APRIL 2017

Went on a mountain bike adventure I feel like I posted about this in March. Little Rippers



2 cute little soccer stars finished up their season this month. Oliver held my hand almost every game. He didn't one game becuase we promised him a blind bag if he didn't. Gus did so well this year. He is quite the soccer player. He was always very concerned about how many goals he scored. He was usually the top scoring player on our team. I coached Oliver's Superhero team. They were fun, all but 2 little punks that didn't like to listen at all. We made the best of it though.



Me and the three boys have all had the flu 3 different times this flu season. So one morning when I had the flu I taught them how to make their own cinnamon toast. You just have to watch the sugar pouring part, that can get a little out of hand. It is fun watching them grow and become more independent. Just think soon I won't even have to make them breakfast.... ahhhhh



Little climber boy. He learned how to climb into Gus' bed which is a very bad thing. Gus is very particular about how he places everything on his shelf. This little dude climbs up and wrecks everything and then Gus is all worked up and screaming and crying etc. Can you picture the joy and Christlike love now?! Ya me either. This is a picture of the time he smeared Gus' slime all over his sheets. fun stuff



Oliver likes to take random pictures with our extra phone



We went to Three Falls Elementary's Spring Fling. It was a lot of fun for the kids. Bounce houses, slides, Waffle Luv, balloon animal guy, face painting. Tons of fun





Between the sessions on General Conference Sunday we walked to Gma Linie's. Aunt Marylu wanted to take some pictures for Henrietta.

My familia came over one Sunday but I can't remember why... We had fun and ate my key lime pie I made. Rosie is the chunkiest baby I have ever held. She is so fun to squish



We made Gma Linie a birthday sign. She loves people knowing when her birthday is;) so this sign was a must.



Gus has started baseball. He loves it. He is playing with the 1st and 2nd graders and holding his own. This is a pic of him at practice with Coach Peterson, a pic of him and his good friend Easton Woodbury, his favorite fans (Gma Linie and cousins, and Chet, Kyle and Matt Hirschi.

I have gone all genealogy crazy over here. This is the cutest pic of my Great Grandma Althea. Her dad was a photographer. Cutest pic ever. I need a girl so i can recreate this



Mrs. Reid (Gus' teacher) had a birthday in April so we threw her the best unicorn birthday bash. We had a lot of fun. I did the elephant toothpaste science experiment which the kids loved, I changed it to unicorn toothpaste though. (look it up slum your kids would love it I know you're the only one that reads this blog)



Kyle and Gus went branding. They have changed everything at the ranch. New rules. I stayed home with someone who was sick. Kyle said the other family was very nice this time and apologized for some of the stuff that had gone on. Gus met a friend and they played the entire time, he even helped brand.























Gus and Kyle went shed hunting at the ranch. I stayed home with a sick kid. Story of my life. Cute story behind this pic. After Kyle took this of Gus, Gus asked him if he wanted Gus to take one of him on the rock too. Cute huh



I walk Gus to school and walk to pick him up most days. Every day after school Oliver teases and tries to get Luke Hirschi (he is my favorite kid ever) so on this day he wanted to scare him by being hulk. I videoed it. So so funny



Shell came down for some tests on her poor little belly and she took us to hike three falls one morning. It really is a pretty amazing hike with some pretty views.



Jack is Kyle's biggest helper by far. He loves to plop down next to him and pretend to work and most of the time loose screws. Kyle almost divorced me this week because I fixed the lawn mower's pull start and Jack lost 2 of the screws. So I replaced them with some we had. Well they wouldn't go on all of the way but I thought no big deal. right?! Well apparently I ruined the thread or whatever and they need to be all the way down so the cover doesnt pull off when you try to start it. Oops. I said sorry for helping;)



Easter Shenanigans of 2017. We made a geode, maui time, penny covered, mr potato head captain america eggs for the competition this year. Went to the car show, gma lines friday east egg hunt, the ranch, swimming after the ranch, gma becky's egg hunt. We had a lot of fun. This is Kyle's favorite holiday



Added stuff to my etsy shop.https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesertAlthea?ref=search_shop_redirect



I love that they all can walk to church now. Cute little Sabbath Day observers



Oliver is starting preschool next year so we went in for an open house. We are sending him to LA Verkin just like we did with Gus. I love that school minus its location. Best staff around

I have been cleaning April Gates house every other week for a few hours. I love doing it too. I plug in my headphones with conference blasting and clean my worries away. Isn't her house the cutest? I told her I get first dibs if she ever sells it




