Party Time

 We've had a busy week with lots of fun stuff going on and two of the kids leaving on trips.  

On Wednesday, Eileen headed out to Texas.  She flew down and I even got her to send me pictures (mostly of her little crochet creation)  But she had a great trip and is enjoying herself with Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandpa will soon take off for Scotland with Sandi, but for now, Eileen is enjoying that she gets to see him too!   

Wednesday night was the kids band concert - they did amazing and it's been a great, and sometimes crazy ride for Anna.  

Grandpa took Eileen to the zoo on Thursday.  They had a great time together.  Eileen had been looking forward to this part of the trip for awhile and it did not disappoint!  

Thursday morning, I got a text from one of the ladies that I work with saying that parking was kinda crazy, and for that matter, they had 5 guards already, so I didn't have to come if I wanted.  So i got an unexpected day off.  Then on Friday, the pool was closed for maintinence issues, so no work again!  

Saturday morning - REALLY EARLY, Evelyn had to be at the airport to go with marching band to Disneyland.  Dan drove her and Sophie and then came home to get a bit more sleep.  I told her before I left to send me pictures - but it took some reminders to get her to send them.  They had fun at Medieval Times and she's been having a blast with her friends!  

Saturday morning, Dan took James and Anna to go shooting with some friends in the ward.  They had a great time - even James who was reluctant to go at first.  

Aaron went hiking with his friend Luke.  The weather was perfect for it - overcast, but not rainy or cold.  They had a great time and got to see some incredible views!! 

I took David and went to Parkrose.  I let him get in with me during the warm up and we played together a bit, then once we started shooting, he got out and played on an old game boy and cheered for me while I played!  He was so cute!  And I had lots of fun! 

Saturday afternoon we had Dan's surprise birthday party.  We had a great turnout.  Lots of friends and lots of food and lots of fun!  I talked with Lynnie (who's son Seth is Evie's friend and with her and the band at Disneyland) and I mentioned how Evie hadn't sent me any photos yet and she forwarded one to me.  So I teased Evie that I got my first picture of her trip from someone else!  After, she has done a better job of sending me photos.  After, we did a quick clean up and did scriptures before getting David to bed and then Anna and I headed to Open Polo.  

Sunday, the ward choir sang in church and did a great job!  I spent some time texting with Evie about how her trip was going.  We talked about Disneyland and some of the rides she was going on.  She went on her first ever real roller coaster and they went on Pirates of the Caribbean.  I'm glad she is having a great time and I'm glad she has such good friends!

In the afternoon, we went on a nature walk since weather was beautiful and perfect for being outside.  Then we had some friends over for dinner.  They had had something break that led to flooding in their house, so we asked them to come eat with us so they wouldn't have to worry about cooking and food.  Then in the evening, we had another friend from the ward over to play Wingspan.  

Birthday Boy

We've had a week of beautiful weather where we mostly just want to play outside and enjoy being outside!  Track is officially over - on Tuesday they had the end of season banquet.  Evelyn did such a great job this year and it's been awesome to watch her work hard and grow! 

She and Aaron have also been enjoying water polo.  I got to go down and scrimmage with the girls on Friday.  It was a lot of fun, but also tiring since I'd already swam that morning and then I also went and worked out with Elizabeth.  It was a great work out, but I could already tell I was going to be sore!  

Anna has been busy with friends and work and school and music.  It's crazy to think that her senior year is almost over - she (like Eileen) hasn't really wanted any of the pomp that goes with graduating, so it's been pretty laid back, but she seems to be enjoying her senior year! 

Friday night was Father/Son campout - Dan took David and Aaron (James wasn't interested) and tried to go on an overnight campout.... unfortunatly (for the boys - fortunatly for him....) he got lost.  Found himself down a dirt road with a HUGE ditch in the middle of it and finally gave up and came home.  David was super disappointed, so Dan let him invite Paxton over to sleep in a tent in the back yard.  That lasted about 20 minutes before they decided the frog was too loud and came inside.  That lasted another 20 minutes before Paxton decided he was homesick and wanted to go home.  David was disappointed again, but after that he was finally able to get to bed.  

