Over the Weekend

With Homecoming weeks away Ryker thought it prudent to ask a girl to the dance before anyone else could. I didn't get any pictures of what he did but he bought a small box which he filed with her favorite candy and then put a card inside asking her to be his date, we remembered his name this time ;). He put the box inside a flower pot and covered it with miniature snickers and put a flower in the middle of it and left it on her doorstop. I thought it was a pretty creative way to ask and am impressed that he came up with it. 

He asked Amanda and Thursday night she left her answer in the form of a scavenger hunt on our street and Ryker had to follow the clues to find the gold coins and reveal her answer. He had Matthew here helping him on the hunt and finding the answer. It was pretty cute and they seemed to have a lot of fun hunting for the clues in the rain.

On Friday after work Kenedy headed out to Nyssa to spend one last weekend out there before heading back to school. She called Kefford shortly after arriving at the farm to say that she can't find her wallet and that she thinks she left it on top of the car where she placed it as she was getting ready to go. We had her continue searching the car to see if maybe she did put it inside while Kefford and I headed out to Emmett to see if we could find it. Kefford didn't think we would be able to find it since it was likely lost on the main street somewhere but I felt good that we would find it. We first looked in the Orthodontics parking lot without seeing it and then we started to drive the way Kenedy would have gone. As we were driving I was watching out the window and I thought I saw some cards on the road so I told Kefford to stop. He saw a water bottle and thought that what I was seeing was more trash but he stopped to go look just in case. Luckily he had me with him because my eagle eyes did spot the cards in the road and Kefford was able to collect the ones that fell out and the wallet. Kenedy had a ton of cards in her wallet and of course the ones that fell out and got damaged were her license and her debit card. Those can be replaced though and she was lucky that we were able to find her stuff at all.

The Youth had an early morning fireside on Saturday and our Young Womens president sent me this picture she took of Ryker with some of the other boys who were there. She said they missed the group picture because they were helping put chairs away so she snagged them so she could get a picture.

Mason Rasmussen, Matthew Larson, Michael Winters and Ryker

Saturday evening was cheerleader team and individual pictures. J/V team first had group pictures in black tops and jeans before they changed into their uniforms for more group pictures as well as individuals. We met at the Train Depot in Boise but when we got there we saw there was a wedding going on so re-evaluating where to take pictures had to take place. They were able to do some group pictures in their casual outfits but then we loaded the cheerleaders in and headed to the Capital to meet up with Varsity and take the rest of the pictures there. I drove some cheerleaders to the Capital but I couldn't stay very long because I had a Young Men Presidency BBQ at the Givens to get to. Hailey's Mom Carrie said she was staying and would bring Avy home for me so I left before J/V got to their uniform pictures. While we were at the Train Depot waiting around for the photographer Avynlea had me take some pictures of her with her J/V cheer besties Hailey and Andreya.

Kenedy posted a picture on Instagram of her with some of her little cousins and Rylee took a screenshot of it and then photoshopped it. She is a funny kid and makes me crack up with her creativity!

Meanwhile, at the BBQ Kefford got into a game of corn hole and Rylee dressed up with her Beehive friends and went to ding dong ditch some houses, all in good fun.

She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the Bleachers

I was so excited on September 5th because that was the day I got to go watch Avynlea cheer at her first High School football game. I started out the day wearing my Warrior cheer Mom shirt but when Avynlea came home she recommended I change because it was a really hot day. I gave into peer pressure and changed into Kefford's warrior t-shirt which was the only short sleeved Warriors shirt I could find.  

Avynlea had to be at the field early so I took her to the school, dropped her off and then parked so I could eat my dinner I brought and read a book while I waited for a more practical time to go and find my seat. I was still pretty early so I got to take some pictures of my favorite cheerleader as she posed with her teammates and her friends. 

Avynlea, Hailey and Andreya

Avynlea is a flyer as well as one of the four co-captains so I had pretty good views of her for taking pictures and video through out the game. Being a co-captain she gets to stand in the front leading the cheers and it was fun watching her in that leadership position.

Midway through the second quarter Kenedy showed up so she could watch Avynlea in a position she used to hold, a Meridian High School cheerleader. Avynlea came to visit us halftime and we took some pictures with her before se had to get back to her team.

I had a blast watching Avynlea and am seriously so excited for four more years of this! Avynlea is vibrant, bubbly, friendly, beautiful and an all around fantastic cheerleader!

Volleyball Star

Today Rylee had her second Volleyball game of her career. This was a home game and Kenedy and Kefford were able to come on their way home from work to watch her play a match. She did a good job and helped score some points for her team. 

She plays with Kate Sharp who was one of my Young Women before the Ward split. Kate is on the 8th grade C team and Rylee is on the 7th grade C team, but they practice together and 8th grade plays the first match, 7th grade the second and then mostly 8th grade the third with substitutions from the 7th grade team as needed. They won all three of their matches today and Rylee got to play with Kate in the third match towards the end when she was subbed in. 

One of my favorite things of being a Mom is sitting on the bleachers cheering my kids on. I absolutely love watching them do their thing and it has been so fun watching Rylee. She is the cutest Volleyball player ever and is already improving and gaining a little more confidence. She has fun and tries her best and what more could I ask for. She is such a great kid!

After Rylee's games I dropped her off at home and then I went to the High School to watch Madi Eberhard play in her Varsity Soccer game. Madi was one of my Young Women and I now have her in my Sunday School class and I absolutely adore her. She is one of the best and I was happy to go and watch her play. I don't really know a lot about soccer but it is a lot of running and kicking and in the 95 degree heat I was dying for them. She is the cute blonde in the number 23 jersey. I wanted to cheer for her but it was so quiet in the stands and since I was there by myself I did not want to look like a dork so I kept quiet and just watched the game.

