boys and bugs

What is it with boys and bugs? Spencer got bit by ants the other day because he would not get out of the ant hill- he was "discovering" them. Every time we see a bug we must investigate very closely. We found this huge black spider today. I caught it (aren't you proud of me?) and both of the boys had no problem holding the jar, actually James wanted me to open it. Later in the day James came in from the back yard and said "Look mommy, I found a spider, and proceeded to put a bug down on my carpet. I didn't react too well, but we decided bugs stay outside. Let's just hope they don't try to "discover" a black widow!

what in the world

So about almost 2 weeks ago the office called me from Spencer's school to say he had a lump on his neck.  He has a very large lump on his neck.  It is gross, but apparently not dangerous or time sensitive- most likely a brachial cyst.  We still need to get an MRI to make sure, but until then i just try not to look at it.

We love to go down to the football field and play. They have lots of big tires that they use for football practice- some are small enough for the boys to roll. This is a classic James face.

Some tires are very big.  These are our neighbors Daniel and Samantha

I just had to post this picture

James and Spencer love putting on puppet shows- they just haven't come to an understanding of the fact that you are supposed to perform for an audience, not each other.

When we move from here my kids will have to learn new library manners

James is starting to wear underwear- and not just on his head.

Spencer found this huge moth yesterday

A few weeks ago a photo company that does photos with wild animals came to Monument Valley.  they brought a few animals to show the kids for an assembly.  The grizzly cub was so cute (from a distance)

The cougar was beautiful (also from a distance)

So that's pretty much catching up on our life- or at least on our photos.

March and Easter

So a lot has been happening in our lives lately. In the middle of March Devon took a group of students (all girls and the principal) to New York and D.C. Here is one of his hundreds of pictures. The trip went very well.
While he was gone the boys and I went to Salt Lake and Idaho to see my family. I went to a librarian conference that was very helpful and got to meet Brandon Mull (author of Fablehaven) and the Beuhler's (author and illustrator of "Snowmen at Night" etc). Before St. Patrick's day the cousins and Spencer made leprechaun traps in hopes of being led to a pot of gold. I will have to get the pictures because they were pretty funny. There was a lot of gold and sparkles involved. The night before St. Patrick's day some leprechauns visited and let some clues to find a treasure of chocolate gold coins and green candy. Spencer was very excited. We did a lot of other fun stuff, and I made a 10 hour trip by myself (in 2 days- but still).
When we got back our peach tree was in bloom. We have only had about 3 blossoms on this tree before this year- so hopefully we will get peaches!
The Easter bunny came on the Friday before Easter because we had an all day temple trip on Saturday. He left clues for the boys to find treasures.


The weekend before Easter we had an egg hunt with all of the kids from the complex. I think Spencer went on 3 egg hunts and got plenty of candy.


Easter was extra special for us this year- it came at the time we really needed a reminder. The Friday after we got back from our trips I went to the doctor and found that our baby did not have a heartbeat anymore. I was 16 weeks along, so my mom came to help out. We were so glad to have her. We have been sad, but we are so blessed to have the gospel and to know about the resurrection. We have been very blessed with great neighbors, friends and family. I didn't cook for 2 weeks. I never realized before how many people care for me and my family.