Dee and Jill

New Year 2012

2012-01-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

2011 is now behind us and we are excited for what the new year brings. We celebrated the new year in Pocatello with the Winegar and Christensen families. My family held our traditional new years party where we had dinner and played bingo (and came home with many white elephant gifts). We spent a few days in Pocatello and stayed at the Christensen's where we had a family party as well. I brought my cross country skiis, but unfortunately, there is not any snow in Pocatello either. Hopefully we will get some snow soon (at least for the mountains). Me and Jill did some cleaning and painting for her sister Katie while we were there. On the way to Pocatello, we were able to stop in Twin Falls and attend the wedding of a couple in our ward. It was a very neat experience. On the way home, we stopped by the Anthon's home in Declo. The Anthon's used to be in our ward. We had a fun visit with them. After all was said and done, I would say it was a pretty fun trip!

Playing "Fruit Basket" at the Christensen's

I noticed it has been since school started that we have not updated the blog. Here are some of the highlights:

Before school started, Grant and I went on a backpacking trip with my parents and Richard and his two kids, Landon and Kalyse. We hiked into the Big Horn Crags and had a great trip. I always look forward to backpacking each year and consider it one of the highlights of my year.

Terrace Lakes

Trailhead

Grant and Gabe ran in the Canyon County Classic which is a mile run/race. Grant had been practicing a little with my cross country team at Syringa and Gabe did excellent and did not stop the entire race. The race was sponsored by the YMCA. The "Y" has been a great place for our family and for Caldwell. Jill gets the most use out of it as she attends classes often. We enjoy going swimming as a family as well.

Grant and Gabe before the race

Warming up

Grant poses before one of his games

This fall, me, Sage, and Grant participated in a kid and Pop's program at the YMCA. Jill saw the advertisement and asked if I would like to go and take one of Grant's friends who doesn't have a dad. There were 3 other dads who participated in the program with their kids. We did activities together like floor hockey, rock climbing, and swimming. One of the highlights was going to a Idaho Steelheads hockey game. Grant was only able to attend a couple of activities, however, as he had basketball practice on the same night. Grant had a good time playing basketball and learned how to play with a team.

Also this fall for one of Gabe' special day's, we took him and the rest of the kids to the skate park to ride his ripstic (both him and Grant have one). It was a little cold outside, but we all had fun. When Grant got his ripstic this past summer, Gabe became pretty good on it and asked for his own. It is fun to watch him ride it!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas seemed to go by very quickly. Jill helped organize a playgroup at the church where the kids participated in a fun Halloween activity. They still managed to get enough candy even though we didn't make it to the trunk or treat until everybody was leaving. We had a great Thanksgiving meal at the Cowley's and were grateful to participate in the Christmas nativity they put on at their house every year. This year, I filled in as the narrator, Grant was the keeper of the Alpacas, Gabe was a king (wise man), and Sage was Mary. Me and Jill got to sing a song together as well. We are grateful to have this wonderful tradition! We also had fun at the Caldwell tree lighting ceremony (Caldwell looks like a mini temple square in the winter), and the Caldwell night light parade. Both Christmas and new years fell on a Sunday this year, so it was nice to be able to go to church as part of our celebration. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we went with the Ramirez and Shurtleff family to cut down our Christmas Tree near Idaho City. I posted a video showing the tree below. Our fun Christmas gift this year is a Ninetendo Wii! Here are a few pictures:

Halloween 2011

Kids and Santa at the Caldwell tree lighting festival

Grant at the Caldwell Tree Lighting Ceremony

Jill, Grant, Sage at the Caldwell Tree Lighting Ceremony

Lake Lowell hike -- Christmas Break

Standing on Lake Lowell -- Christmas Break

Thanksgiving at the Cowleys
Gabe plays the Turkey in the play

School & Baptism

2011-09-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

At the bus stop with Adrian & Ceasar

Summer vacation ended too soon (as always) and we are back to the routines of a new school year. Grant Sage, and Gabriel are all attending Heritage Community Charter School. This charter school is new to Caldwell, and workers were still finishing some interior work on the new building the first week or two of school. One of the exciting features of the charter school is that it is a dual language school. Gabriel will receive 60% of instruction in Spanish, and Sage and Grant will be taught Spanish during the day. Here are a couple of pictures from the 1st day of school:

