Filling Buckets

The Annual Easter Egg Hunt in Salmon is always done the Saturday right before Easter Sunday. The City Park is roped off into 3 areas for different age groups. Kids come and line-up along the outside of the ropes until the bell sounds, then they run into the designated area and grab as much candy and eggs as possible. The eggs are filled with money, or coupons to receive money or merchandise from local stores. And the candy that's thrown all over the grass is plentiful. It's such a fun egg/candy hunt, and it usually lasts for only about 5 minutes!

Kanyon's only done the Easter Hunt once before, when he was in the 3 and under age group. He didn't understand it before, and was content to pick up a few pieces of candy and eat them on the spot. This was the first year he was in the 4 - 6 age category, and it was so fun for Josh and I watch him pick up candy to his heart's delight. He even picked up a few eggs, and received $4 from 2 local stores. He was SO happy!!!

Ammon, Jonah, and Micah were on the field for 7-11 year olds. It was Ammon's last year participating in the kids' egg hunt. He called himself the "Reeses's King" because he picked up a ton of Reese's chocolates to fill his bucket with! He also got 5 eggs, and received money given by stores.

Jonah and Micah also got a ton of candy to fill their buckets with, and they both got a few eggs and received money and free products from local stores. They were SO excited to have done so well, especially for being in the older kids' group for the first time!

The Annual Egg Hunt is put on by the Rotary Club, and they do such an excellent job! It is well organized, and supported by lots of businesses, and it is a fun event for the youth in Salmon each spring! I am so thankful for the efforts of many to bring about such a wonderful actitivity for my kids to participate in.

cheap entertainment

You know you're a mother of boys when...

you're on a long road trip all together, and the best thing that keeps them entertained for hours is perfecting the art of making fake fart sounds in their arms!!!

"at the hotel"

When I started abruptly working full-time in February, the person that it affected the most was Kanyon. Because of the way that he is, Kanyon doesn't like change. He likes to do the same thing over and over and over, and he does really well with a repetitive routine. But after I started working, he was at a different place every day, being baby-sat by Dad or Uncle Malachi or our neighbor Camille, and some days he went to preschool followed by going to other friend's houses. It was all very confusing for him, because he never knew where he was going to be. Even though every morning, we told him the plans for the day, it was hard for him to handle the daily juggling. Every morning, he screamed and kicked and cried and threw fits about leaving the house. I dropped him off to preschool and at Camille's house so many mornings in that condition, and it was difficult for me to leave him like that. I often cried too, from having to deal his explosive outbursts in the morning and feeling guilty for leaving him to go to work. 

After 6 weeks of going through that every day, it was time for Josh and my planned couple's retreat to Utah. We took Kanyon with us, and dropped him off at my mom's house, while the other boys stayed at Josh's mom's house in Salmon. My mom willingly babysat him for 4 days, and he absolutely loved all the one-on-one attention that my mom and dad and sister Trina spoiled him with. He was so happy for those 4 days, and I'm so grateful to my parents for watching him, because I'd been worried about him and it really helped me enjoy my vacation better. After returning back to Salmon from our trip, there was only a day and half of work before the 10-day spring break began. It was also good for Kanyon to be home every day during that time, to be back to his old routine that he knew so well. He was so happy during spring break! 

I didn't want the last 8 weeks of school to be just like the first 6 weeks I'd had on the job, with Kanyon having tantrums every morning, so I came up with a rewards plan for him. For every day he didn't throw a screaming fit when I went to work and he went to preschool a/o babysitter's houses, he would get a sticker on the rewards chart. When the chart was full, we'd go as a family to a hotel. Since last fall, when he went to a hotel in Boise with Josh and I, he's been talking non-stop about going again. Hotels are his dream place: complete with swimming pools, elevators, and watching TV in bed! 

Kanyon was so excited about the rewards plan, and his behavior improved dramatically! After having lots of vacation time to calm down, and having the new rewards system with the hotel as the prize, he was an excellent boy! His preschool teachers and babysitters remarked about what a wonderful boy he was and how happy he was, especially in comparison to the previous month when he'd had several behavioral problems. He got lots of stickers consecutively on the chart so we could, as he would say, "go at the hotel". His sticker chart got filled up remarkably fast, and at the middle of April, we did our overnight trip to a hotel.

We went to Missoula Montana, which is 3 hours north of Salmon, and went to the Wingate Hotel with the Indoor Water Park. We'd never been there before, but we'd heard about it from friends who'd stayed there. The boys absolutely loved it. On Friday night, the boys played in the kiddie-pool area a lot, with the mushroom waterfall and the frog slide:

We stayed in the water park for two hours, and by the time we got out the boys all had, as we call it, "old man hands":

The next morning, after breakfast, we went swimming for another 2 hours. This time, all the boys except Kanyon went on the giant water slides over and over and over. Kanyon and I rotated between swimming in the pool and sitting in the hot tubs. It took Jonah and Micah lots of convincing to go down the big water slides, but they finally gave in and did it, and they absolutely loved it! It was fun watching them go from being scared to being excited about sliding!

