4.0

Roman got a 4.0 this year.

He has transitioned to Jr. High nicely and I think he likes having lots of different classes and teachers.

I know he likes having P.E.

Good job Roman!

Spring Dance Recital

Marisa had her spring dance recital.

I still love watching her dance. I don't know how much longer she will want to go to dance class but I'm glad she likes it now.

Aardvark

Ezra had his 2nd grade animal report presentation mid may (I'm only a little over a month behind).

 

He was assigned the nine banded armadillo. I would tease him by calling it an aardvark all the time (thus the title).

 

Ahhh, he's a cute kid.

Idaho Falls

The kids and I took a weekend last month to run up to Idaho Falls and my sister's house to take the opportunity to see the Idaho Falls temple before it is re-dedicated.

It was just a quick weekend trip but fun and worth it.

Look how much my kids have grown! (this is the same place that I took the picture that is on the title screen of my blog)

We were there just a short time but we still got in a few of our favorites.

Playing with chickens

Shooting BB Guns.

Visiting my sister at Farmer's Market.

Ezra stayed the rest of the morning and helped sell dog treats... because come on, how can you resist a cute face like that?

The temple open house was great.

 

It's such a unique temple and I love how they kept the style from the time period in which it was built. so many clean lines and clear wood.  This temple is where my parents were married. I was wishing I could bring my mom to see it, but it's just not a reality.

 

That evening, this cute thing had a dance recital. I was glad we could go watch just because we don't get to go to many family events.

 

We packed up and headed home after church Sunday. It was too short. We may have to go back soon.

Run Run Run

Marisa had her 4th grade track meet.

She did well and had a good time.

If any of my kids are going to be runners some day.... she's the one. But she is definitely a long distance runner. :)

A Wider Smile

Child number three has entered the orthodontics world.

He got a pallet expander and we've been slowly cranking that mouth wider.

What a cutie.

What a weirdo!

I sure love him.

Selling Arizona

My mom has a house in Arizona that she inherited from her parents.

She has always loved it there and wanted to go back so badly. But, her physical and metal limitations make it impossible.

It has been a sort of thorn in my side as it has been really hard to manage from afar along with her other properties and financial burdens.

After my brother went down to see it in December, as a family, we decided we needed to sell it.

In April, my sister and I flew down to get the house ready to sell.

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It was an adventure, to say the least, but it could have been so much worse.

Even though it was a work trip. It was fun to have a little change in scenery, company and responsibility. Oh and the warm weather was HEAVENLY!

 

The water was turned off because the plumbing that was being repaired wasn't finished as planned.

 

That was an unfortunate snag but we dealt with it by getting bottled water and being resourceful.

We rented a uhaul, filled it up with all of my parents household items and took them to goodwill. We were feeling pretty tough doing all that on our own. The sleeper sofa was HEAVY!

Then, we heated water on the stove and shampooed the carpet, dusted and cleaned and took some pictures for the realtor. We figured the water issue was a tribute to my Grandmother who was always super conservative and would never waste water. We even melted a bag of ice from the freezer to get the last bit of cleaning done.

Mom's friends and neighbors took a load of trash to the dump for us and we said one last goodbye to the house. We also took the time to find the Mesa temple.

Our grandparents loved that little place and so did my parents. I myself had only been there a handful of times but it's hard to let the stuff go, even though it's just stuff.

 

We spent our last half day exploring the mountains behind the house.

 

 

Neither of us even knew this little gem was only 1/2 hour away.

Only day's later we were already under contract and it officially sold in two weeks.

It's still a little bitter sweet. But already, it's so nice to have that burden lifted and I feel like mom is financially secure for the rest of her life... unless she really surprises us.... which she probably will.

Ten

Our girly turned 10!

I can't believe it!

We celebrated a couple days early because she had a typing competition on her birthday. More about that later.

 

She wanted Jasmine Tai Lao for dinner form something like the 9th year in a row.


Then we had some homemade ice cream cake. It was SO yummy except that the strawberries froze so much harder than the rest of the cake. Next time they go on as an optional topping.

 

She is growing up too fast. Happy Birthday Girl Friend!

Easter 2017

I'm sensing a change around these parts as our kids get older. This Easter the kids wanted their egg hunt in the basement with all the lights off. Here they are on the steps, waiting for us to say "go!"

They got their flashlights and hunted in the dark. It was a nice change from the same old thing.

Other than that, it was just another great Easter!