May 2016

Its hard to believe May is here already, the last month of school before summer break! The annual Art Extravaganza at the kid's school was in early May. Artwork is on display all over the school and each grade sings a few songs. This year's theme was Peace - Rachel and her friends were excited to dress up in 1970's garb for the evening. We were treated to a beautiful sunset as we left the show.

The kids completed another year of piano lessons, rounded out with a great recital in May. Their piano teacher has taken on some new, younger students so Rachel and Carson are now the more experienced students in the group!

Here is Rachel with her Sanpete project. Each student was assigned one county in Utah to learn about and Rachel's county was Sanpete. She made a great diorama depicting life in Sanpete and offered turkey and cheese crackers for her snack since there are many turkey farms in Sanpete. It was a fun day at school. 

Carson cub scout pack held their annual Pinewood Derby in May. Each scout gets a block of wood and some wheels to create their own car for the race. Even siblings were allowed to make cars so Rachel was able to join in the fun. Daddy was a big help.

The night of the Pinewood Derby arrived and Carson lined up his car on the track with the others. The boys sat watching, eagerly awaiting the race and the results. Much to Carson's amazement, he came out the victor at the end of the night! His car was unbeatable and he was thrilled. He was a good sport about it. The hard work that he and Daddy put into the car paid off.

For Memorial Day weekend we headed north to see Pete and Jen. We had great weather and were outside all weekend.

Hiking in the foothills near their house.

We brought our bikes and even biked to the Boise Zoo one day! The kids had fun feeding the animals at the petting zoo.

No trip to Boise would be complete without stopping at Pete's office for some foosball and Nerf guns. The kids LOVE playing at Pete's office, especially shooting the Nerf guns which are scattered all around the office, and riding the scooters. Carson is quite sure he's going to be a programmer when he grows up so he can work in a place like Uncle Pete.

A stop at Ben and Jerry's

On the way home we made a brief stop at Idaho Falls to see what the falls actually looked like. They were actually quite impressive and more then we expected.

April 2016

April brought us lots of sunshine and a few warm days. Thank goodness the kids aren't too old for playgrounds yet, a great way to get some fresh air and exercise.

Rachel is now old enough to enjoy a pedicure so we get a 'girls afternoon' once in a while to get our toes done. She likes to get a sparkly flower on her big toe :)

Our little Gracey is growing up! She's about 9 months old now and is starting to look more like a cat than a kitten. She is a wonderful family pet.

In late April we returned to Moab for a weekend to do some more hiking and biking. Moab is becoming one of our favorite vacation spots in Utah! For this trip we visited Canyonlands National Park, an amazing place that reminded us a lot of the Grand Canyon. We had perfect hiking weather!

The kids look on as an artist paints the amazing scenery.

Receiving Junior Ranger badges!

Bike trails go on for miles and miles... 

March 2016

March was a whirlwind of activity at our house and the culmination of several things for the kids. Rachel's first school play was in the middle of March, a 3rd and 4th grade production of Aristocats. The kids did amazing! Carson advanced in cub scouts at the end of March, he earned his Wolf badge after many months of working on the requirements and he is now a Bear. We also celebrated Carson's 9th birthday in March. At the end of March we were able to get away to Moab for a few days during the kids spring break for some much needed R&R.

We found a burger that was too big for Carson!

Ice skating at our local rink, the kids are getting better at skating!

The Aristocats show - Rachel was a cat and a dog. Here is her cat costume.

Rachel is the dog on the far left, such cute costumes.

Carson chose to have his birthday party at Kangaroo Zoo again this year. He invited a big group of boys and they had lots of fun running around and jumping on the bounce-houses.

Carson really wanted this Lego set for his birthday but because of the high price tag we told him it would be his ONLY present for his birthday, including all extended family. He agreed without hesitation and was VERY excited to put this set together. With over 4500 pieces we figured it would take him at least a month to assemble. Much to our surprise, it was all done within six days! Completely on his own!

Carson and Daddy made Campfire Cupcakes to take to the cub scout pack meeting for the cake decorating contest. Daddy made the cupcakes and Carson did the decorating (he aspires to be a chef someday). The cupcakes not only looked good but they were delicious. They won 2nd prize in the contest! Carson was presented with his Wolf badge at the meeting and has now advanced to a cub scout Bear.

 

 

The weather is starting to warm up, time to get out and play.

We were able to spend a few days in Moab at the end of March during spring break. It was so nice to get away and enjoy the sunshine. We hiked out to Delicate Arch, what an amazing sight to behold.

Carson builds a cairn.

Kids holding up Landscape Arch.

Easter morning at our hotel.