May 3: Jonah and Micah went to Band Festival at South Fremont. (This picture has nothing to do with that--Josh took it while working at the golf course in the morning before he left for an all-day bus trip away, too. I love that he's honed in on his photography skills this past year--seeing beautiful moments and capturing them to share with others!)
May 5: The Junior High District Track Meet was hosted by Salmon. This was Jonah and Micah's last track meet of the season. Going into it, I asked the boys what their goals were. Micah said: "To beat Nathan in a race", and Jonah's reply was "Get under 6 minutes in the mile". I like that they both already knew what they wanted--their determination is fantastic! In the 800, Micah got his season PR with a time of 2:30 and received 7th place. Jonah's time was 2:44 (16th place)--he just barely lost to teammate Riley by 3 tenths of a second! Both boys never really cared about their time or placement in the 800, because it was just a warm-up to them for the mile--the race they really cared about. In the mile, Micah got a time of 5:33! Another season PR!!! He ran his heart out to try and beat Nathan, but it didn't happen. However--his push was stellar and he received 7th place. Jonah PR'd as well with a time of 5:54, 6 seconds faster than his previous race, and completing his goal of getting under 6 minutes!!! It was a fabulous day for both boys as well as their team; Salmon boys earned first place in the district! That night was the first performance of the annual Dance Recital in Salmon. I offered to take money at the door, and worked alongside my friends Sharon and Amy. After we finished with our duties, I took them out to eat at the Mexican Restaurant that night to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!!
May 6: Our Ward YM/YW went to the Idaho Falls Temple Open House. It has been closed for renovations for 2 years, and we were so excited to for the completion and to be able to tour the inside of "our" temple with our kids. I'd wanted to go tour the temple as a family, but when I found out the youth were going (I'm a leader and signed up to drive), I thought we should just make a family day of it since 3 of our 4 boys would already be going then! I took Kanyon in my car with me (and some of the YW), the twins rode with a YM leader, and Josh and Ammon went in their own car because they were going golfing at Rigby after the tour. We met at a church parking lot in Idaho Falls, where tour buses picked us up and took us to the temple. Then we watched a video as a group and did a walking tour of the building. It was gorgeous! I loved all the work they did; it was so bright and clean and very stunning! I loved walking through it with my family; it was the first temple open house we've ever all done together, and it was so special to me to have them there. Afterwards, we took the tour buses back to the church parking lots that we'd been assigned to, and we met up for lunch at Chuck-A-Rama. That was fun! Josh and I sat at the adult table with the Williams' and had an enjoyable meal together! I took some of the YW shopping before driving back to Salmon. We all went to the mall, and I dropped off a couple of girls at a sporting goods store for a bit while I also did some bra shopping for myself! The YM were supposed to go to the trampoline park, but it was so busy with birthday parties. Unfortunately none of the leaders called ahead to let them know a large group was coming, so after waiting an hour to be allowed in, and still not being admitted (because they're limited on how many people can be jumping at a time), the boys disappointedly just went home. Josh and Ammon had a great time playing at the Jefferson Hills Golf Course (where the state meet would be held two weeks later).
May 7: New Beginnings for YW was that evening, and immediately after, I went to the high school to set up and get ready for my piano students' recital. Thankfully, Josh came and helped me and I got done JUST in time as families began showing up! It was a lovely evening! I now have 11 students, ranging from first grade to 12th grade. Each student played 2-3 songs, and the recital lasted 45 minutes. They did a wonderful job and I was so proud of them!
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| My older students: Jodi, Anna, Wyatt, and Kendra |
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| My younger students: sisters Mykala, Victoria, and Elizabeth, Cadence, Deleya, and Jesse (my student Clare left without taking a photo!) |
May 8: Because of all the snow that we received this past winter, the Salmon River has been flowing at much higher water levels than average. It's been amazing to watch how fast and high the river can get. The first high water levels we received were at the beginning of May, after we received some rain followed by some very hot days (which melted the snow in the mountains). The river totally flooded the Shoup Campground, as well as the Island Park in town. It was awe-inspiring to behold in person just how destructive the river can be.
