Lagoon

This year we were invited by Bob and Alison to go with them to Lagoon. The last time Kefford went was before his mission and the kids and I have never been so we were pretty excited to go and spend time with some of Keffords family and have this new experience. 

Dustin's work had a special family day on Friday June 19th in which they also got discounted tickets so that was the day we were all going. Kefford had to work in Baker on the 18th and would not get back until later in the evening and so we planned on leaving that night, staying over in Burley and then driving the rest of the way friday morning. Bob and Alison were leaving Thursday morning and agreed to take Ryker and Kenedy with them so we could take the car and save on gas. That morning after we read scriptures I told Kenedy and Ryker they needed to get their chores done to be ready for when Bob and Alison come to pick them up. Ryker was not in the best of moods and decided to throw a fit about cleaning. I told him that if he did not get done by the time his Grandparents came I would make him stay and let them take Avynlea instead. He was not appreciative of that and didn't change his attitude, after warning him one more time I left it at that and went to get my own stuff done. A little bit later Ryker came up and apologized for his behavior and said he was going to work really hard to get his stuff done. I was really proud of him for his attitude change and happy that it wasn't a huge long fight to get him to do anything.

Before she left Kenedy took a picture of herself with my phone and then Trista sent me a picture of Ryker cleaning his plate at dinner. I am always so grateful for any opportunities my kids have to spend more time with their Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles, family is super important to me and my kids having great relationships with their extended family is really important.

Kefford had rented a cheap Mom and Pop Motel in Burley to stay at and when we pulled up and I saw what it looked like I told Kefford this is where we die. It looked pretty sketchy to me ;). The girls were excited about sleeping in a motel and it was a good stopover.

The next morning we got up and finished our trip to Farmington Utah. The park didn't open until 11 and so we hung out with the Petersons in their rooms until it was time to head over. Bob decided he wanted to get some food at Ihop and we went there to eat before we got to the park. 

We met up with Dustins family once we got inside and those 5 minutes were pretty much the extent of our hanging out with them. I expected everyone to stick together to go on the rides and be with each other but looking back that does seem pretty unrealistic in that we have older kids who can and want to go on the roller coasters whereas Dustin and Whitney, whose family also came, have younger kids who cannot do as much. So after getting in and saying hi we went off on our own to ride the rides. Isabelle came with us for a bit and Trista along with Sara and her roommates met up with us for a lot of the rides.

Avynlea was a sport and went on most of the roller coasters even though she is definitely not a fan. Rylee loves them and is always up for adventure and so not surprisingly she went on them all and loved them all.

I had my hair up in a bun which I thought was pretty good for a hot day of riding coasters but I had to redo it after every ride because it would get loose. I laughed and snapped this picture when I saw that Trista had the same problem.

This ride was Avynleas favorite ride, she rode it a couple of times. It basically spins you in a circle and since it is a bit tilted you end up squishing the person on the outer edge.  

We rode the tram to the other side of the park and I did not like it much. I am not fond of heights and this was just a bit scary for me, what a wimp I am. I just tried not to look down.

The ferris wheel was also nerve racking for me, I just do not like being up high, too scary!

The kids wanted to ride this airplane ride and because they wanted their own plane it worked out that Rylee had to wait and not go when our other kids went. We all loved watching her enjoy this ride, she is seriously the cutest in her enjoyment of things. I am quite sure it was worth the extra wait for her to have her own plane and she loved it!

Hand stamps selfie

The second time we rode the tram I was with Kenedy and it was not quite as bad. It sure was a convenient way to get to the other side of the park without walking.

By the time it was aout 7:00 I was hot and tired and done with Lagoon. It was a really fun day but I was ready for it to end. We met up with the rest of Keffords family for dinner at Red Lobster where I got a steak, the only turf on the menu. I was a sport and did try some of the surf off Keffords plate. It was fine but I will stick with the turf. 

Because we were in Utah and so close to Emily I asked Kefford a couple of weeks earlier if I could take some time to stay with her for a couple of days. I had to take advantage of the opportunity. Kefford was fine with it and we had talked about me leaving Friday night after Lagoon to go to Emilys and he would stay with his parents at their Hotel and drive home with them. Well, I was so tired after the long day and Alison had an extra room so I decided to stay the night at the Hotel so that I would not have to drive an hour at midnight to get to Emilys.

