Jun 23 2013

A hiking we will go

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Karin

We have gone on a couple of hikes this season. We did Hell’s half acre again but this time we hiked a little further along the red line. Sophia walked about 2 miles but Corey had to carry her for a mile in between. It was a fun first hike.

What a cute group of people

Eating lunch

Family Photo

Corey Hiking with Sophia

Preston Shooting his new BB gun

Another hike that we went on was Palisades creek trail. It is actually a pretty easy hike just really long. In total we hiked about 5 miles (Sophia 4 miles). If you went about 1.5 miles more then we would have made it to the lake. The kids kept complaining all the way hiking in but on the way out they were just fine. On the way back we sang songs to take their minds off of hiking. I wish I had thought of that on the way in. Corey and I are hoping that we can make it to the lake next time. It was a very pretty hike.

The creek that goes along the trail.

Pretty wild flowers

Hiking the trail

More traill

More wild flowers

Corey’s sneeky bouquet. He put flowers in my backpack while I was hiking.

Mid point over look.

Jun 22 2013

Recitals

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Karin

I’m playing catch up again. So much has happened in the last month. Right before school ended we had to recitals to go to. We actually would have had three but Preston’s violin recital was the same night as his piano recital so he had to pick which one to participate in. Since he just had a performance in Orchestra a couple of months before he decided to participate in his piano recital. He did a very good job and loves playing the piano. This is his first year and he has picked it up pretty quickly. I have a recording of one of the songs he did with his dad for his recital but I can’t figure out how to download it. So maybe if I can figure it out I’ll share.

Preston’s Solo

Duet with dad.

All the students and there teacher Mrs. Smith.

Another recital we had was for Sophia. She has participated in the Let’s play music program. This program teaches the basics of music theory through songs and play. This is a program that gets the little kids a head start on playing the piano. It’s a three year program and Sophia just completed her first year. She had a lot of fun with this and she can’t wait to start again in the fall.

Teacher with all the students

Cute kids

Getting her certificate

Apr 23 2013

Birthday time for P.I.E

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Karin

11 years ago I became a mom for the first time. Such a scary but beautiful time in my life. I can’t believe that 11 years has past. I can tell you that I feel very blessed to have Preston in my life. So funny that when he was younger he hated it when people would call him other names. For example his grandpa T. would call him George (he does it to all the kids) and Preston would get so upset. Now he loves it when people call him PIE. Those happen to be his initials. Preston has always been so compassionate toward others. He has a wonderful spirit and I can always count on him to make good decisions. He is a great helper and always the first to tell me how much he appreciates the things I do. I love this guy and wouldn’t trade him for anything. Here is 11 years of photos from ages 0-11. Now everyone can see how much he has grown.

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Apr 4 2013

Easter

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Karin

Right before church. Looking pretty all dressed up.

We had a great Easter Sunday last week. We did our traditional Easter egg dyeing on Saturday evening. After church on Sunday we had the kids look for eggs in the backyard. This has become a tradition of ours this is the 7th or 8th year that we have been doing this. We prefer doing the egg hunt in our back yard rather than fight the crowds of people at the public hunts. This year felt a little different than most. I think next year we aren’t going to focus so much on the Easter bunny but rather what Easter is all about our Saviour. I think we might have been missing that a little this year. Corey and I did enjoy singing with the choir at church and when I asked the kids at dinner what they thought Easter was they did tell me all they learned about Jesus Christ. So it wasn’t totally missed. Maybe it was just me but next time we are going to remember a little better.

Dyeing Easter eggs

Preston really getting into the hunt

Levi looking for his eggs

Eggs in a nest. (Corey made the nest for Sophia)

Aren’t they just so cute?

Mar 28 2013

Arrow of Light

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Karin

crossing over and his final goodbye to the pack.