1st day of school

Sage's Baptismal Program

Sage in Baptism Dress with Mom & Dad

Baptism Invitation

Sage and Grandpa's

August and September were special months for Sage as she turned 8 years old on August 7, and was baptized on September 3.


New scriptures from Granny Ginny

8 Candles

summer 2011

2011-07-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that July is almost over and that summer vacation is winding down. Since our last post on June 4, here are a few things that have happened since then.

Jill taught Gymnastics classes during June to Grant, Sage, Gabe, John, and a few other neighborhood kids.

We enjoyed a fun fishing trip to the Caldwell Rotary Ponds on free fishing day. We only caught one fish, but had fun. This fish took more than 5 minutes to get in to shore because my reel was broken. Luckily it was big enough to eat since it was pretty weak when we finally got it reeled in.

We celebrated the 4th of July with lots of fun. Gabe and John were in the parade with their singing preschool class. They sang several patriotic songs. My brother Richard brought his family from Emmett to watch it with us and afterwords we had a picnic and took a walk around the Boise River greenbelt trail in Caldwell. We always enjoy being with Richard and Leoni's family. Later in the evening, the Shurleff's came over for dinner and we had fun talking and lighting off fireworks. At dusk, we watched the firework show from the College of Idaho.

Moriah celebrated her 2nd birthday on June 25. She had a swimming party at the Sorenson's house with some other girls her age. Later we had a family party with Jill's parents who came up to visit. One of the fun presents she received was a slide for the playhouse.

Grant went to Webelos camp at Lake Lowell. Jill went with his scout group the fist day of the day camp and I went with him the second day. All the scouts had a great time.

Me and Jill participated in the Spudman Duathlon. We were expecting to do a triathlon, but the swimming portion got canceled due to rough water at Lucky Peak Reservoir. I biked and Jill ran. Tina and Aaron Erbe (old neighbors) watched our kids for us.

In July we had 2 family reunions. The Christensen reunion was held in Pocatello at Larry and Ginny's house and the Winegar reunion was held at Downetta Hot Springs. Both reunions were a lot of fun and we enjoyed being with family again.

Some of the highlights of the Christensen reunion included playing on a big inflatable water toy that Ginny rented, taking a hike up city creek trail, and relaxing with cousins.

Some of the highlights from the Winegar reunion included lots of games (carnival), swimming, and hike where we identified different plants. John celebrated his 4th birthday at Downetta so we had cake and ice cream with everyone. We had a little birthday party that night at the Christensen's as well.

While in Pocatello, John fell off of a big toy while playing at a park with his grandma and cousins. He got a concussion and worried us that night as he threw up twice. He seems to be back to normal now. This week Grant is staying in Pocatello with his cousin Isaac and Isabel came back with us to stay with Sage. I hope Isabel is enjoying herself despite the fact that John seems to hit her every day. Jill gave John his birthday present from us today (since we were gone on his birthday). Hopefully, this gift will keep him from punching others.

BIrthdays

2011-06-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today is June 4 and Grant's 10th birthday. Last night I took all the boys to a fathers and sons outing. We stayed at a campground/RV Park in Marsing. One of the purposes of the outing was to commemorate the restoration of the Aaronic priesthood. There was a very large grassy area where we played football and other games and the boys also enjoyed playing in the trees near the River where they built "forts." The Snake river is pretty high, so we made sure the kids didn't get too close. We got home at 11:00 this morning and all of us went and took a jog/bike ride. We took some time to play some VSmile games and tether-ball with Grant this afternoon and just finished eating pizza and chocolate frozen yogurt ice cream.

