Our Weekend!

Rachael and Eli came home for the weekend with their little girls. How much fun is that!!?? Lots of fun! We went to Jacob's track meet on Saturday. It was held in Cowley so that was nice to be able to come and go. I stayed for the whole thing because I love track meets! Jacob high jumped his personal best which was 4'9".

We loved getting to know these two little girls. Eve loved to dance and sing except when we had the camera out. I wanted to get a picture of Eve and Leah together but Eve was a little cantankerous. She is not exactly like her mother in this instance. Rachael loved the camera at all times!

We were sure sorry to see them go Monday morning. Actually I had to go to work before they left the house. Sometimes I really don't like working. My time is not my own. On the other hand, I do like having a paycheck especially now that Mark is on his mission.

Here is Leah with her sweet smile!

Here is Leah with her intense smile!

And finally here is Jacob going over the bar.

Here are Leah and Eve playing together. Eve's hair is the best!

March Picnic!

Saturday morning dawned cold and blizzardy and we wondered if it was a good idea to head into the mountains for our annual March picnic. This year has been unusually snowy and so a scout party of Glynn and grandma Flash checked on our favored spot, 5-springs. The report came back a negative. We couldn't get the vehicles even close to that campground. We decided on the alternate site of the Craig Thomas memorial gazebo at the mouth of cottonwood canyon. I had been there before and Jacob's scout group actually had their overnight campout ther the previous month. 

We decided to forge ahead and we are so glad we did. It was pretty windy ther with very little snow left on the ground. The campgrounds are nestled in some juniper bushes so that cut the wind significantly. After we enjoyed the food and the company everyone else decided to leave. Spike, Jacob and I went for a hike. Molly was with us of course. She enjoyed catching some scents and bugling loudly and long. We went up the north side of the canyon for a bit, crossed a ridge and came down the other side. 

That felt so good! We got. Few bruised and scrapes. The cactus poked us here and there but for the most part we enjoyed getting out and walking, climbing and looking for cool rocks. Molly found lots of deer tracks and of course had to follow them. Sometimes beagles don't come back when they are called but she stayed pretty close to us the whole way.

I think a FHE activity in April back up the mountain is in order. Maybe we can go to sheep mountain and do some exploring and hiking there too.

Happy Birthday to Carson!

My grandson Carson had his first birthday on Saturday. He is such. Sweet cute little guy. We got to Skype with him last night. He waved and clapped and did all sorts of tricks for us, like climbing up on his new fancy bike and then standing on the seat and going 'no hands'. What a little dare devil!

He reminds me so much of Lucas when he was a baby. Stocky, strong and the best smiles around! We miss this little guy. I hope they come to Lovell when it is time for a 'real' job after graduation. I can't get enough of them. Connor had already gone to bed when we skyped. Sometimes he gets a little possessive when we are skyping. 

I hope we get to see them again soon.

Skyping with Eve!

We had a good time skyping with Eve and Rachael yesterday. We have been trying to make more time with family and I love it. We played hide and seek with Jacob and we went on a spider hunt in the basement. Eve saw a black one. Spike says it was the size of a mouse. Yikes! I think it is time to bomb the basement. Eve sang and danced for us. What a sweet girl.

Wrestling with Dad!

It's always a little scary wrestling with dad! A little out weighed.

Middle School Wrestling

Jacob had his tournament on Saturday.  We were so proud of the way he wrestled. He was really aggressive and came out with a plan for every match. He won his first match against a Greybull opponent. Jacob was doing all the pushing at the very first and actually pushed the kid out of bounds. That really set the tone for the rest of the match. The buzzer went off at the end of the first round just as Jacob was about to pin.  It looked like he was going to get in trouble at the first of the second period but did this cool reverse thing and got the other guy in a cradle and pinned him.  WOW! It was very exciting.
He lost his next two matches but he worked really hard and did much better than at any other tournament. I asked him what was different for this tournament.  He said that he got tired of getting pinned.  Hmmm. I wish he would have gotten tired of that a month ago :)

Happy Birthday to Jared!!!!

Happy birthday to my oldest son, Jared! Today is his 29th birthday. I am not sure if I like this business of my kids getting older because....that means I can't lie about how old I am anymore and say I am 35.  The math just doesn't add up. 


Back to Jared.  Jared has always been such a fun child.  I am so glad he was my oldest, sometimes I think we sort of grew up together. He is loyal, strong, very smart, kind, quite handsome, very tall and has the best sense of humor.  When I am around him and we just talk, I realize how much I have missed his conversation and intelligence.  What a joy to have around.

Another mission picture!

I know my blog has been slow lately. I got busy and a little bit boring. We are always glad to get a picture from Mark, so I will post it.

I showed this picture to a woman who works with me and she was surprised at how big Mark is. I said, "Yup, he is six feet and two inches tall and weighs about two hundred pounds. He just hates the idea of being the shortest one in the family. He is assuming that Jacob will be as tall as Jared." He is probably the toughest though.

I miss him a lot and his testimony. Mark will always be true to the gospel of Jesus Christ and his church here on the earth. Thanks Mark!