Egg Drop

 We had an egg drop with a few families here.  Spencer's was the only egg to survive, he did have a little advantage since he did try one last year, but I really thought the bear would work!

end of school

 James finish preschool with flying colors this year.  Here he is with his teachers Ms. MacKenzie and Ms Holiday.  He loved going to school.  His favorite jobs was "snack helper" and he put up quite a fight when it wasn't his turn to do that.  He is doing really well and knows all of his letters (he got the M&M award for knowing his letters) and is even reading a few words.  His favorite number is 18, when anything is big he says "It's like 18!"  James is my "little girl with a curl,"  he is really cute when he is cute, and when he's not just don't cross him!

 Spencer had a great first grade year with his teacher Ms Holiday.  He is reading like a pro and often chooses to read when he chooses to sit still.  He has grown up so much!  He got and award for reading, math and behavior- the last one is the one that he had to work the hardest for, but he is really growing up and trying.

 They had a program toward the end of school.  True to normal life Devon took his first sick day the lat week of school and he and James were pretty sick and ended up leaving the concert, but thankfully we recorded Spencer's amazing performance.

Mrs Young, one reason Spencer had such a great year.  She is an amazing principal.  She really took the time to get to know Spencer on an individual level and even helped him start a magic club.  Spencer was much more motivated to go to school if he could give Mrs. Young a hug.

Spencer turns 7!

 Spencer had a great 7th birthday.  He got a bug catcher and a bird feeder, and a rock collection and bought a bracelet maker with his money from 2 Grandmas.  He also got to go to Build a Bear and build Green Forest Gosney when we were in Salt Lake a few weeks ago.

 We had a very combined birthday party with 2 other boys.  That was the was to go sine we each planned one activity and the kids had tons of fun.  We made masks, shot rockets and threw water balloons.

 You can't really tell, but this is a cake of Spencer's favorite things, a teddy bear, being a detective with a magnifying glass and bug catcher- that pretty much sums Spencer up!  We love you little man!

Father and Sons

 The boys and Devon went on their first Father and Sons campout.  They look sufficiently dirty.  James thought it was great that they got to share a tent with his friend who is a much quieter only child- Josh 9the dad) was not so sure it was great.

 They went on a "2 mile kid friendly" hike that turned out to be a beautiful 4 mile trek through the brush without a trail.  They came home scratched up and very sunburned, but they had a great time, and like most things around here it looks absolutely beautiful!

Random April

 One day it was hot enough to play in the water.  After a water fight the kids used chalk and water to make paste and then painted handprints on the wall like hieroglyphics.  They were very messy, but it was really cute, and I can almost guarantee this big and messy of an idea could only come from one boy.

 We tried to take family pictures, but it was too windy.

 Mostly Spencer is closing his eyes and James is making faces, but this one turned out okay.

 One Sunday it rained and Carrie was so fascinated she had to sit on the porch and watch.  She reminds me of Spencer she is so curious.

 I had to take a picture of this because she does this all the time.  You kind kind of see my attempt at piggy tails, she needs some more hair.  The Navajo tradition says that when kids do this they are looking for their next sibling.  She must know somethings we don't.

 Carrie loves her blanket.  I try to keep in in her crib, but if she fins it she wears it draped around her neck like a scarf.

Natural Bridges

We had no school on Friday, so we had an extra weekend day and we got to go to Natural Bridges. It is actually really close to here, but we had never been before. It was really pretty and definitely worth the trip.

First we hiked to a ruin overlook.  We thought this sign was funny, and Spencer was very cautious of where we were standing when the clouds got darker.  It was kind of a cloudy rainy day, but it was nice and cool.

This bridges are formed in winding rivers because the water cuts through part of the rock to go a shorted distance.  It's hard to explain, but it was very interesting.

These are the ruins we saw.  They are unique because they have both round and square kivas.  Round kivas are usually found in Colorado and square ones are found in Arizona.

I don't know what he is pointing at, but he is cute.

The second hike was to that bridge behind us, kind of by the trees.

The second hike was the longest and hardest.  It was .75 miles straight down on switchbacks and stairs, and then straight up again.  the boys were real troopers and Devon carried sleeping Carrie, so it wasn't too bad.  On the way up Spencer kept talking about his salami sandwich, apparently it was his motivation

It was a long climb, but it was amazing at the bottom. 

The last hike was really easy and short.  The boys said they liked this bridge the best, but I felt like I had to like the second one best because it was a much harder hike.

Carrie liked this one though because she could get down and explore

You can't keep kids out of puddles, so I really don't try.

It was so nice  to spend the day as a family and see this beautiful place.  We bought a wildflower book and identified tons of flowers that were out there, and now we know what the flowers around here are called too.  This world is pretty amazing.  We are blessed to live by so many beautiful things!

Easter

 We had our traditional housing egg hunt the Monday before Easter.  Of course everyone had a great time.

 Carrie tried to eat a Robin's Egg, it was very messy.

 This year we colored eggs 3 times.  Spencer really wanted to do it early, so I told him he could if he bought his own dye.  We got to try lots of different things since we did it 3 times.

 Our Easter bunny comes on Saturday morning.  The kids got ZhuZhu pets.  Carrie loves chasing hers around, too bad I don't have a picture.