Joshua's 3rd Grade Talent Show

Joshua's class put on a little talent show a few days before school got out and it was quite entertaining. There was everything from piano playing, dancing, guitar playing, clothes pin drop, and Joshua's q-tip shooting. The class together sang the cutest songs too.

Joshua used a q-tip and a straw and shot the cups down. He had quite a tall tower but I didn't get a picture of the full tower. It only took him 2 shots to make the tower fall. (Thank goodness for Scouts, where he learned how to do this!)

*Sorry the coloring is so off on these pictures. I kept messing around with the settings on the camera and came up with a collage of colors!

Nightly Visitors

One of the great and amazing benefits of living outside of town is seeing the beauties of nature around us often. The deer during the winter come down to feed in the field across from our house. They've even come into our yard for a little snack!

A loved one lost and a new love gained

Last week our kitty Gatsby got sick and had to be taken to the vet. A few days later we lost him. He had developed a urinary blockage, which in turn ruined his kidneys and took him. It was a tough thing to face because Gatsby was my sweet kitty and I love him very much. Caleb had a hard time too and even said "Why did I have to lose my best friend?" We enjoyed the 4 years we had with Gatsby very much and will cherish our memories of him.

The day Gatsby died my sweet Jon came home with a surprise! This darling kitten. It was hard at first to accept him. I was still missing Gatsby too much, but I knew it wouldn't take long for me to love him. We named him Socks and he is all kitten right now!

The boys can't get enough of him!

He has the prettiest stripes all over.

And is fuzzier than a fuzz ball!

We have this toy mouse that he chases all over the place and then konks out after playing. It's been fun to see Jon even having snuggle time.

"Pick Me! Pick Me!" I caught this hiya! action mid cleaning. :)

The wonderful thing about all this is Socks doesn't replace Gatsby, but will add to the fond memories we make with our pets.

Wow! He's 12!!

Our oldest son Caleb has finally turned 12! The reason I say finally is because we have been counting down the day for months! 12 is a big deal around here because there are some big changes and events. Caleb had the privilege of receiving the Priesthood, which was amazing! He seemed to be so grown up within minutes. And now he gets to go to mutual which is the youth activity night every Tuesday. And he gets to dive into the more fun and intense Boy Scout stuff. Oh and he doesn't go to sharing time in Primary anymore, instead he goes to Young Men's during church. We're so excited for all the great things to come for Caleb!

We figured it was about time he deserved a nice set of scriptures. He started marking scriptures immediately and has been reading it often. I hope he finds a love for the scriptures!

Since we were going to do his birthday cake on Sunday, instead of on his birthday we had to at least sing to him and let him blow out a candle. These are grasshopper cookies, one of his favorite kinds.

And another favorite treat of Caleb's is Heath bars. So why not make a Heath cake! He was in heaven! It was chocolate inside and oh so delicious!! And it went along nicely with the luncheon we had after church with a whole bunch of family!

A studio in progress

When I first started using a studio setting I didn't have any studio lights and pretty much just a black sheet. My boys are great troopers for being my guinea pigs!

Now I've got the lights and some nicer backdrops. It's still a work in progress learning the ins and outs of a studio!

Lots of random things

I have a tendency to a lot quicker about posting about things of landmarks, like birthdays, Christmas, etc.. But it's the other memories that really are just as important. So here are some random things from the last several months I have neglected.


Earlier in winter the snow started to fly and Andrew was in heaven! He bundled up and ran out to go play! There is something so fun in shoveling snow!

I can't remember the details but I think I came home one night from doing something and found 3 boys snuggled up in bed. Dad is really good at making "nuggle spots"!

Jon is so good about going out in the freezing cold and blizzards to take the boys sledding on our road with the 4-wheeler. And they could go all day! The cousins joined in too and had a hoot! The bottom right picture shows them out in the pasture where the snow was fluffy and thick. The middle right picture is Andrew all bundled up! And the bottom left picture is Caleb letting the snow blast him from hitting bumps.

One of the first nice spring days in early April we were all out soaking in the sun and playing and working in the yard. I was pulling weeds and Andrew and McKay (his cousin) were so willing to help dump them for me. They each grabbed a wheel barrow and off they went. Joshua and Maryn (his cousin) were enjoying the trampoline in the breeze.