April 2018

April was a month of: Easter, Ammon's golf, Jonah and Micah's track, Kanyon's soccer, and prom. 

At the beginning of the month, I wrote down all the kids' sports schedules, and realized that most of their events were double-scheduled on the same dates. Josh and I felt bad about this because we knew we'd be split up in going to the events, and we both couldn't go to everything. We talked to the kids about it and said one of us would always be there, but rarely both of us. They were fine with it--but it was a struggle for me and Josh. He went to all of Ammon's golf events, I went to all of the twins' track meets and Kanyon's soccer games, and Josh came to them when he could. 

EASTER

We went down to Utah on the morning of Saturday, March 31 (Easter was the following day on April 1). Josh and Ammon picked us up in Mud Lake; it was weird not to go home to Salmon at all that weekend! Since my parents have moved to Providence, we drove through Preston to get there. It's a little strange not going the usual way and visiting the home we're accustomed to. Josh and I had been test-driving vehicles all spring, looking for a replacement car for me to drive rather than the silver box car. I needed something with good gas mileage, plenty of storage room, not too many miles, and a CD player (which means it had to be older than 2016--I don't like the smart screens and we listen to CD's a lot in the car on our long drives that don't have cell service for half the time between Salmon and Mud Lake), and I wanted it in the shape of a small SUV. Surprisingly, we bought a car at Murdock's in Logan that afternoon (I had been planning on buying one in the summer). I bought a Chevy Equinox--which wasn't even one on the list to test drive--we'd looked at Kia Soul and Sportage, Subaru Outback, Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe, Buick Encore, and Josh wanted me to check out a Chevy Trax--which is why we went to Murdock's--because they had a good deal ona  used one. However, when we arrived, they had just recently sold it, so we test drove other vehicles, just to make our stop there worthwhile! They were desperate for sales, since it was the last day of March and they wanted to meet a goal, so they gave us $1000 off and made it happen--even though we weren't really desperate for the purchase. It wasn't what we exactly had in mind, but I've quite enjoyed it, and realized that it would be better for our family's needs, as it has a longer storage in the back and it's not quite as cutesy as some of the others I had thought that I wanted. We surprised the boys when we got back to my parents' home. They'd worked on a puzzle, and Ammon dyed eggs with Grandma; sadly, he was the only boy who was even interested in the activity this year. The boys all watched the priesthood session of conference on TV that evening, and I was glad, because there were several changes announced in conference, and I'm glad that I listened and was aware of what they were as they were happening. Home teaching and visiting teaching are being discontinued, and called 'ministering' instead. High Priest's Group will no longer be separate--and the men will all be combined into Elder's Quorums instead. One meeting a month, called PEC, will no longer happen (which Josh was glad for, since he has to attend multiple extra meetings a month since he's Young Men's President). We had Easter in between conference sessions the next day (at noon), so to pass the time, Josh and I took the boys to the disc golf course that's just across the street and down the block from my parents' house (although they had no idea it was there, or what 'disc golf'even meant!). They really enjoyed it, and we vowed to purchase the special frisbees before playing it again, because it's on a hilly course with some rough terrain surrounding it. When everyone showed up, we ate the traditional lunch of ham and potatoes and salads. Then we opened the eggs and read scriptures about the last days of Jesus Christ's life. Grandma gave us the rules this year about the egg hunt--everyone had a smaller number of eggs, and we'd all hunt at the same time. We searched for the gold and silver eggs and collected our number in the backyard before going upstairs to redeem the prizes. Then we played the saran wrap game--one for the kids and one for the adults--and sang happy birthday to grandpa before eating desserts (which included individually decorated egg cakes made by grandma for everyone). We drove back to Salmon after that in two cars--Josh and I in the new vehicle, and all the boys driven by Ammon in the suburban. It was a beautiful weekend, and fun to spend time with my siblings in my parents' new home. 

They all got their favorite chocolates (most of which you can't see). Ammon got a
new golf shirt, the twins got new ties and athletic shorts, and Kanyon got new shoes.

Jonah and Micah hid all the egss for grandpa this year EXCEPT the gold and silver

I love Bryce & Tawna's custom shirts they make every year!
Also, Bryce cracks me up with his photobombing skills!

Josh cooked (and cut) the ham

Kids' tables

Adults table

Brendan is a fabulous reader, and read the egg scripture mostly by himself!

I don't know what my parents are laughing about--but it's rare to have a
picture of my dad actually smiling, so I included this one, too. 

Nobody can start searching until that lamb is done singing!

Aspen takes the gold--for the first time!

Ammon was victorious with the silver.
It's the first year that both have been found by teenagers!

Blowing out his birthday cake candle!

