Easter Weekend

Well Easter was a week ago, but that doesn't mean I cannot write about it. We started our Easter weekend out with a bang! Sophie and Elisabeth (Krista's nieces) were up visiting her. Well Friday was the last day that we could visit with them so we got up extra early and went to say out good byes.:( I decided to let Cassie stay home and help me get a few things done. Also they were spending the night at my moms and I didn't want to pull her out of school early, again! So we ran to the store to grab a few last minute items and Cass was telling everyone, as in strangers in the store, who she is, how old, and that she got to stay home while her sister had to go to school. Jessie choose to go to school because they were having an easter party. This is her fine easter bonnet that she made!! Anyway we died eggs, made cinnamon rolls and had a great time on Friday. I left the kids and Jer and I attended the temple with a few couples from the ward and we did sealings. That was amazing!!! (Is that okay to post about temple work?!) The next day Jer and I had trek training. We learned to build shelters, tie knots and cook in a dutch oven. We also learned how to prepare physically. It was really fun and interesting. We finished Saturday off with some yard work and baths. Sunday was good. The easter bunny brought some gifts of spring to the kids, some flip flops, sunglasses a book and ben got his first John Deere hat. Joanie took our picts and we had a great dinner at my moms. I really enjoyed Primary this month talking about the Savior and contemplating the atonement. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father and his unconditional love for us. I am grateful for Him sending a Savior for us and for Christs willingness to suffer and die for us. I am grateful for the ability to be resurrected and to have eternal life. I am grateful to all you who are such wonderful influences and teachers of the gospel. Thank you.

Spring Break

Last Week the girls we on spring break. We had hoped for nice weather, but it was pretty rainy. The week went by super fast. On Monday they spent the night at big grandmas while I went and got my hair done. I also watched Anne of Green Gables and sat in a house that was a little too quiet. On Tuesday they went and seen the dentist, probably one of their favorite places to go. They are all cavity free!! Wednesday and Thursday they tagged along with me while I went to my moms to work on the trek clothes. I am happy to report that I have 2 aprons, pantaloons and 3/4 of a dress. I am grateful for the chance that this has given me to work with my mom.
On Friday and Saturday Jer helped some people in our ward put a wall in their back yard. We went over and played and the kids got lots of rides with Jer on the machines. Ben had to go to the dr on Saturday, he was miserable with an ear infection, so he was put on antibiotics. :(. He slept peacefully last night and seems to be back to his happy self today.

Way back in January

So, back in January, it might have been the first week of Febuary, there was a weekend of spring like weather. We met up with Rich, Krista and Bailee and headed to point defiance park. We went to Owens beach to walk and enjoy the lovely day. The girls were looking for shells and rocks while Ben was just standing in one spot at the edge of the water, throwing rocks. Krista and I were walking ahead a little, with the girls shortly behind while Jer and Rich were trying to convince Ben to come on. I turned around just in time to see Ben charge straight into the water!! He was about up to his waist, just standing there looking like he was wondering how he got there. Jer didn't want to step in and get his shoes wet so he stretched and tried to grab ben by the collar of the coat to pull him back, but he accidently bumped him and ben stumbled forward, putting his face in just before Jer grabbed him. Keep in mind all this happened in less than 30 seconds, it was so fast. Poor little guy, he was so cold and wet. We had a change for him in the van, thank goodness. It exhausted him, and he slept for the rest of the afternoon. As for me I have a new found paranoia. This made me realize how fast the little guys can be and how quickly they can get themselves into a danger.

just waiting...

We are anxiously awaiting the nice weather to be here and in the mean time we are trying not to go stir crazy. Ben and Jeremy have been working on their muscles. Jer wants to get into better shape and gain some muscle weight. He is working hard both at work and sometimes on the weekends. He has been released as Elders Quorum Pres and has been subing in Primary (I think he wishes for his calling back!) He has been taking the girls on daddy daughter dates which they all love.
Ben is starting to say a few things, just last night he said "Ben boy" at the dinner table. Ben also likes to vacuum, wipe things down, sweep and scream at the top of his lungs (I am surprised glass does not break when he does this).

Cassie got her bangs cut and is doing well in school. She is starting a little gymnastics class in April. she is excited for her baptism in Dec and likes to tell everyone about it.

Jessie turned 6 in March. Jessie is loosing more teeth and reading everything she can get her hands on. She also would like to start piano lessons. Jessie loves to play house and pretend she's mom. It gets confusing for me because then I become grandma and whenever I hear one of them calling "mom" I answer and they say, "not you, your the grandma!"

