Memorial Day Weekend

Tanner, Kannon, Corey and I got to go visit Nana and Papa in Mountain Home for Memorial Day weekend. Dustin had baseball games, he is starting Legion this summer, so he and Barry stayed home. Saturday morning, Nana and Papa took the boys to Rocky Ridge Wildlife Reserve. The most famous of the animals is "Lurch" who is an African Wotoosee Bull. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the biggest horns. It looks painful to me.

This is "Wade" the water buffalo.

I think Corey liked the dogs the most. One had three legs, and the other had one eye. Kannon couldn't remember if the dogs had three eyes and one leg or the other way around. :)

They had fun and had stories to tell when they got home. I had opted to go shopping instead of the wildlife trip.

Later that day we went out on the boat for a swim (a cold swim) and also some fishing. Kannon was the first one in the lake. He didn't seem to mind the cold water at all.

The boys didn't have any luck fishing from the boat. But later Papa and Uncle Bill took them to the pond by their house and Corey caught his first fish. He was so excited. I wish that I had gotten a picture of that. Tanner said that he just fed a lot of fish. I guess the fish kept eating his bait.

That night we went up and fed the horses by Nana's house. The horses were so friendly and happy to have a couple of carrots.

We came home to Jonesboro on Sunday night. We sure had fun visiting Mountain Home. We look forward to having Nana and Papa come down for a visit next week to watch the boys play baseball.

Monday, we swam in our pool and worked in the yard. That night we went out to eat and to the movies to see "Shrek the Third". The movie was funny and we all enjoyed a night out.

Kindergarten Celebration

Tanner had his "Kindergarten Celebration" last Wednesday in the Fine Arts Building at Valley View. They sang songs and recited a poem. The kids all were dressed up in their church clothes which was very cute. When the program was over they got to go home which Tanner thought was great since it was only 11:00 a.m. Tanner had a great year and learned so much. His teacher was so kind and loved to give hugs to all of her students.

Tanner would not wear his tie to school so I told him that at least let me get a picture of him with it on. He looks so grown up.

Tanner is on the top in the white shirt.

Mrs. Schulte, Tanner's teacher.

Wow, we now have 3 Kindergarten Graduates!

More End of School Activities

Kannon got to attend two Field Days this past week. Preschool had Field Day on Thursday. We did the usual field day type games, tug-of-war, water balloon toss, frisbee throw, sack races, and water relays. After the games, we had popsicles and played in the yard. The weather was great and the kids had fun.

On the following Monday, nursery school had their field day. Pretty much the same games and goodies. I adjusted a few games to fit the younger kids. Everyone had fun and I was glad that another school year had come to a close. I really had a great bunch of 3 & 4 year olds this year.

The kids had to dip their sponge in a bucket of water and then run to the empty pail and squeeze the water out of their sponge. The first team to fill their pail up to the line won. The kids loved this game. They also decided to wash a few cars while they had the wet sponges out.

I had painted three big circles on the grass, and the kids had to roll the balls into the circles. They did pretty good. For the Preschool, I used frisbees and found out quickly that 4 year olds can't throw a frisbee, so we tried balls instead. Worked much better.

One of the moms sent a Graduation, Last Day of School, Field Day Cookie Cake. It was yummy!

End of School Activities

The last two weeks have been busy with end of school activities for the boys. Dustin had his sports banquet last Thursday. They had a nice dinner and then the awards were handed out. Dustin got several trophies for Baseball and Basketball. He also got the Sportsmanship Award in Tennis.

This is one of Dustin's good friends that plays several sports with him.

Tanner had an end of the year picnic on Friday. They had bubbles, horse wagon rides, tattoos, and lots of food. It was a pretty day and all the kids had a fun morning.

Corey got to go swimming at the YMCA for having good grades and good conduct. He said it was really fun.

Corey's Awards Program was today. He received a certificate for having good grades and also he won the Citizenship Award in his class. We sure are proud of Corey for having such a great year.

All of the boys had a great school year. They had wonderful teachers and nice friends. But now, they are ready for sleeping in, staying up late, swimming, playing computer, and eating popsicles. Yeah, summer is here!

The Pool

The weather has turned hot and the boys have been anxious to get the pool ready for swimming. We drained the pool and then we scrubbed it out. Everyone was wanting to get in and help.

Finally, it was ready to fill up with water. The boys kept checking on the water level and hopping in to play.

Finally, it was completely ready. It was too cold for me but the boys loved it.

Even Indy enjoys the pool.

Happy Anniversary

On Friday, May 18th, we celebrated living in our house 1 year. We sure love our house!

We even had a cake!

Junior Marathoners

Tanner and Corey finished their Junior Marathon last week. They logged 26.2 miles over the last few months. They each got a t-shirt and several coupons from area businesses. We now have a better appreciatation for Aunt Kristen who ran her marathon all at the same time. That is a long way to run!!

We are proud of you Corey and Tanner!

Our Trip to Utah

The first week of May, Tanner, Kannon and I along with my mom and dad drove to Utah. My parents got a new car and were giving their old one to Jamie so we actually drove two cars to Utah. The trip went great. The boys traveled pretty well. They were sad the DVD player we brought didn't work but we passed the time counting cows, eating lots of snacks, playing the quiet game, and we even played the yelling game when Nana was in the car with us. We spent the first night in a little town in Nebraska and then pulled into Jamie's about 5:00 pm. the second day.

This rest stop was in Nebraska. The boys were glad to see something to play on.

Kannon and Nana were having fun blowing bubbles at a rest stop in Wyoming.

When we arrived in Utah, we visited with Jamie for a bit and then headed down to Pleasant Grove to see Tracey and her family. They have a beautiful new home and it was fun to take the grand tour. The boys were so excited to play with their cousins. Owen is so cute running every where like a big guy now. The girls have their room upstairs along with a big playroom, which is where we stayed. There was lots of playing, dancing, playing video games and watching movies going on up there throughout our stay.

Owen loved to sit at this table and play Mr. Potato Head. He was so good to just play by himself up in the playroom.

On Friday, Tanner, Kannon and I went and visited our good friends the Calvins. They had lived in Jonesboro for about five years but last year relocated to Provo. Kannon was so excited to get to see his best buddy Emma. I am sad that I forgot my camera and didn't get any pictures of the kids together but I got one from Katie that she took while we were having lunch at The BYU Creamery. Later that night, I went out to eat with Katie, Rachelle Hatfield and Karla Smith who all had lived in Jonesboro at one time. It was great catching up on all of the news.

Saturday was a very special day because Maia got baptized. Maia looked beautiful in her white dress that Nana made for her. We were so glad to get to share this day with her. After the baptism, Tracey and Finn served lunch at their house for all of the friends and family.

The cousins after church on Sunday

Monday, Jamie, Tracey, Mom and I went and did some Craft store and Church store shopping. We also ate lunch at BYU for old times sake. Dad took Tanner and Kannon to Thanksgiving Point and the Dinosaur Museum.

Not far from Tracey's house is a great playground. We had fun spending time there on Monday night.

Tuesday, we headed back to Arkansas. Tanner, Kannon and I got to fly home, which was fun. The boys thought it was so cool that they got sodas on both planes.

We sure had a fun trip. It was great visiting with family and friends.