Moving Along :: May 2018

Joshua was ready to move on in school.  We had been doing pre-preschool, but I could tell he was ready and eager for more.  I'm starting him earlier than I did with Jeralyn in what I called Pre-K, but he's definitely ready.  He has a short lesson each school day and he is doing really well!  Right now we are focusing a lot on the capital letters of the alphabet and learning the phonetic sounds.  He's really good at focusing and I'm proud of him!

Here he is using playdough to put over the letter "F" as an activity to see more of the letter.

And here he is painting the letter "H" for hippo.

Window in the mouth :: May 7, 2018

Jeralyn's tooth finally came out!  She had just gone to bed and I heard, "Mom, my tooth came out!"

Southwest Utah :: April 2018

One of our planned trips for the year was going to southern Utah so Quent could run a half-marathon with his sister Natasha.  Unfortunately, he sprained his ankle in January and wasn't able to train for this race.  So he wasn't able to run the race with his sister, but we kept our plans to meet her down south anyway.

There are more photos from our trip that Quent took with his camera.  These are photos from my phone.

A little north of Boise we stopped at a gas station to fill-up and eat lunch.  After lunch we enjoyed some delicious ice cream bars.  I love the messy ice cream faces!

The kids are super good at all of the car travel.  They had lots to keep them busy.

This is our first campsite in Moab, Utah.  Natasha's site was just across from us.  And yes, that's Joshua in the photo covering his face.  Silly boy!  The kids really enjoyed climbing the rock that is in the background.  Actually, if you look closely, right in the center toward the top of the rock is Jeralyn and Natasha.

Aunt Natasha brought some goodies for Smores.

Quent needed to do some maintenance on his bike, so we found a bike shop in Moab.  Joel enjoyed sitting on a bike.

On toward Capital Reef.

Capital Reef was my favorite place that we visited on this trip and the campground was so pleasant.  The temperatures were perfect and I loved being under the shade of the trees.  There was a bike path nearby and we went on a bike ride.  And...it had a pie shop right outside the campground.  How often does that happen?  It was our first!

Our beautiful scenery from our campsite in Capital Reef.  I loved it!

These photos are from a drive/walk we took in the evening.

And then we moved on to Escalante and stayed at the Petrified Forest state park.  There was a reservoir beach that we enjoyed. When I think of this place, I think of relaxing.

Our last campground in southern Utah was in Zion National Park.  It was a popular weekend to be there because of the race.  It didn't feel right with all of the people around.  We were in Zion about 10 years ago and it seemed more "commercialized" to me since we were there before.  It didn't seem as amazing as it did to me the first time we visited.  Maybe it was because it was hot and too many people?

We went for a walk in Kolob (another part of Zion) and then stopped in a town called Hurricane for lunch and to get groceries.

And here is dirty Joel.  It's all part of the camping experience when you can't give your children proper baths.

And hopefully soon we will be able to share more photos of our trip.

All About Reading Level 2 :: April 19, 2018

Jeralyn has been taking off with reading.  She's honestly impressed me.  I'm so proud of her!

Toothy Grin :: April 15, 2018

Jeralyn's upper front tooth was super loose.  Amazingly, it took over 3 more weeks before it came out.

Legos & Chocolate :: April 7, 2018

Joshua and Jeralyn are really into building Lego sets right now and they are both really getting good at it.  They have been saving their money for different sets and then they come home and build.  Whenever we make a trip to Lewiston they will each buy a new set and when we get home they are super focused on it.  It's fun to watch them!

And while they build, Joel finds chocolate on the counter to sneak and eat.  Look at that cheesy smile!!

Prize :: April 2, 2018

 Jeralyn and Joshua went to an Easter egg hunt at the park the day before Easter.  Jeralyn found a golden egg that said to take it to Wells Fargo.  So on Monday we went to Wells Fargo and her golden egg won her the biggest chocolate bunny!!  She was SO excited!

I am not sure what Joshua is doing in this photo, but he might be eating snow that was lightly dusted upon us that night.

Easter :: April 1, 2018

The kids had a joyful Easter.  They hunted for baskets, eggs, we went to church, and then we had a family from church over for dinner.  It was a great day!

Joel :: March 2018

With the spring rains, there is more mud in the yard.  Quent is currently working on a project in the yard and so there's more dirt exposed.  That means more mid-day baths for Joel who likes to play in the mud.

Our cats are outdoor/garage cats now, but sometimes Shadow slips in to visit.  Joel thought it was super cool when she was snuggling with him.

Friends :: March 29, 2018

After the kids have breakfast, Jeralyn will head downstairs to do her morning chores and she always invites Joel to come with her.  It's kind of nice because she enjoys the company and he is entertained.  It's a win-win for me (mom) when I also have morning chores to focus on.

Bike Ride :: March 25, 2018

 Joel loves going for bike rides in the bike trailer.  He says "bike ride" fairly often.  If you say the word "bike" you better be serious about taking him on a ride in the near future (at least he thinks so).

Reading Words :: March 21, 2018

Jeralyn is doing so well with reading.  Each school day we review words she has learned.  Sometimes she plays "bingo" but this day I lined up the cars like a race track and she had to drive around and read the words.

Ice Cream :: March 12, 2018

You can tell it's starting to warm up when we are eating ice cream on the deck.