Hidey-Ho Neighbor

My kids LOVE animals! Morgan has wanted a brood of chickens since she was about 4 years old. Last year, she thought she had figured out how to keep a few as pets, in her bedroom. We've just never been in a place where it was feasible to have chickens.

Our neighbors have quite the barnyard! We were thrilled when they called and asked if we could care for the animals while they were gone for four whole days. 

 

They not only have chickens but also rabbits, goats, dogs, and two very pregnant cats. The kids were in HEAVEN! I think they would have liked to camp in the barn every night. The kids were eager to check the hen's nest every evening to see how many eggs were there. 

It was better than Easter morning!

It was great exercise walking down the hill to their home twice a day. And even I enjoyed puttering around the barnyard, conversing with the animals.

4th of July

Our little town put on a great 4th of July celebration! Scott went to work early so he could be home by 10am. Then, we went to the church park where they had LOTS of booths set up. We walked around for 20 minutes trying to decide what to eat for lunch. 

And then there were games to play and faces to get painted. 

Morgan wanted a butterfly...

and Zane wanted a bat.

Zane even won a bottle of soda in the ring toss game!

Then there were scones to eat and snow cones for the ride home.

We had a few friends over for a barbeque dinner of shish kabobs and patriotic fruit pizza. Yummy!
Brittany and Levi showed up just in time for sparklers.

It was hard to stay up until 10:00 for the big fireworks but we did it. We were so glad we were able to walk down the driveway and watch them from home.


We skipped the 4th of July parade because it was in the afternoon. Who does a parade in the afternoon?! A couple of weeks earlier, we went to the Rigby Rodeo. We watched the parade in the morning and went back for the rodeo action that night. The kids thought that was the best day ever.

It's much better to watch a parade wearing jackets!

When I asked the kids what they liked best about the parade, other than the candy, they both agreed that the fireman band was cool. Zane said he liked them because they played "manpipes"... Ummm... Do you mean bagpipes? Yep! That's it.

Morgan loved all the horses and especially the Rodeo Queens. It is now her goal to someday be a Rodeo Queen, and wear a hat with a tiara on it, and a sparkly shirt. A girl can dream!

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore...

Or Nebraska. 

It would seem we just dropped off the face of the earth. I wanted to keep up on the blog but then life took over. I have some posts that were started that I still intend to share. Eventually.

We've been looking for a way to get closer to our family. A two day trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house was just not working for us. Finally, a feedlot in Idaho was looking for a cowboy and willing to provide housing. The pay was less than we hoped for but we would only be a couple hours from Brittany and Levi. 

Then Scott was offered a position managing another feedlot in Nebraska and I was offered a full time job at the school. This made it tempting to stay. Then the overwhelming desire to be close to family, and never have to drive across Wyoming again, sunk in and we started to pack.

Both Morgan and Zane wanted to play soccer. I signed them up knowing we would miss most of their games. Having soccer practice to go to helped keep things somewhat normal for them. It added to my workload but the sacrifice was worth it. Unfortunately, Spring sprung a leak and it snowed the week of their first games so they only got to do a few practices.

Because of the snow, Scott had to quit a few days early and rush the horses to Idaho. He then left his trailer so he could get back before the blizzard hit. We had a friend coming to haul our stuff and hoped we could get it all into his trailer.

When the snow settled, and the drifts were removed, we suddenly had no one to haul our stuff. A last minute scramble to rent a moving truck ended up being the best decision. But that also left us with 3 vehicles to drive and only 2 drivers. We contemplated our options and then my dear, sweet visiting teacher and friend offered to drive one of our vehicles. Her family made an impromptu visit to their family in Idaho so we didn't have to make another trip. Words cannot express the gratitude that we have for this wonderful family!

It took us 14 long hours, with only 3 very short stops, to make it from Nebraska to our new home in Idaho. We had snow and rain and, of course, wind for most of Wyoming but it could have been worse. We were so excited to finally be here that we quickly forgot all of the difficulties and counted all our MANY blessings. 

We had wonderful friends who helped us load everything. (Man, it was a tight fit!) And we had new friends waiting to help us unload everything. We couldn't have done it with out so much help! Brittany and Levi even risked their lives one last time and hauled a load of boxes for us. 

We love our new community and our new home and we are excited for the new adventures that await us here!

