Basement Update

Remember THIS:

And THIS?

It is now, THIS

And THIS!!

I know it is REALLY hard to tell anything from the pictures, but atleast you can see progress!

So....we aren't finished YET!, but we are definitely getting closer. We decided we had to do it in a two step process, so we are finishing the family room and THEN we will finish Laiklie's room and the bathroom. Why a two step process you ask?? WELL, the biggest reason is the room that will be Laiklie's is holding the gun cabinet and desk until the family room is finished PLUS it still has about a dump truck load of COAL in it!! So, ANYONE NEED ANY COAL?

Idaho History

I have been CURSING 4th Grade Idaho History all week.....well, to tell you the truth, for the past few weeks!! Oakley's teacher had each of the kids sign-up a few months ago to do a big end of the year Idaho History Project. Oakley's grandma Hawkins bought her a rock tumbler for Christmas this past year, so she decided she wanted to sign-up to do the rock collection. It has been kind of a nightmare. First off we couldn't find the rock tumblers instructions in the remodeling mess that has taken over Oakley's room. So we printed some off the internet and it is quite the process. You start the first sand and tumble it for 7 days and then the next step takes 6 days and then 4 days and then back to 10 days. Ryan has been cursing the rock tumbler that goes day and NIGHT in the basement that makes it so we can't sleep. We have collected rocks from 5 different places in Idaho and have been searching for ways to display the rocks and learning all sorts of info about the rocks. It has been a VERY LONG PROCESS! Good news is.......we sent the finished project today to school.

Oakley with a little droopy eyes. Not so much because of a late night with Idaho History Project, more a late night because of diabetes! Kind of a normal around this house! But....she is looking cute like always! Top view of the finished rock collection! Looks great Oakley!!

Each rock had its own cute little box because she wanted to be able to pass them around. You know, passing things around is important in 4th grade.:)

Now we are on to the pyramid book report that is due Monday. So....in other words....I AM STILL CURSING 4TH GRADE!

Current Happiness

About 4 years ago Ryan and I decided to venture out and get some bum lambs for our kids. Oakley was 5, Dallin was 3, Rhett was 1 and I was pregnant with Laiklie. We thought they were old enough for this venture and thought it would be GREAT FUN!! (DUH!!) The kids DID love the lambs and they DID try to help as much as a 5, 3, and 1 year old can, but it ended up being a big job for Ryan and I and was kind of a pain. So.....4 years is a long time to forget all that and.....well......look what has once again found its way to our house........

We decided that this time they REALLY are the right age and that they REALLY can be big helpers. So far, so good! We had each kid work to earn their $7 to pay for their own lambs. Laiklie is very in love with the lambs!! She named her lamb Peaches (from the new Ice Age movie). She is very good at feeding Peaches. She holds the bottle by herself and doesn't want anyone to help her. I am just so glad that Peaches is a good little eater! :) Rhett had the name Fluff picked out before we even got the lambs. He sure likes his little Fluff! He too is a great helper when it comes to feeding. During the day when the 2 big kids are at school Rhett and Laiklie are the ones left to help feed and they sure are their mom's best little helpers! He too could spend the entire day with the lambs if I would let him. Dallin has LOVED every second of having these new lambs. They are his new favorite thing. One funny story: The day we were called to pick-up the lambs was, of course, the same day as Senovio's funeral. We had to be to the Sheep Station by 3 and around 2:30 I could see we weren't going to make it. So I called my newly retired dad to run out and pick them up for us. When we got to my parents house my dad had the lambs running around in his fenced yard and before we were even out of the suburban Dallin yells, "I get the brown one!" (It has super cute brown spots even though you can't see them in the picture.) and Laiklie who is still buckled in her carseat and can't even see the lambs yells, "I get the pink one!" Oakley is so responsible that last night when I had to leave for Mutual and Ryan was out planting she took on the big job of getting the 4 kids and the 6 bottles and feeding the bum lambs. I was SO PROUD of her. She is getting so big and it is hard to believe that not only is she capable of babysitting her little bro.'s and sis, but she can take on the job of feeding bum lambs in the process!!

So, as of right now the sweet little lambs bring us happiness. I called it current happiness because even though 4 years is a long time to forget how much work they are, I remember PERFECTLY the day all 6 full grown sheep came parading through MY HOUSE!! If these sheep grow-up to be like the others the happiness may fade, but for now they make us happy! Someone told me the other day when I was telling them about our lambs that "by getting lambs you are not raising lambs, you are raising kids!" She was so right. We don't as parents put ourselves into situations like 6 bum lambs for any other reason than to teach our children. We have already found the "happiness," so now, LET THE TEACHING BEGIN!

Senovio

Wednesday, April 14, 2010, Senovio Vega passed away. Senovio came to work for my father-in-law when Ryan was about 13 years old. Senovio has been a part of Ryan's everyday life since that time and a part of me and my childrens everyday life since we became a part of the family!

Senovio passed away at only 48 years of age. He has been fighting a battle with cancer for the past year and the most tragic part of this is that he has been cancer free now for the past few months! It was everything they put into his body that made it shut down. We have cried so many tears over the past week. We miss him like crazy and our hearts ache for his family. Senovio left behind two young sons and a sweet little wife. We have cried tears not only for our loss, but for theirs. A senior in high school should not have to be a pallbearer at his dad's funeral. It has been hard to watch them be tough for their sweet mother and family!

In memory of Senovio I have decided to write down some of our favorite memories!