Preston is moving on from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. We had our final pack meeting where he received his Arrow of Light. This is quite a feat for him. His Grandpa Tiffany challenged him a year ago that if he not only got his arrow of light but also achieved all 20 activity pins that he would make him a special arrow of light plaque. At first, I was pretty sceptical that Preston could pass off all 20 pins. After all this is normally a two year program that our church crams into one. One of the pins was aquanaut which to pass off you need to have quite a lot of swimming skill. We had trouble even getting him to float on his back. Last summer we spent 2 weeks at Grandma and Grandpa Tiffany’s and by the end Preston was diving down to the bottom of their 8 foot deep pool. When we came back from their house he went swimming with his scout troop and he was jumping off the 10 ft diving board. This would have been unheard of just a few weeks before. Once he passed off this activity pin I knew that he could do all 20. With a lot of hard work he did it. His Grandpa was pretty upset that he couldn’t present the plaque at the Arrow of Light Ceremony. It would be nice to live near them but grandpa will get to present it to Preston in July when they come to visit.

Receiving his arrow of light

getting his boy scout kerchief

proud family

Feb 14 2013

Happy Valentines Day

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Karin

This morning I surprised my kids with a Valentine breakfast. I decorated the room with streamers and hearts. They were so surprised. Levi my second grader asked if I did this all in one night. It really wasn’t hard but he thought I spent a lot of time.

The hearts were left over from last year. I had to cut out a bunch of hearts for Levi’s school valentine party. I saved them knowing that I didn’t want to have to cut hearts again and also knowing that I could use them over and over. There were a few big hearts that I chose to write a little note to each of my kids on. This was very simple but made a huge impact on my kids this morning. In the note I just told them how much I loved them and some special things that they do that bring happiness to our lives. The streamers were left over from Sophia’s birthday party last year. Corey helped hang the hearts on the ceiling fan and wal- lah we have a Valentine room ready for a special breakfast.

little notes for the kids

enjoying their valentine breakfast.

heart shaped cinnamon rolls

I like to do a special breakfast in the morning to start the day off right. Last year I made heart shaped french toast. This year heart shaped cinnamon rolls. I got the idea from pintrest. I have a really yummy cinnamon roll recipe so I made the dough yesterday and let it rise in the fridge all day and when the kids went to bed I rolled it out and put it back in the fridge. I woke up at 6:00 to put them in the oven. I put it on delay start for a half an hour that way it had a chance to warm up and rise. By the time 7:00 rolled around we had fresh warm cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

I also like to make a cute lunch so the kids can keep feeling the love during the day. I cut their sandwich into a heart and this year I put some vanilla yogurt in a dish and cut some strawberries for the top. There is a note that goes on top of the yogurt container that says “I love you berry much”. So simple but every year the kids tell me how much they appreciate it.

lunch packed with love

flowers from my sweetheart.

My cute little valentines.

My sweet husband got me flowers and chocolates for Valentines. This is a huge step for him. I hardly ever get flowers because he thinks what’s the point they are going to die in a week anyway. So I really do love these flowers. He surprised me with them last Saturday and look they made it to Valentines day! Valentines day is a good day to tell anyone special how you feel about them . My family hears that I love them everyday but today I got to show them in a special way. I hope you take the time everyday to show your loved ones how you feel and if you don’t at least take a little time out today to do so. Hope you all have a wonderful Valentines day.

Jan 28 2013

Snow Day!

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Karin

Preston, Levi, & Sophie enjoying the snow.

This morning around 7:24 am my boys are all ready to head out the door for school. Teeth are brushed, hair is combed, and lunches are made. We hear from their dad school is cancelled it’s a snow day! Immediately you hear a mighty cheer come from the boys at the same time you hear a mighty groan come from their mom. Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy having the boys around but I also enjoy the peace and quiet when they are off to school. So we have made this day a productive day. After the kids did their chores which include cleaning their rooms, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, and picking up all the toys around the house we made this day a true snow day.

It snowed around 6 inches last night and around 3 inches the day before. We also have about 12 inches that was already accumulated from before.When we shovel the driveway we always shovel to one side. We do this because we live in the great state of Idaho where the wind never stops blowing. If we shovel to the other side of the driveway we are back out there shovelling the drifts. That means we have quite the mound on the one side of our drive. So much so I have to chuck the shovel of snow over my head.

