Coach Pitch Baseball

Hunter played coach-pitch baseball this spring. It was his first time to play any baseball, and he loved it! He looked forward to his games every tuesday night. Can't wait until next spring!

Our First Pets

I knew it was inevitable..the day I would give in to getting a pet. I kept putting the kids/Rhett off. And the day finally came where I gave in. Rhett was very persistant on getting a dog. I told him a dog is like having another child, so my response was "Absolutley not". So, Rhett coerced me into getting chicks. So, where do we go when we want to buy anything? KSL classifieds...one of my favorite places to shop. We found an ad for 3 chicks and 2 ducks. We didn't want the ducks, but it was a packaged deal. So, we went and picked them up. It was love at first sight for the kids.
They had the chicks and ducks named before we even got home. They loved and cuddled and played with the ducks and chicks. Tate loved his chick so much, that we decided to teach him how to fly. He threw the chick up, and it came down and landed on its head. The next thing I know, Tate comes running in telling me his chick has a headache. I went out to assess the problem, and sure enough, that poor chick had a headache, it was dead. So, we then had a lesson with the kids on "chicks don't need to be taught how to fly".

Two weeks later, the day before we had a friend come up and build a chicken coop, some animal dug under the chicken wire cage and the next morning, they were all gone. Soo sad. Hailey is still convinced that the chicks and ducks dug under the wire and were swimming in the nearby river. I like that thought a lot more than the alternative.

So, we had a nice chicken coop built, with no chicks to put in. Once again, we went to KSL classifieds, and found more chicks for sale...this time, no ducks. We bought 10 of them. And so far, one month later, I am here to report that all 10 of them are still alive and growing fast.
Below is a picture of the chicken coop, in the background. And yes, that is a snake that was found in our backyard. Aaaahhhh! At least it wasn't a rattlesnake.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a great day to honor all the women in the world. I have so many amazing women role models in my life that I try to emulate, including my own mother.
My Mother's Day was wonderful. It started with breakfast in bed...I have to say, the breakfast is getting better with each year. When we were first married, breakfast in bed was a bowl of oatmeal. Now? ...scrambled eggs, just the way I like them, waffles, toast, and a tall glass of orange juice. Not bad....
Above are all the wondeful hand-made gifts..I love them! What's funny is that it seems like yesterday I was making the hand-made gifts at school.

Nana R. was watching some grandkids over Mother's Day weekend. So, we had them up for dinner. Nana R. is a wonderful mother and Nana. Here are all the kids ready for a 4 wheel ride...don't worry, they didn't really ride like this... :)

Rhett surprised me with an "itouch". Though I enjoy this fun little gadget, the kids have soon taken over. Maybe I shouldn't have downloaded so many kid apps. Anyway, Bridger is quite a natural with it. He, and the others, call it the "black game". I found Bridger like this the other day, playing his favorite ABC app.

Hope all you wonderful ladies had a fabulous mother's day!

This and That

We went to Bozeman, Montana last weekend for our nephew's baptism. Though we didn't take any pictures there (sad to say), we did see some wildlife on our way home. The kids thought it was so cool to see a bear walking along the highway, as well as some buffalo.

Hailey had her first official swim meet with her new swim team. She swam the 25m freestyle and 25m backstroke. She did really well. I am amazed at how much she has improved over the past year.

Bronson's new love...the saucer. This saucer has been through all five kids. It has saved my sanity. :)

Bridger has been wanting to "hold Baby" a lot lately. It's really cute, though Bronson is almost as big as Bridger is...and I think their heads are the same size.

This is a typical site at our home. All three boys lined up at the bar, eating their mac and cheese before heading off to school. Their conversations usually consist of their food being healthy so they can run faster and have BIG muscles.

Rhett loves living in the mountains..mostly for the immediate access to wildlife. Across the street is a stream where Rhett loves taking the kids fishing. They caught a nice looking trout. Now I just need to learn how to cook it....

Our spring break consisted of snow (below), swimming at an indoor pool, movies, Nickel arcade, and everything else in between. I really enjoyed not having to be anywhere...just taking it easy.

Bronson found his toes...he is quite flexible.

Easter

It's not Easter without the dying of eggs. Fortunately, we walked away with no spills!

Rhett and Hailey were able to go to the saturday afternoon session of General Conference. Hailey was so excited to go for her first time. She took her new scriptures, her conference packet she made at acheivement days, and was off. She said it was so neat to see the prophet in person.

The Easter Bunny left a note and some clues on where the kids baskets were hidden. He also left a video on Christ's crucifiction and recurrection... The video may have been a little too graphic...Tate is still talking about how it was not nice to crucify Jesus......

They found them! They each got their very own reverent bag filled with quiet activities to keep them occupied during the very long hour of sacrament meeting.

An Easter tradition we have is to go and feed the ducks. I think the ducks were in heaven with all the bread. (Yes, that is snow on the ground...so much for a nice, "spring" Easter...)

Hailey's Baptism

I still can't believe I am old enough to have a child be baptized....not that it's old...it's just that it really came fast. I felt like I had eight short years to prepare her, and now it's here. She was more than ready. Hailey has always had the desire to be good. She is such a great example to me and her brothers.

This being my first baptism of my kids, I wasn't sure what to do or expect. It went very smoothly and it was such a special day. Hailey chose "I Wonder When He Comes Again" as her opening song. I was already crying on the first verse, not a good sign. :) My dad was one of the speakers, and he gave a wonderful talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost. He has a way with speaking, and I think Hailey soaked it all in.

Rhett and Hailey sang "When I am Baptized" as the special musical number. They did such a great job. They had been practicing for a couple weeks. It was really sweet.

Hailey had a good support group come out. It was so neat.

She was so mature about everything...

A quick family shot...trying to wrestle the boys down for this picture was a chore.

Hailey had so many cousins come and support her. We are so thankful for families. This was such a special day for Hailey. I hope she will always remember this day. I feel so blessed.

A Set Back

So, I have been cleaning our home all week, it seems, getting ready for Hailey's baptism this saturday. I have been dusting, organizing, mopping, cleaning, all on top of the daily chores of dishes, laundry, picking up toys....the list goes on.

While I was vacuuming downstairs this morning, Tate comes running down saying, "Bridger is making a mess with flour!". I run to the kitchen to find Bridger, with no longer red hair. He and the kitchen were covered in white flour. And, he was having the time of his life.

I took a deep breath. I tried not to get upset. I was thinking, " My kids don't do this. They know better." Hah! So, I decided to document this event with my camera. After getting these shots, he had his consequence of sitting in the sink while I cleaned up the kitchen. Then I took him outside to shake him off. You gotta admit, it does look like fun!