Ryan LOVES to tell our kids the story about Senovio roping a deer! I have NEVER seen someone as strong as Senovio! He is like a horse!! He knows how to work and has always worked so hard.

The kids and I love that Senovio honked his horn EVERY time he drove past our house. He honked even if it was the middle of the night (which Ry didn't like so much!) My favorite was the days when the kids were outside and not only did he honk, he slowed way down, stuck his arm as far out the window as he could and yelled to my kids "Hello!"(with his spanish accent) We also loved honking at him when he was out changing water because he would stand-up tall and wave again as big as he could so that all 4 kids could see him. Senovio loved kids and stopped to talk to mine everytime he saw them.

Senovio especially loved the little girls! (where he has two boys of his own he wasn't as fond of the stinky boys:)) He would ask my girls all summer long if he could come and pick them up at night so they could go help him change the water. He would always try to bribe them by telling them that they could "hold the flashlight!"

Senovio every once in a while would bring my kids Mexican candy or juices and sometimes little bananas!

Senovio and I understood things in the same way. We both knew that the work would still be there tomorrow. There were several times he would tell Ryan to go home and be with his family. There were several times that Senovio would stay to work so Ryan could go home to be with his family.

Senovio was always my very first phone call when the cows were out or the water needed changed and Ryan wasn't here to do it! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM GOING TO DO WITHOUT HIM!

The thing I loved the most and will miss the very most though is Senovio's bright white smile! He wore it EVERYWHERE he went!

I have to admit the past few days have been emotionally exhausting. The Catholic's do funerals much different than the Mormons. It was neat to be in attendance at his funeral and see the love his family has for him. It was hard at the same time knowing that they don't know what we know! If only we could give them this gift of eternal families I think it would (somewhat) ease their pain! I count the plan of salvation as one of my greatest blessings!

So, for now, slowly, a day-at-a-time our hearts will heal and we will at some point stop watching for Senovio to drive by and honk or come walking around the corner. We gave a plaque to his sweet widow that said, "Siempre Amando, Nunca Olvidado" ALWAYS LOVED, NEVER FORGOTTEN! This is truly the case!!

FINALLY......Easter!

So I am finally getting around to posting Easter pictures. The truth is......I didn't want to post until I had pictures of my girls in their Easter dresses and where Easter fell on General Conference I had to wait a week.

Easter Dresses.....Grandma Hawkins got them for the girls and we love them. Who doesn't love a good pink/brown poka-dot combo??

Dying Easter Eggs (And yes, Oakley's eyes are closed and Laiklie is wearing only underwear! You have to forgive us.....we are ALWAYS a little CRAZY around here!)

And something that kind of goes with Easter
APRIL SHOWERS BRING..........
MUD PUDDLES!!

Dance Competition

Oakley and I had a dance competition last night in Pocatello. It is the competition that qualifies you for the National Clogging Championship. In order to qualify you have to have a 1st place.

Oakley's first dance is "Let's Get Crazy!" and is SOOO CUTE with the feather boas. She was really nervous, but they did so good and got a 1st place.

Her second dance is "She's Got the Beat!" and once again they did so well and got another 1st!
This year Oakley decided to compete in what they call Solo's. The teacher gets a DVD of 5 different solo's (they are about 45 sec. long) and the girls can compete in as many of the 5 as they would like to. They are competing in a line of 4 girls, but only competing against themselves. If they do it perfect they get a 1st....if not perfect they get a 2nd or 3rd depending on the mistake. Oakley did her first solo and when her and her friends got back in line to do their second one some child somewhere in the building pulled the fire alarm. So....we all had to evacuate the building until the fire crew could inspect it to make sure it was safe! We sat out in the car for 20 min. and by the time we got to go back in Oakley REALLY had to go to the bathroom. So she went and competed her 2nd solo and then her and another girl in her group ran to the bathroom thinking they had plenty of time. By the time they got back they had missed the 3rd solo. So she only did 4 of the 5. She got three 1st places and one 2nd place. As long as she got a 1st on one of the solos she can compete all 5 at Nationals....so we were NOT at all disappointed. She did GREAT!

And now, for me, I told the teacher in the beginning I was ONLY doing clogging for the fun and exercise and that I would not perform. Hmmmmm.....well, they didn't have enough ladies to do competition, so I got suckered into competing at Pocatello. They have found someone to replace me at Nationals, because I DO NOT want to have to worry about competing when I am running crazy trying to get Oakley to her competition times. I really just want to be "the mom!" for times like that. But......I must admit.....IT WAS ALOT OF FUN! and we got 1st places on both our dances also. YAY! for the old ladies!!:)

WATCH OUT NATIONALS HERE WE COME!

AHHHH!

Oh my word, I have not had even 3 seconds to myself for the past 5 or 6 days! 3 seconds is NOT enough time to pee without being barged in on. 3 seconds is NOT enough time to actually eat a real breakfast, lunch or dinner. 3 seconds is NOT enough time to brush both the top and bottom teeth or comb the entire head of hair! 3 seconds is NOT enough time to change the blog background from Easter to anything other than Easter! 3 seconds doesn't even guarantee that your outfit will match. We have been running crazy here and there and everywhere (looking a little frazzled as you can tell from the before stated). The crazy thing is that there is not an end in sight to the madness! The next 2 days are as cram packed as the past 6. Crazy to think that I am looking forward to Saturday (laundry day) so that I HAVE to stay home! I promise.......maybe when I get 5 seconds.......I will post Easter pictures!