Tag Archives: sophia

Nov 5 2013

Catch up

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Okay it’s been too long since I posted anything.  So this is one big catch up post.  I’ll post a bunch of pictures with a short description of the event.  Hopefully that will get me caught up for the holidays.  I like to keep record of all the stuff that happens in our lives and this is sort of a family journal.  Not only is it good for me to have a record so I can remember all those great moments but also so we can share it with our friends and family who don’t get to see us often.

First we have to go all the way back to September.  YES I said September.  That is where I left off.  After school started and things start to get crazy canning season starts.  This has been great for my family’s food storage but also very time consuming.  Corey and I love our garden and we get a lot of produce out of it.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love my mom?  Well I do A LOT.  She came up for a week and a half, despite not feeling well, and helped me can. I put her right to work canning green beans.  Everyday we did something new. The biggest thing we canned was apple sauce.  We had the apples from my tree and some apples that a friend let me pick.  In the end we canned 48 quarts of apples.  I really did have a lot of fun with my mom and really do miss her when she is gone.

You're seeing right that is a 5 gallon bucket of applesauce.

You’re seeing right that is a 5 gallon bucket of applesauce.

Mom and I with all the applesauce ready to process.

Mom and I with all the applesauce ready to process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to the next event.  Our camping trip to Craters of the Moon National park. We are fortunate to live in an area where we don’t have to travel far to get to some great camping spots.  We said goodbye to our tent trailer and got ourselves a new trailer.  We had to try it out the weekend we got it.  We joined some friends up at Craters and had a blast.  We explored caves and lava fields. This was the first time I’ve been to Caters.  I’ve driven past and wasn’t very impressed but once we explored I was amazed.  We’ll come back again.

Our new home away from home.

Our new home away from home.

Kids climbing rocks

Kids climbing rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking through the giant tunnel

Walking through the giant tunnel

Exploring caves

Exploring caves

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well paved walking trails.

Well paved walking trails.

Even here pretty things grow

Even here pretty things grow

Group Picture

Group Picture

 

 

 

 

 

We have made it to October!  This was the first weekend in October.  We decided to take the trailer out one more time before we had to store it for the winter.  We ended up going to Palisades Reservoir.  Again I feel the need to express how blessed we are to live in close proximity to these wonderful places.  When we arrived it was snowing.  It was a pretty cold night and we only lasted one night before deciding to pack up and head home.  It was beautiful.  So many fall colors mixed in with the snow.

Our very snowy campsite.

Our very snowy campsite.

All the wildlife we saw. He didn't like Corey.

All the wildlife we saw. He didn’t like Corey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of the Lake

View of the Lake

Family photo

Family photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Colors

Fall Colors

Being silly on a rock wall.

Being silly on a rock wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next there was a free ice skating lesson at the hockey shelter.  We signed the kids up and they had fun skating on the ice.  Did you know ice is slippery? It was fun to watch them skate around.

DSCF5629 DSCF5614

 

 

 

 

Last on the list and then I’m all caught up.  HALLOWEEN! We had a blast this year at our ward’s trunk or treat.  Corey and I dressed as Bert and Mary from Mary Poppins.  Sophia was a ghost, Levi a zombie, and Preston a nerd. The trunk or treat was the Tuesday before Halloween.  That was good because on Halloween it rained and was very chilly.  Sophia and Levi went trick or treating but Preston just wanted to hang out with his friends playing games down in our basement.  I guess he is growing up.  If anyone knows a cure for that please let me know.

Sophia the Ghost

Sophia the Ghost

Bert and Mary

Bert and Mary

Zombie, Ghost, and Nerd

Zombie, Ghost, and Nerd

 

 

 

 

 

 

carving pumpkins

carving pumpkins

scraping out guts

scraping out guts

 

 

 

 

 

finished product

finished product

Monkey see, Monkey do.

Monkey see, Monkey do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All lit up.

All lit up.

Sep 4 2013

Last summer Hurrah

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Family Photo at Harriman State Park

Family Photo at Harriman State Park

For the Labor day we went for a hike at Harriman State Park.  This is the last fun thing we got to do before school started the next day.  It was beautiful.  My friend told me that I was pretty much guaranteed a moose sighting. Well she was wrong we didn’t see any moose.  We did however see a lot of moose scat but no moose.  We did enjoy the water fowl that we saw.  There were a lot of geese, a few swans, a pelican and a couple of cranes.  We did the golden lake loop which was a very easy hike.  We hiked in total 4.5 miles.  The only person who seemed tired of walking was the littlest.  It’s the longest she has hiked without having to ride on daddy’s shoulders. It drizzled on us off and on throughout the day.  It was never enough to soak us through but enough to keep us cool. This area is also one of our favorite spots to cross country ski.  They groom the trails in the winter and it is so beautiful covered in snow.

The trail through the meadow

The trail through the meadow

Stopping to look into a pond.

Stopping to look into a pond.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the winter warming huts.

One of the winter warming huts.

Taking a break.

Taking a break.

 

 

 

 

 

A Couple of swans.

A Couple of swans.

Our destination Golden Lake

Our destination Golden Lake

Sep 3 2013

School Days!

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We survived the first day of school!  This morning when I woke up at 6:30 am to get the kids ready for school we found that they were already awake and dressed.  This is a monumental year.  My youngest started kindergarten!  I thought I might get teary eyed as I dropped her off at the school but actually I didn’t leave the school.  Yep, I stayed to help the PTO pass out teacher gifts.  I went home and only had about an hour before Sophia came home. I now have a kindergartner, a 3rd grader, and a 6th grader all going to the same elementary school. I have a feeling that this is going to be a busy school year.