I decided the kids would have a lot of fun with a few caves and tunnels. It was a lot of hard work but the kids really did have fun making the tunnels. This is a great memory to go down in the books. They spent so much energy on making the tunnels that they haven’t even had a chance to play in them yet. We came in for hot cocoa and we are letting their snow stuff dry. Hopefully later in the day I can send them back out to play.

Preston in his cave/tunnel.

Sophia in her cave/tunnel. It connects to Preston’s.

Levi working hard on his cave. He put the most effort in.

Preston’s and Sophia’s cave.

Levi’s cave

Another entrance to Levi’s cave

Nov 24 2012

Temple Square

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Karin

Corey and I have been wanting to take the kids to Temple Square in Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights for a long time. The last time Corey and I saw the lights was December 1998. That’s before we were married. There is a lot that has changed on Temple Square since the last time we were there. We knew the kids would enjoy the beautiful lights. The day after Thanksgiving was the best time that worked for our schedules. Although I don’t know if we would go at that time again. Apparently as soon as it gets dark people come out of no where. We spent most of the day exploring the buildings and all around temple square with very little congestion. As soon as the lights came on we were shoulder to shoulder with all the people. It got a little crazy trying to navigate through the crowds. By the end of the evening we were tired and sore from walking. On the way home we stopped at In-N-Out Burger and had dinner. It wasn’t long after we got back on the road that the kids all fell asleep. We really wore them out.

Inside model of the Salt Lake Temple.
Found in the South Gate visitor center.

Preston viewing a video of the different rooms in the temple

The kids on the temple steps

The family in front of the temple

The old tabernacle

Levi in the Church history museum.

Kids in front of a life size model of the angel Moroni that is found on top of most LDS temples.

The nativity just outside the Tabernacle

Temple square before dark. Taken from the conference center.

Temple with the lights on

Temple with Christmas lights on.

A blue tree that Preston really liked

Nov 24 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Karin

We don’t have any family that lives close so sometimes Thanksgiving can be a hassle or a little depressing. Not this year. We have a couple of friends who also don’t have any family near. We combined forces and had a big Thanksgiving feast. We did this last year and thought that it turned out so well that we would do it again. It turned out well with only one hitch. I had a band-aid on before I started pulling the meat off the turkey but not after (eeewww). I was freaking out that someone would find it in their food. Reminded me of that friends episode when Monica looses a finger nail. Anyway, we did find it later while cleaning up and it wasn’t in the food (yay). We did have a good laugh over it. What a great night. Always so much better to spend the holiday with a large group of people. There was 21 in all. Thanks Jennifer and Andrea for saving our Thanksgiving.

Carving the Turkey with Jennifer

Sitting around the table

Kid table

Little kid table.

We had quite the spread

Dessert. We had 6 yummy pies.

Nov 1 2012

Halloween 2012

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Karin

The pumpkin bunch

Hey! Look at this I’m actually up to date on my post. Anyway I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. This year we, as a family, decided to do a family costume theme. So here is the story.

There are these two criminals at large. Very dangerous. They are wanted for grand theft, larceny, leaving the toilet seat up, and crimes against a pizza. Their recent heist was stealing a giant bag full of money. Anyone who had information about these two are asked to contact the FBI.

FBI finally got the bad guys.

We had so much fun with this. The boys were chased by numerous people trying to receive the reward. We also had a lot of kids pretending that they were thrown in jail. Harry Potter was a frequent guest in our jail along with “the Hulk”, a gangster, and the money bag herself. Halloween is such a fun holiday. It’s a time to step out of your shell and be who ever you want to be. After the trunk or treat Preston went with his friends to trick or treat and came home with over 5 lbs of candy. Sophia and Levi went with their dad around the block and got just about as much. I hope this year will be a year they all remember. We really had a great time.

Sophia and her daddy trick or treating (at our house.)

The super awesome FBI agents

A better view of the jail and Sophia being Sophia.

In A Nutshell

Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together– Elder M. Russell Ballard

Category Archives: Children