Another Special thing Grant was able to do for his birthday was plan a pack meeting for his cub scout pack. At the pack meeting he received his Bear award and explained that the activity would be to play basketball. We walked to Wilson elementary and did a couple of dribbling drills and then played some games. When we got to Wilson, we realized that they had taken down the rims for the summer. Luckily, Jill found the Janitor and he was kind enough to put a couple of them back on. It was fun.

Monday was memorial day. We celebrated memorial day and the next day (May 31) at Bruneau Sand Dunes to celebrate my birthday. We met some of my family their on Monday and spent Monday afternoon with them. We camped overnight and played on the sand dunes some more the next day. It was a very nice campground, but the mosquitoes were horrible, especially near
the lake. It was a fun way to spend my birthday.

.

Bruneau Sand Dunes with family and cousins

Grant earns his Bear Award at Basketball pack meeting

Fathers and Son outing in Marsing

Grant B-Day Gifts

Camel Back Duathlon

2011-05-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

School is out and summer has begun even thought the weather isn't totally cooperating. We have had lots of rain lately and cool temperatures. Many of the mountains are still getting snow and the rivers are running high. In March we took a walk around a stretch of the Boise river in Caldwell, and now, some of that trail and the nearby park is under water.

Yesterday, Jill and traveled to Boise to participate in the Camel Back Duathlon. We participated as a team. Jill started and ended the race running a 5k course (a total of 10k or 6.21 miles). In between the two runs, I biked a 30k course (18.64 miles). The biking course began with a two mile climb up Bogus Basin road. The view was beautiful! The sky was mostly overcast and the temperature on the cooler side, but probably perfect for running and biking.

Jill running towards the finish line and a view of some of the running trail.

A view of the starting/finish line

A couple pictures of Gabe and John's preschool field trip to Sister Hawkes Alpaca farm.
Jill and a few other moms took turns teaching preschool. I think Gabe and John enjoyed it.

Ward Variety Show

2011-05-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight we attended our ward's variety show. Grant, Sage, Gabriel, and John all participated in the show. Grant invited his Karate teacher to come and perform with him, and Sage invited her friend Jericka to perform with her. Sage and Jericka are in the same class and had learned the sign language to the Beatles song "Here comes the sun." Her teacher, Mrs. Christensen, is in our ward and coached them through the song. Gabe and John performed one of their songs they had learned in their singing pre-school. The video I posted of them here is one from their concert yesterday that they had at the police station. It is a fun one to watch. What talented kids we have!

Grant and Sensei Ed Russel demonstrate "Kihon Nihon" and a hip throw

Sage and Jericka sign "Here comes the Sun" written by the Beatles

Gabe and John perform with their pre-school class at the police station

2011-05-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day this year, Dee and Sage found a white quartz stone while they were camping and gave it to me as a gift. It is also known as "ice of eternity". Sometimes I feel like the ice of eternity in our family, but maybe that is part of my job description. I will post a picture later.
Grant and Sage also brought a paper flower home from school that they had made. In addition, Grant made a biodegradable seed heart bouquet that we will soon plant.
The kids also brought candy from Primary and gave it to me. I never eat more than a couple of pieces a day, but today I've already eaten half of it. Maybe my self control was lost as I considered all the grief I've experienced as a mother. The way I feel after eating it reminds me, I really don't like sugar highs.
They also wrote notes to me and hid them in a bowl of popcorn and Dee led them in doing all the work so I could focus on other things. Being a mom really is pleasant when you have a time and energy to enjoy it.
Dee took Sage to the Caldwell fishing Derby yesterday for her special day. She didn't catch any fish, but created a lasting memory with dad. At the same time I took the other kids to watch Grant play his last soccer game. His team ended up undefeated. He was a little disappointed that he didn't get a first place trophy. Instead every player received a participation medal. It has been a fun weekend.

