Painting, Cabinets and Countertops!!!

We started painting our new house February 16th.  It took a couple weeks and EVERYONE - including Chase - helped!

 It was sooooo nice to have the kids help.  It is a big house and a lot to paint and a lot of hands makes quick work.  It looks so good!!

 We got the cabinets just after painting.  I am IN LOVE with how they turned out!

And the countertops ended up being a bigger job than expected, which took longer than expected.  We had one section bubble up so they had to start over on the whole countertop by the window.  It looks great now that they are finished and I can't wait to get started on the flooring! EEEKK!!

Boise Dance Competition

On February 12, we took a couple of the girls that clog in Oakley's Pro group to Boise for a dance competition.  We have never been to the Boise Competition, so we weren't sure what to expect.  It ended up being a good competition to start the year and get the girls on the stage in front of the judges.  Oakley did really well.  She was the only one of the 4 we took that got 5 first places on all her solos!!! So proud of her.  Those pro solos are HARD!! Her and Brooklyn also got 3rd place overall on their acapella duet.  The way they judge in pro is SO MUCH DIFFERENT than the way they judge in all the other categories so it is something we are trying to get use to.  These girls are working hard and have several more dance competitions coming up.

 Oakley and Brooklyn with their 3rd place medals.  Yay!

Oakley, Shaina, Kasandra and Brooklyn

We carpooled over and all squished into my car. It was so much fun!!

Asthma Attack

Every once in a while.....about once or twice a year this cute boy, Dallin, scares his momma to death by springing an Asthma Attack on me! On February 4th, just after noon a got this text:

We always have breathe oil or his inhaler in his backpack and had just taken it out a few days before for a scout outing and it never got put back in.  I live about 10 minutes from the school.  A lot can happen with an asthma attack in 10 minutes.  SCARY!! I called the school and got the office and told the lady that my son was having an asthma attack and I was on my way in and I needed him out of class and waiting for me in the office.  She says, "Just a minute please." Put me on HOLD and transfers me to a DIFFERENT LADY!!! Are you KIDDING ME?! She obviously doesn't understand the seriousness of an asthma attack.  Anyway.....the other lady was able to get him to the office for when I did get there.  It was a bad enough attack that I ended up bringing him home for a breathing treatment.

Glad we have learned what to do when he does scare me like this and glad he was okay once again! 

Rhett

I got this picture from Rhett's teacher the other day and it cracked me up! Wish is would rotate. February is Mad Math Month at the school and each grade has certain math requirements they have to pass off in order to sign the mad math month wall.  Rhett was the FOURTH kid in the entire school to pass his off and got to sign the wall on the first day! He has worked SO HARD this year on his grades.  He had over 10 book reports finished before Christmas even.  He only needed 10 all year.  He has pushed, and pushed himself and I am so proud of him! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE what he wrote around his name.

It reads: Rhett Hawkins, Flat Stanley (his nickname at the school...infact I was there when the Principal announced over the intercom who had signed the wall already and he announced him as Flat Stanley. Haha!) 4th person to pass math facts in school! AMAZING, AWESOME, GOOD LOOKING. 

Hahaha! His self confidence is great! LOVE this kid!

Eugene, Oregon Mission

In January my parents received their mission call to the Eugene, Oregon Mission.  We are SO EXCITED for them! This has been a long time coming and we are glad it is finally here.  They have been preparing for several months to try and get everything at home ready so they can go.  Their biggest concern is their moms.  My dad's mom is very well taken care of because their is a lot of family around.  He HATES just leaving her for everyone else to take care of.  But at the same time he understands that those you leave behind are also blessed from a mission.  My mom's mom is in a little different situation, in that I am the closest relative to her and my parents did not want me to have to take on her care all alone.  It is a big job and one that everyone will be blessed for helping with.  They have done a lot of arranging and things are going to go smoothly while they are gone because of it.  On Sunday, January 31, they had their mission farewell.  They both did an amazing job.  My mom talked about the blessings of raising a righteous family and promised blessings from temple attendance.  My dad spoke about women in the gospel and told the story of my grandma getting pushed off the bench at primary as a little girl and how she vowed to never go back.  What a blessing that years later she did! We are all a living testament to that choice. After church we had a nice dinner and then went back to my parents for just a few minutes.  Of course we waited till everybody that could take a picture of us all together had left.  Thank goodness for iphones, timers and teenagers that know how to use them. :) The lighting in this picture is terrible, but EVERYBODY is in it.  Mom and dad, all 6 children, all 6 spouses, all 30 grandkids (15 boys, 15 girls) and one grand-daughter-in-law and even their little great grandbaby.  What a SPECIAL, SPECIAL day!!

I found this quote one day and it rings true to me, "I find as I grow older that I love those most whom I loved first." - Thomas Jefferson

Mem and Em

With all the fun snow and with grandma being in Arizona we have got to keep these babies quite a bit this winter for Yvonne.  Memory is at such a fun age.  She LOVES to clog and keeps us all laughing with it.  She LOVES my phone and gets SO MAD at me when I try to take it from her.  She is spoiled rotten at my house because the kids just can't get enough of her.  And then chubby little Ember (in her carseat in the picture) is such a good baby.  Other than the normal fussing every once in a while she is easy to take care of.  This day I was watching them for Yvonne when Ryan decided we needed to go get a kitchen sink for the house.  We aren't as good at packing up babies as we use to be, but it's like riding a bike....we figured it out pretty quick.  So much fun! Sure love having littles in my house again!

More Skiing

Dallin, Rhett and Laiklie LOVE to ski and this year we have had a lot of really good snow so it has been a blast to be able to take them.  We go with the school so we get cheap tickets. Yay!

 It is even better with cousins! Laiklie and Sage.

 Kiana, Dallin and JD

Rhett and his friend Kylie

With the good snow we have atleast 2 more times to go with the school and maybe even a few more times on our own.  Yvonne was nice enough to take Dallin and Rhett with her, Kiana and JD to Targhee last weekend and other than Dallin skiing off a cliff (he was SO SORE) they had a great time! What a great Aunt!!