Saturday, I got up early to swim, then came home and did some cleanup around the house before heading to Parkrose to play water polo.  Dan and the kids didn't make it this time, Dan and Aaron had to go to Brother Hank's house to help out and Anna didn't want to get up. :)  It was fun, but part way through, I was out of the pool collecting balls, and on my way back, I tripped over the back of the cage and fell hitting my hip pretty hard.  I finished the scrimmage, but didn't play very well after that.  After, I stopped by 7-11 to grab some painkillers, then hung out with the others at Level Beer for a bit before heading home.  

I took Aaron and Anna to open polo in the evening, and my hip was still hurting some, so I didn't play very well and ended up reffing for the last 20 min or so since I was not much use in the pool anyway.  

David has been having fun building cars with legos,  He has made a camper and a van like our van and wanted me to take a picture of all sides of the camper - I said he had to be in at least one of them :)  

Sunday was Dan's birthday.  We did french toast for breakfast, then headed to church.  It was great!  Primary went well!  Choir was very low on numbers, but there were people out of town.  

For dinner Dan chose biscuits and gravy and for his cake, we did an angel food cake.  It was yummy and fun.  He's decided that he wants to get certified to jump out of planes, so next month he's doing a class!  

Finally Feels like Spring... or maybe summer....

We've gone from days in the 40's and 50's to days in the 80's and it's finally feeling like late spring/early summer!  

Tuesday, we went up to the Shum's house to help them get their dirt into their grow boxes in their back yard.  The boys, shoveled, Dan and Richard pushed wheelbarrows and Melonie and I raked the dirt into place.  We got a bunch done, then Dan went back on Wednesday with Aaron to finish the job up.  James and David had so much fun that they were diappointed that they didn't get to go back.   

Wednesday was the girls camp kick off.  I took Evelyn (Anna had gone early for YCL stuff) and we had fun, then I left for Water Polo and she got a ride home with a friend.  Anna came to water polo with me, but the Thills high school coach pitched a fit about her playing with the Master's group, so after playing for a bit, she just went and swam laps.  

Koopa got groomed Thursday morning and is now all trimmed up and ready for the hot weather!  

Friday evening, Dan and I went to see Fall Guy.  It was great and we had a fun time watching the movie.  

Saturday morning, I went to the swim practice and got home and got distracted cleaning house.  James when he got up was all excited to help out and did a great job helping clean up!  David was less enthusiastic....  lol  Then, we borrowed a carpet cleaner to clean the carpets.  It had needed it anyway, but especially after having Popcorn here for a week.  It's all looking and smelling much nicer now!  I took Aaron and went to Parkrose for water polo - we had fun, but numbers were low.  Aaron had a couple great shots and I had a few great blocks!  

Anna spent most of her day down at the State Band competition.  They took 2nd place!!  She didn't get back until midnight and she got back earlier since she was with a parent driver - one of the buses broke down and the kids on that bus got back even later!  Between that and an early morning at work - she was gassed on Sunday!

In the afternoon, Dan took some of the kids swimming.  I stayed home and made cupcakes.  I took the cupcakes to Open Polo in the evening.  We had fun at open polo.  Chris' girlfriend Hunter got in and played with us and she did a great job!  We didn't really have any subs, but we had enough to play and had a great time!  Everyone loved the cupcakes!  

Sunday was Mother's Day.  We had a great time chatting with our moms.  We had a great church - great talks and music and some fun treats for the women!  They had chocolate covered strawberries in RS - but since i wasn't in RS and Eileen was and knows how much i love chocolate covered strawberries - she grabbed some for me!  In the morning, Dan made heart shaped biscuits and made me a candy boquet!  David gave me a cute little gift bag full of stuff he made or wanted to give me.  In the evening, Sandi and James came over to play games and we played Jamacia.  Aaron won, but Sandi was a close second.  I wasn't a close anything..... :) 

Zoo Trips and Concerts

On Wednesday I went on David's field trip with him to the zoo.  We had a blast together checking out all the animals and hanging out with friends!  

We loved the animals and the activities and the weather was good - we got to go on one of the only not-rainy days all week!  
 

