Busy week!!

Our Awards/performance week started off by going to Kassidy's Scholarship awards assembly.
She was presented with a certificate for her scholarship to BYU. GO COUGARS!!!





Next came Audrey's orchestra concert where she played so beautifully!!



The next morning was Jr High awards assembly.
Here Audrey is getting an award for being in the Science Olympiad club!



Zach received an award for his GPA being above a 3.75


Audrey received an award for having a 4.0 GPA



That night we went to the choir concert where Audrey and Zach performed a medley of Grease music and dance numbers. They are both in the show choir and go to the school at 7am 3 days a week to learn their numbers. They have had a great year! Because of budget cuts, there will be no show choir next year....






Zach was also in the 7th grade choir classes. His instructor asked him to audition for the perfect harmony choir next year. She said he has a really good singing voice, however, Zach turned her down because he wants to get some other classes in next year.
Here he is being awarded the best male student in his choir class!!!
Audrey also got an award for being one of the best in show choir...


The next morning we went to seminary where Audrey was presented 2 awards, one for reading 270 days of scriptures, and one for memorizing all 25 scripture masteries. Way to go!!!

So you see, our week was filled with lots of awards and concerts. WE LOVE OUR KIDS!!!!

Shooting Range

Kevin calls him "dead eye Joe"... Where one bullet went, the next followed. He shot 100 rounds at the shooting range with the scouts and some fathers. He still doesn't favor shooting, but he sure is good at it!

Best Friends

Every one needs a best friend growing up. These two girls have become inseparable since kindergarten. They share the same birthday (born 1 hour apart in two different states). They finish each others sentences, laugh together and they have even learned to work out the differences. I just love these two girls!!

Zach's New Addition...

We have ordered the insulin pump and it will be here in a week...then it is time to get trained. We are all so excited!!!

There comes a time.....

I still can't believe my oldest daughter is graduating from High School. Tonight she graduated from Seminary. For those who read this and do not know what seminary is, it is a class the kids take in high school, all four years, that is taught by members of our church. They teach the kids the scriptures and how to lead a life of spiritual strength, service and how to be a good person. It is a great tool to have in life, the knowledge of our Father in Heaven, his love for us and our Savior. I am so proud of her for her dedication these past 4 years in attending seminary and strengthening her testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. She has had fabulous teachers who have led by example. I am just so proud of her.

Spring has sprung....

You know spring has arrived when it is time to get the hummingbird feeders out....
We love to watch them come and get drinks..




We had a nest out our back door on the rain gutter where a momma robin laid 4 eggs. We have been watching her and yesterday Audrey said she saw the momma bring a worm so she was sure the eggs had hatched.....Well at least 3 have. It is spring time!!!









Our lilacs are in full bloom. I love the smell of lilacs when the wind in blowing and carrying the scents through our bedroom window...



Flowers spring up in the oddest places....



Gnomes are a welcome sight in the flower beds....
I love the spring!!



I am so excited for my peonies to bloom. I was once told that ants have to eat something off of the peony buds before they can bloom. Every year I see the ants crawling all over the buds...



I love when the spring time brings my candy tuft and bleeding hearts flowers to bloom....



Yes, I do love spring time. How can we not love the color after the winter of white!!

Happy Birthday! and then some.....

Last week we became parents of 3 teenagers.....instead of 2....
Zach turned 13...oh man!
Here he is with his new bike and a new book from the Percy Jackson series he is reading....



He didn't want a cake for his birthday, sugar cookies is what he asked for. So he had a few friends over and we sang and they all got cookies.....easy enough!!



On Saturday Kevin, Zach and I drove over to a friends cabin and property. Kevin wanted to take Zach shooting. Zach had never shot a gun and had NO desire to ever even touch one.
Kevin showed Zach how to load a clip and Zach followed suit...



Next came talking Zach into holding and shooting the gun. Kevin lined up the cross arrow thing in the scope and shot it a few times to make sure it still worked (after 19 years)....All was good.
Zach had so many reasons why he did not want to shoot the gun, we resolved all the reasons and this is the outcome...


He shot it in so many different ways...
sitting....


Standing...



sitting on a bucket with a support thing for the gun...



this is the first shot he took....yep, right in the black....


Kevin gave Zach a lot of instructions, the safety, how to hold it, how to lay it down and on and on....
Can you see the two orange spinners on the right of the target.....Zach would shot one and then the other. He had them both spinning.....
He did a great job, something he never wanted to do, and I am proud of him for trying....
Now we will see if he goes this weekend with the scouts????

The day has arrived......

I really wanted the back yard to be picked up.....not stuff strewn every which way so everyone and their dog (literally) could see the mess and the things we have in the yard.....




The fence came down......
I am still not so sure about it. Kevin has been waiting almost 3 years to take it down. He thinks his hedges are tall enough....




He put wire up for the grapes to grown through (the fence was supporting the vine).....


He has a planter box of blackberries and one of the stipulations of the whole fence being down was for him to make more planter boxes for more berries so I can actually do something with them. Also, it puts up more of a visual barrier....



Now for the pile of rocks in the back.....he was wanting to do a fountain....don't really think that will happen so now like I wrote previously....a planter box will go there...



All of the kids helped with throwing the rocks in the creek behind our house.....
This is going to take several days of rock throwing!!















The pathway into the back for the trail behind our house. Kevin has now put up a 3' gate to help people know that it is not a public playground.... We have seen people go behind the hedges to the yard.....so I know this won't keep everyone out....just a sign to let them know that they are now approaching our yard and to STAY OUT!!


So you can see where the fence once was, and all the work that will now have to be put in to get Kevin's playground in functioning order.... He is very excited. He is saving the fence for now because he knows come fall and winter I am going to have anxiety over the fact that everyone that walks on the trail can see into my back yard. It doesn't matter that half the houses on the trail have never had a fence put up........


I also think Kevin should plant more grapes between the posts.....He wants to take the posts down but he is being patient with his wife and her hesitancy......

Busy week!

On Wednesday night, Zach earned his Star ranking at the court of honor!! We are so proud of him. He also has all of his merit badges he needs for his life ranking, we are just awaiting the time limits. His scout master said Zach should be able to earn his Eagle by the end of January 2010.


Audrey also earned her integrity emblem for YW! Way to go!!!!


Thursday morning at 7 am, Becky and I headed to BYU for Women's conference.


All of the Women stood and sang "Now let us rejoice". It was quite the sight to see 20,000 women singing.

We attended classes all day on Thursday, and we helped tie fleece quilts on Thursday evening. That night we attended a concert where Hillary Weeks sang, as well as many others. It was a great day!!
On Friday we headed back to the conference at 7 am. We wanted to have good parking (which we did!). We attended classes all day, and it was fabulous!! I learned so much, and now I just need to apply it to my life!!



Friday's closing session was great!! L. Tom Perry spoke and Russell M Nelson was there also. I loved it!!



Ladies from our ward who attended! I can hardly wait for next year!!!