We’re moving here!

My children have informed me we need to move to Idaho.  They are loving it here!  They stay up way to late, sleep in till late morning/early afternoon, play all day then watch a movie at night.  What a life!

We love to go to the park and have the free lunches put on by the city.  It is so packed!  They are really tight on the rules, so heaven forbid a parent takes a bite of a chicken nugget!  You actually have to eat in the roped off section of the park.  The kids don’t mind/care but I kind of think it’s silly….especially when I see all the wasted food!

Rexburg has an amazing library!  My boys are real fans.  How cute are these boys!??!  Andrew isn’t in the picture because he was so tired he was getting mean so I made him do a time out in his room.  When I came back he was sound asleep and stayed that way for a few HOURS.

Lils is a big fan of purses!  She was so excited to spot mine on the chair at the library.  The only problem is it weighs more then she does!  She settled for taking everything out instead of carrying it around.  All my pictures of Lils are blurry because she is so fast!

I couldn’t get a good picture of it but Zack loves Uncle Mike’s helmet.  The problem is it weighs about as much as he does.  When I let go it just falls back and takes him with it!  He didn’t care.  He loved it!

Gwen is the happiest baby I’ve ever met with insanely gorgeous blue eyes!  She smiles with her eyes!  Gwen is so tiny I feel like she is just a feather.

The girls sleep in their native habitat….a teepee.

At the same park that does the lunches is an awesome splash park.  The kids loved it!  So we ate lunch then walked over there.  It took Zack and I much longer than everyone else because Zack wanted to watch some older boys playing soccer on the field.  He kept kicking his leg and chasing the ball, but they were too fast.  Finally he just sat down and cheered from the ground.  It was really hard to get him to leave that ball!

Ben only wanted to read his library book he has gotten the day before.  He found a nice shady spot and got comfy.

This little man is so tan!

The lady sitting next to us had bought some cotton candy and Zack wouldn’t leave her alone till he got some.  He’s a little persistent.  He wasn’t sure what to think about it at first, but was quickly converted.  I had to go and buy him is own so that poor woman could get peace!

Me:  Ben lets take a picture!

Ben:  make it quick I’m in a good spot

He’s really into his books.

Thankfully Zack found a ball….and this time the boy was nice to share with him.  Footballs don’t kick as easily as soccer balls….but it would do.

While we were buying the cotton candy Zack discovered the carousal.  It’s one of the last ones made completely out of wood and is like 100 years old (I’m not sure about that, but Brittany would know for sure)  The kids were fans.  Good thing I bought a punch card with 20 rides on it!

We’ve found this water park does the trick!  They were so hungry and tired afterwards we got to bed early!  Around 11:00pm.  Heaven help us when we have to get back on a real schedule!

Idaho Fun

Kallie and Ella have really taken this whole Pocahontas thing to the next level.  No longer is just dressing like Pocahontas good enough.  They now need to put makeup on to look like Indians.  Kallie got into it, but Ella got INTO it.  Ella had every limb painted.  Koko even got into it!

Have I mentioned how much I love this happy girl?!?!?  Lily’s is the happiest little girl I’ve ever met!  You can’t help but smile when she is in the same room.  My favorite is when music is on and she will dance to it.  She is just the cutest!

Benjamin has made a few friends here, and every kid has an ATV that they drive around.  Ben loves that he can borrow Uncle Mike’s ATV.  Every morning he comes and tells me he is going to go for a ride around the circle…grabs his key, put on his helmet and is off.  I swear I packed more clothes for him than just jeans and white t-shirts, but that’s his ATVing outfit and that’s all he does…..all day.  He loves it!  I have to admit my heart still stops till he gets back inside. 

Our little Indians getting ready to run through the sprinkler.

Zack loves to be outside.  Popsicles are his best friend.

It’s been really hot here (but still 20 degrees cooler than NM).  They love to put the sprinkler under the trampoline and jump.  Zack doesn’t like getting wet so this is pretty brave for him.

Ben loves these chickens!  He loves to take them out of their coop and just hold them and watch them.

Showing Zack the proper way to pick up a chicken

Zack is fascinated by the chickens.  Whenever he gets his courage up to actually pet one they will flap their wings or run off and that scares him.  His face is just priceless when they run towards him!

Lily loves the water!  When Brittany and Lily got home from her doctor appointment we were all out back playing in the hose.  She ran out and jumped right in…fully clothed with shoes on.  It was so cute how happy it made her.  She just laughed and laughed and tried to drink the water in.  Bath time for this little girl can last hours!

Lily was in the play pin while we were making dinner and I looked over and saw Zack and Lily touching hands through the net.  It was so adorable!