May 9: The high school District Golf Tournament was hosted by Salmon at Josh's beautiful course. (I know that not it's name officially, but he's the one who works all the magic to make it look so pretty!) I took the afternoon off work so I could watch him play, and my friend Darcy joined me as well. We drove around in the golf cart, and watched him play his second 9 holes. Josh and Hannah used another cart to watch him on the last 4 holes, too. He played very well--scoring an 81! He got 2nd place in the district, losing by just one stroke to Lane Strand of Challis. So close to being the District Champion!! We were all so proud of him, and he was pleased with his golf game, too. Both the Salmon boys team and girls team won District Champions, which was exciting as well!
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| He had several balls that were SO close to the pin! This was on hole #8, just after he chipped it from off the green |
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| We thought this ball had gone in the ditch on 9 green, and were so glad that it hadn't! |
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| The supportive onlooking fans! |
May 11: Spring is in full force! I love when the trees and bushes around the yard are all blossoming! It smells and looks so pretty!
May 12: Tiki needed a haircut--she was shedding all over the house, and I finally got fed up with it and just decided spontaneously to cut her hair myself. That was a first! Usually we make an appointment for her at the groomer's! I set up a tarp on the deck, and got out the animal clippers. I had to bribe her multiple times to join me on the tarp--she didn't like the sound or feel of the clippers and any time I wasn't holding onto her, she ran off. It wasn't the prettiest job, but it was sufficient! That evening, Josh took the boys to the father/son campout up above Williams Lake. I decided to host this month's Bunco at my house for mothers AND daughters while the boys were away! It was a lot of fun! We had a good turnout--enough for four tables! The food/games/company/laughter was just what I needed!
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| I forgot to take a "before" picture! |
May 13: Josh and the boys woke up to SNOW! They said it was the least-attended father/son campout they'd been to, which was a bit of a disappointment. Because of the high water flow in the river, the location was changed at the last minute to this spot, and I'm not sure if that's why? They packed up after breakfast and headed home. Kanyon had cub scout day camp at the Sacajawea Center/Hwy 28 Church building and the twins needed to go to a soccer ref clinic in town that morning. That afternoon, Josh and the boys picked out some flowers for me and planted them in pots for Mother's Day. Also, my own request for Mother's Day was to have Josh help me extend the fencing around the garden and add another gate. Josh was a bit stressed out after bringing home the trailer, unloading it, taking the boys to town, working, and getting ready to leave for 3 days (he was the bus driver for State Golf), but he managed to find time to work on the fencing project that night (although, in all honesty, I'd asked him several times in the previous 6 weeks to work on it with me!) and I was so grateful he got it done! He borrowed the tractor from his dad with the post-pounder. We removed the posts and singular gate that were presently on the east end of the garden, to extend the garden about 20 feet. Then we put the posts around the new east side, as well as the north and south sides, along with 2 gates (with a path through the garden to connect them). It was super hot, but we got the project done in about an hour! I was so happy! I'd been dreaming about this expansion since last fall and was glad to finally see it come to fruition!
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| This is the view from the northwest corner. The garden previously ended at the pole that was just to the left of the peach tree outline. |
May 14: Mother's Day was lovely. Ammon gave me a sweet letter with chocolates and another money tree, Kanyon gave me a fun card he colored and wrote at school, Hannah left me the most delicious cinnamon roll EVER and a note in my car while I was at church, and I got a candy bar and a small plant from the ward. Josh and Ammon left early that morning to head to Idaho Falls for State Golf, and I was a little sad they were gone. The Hobbs' were kind to come over later that evening to cheer me up and bring some dessert with them, too!
