Turkey Time

Spring season also brings Turkey hunting season for our family.  Leonard had been looking forward to taking Kaydra turkey hunting again this year.  The youth get to hunt for two weeks before the general hunt opens.  My little girl was successful in her turkey hunt again this year!  It’s sometimes hard for me to believe that I am raising a hunter in my daughter – but she seems to enjoy it and especially enjoy her time with dad. 

Her dad called the turkey to her and she shot it with her first shot.  Not bad for a girl of mine!

Haircuts All Around

This past month has been a month for haircuts in our family as you may have noticed from some of the other pictures.  First, Miranda and Kanyon had their hair cut before we left for spring break.  Kanyon just needed it, as all boys seem to do so often.

Miranda and I were tired of fighting over combing her hair in the morning.  It was a struggle each morning and it seemed to always be in a tangled mess.  She wanted it cut, and I wondered why I was fighting her about it.  Her hair is SO much better and easier to take care of now!

AND so cute!  But don’t ask her about it because, as she says, “Why does everyone keep saying that—I know my hair is cute!”  She is full of questions and comments about life lately.  One of our favorite recently was when she was playing the game, “Here is the church, here is the steeple…” with Michelle in Boise.   When it came time for the part, “Open the doors, and they all run away”  Miranda said, “They can’t go yet, they haven’t been to class!”  Awesome! 

While we were in Idaho Falls, I made appointments for Kaydra and I to get hair cuts.  Kaydra has been asking for quite sometime for a haircut – I mostly just wanted to make sure it was what she really wanted.  She was able to donate 13 1/2 inches to Locks of Love.  It was a HUGE change for her!

I just trimmed a few inches and had it thinned a lot.  I told the hairdresser, “Thin it a lot and then, when you think you are done, thin it just a bit more.  I promise I won’t notice!”  I think I lost 10 pounds!

We are going through a lot less shampoo at our house now!

Spring Break

Our spring break this year was was packed full of many fun activities.  We got to see many people we haven’t seen in quite awhile.  It was awesome.  We started by heading to Boise for Easter and Emma’s baptism!  We were so happy that we could be there for her special day and we are so proud of her choice to be baptized. 

Isn’t she pretty!  Timber doesn’t look too happy, but she was – promise!  While we were there we were able to celebrate Easter with them too!  We decorated eggs and had an egg hunt in the backyard.

The weather was beautiful and the kids even got a little sunburnt!  Can’t wait for summer!!  Thanks for having us, Stephans!  We had a great time!  We enjoyed going to church with them the next day and just visiting with them.  We are so blessed to have them be part of our family!  On Monday, we dropped Leonard off at the Boise airport so he could fly home and work while we spent the next week in Idaho Falls. 

We had a great time there too – except each kid took their turn having a stomach bug so someone was sick most of the time we were there.  This limited us a little bit, but we were still able to do the things that were the most important to us.  We saw cousins, played with cousins, saw Jackson (just home from his mission to Peru in February), saw Iriel (Courtney and Dan’s new baby girl), and PLAYED WITH COUSINS!  It’s the one thing that the kids wanted to do.  It was good to see everyone. 

We also had the opportunity to be there when the family celebrated my grandparents 70th wedding anniversary!  They are amazing people and I feel so blessed to have them as my grandparents.   We had a little program where Kaydra played the violin, uncle Steve sang a song he wrote, and Grandpa and Uncle John spoke. 

It was awesome to see so many family members that I haven’t seen for awhile.  After the short program we had a delicious lunch.  My slice of prime rib was absolutely perfect – even now I would like some more! I totally stole some of these next pictures from my cousin Stephanie’s blog – but I don’t care because they are awesome!

Thanks so much to everyone who went to all the trouble to make it happen.  Our family is so blessed! 

Kanyon’s Addicted

In our house every change of season brings another outdoor activity to pursue.  Spring time means steelhead fishing.  This usually means an early (like 4:30) morning with a 3 hour drive to Orifino, Idaho to get the best fishing hole before someone else gets there first.  This year, Leonard took Kanyon out of school just before Spring Break to give him a taste of what it is to fish for steelhead in north Idaho.  I think he liked it – just a little bit.

How happy does this kid look?!  Glad you had a good time buddy!

Surprise!!

So we have one more photo to post from Hawaii….

Hopefully you can figure out what it means – if not, then you might have to wait until OCTOBER!!!!

How old are you?

I feel like the first half of the year mostly consists of me blogging about birthdays.  On the plus side, by March, half of our family birthdays are over so there will be other things to blog about. 

This is just a short post on how I turned another year older on March 5.  We were “caked-out” by then so I asked for a pie for my birthday.  I really wanted a pecan pie but apparently, they only make those during the holiday season so Leonard picked me up blueberry instead.  We had a little party with just me, Leonard and the kids.  It was nice.  Leonard took me out to Red Robin for my birthday lunch – if you have never tried their Bonsai Burger, you are missing out – it’s simply amazing!  I order it every time we go – I don’t know why I even bother looking at the menu.

Miranda was disappointed in my birthday.  She said it was the most boring birthday ever because no one came.  I told her it was just fine with me.  She still had her doubts.  Sara heard about Miranda’s frustration and made a pecan pie for me that we ate on Sunday.  Sara is awesome.  Miranda thought it was slightly improved but still was upset we didn’t have a real shin-dig.  Maybe next year!  I received many birthday wishes and phone calls and was simply just content.  Thank you to everyone who thought of me on the most boring birthday ever!!

Kanyon

It’s time to post a bit about my favorite son! Kanyon had a birthday on March 2.  It’s hard to believe that he is 9 years old.  I was just thinking the other day about what a great kid he has become.  He is happy and helpful (when he wants to be) and seriously has the best smile.  He is loving scouts and is so excited for another season of baseball to begin.  He has been carrying around his mitt and ball like they are glued to his hands….begging for someone to play catch.  He’ll even play with Miranda if she’s willing. 

We celebrated his birthday with just family this year.  We decided to pretend the weather was warmer then it really was and have a barbeque!  Of course, we had to eat inside.  But nothing tastes better then food cooked on a grill. 

Kanyon wanted a Camouflage cake this year.  It was tough to get the right color combinations.  When we put the Army guys on the cake, it made everything better.  He seemed to be happy with it.   Plus, it was chocolate filled with strawberry jam – who can complain about that?! 

I am proud of Kanyon and the person he is becoming.  He is fascinated by the stories in the Book of Mormon that we read and it makes me realize how amazing some of those stories truly are when I read them with Kanyon.  Every time I go to his parent-teacher conferences at school the teachers tell me what a good friend he is. They say, “His grades are good, but he is SO kind to everyone.”  That is important to us – almost more important then grades.  I am proud that he thinks to include kids who aren’t normally included and that he wants to make everyone feel special once in a while.  Those are the things that will take you places in life, buddy! 

I love that he loves to play with his sisters and that he remembers his dreams with such vivid detail that he could tell me about them for hours after waking up.  I love that he loves to be outside and that he appreciates the things he sees and finds in nature – even if we are constantly trying to remind him that he doesn’t need to pick up everything he sees on the ground.  I love that at the end of the day, he still lets me tuck him into bed and kiss him goodnight and that if he has a book to read, he might stay up until dawn.  I love that he loves me, and he’s not afraid to show it – yet !  Thank you, Kanyon, for choosing me as your mom and for making my life better each day.  You are amazing!