March 2024

Benson is my snow boy. :) He's always my first kid out the door when snow comes and the last to come inside. 

 The youth in our ward got to participate in a Pinewood Derby! It's always a fun opportunity, especially since the church doesn't participate in scouts anymore. 

Lindy Turns 10!!! We didn't do a friend party this year, instead we asked her good friend Aubree to come with Lindy to the mall. :) They played at the arcade in the mall and got ice cream and rode the escalators up and down Elf style. So grateful Lindy has such a good friend. We love our Lindy!

Piano recital for Lindy and Gwen! 

Co-op field trip day to the Aquarium! Gwen's favorite part was getting to be in the bird cage and feed the birds. :) 

Co-op youth activity at the climbing gym! 

St. Patrick's Day! Rueben sandwiches, roasted potatoes, rainbow fruit, pistachio pudding. :) 

Grandma and Grandpa helping us in the garden and in the wood pile!

Gwennifer turns 13! On the school day, she chose to go to the park and to get jamba juice and pretzels. She had a friend party this year. The kids had recently discovered the show "Fear Factor" on tv and were obsessed, so we threw a Fear Factor style party for Gwen this year. The girls earned points for completing challenges, and then could turn in their points at the end of the party for prizes. One of the challenges was a relay race where the girls had to carry dog bones in their mouths from one end of the yard to the other and fill up a jar. One challenge was to be brave enough to stick your hand into a covered jar (full of crickets!). One was a taste test challenge, where they had to eat gross baby food, sardines, and jalapenos. Pretty fun party.:)  We love our Gwenny!

Easter Celebrations! We went to a lovely Easter display put on by a nearby stake, made resurrection rolls, dyed eggs, did an easter basket hunt with string, did our Jerusalem dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, and did the Easter walk with Grandpa! 

New piglets, lunch with friends, amazing clouds, the boys painted and totally clean room!

February 2024

 Valentine's Season! We made sugar cookies and invited the bacon family over to decorate them with us, made punny valentines, had our fancy dinner, etc. This was the year that Miles got an extra special valentine from a young girl at co-op :) Complete with a picture of them getting married and kissing. :) 

My first born officially has a driver's permit!

Gwen went all out for a presentation at co-op, including buying herself this authentic wig. :) She has that dramatic flair for acting!

Just one of those ordinary Saturday mornings, eating waffles, that I don't want to forget.

Homeschool: I was teaching art history to Lindy's class this year. Richie and I also taught the youth activity this month- we taught them how to swing dance! 

Co-op field trip to the Boise Reptile Museum! 

        Little Women party! Lots of soap making! Grandma and Grandpa leading exercise classes when they come to science and history!

Davy turns 5!! Honestly, I was feeling overwhelmed and wasn't planning on throwing Davy a friend birthday party. However, last minute, I panicked a little when I did some thinking and realized I was running out of kids to throw basic, kid, cute parties for. So we called up a few friends, blew up some balloons, did some dance party videos off youtube, bought little cesar's pizza and a store made cake! (gasp!) It was so last minute, Davy had no idea it was happening, so it was fun for him to get a surprise party. Some favorite memories: We had him playing in the backyard with Dad while his friends arrived and hid. Once he realized his friends were there, he snuck off to the bathroom to style his hair :) We played "Pass the Parcel" from Bluey- I specifically tried to make it so that Davy didn't get the prize at the end, seeing as he was going to get presents from friends. Instead his friend Mandee got it, and he was heartbroken- ran to his room and cried. He still talks about how that almost ruined his birthday. He asked for Pavlova for his birthday dessert when we celebrated with family- a la Bluey. :) 

They had a free homeschool tubing day at Eagle Island! Lucky us!! It was such a fun day.