If you think that being with my family or being in Utah
wear this guy out, you're not completely wrong,
but he can't really deal with life in general anymore
unless he's had a daily nap!

Cute dessert--peeps nest!

We had a family contest for March Madness this year. We each filled out a bracket at the first of the month, and for every successive round of play, the points increase for choosing the correct team. Jonah was the big winner with 59 points--he and Ammon correctly picked Nova as one of the top 2 teams, but neither of them picked Nova to win overall, which they did on April 2. Micah got 2nd place with 55 points, just one point ahead of Ammon with 54. Josh, Kanyon and I didn't do nearly as well! Josh got 47 points, and Kanyon and I got in the 30s. 

Ammon's first golf tournament of the year was at Rigby on the 3rd. Fortunately, nobody else had a sporting event that day, so as soon as school was out, I drove over to Rigby, but he had just finished golfing and the kids were loading the bus (that Josh was driving). He tied for first place with a score of 79, along with Creed Barney and Lane Strand. They had a playoff, and Ammon won!! As a reward, Josh bought him the new UnderArmour Bucket Hat. I went out to eat with them at Wendy's, before returning to Mud Lake alone. 

The twins had their first track meet of the season the following day (the 4th) at Mud Lake. Josh was able to come down to it, which was nice. The boys ran well, but it was hard for Josh to see them sporting blue as a member of West J's team, rather than black and orange for Salmon! In the 800, Micah got 3rd with a time of 2:29, and Jonah got 5th with a time of 2:43. In the 1600, Micah got 3rd (again!) with a time of 5:41, and Jonah got 8th with a time of 6:29.

finish of the 1600

finishing the 1600

Ammon had gone shopping to Missoula
one day over spring break with Kaitlyn and Eve,
and when he wore some of his new clothes
to school that week, he matched Kaitlyn!

Val hosted our dominoes group on Friday the 6th.
We discovered that passing around something
helps with knowing who's turn is next, since
we get wrapped up in our conversations at times!
This time, we passed around tissues, which is good,
because sometimes when I'm mad, I end up kind of
throwing down the item at the next person, and
the impact was minimal with the tissues!!

Ammon got 2nd place at the first home golf
tournament of the year. He shot a 79, and
teammate Creed shot a 77. 

Kanyon had his first soccer game of the season on Saturday the 7th. It was a rainy day in Rexburg, and Kanyon didn't really come prepared with a jacket, and he refused to wear cleats, so he was cold, wet, and slipping all over the place. He played the goalie for the first half of the game, and then he was a striker (or forward? I'm not sure the correct terminology at this age?). Although they won the game, the team made a couple of goals, which was exciting for them! I was just excited to be going home to Salmon after it got done, because I was also cold and wet and wanted to go home! Eve and her roommate had gone to Salmon the previous day to get their snow tires taken off, and had picked up the twins on her way there. As Kanyon and I were driving, we passed her heading back to Rexburg. Kanyon and I were sad to have missed her, but the twins were super grateful not to have to wait another day before going home. 

Now that I bought a new car, we didn't need the gray one anymore that Josh had gotten last fall. It had been a good little interim car for us (especially after I replaced the lights and windshield), but we just didn't have a need for it or the cost of insuring it. Josh listed it for sale for $1500 and several were interested. He sold it on Sunday to a man who's daughter was driving to Ohio for college and her car had just died, so they were in a pickle. He paid Josh $500 and promised to pay two more installments of $500 in the following 2 months to pay it off. Well....they made it to Ohio okay, but the heating element (which was always tricky) went out (who needs it for summer anyway?), and he said it would cost $1500 to fix it, and he never paid Josh the rest of the money. Josh said he just wanted to help a brother out, so he let it slide, but it's still a sore point with me...

Josh's view from a mountainous motorbike ride

Another angle from the same ride

My classroom theme was "Rise Up" this year. Our last bulletin board
was the kids flying kites. They all created their outfits (I put their portrait on them),
and made kites from tissue and contact paper. I was so proud of the 3-D effect!

I drove home for our 20th anniversary on April 10. It was in the middle of the week, so I left after school, spent the night in Salmon, and drove back to Mud Lake early the next morning. Josh made a candlelight dinner for me--I'm not sure we've ever even had one before! He grilled giant, beautiful steaks, made mashed potatoes, and served sparkling cider. It was a delicious meal! He also bought me flowers. I loved everything he did to make it special! It was a relaxing night at home with him (I left the 3 younger boys in Mud Lake for the night and Ammon spent the night at a friend's house). I appreciate him so much, and all that he does to support me and keep our household running.

