Well, let's see. The last time I blogged was in January, so I'll start with February. Not a lot happened in February. We had the last few games for the kids who were playing basketball. We also had the Blue and Gold Banquet for our cub scout troop, which is always a fun event for the kids. This year the theme was, "The Magic of Scouting!"
(I did these "family" photos for all of the boys, with their families.)
In March, the main event was Noah's birthday. He turned 12, which is a big milestone. We celebrated with cake and ice cream with just our little family. One of Noah's presents from us was the chance to go on a one-on-one "date" with his dad to eat a restaurant of his choice and to go see the movie "The Hunger Games." He was more than excited to get to see the movie, after reading all three books in the Hunger Games Trilogy.
Most of the month of March was considerably mild, as far as the weather goes. That meant we were able to spend quite a bit of time outdoors. Chris and I went on several long runs together, we spent a lot of time going to the park with the kids and having fires in our firepit in the evenings.
So far, other than one day of snowfall, April has continued to bring beautiful and mild weather, so we've been able to do lots of fun things! The first weekend of the month, watched General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's broadcast live from Salt Lake City and we have the opportunity to listen to the words of the leaders of the church. It's a very uplifting time and we just gathered around as a family to soak in the spirit. Nicolas did have a tough time staying awake for the whole conference, though...
Our Easter weekend was also pretty laid back. I helped the kids color some eggs and on Sunday morning they each received a small, modest basket of candy and a couple of little fun things, like Frisbees. After that, we had a quick Easter egg hunt before heading to church.
After church we decided to enjoy the warm weather by going to a local nature preserve and going for a stroll with the kids to check out the new fishing pond.
There have been so many other days when we've been able to get out and spend time together, which is why you won't hear me complaining about the weather this spring! Shocking, I know! ;)
(Chris and Sam playing Frisbee.)
The kids had their spring break from school the first full week of April, but because of Chris' work schedule, we weren't really able to do much, aside from short daytime activities. So when the opportunity presented itself for us to run up to Jackson Hole for a night the following week, we decided to go for it. It was a short trip, but we had fun doing our favorite things: driving in the mountains, taking pictures and seeing lots of wildlife.
Last weekend Chris went with Noah and Sam on a Boy Scout overnight backpacking trip. They had a lot of fun, although they said they were a little cold at night. Noah and Sam both LOVE scouting and it's been great to watch them work and achieve their goals and get their badges.
During the past week, the older kids have been taking the ISATs (Idaho Standards Achievement Tests) at school. Noah, Sam and Sophie all did extremely well and tested way above average. We also just received a letter telling us that Noah has earned the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence and will be given the award during a special ceremony next week. Chris and I are so lucky to have such good kids.
Well, that about sums it up for our family for the past few months. Now hopefully I'll be able to stay on top of things and keep this blog updated more regularly!