Easter-Visit from Russ & Janelle & the BIG boys.

We were so happy to have Russ and Janelle and the boys come to visit us all the way from Nebraska! They visited over Easter weekend which happened to be their spring break. Mostly I think they just came to hear me speak in Sacrament meeting. :)
The kids were so excited to have cousins come and play. Emma and Levi were waiting outside when they pulled up and Levi was just cheering! I am not sure if I have ever seen him so excited....and I'm not sure how he could even remember them since it had been over a year since we last saw them!
The boys have grown so much! I couldn't believe how tall Hayden is! I think they said he is 6 foot 2! Emma and Levi loved playing with all the boys. All three of the boys are so helpful. Hayden kept asking what he could do for me so I put him to work! He fixed my bathroom door so that it would actually lock, he installed our tv cord cover thingy that was driving me crazy, he also replaced a cupboard door that I had taken off to fix. Dalton loves to do housework. As soon as we were done eating he would ask if he could do the dishes. OF COURSE HE CAN DO THE DISHES! The house we are renting right now doesn't have a dishwasher so this is an even bigger job than usual.

The first night they were here we left the boys with to babysit our kids while the adults when to a marriage class. Ivan and I have been taking this class for a while now on Friday nights and it was one of the last weeks so we didn't want to miss it. We really enjoyed going to the class and meeting all the other couples. Russ and Janelle were good sports to come with us and I think they might have even enjoyed it. We did go to dinner before the class at Cheddars. We really like that place!
On Saturday Ike took Russ and a couple of the boys out to his work for a tour while Janelle and I and the little kids stayed home. We had a really good time watching Janelle and Dalton play ZUMBA on the Wii. They can both really shake them hips! haha No idea why I don't have a picture of that. :*(
When the boys got back from Hereford we drove out to Palo Duro Canyon. We really enjoy having it so close to home. We just drove down through and looked around a little and stopped at the visitors center.

After that we went shopping at Kohls to get Hayden some new church shoes for his GIANT feet. :) Then we randomly decided to visit Cadillac ranch. It is basically just a bunch of cars half buried in a field. You can go and spray paint though and that is the fun part. We didn't take any paint but a nice lady gave us some on her way out and there was plenty laying around. Ivan has a picture of himself on top of one of the cars there when he served his mission in Amarillo. It was kind of fun for him to go back. Russ and Daniel decided to stay in the truck for this one and I think they missed out!

Janelle + Russell

Ike loves me. :)

Even Emma took a turn painting.

She loves Hayden.



This picture cracks me up. Big D.

After we visited Cadillac Ranch we went to dinner at The Plaza which is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. These Mills' weren't too big of fans. We will have to try something different next time.
On Sunday we enjoyed church followed by a ham dinner with new potatoes and peas. Janelle made an amazing strawberry roll dessert that we gobbled up!
Janelle saw this idea on pinterest and decied to try it. I thought it was funny!

My cute kids in their Easter outfits...and an awesome photo bomb by Hayden. haha

The kids also got baskets from the Easter bunny but I forgot to take a picture. Emma got some fun Easter Veggie Tales DVD's and lots of candy of course. Levi got candy and a book about prayer. Emma decided to trade him though since he can't read. She is so funny.

Russ and Janelle and the boys packed up and headed out that afternoon. We are grateful that they chose to spend their vacation with us and hope to go visit them in Nebraska soon!

