April, in Summary

I love cute, random pictures of my family:).

 

Who would have thought the first morning of Spring Break my kids could make a snowman?!  It was the perfect, wet, dense snow that sticks together so well.  So much for all the snow gear being put away for the winter.  So much for trying to get the house organized the day before family arrives!  I was a bit worried we wouldn't be able to do our much anticipated yard work while everyone was here.  But, never fear, it was all melted by the following morning and the rest of the week was in the 50s and 60s.  Awesome!

 Following Spencer's baptism and a barbecue at our house, my side of the family all headed back to Oregon.  The Mudaliar's and Kyle's parents stayed another day.  Yay!  The kids continued to play hard, and the adults had a great time visiting, playing cards, and going out on a triple date!  The guys suggested we go out to dinner Saturday night.  I wasn't too sure about the idea until I realized Alohi (my niece) could babysit, and this was for adults only!  I was definitely "in"!  We went and saw Spokane Falls (really high this time of year; so powerful) then had dinner overlooking the falls at Athony's Seafood Restaurant.  It was a beautiful evening.  The kids had mac and cheese (our "babysitter food"), watched "Bed Knobs and Broomsticks", and loved it. 

April was "Art through Science" Night at Snowdon.  It was amazingly well done and attended.  Every classroom had a different science or art exhibit, with different organizations from all over our area there to present/display.  They had the Science guy, Reptile Man, a rock club, the WSU Pharmacy school making lip balm, dissecting squid, a train engineer, Inland Power, an Astronomy group, different animal groups, a heart-friendly obstacle course in the gym, the Fire Department, Department of Fish & Wildlife and tons more. We really couldn't get to everything in the two hours.  Skyler, Kylene, Spencer and I dissected our first squid, Kyle loved playing with the reptiles, and more.  They came home with all kinds of little "gimmes".  It was a great evening.  I hope they'll do it again every year!

 Kylene participated in her first "Math is Cool" competition.  The Fourth Graders competed at Whitworth University this year and Snowdon ended up placing FOURTH as a team!  Kylene was totally surprised and elated.  Her classroom teacher, Mrs. Ayersman, was the coach, and her and her friends had a blast together.

Spencer earned his Cub Scout Bobcat award!  Woot, woot!  It is still a bit strange to officially have a cub scout.  When Kylene was a baby, I was called as a Cub Scout Den Leader; it was hard to imagine actually having a cub scout back then:).  I'm so glad I got familiar with the program in preparation for helping my three boys!  We have lots of years of Scouting ahead of us.  Way to go, Spencer!

And the last weekend of April, I had my big get-away to Palmyra, New York, to visit Susan.  What a great experience that was. Pictures and details forthcoming!

(Yard) Work in Progress

Our yard continues to take shape.  I was so excited for the weather to get nicer again and be able to get out there and back to work.  We got a few things done here and there...and then--wham--my family came to town for Spring Break and Spencer's baptism and we did three month's worth of work in a few days!  It is incredible what we got done.  We focused on the two large bed areas on the east side of the house, in the front and back yard.  The backyard area is what we are calling, "Anneca's garden."  We made a mound with a beautiful Japanese Laceleaf Maple on it which is "Anneca's tree."  It will have flowers and grasses around it with her stone my family had made for us last year.  There is a beautiful bench and patio area near there to sit.  It is so quiet and serene and we have already been enjoying it.

My dad is the great landscape architect with amazing vision!  The first day or so they were here, we went to so many nursery and landscape places.  I was overwhelmed with everything we were buying and thought we'd never get it all planted.  We got trailer loads of mulch, rocks, and plants, and then....we put everyone to work!  And they did not disappoint!  We got everything planted and the mulch spread and rocks in place.  It was incredible.  I could not believe what hard workers Alva and Wendy's kids are (my nieces and nephews).  They definitely motivated my kids to help as well, and Jana and her kids helped, and we had such a great time working hard together.

Don't worry, they also played very hard.  The kids were jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes, playing games inside and out and eating their hearts out.  We went to a friend's family farm and saw all the babies born this time of year (pigs, lambs, chicks).  Kyle treated everyone to Schwan's ice cream cones (he even chased down the Schwan's truck....it was quite the sight!) one night and Grandpa treated everyone to ice cream another night, so everyone was happy.  It was such a fun week and SO appreciated.  I was in complete shock---and thrilled---with everything we got done.  It is looking beautiful out there!

I wish I had taken more pictures, but here are a few....
Bottom left: these ladies unloaded an entire trailer of mulch.  Muscle women!
Bottom right: the men hefting off one of the larger stepping stones we added.  Good thing rock is so cheap around these parts: we paid only $21 for 1,000 pounds of granite!  (It's cheap because it is EVERYWHERE, even in my yard.  Even though it's beautiful, it was still hard to spend money on more rock:)!)

