Week #16:No Training Wheels

This week...

...we went to the Temple. It was a gorgeous day and a wonderful session inside. Then we went out to lunch. I remember my mom and dad going to the temple when I was younger. It was a pretty big deal because they traveled all the way to Seattle and were gone most of the day. My older sister was in charge and we were given instructions for dinner and how to get by without them. :) What a blessing that we no longer have to make that long drive. We have a temple right here in the Tri-Cities.

...Jason made himself a work bench for his tools out in the garage. I have to say it turned out really well. Lainey was playing on the frame before he put the shelves on it. Silly girl.

...Lainey learned to ride a bike without training wheels. I went to a stake young women meeting and Jason helped her while I was gone. He texted me a little video of her riding along as if she'd been doing it for ages.

...I found a lilac hedgerow. It was beautiful. I totally stopped in the middle of the road to get a better look. Then I pulled off so I could get a picture. It smelled so good when I hopped out of the van, camera in hand.

...we went to our traditional Easter breakfast. This year they had over 1,000 plastic eggs ready for the kids to find. I would say this year's egg hunt went off without a hitch. I caught Lainey being silly on stage before the breakfast started.

They always scatter so fast and collect so quickly that I don't have much time to get any good pictures.

Week #15: General Conference Recharge

This week...

...we had a great time watching General Conference. I'm glad that my kids get just as excited as I do for this time twice a year. We now have the BYU channel! It is so nice to access conference through our TV and not have to worry about jimmying a computer somehow. Here's a few shots of everyone from their conference spots. We have scaled way back on treats because it seemed like too much and they weren't really helping the kids be quiet. We now have a bingo bowl that they can choose out of when they get a bingo and blackout.

A little bit of Studio C in between made for excellent viewing.

...Jason grilled me some salmon. For those of you that know him, you know that this is a singular occasion. Jason. hates. fish. We have a couple really good fish stories involving him on the verge of gagging and taking extreme measures to get out of eating said fish. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Traeger. My husband actually bought some salmon and grilled it for me. It was delicious! And I got to eat it all by myself. I'll give him and the kids credit, they at least tried it.

...we had a picnic in the park. Today was definitely a yes day, as Lainey came up with the idea of a picnic and I said that we could do it. She was so excited and could barely contain herself as we gathered our supplies. We absolutely had to have a basket - we had to dig some out. Fortunately we had a piece of picnic appropriate fabric to spread on the grass. And most importantly, we had some delicious snacks and foods to pack in our basket. The other kids were sad when they found out we picnicked at the park without them.

...Ben found a cozy spot to listen to me read out loud before bed. We finished the Fable Haven series and are now starting on the Sisters Grimm series.

...we had a most successful Family Home Evening. We used the church website to play music videos of the songs the kids are learning in primary for our opening and closing songs. Claire conducted the meeting and we watched the Mormon Message on bullying (it's so good). Then I had another window open on the computer for the kids to play the games and puzzles from the friend after we said the prayer. They loved it. Emma had an idea for strawberries with carrots and ranch for the treat. She helped me prepare it and talked animatedly with me. I've never seen my kids eat an FHE treat so fast. The night was such a big hit. I could feel that the spirit was blessing us long after we closed our meeting with prayer.

...Lainey is a ham at Costco. This is fast becoming our favorite store to frequent, and I'm not just thinking about samples. What other store can so easily send you out the door with so many things you realize you can't live without?

...Uncle Kent was making the girls laugh their heads off. Allie and Lainey were trying to get Uncle Kent's shoes off and he was really making them laugh. It was funny to watch.

...we cleaned out the garage and moved some things around. And by cleaning, I mean cleaning. We gave away these two precious pieces. They've been with us since our Ellensburg college days and Jason crafted them both. This is the cradle Jason started for our third baby which turned out to be twins. We had a good laugh over needing two, but there wasn't time in the semester to start one. The "green' table, as we've dubbed it, was an unlikely project for his wood art class, but something highly functional for our small apartment, and even later in our rental houses. We know that it's time for them to move on. The cradle went to some friends of ours in our ward who just had a baby.

Week #14:Spring Break Action

This week...

...we had a blast during spring break. It went fast, but we lived. every. day. We spent Monday and Tuesday in Mattawa. We took a field trip to the feedlot where Aunt Shelly works. We saw the horses, cows, feed, and chickens.

We worked out in the yard clearing leaves and tree limbs. All of the kids worked hard without having to be told to get back to work. The treats at Grandma's are always popular.

We went for walks down to the farm, looking for rocks on our way.

Aunt Shelly taught the kids how to draw an easy, but cute, bat. She is doing a picture-a-day journal this year. She found a really neat tutorial drawing site that helps you draw with great results. Once we got home, we drew lost of things on our own from that site - minnie mouse, a minion, angry birds, Elsa (that one didn't turn out so great).

Aunt Shelly gathered the kids in her room. They wanted in on the treats she had stashed there, but I told them they had to answer trivia questions first. Aunt Shelly's good with trivia. So she asked different questions and we guessed at them to get out treat.

Lainey fell asleep on me as we listened.

Lainey was matching her hands to the ones on the grandkid wall.

Grandpa Zirker played a trick on me. He put a mcracker in one shoe and an almond in the other. When I went to put my shoes on to do yard work, I was met with these uncomfortable surprises in my shoes. I couldn't believe who would drop these things in my shoes, until I remembered that my dad and brother Corey play this trick on each other, slipping crazy things into their shoes the night before.

On Wednesday we went to the Benton City Fire Station. Jason was working in that area and was able to meet us there for the tour. Paul needed to visit the fire station in connection with the unit on fire safety. The kids had a good time.

Saturday night we had a barbeque with Jason's family. We grilled on the Traeger and then watched the men's session of conference together. That was definitely different. :) Then we went to a late showing of Captain America with his sisters Lara and Shawnee, Bill (Shawnee's husband), and Hannah (niece). It was fun to be out with them and the movie was good.

Lara, Lainey, Jason, Emma, Shawnee, Hannah, Paul

Paul and Ben worked a paying job as vinyl assistants over the break. Ben was getting frustrated that Paul wasn't letting him help. Paul is a pretty handy helper and gets excited to have his hands in on the action. Vinyl isn't always the easiest task to let little kids help with, but Jason was being very patient with them as they decal-ed this car for Adams County.

These are the kids' thank you pictures for the firemen and EMT's that helped us out at the fire station: