Memorial Day 2016

I love Memorial Day.  It is one of my favorite holidays.  I love going to the cemeteries to recognize and remember those who came before us.  I love taking my kids to help celebrate the life of those we've lost that we love.  This year late Saturday night I got a text from my sister Jenny that said they wanted to come up for the Annual Jacobson Picnic on Monday so I talked her into coming Sunday afternoon and staying the night.  She got here early enough that we were able to run see my Grandpa Murdock on Sunday evening.

 In the same cemetery as grandpa is Ryan's Aunt Wendy that passed away just a few years ago.  The kids remember Wendy (and her bird) very well and were happy to decorate her grave as well.  

 Monday morning before heading to Swan Valley to the picnic we ran into see Grandpa Jake and the many other family members we have buried in that cemetery.  The little boys took special care to clean the headstones the way they have seen their grandpa do it year after year. Shane also made sure to tell the story of alcohol and the part it played in a few family members lives that put them in the cemetery.  The same story grandpa relays every year to the kids.  It was a little different not having grandpa and grandma with us this year because they are serving their mission.  We are so grateful they are where they are though and see so many blessings in our lives by their serving.  

 Then off to the picnic and of course Lanae never disappoints with her games.  The all time favorite high jump ended the day.  We have done the high jump at the Memorial Day picnic since I was a little girl and the kids still just can't get enough of it. Rhett was the champion for the younger kids and was pretty proud.  

 Laiklie could hold her own and has some pretty good jumping skills.  

 Long legged Dallin has got some work to do to catch-up to Riker (black shirt in the picture) if he wants to be high jump champion, but we have more "young" years ahead of us than I think Riker has.:)

 Grandma's brother Theron joined us at the picnic this year.  I don't know Theron very well, but what little I know, I love.  I love that he is her big brother there to take care of her since Grandpa passed.  He has a young spirit in him that loves to talk about the fights with the boys and how he was always able to come out the winner.  He is a neat man with many stories behind those deep Ahsment eyes that I still would love to hear. I am grateful for the time I get to spend with my grandma and the legacy she is leaving behind.  She is an amazing lady and I still have much to learn from her. What a great day with the people I love the most! 

The older I get the more I love most, those I loved first. - Thomas Jefferson

Spring Rain Storms

This year has been SOOOO DRY! It is only May and I can't believe how dry everything already is.  We were SO GLAD to see some rain last week and of course these two found the puddles. :)

 Rhett and Laiklie and their trusty side-kick Remmi. 

5th Grade Bike Ride

Rhett got to participate in the 5th grade bike ride this year.  He has had such a great year and enjoys these little things so much.  I had to run some sunscreen over to him at the park and tried to get him to let me take his picture.  NO WAY was he going to LET me.  Funny thing is....I don't need permission.  I can sneak as many pictures of him and his best friend Raegan as I want to. ;) 

Rhett and Raeg are some of the top kids at our elementary in the states game and in the first picture our principal Mr. Page is quizzing them and a few kids from a different elementary to see who knew their states best.  I only got a little peek into the game, but from what I could tell Rhett and Raeg were some pretty stiff competition.  Go Ucon Wildcats!

Laiklie's Piano Recital

Laiklie had her Spring Piano Recital on May 20th.  She had to play two different songs and one of them had to be memorized.  She of course picked the longer song to memorize.  Funny girl! She did SOOO GOOD! She was the very first one on the program and was nervous about that, but she rocked it!

Laiklie also just tried out for the Advanced clogging team for next year and MADE IT!! She is growing so fast and it is such a fun thing to watch her turn into such an amazing big girl instead of the little girl I think she should still be.

She does do a few funny things though that remind me of how young and innocent she really is.  Like the other day when we had this conversation in the car....

Dallin: Mom people are constantly flipping other people the bird at school and I hate it!

Laiklie: What does "flicking" the bird mean?

Me: It's not nice, so we don't do it.

Laiklie: Ya, but WHAT does it mean?

Me: It's like saying a swear word to them.

Laiklie: So like.............do you get to pick the swear word?

Bahahahahaha!!! I love this sweet girl! 

