Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had a terrific Easter holiday! We hunted eggs with the Andrews cousins and with Loughney cousins, and we hunted eggs in our jammies Easter morning.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Here are a couple pictures that wouldn't fit in the slide show, but I liked them!

Nearly Two (Buckle Our Seatbelts!)

My first two boys were the epitome of easy-going and mellow babies. My two girls were not, but that is another story. From the beginning Brennan has been determined to make his own pattern. He has been a funny combination spunky, snuggly, feisty, and sweet. He already has a terrific sense of humor, and he cracks himself - and us - up constantly. He likes to jump out from behind a door or wait for me in the pantry and then yell, "Boo!" If he gets bored he'll climb under a table and call out "Where Brennan??" He has a goofy game of pretending to be asleep while riding in his carseat, and he giggles when we all pretend to shush each other so he can sleep. He is talking like crazy now, and he has a LOT to say. And when he gets mad...Wow! Watch out! 'Sorry' was one of the first words he learned because he was constantly whacking someone in the head with a toy.

So I shouldn't have been surprised at the new phrases that have just popped up in his vocabulary recently. Such as: "My do it!" "No want to!" and "NOOOOOOO" as he runs full speed away from a diaper change, or shoes, or jacket, or vegetables. I remind myself that independence is an important developmental step, and a good thing. But that doesn't make it easier to deal with. Then he flashes me that impish little grin and I decide it's all worth it.

High-Flying Home Evening

We've had such windy weather lately, we decided that for Family Home Evening we would fly our kites. The kids looked forward to it for several days beforehand. I was secretly worried that the wind would fizzle out on us, but it blustered all evening. As soon as Dad came home from work, we grabbed our kites and headed to the park behind our house.



Unfortunately, all three of our kites broke within the first fifteen minutes. (I guess you get what you pay for when you spend a buck a piece on kites). But Kyler was undaunted. He must have run twenty laps around the park, dragging just a few feet of string and a kite which occasionally bounced up and caught some air.


THAT'S determination!
Eventually the activity turned into a game of family tag on the playground, and that was fun, too.

Wilson Pond

Saturday afternoon the weather was mild and we had some cabin fever, so we packed up some junk food and the kids and went fishing with the Williamsons. We headed to Wilson Ponds, just a few minutes from our house. Unfortunately there was not a fish in sight, but we did some bird watching, ate junk food, and still had a fun time. It was just nice to be out. We felt lucky to get a cool little spot all to ourselves, but now that I think of it, maybe no one wanted to come near the crazy people with nine children. hmmm. Anyway, the older boys tried fishing for a while. The younger kids didn't even want to pose with a fishing pole and the only shots I got of them were climbing trees - or eating.


Cool hat, Parker!


Brennan nabbed four cookies at once!





After a while we switched from fishing to tossing worms to the ducks. Then there was an interesting but R-rated incident with the ducks. It prompted some uncomfortable questions, "Mommy! What are they doing?!" Of course, Oscar got the whole thing on camera. I joked about whether or not to include that on the blog. Oscar said, "Oh, you KNOW it's going on mine!" So, if you are over 17 years old or accompanied by your guardian you may check out Williamsons blog for the details if you are curious. (Unless Vicki found out and unplugged the computer first. ha!ha!)

And then just as we were packing up and I was congratulating myself on keeping all nine kids from falling in the water, Shaylie fell in. She screamed hysterically, naturally, but since the water was only eight inches deep it didn't cause too much panic in the rest of us. She was completely soaked, though. Ah, well.

Grandma's Hungry Ducks

My wonderful mother has been sweet enough to keep my monkeys for me while I take an institute class every Tuesday morning. The kids cheer every time I tell them it is "Grandma Day." Last week I came back in time to tag along with them on one of their walks to feed the ducks. Grandma lives on a beautiful green belt. If I remember right it was 35 degrees that day. But the kids didn't mind, and neither did the ducks.

What shoe are you?

My calling at church right now is Activity Days Leader. Last week we held our special recognition night; our theme was a twist on the scripture in D&C 19:10. It was called "The Worth of 'Soles'." As part of the activity, we set up a display table and invited each girl to bring the pair of shoes they think best describes some part of their personality. There was a little card attached for them to explain. I had to do it, too. I had a hard time, but finally decided on a pair of hiking boots. I wrote, "I chose these shoes because like me, they like to be outdoors (as long as its sunny). And like me, they're not very stylish but they are made to go the distance."

When I came home, Carter had not seen what I brought and I asked him for his opinion of what shoe best describes my personality. He thought for a minute and then said, "Maybe your Uggs? They are warm and comfy, and you like to be warm and comfy." Hmmm. I suppose that's true, but I hope that's not the defining characteristic of me. I was also fairly offended that he picked such a big, sloppy, clunky shoe. "Is that how you see me??" I asked. Poor Carter...I don't know if there would have been a correct answer. He hates it when I ask him stuff like that.

So, just for fun, I'm opening it up to you. If you had to pick a shoe that describes some part of you, what would it be?

Bearack Obama

The photo below captures a trend that is beginning to affect wildlife in the U.S. Anticipating the Obama presidency, animals that were formerly self-sufficient are already modifying their behavior to take advantage of what they expect to be a new set of societal norms in the next four to eight years. This black bear from Montana has ceased hunting for a living and is sitting outside the US Fish & Wildlife Service office in Kalispell, apparently waiting to be fed and to have his winter den dug by government employees. The residents of Kalispell are calling him 'Bearack Obama'. (Thanks, Suzanne, I had to share this!)

