April 2017

April 8

Visiting Uncle Jared at the Station

 Aunt Carlie's bridal shower and family dinner

 Easter

Syracuse Egg Hunt

 Easter Sunday

 Battle of the Books

Bryson chose to do Battle of the Books this year.  He read about 10 of the 20 books to help his team.  Their third grade team made up of Peter Snarr, Nathan Phelps, and Bryson won the school level for both 3rd and 4th grades.  When the went to district battles they added a few extra team members.  They did really well and made it through 5 rounds before being eliminated. My tenderhearted little boy was so upset he didn't win because Mrs. Hooper (the librarian) really wanted them to.  

I am really pleased with the efforts he made this year to be a good team member.  He developed a desire to read, which he didn't have last year.  I was also really concerned for him after last years experiences in school.  This experience really helped him gain confidence back and have an opportunity to make good friends.

 Patten

So this happened.  Patten fell in the tub face first after the water had drained but the bubbles remained.

 Pinewood Derby

The boys cars did well, but we didn't have a car that placed this year.

Eldon's car got Most Realistic

Bryson's car got Best Pipes

Jaron built a car but his didn't race officially.

Kayla is 3

Kayla can sure hold her own around this house.  She is very sassy and confident in her abilities.  She thinks she is the mother of Patten especially.  When asked whose baby he is she always says he is hers, not mine.  She loves to help me cook and notices when the house is messy.  She often tells me I need to clean something.  She helps with laundry folding too. Right now she folds the hand towels or napkins.  She does a great job and is very proud of her work.  Kayla takes very good care of her baby dolls also.  She is likes rocking them, feeding them, Changing their diapers, giving them rides in a stroller, or putting them down for naps.  She does prefer her babies to be in blankets only, no clothes. Kayla loves to see temples.  She is always saying how she will get married someday there.  She is going to marry Beau Wood if you ask her.

When Kayla isn’t busy practicing being a mother or planning her marriage she loves to be outside.  She likes to jump or play on “the park” as she calls it.  That is our playset in the backyard.  She enjoys riding her scooter and bike.  Kayla is very social.  She would much rather be playing with a friend or be out running errands than at home.

She enjoys being read to

She loves to watch Frozen and Cinderella

Kayla loves music and signing.  She likes, “I am a Child of God,” “You are My Sunshine,” “Let it Go,” and many many more. 

Her favorite color is Purple and Pink

She loves to eat ranch dip with pretzels/veggies

Her favorite meals are pancakes and Chicken. Chicken is all white meat, including fish.

She also really enjoys fruit but does not like noodles with any red sauce

She is particular about her clothing and shoes especially

She loves going to church and nursery

Potty training during the day is complete and she is doing awesome there! We still have a few nighttime accidents.

The Birthday Party

 My instructions were to have pink and purple cupcakes. Set up tables outside and play! So that's what we did.

 

Activities at the Party

Blowing Bubbles

Drawing with Sidewalk Chalk

Nail Painting

Cami, Ky, Kayden Williams

Kayla and Beau Wook

Misty and MayLee Guymon

Farrah and Scarlett

Sydney Rasmussen

Brenna Hansen, Eldon, Kayla, Tru & Salem Powell

Eldon, Ericka, Bryson

Skyler Hansen, Mason Talbot, Landon

Grace, Arianne, Evie Gailey

Kayla and Stacie

Spring Break

Day 1 and 2:

Saturday we took off after Don got off work and soccer was over.  We headed to Idaho to stay with Katie and Justin.  On Sunday we watched conference and spent time together. 

Day 3:

We headed out for Portland, OR taking out time along the way.

We stopped at Multnomah Falls on our way.  It was amazing and a really cool experience.

 Day 4:

Cannon Beach

The beach! I simply love it.  The sound of the water is so calming.  

It was Patten and Kayla's first time at a beach. Patten didn't care for the cold water or sand.  Kayla was upset that her pants got wet, but loved the sand.

Landon couldn't outrun the wave and got taken down shortly after we arrived. He says, "The wave was too fast."  He was really cold after that though and borrowed my jacket.

Ecola Stake Park

I was really hoping to be able to hike down to Cresent Beach but the trail was just too muddy.  It also started down pouring shortly after we returned from our attempted hike so the beach would have been a bust even if we had been able to hike down. 

Eldon brought flat Stanley with him on our trip, this is the first of several photos he took with him.

Tillamook

 Since the beach was rained out we headed down to Tillamook Cheese Factory.  This was a great learning experience for the kids and they really have amazing cheese. Each child got their own dairy item and Patten got a cup to remember his birthday.

 The boys also REALLY wanted to see a ghost town.  Oregon has several of them.  We found one that wouldn't be out of our way and planned to stop. Problem was however it no longer existed.  Bayocean was once a very popular town in 1914 but only a few decades later it would be washed away.  The towns steamships were having a hard time going against the current so they build a jetty to help.  This changed the currents pattern and it washed away the town.
Landon was really worried about the people that used to live in the ghost town. He was asking all kinds of questions about where they were now and asked if we should help them rebuild a town to live in.

Cape Meares

 

We did a short hike to see the octopus tree. 

Not sure if Eldon didn't want his picture or if I accidentally deleted it.

 After a very eventful day we stopped at Grumpy's for dinner. And because it was such an eventful day we decided to wait until the next day to get Patten's birthday treat.

 Day 5:

 Voodoo Doughnuts

We decided this would be Patten's birthday treat.  They were really good actually. Patten had Butterfinger (chocolate cake doughnut with frosting and butterfinger on top), Kayla had the Homer doughnut, Landon and Eldon got the Bubblegum doughnut, Bryson and Dad got the Grape Ape, Jaron got a caramel doughnut, I chose the peach fritter (DELICIOUS).  They were all really good.  The only one that wasn't the best was Jaron's.  We all shared and really enjoyed the treat!

Washington Park

We had talked about going to the zoo, but ended up just going to play at the park instead.  I think it was a great choice, the kids really had a good time.

 

Portland Temple

Miniture Golf

This really was the most beautiful place to miniature Golf.  The course was really nice too.

Day 6 and 7:

We headed back to Katie and Justin's.  Friday we headed home and stopped at Shoshone Falls Park in Twin Falls, ID on our way.  The falls are amazing this year!