Friday was Evelyn's last track meet - she went to JV Districs and got a PR by jumping 7' And she did it in the rain!  She placed 5th overall and she is amazing!!  

After Evie's meet, we headed home and Anna, Aaron and I went down to Newberg for scrimmages.  It was a lot of fun - but there were no subs, so I was dying!!!  lol  

Saturday morning, Dan took some of the kids to go help the Ogden's with packing and moving.  They did a great job and with all the help, things were done quickly.  After, Dan, Anna, Aaron and I headed out to Parkrose for water polo.  We had fun and there was a good turnout.  

Dan and I went out for dinner and to have some fun wandering around the mall on a little date and got home in time to see the kids off.  

In the evening, Aaron and Anna both went to the Spring Formal church dance.  They both went with friends and had fun. Anna did get her dress done, and while there were some hiccups with it, it came out great and she did an amazing job!  

In the evening, I went to open polo with Evelyn and we had fun (I think it has Evelyn really looking forward to summer water polo)  We started out with 6 on 6 and a couple subs, but ended up just 5 on 5 and no subs.  But we had fun!  

Sunday was church, it was great!  Fast and Testimony meeting was wonderful, then I finally got to be in primary - between travel and holidays and conferences, it had been a long time.  

Friends and Family

Monday morning - way too bright and early, I went to swim with the Barracudas - a master's swim team at THPRD.  They had a 2 week free trial, so I am trying it to see if I can swing this early morning thing.  It's hard and tiring, but so far I've been enjoying it.  I missed one day because my alarm didn't go off, but otherwise, it's been fun.  After, I can go home and have a quiet bit of time before everyone gets up.  

After I got the kids off to school and worked out with my friends, I headed down to meet up with Sara and Emily for lunch at Panera.  We had a great time as always and a great lunch!  

After, I picked David up from school.  We stayed to play for a little bit, then I told David that we could go get his hair cut.  He's been wanting to get it cut for a little while now, so I took him to Great Clips (and got mine trimmed too.)  He was so cute!  He was a little nervous at first, but then got comfy and had a great time.  The lady cutting his hair did a great job and he LOVES his hair cut.  

Tuesday was more of the normal.  Swimming, school, playing, water polo, family time and work.  Still nice weather for playing outside which was nice.  

Wednesday was Evelyn's last track meet, unfortunatly, they started the bar at 7' and she wasn't able to clear it.  I also had a coaches meeting down in Salem that I went to in the evening.  It went a bit late and I stayed around chatting for a bit after.  I took some of the leftover cookies home for the kids and they had them almost all eaten within 24 hours....  

Thursday was the day that I slept in and missed swim.  Then Melonie came over to crochet and then work.  David didn't have school on Thursday or Friday, so before I went to work, I took him to his friend Paxton's house for the afternoon.  Then Paxton came over to hang out at our house on Friday when Dan could be home to watch them.  Dan and Anna took them of a bit of a nature walk, but the boys got bored after awhile.  

Friday morning before work, I went to work out with my friend Elizabeth.  We had a fun time together and got it a solid work out.  It was fun hanging out with her and doing a more weight centered workout.  

Saturday, I got up for another early swim practice, then headed home to nap for a little bit.  Dan took the kids to the temple - the older ones all did baptisms and Dan took David around the grounds and the visitor's center.  

While they were there, I went to Water Polo at Parkrose.  We had a good turnout and had a fun time!  After, we went out to celebrate Dan Moffatt's birthday and chat for a bit.  We had fun and it was nice to have a place to hang out at until the afternoon when I went back to Parkrose HS for a women's scrimmage.  We didn't end up having enough to scrimmage, but we had fun playing together.  

In the evening, we had dinner and the kids went to a dance and I went to Open Polo.  I was tired after that many hours in the water, but not as bad as I feared.  We had a pretty good turnout, but ended up a little short by the end.  It was a fun night.  I got to chat with one of the guys there who got a degree in Marine Sciences and said he would be happy to help if we had any questions as Eileen was going through her education and stuff.  

