Easter

Our kids are finally getting too old for Easter egg hunts...waaaaaahhhh! I really just want them to stay young enough for Santa and easter egg hunts. It's too much fun! We had to practically force the boys to do it. Anytime there is candy gathering, Bekah is all in :)


Tim and kids


Me and kids


Our beautiful and growing children


The fun part about them being older is hiding the eggs in harder and higher places


Bekah never misses a chance to get candy and she runs! Those boys better hurry up or they'll be out of luck :)

Not the Four Seasons

Tim finally persuaded me to go to his hog lease in east Texas ( I believe this was the end of April). We packed up the kids and drove for five hours. Now, I was not expecting the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons. But I was not prepared for the experience that awaited me either.

A hunting cabin is, by definition, not the cleanest or best organized place. I was told that there was toilet in addition to the outhouse. I was not told that is was a two room metal shack, with no running water, right next to the house of the guy who leases it. There was a bathroom, but with no working water it was of little use to me. On this weekend getaway I learned how long I can go without going to the restroom!

On the plus side, there was air conditioning and a working door to keep out the bugs. Although the view from the porch was the guy's fledgling garden, there were also horses to keep Bekah entertained. There was plenty of time to read and because of the lack of electronic facilities, I was able to force whichever child was with me to play games :)

Bekah had first hunting shift with Tim. Here she is all decked out. Paul's turn came after dark.


Another photo of Bekah and Tim.


Bekah made friends with the horse right away.


Me and my girl :)


Father and son...learning to shoot the rifle. I believe that after the aim lesson, he actually shot the shotgun instead. The rifle is pretty heavy and hard to hold up if you are small.


All said and done...I did not die ;)

Fruits of our Labor

This year we planted a real garden. Tim and his brother managed to gather some railroad ties and other lumber to set up a border into which we brought dirt and fertilizer (our natural soil is terrible!). It has been so fun to take care of the garden and enjoy the harvest. It's such an interesting experience to see everything growing and figuring out how best to nurture the plants. We even ended up with some cantalope plants that we didn't know we had. We are already planning an extension for next year.

This first shot is shortly after we planted in the end of March, beginning of April. Each progressive picture shows the garden growth.






Tomatoes in the back, then cucumbers and onions (can't really see those because of the squash), squash, peas, lettuce and greens, and more squash up in the front corners.





Squash is growing!!!


First harvest!!!


Ignore me and focus on the cherry tomato! Thank goodness for the tomato plants with the price of tomatoes this year!


One of the best things about having the garden has been sharing the loot with friends and family! We've enjoyed squash cooked every which way, cucumbers (and pickles), fresh salsa (my favorite!), and yummy peas. The lettuce, greens, and onions didn't do as well. We'll have to experiment with those some more next year. The cantalope are still growing.

2011 Family Vacation

I cannot believe it has been seven months since I posted! We-e-e-lll, yes I can. Student teaching took ALL my time. However, that went very well and I enjoyed it very much. First grade was so much fun and I'll probably do another post on that later. To make up for lost time, I'm starting with our recent Elko vacation pictures. My favorite part of every year!!!

Friday - Sunday, June 10th - 12th
Our favorite lunch spot in Clovis, NM. Every time we drive we stop and eat lunch with the tank and the airplane.





There is nothing cuter than Grampa playing Headbandz with the girls. ADORABLE! Grampa did have an unfair advantage because Rachel kept telling him what was on his head band. (Don't forget to notice the snoozer in the background :) giggle That's what Sunday afternoons are for, right?)


I guess I didn't take any pictures Monday and Tuesday. I know we played a lot of games and practiced for the lip sync.

Wednesday and Thursday, June 15th & 16th
These days we decided to camp (this particular event will not be repeated next year unless the dads go it alone!) We drove out to Ruby Lake, about two hours. The area was pretty and the campground was actually really nice - cleanest campground bathrooms I have ever seen...yea! The pictures are in a random order because I still cannot figure out how to upload them the way I want. ;)

Campfire and Smores!


Well, I could have posted the one with Ben sharing the contents of his mouth, however, for the sake of those who choose to view the pics, I chose this lovely shot of Emily and Ben.


Group photo


Audrey...need I say more?


Alexis and Audrey making smores and enjoying the fire.


Paul caught a trout! It was a nice size fish and it tasted great :)


Scenery with Paul...I guess that was a cliff edge so I'm glad I wasn't along on that walk.


Paul and Bekah on top of a mountain. See the sweaters? It was not 100 degrees there!


Sticks seemed to be the favorite past time of the girls. They "made" them almost the whole week.



Friday, June 17th
My favorite activity! The lip sync. Em and I decided we wanted to do something different this year. The kids weren't sure about it at first but they really got into it and it was FANTASTIC! We did Allstar by Smashmouth. Hopefully I'll get the video uploaded soon. We geared the actions to fit Mom and Dad and their life and interests. I don't think we'll have a problem getting the kids to think of some on their own next year.


Another favorite of mine: To celebrate Mother's and Father's Day (It's hard to do those things when your parents live out of the country) we decided to find things that reminded us of our parents from childhood. It was really fun to sit and reminisce and come up with things around the house as well as a few small purchased items. This might be a lasting tradition. We had the kids do it for their dads and for Uncle James as well.


Cuteness...period.


Trampoline fun at Andy's.


Always must have a photo of Grampa and Granny with all the grandkids.


Saturday, June 18th
Sadly, Emily and family left Saturday morning. Do not fear, we continued to party by heading up to Lamoille Canyon to see the snow and picnic.
The river was flowing high and fast but the kids had fun getting as close as we would allow.


River


Snow! Paul and Bekah loved it...but then we only see snow once a year at the most and only for a few hours at best. I, having had many experiences with snow in my life, elected to sit in the car and talk to mom :0)


Cousins...except that I now see that Daniel is cut out in the top right corner. Sorry, Dan!


Why are you taking my picture? I'm trying to eat a sandwich.


Rock climbers


I love this shot. I'm sure is was a great discussion on fishing and how to best find them in such a rushing river.


The canyon was littered with waterfalls from the snow runoff. Very cool.


And, finally, the two who make this family possible. Love my mom and dad and so thankful for all they've done for us and providing a place where we can gather and make memories.


Easily my favorite week of the year. Wish it could be two.