Some People Go To Warmer Places for Spring Break, Not Us

On our way up to Idaho for spring break, we stopped at various stores to see if, by chance, by some miracle they had .22 ammo for purchase. It seems that no one does these days. It is a bummer and a pain in the bum but at least as a consolation, those who are forced to make various stops at stores that sell ammo sometimes are rewarded. Thank you Sheels for putting a ferris wheel in your store. It is random and a little odd but kind of awesome. 

 As always, we had a really great time in Idaho. It's especially fun to see the little cousins. Krew is growing up and has the cutest obsession with tractors. He looked at the same tractor pictures on Grandpa's iPad over and over and was ridiculously excited each time. So cute! 

 We rarely can get all the adults together for a night out. By some miracle we did and went to a new BBQ place in Rexburg. It was super yummy and the glass jar drink-ware reminded us of Duck Dynasty. 

 Zack & Shaylee had an Easter bunny sighting at Broulims. 

 We dyed Easter eggs

 

 which was more fun for Zack than this picture shows. 

 We put together an Easter egg treasure hunt for the kids. They worked in groups and were given clues to find eggs and prizes at various places inside and out. 

Team Ashtyn and Ben:

 Team Zack and Haylee:

 

 Team Noah, who had some tough clues. For example: "a tiny hand gesture?"

 Answer: the microwave.  

 I didn't take a lot of pictures. But I did make sure to document the most important things, like my Easter surprise. I do love those Peeps! 

Nine Nine Nine, Fantastic Number Nine

Zack didn't want to turn 9. No particular reason, he just liked being 8. Ok, but you don't get presents if you don't have a birthday. Which didn't matter because he could not think of one thing that he wanted for his birthday.  

He is easy to please and was happy with everything we gave him. Especially the model Corvette kit. He loves Corvettes!

  

He loves chocolate even more. Lately he has been into fancy chocolate. This tower of gourmet chocolate bars lasted him almost a week. 

 He was surprisingly easy to please with the birthday cake. He just wanted something chocolate-y.  

Zack's 20 questions answers:

It was a refreshingly simple birthday for Zack. 

A Busy Day

Cub scout day camp is the event I look forward to the least. Matt & I both have scout callings so we both get to day(s) camp it up. I really wish it was like Utah, but there are reasons (that I assume are good) that makes our stake create their own two day camp.  I complain and whine, but in the end it really is a great time for the boys. It's just time consuming for me. Poor, poor me! 

The theme was Shoot for the Stars. The leaders did a great job creating clever classes that were entertaining and fun for the boys. I was in charge of the "alien encounter" were the boys made alien masks & slime. 

 They did some astronaut training, learned about gravity, went star gazing and the favorite was building and battling with light sabers.

I am glad the boys had a good time. We have a lot of boys in our ward and some of them were super naughty. I think I have gained a reputation as the mean leader. If they wouldn't throw rocks, I wouldn't have to be mean. 

Saturday we helped with day camp until 2:00. Which gave us just enough time to prepare for the last minute birthday party we threw for Zack. His birthday was on Monday and he really wanted a birthday party. We couldn't have it the next Saturday because it was the start of spring break, so it was this day or not at all. I was not going to make the same mistake I made last year with Noah. 

We took them to Grazzianos for pizza, video games and a little Harlem Shake. 

We had to rush so that we could get Noah to his soccer game, which they won. One thing after another! But we survived and managed to have a great day. 

14

If you ask Noah, he will tell you that he got ripped off last year on his birthday.  We normally do birthday parties for odd years but last year scheduling issues and indecision (on the part of the birthday boy) meant Noah didn't have a 13th birthday party. This year we made an exception to the rule but kept it simple. Noah invited a few friends over for pizza, video games (Black Ops Zombies), a movie (Hot Rod) and a couple of rounds of Fugitive. 

By all accounts, the party was a hit so I better not hear any complaints next year. (Mom's aren't allow to take lots of pictures at 14 year old birthday parties). 

As for his actual birthday. Zack made this sign. The clock represents the fact that his party ended at midnight. Can you imagine? Someone's parents are crazy. 

 Five Guys delivery for lunch. 

 And a Dwight Schrute shirt birthday cake. He loves the Office. 

We did a birthday boy quiz a few years ago and are bringing it back this year. Good luck trying to decipher his writing. 

Snow Days

There isn't a lot of snow in Vegas. That's just how I like it. I've lived in snowy areas long enough. But it is fun to visit snowy places every so often.  Especially if I can stay inside and do a puzzle or read a book. David & Emily's cabin is the perfect destination. I ventured out long enough to get these pictures.

Matt spent more time outside than me and took these pictures:

 

Somehow neither one of us got any pictures of Noah-who was in the snow A LOT! 

I may not like the snow to walk or drive in, but I can certainly appreciate its beauty. 

All You Need is Love...

...and complicated design ideas.  Third grade is the year for the Valentine container contest. Ben won with his robot masterpiece. Zack, I knew, would settle for nothing less than first place. His class was having a Fancy Nancy party so he wanted to create a fancy container. What is more fancy than a fox, with a top hat and monocle? 

 

A sketch was drawn and a mom got stressed. How on earth were we going to build it? We took a trip to Hobby Lobby and put on our thinking caps. It took a lot of clever taping and cutting and patience, but we worked it out pretty well. 

Zack painted it and (sigh of relief) was very happy with the finished project. 

On the big day, he put on his fancy clothes and reluctantly headed to school. I drove him to protect the fox. Once we got there, he didn't want to get out of the car. He was worried that he would be the only boy dressed up. I assured, begged and finally bargained with him to get out of the car. I almost lost $10, but one other kid was wearing a tie. Thank heavens! Ultimately, he was glad he dressed up. I bet he got a lot of attention from all the cute girls in his class. Oh, and he won. 

By 5th grade, Valentine's containers aren't that important. We threw this together a few minutes before we left for school. 

I found some cute Valentine's ideas online. Ben liked this idea: 

Zack wasn't feeling the Doritos, he picked this one instead:

Somewhere along the line (like two years ago when I bought them a video game) the boys got unrealistic expectations for Valentine's presents. Who doesn't appreciate candy? My kids, that's who. 

It's not like I am a total slacker. There are decorations. Those hearts didn't just hang themselves up. 

 

And how quickly they forgot the pink heart pancakes for breakfast. 

Oh well, I love them anyway. 

Chaperones

We probably won't be taking Noah to see Beiber or Owl City anytime soon, but when Imagine Dragons are playing we'll all be there. This was Noah's first concert which he went to with his cousins...

and his parents. 

Good thing he has awesome parents who are totally hip to cool music, right? I tried not to feel too old and/or embarrass him too much. I am proud that at least I wasn't wearing mom jeans or drinking excessively like some of the other moms I saw. 

We had a great time. I think it was a perfect first concert. Especially since he was lucky that both opening acts (Nico Vega & Atlas Genius) were good. 

 Imagine Dragons are from Vegas so they did some extra cool things. And our arms might be seen on their video for the song Demons. 

When we were leaving the Hard Rock casino I wasn't aware the boys were acting like drunks. At the elevator, I was stopped by a lady who was concerned about my ability to take care of the boys. She was really worried for me. It was an odd moment. Hopefully a lesson was learned. And then we waited for nearly two hours just to get out the the parking garage. Another lesson learned: next time I park valet. 

We left Ben, Aidan, Henry and Zack home to fend for themselves. This is what awaited me the next morning. Fun times all around!