuries and how he'll deal with (or won't deal with) them in the future.

I did a babysitting / first aid night for my beehives last week. At the end we put together candy eggs so the girls can "egg" some families before Easter. There are 12 eggs and one is empty. The sign says  "you've been egged, enjoy finding twelve eggs around your yard, but don't be surprised if you find an empty egg for it represents Christ and the for he is risen." I  brought home some eggs and "egged" the kids the next day. They loved the surprise! We picked a couple of friends in the ward and Egged them also. The first set went to my friend /  beehive advisor who just had a baby, and the second to our friends the Welches. The kids wanted to go incognito the first time. The put on hats sunglasses and hoodies. (Alice couldn't be left out of the dress up and put on her "gasses" as well.) They were funny and hid the eggs almost all in the same spot, then Kendal knocked and waited for them to answer, so she had to run and hide behind their car before sprinting back to me. Casey said she did basically the same thing when they egged the next house.

 



Kendal got to go to a couple of birthday parties this past week. Her friend Tayven had a party last Friday. He's in our ward, and Kendal's school class. They play often and he's a fellow book lover so they get along very well! The kids went mini golfing, but the rain ended things early so they played at his house. Monday Kendal got to go to Addylins party. She's a sweet girl in our ward and Kendal plays with her at school. The kids had a cupcake competition party. Kendal had a lot of fun  at both parties!
 Kendal also got to be part of a math / building club this week. They learned how to measure, calculate, cut, and build a mini bunk bed.  It was put together by a couple in our ward that own a charity called Sleep in Heavenly Peace. (They build bunk beds for kids that would otherwise not have a bed.) Next week Peter gets to do the same club and build. (He'll be in heaven!) At the end of Peters week all the kids who participated this month plus their families get to do a real build with full size bunks at the charities warehouse.

 My days with Alice are always  easy going, but wonderful. I've had a bit of reflection recently how lucky I am to soak I theses simple days. Alice is a hoot, with many opinions, and silly things about her. We read, play, paint, swish (play dough), run errands, go to story time, and as the days get warmer make our way outside more. Only downside is she does get stuck watching rooms (cartoons) more than I'd like so I can get chores or dinner done without "help". Love this little peanut!

 

 

Couple of fun random pictures. The kids got their faces painted, and pictures with super hero's at JC penny this last weekend along with marvel backpacks to color. Plus a random spin party one night (bedtime procrastination at its finest ; )

 

Spring Break 2019

Peter finished his reading group the week before spring break. He's grown so much and we're proud of his progress.

The kids are happy enjoying the warmer weather after school. Besides the rainy days the kids are loving being outside.
We started spring break with some cleaning. As a reward we had Kendal's best buddies Brook and Meadow came over for a play date and I took the older kids to Skateland. They had a blast together! Kendal and I dropped the girls off later and got a tour of the farm. Kendal even got to name a couple of quail.

 

Tuesday we headed down to Logan. The kids were loving being outside the rest of the week. Rollerblading, basketball, grandpa's fun car, swing, etc. They happily spent loads of time outside.

 
Wednesday morning I took Mom to the temple for her birthday. It was nice going back to my roots and the new session was good. My childhood pediatrician and kindergarten teacher happened to be over the session. It was neat. While we were at the temple Casey and my Dad took the kids four wheeling at the shop. (My Dad has nicknamed them Puddles, Throttle, and cuddles. ;) After the temple We all got together at the temple park afterwards with Anica and her boys. It's such a fun park; the kids had a great time. On our way home we stopped by the Aggie chocolate factory for a quick peak and taste. The dark chocolate was a bit rich for the kids taste, but Casey enjoyed himself!

 

 

 

  

  

Thursday I took Peter and Alice to story time with Anica and the boys. Afterward we went over to their house. A bit later I left Peter to play and took Alice for a much needed nap. So Alice napped while Kendal, my Mom, and I went out to Nana's house. We had a good visit and cleaned some around the house. That evening we made it back out to David and Anica's house. They made us dinner and the kids got to cut out pinewood derby cars. (Kendal has a Daddy  Daughter pinewood race in May.)

Friday we had a low key morning. That afternoon Katherine, Andy, and Campbell came. We took everyone to the jump park. Kendal and Campbell were everywhere. Peter took to the rope swing and foam pit for most of his fun.  Alice gave up after a couple of minutes because she got hurt. Elliot wandered and gathered balls, ending on the rope swing and Isaac happy scooted around. We had a pre birthday dinner for my Mom with cake and Mary Poppins to end the night.

 

  

 

Saturday we went to the fun park with the kids. We played arcade games with the kids. They got to go back to the shop and  get in another four wheeler ride in. We took dinner out to Nana to end our visit. Kendal and Peter were on a sugar rush on our way home and never fell asleep. Alice made it most of the way home, but fell asleep the last half hour or so. The kids begrudgingly went back to school today, and Casey is back to work fitting in all he can before school ends next month.

And a couple of pictures just for fun.