Summer Plans

 I requested a summer to do list from each of the boys. There are some very interesting ideas.....

Zack's list:

On second thought, Zack wrote this list. Watering plants didn't make the cut while good manners somehow became important.

Ben's List:

 Noah's List

I never promised we'd do everything they wanted and I think it's pretty obvious what won't be happening (Australia). But I plan to make sure that we can check off a few things.

Welcome, Ricks'!

We wanted to tag along with the Ricks family when they went to Disneyland, but the kids were still in school and they actually do school work here during the last week. No last week field days in Nevada- it's hard core here. Noah had tests!

At least they stayed with us for a few days on their way back. With the exception of Macy, none of the kids have been to Vegas. We had to show them a good time. 

First up-the Paseos park.

Then we kicked it up a notch and went to the pool.  

Macy knows what to do (or at least what I do) at the pool.

Of course we had to check out a few family friendly places on the strip, like the M&M store:

And the Coke Tour of the World. Watching someone drink Beverly for the first time never gets old. Never. 

We even got some adult fun in too. While Matt & Scott saw Cake at the Cosmopolitan. Lacey & I saw the show Ka. Amazing. The show and the fact that we didn't get stuck with the kids while the boys went to a concert. 

End of the School Year Summary

Zack was the winner of his class field day flag design.  His class was assigned the fox for their mascot.

Ben received two awards for his efforts in third grade. He made straight A honor roll and was also awarded a "role model" student award. I am really proud of him because he had a bit of a rough go with school this year. He was assigned to a class, liked the teacher, made some friends and then was switched to a new class after a few weeks. I felt bad that he had to make so many adjustments. But he did fine and I am glad he was rewarded for being such a great kid. His teacher was constantly telling me how she wished she could have an entire class of Bens.

Noah was a teacher's assistant in guitar for the last semester. He is getting pretty good and developing his dad's love of guitar and love of strumming away while we are trying to do something else (like watching tv or talking on the phone).  Matt took him to the Hendrix Experience for his first ever concert. They had a great time.

 

Father & Sons Camp-out

I have three boys. Zero girls. It works for me. Having all boys should be especially fabulous because of the annual Father and Son's camp-outs. Up until this year, I have been ripped off. In our old ward it seemed like they were always being canceled or Matt couldn't get off work. One year all the boys got sick. It's been lame. 

This year, we were all determined to make it work. The weather was good, the boys were all healthy-no reason not to go.  I helped them gather sleeping bags, load up the tent and sent them on their way.

Our stake planned a service project for the morning of the camp out. I will admit that I knew my boys weren't going to be into stacking wood. So when they got  home just after 9:00, I was a little concerned. Did they sneak out after breakfast to avoid working? That could make church a little awkward! Then I noticed something else odd--they were too clean. No campfire smell either. Something was wrong.

Turns out that even though Matt left the house with every intention of driving to the mountains the lure of the Strip was too much for him. While the kids bought Slurpee's he made a reservation and....

well, they all had a good time.

 

 And I didn't have to wash stinky clothes. I just hope he hasn't set a precedent. Next year I may have to drive them to the campsite myself just to make sure.

Hikes are Fun

After a cold-ish spring break, our Children's Discovery Hike in Red Rock was especially great. Chad & Angie were in town which made the hike even better. I took lots of pictures because it was so nice to see everything green and colorful.

Ben was all about getting his picture taken. He's looking cool in the shades.

Grace & Zack. They are great buddies--Grace mentioned something about an engagement or wedding. I'm not sure if Zack is aware...

Last time we came, there wasn't a waterfall. Waterfalls are cool.

Puddles are messy, messy fun.

Zack in a moment of reflection.

Jake in a moment of reflection.

Ben requested this picture.

I made Zack stop for this picture. He wasn't into the photos, but I was loving this purple tree.

One last photo. Good times!

Easter, etc....

We haven't been able to hold an outdoor Easter egg hunt since 2007. The week leading up to Easter was full of rotten weather, miraculously, Saturday was nice and not even super windy. In Idaho, that is a miracle.

Because of the abundance of mice outside, I wasn't exactly excited for an outdoor hunt. I took no part in the hiding of the eggs and assigned Matt the job of helping the boys on the search. I did put on my boots, to prevent a mouse from running up my leg (ask Logan, it happens) and stayed on the sidewalk (it felt safer) while I took these pictures. I also didn't look down very often and tried to forget Zack's story about a mouse running over one of his eggs.

Really? How is any kid going to get this egg? 

These were in much better hiding spots.

The youngest and cutest egg hunt participant for now... 

until next year when Krew will be toddling around.

Our family plus Shaylee--we share a bond of mouse fear.

After all the Easter prizes were distributed we traded chaos for another form of chaos and dyed eggs. It has been years since we colored eggs. Zack & Ben got into it. Noah opted to play basketball.

Concentrate.

The Easter Bunny was especially tricky this year. It took the boys nearly 20 minutes to find their baskets. Matt wasn't with us for the whole week (he joined us on Friday) and by Saturday night he contracted the sickness that hit everyone else. Poor guy was too sick to check out the Easter baskets

or witness this awesomeness.

The original plan was to drive the entire way back to Vegas on Sunday but we only made it to Salt Lake. Monday was a little better for Matt so we drove home after a quick IKEA trip and a wish-fulfilling stop at Emmett & Ethel's for Noah.

Which reminds me, while we were in Idaho Dad took us all to Bob's (aka The Thornton Merc) for lunch. Rundown is a nice way to describe this place, but they make good burgers & fries. It's the kind of place that probably has a mouse problem and I am sure the boys were totally thrown off that I, of all people, was willing to eat there. Once Ben & Zack saw chicken fingers on the menu it was all fine. Everyone needs to experience the Merc at least once in their lives.

Snow,Wildlife & Vomit--or Spring Break 2010

 We spent a week in Idaho for Spring break. We haven't been in a little over a year. It was great to see our family but the weather was not so great. At least the snow was good news for whoever abandoned the snowmobile in the backyard.

 It was the end of calving season and Dad moved all the cows into the field behind the house. The calves are adorable, but so noisy! One little calf lost its mom really early in the morning and would not shut up about it. It's almost as bad as waking up to a cattle auction.

One night while we were driving into "town" (Rexburg) we saw a moose in someone's yard. I thought a photo was appropriate so on the way home, I had Noah use the regular camera that was luckily in the car. He wanted to use his cell phone, but I insisted that a real camera was the way to go. And I was wrong. We were parked in the middle of the road for several minutes while the moose just stood there. We had every opportunity (including when it slowly crossed the road in front of my car) to get a decent picture and failed miserably. There really should be a moose in this picture. It was standing right in the driveway. I can't figure it out...

It's especially exciting when a new business opens in Rexburg, especially a new restaurant. Brandon was really excited to show us Gator Jack's. I have to give the owners props for the inside. The food was good too, especially these mini potato things..they might be called Gator Bites. 

 We were also going to check out the new self serve frozen yogurt shop (sorry Millhollow) but never made it there because we all managed to get various degrees of a stomach bug during the break. I'm not going to give a lot of details, but it wasn't pretty. Luckily, we were all mostly recovered by Easter.

Zack packed our old camera and took some pictures while we were driving. We've played a Dora inspired game since Noah was little to help him know when we are getting close to my parent's house. Now the boys all remember to look for the temple (Idaho Falls), bridge & Bear World.  This is the bridge:

 Here are some other scene's Zack decided to photograph. Most of them are on the road to the Grandma & Grandpa's house.