Y try, b-days, etc.

2011-03-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Happy 2011.
Dee just helped me figure out how to log into our blog again, So here is a quick update for the year. Dee is building the kids a playhouse in the corner of our back yard. When it is finished I will post a picture.

Dee and I participated in the Y try triathlon on January 15, 2011. We had a great time. I got ninth place out of the women. February - Dee's Grandpa Finch died and we drove to Payson, UT for the funeral. The roads were pretty slick on the way down and we got back pretty late. March - Gabriel turned 5. Spring break is coming up and we will be getting our garden ready to plant and traveling to Poky. My birthday falls during Spring Break so it will be a great opportunity to party. I will be turning 33... a good number. Maybe that means it will be a good year.

We celebrated Jill's Birthday in Eastern Idaho. On the 29th, Dee and Jill went to the Idaho Falls Temple. While we were there, we went to the visitors center where we saw some beautiful artwork, and after our session, we ate in the temple cafeteria. We celebrate with cake and ice cream at my parents house in Pocatello.

The kids loved playing with Katie's dog Asher while at the Christensen's house.

The kids had fun playing games with Grandma Winegar

We stopped by Scott and Stephanie's house in Burley on the way back home. Here are some cute pictures of Moriah and Madison who are the same age.

We ended our trip back in Caldwell with a fun family Birthday dinner for Jill at Winger's and a nice walk around the greenway (Boise River and Caldwell Ponds)

Halloween, the pumpkin patch and the Boise Temple

2010-10-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Halloween on October 30 with a trunk or treat at the church. It was a warm night and we had lots of fun.

The next day all of our kids woke up sick. Was it too much candy, or the stomach flu?... maybe both.

Linder Farms pumpkin patch preschool field trip Friday October 29, 2010.

Boise temple October 29, 2010
Later that day we spent some time at the temple, Dee took pictures of me afterward to mark my special day.

Two weeks ago we went to Eden, Ut and stayed a few nights at a condo that mom and dad let us use. Then we went home to Pocatello and caught Granny Ginny's surprise 60th b-day party. It was so much fun. Especially being the one to get her to the party and seeing her surprise
Grant started school with Mrs. White the following Monday. She has been great and we think he will do well this year. Thanks to Grandma Karen and Grandpa Bruce for teaching him for a month.

September

2010-09-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

I'm usually a little more comfortable at the end of the month than the beginning because I know there is still money in our checking account. It's always a challenge to pay for everything! In school I have the kids create a slide show about themselves at the beginning of the year. One of the questions is, " what are your dreams & goals?" In the slide show I created, my dream was to make more money. I'm sure it will happen some day!
Just about 10 days ago, I was given a new calling. I am the coordinator for the Daily Dose English classes that our stake teaches. Right now, the classes are seeing low attendance and it is a high priority for the stake president to get them back to how they were at one time. The classes have been an excellent way to teach people the gospel, which is one of the main goals.
Sage received the VIP award in school and Jill and I were able to eat lunch with her at school. Actually, I just went to get a couple of pictures and had to hurry back to Syringa to teach my classes.

Last Saturday me and Jill ran in the Indian Creek Festival. She ran the 5K and I did the 10K. It was fun to run a little together. It has been fun coaching cross country this month. We finish up our season in the first part of October.

Grant has been with his Grandma and Grandpa Winegar this month and seems to be enjoying himself. We are grateful for the time he's been able to spend with them and for their willingness to teach him. Here are a couple of pictures that they have posted on our family site.

Summer is over :(

2010-08-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation is over, but it was one of the best! One of the highlights was our 10 year wedding anniversary on August 5. Jill's mom came up to watch the kids so we could spend some time together. We began our celebration at the Y not try triathlon in Boise where I cheered Jill on as she swam, biked, and ran for just over an hour. She did a great job, and I felt lucky to be married to such a good athlete. Afterward we checked into the Hilton hotel in Eagle and enjoyed an evening together. The next morning we did some bike riding and ate lunch together. It was fun!