On April 11, Ammon had a golf tournament in Rexburg, the same day that Jonah and Micah had a track meet in Ririe. We were so close to each other, but I wasn't able to make it at all to Ammon's golf tournament. Thankfully, Josh was there. It was a very large meet with 9 teams--it was the largest tournament Salmon had been to. Ammon scored 82 and received 4th place. The track meet at Ririe wasn't as well attended as in years past, and the weather was actually decent (it's always windy or rainy when we go there it seems). I sat by my friend Julie Hall to watch the events. Micah won the 800 in his heat with a time of 2:28. Jonah ran the 800 in 2:42 and got 4th or 5th. In the mile, Micah got 2nd with a time of 5:25 and Jonah placed 6th with a time of 6:11.

The Salmon Stake had a formal dance for youth ages 14-18 on Saturday the 14th with an etiquette dinner before the dance. Josh helped as a server, and I brought snacks for the dance. All 3 of the older boys went, and had a good time. It was the first time the stake has done a dance this way; it was very well attended and the girls were so excited to dress up. My boys enjoyed the meal and had fun at the dance. 

I found a live mouse in the washing machine
at my apartment! EW! I do NOT like mice!
I asked the boys what they thought I should do,
and they said vacuum it up. NO WAY! It took
me a full day to gather the courage to grab it
using a plastic bag around my hand, and take
it outside where it belongs!

I took Jonah and Micah out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants: Tandoori Oven.
They serve Indian cuisine--which the twins have never tried. I'm glad I got someone
in my family to go eat there with me! However...they said they won't do it again :(
Apparently, they have a palette like their dad's: boring and predictable ;)

The twins' next track meet was in Butte on the 18th. I drove over with Kanyon, and Julie Hall and her son Isaac. It was a smaller meet than Ririe's, and the weather was perfect. In the 800, both boys did amazing: Micah got 1st with 2:25, and Jonah got 3rd with 2:36, his season's PR! The results were the same in the 1600: Micah got 1st with 5:31 and Jonah got 3rd with 6:15. Josh drove down to watch the races, and picked up Kanyon and took him to Salmon with him since the next day Kanyon didn't have school due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.

A parent of one of my students brought me
this bouquet of flowers to her P.T. conference.
She was the first appointment in the morning,
and I loved having these bright flowers in
my class all day--it helped brighten my mood!

Josh and I went for a motorbike ride one
Saturday in April--it was gorgeous weather!

PROM

Prom was on April 21. Ammon had debated for weeks about who to ask. Finally, he decided to ask both Kaitlyn Burgess and Eve Garrett. They are both seniors, and are both friends of his, and neither had been asked by anyone else. He wasn't sure what to do for a date--he knew it would be more expensive with two gals, so I suggested we have a progressive dinner. He'd never been to one before, and wasn't sure that was a good idea. I threw out the idea to some of the other moms in his group, and eventually Ammon and his friends decided that's what they'd do (sometimes as a mom you got to get people on your team to help with the power of persuasion!). The group met at the golf course that evening for pictures (per Ammon's request) before starting the progressive dinner. The Burgess's had the salad, Josh and I did the main course, and the Kauffman's had the dessert. The Troys were going to do the appetizer, but they decided that by the time the kids got going, it would be long enough--and they were right. It was a good activity (free for the kids), took some time, and they got a nice meal out of it, too! We cooked Ham and baked potatoes with all the toppings, and it was so fun to have the kids in our home for a bit--Ammon has NEVER brought any of his dates to our house before a school dance, so it was a real treat for Josh and I! The twins went motorbiking with their friends that evening, so they weren't around, but Kanyon liked eating dinner with Ammon's friends and being a "cool kid"! The prom was held on Main Street in the McPherson building, which was a new venue for the event. Ammon was crowned as Prom King (Hannah Simmons was the prom queen)! I had no idea he was in one of the royalty choices, so that was a super fun surprise when I found out the next day.

Handsome senior boys in Ammon's group:
Robel, Ammon, and Jett

Ammon and Kaitlyn

Ammon and Eve

Ammon and good friend Ava

What a handsome couple!

The whole group
Back L-R: Blazen, Madison, Ava, Eve, Kaitlyn, Brooke, and Kelsey.
Front L-R: Ezra, Jesse, Robel, Ammon, Jett, and Will

The stud muffin matches his cart!

Friends since they were 2 years old!

Check out those shoes! Along with her dress, it
made walking just a little tricky. Good thing Ammon
is such a prince!

I can't tell you how happy it made me to have our house full of teenagers!

Kanyon swinging on the ropes with cousin Aaron after Stake Conference

Going for a family bike ride on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

Beautiful sunset out our front door

I celebrated Earth Day with my class by drawing pictures of things we love
about Earth with chalk on the entrance to our school. So fun!