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| The inside of Kanyon's card. He's really enjoyed writing cursive this year! |
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| The new flowers in the pots that Josh and the boys planted |
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| The team had a practice round on Sunday |
May 15: On the first day of State Golf, Ammon shot an 88--the worst score he's had all season. He managed to still come in first for our team, but unfortunately put himself out of contention for overall ranking. I drove down that night after I was done with work, dinner, and piano lessons so that I could watch his golf game the following day. The younger boys stayed home, but I did take Jodi's mom Michelle with me. We had a nice visit the whole way down, and we also went out to dinner together at Garcia's, then I dropped her off to stay with her nephew overnight in Ammon, and I stayed in the same hotel room as Josh in Idaho Falls.
May 16: Ammon played much better on the second day of the State Golf Tournament and scored a 79!! His goal for the day was to break 80, and he accomplished that! It was a beautiful day, and I loved just following him around watching him play the 18 holes. It was very relaxing for me, and I was glad that he ended his season on such a great note! Afterwards, I drove over to Rexburg and took Eve out to dinner before I drove home. We went to a place called The Hickory. It was delicious! And I loved their decor!
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| Waiting to tee off Hole #1 |
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| This mural was on the wall in the foyer of the restaurant. |
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| The bushes were so droopy, and heavy laden! |
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| Josh took this photo at the golf course |
May 18: The elementary school had their Leadership Day that afternoon. I left work at the preschool just long enough to go to Kanyon's classroom to see their science projects (not to any of the other Leadership activities). Each class got to choose what they wanted to highlight and present to the public. His class decided on Science Projects. Kanyon had been working on his science project all week--he FINALLY decided to do a crystal experiment (he didn't know what to do for 3 weeks!), but by the time he decided, we weren't sure if the project would be complete before the Leadership Day because it takes days for the crystals to form. Thankfully, there were 3 that were nearly ready, so he just took those. He did a great job making his poster and presenting his project to classroom visitors. It was also a graded assignment, and he did very well on it! Josh had to go to back into work that night. I walked around the park while he worked on aerating and sanding the greens. I enjoy watching him work--it always amazes me how he knows how to do so many different and varied things, especially since it's mostly all self-taught.
May 21: Josh and I attended Eli's Baccaulareate ceremony. It was the first one I've ever been to, and the first one Josh had been to since his own when he graduated high school. Since Ammon is going to be a senior next year, it's good to get a glimpse of some of the graduation activities that take place. Also, we wanted to support Eli. He was part of the musical number.
May 22: We planted the garden for FHE. We planted pumpkins (only five hills this year rather than 95!!), corn, potatoes, and onions. It was the fastest garden planting we've ever done! We loved getting it all done in just one evening--it used to take us half a day between the pumpkin patch, giant corn patch and long rows down at the quarter acre plot. I love having this one so close to the house and so much smaller--it feels doable and not so overwhelming! There is also rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries in the garden already.
May 23: I had an interview at Terreton Elementary for an elementary position! It was the first interview I'd been asked to have, which was exciting! Challis re-stuctured their teachers rather than hiring for their positions that were open, Darby didn't call me for an interview as they hired somebody from their own district, Leadore already had interviews when I dropped off my application, and Salmon didn't have any openings this year. It all happened so suddenly, and I wasn't sure I was quite prepared for it, but I was glad to have an interview nonetheless.
May 24: Jonah was awarded 7th grade Student of the Month at the Jr. High assembly during the day. I was so glad! He's felt bad all year that he hadn't received that honor, so it was nice that he achieved it before school got out! That night, Ammon received a few awards as well during the Academic Awards Program. It was SUCH a LONG night! They did all the scholarships first this year, and THEN the academic awards, so the program lasted 3.5 hours. It was way too long to sit, and I hope that next year they'll split the two into their own special events.