Preston 6th grade 2013

Preston 6th grade 2013

Levi 3rd Grade 2013

Levi 3rd Grade 2013

Sophia Kindergarten 2013

Sophia Kindergarten 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

So excited to go to school!

So excited to go to school!

Sophia and her good friend waiting in line.

Sophia and her good friend waiting in line.

First bus ride. She loves the bus.

First bus ride. She loves the bus.

Jul 9 2013

4th of July 2013

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Wow we have had quite some weekend!  We start with the 4th.  It was jammed packed with fun stuff.  We woke up at 5:30 am and went with Corey to help road block for the 5K firecracker run here in Idaho Falls.  The kids had fun watching the runners go by and seeing some fun costumes people had on. Then straight from the race we went to the parade.  We didn’t get a nice shady spot this year so it got pretty hot.  Luckily we were well covered in sunblock.  Then it was off to Gem Lake to hang out with our friends and play in the sand.  We stayed there for a good 4 hours.  Unfortunately some of us did get sunburned after 4 hours.  Mainly it’s because they forgot to reapply on their shoulders.  Later we were lucky to have Nami and Nampa Edwards join us for the fireworks.  The show was an hour late because a 27 year old kid decided he wanted to swim to the island in the middle of the Snake river and drowned.  They had to search the river and postpone the fireworks for an hour.  So sad, it kind of put a damper on the festivities.  By the time we got home we were beat.  Sophia fell asleep in the bike trailer before the fireworks even started so she missed the whole thing.  I guess it will be a year we never forget.

waiting for the parade

waiting for the parade

Corey and Sophia walking on the sandbar

Corey and Sophia walking on the sandbar

Preston and his little buddy Seth playing in the water.

Preston and his little buddy Seth playing in the water.

 

She may look sweet and cute here but...

She may look sweet and cute here but…

she covered herself in sand. It was everywhere.

she covered herself in sand. It was everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

waiting for the fireworks

waiting for the fireworks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sophia and her good friend Candice. Her mom made cute outfits for them.

Sophia and her good friend Candice. Her mom made cute outfits for them.

Jul 9 2013

Camping

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Our family loves to camp but unfortunately we haven’t had too many opportunities this year.  Corey got a new job in May and he has been travelling a lot.  He’ll leave Monday morning and not get back until Friday evening.  This makes planning a camping trip difficult.  We decided to let the kids have some fun and camp in the yard.  The boys thought that camping in the backyard was awesome.  Sophia tried to follow them out there with her pillow and blanket but, to her disappointment, we didn’t think she was old enough to stay out there.  So we set up a tent in the living room for her.  She lasted about 10 minutes before she ended up in her own bedroom on the floor.  The living room was too scary for her.  I’m sure that if the living room was too scary than the backyard would’ve been too much for her.

Boy's in the backyard

Boy’s in the backyard

Sleeping in the living room.

Sleeping in the living room.

 

Jun 23 2013

A hiking we will go

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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

What a cute group of people

Eating lunch

Eating lunch

 

 

 

 

 

Family Photo

Family Photo

DSCF4714

Corey Hiking with Sophia

Preston Shooting his new BB gun

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.

The creek that goes along the trail.

Pretty wild flowers

Pretty wild flowers

Hiking the trail

Hiking the trail

 

 

 

 

 

 

More trail

More traill

More wild flowers

More wild flowers

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

Mid point over look.

Mid point over look.

Jun 22 2013

Recitals

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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

Preston’s Solo

Duet with dad.

Duet with dad.

All the students and there teacher Mrs. Smith.

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

Teacher with all the students

During one of the songs

Cute kids

Getting her certificate

Getting her certificate

May 16 2013

Birthday Girl

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Sophia eating her birthday breakfast.

Sophia eating her birthday breakfast.

Five years ago our family welcomed the sweetest little girl into this world.  Sophia has been such a blessing in my life.  She loves to follow her big brothers around especially Levi. Corey and I often fight over who’s little girl she is.  Her response is always “you have to share me” then we both ask why and she says “that’s the rules of me”.  Her favorite color is purple and she loves cats.  This morning I asked what she wanted for breakfast she said crepes. So she got her special breakfast.  She also wanted to get her hair cut.  She has very thin fine hair and so a lot of styles are hard for her.  She actually wanted her hair to look like the boys cuts.  We compromised and cut it just above her shoulders.  Tonight for her birthday dinner she wants to go to Arctic Circle ( I know every mother’s dream, right?).

I can’t believe she is 5!  She will start kindergarten in the fall.  She is the baby and it’s tough as a mom to see that last one start to grow older.  She is the sweetest thing in my life right now and I wouldn’t trade her for all the money in the world.

Corey put up streamers

Corey put up streamers

Streamers for her bedroom door.

Streamers for her bedroom door.

getting haircut.

getting haircut.

 

 

 

New hair cut!

New hair cut!

Birthday dinner at Arctic Circle

Birthday dinner at Arctic Circle

Birthday cake

Birthday cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

make a wish

make a wish

Opening presents

Opening presents

Present from Nami and Nampa

Present from Nami and Nampa

Apr 4 2013

Easter

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Right before church. Looking pretty all dressed up.

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

Dyeing Easter eggs

Preston really getting into the hunt

Preston really getting into the hunt

Levi looking for his eggs

Levi looking for his eggs

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

Aren't they just so cute?

Aren’t they just so cute?

Feb 14 2013

Happy Valentines Day

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DSCF4440This 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

little notes for the kids

enjoying their valentine breakfast.

enjoying their valentine breakfast.

heart shaped cinnamon rolls

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

lunch packed with love

flowers from my sweetheart.

flowers from my sweetheart.

My cute little valentines.

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.