After dinner Kefford wen track to the Park with Kenedy, Ryker, Trista, Dustin and Whitney. While I took Avynlea and Rylee swimming in the Hotel Pool. Isabelle was going back to Nyssa to spend time with her Grandparents for a few weeks and so she was at the hotel and went swimming with us. 

The next morning Avynlea got ahold of my phone to take some pictures of the view out the window.

She thought her Grandpa snoozing in the chair was pretty funny so she snapped a picture of him as well.

Three little cuties

Rylee, Isabelle and Avynlea

I love any opportunity to spend time with family and this was a fun trip, now it is off to Emilys for more family fun!

Overheating

A couple of weeks ago our A/C decided to stop working. It steadily got hotter and hotter in our house. Luckily it was not during the heat wave that has his us but it was still not very comfortable. After Kefford left to go to Mutual with the oldest two, myself and the younger two rode our bikes to the snow shack for some cooling off with shaved ice. It was delicious and sure hit the spot. I love that we have these shacks close enough for us to ride to. When we got back home Kefford was  there with an A/C guy who was finishing up his repairs on our unit. It was so nice to feel the cooler air flowing throughout the house again.

Last day of school take 2

While I was cleaning out Ryker's room we found his map of Idaho that he made in the fourth grade. It was breaking apart so I took a picture of it and then with him holding it so we could throw it away. 

Wednesday was Avynlea and Rylee's last day of school. I do not let them wear flip flops to school, I don't think it is safe and they have to wear closed toe shoes. But on the last day of school I let them wear flip flops, such a nice mom! I remembered to take their pictures on this last day, they were so excited to finally have a start to their summer. My cute girls are getting so big. They will be in third and fifth grade next year.

Ryker wanted to get in the jumping for a picture action.

As a last day of school thank you for their teachers I made chocolate chip cookies and then printed out this cute tag and had the girls write a thank you note inside. I originally made sugar cookies to give their teachers. I make really good sugar cookies and thought it would be a yummy treat. But for some reason the cookies tasted weird and the frosting recipe I used was not one I had done before and it did not taste good. Basically the cookies were gross and so I threw them away and went with my delicious chocolate chip recipe. It was weird the sugar cookies did not turn out but whatever, I am glad I had a backup. 

At 11:30 I went to the school to meet the girls for the annual school wide picnic. After eating a little bit the girls wandered off to be with their friends and so I gave Avy my phone to take pictures of her and Rylee with their teachers.

Avy took a selfie with her friend Mia who was not going to be at Chaparral next year. We wanted a picture with Avynlea's teacher, Mrs. Montoya, but we could not find her.

Rylee with her bestie Maryn and Maryns little sister. 

Rylee and Mrs Bruck

She was a great teacher and Rylee loved being in her class. Ryle loves Art and it is one of Mrs Brucks  specialties so it was the perfect class for Rylee to be in. Mrs Bruck is actually leaving to go teach at a school closer to where she lives that has an emphasis on Art, we will miss her at the school but are excited for her to be able to go and do more Art.

Last time leaving the school as a second grader and a fourth grader

Happy 39th Birthday Kefford!

Keffords birthday was done a little bit different this year. We had decided a while ago to have Kenedy and Ryker switch rooms and on this day we had all of Rykers things downstairs in the Family room so that my friend Lana and I could paint the room that was soon going to be Kenedys. I went to the Temple that morning and while I was gone Lana came over to help Kenedy start the paint prep. When I got back I jumped right in with priming the room. We had decided that we would prime the first day and then come back the second day and paint. Lana did the edging and I did the rolling and I got done much quicker then she did and as I was watching her I looked to see how long we needed to wait for primer to dry before we could paint. It was only an hour or so and I decided to start painting because I had nothing else to do in their. Long story short I got done with the rolling of the paint and she had started on the paint edging but was not done and she really did not want to leave when she felt she was so close to being done. She knew it was Keffords birthday and we had some celebrating to do but she really refused to leave. She told me to go ahead with dinner she was just going to stay upstairs to finish painting. She was super insistent! I didn't know what else to do so even though it was a bit awkward we had dinner with Lana upstairs painting. After we were done eating I went back up and saw that she was almost done edging and so I stayed up with her while she finished the last part. She is such a good friend and I am so appreciative of her always willing to help me out with anything. 

