Babysitting the Babies

In March Chase and Yvonne got to go to Mexico for 10 days, so for 7 of the 10 days we got to keep all 3 of the babies. My kids were seriously the best help! Three babies are BUSY, especially when you aren't use to having any babies at home.  Our baby is 10 years old so 3 for 7 days was kinda crazy.  We totally made it work and had a great time with them.  

Other than Memory pooping her pants several times EVERYDAY (potty training sucks....especially when they can't figure out how to poop in the potty!) and Autumn being sick for the first 4 or so days with a cold we really didn't have any problems and actually loved having them here and missed them when they went home.  Sure love living next door to these sweet girls!

Pocatello Dance Competition

Both Oakley and Laiklie got to dance again this year at the Idaho State Dance Competition in Pocatello.  They both did great! Laiklie and her little duet partner, Ellie, and so stinking cute doing their baseball duet. Laiklie got all 5 firsts on her solos again this year so she received a solo master star pin. Yay!! So proud of her for all her hard work with her first year in Advanced. 

Oakley and Brooklyn were a little off for a few different reasons at Pocatello and just couldn't quite get it together.  Even with an "off" day they still scored fairly well for how many are at the Pocatello competition.  We were glad to see the day come to an end though. 

 

 

Oakley and Brooklyn both got all 5 firsts on their solos (extremely hard in the pro division) and were given the solo master star pin. We were excited for that.  Oakley also scored a first place overall high gold on her acapella which was super exciting in such a large group of dancers! Looking forward to the next competition!

Dr. Suess Day

 The elementary has the kids dress up for Dr. Suess Day. Laiklie and Samantha made their own costumes and they turned out super cute! So fun to have great friends!

The Piano got a Facelift

 BEFORE

This is the piano my mom and dad bought 30 years ago when I was 8 years old so that I could take piano lessons.  I love that it is MY piano and it was ready for a little facelift after 30 years. 

AFTER

I LOVE color so it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I painted my piano blue. :) I LOVE the way it turned out! It adds so much color to my little farmhouse!

Family Boise Trip

After Oakley was finished with the dance competition we were able to spend the next few days exploring Boise.  We took the kids over to see the capital building and showed them where grandpa Hawkins used to work when he was a state senator.  We were all fascinated by the building.  It really is a beautiful place.  

 The security guard showed the kids the old elevator.  Super cool.  They are pretty sure grandpa is old enough that THIS is the elevator he used when he worked there. Hahaha!

 We also took them to see the temple.  It was raining so Laiklie was the only one brave enough to get out for a picture.  Our hotel had a beautiful view of the temple from our room too.  

We took the kids to see the Malad Gorge, which is INCREDIBLE! We tried to take them to Shoshone Falls, but they still had the water turned off for the winter so they weren't even able to see the falls.  Such a bummer.  We stopped and ate at the famous little restaurant in Hagerman so Ryan and Dallin could eat catfish. :) Funny boys.  It was delicious! We then headed to UT where we dropped the kids off at Arnica's house for the night and Ryan and I went to Logan to do some trailer shopping before making our way back to get the kids.  It was so fun to have a little family time together for just a couple days.  I seriously can't wait till we can do it again! It was definitely a fun way to spend our 18th anniversary.  

Boise Dance Competition

February 17th was the Boise Dance Competition, so the day after I got home from Arizona Ryan and I loaded all the kids up and took them to Boise to watch Oakley dance and make a mini vacation out of it since it was over our anniversary.  

 Boise is a smaller competition.  Still super competitive, but smaller than alot of the other ones we go to.  Oakley and Brooklyn always score very well in Boise so we love going.  This year was no different.  They placed in several events and even took overall on a few events.  They got called up on stage over and over again to receive awards.  SO PROUD of them and all the hard work they put into dance.

They went home pretty decorated, both of them sporting several medals! So rewarding for hard work to pay off!

Arizona

In February all the moms (+4 babies) got to take a quick trip to Arizona to make up for the one that we had to cancel in December because of flight delays.  It was fun to get away for a week.  Not gonna lie.....my favorite part was the SUNSHINE!! I cannot wait for summer and it was SO NICE to wear flip flop, shorts and t-shirts.  It was beautiful!

We did alot of shopping, visiting, eating, pedicures and even a quick trip into the temple for initiatory. It was nice to get away from reality for a few minutes and spend time with Ryan's family and especially his grandparents before coming back to the real world.  We definitely need to do this more often!