 

And we will miss our wonderful friends!

 

give THANKS

What a busy month this has been. We've had lots of service opportunities with the ladies from church that have kept me busy. I love it! It's such a great feeling when someone offers sincere thanks for helping to lighten their load.

Feeling the JOY of service helped to lessen the saddness of not being with family on Thanksgiving. Traveling across Wyoming in the winter is just too dangerous. (Sometimes it snows on Elk Mountain in June.) Since getting to Oregon requires traveling over several mountain passes there was no way to make it happen. 

We were prepared to stay at home and sulk over our loneliness but good friends here would not allow it.  We ended up with several offers for Thanksgiving dinner. Scott had to work that morning, of course. But we joined friends that afternoon for a late lunch / early dinner. It was fabulous! They have kids the same age as ours and they all played so well together. (We had only one minor head injury when the kids were playing hide-and-seek in the dark.) Good food and good fun!

We finished the evening with a Skype video conference with the family in Oregon and Brittany in Idaho. Wow! Modern technology is awesome! It was fun seeing all my nieces and nephews being silly in front of the camera. Wish we could have been there!

 We did our traditional "Attitude of Gratitude" family home evening this month. The kids helped me create a thankful tree. I should have punched out more leaves because they kept thinking of more and more and MORE things they were thankful for.

We are so blessed!

The End of Summer

All good things must come to an end.

This week has been bitter sweet as we hurried to squeeze in a few more summer activities before school. We went swimming one last time at the city pool, spent one last morning playing at the park, and had one last picnic with our friends. I am not ready to send my kids back to school!

Morgan walked up the stairs backwards...

and went down the slide backwards. Silly girl!

 One little...

 two little MONKEYS!

 Some gymnastics practice.

We invited all the kids in their Primary classes to come celebrate at the park with us. The kids had so much fun running all over the park, climbing trees, and eating lunch with their friends.

The JOY of Soccer

Morgan loves soccer! Her favorite position is still defense. Watching her go after the ball reminds me of watching our dog go after a wayward calf. Her eyes are locked on to the ball and she kicks with such determination, and doesn't stop, until the ball is safely away from the goal. She blocked many potential goals this season!

 Warming up.

 A quick drink before the game begins.

 Go get it!

Her team worked a lot on passing. Sometimes they were busy passing and would forget to kick it in the goal. They had a great season and won most of their games. More importantly, they all had fun!

A Week of {Thanks}

A few days before Thanksgiving, Zane saw a picture of a turkey saying, "Eat Pizza!" Getting ready for bed Thanksgiving night he said, "We forgot to say that before we ate!"

It was a rough week for us. Morgan had the flu the week before which, naturally for her, ended with tonsillitis this week. The flu bug got Zane Sunday night and Scott Monday night. I was THANKFUL we had plans to have dinner with some friends in town, THANKFUL we weren't travelling far, and THANKFUL I didn't have to cook a turkey.

Wednesday we spent the morning running around and got Morgan into the doctor's office just before they closed for the holiday. I was THANKFUL for modern medicine and THANKFUL it only took 45 minutes to get the prescription filled.

We barely made it home before the flu bug knocked me down. I was THANKFUL for my husband and my wonderful secretary who finished up with the dinner deliveries. And honestly, I was THANKFUL for a moment to rest.

Scott made dinner for the kids. Zane promptly threw up that wonderful dinner. My time of rest was over. I was THANKFUL my stomach was empty as I cleaned up the mess and Scott bathed Zane.

Thursday morning I woke up feeling better but wishing my pies had baked themselves. We made it to our friend's house just in time to enjoy a wonderful afternoon with good food and good friends. The kids filled their tummies and played nicely. I was THANKFUL for friends, family, and an abundance of blessings!

Friday we ate pizza for dinner. Just for Zane. And the turkeys.

A Simple Act of Kindness

Next week is our wedding anniversary. This date not only brings memories of the day Scott and I were married for eternity, it also brings memories of preparing to move here. It was last year at this time that Scott had accepted a job offer in, what seemed to be, a far off land. We celebrated our anniversary and then he left to start the new job, in a new state, 10 hours from home.

I was left with the overwhelming task of caring for the children AND the dog while getting our house ready to be sold and everything packed. Fortunately, I had Brittany there to help. Unfortunately, she was working full time and trying to spend time with her friends before they all went separate directions. While I was thankful our home had sold so quickly, I felt the burden of getting everything done in one month.