Wintery Play Day

Last Saturday we took a chance to get away and have some family adventures. The Winter Festival was going on in McCall, so we drove up there to see what's happnin'. This was our first time making the trek. It was a gorgeous day for playing - clear blue skies and mild temps. Can I just tell you, the ice sculptures were INCREDIBLE! The theme was fantasy so there were sculptures of dragons, castles, wizards, and a really fun one where they re-created CandyLand! It had a candy cane forest, lollypop land, bridges, paths, and slides. Amazing. Here are some of my favorite pictures, although I didn't do the sculptures justice since it is hard to photograph snow.

Jayden taking a pit-stop:)


Carter putting in a day at the mine.


This sculpture won first place. Beside the dragon was a big castle, complete with a dungeon underneath, a king and queen on their thrones, turrets, and a tunnel and a slide!


The girls are standing in front of my favorite one, although it is hard to appreciate how cool it is from my pictures. There was this enchanted forest, with faces on all the trees, and layers of detail carved inside, like walls and doors, and sitting atop the forest rose a beautiful castle.







I know this post is getting long, but I can't forget the second half of the day, when we went ice-fishing at Horsethief Res. It was such a pretty lake, we agreed that we have to come back here in the summer, too. Carter has this terrific little ice hut where we set up chairs and stay cozy in between running around like crazy people on the ice. We pulled the kids on sleds, Jayden had a good time shooting this bow and arrow at nothing, oh, and Carter fished. The fishing was a little lame, unfortunately, but the kids were fascinated by Dad's fish-finder and they played with worms and rolled bobbers across the ice. Once poor Brennan stepped in somebody's old hole and soaked one leg. After my heart started again, I kept him much closer, as I could just picture my whole baby slipping down through a hole next time. Ahhh! And note to self - bring dry socks for everyone next time!



Nice air-conditioning in those jeans, Carter!

Duck Hunting Duo

Carter and Jayden were off early this morning on a duck hunting adventure. One of Carter's clients owns a private island on the Snake River and he invited them to hunt with him. They rode out to it on a jet boat (a highlight for Jayden). From their description it sounds like a hunter's paradise. There was a cozy, heated blind and lots of ducks. They were really pretty birds, called GoldenEyes.

Poor Makenna's Faceplant

Makenna slipped on the ice yesterday coming home from school. With her hands in her pockets, she landed on her face, as you can see. She was a bloody mess and nearly hysterical. A bump was raising right before my eyes. It took some work to calm us all down and clean her up. I took this picture this morning, but I should have waited because the blue-black eye is deepening as the day goes on. She was pretty tough, though, once the initial trauma wore off. So my question to any friend out there with medical savvy... should I medicate her shredded cheek with Neosporin and bandage it or leave it alone?

Everyday Happenings

One Sunday my boys decided they all wanted to match. (Actually I guess Kyler decided to copy Jayden so they would all match, but Jayden played along and Brennan wears whatever we put on him. ) Of course I had to take a picture of my little men in kacky pants, white shirts, and bolo ties. Those bolo ties are special, too. The one Jayden is wearing was given to him by a wonderful man in our ward. It has an Indian brave on horseback. Kyler is wearing one with a real scorpion that was Grandpa Mawson's. And Brennan is wearing a wooden/turquoise tie that was my dads.


Every kid has to have a few pictures in the album of himself with food all over his face, just to humble him when he gets big and starts thinking he's hot stuff.

Makenna decided to get a haircut, which I think is absolutely adorable. She may have done it just so I would stop pestering her everyday about pony-tails and braids. She's not a fussy kind of girl, but she sure is beautiful!

This was one of those beautiful moments when a mom sees a glimmer of shining hope. I asked Jayden to rinse and Makenna to load dishes after dinner the other night and I busily hurried on to some other task. When I passed by again, here they were, blaring music on the stereo, chatting together happily, and actually doing a really good job! This rekindling my constant hope that someday my sweet children really will pull their own weight around the house and, even better, actually like each other!

Our Garden Valley Adventure

The day after Christmas our family decided to brave the snowy weather and take a weekend trip up to Grandma and Grandpa Andrews' cabin. We had a terrific time and I will treasure the memories, but we did end up having a bit more of an adventure than we'd bargained for.

We traveled carefully on slick, snow-packed roads to find around three feet of snow at the cabin. (That was in the level areas - MUCH more in the drifts). Luckily we'd brought sleds and we used them to get the little kids and the suitcase up to the house.





Next is Carter chasing the children with a dead mouse he was emptying from a trap. Nice, Dad. They really are loving it, as you can see. That's what dads are for.



We left all our Christmas gifts behind except for a couple new boardgames. So we spent the weekend out playing in the snow and playing games inside when we wanted to warm up. It was so nice. There was one memorable trip to the hotsprings pool, skipping barefoot through slush into the water, and soaking while snowflakes swirled around our heads. It was one of those things, like eating at McDonalds, that you only do because you have kids.

Here are some shots of the children playing in the snow and a few shots for Grandma and Grandpa to see how much snow was here. I think Grandpa will congratulate himself for deciding to stay in Arizona this Christmas.





This is the back end of Large Marge.


I took these pictures on Saturday. There were about two feet of additional snow Sunday, but I didn't get any more pictures because by then were trying to figure out how we were going to get home. Carter borrowed some chains from another vehicle and with some creativity and shoelaces (just kidding) he managed to make them work long enough to get us onto a plowed road. It ended just fine and it was a neat end to the Christmas holiday.