She also had us all laughing till we cried last Sunday over dinner when we were talking about birds and them dying or something like that and she started in on a story about how possums babies die alot because possums only have 13 NIPPLES and so the babies that can't get to a NIPPLE DIE!! We seriously laughed until we couldn't breath anymore and she had no idea what we were even laughing about.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sweet innocent little girl.  She made me take her to town to buy MAKE-UP just two days ago because she NEEDED it!!! She is 9 going on 16!! ;)

Lagoon 2016

It's time for Nationals again!! We look forward to this every year! It was extra fun this year because they had the rides open both Friday and Saturday so we didn't even hardly see the kids that weren't dancing.  The boys were in heaven and rode rides all day long both days!

Laiklie and Trixie got a first on their short duet again. Yay!

 They also snuck away for a few rides. 

 Oakley's little novice team got an overall team trophy. Yay! Her and Brooklyn do a great job teaching. Oakley did so well in all her individual events too.  She has worked SO HARD all year and this year we knew it was going to be tough because it was our first year in Pro and they judge not only incredibly hard, but they only give out 5 places and if you don't get one of those spots you don't get anything.  She worked her guts out and prayed like crazy and she made it on the ALL AMERICAN TEAM AGAIN!! Three years in a row!!! This is the TOP PRIZE that all the dancers are aiming for and they give so few out.  We are SOOOO PROUD of her and her accomplishments in dance.  She amazes us! 

Cavalia, Odessyo

On May 12th we headed to Salt Lake with all the Hawkins cousins preparing for the girls to dance at Lagoon the following two days.  Since we were going down anyway though, grandma bought us all tickets to a show called Cavalia, Odessyo.  It was a horse show in these HUGE tents in the mall parking lot.  It was INCREDIBLE!!! I have never been to a show anywhere close to being as good as this one was.  We had VIP passes, so we got a buffet dinner before the show, and dessert during intermission.  The kids all got lanyards, posters and books about the show as well, plus as much free popcorn as they could eat. :)

We had front row seats so we were right up close to the horses. We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the show or the horses, but it really was INCREDIBLE and we would go back in a second if given the chance.  Thanks grandma for a SUPER FUN evening!!

Dance Recital 2016

On May 7th we had our year end dance recital! Yay! It is always exciting to be finished with dance for the summer.  They girls are so fun to watch and both had great teams to perform with this year.

(Laiklie is on the far right)

My phone was dead, and Ryan's was in the car, so these are a few pictures Grandma Hawkins took that she shared with us.  Grateful for a grandma who even thought to take a few for me.

Mother's Day 2016

Because my mom is on her mission right now she left Grandma Murdock's mother's day gift with me.  The kids and I ran it in after church and got to visit for a few minutes.  I always love going to see my grandma's.  What special ladies and incredible examples in my life.  You can see grandma outfitted us with a few more stocking caps. :) What a blessing to have both my grandma's still alive and living close enough to us that we get to stop in and see them as often as possible. So thankful!

Family Pictures

All the sisters-in-law decided last minute to take some grandkid pictures for Linn for Mother's Day.  We got all 13 grandkids decked out in their John Deere green and yellow and met at our house one quick afternoon to take the pictures.  While we were taking them I asked Tara to take one of just my kids.  I blew this up huge and put it in my new house and LOVE it!! I love these 4 babies Heavenly Father sent to me.  I have tried and tried to get time to slow down and just can't figure out how, so I am just trying to soak up every minute I can with them and enjoying it to the fullest.

Oakley

Oakley tried out for a dance tour team with a team out of Rexburg last December and in January we found out that she was one of 10 girls that had made the team.  She was one of two (her and her friend Brooklyn) that made it from a different dance studio.  All the others were from their dance studio.  We had prayed and prayed about this opportunity and told Heavenly Father that if it was right for her to go that she would have the chance.  We were thrilled that she was one of the ones chosen.  She started practicing with her tour team the end of February and has ABSOLUTELY LOVED it!!! It isn't anything like what she has done before. There is some clogging in it, but they also do traditional American dancing like square dance and running line dance and bluegrass type singing/dancing.  They dance with partners and do lifts and flips and she can't get enough of it.  She comes home each week and you seriously can't wipe the smile off her face! She is headed with this tour team for 3 weeks this summer to Indonesia.  

