June 2016

June means swimming lessons for Rachel and Carson and this year was no exception. Each year they get a little bit braver and a little more confident in the water. Here they are jumping off the diving board.

June was a big month for karate! Carson worked hard to complete the 4-hour Crane test. He earned a certificate and a patch to sew onto his karate uniform.

The annual karate tournament was in June this year instead of May. The kids each competed in two events, forms and sparring. They both did very well but the competition was tough.

Towards the end of June Rachel and Carson earned their green belts. Belt tests are designed to push kids to their limit so it was not easy, but they completed the test. Mommy also took some karate lessons this month and earned a yellow belt!

Carson got his braces off in June! His teeth look great and he is relieved to get all that metal out of his mouth.

Enjoying some time at a park on a warm, sunny day.

Some friends had a send-off party for us as we prepared to head off to the UK for 2 years. Rachel and Carson made a cake for the party and frosted it themselves, in honour of our new destination.

Rachel loves to make cupcakes! Here she is with her friend Sophia, they made a big batch of cupcakes and delivered them to some lucky neighbors.

Last hike up our local Cave Peak before heading off to the UK. I will miss my friends!!

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...