Church today was wonderful.  I've been dragging a bit all day since my body decided it wanted to wake up at 5:30, but Sacrament Meeting was wonderful. Primary went great and choir went great.  I realized today that all my favorite activities all seem to require lots of recruiting.   

School, Sports and Songs

This week was a pretty normal week.  School and work, sports after school and in the evening, music classes and lessons and performances.  

Evie had a meet on Wednesday.  She did well and we enjoyed watching her and her friends!  

David spent most of the week complaining about having to walk home after a long fun afternoon playing at the playground.  The weather was beautiful and it was a great week for being outside and having fun with friends!  But David has gotten spoiled with friends giving him rides home the last month and wasn't happy about having to walk home again.  :)  

Aaron and Anna had a water polo tournament this weekend and I went down to help out as a volunteer also.  Had fun chatting with people and helping out!  

We had Stake Conference this weekend.  The Adult session Saturday evening was wonderful and we enjoyed watching it with Eileen.  Then after, I went to water polo - it was nice cuz there were a lot of people there!  Numbers have been low the last couple months, so it was nice to have a huge turn out!  

Sunday was great,  Stake Conference was great.  The choir did a great job - especially with such short notice.  The talks were wonderful and it was fun directing the music while David waved and blew kisses at me.  I winked at him and he got all excited!  It was cute! 

This afternoon, we had the Homers over for dinner and fun.  It was so good to see them again, the kids all had fun together and we had a fun evening chatting and playing games.  

She's Back!

Dan was gone for a lot of this week going to pick up Eileen!  Her semester is over and she's home again!  

The kids didn't have school on Monday or Tuesday.  So Monday, I took Anna out to pick out fabric for the prom dress she is making herself.  This is the one we went with - she's been having a great time designing and creating the dress herself!  

David had a music camp with sister Shum on Tuesday and had a great time.  Otherwise, we took it easy with the kids at home.  

On Wednesday Evelyn had a track meet.  They were competing against Jesuit.  She was jumping as a varsity jumper.  She didn't get a PR, but she did well and and is consistently jumping over 6' 6".  She has made 7' before, so she gets bummed when she doesn't make it again, but she's getting there!  

Wednesday was also when Dan was leaving to get Eileen.  Fortunatly the youth activities had been on Tuesday this week, so James and Evelyn were around so I could go play water polo that night.  

Thursday was the usual busy - school, work, friends and sports.  We survived and all made it through the day.  I even got to go swimming in the evening.  Dan made it safely to Rexburg and helped Eileen get packed up and ready to go.  

Friday, they headed back to Meridian and stayed the night with family.  Dan got to see Stephen and Claire, Paul and Rob and Sarah too, so he's gotten to see all his siblings and his parents in the last few weeks!  

Friday night the older 4 kids all got to go on a youth camp out/service project at Camp Kilowan.  James' friend Caleb went with him and we drove a car full of kids down to camp.  David got to hang out with his friend Kallie while I drove them down, then I picked him and and we went home and to bed.  

Saturday morning, I wanted to still be able to play water polo, so I asked Caleb's parents if Lyssa could come babysit David while I went to play.  He had fun playing with her and she did a great job.  I had fun playing, but numbers were pretty low.  Everyone was home in time for dinner and we enjoyed a yummy dinner of steamed buns and egg rolls courtesy of Eileen, then enjoyed some time together as a family before David went to bed and Evie, Aaron and Anna headed off to a dance, and I went to open polo.  

Sunday was wonderful, but crazy!  Our morning was pretty quiet since we were all tired from a long Saturday, but then it got busy!  Church was wonderful.  I was asked to lead a discussion in Relief Society and enjoyed it, then we had ward choir, then home for dinner and scriptures followed by Stake Choir and then the Encore concert.  The Encore concert was amazing - it's such a joy to see the kids getting to participate in all these awesome things!  

We had fun tonight playing games and spending time together - it's so nice to have Eileen back home again!  

General Conference

This week was back to the normal routines.  School, work errands, sports, activities.  The young men were going to be shooting off bottle rockets for their activity, so after getting the stuff for it, he and the kids had some fun testing it out and making sure it would work for the activity.  And since David wants to hang out with this friends ALL THE TIME, that included his two friends Addie and Paxton.  