Ammon's graduation announcements arrived in the mail!
He helped me pick the outline and all the pics he wanted included.

Kanyon's soccer league lasted 2 months--from the end of March to the end of May. He had games usually twice a week--sometimes more. We traveled to Rexburg, Idaho Falls, and Blackfoot for them, which is a first for us because in Salmon, they have a league where they just play against themselves. He also had games in Pocatello and Sugar City that we didn't go to (if they were at a later scheduled time on a Saturday, I chose to skip them so we could go home to Salmon instead). This particular game was in Blackfoot--right next to the mental hospital Blackfoot South. An ambulance passed us on our way there--and it wasn't until we arrived at the field did I realize where the ambulance was going. I have never actually seen this hospital, nor been to it before, but I thought it was strange that we were literally right it its backyard!

Kanyon is an outstanding goalie!
(Note: said hospital is right behind him)

You know how there's days where it seems like EVERYTHING is scheduled on top of each other, and it's rather stressful trying to make it to all of it, but with careful planning, it's possible but also overwhelming? It seems like we have one of those days about every month, and in April, it was on Thursday the 26th. Originally, Ammon had a golf tournament that was going to be that morning in Rexburg, and the twins had a track meet in Salmon that afternoon. I was so happy, because I knew that if I took the day off, I would be able to go to it all! However, Rexburg changed their tournament to a date that Salmon couldn't attend, so they chose to go to Mackay that afternoon instead--which meant I could no longer go to the golf tournament, which ended up being okay because that also ended up being one of the days that the bike rodeo was held at our school, and both my class and Kanyon's class were scheduled for that day. I called my sub, and told her that I wouldn't need to take the whole day off anymore, just the afternoon. I was able to watch Kanyon ride with his class while I was on recess duty with my class that morning, and as soon as he was done riding, then I checked him out of school and we left for Salmon. We watched the twins run in the Salmon track meet, which coincidentally was the first meet we'd actually competed against Salmon all spring, and everyone struggled with the fact that Jonah and Micah were wearing blue and running for the "wrong" team--it's all I heard about the entire afternoon! The boys had a great meet. In the 800, Micah placed 3rd with 2:24 (his PR for the season!)--Keller Brothers and Hyrum Spencer duked it out for first and Keller ended up winning because he stuck out his chest, even though Hyrum's foot crossed first, and Jonah got 5th with 2:36. In the mile: Micah got 4th with 5:29 just behind Danny Simmons, and Jonah got 7th with 6:02.78--just 2 tenths of a second behind Erik Oliverson! It was a battle to the finish and was so exciting! They were both a little disappointed not to have reached their mile goals for the week, but it was a SUPER hot afternoon, and combined with their longest bus ride to an event, it was understandable (Micah wanted to run it in 5:15 and Jonah in 5:59). Josh drove the bus with Ammon to Mackay. It's a smaller golf course (no par 5's on it), but the weather was great, and it was an enjoyable day for them. Ammon scored 79 and tied with Lane for 2nd. Creed won with 76. That evening, Salmon had its spring ward party. They served hot dogs and salads. I took the boys to it, and Josh arrived in town during it and joined us as well. We didn't stay too long, because the weather was nice, and I just wanted to go home and spend the evening with my husband that I rarely got to see! It had been a long day, but an uplifting one as well.

The bike rodeo was awesome! They set up a great course!

Here is going around obstacles

The kids loved this section with streamers that they had to go through

The ramp was also a big hit!

He matches his golf bag with the team colors!

I love the view from this corner of the deck!

One nice thing for the twins about living in Mud Lake this spring was that they were able to do their Drivers Training in Idaho Falls, and didn't have to endure a 2.5 hour car ride to get there every time they were scheduled to drive. They did it through A+ Driving School, and did the course online, and then had to drive 3 times. Their first driving day was Friday April 20--they didn't have school because it was a teacher inservice day, so I ran them down that morning and they drove for 4 hours and I picked them up on my lunch break. Their second day was Saturday April 28. I drove them down that morning, and then did some shopping and errands. Kanyon had a game in Idaho Falls just after noon, and since Josh didn't get to see many of his games, he drove down from Salmon that morning, picked him up, and brought him to the soccer game. We drove over as soon as Driver's Ed was done and watched the game with them. After the game, I drove Kanyon and Micah back to Salmon, and Josh drove Jonah to Montpelier to check out a motorcycle he was wanting to get. He'd been wanting something bigger than his 125 (especially since Micah got a new one over spring break, and Jonah realized how much faster and more powerful it was than his). We'd been shopping all month, checking out deals online and at dealerships, but nothing had worked out so far. He decided to purchase the bike (a Husqvarna 250), and they made good time and got to Salmon that night before dark!