Josh and Ammon made the biggest splashes of almost everyone I saw that morning, which was absolutely delightful for me! No matter how far back I was in the pool that was in front of the water slides, I always got splashed by Josh! One time, he shot out so far after coming out of the slide, that he even touched me with his foot! Those big splashes always put a smile on my face! I went down the slides a few times myself, and had him give me pointers on how to do it so I'd make a big splash at the end, but I never could get it right. I even got stuck in the tube once trying to go faster!

We all had a wonderful and relaxing time "going at the hotel", and as soon as we left, Kanyon already starting talking about when we could go again!

a 'gray've discovery

I remember the first day I discovered I had a stretch mark on my body. I was pregnant with Ammon, and it was less than a month before my 20th birthday. I found it after my morning shower: a light pink ridge on my stomache. I was shocked at the discovery. I'd heard of women who rubbed special lotions on their stomaches as to lessen the amount and depth of impending stretch marks, but I had done no such thing. But upon finding that first mark, I wish that I had. I was sad that my basically unmarked body was changing, and there was nothing I could do about it. Of course, that was just the first of many, MANY more stretch marks and scars that my pregnancies inflicted upon my body. I cried that day, for a couple of hours, for many reasons. I knew that with that stretch mark, I was changing. My body, my life would never be the same. I could never go back to what my life, my body, was before the appearance of that stretch mark. So, I cried. And with those tears, I came to accept what that stretch mark meant for me: the growth of a child inside of me, the knowledge of becoming a mother, and the fact that I was growing up. That stretch mark was like a right of passage for me into motherhood.

On the last Sunday in March this year, I was sitting next to Josh on the couch. I was gazing at him, like I frequently do, and I noticed a gray hair among the dark brunette strands on his head. I got the tweezers out and promptly plucked it. I teased him, and photographed that monumental occasion  

  

I even wrote on my facebook status "I found Josh's first gray hair tonight! And I immediately plucked it out, thus expanding his youthful looks for just a teensy bit longer". And then one of Josh's cousin's replied: "I hear if you pull one, ten come back". Which of course, as it turns out, he was right. Since that day over two months ago, I've plucked 6 more grays from Josh's head, and now his beard is becoming splotched with grays, as well. And it occurred to me this week that Josh's first gray hair I found was kind of like the first stretch mark I discovered twelve years ago. That first gray hair marked evidence of age: a change in our bodies that we can't control, a visual reminder of time passing, a sign that we are growing older. That first gray hair was a right of passage into the next stage of our lives. And just like my stretch mark, that first gray hair was, and will be, the first of many, many more.   

Unlike my crying over my first stretch mark, however, Josh didn't cry upon the discovery of his first gray hair. In fact, it seems to have affected me more than it bothers him! But, I'm sure the day that I find gray hairs in my own head, I will most likely cry enough tears for the both of us!!!

Spring Break-away to Spokane

After Josh and I returned from our couple's retreat in Utah, we worked a day and a half, and then the school's spring 10-day break began! Most of the time, the boys and I just hung out at home and worked on a few projects. But nearing the end of the break, I drove up to Spokane by myself to visit my Grandpa P. for two days and two nights.

 

The first night I got there, I made dinner and we ate together, and then we sat in his den all evening while he watched TV and I got some work done for school. He had just gotten out of the hospital a few days prior, because he'd had pneumonia. And after driving the 6 hours to see him, I was a little tired. So it was good for both of us to just chill for a few hours! I slept in the upstairs guest room, virtually unchanged since the last time I'd come to visit:

The next morning, we ate breakfast together, and then the nurse came and checked his vitals and condition, and then I drove him around doing errands and we ate lunch together at Taco Bell. That afternoon, we worked on clearing out some of his food storage from the basement and a few cupboards full of Grandma's old cookbooks from the washroom.

Then for dinner we cooked some ham in his rotisserie, and ate it with some potatoes. It was yummy! Grandpa talked a lot about his history and about life with Grandma whenever we ate meals together, and I enjoyed sitting across from him and listen to him talk about his life. That night, I went to the Spokane temple alone.

The next morning, Grandpa drove himself to a Dr. appointment, and I loaded my car up with all the stuff we'd cleaned out the day before. Then I got to work doing some light cleaning around his house until he returned. We ate breakfast together, and then it was time for me to go.  

