Halee's invention

Halee's 2nd grade class have been talking about inventors this month. Their big project was to invent something, that was a real invention or fake. She quickly came up with the idea of a sheet straightener. She always struggles to get her sheets as straight and smooth as she would like. Very clever. She used her doll bed as a small model and we put some eye bolts and threaded some twine with little clips that she pulled and up went the sheet. The teacher told her she thought she could make it into a real contraption. Way to go Halee!!

a patch of green

The weather is getting fickle up here. It's so cold and snowy in the morning, and then the sun breaks through and is so pretty and starts to melt things, but it is still cold outside. The kids spotted a patch of green grass where the slide is and were determined to go outside. Halee put these head masks on herself and Dallin (Dallin quickly removed the goggles), but I thought it was funny. We are so looking forward for spring to reach us way up here in these mountains!!

Easter hunt at "Daddy's work"

The long term care center, that is hooked onto the hospital here, had an Easter egg hunt for the employee's and their families. It's a small place with just two wings. Of course there isn't that many places to hide eggs, and they didn't go into the seniors' rooms, so they were pretty much just on the floor and in chairs. It was all over in about 2 minutes. The kids made bank on the Easter eggs and they thought it was Christmas. Even Dallin got one of the coveted numbered eggs! Fun times. Interesting tidbit, not one of the other kids there has ever had an Easter egg hunt outside!! There has always been snow, so they have had it inside..

A "little" part of my day

This is one of my shadows that follow me around the house doing the chores for the day. The bed was a mountain of laundry and he followed my around as I put towels away, walked back, got each child's stack of clothes and took it to their rooms, walked back and put kitchen towels away. We went upstairs, back downstairs, to the other side of the house, etc.... I walked in to find him conked out on the bed. He had crawled up and gave up.. I know how you feel Dallin. It's a lot of work to keep things up during the day. It's hard to be the mommy!!!

Moose on the loose

I went to pick up Eric from work at the hospital for lunch on our anniversary (March 20), and outside at the back of the entrance was a huge moose!! Wow.. A lot of the workers had come at to have a look. Thank goodness there wasn't an emergency inside. The local sheriff was there to make sure noone messed with it. I think you would have to be pretty silly to mess with those animals! I have an all new respect for these guys! I think I would hit him at about his under carriage. They are massive. I think they finally tranquilized it, and took it to a near by lake or something. It's kind of sad, because all of a sudden, the land that they used to graze and come to, now has people, cars, concrete and building. They just don't know where to go or what to do.

Anyway, it was a good day. Nine years of marriage. Wow. It's flying by!

Easter thought

After dinner the other night, and cleaning up the dishes, I innocently asked the kids why we celebrate Easter. To my shock, the answer, "the Easter bunny and candy!" I got a sideways glance from my father-in-law, and my heart sank. Sometimes I just don't feel that I do any good. I came to my own defense, and said "remember all those lessons we've had, remember the REAL reason." ugh... That was not a good feeling. So, I started rummaging through my old primary books and tried to find the perfect lesson on Easter for FHE. I made copies of a handout for the kids to do, and I felt that I was ready to cram the truth back into their little heads. =) FHE night came, and I was going through my lesson and didn't feel like it was going anywhere. I was stumbling over my words, and noone was listening, and I just felt frustrated. I felt such and urgency to jam pack the lesson so they know the truth. It just wasn't working, and finally Jeffrey said, can we just sing. Bam! It hit me. It was too much for them. I was throwing pearls out to the swines. Then, we pulled out the children's song book, and sang through the songs about Easter, and I know my Savior lives. They sang their little hearts out, and I got tears in my eyes, and I knew that I had done all I could do. This morning, I asked again why we celebrate Easter, and everyone answered, "because of Jesus." phew.. Most of the time I wonder if I am doing my job of teaching these precious spirits I have been given. It's an overwhelming and sometimes scary thing. But all I can do is what I can do. We read scriptures every night, most of the time it's not all understood, but that's ok. At least they are hearing it, right? I just always feel an urgent feeling to teach them so much, but I know that they can't handle the big things yet. Last night we were reading a board book about the Resurrection and Halee asked why there was terrible earthquakes and no light. We told her that the earth was mourning and that every living thing has a spirit. The trees, the rocks, and that blew her mind. Then the question came, "does Heavenly father have a mother and father, and if they do, where are they?" I remember as a kid thinking that for awhile, and just getting a headache. Our feeble little brains have to have things chopped up and cut up for us to understand sometimes.