After dinner and after Lana had left :) Kefford opened his presents and then instead of cake we decided to go get frozen yogurt from "Yogurtz". The four kids had coupons from school and I thought it would be a good time to use them. 

As we were driving down the road Avynlea yelled out that there was a turtle crawling down the sidewalk. We stopped and all jumped out to take a look. We knocked on the door of the house that it was crawling past and they said it was not their turtle. I did not feel right leaving the poor turtle on its own so we took it home and put it in the backyard with some lettuce and blueberries.

Kefford was anxious to get back to his basketball game, game 2 in the finals, and so we got our ice-cream and brought it home to eat. Plus the kids were anxious to hang out with the turtle in our backyard. 

Happy 39th Birthday Kefford!

We love you!

5 things I love about Kefford:

1. He is really handy and can fix and do so many things. He fixed my KitchenAid, my Kindle, replaced the dishwasher, put in the washer and dryer, replaced window screens (the actual screen part in the window screen frame). If something needs to be done he will try his hardest to figure it out himself before calling anyone else. I think it is great and saves us a lot of money.

2. He loves our kids and takes time to have fun with them. If he needs to go somewhere like running errands and a kid is home he will take them with him. He likes spending time with them and enjoys being with them. 

3. He takes care of me when I am not feeling well. He is really understanding on the rare days when I call him on his way home telling him I am sick, the house is a mess, and I can't cook anything. He comes home and fixes everything. I appreciate and love his understanding and compassion.

4. He is so funny and makes me laugh all the time! I really love his sense of humor!

5. He tells me I am beautiful and makes me feel good about myself. I was reading in our 2013 blog book about one day when I was not feeling so cute. I did not have make-up on and at dance one of the girls basically told me I did not look good without make-up. Was not a good day and when I got home one of the first things out of Keffords mouth was how pretty I looked without make-up on. It made me so happy to read that again and to remember how I felt before I got home and then how much better I felt after. I love that he loves me and loves how I look and that he tells me and makes me feel like I am pretty.

Honor Choir Concert and Family Movie Date

Avynlea had her final Honor Choir Concert of the year. This was the first time I have been able to go to hear her sing. The other concert I missed because of the winter dance show. She was pretty cute to watch and the songs were fun and entertaining. Kenedy stood off to the side so she could record and take pictures for me. What good, helpful kids I have!

Saturday evening Kenedy was at a friends house and Kefford suggested the rest of us go to the movies to see "Home". We ate dinner pretty quick and then headed off. We don't do things like this very often with the kids and so when we do it is more of a treat and way fun for them. We all liked the movie and thought it was a good one. My favorite part is watching my kids have fun and enjoying the movie!

We watched the movie in 3D and after the movie a couple of the kids kept their 3D glasses. Avynlea and Rylee bedazzled theirs with some bling and then wore them to school after taking out the lenses. Rylee was cracking me up with how cute she looked after school wearing her glasses and cutting up sheets of stickers she got from school.

On Monday night Kefford gave a lesson for FHE on the importance of reading the scriptures. He had them all pick a topic of a gospel principal that would help us in life and then had then all find a scripture relating to it using the Topical Guide. His purpose was to show them how we can find help using the scriptures. After that he printed off Book Of Mormon reading charts for each of them with the challenge to read the Book of Mormon. All the kids were excited about it and started right away. Kenedy decided to stay where she was in her reading and then loop back around rather then starting completely over. When I went into the girls room after they were in bed I laughed seeing the new addition to their wall. They put it their thinking it would be convenient to use them to color in their charts after they read. Silly and creative girls!

Last day of school, Friends and Awards

I always take pictures of my kids on their first day of school but never seem to think to take a picture on their last day. I thought about it after I picked Ryker up from school on his last day as a 6th grader and snapped a picture on our ride home. I wanted to get one of Kenedy but she had a bunch of friends over and by the time they all went home she had to leave for cheer stuff so that never happened.