The stress of trying to move was compounded with feelings of not wanting to leave our community that we had known for 4 years. (The longest we had ever lived in one spot.) We liked our house. We liked our ward. We liked our friends. We did not like Scott's job though and this was the best job offer he had gotten.

I needed help but I didn't know how to ask for help. As I sorted through stuff, trying to decide what to pack and what to get rid of, I didn't even know what anyone could do to help me. School had just ended for the summer and families were busy making preparations for vacations. I didn't want to bother them. And again, I didn't know what to ask them to do.

I am SO thankful for those dear friends who saw me struggling, and even though they didn't want us to leave, stepped up and offered to help. A simple thing like letting my children spend the afternoon playing at their house was a HUGE help. It gave me time to pack things without the kids unpacking. And the neighbors who brought us dinner so I didn't have to worry about what to feed my family was a HUGE help. That was the best food I have ever eaten! And when the neighbor boy showed up on his riding mower he probably thought I was strange as I cried and thanked him.

To them it was no big deal. It took little effort on their part. Many expressed a desire to do more to help. To me it was HUGE! As we gathered one last time as friends to say good bye, there were no words to express the gratitude that I felt for those dear people that had become our family. I promised myself that I would do better to see the needs of others. A simple act of kindness can be HUGE to the person who receives it.

"The Lord's way to help those in temporal need requires people who out of love have consecrated themselves and what they have to God and to His work."
President Henry B. Eyring

{Trick-orTreat}

We had preschool at our house this week and the kids came dressed up on Wednesday. They all looked so cute but it was hard to get them to stand still long enough to snap a picture.

(Not sure what Strawberry Shortcake was saying.)

We learned about the letter "G" and made paper ghosts.


Saturday we went to a fabulous carnival / dinner / Trunk-or-Treat at the church.

There was fun with balloons.

The ever popular cupcake walk.

This is serious stuff. It takes concentration to land on the winning spot.

The costume parade and judging.

We LOVE Trunk-or-Treat!
(I tried to get Zane to wear different shoes but he insisted on the boots.)

I bought the cheerleader costume on clearance last year and Morgan has been eager to try it out. (She told me I am the best Mom ever. Love it when I can make my kids happy.)

Even Dad joined us in the festivities. (The cat face was made by Zane.)

And Zane HAD to take a picture too... beautiful cheerleader, creepy cat, and one scary looking mom.

Happy Halloween!

{Preschool Fun}

Zane is loving preschool! He wasn't too sure but after the first day he was hooked. There are 5 of us in the group and we rotate homes each week. It is such a great opportunity for the kids to learn the basics they need for kindergarten. Not just ABC's and 123's but also how to be friends. I love preschool too!

A is for apple.

Zane also loved the ant they made. We are waiting for our egg carton to empty so we can make an entire ant family.

This week was at our house. They are the sweetest group of kids! Zane is the only boy but doesn't seem to mind.

B is for butterfly.

Primary Activity

We had a GREAT Primary activity on September 11th. They set up stations and had activities that were related to scriptures. (I wish I could remember all of the scriptures they used.) Most of the activities had to do with water also.

The kids were so excited and asked me all morning if it was time to go. When it was finally time, Zane put on his swim things and Morgan suddenly decided she didn't want to get wet. (As we were driving in she asked if the boys from her class would be there... I am so not ready for this. She is only in 2nd grade!)

Morgan was a little shy at first but then she got in there and even ran with the boys.

Zane LOVED the water balloon race! He also LOVED popping the water balloons.

The "Tree of Life" was a big hit! Donuts hanging on strings... we need one of these in our back yard. Zane said, "I can't use my hands to eat it?"

Yeah, right! He plucked it off and chowed down.

Zane's friend chased hers in a circle for a full minute before she finally caught it. It was so cute!

Beach ball volleyball was a bit of a challenge. And the wind wouldn't cooperate either but it was still fun.

The tug-o-war (over a sprinkler) was great! Morgan got a little bit wet on this one. But it was okay 'cause her clothes dried fast.

Zane's most favorite was the water guns. The kids had to use a water gun to extinguish the flame of a candle. (I didn't get pictures of this one. I think I was talking.)

We finished off with hot dogs and of course, more donuts. What a great day!