Piano

Simple Pleasures

Emma started taking piano lessons from a friend in our ward just a few months after we moved here. She really enjoyed it and I was shocked at how fast she learned things. They had a little recital the beginning of June for all the students. It was just at the church in the gym. I wasn't sure that Emma would be brave enough to get up in front of everyone and play her recital pieces but her teacher assured me that they talked about it and Emma really wanted to do it. We got to the church early so that we could sit in the front so she didn't have to walk too far. She ended up being the first one on the program! She panicked a little when I told her it was her turn and we ended up carrying her up to the bench. Jacy, her teacher, sat next to her and she actually started playing! I was shocked and so happy! She had two pieces to play. The first one was by herself and the second was a duet with her teacher. She did a great job and we couldn't be more proud. She was excited about the cute little gift that Jacy gave the students. Jacy is our primary president and I serve as her first counselor. She is also my visiting teacher and one of the first people we met here in Cheney. She is a great teacher and a great friend. We really love their family and are happy to have met them. We are excited to start piano lessons again in the fall and hope that Emma didn't forget everything she has learned.

Miss Emma finished kindergarten!

It is crazy how fast time goes by. Miss Emma finished kindergarten the beginning of June. They didn't have a graduation but they did have a kindergarten program where they sang lots of fun songs for us. Emma was so excited about it. For some reason she thought it was a surprise for me so she kept telling Ivan about it but not me. Her teacher didn't do a very good job of keeping us informed and we hadn't heard anything about it...so it's good that she mentioned it! I'm so glad that Ivan has such a flexible job and he was able to be there.

The area that they had the concert in was super weird. The group didn't even face the audience and of course Emma stood back as far as she could on the bleachers and the girl next to her stood forward so we really couldn't see her...frustrating for a picture freak like me! I just went up stairs and took pictures from the balcony.

After they sang lots of songs for us they turned on some music and had a dance party with all the parents. Emma was too embarrassed to dance but Daddy and Levi had a good time!

We are so proud of Emma. She had a lot to adjust to this year with starting kindergarten and then moving in the middle of the year. Her favorite part about kindergarten was getting to ride the bus and recess. She made lots of friends with older kids on the bus and I think they loved having her there. One day the bus driver got out and talked to me when dropping Emma off after school. He said that the bus had some problems on the way to school and they had to switch buses. Emma was really upset that bus number 6 was broken. I told him that it is probably just because she is six years old so that bus number is super cool. Emma is a smart little cookie and is reading very well! She did very well on her testing and was above grade level in several areas. One area she didn't do as well in was communication...she likes to talk quiet as a mouse and people have a hard time understanding her. She also needs to work on writing. Her teacher said she has the best handwriting in the class but she likes to use upper case for everything. :)

We checked out a few Junie B. Jones books and CD's from the library recently and Emma loved them! We would listen to a few chapters on CD in the car and then come home and read a few chapters. I found some copies on eBay and bought her a bundle of 16 of them as a "graduation" gift. She was really excited! A few of the books even had stickers in them. We have a goal to read all 16 this summer. We are so proud of Emma and know that she is going to do great in first grade!

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Barlow

My parents came at the end of the same week Ivan's parents visited. We had a great time with them at our house. The kids were so excited to see all of their grandparents that week.
We did a lot of the same things with my parents...but a lot less driving around looking at fields. :) We went to the McKay Seed plant and Ivan showed us around and explained what he does every day. I love hearing him talk about work. I am very proud of the man that he is. He works really hard to provide for our family and is so smart!


We ate more really good food! My dad loves pecan pie. I have never made a pecan pie and don't really enjoy it and I know that it would never compare to my moms pie if I tried. I found a recipe for a pecan cake so my mom and I made that together. It. Was. Amazing.


After we visited Ike's work we stopped by the park in Rosalia so the kids could get out of the car for a minute. Grandma and Grandpa are so good about playing with the kids. We had a good time.

 

 

The kids had fun just hanging out at home as well. Emma got to show off what a great reader she is.

We had robin nest in our hanging basket. The week all the grandparents visited is when the eggs hatched! Probably the grossest thing I have ever seen! haha The kids thought it was awesome. The baby birds were so nasty looking. They are just pink with hair. It only took about a week for them to get BIG and fly away. Nature is pretty amazing and I am grateful how much of it we have been able to enjoy in Washington.

