Kaydra’s award Ceremony

Kaydra had an award ceremony to celebrate the end of the year grades.  They call their assembly “It pays to get ‘A’s’”  Because they can win prizes if they had good grades for the past semester.  Kaydra achieved a 4.0 GPA this school year.  We are really proud of her and her efforts at school.  She is extremely organized and it makes my job as a mom so much easier.  I never worry if she has done her homework or if she is prepared for school…because she just always is.  She is so helpful at home and just a joy to be around.  And she actually got paid this time for her grades because her name was drawn for a prize!  She won a gift certificate to Baskin Robins and one to Hastings.  It really does pay to get good grades!  Good job Kaydra!!

Memorial Day Weekend in Sequim, WA

This year we planned a trip to visit Markell and André at their beautiful town of Sequim, Washington.  We told the kids we were going to Seattle to visit Markell.  Come to find out, Seattle is really far away from Sequim.  It’s like saying you will be going to Salt Lake when you are actually going to Idaho Falls.  They might be a little closer…but not much!  Anyway, we loved Sequim.  We decided to kill two birds with one stone and take our kids camping too (see…we are good parents!   )  I am SO glad I talked to André about our plans to camp BEFORE I made reservations.  I thought we would camp at this Marina that is close to their house.  He suggested that we camp at the State Park which is 5 minutes from their house AND much prettier.  At the marina we would have been camping on a big lawn with billions of RV’s surrounding us.  Instead, we were at our own campsite in the woods – and the camp had flushing toilets! 

We had a really great time.  It started with a long drive but we were entertained by this car on the freeway:

We thought of our friends, Rob and Alethea Carpenter, who are Ghostbusters fans.  It was pretty cool!  We also took the obligatory selfie!

When we made it to Sequim we stopped at the Corpus’s house and then went to set up camp.  We were happy to see this little newbie:

 

Andromyda was born on May 1 and was just 3 weeks old.  She made Shylee look like a giant!   Archimedes and Aika were at their Grandma Corpus’s house so we didn’t get to see them.  We missed them but I loved all the time I was able to spend with Markell. 

We camped right by the ocean which was my kids favorite part.  We found millions of little crabs, tons of shells, and plenty of cold salt water.  It was too cold to swim, but we had plenty of wet feet.  One of the days we went to Port Angeles to their FREE aquarium.  It was closed for about 30 minutes when we got there so we decided to explore the ocean on our own.  I think the kids were most impressed with this part.  Who needs an aquarium anyway?!!

We went to a game farm and drove around some animals.  We saw so many animals and I even have a small scratch on my car door where a small buffalo head-butted us.  Good thing it was a small one.  We saw Elk, Buffalo, Llamas, Peacocks, and a bunch of other things too.  The kids liked feeding them and watching them chase us for bread. 

Then we went to another park that had this awesome bridge.  I wish I had taken more pictures here.

 

On our way home we took the Ferry.  It was cold and windy but we managed to get one shot – I was the shooter

I am so glad we went.  It was great to visit with Markell and André and meet little Andy (or Annie). We hope to go back again sometime.  As a side note, André and Leonard spent some time Halibut fishing in the ocean.  They didn’t have any luck this time, but hope to try again soon.  Thanks Markell and André, it was awesome to be with you both!

Wax Museum

Kanyon participated in a Wax Museum for a 4th grade project this past week.  Pretty fun for everyone, except the people that have to hold still for 2 hours!  They did great and I know everyone was surprised that Kanyon picked Daniel Boone!

He looked great and held very still while I was taking his picture!

Anna was there too!  She played Julia Morgan – an architect.  She wouldn’t even look at me the first time I went by.  I had to try again later for a picture!! 

So fun to have cousins at school!

Biggest Loser Runner Up!

I debated about posting about this at all, but I have spent so much time on this for the past three months that I decided that I didn’t want to leave it out.  I decided that I needed to get healthy for myself, kids, and family.  I know I just had a baby but it was time to stop using that as an excuse and try to get back in shape.  So I entered a contest.  It was run by a local gym called The Body Shop which is owned by a friend of mine from church. 

We had to attend classes at least 3 times a week and commit to eat better.  Whichever contestant  lost the most would win a jackpot.  It was just the right amount of motivation for me to stick with it.  I am proud to say that I lost 23 pounds (38 pounds total since I walked into the hospital to deliver Shylee) and I feel great!  Plus, I get to go clothes shopping because all my clothes are too big! 

I was the runner up for the contest and I won $200.  The winner lost 26 pounds, so I was pretty close!  There were a lot of people who supported me and I am really grateful.  Jodi was a great cheerleader and watched my kids many times so I could go to class.  Kaydra, Leonard, and Neil also watched the kids many times so I could go.  And EVERYONE helped me remember what I could and couldn’t eat !  I am excited to be healthier this summer and be able to keep up with my kids!

Jodi encouraged me to take before and after pictures.  I wasn’t going to do it, so I took the “before” about 3 weeks in.  I am glad I took them so I can see the progress I am making.  I still have some work to do but I am grateful for the opportunity and motivation to get started!!

      Before                                       After

Here’s to a long, healthy life!!!

Round Lake State Park

We decided to take a little drive to Round Lake State Park to go fishing and hiking on Saturday.  It was a short trip, but nice to be out, spending time in nature.  Leonard helped the kids fish.  Throckmortons were able to join us.  I didn’t take many pictures, but it was fun for the kids to catch fish and go exploring on the hike.  We live in such a great place.

Mandy’s first fish!

Adorable Shylee with Juniper photo-bombing

Timber helped reel in her first fish too!  She was beyond thrilled!!

Thanks for coming with us Throcks!  We love to have you here to share in all our adventures, and for us to tag along on yours too!