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| Receiving an award from the principal Mrs. McKenna |
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| Ammon and Hannah after they both just received recognition |
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| Ammon and Eli |
May 25: Kanyon went on another field trip with the fourth grade to Big Hole Battlefield. I was able to go as a chaperone this time, and was so glad! I was in charge of a great group: Kanyon, Aidan, Hesstyn, and Scottlyn. We toured the site that morning, and had educational classes that afternoon before returning to Salmon. I drove home with Camille rather than riding on the bus, which was so much nicer (it's an hour and a half drive)! That night, Jonah and Micah had their spring band concert. It was such a great concert! We stayed to listen to all of the preforming groups, and we really enjoyed the songs. Mr. A has done such a terrific job with the secondary music department! The twins' favorite song they performed at the spring concert was "My House", arranged by Mr. Anderson himself! I didn't realize they were learning to play it in band; for weeks Micah had been constantly singing "Welcome to My house..." around the house, and I thought he just heard it on a commercial or something!
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| Learning about the U.S. soldiers and volunteers in the battle |
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| Learning about the cannon for the Howitzer |
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| Learning about the Nez Perce involved in the battle |
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| Watching and listening to a Native American song |
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| Prepping a buffalo hide |
May 28: We decided to have a little, last minute Memorial Day Weekend Get-together with some friends. On Sunday evening, the Williams', Judy's, and Roseburough's came over. Oh my gosh, we had SO much fun!!! It was a fantastic way to kick off the summer! After it was all done and we were talking about how it went--I told Josh we should do this every year! We ate a delicious dinner, and then the kids played and played in the yard with different activities (bocce ball, volleyball, croquet, tire swings, giant stride, badminton, rope swings), and the adults played and played all 13 rounds of Mexican Train Dominoes on the deck! The kids got along great, and the conversation with the adults was hilarious! It was an evening I treasure! It had been a stressful weekend for Josh at the golf course--with the Idaho Couples tournament, and it was a relaxing treat for him as well.
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| Josh likes watching the owls at the golf course. On this morning, they were hanging out on the baseball field. This one looked like it was ready to watch a game on the bleacher! |
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| Josh, Micah, and Kanyon all wore matching fluorescent clothes after church unknowingly! |
May 29: Eve came to visit us on Memorial Day because she had the day off of Uni. We went for a ride up to Mt. Baldy, but were unable to make it all the way due to snow. Josh and the older 3 boys took their own motorcycles, Kanyon rode on a 4-wheeler with me, and Eve rode a 4-wheeler by herself. It was great weather, and the views were beautiful! When we got back home, we rested in the hammocks for a bit before going golfing family-style. It was fun! Everybody took turns hitting two balls (we were on two different teams), and we played pretty quickly that way. It wasn't busy at the course at all, so we didn't stress about waiting for others or having others wait on us. Then we went out for family-style nachos afterward, before Eve headed back to Rexburg.
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| Something about this makes me want to sing "The hills are alive...with the sound of music"! |
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| We took 3 carts to get around--These 3 shared one, Josh and Ammon shared a cart, and Eve drove with me. |
May 30: The elementary school had their end of year assembly. Kanyon earned the Terrific Kids award for having straight A's, and a special music award for being the only 4th grader to advance the furthest in learning the recorder instrument.
May 31: The elementary had their Field Day all morning long on the high school track. I was a co-director of it this year. Mr. V (the P.E. teacher) was in charge of the grass events, and I was in charge of the track events. We'd met together for months planning and finalizing all the details. I was running around all crazy that morning (I got sunburned, I was dripping with sweat, I had to run in front of the crowd at one point which was rather embarrassing, and my throat was worn out by the time it was over from yelling instructions repeatedly like a thousand times), but it all worked out! The kiddos had a great time, the weather was great, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to watch Kanyon participate (rather than working and missing some of it). Kanyon participated in 4 events (and lucky for me, they were all on the track!): 100 meter dash, Long Jump, Hula Hoop Relay, and Basketball Dribble Relay. He did a fantastic job! He was on the green team again this year, and although their team didn't win overall, Kanyon got a few 1st place finishes in his heats. Later that afternoon, the junior high had their academic awards assembly and 8th grade graduation on the track, and I was able to leave work for a short bit to go watch Micah get some awards. He received certificates for Academic Excellence in both Math and Life Science for having the highest grades in those subjects in his class. Way to go Micah!
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| Ready to run the 100meter dash |
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