 Marylu brought Miss Bris over one day and I gave her a sucker. Her mom was really happy with me;) Miss Bris visits us daily. She will here us outside and start yelling across the street. She has the cutest little bull legged walk and mullet;) hopefully Abby has Jen cut it this weekend while they are visiting and going to Disneyland. I tried to convince her to let me do it, but she really wanted Jen to be the first. Jack is a work in progress with Miss Bris. He usually pushes her down, hits her, or walks backward into her nonchalantly so she falls. She is pretty tough and only cries every once in awhile, and Marylu is the best and just sits back and watches and waits to see what he will do. Linda said Abby was the meanest little girl, she bit Tyson everyday so maybe this is payback??? He really is a bully to Miss Bris and Georgia



We have been watching/playing with Boston Beams on Thursdays the last few weeks. She is hilarious and is in Gus' preschool class. She talks my ear off every day after school while walking to her moms car. One day I had a feeling to text her mom and ask if she ever needed someone to watch Boston while she worked  and said we would love to. So she text back and said that the girl that has been watching her on tuesday and thursdays is about to have a baby and that it would be a big help. So we randomly take her:) Now she bugs me everyday and asks if I'm going to babysit her. She told me one day "I wish you were my mom."


Three little monkeys who are at the stage of after prayers, scriptures and being put to bed they come out of their room needing something at least 10 times. Oliver is our early to bed early to rise kid so usually he is asleep fast, but Gus and Jack. spankings for them both. Kyle told them all they get vinegar if they come out of their rooms at all after we lay them down. Well Jack comes out, he gets vinegar and pukes all over Kyle. I was in the shower. Kyle brings me a puked on boy. So that consequence isn't going to work for Jack. I know I know, we are going to miss this one day. Once 8 pm comes around thats cherished alone time together.



One of the last duties as Gus' room mom at school is teacher appreciation week. This is how we decorated her door and then our sweet Aunt MaryLu made her a cute succulent basket. She loved it. Mrs. Reid is the greatest teacher, and she can't have kids so it makes me want to be her surrogate. Thats how much we love her



We went to the new fancy DI in Cedar. I found 3 pairs of really cute shoes, they had some good stuff. After we drove past the new temple, then went to dinner at Centro Pizzeria in Cedar. So so good. It was snowing for a minute while we were there. I love Cedar, but I have to admit I love our weather in Hurricane a lot more.



Alan Nielson did the honor flight thing with his son. We were supposed to welcome him home at the dixie center but they didn't arrive until 11:30 at night, so we hung the sign we made for him on their fence. The Honor Flight takes veterans to Washington DC to see all of the memorial stuff and such. He served in the Korean war and Anne said he crossed the 38th parallel into North Korea (scary). Alan said when he came home there was nothing. No welcomings at all. I felt bad we couldn't go but I hope he liked the sign.



So Alan and Anne Nielson came over for FHE one Monday and taught us some awesome family history stuff. This is a picture of my mom with her birth mom who died 2 weeks after she was born.



I really really want a door like this one. I have a door guy looking into it for me. Hopefully its a reasonable price.


I have been re reading the conference talks and this paragraph struck me. God blesses us according to our faith. Crazy to ponder. sometimes its so hard to have faith that everything is for the best, and that if we have faith we will be blessed. life is stressful, hard, and utterly beautiful all wrapped in one little sprinkled donut.


Funny April story.  while on a walk one morning mavis sharp was outside pulling weeds. Old old lady in our ward, sweet as can be. She has the prettiest flowers, so I asked if I could dig some up and she of course said yes. (they are the kind of flowers that see themselves and are wild). So we dug some up and continued on our walk. Well we got home I fed the boys lunch and Gus and Oliver were watching a movie so I told Gus that I was walking down to Sis. Sharps 3 or 4 houses down to get the flowers and then I would be back.

I rode my bike with Jack in his seat down to Sis. Sharps we dug a few more flowers up in the back and then I went home and planted them in the back. When I got home I heard the front door close but just thought Oliver or Gus were peeing outside like they always do.

Well a few minutes later my mom pulls up with 2 crying boys in the back seat. Gus had walked down to the Lemmons house and couldn't see me in front of Sis. Sharps so he walked home and told Oliver I was lost and they both walked (Oliver bare footed mind you) to my moms. She said Oliver was in tears and Gus was so scared. She tried calling me but I had left my phone in the house.

 I felt so bad, they must have left when I was in the backyard planting the flowers. Funny thing is I had a feeling to go in and tell them I was in the backyard but I didn't listen. I'm just glad they were smart enough to walk to grandma's.

I ask them random questions about it. Like Oliver did gus hold your hand? He said no. Or Oliver did Gus wait for you. He said yes. Or Gus did you cry on the way to grandma's? he said no.