Evelyn had a track meet on Wednesday, and I went to watch her jump.  She cleared 5' 6" and 6', but wasn't able to clear 6'6".  She was a bit disappointed that she hasn't been able to clear that height again, but we're just super excited that she is regularly clearing the bar!  It's also cute to see her and her friends all having fun together and cheering them all on.  

We had lots of water polo and swimming this week and Evelyn's track practices.  

Thursday night, Dan and I went out to a movie - we watched the new Ghostbusters which was fun and we spent time Monday and Tuesday swimming together.  We are both getting in better swimming shape!  

On Friday, Dan and I took James and David and Caleb and Lyssa and Frankie to the Dive-in movie.  We had fun, then headed home.  

Saturday was the start of General Conference weekend.  We had a great weekend watching and listening.  We managed to squeeze some water polo in between sessions.  Eileen called during the last session feeling stressed out about all that she had coming up.  Between cleaning and finals and packing, she was stressed out about an overly long to-do list.  On top of that she said she was feeling a bit homesick.  I think she associates General Conference with family and she was mostly alone this weekend.  

We enjoyed our usual monkey bread and 7 layer dip and ate way too much junk food, but had a great time doing it.  We had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Saturday and Sister Reamer and Andrew to watch the morning session with us on Sunday.  All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!  

France part 2 and Spring Break

Monday morning we had planned to go to the Louvre - but when we got there we realized that we needed to have purchased tickets in advance (which was different from the last time I was here) so, we managed to find a boat tour that we could take and be done in time to catch our train to Blois.  The weather was beautiful for being out on the Seine in a boat and I enjoyed the audio tour.  :)  

Then we ran to the train station to catch our train out to Blois and our new appartment - which was right next to a cute book store that Anna and I had fun browsing through.  We got settled in and went to find dinner - we basically had fast food - but in France you can find almost anything in a fast food restraunt.  Anna wanted a burger and fries - Dan and I got Indian food - all at fast food places.... It was decent Indian food though, and Anna said she liked the burger.  

Tuesday, we went to visit Chateaus.  We started with Chateau de Chambord.  We took an uber to get out there since there aren't any buses running out there this time of year.  It was drizzly when we got there so we didn't spend a whole lot of time wandering the grounds, but they were beautiful!  We could see an area where horses were training.  It was a beautiful castle and we had fun wandering around and checking everything out and learning about it's history.  We didn't consciously stay together, but because of the layout of the castle, we regularly bumped into each other. 

Then we headed to the Chateau de Cheverny.  This one was smaller and is still used as a residence, so it had a different feel.  Plus the castle and grounds were all decked out for Easter inside and out.  Including stuffed bears in the trees.... 

After, we had lunch at a little French restraunt near the chateau and enjoyed a the food and the sweet little proprioter who was friendly and fun!  She didn't speak much english, but we communicated well enough! 

Then we headed back to Blois to wander around the Chateau Blois.  It was also a beautiful chateau with a great little interactive tour on a tablet with a treasure hunt and lots of fun things to do and see and learn.  Then we got some dinner and crashed for the night! 

Wednesday, we went to the cathedral in Blois and then wandered around the town until it was time to check out and go catch our train.  

While we waited at the station between trains, we found this cute little machine that spits out stories for you to read while you wait for your train.  Dan got one and it was super cute! 

We got some dinner after we got back to Paris, then wandered around until it was time for our night walking tour of Paris.  We had a fun time with our group learning about some of the darker sides of the history of Paris - ending at this cathedral which was the site of the St Bartholomew's day massacre, and had some very cool gargoyles.  We got back to our hotel very late and then crashed for a few hours before we had to head to the airport.  

Thursday, we headed home - a quick flight to London, then changing planes before heading back to the states.  It was a LONG day, but we made it home safely and were very happy to see the kids again.  

The kids have been on spring break this week and have been busy with friends and music camps and swimming and shopping with Grandma.   

