Patriotic Program

Last night the 3rd graders presented a patriotic program at the school that included singing and snippets of famous speeches from the history of America. They did a wonderful job. Thomas was able to accompany 5 of the songs in the program. It was a very fun evening and very entertaining. Our little ones were mesmerized during the program and hardly moved. We've included quite a few clips so you can get an overall idea of the evening.

Spring's Piano Recital

Spring had her first piano recital last Saturday afternoon. She has been very excited for this day. She invited her school teacher, Mrs. Nesbit, to the recital. Her teacher came and was so cute with Spring. Spring played the hymn, "Come, Ye Children of the Lord" and did beautifully. It makes us so happy that she, too, loves to learn the hymns. We constantly have the hymns being played in our home which we appreciate. She and Thomas also played a duet together. She got nervous with the duet and forgot the first part but was able to come in a little later and finish off beautifully. We appreciate that we never have to remind her to practice. She loves to play the piano! Great job, Spring!

Spring & Mrs. Nesbit Spring & Sis. Evans (piano teacher)

Our Next Adventure

We are moving our family to Kent, Ohio in 4 more weeks! This is a sudden surprise to us and yet we know it is the right decision for our family at this point in time. Joel has been offered and has accepted a position with a new company, Land O' Lakes, which is the reason for this move. It is really far from family and farther than either of us have ever lived. It has been a very difficult decision and yet we are finding peace in the decision because we know it is where we are to be right now in our life. I am so grateful for prayer and personal inspiration without which this would be an even more overwhelming step to take in life.

The company is really taking good care of us for the move. They will pack and move all our goods as well as unpack and put together all the furniture and appliances when they arrive in Ohio. They also have given us the option of having them ship both cars and covering all the airfare for our family to fly to Ohio instead of driving. Let's see...40 hours driving time in a car with 5 little kids and a puppy...or one day of traveling by air. Not a difficult decision for us to make. The kids are super excited to go on an airplane. Spring continues to be astounded and say to us, "I can't believe we get to move on an airplane!"

Joel and I head out in a week to find a place to live. It will be good to have that step taken care of and know exactly where we will be living. This is definitely a huge step in our life as a family and I am so very grateful Joel and I get to do it together with our children. I am also grateful for those in our extended family that have been supportive of our decision.

What Older Brothers Teach Little Sisters

I looked out the back window to see this.....

It was priceless...Mary just couldn't figure out why her pants got all wet and Sammy's didn't!

Spring's Afternoon out with Mom

The kids earn a bead each day that they complete all their responsibilities by dinnertime without any reminders from Mom and Dad. When they have earned 50 beads they get a "date" with either Mom or Dad and get to choose the activity. Spring and Thomas both earned this before Spring Break and we just hadn't paid up yet. Spring decided today on her chosen activity. She wanted me to take her to get her nails painted. She loved picking out the color and the sparkles they put on her nails as well. Where did this daughter of mine come from? I have Wendy and Aunt Alanna to thank for this since they taught her all about getting her nails done! I really enjoyed our time together this afternoon talking and sharing time with just her. On the way home we stopped at the store to get buns for dinner and she was able to get a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I'm sure you can all picture the smile on her face this brought...afterall she ADORES chocolate!

Joshie's 1st Haircut

BEFORE PICTURES

Joel decided today it was time for Joshie to have a haircut. It is difficult to see he even has any hair unless it is in the wind and standing up on end since it is so light. The back had cute little curls though and Mom, as always, has a hard time with the first haircut. I relented though. Joshie was not a fan of getting his haircut especially since Sammy and Mary were having jello and he wanted to eat jello. From the front it really doesn't look much different but he looks a lot different from the back now with the curls gone and it cleaned up so much. Our little man is growing up.

AFTER PICTURE

Sammy's Newly Acquired Skill

Sammy has successfully learned to ride his bike without training wheels or, in his words, "with just 2 wheels!" We worked with him for a while on Friday afternoon and then Saturday while we were at the temple Cassie helped him some more and he is now a pro! We went for a walk Saturday evening and he rode his bike the whole way! Now he is even better at getting away from me quickly! What were we thinking when we taught him to ride his bike?! :)

Spring's Creation

Spring had a school assignment to build a bug. She decided to build a bee and she wanted Daddy to help her. They decided to make it using paper mache. They began it during Spring Break and completed it once we got home. She is very proud of her bee which she named, "Buzz."

