I won!

Last Christmas I entered a contest to win a similar shelf, but never expected to win. Instead Mark bought me one for Christmas. In May, along came another contest which I signed up for again - why not? I love the one I have and can always stock up another one with plenty more food. I never thought I would win but I did!!! It's a little different than the one I have. I can't wait until it comes!

Memorial Day

The girls decided to get creative and made a flag out of blankets on our living room floor for Memorial Day. Too bad it's raining and we can't do any fun outdoor activites. Hope you have a good one.

Handsome Joe

I had to take some pictures of Jo before he messed up his hair because he usually runs his hair through it shortly afterward. He sure does look handsome when he leaves it alone. We were able to attend my cousin, Courtney's graduation in Baker City, OR yesterday. Luckily the rain stayed away for the outdoor ceremony.

New clothes

Mark's aunt loves to bargain shop for children's clothes and as a result she keeps our kids well stocked with new outfits. We received a package the other day and my kids couldn't wait to wear them.
I should have pictures to post from last's weeks camping experience, but maybe after you read you'll understand why I don't. Mark took Sam camping on a Father/Son outing. To lessen the disappoint for the girls, we had our own camping fun planned. Mark decided to take the little tent (which we used last year in our living room). This left us with the big tent which we could only set up outside. Unfortunately we only have one camera and Mark rarely takes pictures, so he left it for me to take of our fun. After babysitting until 8, we took our portable DVD player in the tent to watch our rented movie. Luckily Joseph went to sleep inside at this time. It was so cold that I almost didn't even want my hands out to eat our popcorn (or to use the camera). Halfway through the movie, the battery died, so we had to come inside to finish. The girls insisted on sleeping outside (even though it was freezing) so we headed out and came to find that it had started raining. The rain didn't actually bother us too much. It wasn't until around 3 that the sprinklers turned on and left Taylor in a puddle that made the night real interesting. Mark and Sam were rained on too (possibly even snow). Luckily for them, Mark had bought a battery operated machine that he plugged his electric blanket into, so they were able to stay mostly warm. Everything was wet for days and so we wonder - who schedules camping trips in May?

Dani's field trip

Dani's class just went on a field trip to the zoo and Planet Kid. She had a blast spending time with her best friends. The lion cub was playing with the kids through the window.

Taylor's field trip/Integrity

I was able to go on a field trip with Taylor to the Discovery Center and then on a scavenger hunt in the park. The kids had fun and we even saw the giraffe from the nearby zoo. Dani's class sang at their assembly. Dani was in the 2nd row so it's not real easy to see her from this video.

Mark's Changes

Mark has wanted a truck as long as I've known him. He's been borrowing trucks a lot lately and I finally decided it might be best for him to get something cheap to tie him over until we could justify getting a nice truck. He has been going to auctions and mistakenly sent me to one while he was at work. I didn't know what he wanted, or whether it was a good deal, but he ended up with a truck. The racks will come off. We'll get a little use out of it, but I don't think it will hold him off for very long, especially since it's a stick. Now I just have to learn to drive one.
The other change is that Mark was put in as the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. He's feeling a little inadequate. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready to be a single mom, but I don't really think much will change. I'm still used to him being gone so much for school, elder's quorum, and ward clerk. We're proud that he's worthy to serve the Lord and our ward and we'll support him any way we can. The hard part will be times like today when I was asked to play the organ. Luckily there are many willing to sit with our kids.

We forgot Easter

I haven't posted in awhile because I haven't taken any pictures for almost a month. I didn't realize that I hadn't posted our actual Easter day pictures. It was filled with lots of general conference, running for a quick egg hunt and lunch at Grandpa's, more conference, and then dinner and another egg hunt at Grandma and Papa's.