I cleaned out the girls room and when I found this salt dough map of Idaho that Avynlea made I asked her what we should do with it. She was not sure and so I suggested we take a picture of it and then she could throw it away. She thought that was a good idea and so we took some pictures.

After the pictures were taken Avynlea had a change of heart and did not want to throw it away any more and so I said we could put it up in her closet.

Avynlea and Rylee's neighbor friends were moving to Oregon and the morning right before they left in their car they came by to say goodbye. The girls will miss their friends but are excited for the new friends who will move in soon.

Avynlea, Kyla Kirkpratrick, Rylee and Taylor Kirkpatrick

Rylee decided she wanted to go running on the treadmill and I thought it was cute how she was reading her book while running.

Ryker asked me if I was going to go to the awards assembly at his school and I said no because I never got a letter saying I needed to go, he was not going to be getting an award. After school that day I asked him about the assembly because he was supposed to be helping at it. He said it was good but kind of a bummer because everyone around him had certificates but him and that made him feel bad. Ryker asked his friend Tyler what award he got and Tyler said for having a GPA between 3.5 and 3.99. That got me thinking what Ryker's GPA was because I knew Ryker had all A's and B's and shouldn't his GPA be up there also. So when I got home I checked on Power School and sure enough Ryker had a 3.6. I emailed his vice-principal, Mr. Roberts  just to see if it could be looked into wondering if a mistake was made. This was the reply I got...

*I will be happy to look into this.  It is necessary for us to have a cut off date in order to calculate grades, print awards, and have them ready for the assembly.  This year the date was May 19th.  If for some reason his GPA was not in that range on that date he would not have received the award.

Let me check and get back to you.

I replied with a thank you and when I did not hear anything the next day which was the last day of school I figured it was not happening. Even though it would have been nice Ryker did not need a certificate to show him how great he is. The day after that I got another email from Mr. Roberts which said this...

*Mrs. Peterson:

I apologize for not getting back to you yesterday.  I did check on Ryker's GPA and you are correct he finished the year with a 3.6.  On the May 19th cut off his GPA was 3.45, 3.5 first semester and 3.4 to that point in the second semester.  Regardless of the cut off, which is necessary to make the assembly doable, we would like to acknowledge his hard work and academic success.  I have asked the counseling secretary to prepare the certificate for him.  What would be the best way to get that to you?  The office will be open through next week if you want to come by and pick it up, or I could mail it to you.  Let me know which works best for you.

First of all it is still a little strange to be addressed as Mrs. Peterson, I am more used to Sister Peterson and the Mrs. Peterson throws me a little when I see or hear it, I know, kind of weird of me. It was really cool of him to do this and I know Ryker was working really hard the last month to bring his grades up and I am glad that he gets this acknowledgment. After I sent an email thanking him again I let him know I would pick it up the next day and he responded with...

*I will leave it in the front office and you can pick it up from the secretary.  He is a great kid and we are happy to honor him.  Enjoy your summer.

Ryker is a great kid and does not give himself enough credit or confidence with how smart he is. He and I stopped by the school of Friday and we picked up his certificate. I had him stand by the wall so I could take his picture and then I gave him a hug and told him how proud I was of him. I hope that this will give him a little more confidence in his abilities and will want to work even harder next year. I love this guy!

Family Home Evening

I found a great idea for a FHE game and decided to try it out last Monday night. The kids were a little unsure but were good sports and everyone had fun. I forgot to buy additional shower caps and so we made do with the one I have. One person puts on the cap and after covering it with whipped cream everyone else has five turns to throw a cheese ball at their head to make it stick. I was terrible at this game and only got one to stick and that was only after I moved up super close to my target. Everyone else did better then me and after each round the person who had the most was the Target for the next round.

Since Kenedy was so tall she had to keep her head ducked to make it a little bit easier for the other kids.

I am loving the warmer weather which enables us to get outside more and do fun things. this was  great game and everyone really enjoyed it. Next time I will make sure to get some more caps and then we can play in teams.