During July we traveled to Utah for Chris Murdoch's wedding (my cousin) in the Mount Timpanogas Temple and a luau in Payson which was lots of fun! While in Utah, we visited my grandpa and grandma Finch who are staying in a care facility in Santaquin and also met up with Ben and Natalie Christensen's family in Provo as they were on their way to Southern Utah. Afterward we spent a couple of days at Bear Lake in the time share condo that Jill's parents have. The kids enjoyed playing in the lake and on the beach. After our stay at Bear Lake, we traveled to Big Springs Campground outside of Lava and camped for a couple of days. We had fun playing in the creek and hiking to the spring that feeds the creek.

After our time together with just our family (which we actually enjoyed), we spent a couple of weeks with extended family at reunions. We spent time with the Christensen family in Victor Idaho, Yellowstone, and Pocatello. We then spent time with my family at downatta hot springs. My parents returned home from their mission just before the reunion, so we were able to hear them report in Sacrament meeting. They seemed to have a great mission and had many missionaries at their report cheering them on. During the reunions, we enjoyed visiting Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park. We took a boat across Jenny's lake and hiked to inspiration point which overlooked the lake and gave us a great view of the Tetons. We enjoyed the geysers in Yellowstone and swimming at Downatta. We love our families and appreciate all they do for us.

In August, Me and Grant had the opportunity to go backpacking with my dad and brothers Karl and Jeff. We hiked in the White Clouds to the Chamberlain basin lakes. It was a pretty difficult 8 miles in and Grant did great for his first time. It was an awesome trip and great to be in the beautiful outdoors.

During the month of September, Grant will be staying with my parents in Payson (they are living at my grandparents house) and they will be teaching him school. We were prompted not to enroll him in the public school again, and so while I am coaching cross country, my parents agreed to take him and catch him up on his academics. We are excited because he will learn some good skills and hopefully come back a better person. He is a great kid!

Sage has started first Grade and seems to be doing good. Gabe and John will start a singing preschool with a lady in our ward, and Moriah will just continue to make us smile. Our kids our great, especially when they are really active and don't have time to be rude and disrespectful. Me and Jill are hopefully learning some better parenting skills, but I think we have done ok under the circumstances. I am grateful for Jill and her willingness to be with our kids. She is a wonderful wife and mother.

Summer Time

2010-06-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Moriah's first birthday.Here are some things that have been happening the last few months. Dee graduated with his masters degree.
I am learning to shop with coupons. I also got called to be the new ward music chairman. I like to refer to it as the ward music chairperson.
Grant turned 9 and received his wolf award and faith in God religious knot.Sage graduated from kindergarten. Gabriel graduated from his first year of preschool.

Johnny is close to being potty trained.
We are so glad to have Dee home for the summer. It helps so much having him here. He even sent me on a trip to Moscow, ID with Casey Ramirez to have some down time to myself after enduring a difficult semester of homeschooling Grant. Dee and I have also started cycling together at the YMCA. I am finding I actually like bike riding. Who would have ever known?

graduation

2010-05-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Dee graduates with his masters of technology in education on Saturday May 15, 2010 from Boise State University @ 10:00am. You are all invited. It will also be on the internet if anyone is interested, I will try to get the link posted.

We had a great weekend in Pocatello where Stacey Brown and Stephanie Christensen were both graduating. Stacey with her master of health and Stephanie with her RN degree. Scott also got a job teaching seminary in Rupert, ID. We are excited for them.

Johnny and Sammy eating their popsicles.

Applications

2010-04-17T05:36:00.000-07:00

Since Dee is graduating this Spring, he has been applying for new jobs. We drove to Ontario OR yesterday to drop off an application at Treasure Valley Community College. It was a beautiful evening and we had a picnic with the kids (which also passed off one of Grant's scout requirements). We took a walk afterwards and ended up by at the baseball feilds. We found a softball and bat and Dee did some batting practice with the kids. That is what I call spontaneous.
As we were driving through the town, Dee mentioned that this is where the other Dee Winegar lives. Maybe we will eventually get to meet these distant cousins that we have heard so much about.