She also LOVES Scout. He runs to her as soon as she walks into the house. He follows her everywhere she goes and she loves to hold him and cuddle him. They go on walks together all afternoon. She is so good with him. It has been fun to see them together.

Mary is now 3!

Last week we celebrated Mary's 3rd birthday. It was so fun to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house for her birthday. Grandma asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she responded, "Macaroni and Cheese!" So, Grandma made homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was delicious and Mary LOVED it. She ate so much. Grandma also made little brownies and everyone got to decorate their own brownies with frosting, M&M's, and marshmallows. Mary was in heaven as everyone sang to her. Her smile says it all.

We love our little Mary. She has an infectious smile and giggle. She will give you a little smile whenever she is caught doing something in hopes she will get out of any trouble. She loves to mimic everything that anyone says. Sometimes that is cute and sometimes it gets really old! She is our little singer and has such a cute voice. She loves to sing, "I am a Child of God", "Follow the Prophet", "I Know that My Savior Lives", and "Popcorn Popping." She is very motherly with her dolls as well as Joshie. I often find her changing Joshua's diaper and amazingly enough, Joshua sits still for her. She goes through diapers and wipes for her doll like they just appear magically (thankfully Grandma made her some diapers for her babies). She is a sweet and fun loving girl. We love having her in our family.

Not so "Spring-Like" Spring Break

We went to Washington for Spring Break this year. We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. We even got to meet Lydia and play some with Isaac. We surprised the kids with a new addition to our family...Scout, a new puppy. They all love him so much but there is no comparison to the love Spring has for this little puppy. Grandma did some crafts with the kids. Grandpa took Thomas to the gun range for target shooting and they built a bird house together for cub scouts. We enjoyed playing games and spending time together and, of course, made a trip to IKEA. We enjoyed going to the waterfront on the one dry day of the week. Joshie was fascinated by being able to throw rocks in the water. He did it over and over and over. Joel flew to Minnesota for 2 of the days. I am glad he chose to fly out then instead of this week when we got home from the trip. Friday morning we were surprised with a snow storm. The kids loved playing in the snow and having a snowball fight with Aunt Kim. We had a little Easter egg hunt on Saturday morning before enjoying conference. We are so grateful we could spend so much time with family and look forward to being together again.

We left early Sunday morning to drive home. The drive was going really well and we were enjoying listening to conference on the way. We were making great time until we got to Weed (just inside the California border). Snow was coming down hard and chains were required to get through the pass. After about 40 minutes at a gas station (where Thomas threw up all over the floor of the convenience store) and $60 later we had some tire chains and we continued through the pass. It was slow going through the blizzard like conditions. Thomas was in the van throwing up into every available plastic bag we could find and Sammy kept asking if we could drive up the side of the mountain instead of along the road. We were stopped for about 30 minutes in the pass to allow a plow to come through. We made it through just in time; however, because the pass was closed soon after we started through it. We thought we were home free once we got through the pass. Little did we know we would soon hit monsoon type rains outside Sacramento. I have never seen rain come down so fast and so much water on the roadways. We traveled about 20 MPH for about 40 miles because we could hardly see the front of our own van. Thankfully, the rain began to let up and was not so intense for the remainder of the drive. About an hour outside of Fresno I had fallen asleep with my feet up on the dash. My feet slipped and hit the button to roll my window down. This wouldn't be a big problem except for the fact that the window does not roll back up for some time after it has been rolled down. So, we were driving in the rain with high wind gust warnings and the passenger window all the way down. The kids, who had been asleep, woke up cold so we bundled them up with blankets and jackets and cranked up the heat. Joel stopped at a gas station and took off the panel to the door but could not get the switch to work. We got a plastic garbage bag to cover the window and started driving. We just wanted to get home at this point. After driving with the plastic bag on the window for about 20 minutes I had the distinct impression to try to roll the window back up. Gratefully, it rolled up. We looked at each other with relief. Joel said, "Only after the trial of our faith." I added, "And after we do all that we can do." I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven that answers our prayers. We finally arrived home around 2 am after leaving at 5:30 am the morning before. We are grateful for the safety we had and the protection through the crazy weather so we could get home safely and Joel could get to work at 6 am this morning! I am amazed by his ability to just keep going even when it is difficult!