Sledding and Visitors

We had to go try out all the snow we've got in the last couple days even though it was 0 degrees outside.

sledding down the little hill in front of our house-

oops that didn't work-

Maddie giving Garen a ride while he sat and ate snow-

too tired to pull anymore-

We got to hang out with my best friend Carrol and her family yesterday and last night since on their way back home to Ohio the freeway was closed due to bad weather. So they got to stay the night. It was so fun to play with her little girls and talk for hours. I miss them already.

Later we all went to see the new Yogi Bear movie. The kids laughed a lot. And the rest of our New Year's Eve was spend playing MariKart and Just Dance on the Wii and shooting off party poppers.

Wonderful Weekend

My weekend was really relaxing for once! Friday there was no preschool and no school for Maddie because of Parent/Teacher confrences. I went to Maddie's bright and early at 8:30AM. Her teacher only had the nicest things to say. She is in the highest reading and math group, she's way above the average scores on her testing, and she's not even being distrupting with her talking and laughing. We are so proud of her.
Straight from the confrence I went to the gym where Cammie kicked my butt and I can finally walk normal again today. From there a enjoyed a long lunch and chatting with my friend Kara. And to make it even better, Andy had totally cleaned the house while I was gone.
And beleive it or not it keeps going. Maddie and I spent a couple of hours at the mall shopping, followed by all of us going swimming at the new indoor pool/splash park/lazy river/water slide/rock climbing wall. The kids had a blast!

Saturday turned out to be pretty awesome as well, I think it's due to Andy being home on the weekends. We went to Maddie's soccer game (it was cold!) and she played like a champ. She scored a goal in the last minute of the game. We all went out to celebrate at Applebees for lunch. At 9pm a bunch of us girls went out for ice cream followed by a late movie.

Sunday at church I spotted Garen doing the actions to the songs (which he never does at church) and then he actually got out of his chair and participated during Sunbeam class (also something he has never done before). It was a good Day.
I payed for my weekend fun late Sunday night as I vacuumed and cleaned and cut and laminated and set up for preschool, but it was worth it.

And just some random pictures since I didn't take any this weekend:
Sophie putting on my makeup-

Garen enjoying preschool-

Sophie enjoying preschool-

A weekend with friends

One of my best friends, Brenda, and her kids, Jacob and Danny came out to visit us this weekend! They got here Friday night and stayed till Sunday night. It was so fun to spend that time with Brenda. And Maddie and Garen loved playing with the boys. And let me tell you, it was nonstop playing.

We went to two parks, spent hours in the basement, spent hours outside, watched movies, played games, had birthday ice cream to celebrate Maddie's birthday early. Brenda and I stayed up late talking and watching TV.

The first night the kids were way to excited to go to bed. I'd go upstairs and catch Maddie on her tummy with her head in her hands whispering down the hall to the two boys doing the same thing.

They all got to come to church with us and Maddie was more than pleased to have Jacob with her in Primary.

My friends at church would ask, is that your sister here today. I would tell them it was my friend and they were very jealous because none of their friends make the trip to Rock Springs to visit.

I am very lucky to have such a wonderful friend! Thanks for coming Brenda. We miss you guys already!

Thanks Kelsie

My good friend and old neighbor showed up this morning to help me out. It was so nice to have some company while packing. I was getting really sick of packing and cleaning by myself all day. Thanks for helping me pack and watching my kids while I got some stuff done-you are the best Kelsie!!!

Here's Kelsie's girl Jordyn and Garen hanging out while we packed-

Summer Fun

Even though we have been in the middle of packing boxes and finalizing the selling of our home and buying another; we are trying to squeeze in some Summer fun as we go. We've been spending our days at the public pool, playing at parks, riding bikes, playing in our backyard pool, going to blanket storytime, and just enjoying warm weather and good friends. Here's a few pictures of some of what we've been doing this week:

Playing in the pool:

This is Garen trying to get his sister back for all the times she sprayed him with the hose-

Eating Popsicles-

making messes-

tired nights with all her stuffed friends-

shoot'en some hoops- (after some practice she actually got the ball clear up to the rim)



Our Ward Luau party (this is the bishopric)-

searching for seashells-

Maddie and friend Amelia-

With all the fun things going on and all the outside play, the kids haven't even noticed that I have packed all their toys and movies. I guess that's why summer is a good time to move. :)

What would the world be like without a best friend?

My world is a wonderful, happy, and funny place because of my best friend!

My best friend Carrol came yesterday! It was so fun to have her here, I wish she could have stayed the whole weekend! I miss her already!

I felt bad because my house was torn apart when Carrol arrived. There were people ripping my kitchen floor up to fix a plank that had cracked and I was in the middle of a mess making cookies while two of my neighbors Melissa and Lori and their kids were over playing in the pool along with several other neighborhood kids. So it was kind of chaos. But so much fun!

My favorite part was watching her little girl, Emily crawling in and out of the cold water, getting splashed in the face and just smiling the whole time! What a cutie!

Carrol, you made my day so much brighter, thanks for making the trip and for all the wonderful gifts!!!

In Carrol's short visit, she even found time to cute Maddie's hair for me and give her cute shorter summer due-

Emi-

Maddie, Emi, and Garen

Father's Day Dinner

Right after Carrol left we headed out to Clarkston for a Father's Day dinner (Andy will be working Saturday night and Sunday night so we had it early). While we were there, Maddie and I got to take a little ride on the neighbors horse.

It was a fun evening with good food and fun games.

Boyd opening his presents-

my kids attacking Uncle Zeb-

At the Zoo
Last night we didn't get home till 11pm and then still had to put the kids to bed. Then this morning I was up at 7am to start cleaning up the effects of the last couple days-dishes unwashed, laundry piled up, new birthday toys everywhere, wet swimsuits and towels, and so on. I had till 10:30 when the people were coming to inspect our home! Luckily with Andy's help we got it mostly cleaned up. While they took over our house we headed to Willow Park Zoo.

watching the monkeys-

Garen liked the big turtle as long as it didn't move closer to him-

Maddie waiting for the peacock to open it's feathers-

Garen watching the wallaby jump around-

Surprise Party?

So after we got home, had lunch, Andy went to work, and Garen laid down for a nap, I took my chance to lay down for a minute to get rid of a headache. About 20 minutes after I had laid down I heard noise downstairs. I go to check on Maddie and she had taken it upon herself to invite the neighbors over telling them all that there was going to be a big party. Maddie had it all planned, she was even making the older girls blow up balloons. Well, I didn't want to ruin their fun so instead I got the camera and some crafts for them to make and we had a party.