Craters of the Moon

After being cooped up in the house for 2 days. (Mother Nature decided that Winter was not over yet.) We just had to get out and do something. I've been wanting to go to Craters of the Moon since we moved to Idaho. I checked the website and it said they had cleared the snow off the main loop. We drove a couple of hours, it was probably the ugliest part of Idaho I've seen, flat, brown, dry, and nothing but tumble weeds. There wasn't any sign of snow until we hit Craters of the Moon. It was a bad sign. The visitors center was open and we talked to the rangers. NOTHING was open. The loop you drive around was still closed, all the trails were closed, the caves were still blocked with snow drifts. I told the rangers I had read on the internet that it said the roads were being cleared. I was informed that they go through and break up the snow so it can melt...I was a very unhappy person. They said you could walk about 1 mile up the road (the road that you are supposed to be able to drive on) We decided to make the best of it and actually ended up having some fun.

hYou can see how high the snow still is in some parts.

Rachel off in the distance.

We're Moving...again.

We've been looking for a bigger place for almost 6 months. We've been living in our townhouse for almost 2 years. It's not that I mind the size of our place, that I can manage. It's the sharing of walls, having no yard, and no storage. Plus, most of the families have younger kids and Rachel has no friends in the neighborhood. Ellie's best friend just moved and misses her like crazy. My visiting teacher has been keeping her ears & eyes open for us. Yesterday, she called and said a rental had opened over by her. Long story short...in less than 24 hours we had the house. Crazy! I didn't think it would ever happen. It's a 5 bedroom house with a finished basement. We are going to live in the top and my brother and his wife are going to live in the bottom. By splitting the rent we are going to save ourselves lots of $$$ which is wonderful because trying to go to school with a family is VERY stressful financially. Plus, we get a yard, a garage, lots of storage! It will be especially nice when Bill goes out on his internship for almost 3 months in August. I will have help with the kids as I try to finish up my last (hopefully) semester of school in Fall. It's happening SO fast, I guess I better start packing as I start back to school on the 19th with 15 credits. Yikes! I need to take a deep breath...breath in...breath out...I wanted this, right?

Which one is it?

I drive by these signs everyday if not several times a day for the past 2 years and this is the first time I have noticed that Valinda Ln on the street sign has 2 L's. Everything else I have ever seen has only 1 L. Now I am questioning myself as to which one is correct. Have I been misspelling it this entire time or was there an error made on the sign????

First Visit of the Year

The snow has finally melted and we decided to visit Ryleigh's grave site for FHE. We haven't been able to go since October. I found some metal flowers at a thrift store that needed a little TLC, so we sanded them & painted them. I thought they would be perfect to put by her head stone and be able to withstand the weather. The kids had fun decorating.Visiting Ryleigh's grave site brings peace to my heart. I reflect on the atonement of our Savior, His life and Sacrifice, and the Resurrection. I especially feel the love he has for each of us. It reminds me to align my life and focus on the things that are important. It makes me grateful that we can be an eternal family.

Gotch'er back!

Madison School District is trying to implement this campaign to help kids and families with mental health issues and provide support and fight stigmas. On Friday, I got an email from the school saying they would be discussing each kids strengths and they would bring home a worksheet they had worked on in class. Usually, I really don't think anything of these activities. Jared came home and showed me his paper. I have to say this one made me smile. They were supposed to check the strengths that they bring to family, friends, and school. Let's just say, I don't think Jared has self esteem issues. haha I teased him about his clean and neat strengths and he told me, "But mom, I shower and brush my teeth." I really do think Jared is all of these things and more. I am glad he knows how special he is! I sure love that kid!

Blue Bloods

Blue Bloods is my new favorite show on TV. I only started watching it a few episodes ago but I'm hooked. It's a show about a multi-generational family in law enforcement. I know there are a lot of cop shows on TV but the thing I like about this is show is the dynamics within the family. I love that the show is built on family. They get together for Sunday dinners and one of the characters has a strong marriage with a couple of kids, not a marriage on the brink of failing. Very refreshing. (I hope they don't destroy it for ratings) Plus, it has all the elements of a good drama series. Oh, Donny Wahlberg & Tom Selleck (and his famous mustache) are on Blue Bloods too. Did I mention it's on Friday night? Perfect for those nights my husband is working and the kids are in bed.

Opening Day

The San Fransisco Giants had a fairytale year last season. They became the 2010 World Series Champions. It was an intense and exciting season. My dad raised me to be a SF Giants fan, from the time I can remember he took me to games, taught me the game of baseball, we would even stay after the games and meet the players. I have tried to carry on the legacy with my kids. I've tried to take them to at least one game every season. It was exciting to take my kids at the end of last season as the Giants were over taking the 1st place Padres. We continued to cheer the Giants on as they took it all the way. It's something I hadn't witnessed, my father, and grandfather hadn't witnessed.

Today is opening day of the new season. I can't wait! Let's GO GIANTS!!!This is our family cheering on the Giants during the world series game. We are paying tribute to Brain Wilson, the Giants closer.

Trying out new skates

This is for Grandma and Grandpa Mayfield. This was her first attempt. She's gotten a lot more brave since then. She loves them. Thanks for the great birthday present!

Fairy Tale Ball

All of the 2nd graders put on a Fairy Tale Ball. They worked on learning the waltz and the teton stomp. They danced 7 dances with different partners. It was really cute to see all the different costumes and the different dances. It was pretty dang cute. Jared was such a gentleman, he even spun the girls at the end. The parents got to dance one of the dances with our kids. I have never learned any formal dance, Jared laughed at me because I was fumbling all over the place. haha. Ellie rescued me and took over. =)

What a cute kid!

The Teton Stomp...

One of Jared's dance partners. It was one of the only pictures I could get because it was hard to get a clear view of him with all the other kids dancing.