Hunter and Andrew.  Now these two are a pair to watch out for.  They were having so much fun washing the dishes!  I love their little faces in these pictures!

Can you believe Mike and Brittany only live .84 miles away from this beautiful temple?!?!  Every time we go anywhere we get to pass it.  I’m loving Rexburg and the uniqueness of it. We might have a hard time adjusting to New Mexico again!

Sunday in Idaho

Every morning starts with a check on Hunter’s chickens.  We are still hoping one morning there will be 12 instead of 9.  So far no such luck.

Mike and Brits church doesn’t start till 12:30 so we had a nice relaxing morning just hanging out.  The ward is so huge here that it not only fills up the whole chapel and overflow, but the whole hall too.  It was crazy!  We got the very last row in the hall.  The poor man who was so nice to set chairs down for us had no idea what a noisy sacrament meeting he was in for.  I heard nothing….but I did learn his name was Bro. Porter and he was very kind about my crazy children.

I decided to take Zack to nursery so I could watch the singing time in the ward.  That worked great till Ben went to check on him and he could hear him from down the hall.  After that Zack wouldn’t stop crying and wouldn’t let me put him down and freaked out whenever I tried to go into a classroom.  I figured it was a sign to go home and give him a nap.  The other kids loved church and they had a whopping 12 visitors in Jr. Primary alone!

It’s so pretty here it’s hard not to be outside all the time.  Zack is loving it here!  He just rolls and rolls on the grass!

Ella is really into Pocahontas and has converted Kallie.  Here she is wearing her Indian dress.

I love that the kids just bounce from one thing to the next!  And check out that sky!

They are building a house next door and it is every boys dream come true.  Andrew loves this dirt pile! 

Hunter showing me his sliding skills.  The one on the right his is “Superman” sliding technique. 

Zack attempted, but something was off….

My little Indian Girls

These two boys were having so much fun on all these dirt piles.  The fun ended when they ran up so excited about their “treasures”.  Little red flags that look like markers for some utility lines.  We made them put them back “right where they found them” but oddly enough they all ended up in a circle in a random corner.  I’m not sure that’s right.

These boys were so dirty Andrew was a blond with dark dark skin.  I had him roll down the hill a few times to try and get some dirt off.  I won’t even tell you the state of the bathtub when they got out!  You’d think they would just crash after a busy day….but no.  They finally feel asleep at 11:30 after a few movies.  Well, my kids….Brits were out when I went to check on them.  Needless to say they are having a ton of fun here!

Idaho, here we come!

Last year there was a terrible fire really close to Grandma and Papa’s house.  Thankfully their home was fine, but all the trees and vegetation was completely burned.  The night of the 5th there was an amazing rain storm.  It was so loud it actually woke me up.  In the morning we found out how scary the rain could really be.

There was a huge mudslide that came right next to their yard.  In fact I’m pretty sure it even came over onto parts of their grass.  These pictures can’t even do this slide justice!  At one part it was over 4 feet deep, just off their yard.  If I knew how to post video I would post a video my Father in law sent out that actually shows the water just blazing past.  We went up the mountain a little to see where they were trying to dig out a drain….at least I think that’s what they were trying to do

After checking all that out and of course a goodbye swim, we packed up and headed out.  The kids were so sad to say goodbye to grandma and Papa and cousins!  We dropped Christopher off at the airport to head home to work (not happily) and then the kids and I head North to Idaho!

See how enthralled the kids are in this movie?

I couldn’t get over how beautiful it is here!  The sky, clouds, mountains, landscape…..it leaves New Mexico not looking so great.

This is the view from Mike and Brittany’s house.  AMAZING!

Zack and Gwen.  She is just the cutest little bug!

Aunt Brittany showing the kids the new chickens.  They loved them!

Funny story about the chickens.  When Brittany’s dad got home he inquired about the chickens to which Brit said they had gotten out, but she got all 9 back in.  He said they didn’t have 9, but only 6.  Brit was sure there were 9, and so was I since I had just been out and had counted them.  Come to find out they had gotten 6 chickens and all 6 had pasted away so Ed had tossed them out into the field behind the house.  He then went and bought 6 more.  Well, apparently three weren’t really dead and came back to the coop!  So now there are 9 chickens….and I’m hoping for 3 more in the morning!

Zack in his heaven.  Seriously.  A trampoline, filled with balls, with a net around it so they can’t get out.  If you know this boy and his love of balls you will understand why it took me FOREVER to get him off this thing.  It was so cold and windy, but he didn’t care!  He just laughed and giggled and loved every minute of it.  I have a feeling we will be having lots and lots of trampoline time at Mike and Brits.

After baths and brownies it was time to chill and watch a little movie.  These kids are so cute and I’m so excited we get to see them!