Oct 25 2012

SNOW!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Karin

2 to 3 inches of snow this morning.

This is what we found when we woke up this morning. Over night about 2 to 3 inches of snow fell. The news says it’ll be gone by this evening. I love the first snow fall of the year. It is so beautiful and peaceful outside. Sophia thinks it is now time for Santa to come. She even stuck her head near the fireplace and shouted “come on Santa come already”. The boys were excited to get their snow boots on and stomp through the snow to the bus stop. We’ll enjoy it now and have some fun playing in it. It’s not until February that I’m antsy for spring.

So beautiful and peaceful.

Sep 4 2012

First Day of School 2012

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Karin

I can’t believe it’s here. We had a whirlwind of a summer. School has begun! It’s a bittersweet moment. I really don’t like the tight schedule that school brings. The early mornings and the homework. I do, however, like the nice quiet that comes to our home. This morning both boys got up excitedly and got themselves ready. Preston so eager to get back to school where he can visit with his friends. Levi so timid and a little hesitant. He wanted me to take him (which I’m more than willing to do). He was afraid he wouldn’t have anyone to sit next to on the bus. Preston promised me he would sit with him. So when the bus pulled up and they hopped on we didn’t expect the driver to send the older boys straight to the back and thus splitting up my boys. The look on Levi’s face was heart breaking. Preston wasn’t sure what to do. I saw him moving up a little as the bus pulled away but I’m not sure if he was able to sit with Levi. I really hope everything worked out. I just have Sophia home with me so sweet and quiet. I’m not sure how we will fill our days but it’s going to be fun to spend more time with just her and I.

Preston starting 5th grade

Levi starting 2nd grade

tough little Sophia

On their way to the bus stop.

waiting for the bus. Can you see the anxiousness in Levi’s face

This is one member of the family who won’t miss the boys while they are at school.

Aug 17 2012

Wild Cats

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Karin

Grandma worked last night so we ended up spending the day with grandpa. Grandpa decided to take us to a place just outside of Cave Junction called Wild Cats. On the way we stopped at Kerbyville and looked at this shop that sells a bunch of wood carvings and had a lot of tree houses on the lot that the kids explored. When we got to the cat park we got to see a lot of really cool cats. The first one we saw was the lion. It freaked me out a little because I didn’t expect them to be so close. It’s a little unnerving when they roar. Most of the pictures that are of the big cats aren’t zoomed that is actually how close they were. My boys loved it. Sophia got a little hot and tired and by the end of the day just wanted to go back to grandma’s pool. It was pretty hot but every so often in the big cat park they had misters to stand in to help us cool off. When we got home of course we spent an hour or so in the pool. We had a really great day with grandpa.

The kids climbing up a tree house

Grandpa T. on the lower level and the boys on the middle level

Grandpa T. lower level while Levi is on the very top. So high!

Sophia and Levi posing silly.

Cool enclosed tree house with faces on it.

Leopard

Tiger

White Tigers

Baby Leopard that we got to pet.

Snow Leopard

Very impressive Lion

Jul 30 2012

Canning has begun

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Karin

Sink full of green beans

I spent last week up in the mountains with the girls from our ward up at girls camp. When I came home my fridge was full of green beans. We planted twice as many beans as we usually do and in one week we got a whole sink full. So the canning begins. The boys were wonderful in helping me snap the ends and then snap them to bite size pieces. It took all three of us about 30 minutes to prepare them for canning. When all was said and done we ended up with 19 pints of green beans. Not too bad for a weeks worth of beans. Next picking we’ll pickle.

A couple of great helpers.

Voila! 19 pints of green beans.

Jul 18 2012

4th of July 2012

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Karin

We have a tradition of going to the parade every year. This year was no different. The kids love the parade. At one point in the parade a live band with drums and guitar went by and Levi just started rocking out. Corey started to record unfortunately he missed the best part but still got a little snippet for you to enjoy.

After the parade we played and ate lunch with some friends at Gem Lake. We did this last year and I think it should become another of our traditions. Later in the evening we like to watch the fireworks. We usually go to a place off Skyline near our house but one of our friends invited us over to see them in their backyard. This was really fun too. Corey and I forgot the camera so no pictures of the fireworks this year. I love that even though we are far away from family we still feel like we have family close. The friends we have made in this neighbourhood are great. What a great way to celebrate our country’s birthday. Hope you all had a great 4th too.

Waiting for the parade

Our big group trying to squish in the shade

Jul 16 2012

Mesa Falls

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Karin

Upper Mesa Falls

The last weekend in June or first weekend of July, however you want to look at it, we went camping up by Mesa Falls. The falls were a beautiful site. It was pretty crowded up there but well worth seeing. They have an old log inn there that they have turned into a visitor center/gift shop. I told Corey that someday I wouldn’t mind retiring in a log cabin like this. We went through the visitor center and a park ranger gave the boys a booklet to look through that had a comic in it. Afterward we walked the path that went by the waterfalls. While everyone is looking at the falls Levi would find a bench and sit to read his comic. He was so much more interested in what happened to smokey the bear than the beautiful scenery around him. We had a really nice weekend. We are so lucky to live near such beautiful areas.