 The kids got very good at digging holes for the plants!  Sam and Skyler worked so hard on this hole.  Sam loved using the pick axe, but still thought our soil was very hard.  And all that digging only led to one (more) broken sprinkler line.  I think we were lucky:).

Here are a few pictures visiting the baby farm animal's at the Cowan's.

We loved, loved, loved having so much family here for Spring Break (and wish more could have come) and were so grateful for their service.  We loved having our house full of people, noise, and laughter.

Spencer's Eight Year Old Pics

I just realized I never posted Spencer's pictures Ashley Elliott took for his birthday.  What a handsome guy!  He loves his bow ties and wears them every Sunday to church. 

The Rest of March

Man, I am behind!  March was a very busy month with two boys' birthdays.

The beginning of March brought us a visit from Uncle Logan!  He was living in Seattle for a few months, while the rest of his family was in Utah.  They have since moved to Costa Rica for the next 18 months, so we were so glad we were able to see him before they departed.  (We wish we could have seen the entire family!)  We went and had a picnic and hike around Palouse Falls, then came home and played, set up the trampoline (yay for Spring!), and just enjoyed being together.

It was a beautiful day and Palouse Falls was beautiful.  We had a great time hiking around and kept a tight hand on the kids near the steep edges.

 Sunday after church, we took Logan up to Greenwood Memorial Terrace, where Anneca is buried.  It was so nice to be able to take him to that special place.  

Here are a few pictures of the kids attempting to tie Uncle Logan up.  Wrestling and blindfolding fun!

 The kids had a blast playing with Uncle Logan and we all loved having him here.  They definitely did not want him to leave!  We will miss them while they are so far away, but look forward to (hopefully) visiting them in Costa Rica next year!

Kylene and Spencer had their Spring Recital at Eastern Washington.  Kylene did her first duet.  Both did wonderfully.

 Kylene also had her school music recital.  They performed songs from all over the world.  She had a little dance part with a few other girls during one of the songs.  She worked and worked on it.  The top, left picture is with her fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Ayersman.  We LOVE her and I am so thankful she was placed in her class this year!  Bottom left is her with Ashlynn, Emersyn, and Kenzie. Top right is her best friend, Jeanessa, and bottom, right, is the amazing Zack playing the drums!

 Our Stake had a service project before the General Women's Broadcast on April 28th. Kylene made this reversible purse/bag.  We donated lots of them, along with hygiene kits we assembled to a local women's shelter.  She was thrilled that she used a sewing machine and made it.

This should go with Skyler's birthday post, but here it is anyway.  This is the invitation Kylene made for Skyler's birthday.  I just thought it was cute, and sweet that she helped him make it

And, I think that's all folks!  Just in time to get started on April's update:).

Happy 8th Birthday, Spencer!

I think it's safe to say Spencer had a great eighth birthday.  It was on Monday, March 23.

We celebrated with friends the Saturday before at "Strike Zone", an indoor Nerf arena in Coeur D'Alene.  He was so excited about going there, and it did not disappoint.  Everyone had a great time, including the adults!

 Sunday morning, he and Skyler both got their "birthday breakfast-in-bed".  We decided doing it on a weekend would be better than Monday morning before school.  We had forgotten to do Skyler's the week before, so they got them both at the same time, in the same room, just in their own beds:).  They chose pancakes.

On his actual birthday, we celebrated by having Family Home Evening, more presents and more cake.  Fun, fun!

I love these "photo shoot" pictures the kids took on Monday.

 Perhaps his favorite present was his scriptures.  It was so sweet to watch him open them, be so sincerely thankful, and see him get a little teary-eyed because he was so overjoyed.  What a tender heart he has!

The Thursday following his birthday, Spencer had his special eighth birthday date with mom and dad.  We went to the Spokane Temple, then he chose to eat at an all-you-can eat buffet.  He was in heaven at the endless jello, chocolate milk, and the miraculous selection of food and, naturally, he had a tummy ache afterward:).  That was also his first night of Cub Scouts, so we headed to the church afterward for fun and (more!) treats. 

 

Then the next week the family started arriving for his baptism!

While Grandma and Grandpa Barney were here, they gave him his birthday present: a treasure hunt to a new backpack and a special 8th birthday gift.  Here he is on the treasure hunt all over his room for the gospel messages and "treasure".  He was beside himself with excitement.

 

He said his eighth birthday is definitely his favorite so far.  It was the birthday that never seemed to end.  It really is great to be eight!  We love you so much, Spencer, and are so thankful you are a part of our family! We look forward to all you will accomplish with your tender heart and wonderful ability to listen to the Spirit.