Birthday and Easter

2010-04-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Winegars

32! Happy Birthday to me. I got a trip to Cascade with mom and dad and Ann's kids and a relaxing Spring Break for my birthday. Dee surprised me with a new bed frame when I got home. He also set up a birthday lunch with my friends. I felt so spoiled I was afraid to start real life again the next Monday. Thanks for the gluten free ingredients Katie, Ann and Nat. That was so nice.
We had a wonderful Easter conference weekend. Saturday evening we invited the neighbors over for an Easter egg hunt in our back yard and Sunday we had
dinner at Richard and LeOni's house in Emmett.
Grant is enjoying soccer and school with Dee.

Sage is doing fabulous in kindergarten. Her teacher said shetakes the initiative to help the Spanish speakers in her class and others.
Gabe and John are busy bodies. They have recently discovered how to unlatch the gate in our backyard. So I can't just send them out to play in the back anymore. Our neighbors are getting used to spotting them and bringing them back to our house.

Moriah is a pretty quick crawler. She loves to laugh with the other kids. Her nicknames are Ry Ry and Precious.

Gabe's 4th birthday

2010-03-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

Happy 4th Birthday Gabriel!

This week's happenings...

2010-02-20T15:32:00.000-08:00

Valentine's dance February 13, 2010
Mom and dad came up and took care of our kids. We had a fun visit with them.

Idaho Junior Steelhead Hockey game February 15, 2010

Our family after the game. Gabe was running off in the first picture. I caught him in the second picture.

Grant's blue and gold banquet February 16, 2010. Lots of fun, but sad also because our kids couldn't eat the pizza.
Friday night dinner with the Bishop's. Kamber made extra chili and salad and invited us over to try and help lighten my load. Homeschooling and cooking from scratch is not for sissys.
Grant was thrilled to get to to Jesse Hamilton's house afterward to watch a movie and play the wii.
Saturday- It is John's special day. He is 2 years and 7 months old today.:>

2010-02-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

Another week has gone by. After a week of very little sleep and lots of stress I was able to take a late morning nap while feeding the baby today.
Cute things from our kids.
Moriah 7 months started crawling backwards earlier this week and now is going slowly forward after toys.
John 2 1/2 is trying really hard not to pee on Woody. He has Woody pull ups and hasn't quite gotten the hang of always going pee on the potty.
Gabriel 3 looked at me after I had made a comment about running errands. After some thought he said "I run faster than Aaron, mom."
It's a good thing I have little Gabriel because I really need that speed to accomplish everything that needs to be done right now.
Sage colored me a beautiful picture of a little girl under the sun and wrote, Lill I lav You.
Grant is working hard on his school work and his attitude has really helped in this adjustment.

2010-01-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

Grant has been working at home in his virtual academy for 8 days now. His computer and supplies are all set up. Now I just need some super power batteries to take care of the baby, the toddlers, the kindergartner, the house, the laundry, the dishes etc. I guess now would be a good time to be grateful for washing machines and dishwashers and disposable diapers. And be grateful I didn't have time to think through the implications of this decision before the spirit said to do it. Raising kids must be a lot like running a marathon.

2010-01-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

The highlights of our week:
Monday we walked with the Martin Luther King candle light vigil walkers. This was the first year we have participated in this celebration. There were speakers and music following. We felt very proud to be Americans as we celebrated how far we have come in human rights. Do I hear an Amen?
Thursday Moriah had a Doctors appointment. She is growing beautifully.
Grant also started school at the K12 virtual academy on Thursday.
Friday Grant and I went to say goodbye to his teacher after school. It was very difficult for his teacher and friends to see him go and for him to say goodbye. We mourned the loss together by driving to the YMCA, talking about what he would miss most about school over a chocolate thinny mint shake and playing basketball together afterward. It was one of the funnest dates I have ever been on.
Saturday (today) Dee took Grant to the Fiesta bowl party. Hopefully this one on one time with mom and dad will help him have a good attitude at home.