Ellie dancing with her brother. (yes, this is when she saved me!)

The teachers did such a great job. What a cute event. The gym was decorated and everything. All the kids worked so hard and looked like they had a lot of fun.

Me and my knight in shining armor.

Ellie turns 5!

I can't believe Ellie turned 5. She got to celebrate her entire birthday weekend. Saturday I let her invite a couple of friends to go see Tangled. It was fun having little girls get excited over the movie while eating popcorn. On Sunday her actual birthday, Bill was working at the fire station, so we got to celebrate her birthday there with everyone else that had a birthday in March. We decided to wait for her to open her main presents until the family party. People kept asking her how old she was and she kept saying she was 4. I kept telling her she turned 5. I was really confused about why she didn't want to turn 5. Finally, she said, "I'm not 5 until I have my party." Monday, we finally had our family party and according to Ellie, she could officially say she was 5. Phew...Party, Party, Party! Happy Birthday Ellie!

Ellie's friends at the fire station got her a couple of presents for her birthday. So fun!

Making a wish.

An adorable hat her Aunt Sonja crocheted her.

G&G Mayfield sent her a Wii game and some roller skates.

Ellie is such a beautiful girl. She loves to sing and dance. Ellie loves clothes and shoes and changes several times a day. She likes singing along with the radio. She has become my little helper, we get to spend a lot of time together especially when her older brother & sister are at school. Her favorite color is purple. Ellie is stubborn and strong willed. Ellie hates bedtime and the cold. She loves to draw and play with Thomas the Train. (I found a pink train set for her birthday) She likes watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. This is just a glimpse into Ellie. Ellie is such a joy to have in our family. We love you Ellie!

Highlights

*Ellie went to the dentist. We are pleased to report, she has no cavities and very healthy teeth. She also went to the doctor. Ellie is 53 percentile for height and 24% for weight. She doing great!

*After almost 2 months of fighting with my insurance company. My doctor got my insurance to cover my tests 80/20 for trying to find answers as to why I keep having miscarriages. The insurance was trying to make me pay 100% out of pocket which would have been about $1300. What a tremendous blessing! I am so grateful for doctors that care. So far my test have all come back negative for anything. It's a mix of emotions. I am glad I don't have any medical conditions and that I am healthy but it's still hard not having any answers. I have an appointment on Monday to discuss everything.

* I got a new couch! I am excited. I never had enough seating for everyone when they came over and most of the time my family gathers at my house for Sunday dinners and any other excuse we can find to get together. I am still trying to sell our old couch, so I will take pics when the couch is gone. I am so happy we found such a great deal!

*We also got a new van and didn't spend any money. Over a year ago my dad helped us get a van for our growing family. It was a huge green conversion van, it was hard to drive in the snow, and it was a gas guzzler. One of the guys at the fire station loved it and was wanting to trade his mini van for our green beast. Deal! I am so happy to have a smaller, more reliable, easier on the pocket book to fill up vehicle.

*The Madison Fire Department and Pipe Brigade had a fundraiser for the station. They brought the Bar J Wranglers to Rexburg. To be totally honest I didn't even know who they were. They are country band that performs in Jackson Hole, Wy. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun. They had a good mix of comedy and old country. But they were super talented, they had the steel guitar, banjo, a number of different types of guitars. I now feel a little more Idahoan and a little less Californian after going. hahaha The Madison Fire Department Pipe Brigade also performed. I will try to download the video but it might be too big of a file. I am so proud of those guys. They only started playing a little over a year ago.

Great Grandpa Crook

My Grandpa was on his way home to Lander and made a quick stop in Rexburg to say Hi. Here are a few pictures.

Ellie, Great Grandpa Crook, my nephew Gratton, Rachel & Jared.

He took us to lunch at KFC.

I love this picture of my brother David, his new son, and my grandpa.

Birthday's, Birthday's and more Birthday's

My Dad, Mom, brother's Kyle, David, and Colin...and myself all celebrated a birthday within 3 weeks of each other. It was a pretty quiet year of celebrations.

We celebrated Kyle's 23rd birthday at Gator Jack's in Rigby. It was a really fun atmosphere and pretty good food.

Jared making friends with the alligator.

I should have taken pictures of my brother David's party. Sonja ended up in the hospital that weekend with Pancreatitis. She had to have surgery to take out her gallbladder. So, we brought the party to David. He won't soon forget his 25th birthday!

Rachel made my birthday cake! So cute! She told me she was going to put Happy Birthday but it would have taken too long to spell it out with the sprinkles. I love it!

This is me celebrating my birthday. hehe. My brother Colin and I celebrate our birthdays on the same day. He was going to try and come up to visit but with work and the cost of gas to drive his truck up, he couldn't make it. It was a very uneventful birthday. Spent the day watching kids, running errands, and making dinner. But we had a fun little get together that night. Here is to a good year!

We have almost survived all the birthdays...We just have one more birthday on the 20th...Ellie is turning 5!

Reason 101 for not losing weight

One of my friends posted this on fb and I got a good laugh, so I thought I would share...

I figured out why I can't lose weight and keep getting fat! The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says "for extra volume and body". I'm going to start using "Dawn" dish soap. It says "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove."

Somebody Freeze Time!

Why do kids have to grow up so fast? I can't believe how big my kids are getting. I wish I could just freeze them as they are for just a little bit longer, but pictures are as close as I am going to get to freezing time. This year is a big year for us. Rachel will start middle school, Jared will be baptized and Ellie will start kindergarten. Surprisingly it's not the big milestones that make me want to stop time, it's their everyday actions, attitudes, conversations and accomplishments that that make the realization of them growing up TOO FAST for me. I just have to remember to enjoy these moments with them because I will never get back today and tomorrow will always come.

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