On a side note - YES, sending my Type One Diabetic daughter across the world without her mom for 3 weeks to take care of herself scares me TO DEATH! and literally makes me sick to my stomach when I think about it, BUT we aren't about to let diabetes hold her back from this once in a lifetime opportunity. We are so excited for her and know Heavenly Father will watch over her.

Oakley's friend Colman's mom asked her, Katie and Lauren to come for a photoshoot one afternoon and of course they were ALL OVER THAT! ;) She did a GREAT job and I LOVE the way she captured these beautiful girls' true beauty.  We are so grateful for good friends and good friends moms who want to take our picture! :)

Yard Work

Every fall we have a neighbor that goes to Arizona for the winter and she asks the kids to come rake her leaves for her after they fall off the trees so that they don't kill the grass. This past fall we got snow so early that we didn't get the job done.....or even started in the fall.  So this spring the kids and I headed over as soon as the snow melted to rake and haul Luella's leaves.  They were wet and HEAVY and our bodies ached for days afterwards, but we did it!!

 Before and After

 We hauled load after load out to the pasture.  It is so good for the kids to learn how to work and how to work hard.  I am grateful for opportunities like this for them to serve and think of others. I am always glad when this project is finished for the year though. :)

My New View

I absolutely LOVE the view out my new windows into my new backyard. It will be much nicer when we have a yard in, but for just being dirt right now it isn't too bad. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the water running along the edge and you can't tell from these pictures, but I love the view of the grain field and the mountains.  If you look really close you can see Dallin.  He LOVES the view about as much as his mom does.

One morning I looked out and there was a duck floating in the canal and I said, "Oh, I love the duck out on the water." and Dallin said, "I love it too......I want to shoot it." Hahaha.  He is his dad's kid!

Laiklie

 I tried to do a lot of de-junking and moving while the kids were at school so they couldn't see what I was throwing away. ;)  I happened to find this little surprise under Laiklie's bed one day while she was at school.  Love it! Funny girl!

Dallin

Dallin has become a full force teenager and is wearing me out over things like HAIR CUTS!! Who knew hair cuts could be such an issue?!?!

I finally gave in and decided that for the most part he gets to decide when and how to cut his hair with the one rule that it is always an appropriate hair cut for passing the sacrament.  He likes it MUCH LONGER than I like it and for the most part has done a great job keeping it looking nice.  But it gets SO LONG SO FAST and then we FIGHT over having to get it cut.  This was a before and after picture I took of the last hair cut so I could show him how much better it looks when it is cut! What's funny it after seeing the pictures he TOTALLY agrees with me.....but here we are 3 weeks later having the hair cut fight once again. :) He wears me out!

Our New Home

This post is out of order....but I didn't want to forget it.  This was April 8th and it was our first dinner as a family in the new house as we finished all the final touches before moving the next day.  We were able to get all the beds/big furniture moved over and spent our first night in the house April 9th.  It took a full month of moving the small things and organizing and trying to keep both houses clean before we were completely moved, but we finally got through the move without any mental breakdowns....even though I was on the verge of one many times! ;) Soooo glad to be in our new home and absolutely LOVE it!! 

Calving

The boys had to be extra good help this year with calving while we finished the new house.  One night Ryan headed over to work at the house and sent the boys out to check cows.  It was taking them a long time and I was getting worried.  Just as I was about to go find them they came tromping in.  They had got out there and found one that had calved.  We calved mostly heifers this year so we had had some small calves, but nothing like the one they had found that night.  It was seriously the size of a little lamb.  Dallin picked it up and Rhett carried the flashlight and it took them several tries to get the mom to follow them into the barn, but those two little boys got the job of getting calf and mom in the warm barn done, all by themselves.  It is one of those moments where my mommy heart swells with pride for my great little hard working men.  So proud of them knowing how to do these kinds of things from watching their daddy closely.  I wish you could tell from the pictures just how little and sweet this baby calf is.  We were surprised he survived! I love that my kids get to grow up living a farm life!