My favorite part of the drive to town

There are a lot of people with horses here. It's so cool to see them all out in the pastures. These are my favorite animals, they are so powerful and magestic, and yet can be the sweetest and loving animals. There is one pasture where there are two mustangs and they think they are guard dogs. They stand by the fenceline and chase the cars as you go by. I have giggled almost everyday as I drive the kids to school and pass these boys. I finally took my camera with me and snapped them as I drove next to them. They have a pasture full of mares they are in charge of, and it is so cool to see them running through the snow, their manes flowing and the snow being kicked as they run. Sometimes I pull over and give some of the horses that are close a pat. It's nice to be around so many animals. People don't look at them the same here though. Here they are pasture lawn mowers, and pack animals during hunting season, but for me they are a comfort and a beauty!!

Turning 36

So I turned 36 last Monday (March 10), and it was a nice day. I got lots of nice cards from family and friends. It was nice to be remembered on my birthday. I met Eric for lunch with the two younger boys, and we tried a new pizza place in the next town. It was ok, the fountain drink was the best part! For dinner we took all the kids out for Mexican food at another place we haven't tried. Well, when you walk in the door at 6:00pm and you are the only people in the place, it's a good indication that the food isn't good. Oh well, at least we went on a family outing! Then we drove up the canyon and saw some deer, and that was a nice break. I gave myself a present and didn't make one bed, do one dish or fold one piece of laundry. I thought about taking a picture of it, but was too embarrassed, so I didn't!=)

Halee's Honors Day

At the elementary school here, the have a pirate/ocean theme going on. They have an awesome reading program that the kids are very much involved in. It requires lots and lots of reading time at home and at the classroom, in which they read a book(s) and then take a test over the book on the computer. Each book is worth a half a point or a point. After they reach 100 points, they get a fish hat, and then at assembly, they "walk the plank." The librarians dress as pirates, and the whole school yells, "walk the plank" and then they jump into the "ocean" which is the blue mat. It's quite a procession, and it's awesome how the whole school is involved. It is a lot of hours of reading, but she was quite excited when she reached her points. Each 100 points after that is something other reward like lunch at Burger King w/the principal, pizza at pizza hut with your class. Pretty cool, I"m quite impressed and pleased with the school system here. Hey, did I just say a positive? hmm..

A Bird's Eye View

One of Eric's old friends flew over from Salt Lake City last week in his Sesna plane. He "hopped" over for lunch, and took us up to tour the valley. Wow!! Talk about a bird's eye view. Ya know, everything around me is so peaceful and serene, and I just don't know why my stubborn mind won't embrace that this could be home. I don't know... Anyway, back to the point. The first picture is the in-laws house up in the top left of the picture. This shows that we are truly stuck up on a mountain. The second one is a further away view, our road is in the middle of the picture, the second road on the right, and the last picture is actually Jackson Hole as seen from the sky.

A Magestic Sight

This past weekend, we went to Utah to visit family. On the way home, going through Park City area, out in the open fields of snow, there was a part that had a bunch of trees, and there were a bunch of bald eagle nests,and the actual birds perched up in the trees. My camera couldn't get close enough from the road, so I found these from someone else. They capture the beauty and magesty I felt when I saw these birds in the wild. Jeffrey has been learning about the USA and the national symbols, and how cool it was to show him the actual bird. He was quite impressed. It has really been amazing to see these animals out in the open when we are traveling. I am not sure why we are here yet, because things back home sure haven't worked out the way I thought they would. Some days, I just don't want to be here anymore, but then on the other hand, we get to see things like this that we never would back home. The kids have been able to experience true snow, see tons of elk, deer and even Moose in their natural habitat, doing what they do naturally and not behind bars. That part, has been wonderful. I truly don't understand the mysteries of God, but I am doing my best, to enjoy the beauty around me, even though my nerves inside are not quite so beautiful and calm.

Ethan turns 5

This was quite an anticipated day. We went on the weekend to Idaho Falls where the "stores" are, but Ethan wanted to wait until his actual birthday (Feb 25) to open presents. He still wanted a Thomas birthday, and wasn't even phased by my sad cake. There are no bakeries to call up and order, and I am not a decorator of the cakes. Anyway, how fun to be so excited over a toy. He probably only lacks a few trains to have a complete Thomas and friends collection, but each new one is introduced to the other ones at the train yard. He is definitely ready for kindergarten and amazes me each day with how quickly he picks up on things. He is always there when I quiz Halee and Jeffrey with Math flashcards, and recently he has started saying the answers! He is quite our little funny man, and sweet as a bug. I will definitely miss his companionship next year!!

A Snowy Day

What am I talking about? It's a snowy day everyday! But, the sun has been shining and causing us to get outside without the freezing part! It has been beautiful days here, and the kids have been playing outside in the snow. Yes, it is still deep off the plowed parts, but they have had fun. They still eat the snow, no matter what you try to explain to them, so oh well. At least, they are outside in the sunshine. It is quite a sledding run down the drive where Ethan is, but the walk back up is rather tiring!