I really enjoyed my visit with Grandpa. He is doing so well, and I'm so impressed at his ability to live alone and be independent at his age of 92. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go up to see him again! I really treasure the time I've had to do that!

In a matter of a week and a half, I'd been in southern Utah, Eastern Washington, and Western Montana. There were flowers in Utah:

There were flowers in Spokane:

But when I crossed the Idaho border, and saw the sign for Salmon, this is what I was greeted with:

SNOW! It was so not the welcome I wanted, and it was rather depressing to return home to snow after having sun and rain in the other states. But I appreciated the fact that I at least got to travel to places where the sun and rain were during sring break, so I could experience something other than snow at the end of March!  

Jammin' with Jovi

For over a decade now, I have wanted to see Bon Jovi in concert. I wanted it so badly that I even added it to my 'bucket list'. So when I learned that he would be coming in concert to SLC, I was so excited! I purchased 3 of the second-to-the-cheapest tickets to the March 22nd concert. My friend Heather (who'd gone to see Lady Gaga with us) was going to see Bon Jovi with us too! 

Unfortunately, the day of the concert, Heather got sick with the flu. So my sister Tawna joined us for the evening instead. And also unfortunately, my cheap tickets landed us the VERY top row in the far right corner facing the stage.  

If I'd known that's where the seats were going to be, I would've brought binoculars. But thankfully, sitting in the row right in front were a group of ladies in their fifties, and they had several pairs. So during the evening, they occasionally let us borrow them! Those ladies loved Bon Jovi, and it's no surprise why...

In addition to being gorgeous, Jon Bon Jovi is simply an amazing performer!!! He has a way of really including the audience in his musical selections. I love his style!  3 days prior to his concert, we attended Lady Gaga's, which was all about the costumes and sets and back-up dancers. Unlike Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi was all about the music and the digital screens and the visual effects. When he first came out, there was a giant screen above him, but during the show, the screen split into 12 mini sections or 6 small sections or 2 half screens. It was incredible and mesmerizing! And the screens moved all around the stage, and they moved diagonally as well. Here's some photos to help visualize what I'm describing:  

After a few songs, Bon Jovi got really hot on the stage, so he took off his jacket. The ladies in front of us went crazy!!! They let me borrow their binoculars to see the sweat dripping off his body. He definitely looked good in a sleeveless shirt! 

Then he changed into a dry shirt and performed a few duets with Richie Sambora. I loved the duets! My favorite was one that Jon did with another guy in his band, and they sang the song "Hallelujah". It was the same version of the one that's on the movie "Shrek", and it was SO beautiful! 

The band did a mixture of songs: rock songs from our youth, and songs from the recent generation. Bon Jovi is timeless to us, and Josh and I loved the mixture of old and new! Before performing the song "The More Things Change", Jon said that he'd been performing rock and roll long before the newest rock singers were even born yet! In the song, the lyrics go "the more things change, the more they stay the same", and he talked about how new artists and new styles have come, but his band is still singing good ole' rock and roll, and they're still going strong!    

They ended the show with a Bang! Their last 3 songs were "Blaze of Glory", "Have a Nice Day", and "Keep the Faith". I loved the digital fireworks on the big screen! 

Then they came out for the encore, and it was absolutely phenomenal! Jon was wearing a sleeveless shirt again! He and Richie performed another duet "Wanted Dead or Alive", and the final song number was a grand "Livin on a Prayer" with the large screen displaying fan's videos of singing the song. It was a glorious finale!

Bon Jovi performed for two flawless hours! We both loved it! I would totally pay to see him again, except next time, I'm going to purchase tickets that are not in the nose-bleeds so that I can be a little more 'up close and personal' with the Hottie Bon Jovi!!! Attending the Bon Jovi concert was the perfect ending to our couple's vacation, as well as the first item I got to cross of my official Bucket List!! 

Do you see what I see?

When we were in the Moab region of Utah, I liked finding unique rock formations that resembled real-life things. Do you ever look at the clouds and find shapes in them? It's a similar activity to that. I play little mind games like that all the time because I just love using my imagination! Do you see in the photos what I saw in the formations?

A Pyramid:

A Monkey Face (my personal favorite):

 A Turkey:

 A Cruise Ship:

A Hand making a Rabbit Face/Ears shadow sign:

Quasimoto's Eyes & Nose:

An Hourglass tipped over:

 A Tall Mushroom:

The 3 Wise Men taking gifts to Baby Jesus:

A Battleship:

 A low-cut, heeled Boot:

I need help with this last one. What do you think it looks like?

I think it sort of looks like a hand wrapped around a pop bottle,

or a jet boat stuck on a rocky island,

or a referee's thumb at the beginning of a game's coin toss.