Spring Break and Birthday

This past week was Spring Break. Mom, Dad, and Ryan came to Nampa Friday night. We got up played some tennis and then headed out for Utah. Mike and Al came to Twin Falls with us and we stopped at Shoshone Falls. They had already opened up the irrigation canals so there wasn't as much water flowing but it was still very pretty.

Our cute little hatchling.

Mike and Al played in Twin while Alyssa, Mom, Dad, Ryan, and I headed to Grandma's in Utah. We had a fun weekend. Monday we all went skiing. We had great snow but it wasn't the best learning weather for Alyssa. She was a trooper, we ended up going up too far on one lift the first time. It was mogels and 2-3 ft powder all the way down. It took Alyssa about two hours to make it down the first time.....lots of frustration and lots of snow. But after a nap and lunch with mom I went up with her one more time. She ended up saying it was fun. I think she just had fun when Ryan and Trev were helping her....not so much with me :O)

Tuesday we bowled and played miniature golf before Alyssa and I had to come back Tuesday night because I had to work Wednesday morning. Mom and dad came back to Nampa Thursday night. Ryan and dad took Alyssa to play tennis and I met them at the courts after work. It was fun. Alyssa is so excited about tennis and is really trying to improve. She wants to go play any time we can....LOVE IT!!! She said she was going to show the coaches that they made a mistake putting her on the B team. Although there is only like 1 7th grader on the A team...still I LOVE her attitude....THAT'S MY GIRL!!!

We celebrated my birthday on Saturday with laser tag, video games, Chinese dinner, and fruit pizza (YUMMY!!) It was a very nice break and good fun with the family.





Mom mentioned the other day that as she was going through old pictures she noticed how many of them consisted of me being picked up, thrown, or tackled by the boys. I wondered why this was and Alyson said it was because they could lift me and that she was too heavy for them to pick her up...Ryan of course took that as a challenge and proved her wrong. Then proceeded to pick me up and flip me around.

Old Photos

As I was looking at the pictures of the kids together it made me pull up the old slides I scanned while at mom and dad's and thought I'd share a couple with you. I think some of our kids just might actually be ours....there is some resemblance. Just a few little photos for fun. :O) I didn't get that far in scanning so I don't have any of the younger ones. More to come. :O)

Bike Ride

Today we went on a bike ride. We originally planned to head down and bike on the trails that follow the Boise river and then stop at the zoo. As with most things plans didn't go as planned. Of course bike rides never do the first time you get them out after the long winter....flat tires. We went to the store and got one of those child seats for Miss Delayna and a helmet. After we got everything working it was later than expected so we decided to stay in Nampa and bike on the greenbelt here. We finally found a part of the trail that was longer than 100 feet. The kids started out strong but seeing how it was the first ride of the year they got tired. Braydon's bike is a little small for him...I think he actually works 10x harder than the rest of us do but he is a trooper. Mike went back the playground with Abby, Braydon, and Delayna while Alyssa, Al, Cailah, and I scouted out the trail. I think it is going to be a good beginner trial for us to take to get the kids warmed up for a summer full of biking fun. Now I just need to get Alyssa and I Kayaks and we'll be ready for summer.

We started off with the kids entertaining themselves outside while Mike, Al, and I got the bikes all ready...ok mostly Mike.

Then the bike ride began!!!

More fun at the park!!
I ended up with a little back ache after our trip...I think from this picture I know why

If that is not one of the best pictures depicting fun, joy, and happiness I'm not sure what would...ok and static.
They really do love each other and have tons of fun!!
Yes....the mom's are fun too.

Ryan this one is for you. I've still got it!!! :O)

The Zoo

Our little hatchlings with Big Ears!!!

Yesterday we went to the zoo. It was really nice to get outside for a while and it wasn't that cold. So the Boise Zoo is just slightly smaller than the Portland zoo but still fun for the kids. We had a good time. The most fun exhibit was the prairie dogs....I would explain but the video and pictures should do the trick.

OUR LITTLE PRAIRIE DOGS!!!


The Slide & Elephant!!!

Another First

This past Tuesday Alyssa went to the temple for the first time to do baptisms for the dead. I invited myself along and it was very neat to be able to be there with her. I really enjoyed just sitting there quietly in the baptism area watching all the young men/women. And so awesome to see the big smile on Alyssa's face. After Alyssa was done she came at sat next to me and said, "I want to do this again." When I asked her why she said it was a really good spiritual experience. She didn't go into detail but it was nice to hear. I hope she will remember the feeling she had there that evening. Here's a little shot of my BEAUTIFUL girl before we left.