Beautiful!

Levi and his comic

Really neat Inn

Can you see the Tetons in the back?

Love Sophia and Levi’s expressions here.

We spent a couple of nights in this area and the next day we ended up hiking by Warm Springs. They have an old fish hatchery that you can rent out and near there was a bunch of hiking trails. We decided to hike a couple of miles (all Sophia can handle). Have I mentioned how beautiful the area is? This was a great weekend. We had beautiful scenery accompanied by equally beautiful weather. I love going camping. It really helps me relax and get away from the world.

Hiking along Warm Springs

Taking a trail mix break

The grass is as high as Sophia

Family Photo at Lower Mesa Falls over look

Jul 15 2012

Levi’s 7th Birthday

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Karin

Iceberg with penguins cake

A little less than a month ago on June 27th we celebrated Levi’s 7th birthday. This was a non-party year for him. My kids only get parties for their birthdays every other year. We do this for a number of reasons. It saves us money on having to throw a party each year. It makes it more special when they do get a party. This is something my parents did when I was young. This year I made the mistake of watching “Cake Boss” with the kids about a month before Levi’s birthday. Levi decided that he wanted an iceberg cake with penguins. In his mind he was thinking it’s going to be a multi layered cake with intricate details. In my mind how can I make this look as simple as possible. So that is what we ended up with. The star was another requirement Levi wanted. I think he wanted it to be suspended somehow in the air. Sorry kid I’m no Buddy (the guy from Cake Boss). We had a pretty simple birthday celebration with the family. At lunch we had cake and opened presents and then for dinner we let him pick where he wanted to go. Surprise, surprise he picked McDonald’s. Over all I think he enjoyed his birthday and had a good time.

Blowing out the candles

Opening gifts from Nammy and Nampa.

Jun 12 2012

Camping

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Karin

Mike Harris Campground

Yay!! School is out. We have been out about a week but I’m slow at posting. On the day that school ended we celebrated by going out on our first family camp trip for the year. We packed up and went to Mike Harris Campground in the Grand Targhee National Forest. This is a place we have been before and like to go to for our first campouts of the season. Despite forecast for rain we decided to tough it out. The weather actually turned out perfect and it only rained for a couple of hours on Saturday. We got there pretty late on Friday and discovered that we forgot many things including bug spray. We didn’t want to be bug dinner so we had to go into to town and buy some. The other stuff we did without. That’s what the first campout is about right?! In the morning we warmed our breakfast up on the fire (breakfast burritos I learned from pintrest). The kids really liked it. They were easy too. It rained for about and hour and we just read and played games in the trailer. After the rain let up we went for a hike. There is a really neat trail near the entrance to the campground. It leads up to some peaks. We didn’t go that far. We only went as far as Sophia’s little legs could take her. It ended up being about 2 miles round trip. It was a beautiful hike. On the way back it started to rain again. By the time we got back to camp we were all pretty wet. It rained for about another hour. After that it was beautiful. There was one other family camping in the campground. We introduced ourselves. Their kids are the same age as ours and they hit it off really well. The kids went and played hide and seek. After talking with them a little we discovered that they live just on the other side of the airport from us (small world). We also found out that although they wear red and we wear blue we can still get along (those of you who are cougar and ute fans know how hard that is). We exchanged phone numbers and the kids have future plans to hang with them sometime. We packed up and left Sunday morning. On the way home we stopped one more time for a short hike. Not as great as the first one but still fun. This outing was a great start to our season. I love being out in the woods. It really helps me appreciate all that Heavenly father has created for us. I can’t wait to go again.

Cooking breakfast on the fire

Beautiful Hiking trail

Sophia and her hiking stick

All of us on the hike

The kids getting warm after the hike

Gorgeous sky as the sun was setting

Almost full moon

Our little home away from home

Jun 12 2012

The fourth grade program

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Karin

Every year the fourth grade does a program at the end of the year. This program was called “Go West”. They have done it the last few years and the kids love it. Since Preston was a 4th grader this year he got to participate. He played Robert Fulton. It was fun to watch the kids. They did a good job with all of their parts and the music was great. I’m also a parent so I might be a little biased.

Preston as Robert Fulton

Cute show

Jun 11 2012

Menan Butte

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Karin

Our family likes to go on a small hike to kick off the camping/hiking season. In May we decided to hike the North Menan Butte. It’s about a mile up the butte. Over all we hiked about 3 miles. Sophia made it to the top and then Corey had to pack her around the rest of the way. She did pretty well for her first hike on foot. I have to say it was a little challenging, although it doesn’t look it, most times it felt like we were hiking straight up. It was a beautiful day to hike and once we reached the top we loved the view. At the top there are many different rock formations that the kids (and Corey) loved to climb around in and on.