Friday night, Anna and Evelyn had their Youth Orchestra concert.  It was a beautiful Easter themed concert.  The kids did a great job - Anna had a vocal solo for one song and did an AMAZING job - her tone was clear and beautiful and she sounded so awesome!  

Saturday, after Parkrose water polo, we headed down to John and Melissa's house for an Easter egg hunt.  The kids had a fun time - there were ducks in some of the eggs - which Anna loved, even though she didn't find any of the duck eggs - she managed to trade for a bunch of them.  Aaron was happy to find some money eggs and David found the grand prize of a huge egg full of Cadbury chocolate eggs.  We had a great time with friends and family before heading home to get kids to bed.  

Then I took the older kids to Open polo - but numbers were low again, which was disappointing - usually spring break is more crowded with college kids home.  We had fun though! 

Church today was wonderful - we just had Sacrament meeting.  The two talks were wonderful and the choir performed.  It was wonderful, then we had a nice quiet afternoon together.  Sandi and James came over for games in the evening and we had fun together.  

Trip with Anna Part 1

 We had a busy Monday.  I took David to school, and Dan took Evelyn to the orthodontist.  Then when she was done I picked up a girl with no braces on!  She looks amazing - but she is still getting used to what she looks like and how it feels without braces. 

Then after school, David's friend Anna came over to play and they had a great time together!!  

After spending Monday walking my mom through everything (and thinking Dan and I might be crazy) we got packed up and ready to head out.  

Tuesday morning, I got David to school and finished packing, then we headed up to the airport.... unfortunatly, we forgot our passports.  My mom drove up (to Seattle airport) to bring them to us, and since we had gotten there very early, it would have worked, except for the accident that stopped traffic.  So we had to change our flight, and fly out Wednesday morning instead.  We had dinner with my mom, then headed to the hotel for the night.  

Wednesday morning, bright and early we got on a plane - for a very long time.  :)  We arrived early Thursday morning and got into our air bnb and then headed out for lunch.  We found some Indian food then started walking!  We walked by Notre Dame and got crepes and wandered around the city.  

Friday, we started out the day by heading out to Versailles.  We walked over the castle and then biked all over the gardens.  We had a great time and Anna did some awesome drawings.  

After, we ended up at Sacre Coeur.  The view was amazing and the building was awesome!  As we were leaving, we saw a guy out singing on the steps in front and stopped to listen for awhile and had a blast!  

Saturday morning, we headed to the Opera House.  It was incredible!  I took the audio tour, Dan and Anna wandered and Anna sketched.  Then Dan and Anna were done, and they headed outside to a cafe to drink hot chocolate and sketch.  

Then we headed out to the Paris, France temple!  Anna was able to do baptisms and Dan made a new best friend with the elder who was asked to translate for us.  Then we headed to the visitor's center.  

Then we went by the Paris Duck Store.  Anna has a blast looking at all the ducks and picking out a couple to bring home! 

Sunday, we headed to church which was awesome - though the translation was a bit rough, it was wonderful to take the sacrament!  

On our way back, we found a group out playing on the streets - Anna was excited to see a euphonium in the group.  They were fun to listen to, but they were just a prelude to something even more fun! 

Turns out the band was along a route for a waiters race and we got to see them run by.  It was awesome!!  

Anna was tired and wanted to rest, so Dan and I went out walking.  We went to the Pantheon and loved  getting to see the Eglise Saint-Etienne du Mort right next to it that was just stunning!  

Then we walked around the gardens of the palace of Luxembourg and had fun watching some small sailboats on the pond.  

Then we got Anna and went out for Sushi fr dinner before walking back over to the pantheon and the church for Anna.  Anna enjoyed getting to sketch it, then as we were walking back, we noticed the Eiffel Tower all lit up and sparkly, and Anna decided that she wanted to go see it after all, so we walked over.  

We walked around it and then went in and when Anna found that you could climb it using stairs (for the first 2 levels) she decided she wanted to go up after all.  I had never climbed the stairs or gone up at night, so it was neat for me.  The stairs were a great little work out and the view was incredible - especially at night!  

Finally after a LONG, but wonderful, day, we headed back to our appartment to get some rest and do a bit of packing up.  Tomorrow we head to Blois!