Abby is quite independant these days. She never likes to keep her clothes on, but she loves to hug Ben and help whenever she can. We are looking into preschool and musikindergarten for her in the fall.
I am learning to french braid, coupon (thank you Lynnea) and I am going to try my hand at sewing a dress. We have started working in the garden, but also plan to plant some planters here for the kids to care for and enjoy. We have also been having the kids help out more around the house. They all have chores to do everyday after school and on Saturdays. They sure aren't liking it, but it has made cleaning a little easier. Spring break is next week. We dont have any plans other than to have fun and to be outside as much as possible.

This one's for you Janni

Time has slipped by, again. I knew it had been a while since I have updated the blog but since August?!! WOW!! Well we have been staying busy. Ben got his first tooth. He is up to 4 now with more getting ready to pop through any day. He also started to "woof" and say "uh oh" this last week.
Jessie lost her 1st tooth in October. It got loosened up at school during snack and by 4 o'clock that very day, her and big grandma had coaxed it out! Jessie is doing well in kindergarten too. Her teacher says she is a very good helper and stays on task. She also had finished her kindergarten assesment book by nov. Which means she know what the kindergartners should know before they go into first grade. They put her on a reading program and she is loving it.
Abby is talking more and more everyday, she can spell her name, recongnize most colors, count to ten and tattle on her sisters with the best of them. Her and Ben have become little pals too.
Cassie is doing great in first grade. She is learning number scales, she is doing lots of reading, she loves recess, She can go all the way across the monkey bars now, & she does good on her spelling tests. When you ask her how school was she rates it based upon the number of "think times" other kids get for that day. She just doesn't like to see others sad. We don't have them enrolled in any type of sports or lessons at this time. They are always getting flyers sent home and want to do everything. Its hard to find that balance of letting them have their stuff and not feeling overwhelmed with activities to get to.
We had the cousins from the christensen side for a sleepover back in October... the kids loved it.
Jer has been having fun at work. He got his CDL in November. So no more horsin around while driving or it equals big trouble. He did some snow plowing in November when we had snow around thanksgiving. He also spread de-icer one night. He got home from work at 3:00... am. That was a long day. He has his idaho itch again, but I don't think that will ever go away. He has been able to have a few 3 day weekends with us which has been nice. Ben and him are side kicks, so Ben usually isn't too happy come Monday morning with no dad around. He is still Elders Quorum President.
I have been doing what mom's do best. Taking the kids to and from school is time consuming, but in my opinion, way better than the bus. Primary has a lot of "busy" stuff happening. I am over cub scouts now. So I have a meeting once a week. I am excited to become familiar with the program so when its Bens time, I know whats happening. We had a great fall and christmas season we especially enjoyed seeing Janni Caleb and Kyler.
Our hopes this year are to focus on where we would like to be, figure out how to get there and to be happy along the way.

B is 1!!

Can you believe it? Our little man is already a year old. He is such a little stinker... in a cute and adorable way. He is walking, not all the time but when he feels the need he goes. He says momma and dadda and has developed a high pitch scream. He does it when he's happy but it may be even louder than Abby's stinker scream. His cry even seems to be louder lately ans he is constantly chattering. He is even more shy and clingy than ever!!! Yay! He is turning into a Daddys boy though, he wants nothing to do with me if dad is around, unless its bed time. He is generally a happy guy. He loves to be outside and around his sisters. Our favorite feature is his very contagious smile. He knows the camera and is pretty willing to cheese it up for that. We are so grateful to have him as part of our family! It has been a great year. Happy Birthday Ben Boy!

A week away

We have been gone for a little over a week on a little family vacation. It was great. We left last Saturday the 14th and drove to a little place named Anaconda, MT. It is about a 1/2 hour west of Butte. It took a few rest stops and a couple hours longer than planned to get there, but over all the kids handled the long drive well. We spent 3 days there, hiking, seeing some waterfalls, we visited a ghost town, we slid down their 40 tall slide- so fun!! We went to a few parks and just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. We then started for Idaho. On our way we stopped at fairmont hotsprings and swam the day away. They had several pools hot and cooler -93degrees and a huge slide the Cassie & Jessie loved (mom & dad didn't mind it either:). Abby over came her water fear she seemed to develope over the winter. There was a part that was chest deep on her. She put her arms out straight and hopped in the pool. It was so cute, her hopping with this huge smile. Fr the rest of the vacation she wanted to go swimming, and she did, no matter what the temperature of water. Yeah Abby!! Anyway, we drove to Idaho and stayed in Idaho falls. Our room happened to have a view of the temple. Abby was super excited about that and she wanted to go there. We went to Bear World and played there a few hours and just relaxed on Tuesday.
Wednesday we drove to our campground. We had so much fun camping, none of us wanted to leave. The kids swam in the river and hotspring pool, we fished, played, ate and ate and even got to see a little brown bear. We went with Rich & Krista and some of Riches family. They are great people and the kids have a few new friends. We are glad we went and hope to do it again next year!!