Sibling PileOn

On Sunday after church Ryker and Avynlea were getting a little silly with each other. I think he took her seat on the couch and wouldn't give it back so she piled blankets and stuffed animals on top of him and then plopped herself on as well. That is one way to get a seat back. Can you see Ryker under all that stuff?

Later, during family scripture study they continued their sibling squabble by fighting over something else. Avynlea had something Ryker wanted and he was trying to get it back. At least they can do it with smiles on their faces.

I taught Sunday School this morning and we talked about temptations and how to overcome them. I loved the scripture in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that was part of the lesson and I took a screenshot of one that someone posted on Pinterest and sent it to al the kids in my class. It is such a good and positive reminder of Heavenly Fathers love for us.

I also liked this quote and explanation I found on the Come Follow Me instagram page I follow. I shared it with my class and talked about it as well. I reminded them how important it is to lift other people up as well as ourselves.

Family Time at Wahooz

For Christmas this year Bob and Alison gave our family a one day pass to Wahooz. This pass gave us unlimited access to everything and it was a pretty great gift, we were really excited about it. We haven't been able to use it with Kenedy being away at school and with our summer so busy but we finally found the time to go today. 

The first thing we did was wait in line to ride the go-carts. It was a long line and it wasn't moving very fast so we had to wait a while but once we finally got to go it was a lot of fun for everyone. I had a slight headache and being on the go-carts made it flare up more which I was bummed about. I din't want a headache to ruin the fun with my family so I said a little prayer for help. 

After the go-carts we headed to the bumper boats. That was a lot of fun but we all got more wet then we expected which wasn't too bad because it was a hot day.

After the number boats we went inside and played a round of laser tag. I liked this one a lot. Our family was on the green team and we won with Ryker being the high scorer over all. He was pretty happy with that bit of news.

We did some bowling and Ryker ended up being the high scorer again! It has been years and years since Kefford and I have gone bowling and boy did it show. I think we need to add bowling to our list of date night activities.

Kenedy and I did the ropes course while Ryker and Kefford raced each other on the climbing wall and Rylee and Avynlea rode some rides. By the time the rest of the kids joined us at the ropes course we were done and Kefford and Kenedy left to go across the street to get us food from Subway. While they were gone Ryker, Avynlea and Rylee took their turn on the ropes course. By the time they were done Kefford and Kenedy were back with the food and we went outside to the car for a dinner break. I was able to take some advil for my headache at that time and it went away within the next half hour. I was really grateful that I was able to have so much fun with my family and not let my headache put a damper on things.

After we were fed we went back and did a round of mini golf. It was Avynlea, Rylee and I in the first group with Kefford, Kenedy and Ryker just behind us. We didn't keep score but I think I did pretty well. I didn't get any holes in one but I got enough holes in two that I felt pretty good about it.

After the mini golf we headed back inside to play some of the arcade games. It was getting pretty late by then and Kenedy wanted to go because she had plans with her friend. But we played games and earned tickets and cashed in our tickets for prizes. We didn't earn a lot but we compiled what we did get so Rylee could get a kazoo and a slinky, Avynlea got candy and Ryker got a whoopee cushion and some candy. Not a bad haul.

Ryker, Avynlea and Rylee wanted to ride one last ride and they went on the frog jumper. It was funny seeing the big kids on this kid ride with such little kids. Though everyone had fun and we had fun watching them go up and down, up and down.

I had such a fun time with my family and I am so appreciative of this gift we got so we could have a fun day together making memories and enjoying each others company. 

Volleyball and Trampoline

Today after school was Rylee's first Volleyball game. I thought she did a good job and seemed pretty equal skills wise to the rest of the team. She looked happy and cute out on the court and that made me happy to see her enjoying herself. Later she told me that she did have fun unless she looked at the other team glaring at her and then she got a little more nervous. I said I didn't think they were glaring to be mean and that maybe they just had their concentrating focused face on. I enjoyed watching and learning more about the game and on the ride home I asked Kate Sharp, who we carpool with, and Rylee questions to try to understand more of what I saw. I was confused about how the team setup worked and after Rylee trying to explain it and me not understanding she finally gave up and said she would draw it out for me later. 

When we got home Mikell's kids were there playing games, I told Mikell I would watch her kids that night so she could go out with Steve and his family. Everyone else had to leave for Mutual but luckily I had Kenedy there to help me entertain the kids. Jenna especially wanted Kenedy to jump with them on the Trampoline so she did for a little while. Mostly we just sat and visited while watching them play. It was a nice night.

Another First Day of School

August 26th was the first day of school for my kids. This summer went way too fast and it was a little sad to see them heading back to school. It has been fun having them around the past couple of months and we were able to do a lot of fun summer things. 

But back to school it is and we have Rylee in 7th grade at Star Middle School...

Ryker is in 11th grade at Meridian High School...

And Avynlea starting 9th grade at Meridian High School

I told Kenedy that the only job she had to do while at home for her break was to make the lunches. She has been making Hers and Kefford's lunches every day for work and now she has Avynlea and Ryker's lunches to add to the mix. Rylee is doing lunch helpers again in the cafeteria and gets free lunch in addition to being paid. 

I thought Kenedy's messages on the lunch bags to her brother and sister were quite comical. So nice to have your big sister packing your school lunches.