Emma was taking gymnastics and Grandma and Grandpa Barlow were here for one of her classes. She had never done gymnastics before and I was amazed at what the teacher had them do! She did all kinds of flips and things. She was a lot out of her comfort zone in the class and had a hard time being brave but I think she enjoyed it.

Grandpa Cashew and a little monkey.

He is so patient with her.

Levi really likes hats.

Emma's turn on the balancing beam.

We are so grateful to have wonderful family on both sides. I was so glad my parents were able to come and spend a little time with us. My mom and I made some adorable pillows for Emma's bed. I love spending time with both of my parents.

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Mills

In June Ivan's parents came to visit for a few days. We did a lot of driving around and checking out Washington. We went to Ivan's work and gave them a tour. We stopped at a lot of fields and Ivan and Butch talked about different varieties of wheat and barley. I love that they have this connection in agriculture and that they always have something to talk about together.
We also went to the River Front Park in spokane. The kids had a good time on the big wagon slide like always and Levi did a little bird chasing. My camera broke while we were there and I was pretty devastated. We went to have it repaired the next week but it cost enough to repair that we ended up just buying a new camera. I LOVE my new camera.
The rest of the time during Butch and Marjie's visit we spent just visiting and eating really good food. We also took them to Makenzie River Pizzeria. Man we love that place. We were happy that they were able to come and see the beautiful place we live and to spend some time with them.

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Levi the terrible!

This kid is working really hard at being the best terrible two year old EVER! haha Tonight Emma ran in to inform us that Levi painted himself and the chair in the office with baby lotion. He couldn't even walk on the tile because he had so much on him! My office smells of lavender, which is nice, but I better bust out the carpet cleaner in the morning before things start to stick to the carpet! He is really good at climbing and thinks that the barstools exist merely to get him to things he shouldn't have that are up high. One week after church he grabbed one of the stools and pushed it all the way down the hall like he was on a mission. We all followed him to see what he was up to. He put it right in front of his closet and climbed up to pick out a new shirt. He refused to let me help him put it on and was really proud of himself when he got it on inside out and backwards. He tried on a couple of them. He has also been obsessed with the fridge lately. We had a couple egg incidences a few weeks ago. I had boiled some eggs and they were in a bowl in the fridge...I think that's where the fascination began. He got into the ones in the carton next to the boiled ones and added them to the bowl as well. Yep. No idea which ones were boiled at that point. Then a few days later he decided to take a few eggs into our bedroom for some reason. Ivan walked in and I heard him scream like a girl. :) He had 3 eggs and a couple had cracked on the carpet. Oh joy. Ivan was wonderful, as usual, and cleaned up the mess. When he walked into the kitchen after finishing up in the bedroom, Levi was in there getting more eggs. So naughty. Here are some pics. He was pretty proud of himself. The other day when Emma was at school I had a shower. Amazing...I know. I was impressed that Levi wasn't at the door throwing his usual tantrum while I showered, so I took my time. When I got out I found the source for said quietness. He was covered in a gray powder. It was too dark to be flour or baby powder...so I just followed the footsteps to the living room where I found dental floss strung out all over the floor...3 yogurts and LOTS of spoons. He had painted the table with yogurt and took just a little out of each one. He emptied the fire place and it appears he had a good time doing it. Amazing how much he can "accomplish" in just a few minutes. This is how Levi enjoys ice cream....it is also how I wish I was allowed to enjoy ice cream! HA! Levi gathering items to make himself a smore? Lovin' the hat with the jammies and church shirt. He wears that hat everywhere! He is pretty awesome. And one night he decided to have a party with Emma's pink lipgloss! That stuff is STICKY! We had to wash his hair lots of times to get it out...after we caught him of course. He kept running into the office and shutting the door so we couldn't get in. And he would smash his face on the glass just to make sure he was being super entertaining. He also decided to use Emma's pillow to wipe the pink of his hands. We sure love our crazy little boy and he sure keeps us on our toes! But...I think we would all agree that he is best when he is sleeping!