2010

2010-01-17T13:06:00.001-08:00

New Years Resolution: update our blog about once a week.

Dee teaches technology at a middle school and will graduate this spring with his masters degree in educational technology. Allelujah! He seems to somehow be able to balance work, school, our family and his ward and stake callings. He is a ward missionary /Spanish branch missionary in our ward and the stake technology specialist in the stake. It is nice that he able to use his talents to serve since he studied both Spanish and technology.

Jill is learning to cook and shop with no wheat and getting order in our home. (Believe me neither one of these are easy tasks.) I am also the wolf scout leader in our ward.

Grant has been experiencing digestion problems and stress which has been interfering with his school work. Because of this, we are taking a leap of faith and enrolling him in the k12 virtual school. It will be a challenge with three other rambunctious kids and a nursing baby, but we will be taking a step at a time until we figure it out. He is a pro at basketball and all other sports that include a ball.

Sage is doing very well in Kindergarten. We have recently taken her and Grant off wheat because of tummy aches and digestion problems and are looking for some affordable gluten free snacks that she can have in place of the crackers they give out in her kindergarten class. She is also a very good artist and enjoys drawing pictures of the family and is a big help with her baby sister.

Gabriel is three and just began primary. Where does the time go? He just started opening up his personality to his preschool teacher and small class that he has been in since September. He has a very fun personality and often helps me find things or reminds me what tool I need for a job. He has long since given up naps, but can't seem to give up thumb sucking.

John loves kicking, throwing, squeezing and hitting. Typical of a two year old boy. Not typical are his angelic, innocent blue eyes and cute voice telling me the naughty thing he just did. Had he been my first, his blue eyes would have just melted my little heart and he would have gotten away with just about anything. (Just like Grant did.)

Moriah turned 6 months old on Christmas and got to play baby Jesus in a live nativity. She is a light in our life except when she screams before bed and wakes me up in the middle of the night.

I am still trying to do a separate gluten free blog for others who might have the same problem. Once I get that figured out, Dee will link it to this site.

Dee's parents are still in New Jersey leading the mission for another 6 months and his siblings are becoming spread out. My parents are in Pocatello being awesome Grandparents to their grandkids who live there. We have been greatly blessed by our ward family and are grateful they have put their arms around us in place of our distant parents and sibling.
This year we are feeling a need to get in touch with our roots by doing family history/ temple work. It is much easier to make progress on it now that the church has updated their family search system.
I'll write about our progress, the cute things the kids do or say, and some of the tender mercies the Lord sends to our family every day.

February

2009-03-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that February is over and that spring is just around the corner. Some of the things that happened in February include: Jill had an ultra sound and the nurse confirmed that the baby will indeed be a girl. Jill had a friend ask her how she was able to be so confident that it was a girl even before the ultra sound. She responded by just saying that she did and it was a long story. I don't think Jill has been wrong yet about the sex of any of our babies. It will be nice to have another girl, especially for Sage.
We had parent teacher conferences on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. I left to do inspections Friday around 4:00. I took Sage, Gabe, and John with me. Ginny (Jill's mom) watched them while I did inspections, and unfortunately, both Gabe and John both threw up a couple of times. Hopefully this bug will pass quickly. Jill had a great time with Grant at home and was glad she got to spend some time with him. It's hard to find time to spend time with each child, but important to do so. When I do inspections, Sage enjoys coming with me. It is a good time for us to talk and have fun. Grant is always wanting me to play basketball with him, so he is grateful when I'm able to.
Valentine's day was fun. Me and Jill went to a stake dinner and dance. It was fun and there were quite a few people there.
Tuesday is Gabriel's birthday. He will be 3 years old. Wow!

Finding Sage

2009-02-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning (Saturday) was interesting. Jill left at 9:40 to go play volleyball at the church, and shortly after, Sage got dressed and asked me if she could go out in the backyard to play. She finished her breakfast and cleared her plate, so I let her, even though I had a feeling that I needed to make sure she completed here morning schedule first. I figured I would let her play for 5 minutes, and then have her come back in. Grant went outside 5-10 minutes later to get her and she was gone. We looked all over the house thinking that she was just hiding somewhere, but we could not find her. I had Grant walk down to the park to check if she went there, but he could not find her. While I got the boys coats on, Grant went around to the neighbors and asked if anyone had seen her. Soon after, we had half of the neighborhood looking for her. Our neighbors next door, the Wilkins, suggested I call the police, but I held off for a few minutes. I called Natalie Flemming and asked her to go to the church to check to see if Sage had walked there to be with her mom. Sometimes Jill takes Sage, and that was the only place I could think she might have gone. I finally gave in and did call the police. I had a hard time believing that Sage would venture to walk to the church all by herself, but if she did, it made me even more worried that something could happen to her along the way. Luckily while I was on the phone with them, I heard the neighbors yelling that she had indeed gone to the church, and just then Natalie pulled up with both Jill and Sage. It was an exciting morning!I was very grateful for good neighbors, and ashamed that I did not listen to the Spirit when it first spoke to me. I was grateful, however, that the Spirit prompted me to think that she might have gone to the church even though I thought Sage would never try it on her own.

Special Olympics

2009-02-15T20:11:00.000-08:00

This past week Idaho hosted the World Special Olympics. Events were held in Boise, Sun Valley, and McCall. We wanted to attend one of the events, but got there to late on Monday night to see anything. We were inspired by the opening and closing ceremonies, and are amazed at how the community pulled together. We did get to see the torch outside the figure skating venue. Attached is a video clip showing the torch.

Sunday Fun

2009-01-25T18:28:00.001-08:00

Today in church I spent much of Sacrament meeting trying to keep Gabe and John to sit still. Both of them wanted to run around. Gabe said he had to go to the bathroom and started down the hall. He decided to go to the bathroom on the other side of the church, and I wasn't able to catch up to him as I had to keep John from running off. When I finally got to the bathroom, I could not see Gabe. I walked around for a few minutes looking for him, but Gabe ended up finding me. He had is pants and underwear in his hands asking me to help him put them back on. There were quite a few people in the hall that tried not to laugh (I'm sure). It reminded me of the experience I had shortly after we moved to Caldwell. I was in Sunday school with Sage and noticed that a lot of people around me were laughing. I wasn't sure why until I turned toward sage who was handing me here dress. She had taken it off because she was too hot. Our kids bring their share of challenges, but much joy as well.
Today was a very beautiful day. It was the first day in more than 2 weeks that we were able to see the blue sky and sun. We have been trapped in an inversion that has kept things cold and dark. It took a weekend of rain and snow to clear it out. Hopefully we won't be trapped in an inversion during the world special olympics coming to the Boise area in a couple of weeks.
Thing are going pretty good. We are struggling to pay bills like many in the world today. We were told by one of our area church leaders (Elder Walker), that one of the reasons for a slow economy is to turn the hearts of many to the Lord. We forsee a tough year full of many challenges, but are excited to recieve the blessings the Lord has for us if we are faithful. God bless us all.

Baby News

2009-01-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

We are starting this blog with a big bang since it is a new year. So we'll start with the bad news. We just might miss the summer reunions. Next for the good news. We just might have a baby girl this summer, too. We stopped taking pregnancy tests a few babies ago, and realized about the same time that doctors don't do a whole lot for you until the delivery, so for those of you who are just dying to know specifics, sorry. Stay tuned for more good and bad news throughout the next 6 or 7 months.