spring break (more like spring WORK!)

This past week mostly consisted of yard work. I laugh that I was thinking we'd get everything done this week including planting a garden--not quite. BUT, we did get a lot done including rock in the backyard and 70% of the front. We worked hard from about 7am until 3pm on Saturday moving rock (until we couldn't move anymore) and probably have just two of the 10 tons left maybe? We moved dirt back into the garden box area as well and fixed more drip lines, etc. We were a little bit sore on Sunday, but not too bad.

I felt some guilt on Saturday night that we had worked all day and didn't do anything fun with the kids or for St. Patrick's Day, so I whipped up some 'green' cupcakes while Rob took the kids to the store. My allergies have been HORRIBLE for the past two weeks. I was really quite sick on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I didn't get much done on those days which set us back a bit. I was struggling quite a bit emotionally as well, and maybe I'll write more about this another time, but not today. I'm doing really well right now, so I'm grateful for that.

We had a huge rain/thunder/hail storm on Sunday which was so nice. It rained for quite a bit which was great timing for our yard. I took some photos of the yard on Sunday afternoon. The first from our balcony:

This next one was during the rain storm on Sunday. We were noticing that the sun was finally peeking out a bit after it rained all day and then we stepped out to find an ENORMOUS rainbow that we could see from our back yard and also from the front:

This back corner is where a garden box will be-- picture taken from far away as it was raining hard:

This is totally random, but I forgot to post this picture that one of the primary kids gave to me during sharing time last week. He drew this during my sacrament meeting talk. It says, "repentance is a good thing." I thought is was so cute and at least someone was listening :)

The cabinet guy made it back to put on the pulls to our drawers. They make such a huge difference! Big improvement:

I pulled out the camera before church and took a few shots of the kids (seems like I haven't done that in a while). Liv was watching the rain and looked so cute:

This next one is just about my favorite photo ever right now. It's so 'Liv' isn't it?

Back to her favorite pose of late:

I see you...

A more serious side of Tosh...

...then his dad walked in the room and got Tosh laughing about something or other.

Not lacking in personality I would say:

Hewitt is never very shy with the camera. He was looking and feeling dapper in his church coat:

Love those cute freckles on his nose:

Fast forward several hours... I made sure to grab a couple shots of Burke after church.

(He collided with a buddy while shooting hoops this week which broke his favorite frames and left a small cut/bruise over his left eye. Probably not the first set of broken glasses we'll encounter...)

Rob left very early for California this morning. The kids and I had a good day today (chores, shopping, reading, etc.), and are off to the zoo tomorrow. I want to make the most of the final week of spring break and the cooler weather. Have a great week!

out in the dirt

We've spent much of the week out in the yard; lots of planting, dirt moving, garden box building, drip line fixing, etc. We actually had 10 tons of granite delivered to our house this afternoon and so we'll be covering up all of the dirt and finishing things up this week. I like this shot of the boys that I caught as they both jumped on their shovels at the same time:
My Dad was just here for a visit (arrived on Thursday, left this morning). He helped us with some projects and was able to enjoy reading and sitting outside in the sun (and played catch with Liv one morning, as captured below):
I got a few fun mid-air shots of Hewitt doing flips:
And a short video:



Rob and I both spoke in church this week. The topic was "Repentance and Forgiveness." Rob told me to take all the time I wanted and that he only needed five minutes, and that is seriously about what I left him...woops. It was nice a nice thing to focus my thoughts on, and I thought it went fine. We have moved around so much that this was the first time I've ever spoken a second time in any ward we've lived in.

My friend Char sent me some beautiful spring flowers on Saturday. I almost didn't answer the door (delivery lady) because I was just getting off of the treadmill, but was so glad I did. Char lost her dad several years ago (he had liver disease similar to my mom). I've really been missing my mom a lot and have cried a lot over the past several days. I'm sure this will continue to be an up and down thing for me emotionally, but it really stinks that she is gone. I think the reality of it all is setting in... So, I'm posting a few photos that I don't think I have posted. Two from this summer when she was here, and one from several years back of her reading to the boys in Riverton:

(Doesn't Hewitt look so little! I think Tosh was barely walking.)

It is spring break for the kids (two weeks off). Our 'big' plans are to do more yard work, get a garden planted, and then hopefully I can do some fun things with the kids while Rob is out of town for work next week.

Gotta run--the younger kids think it is warm enough to swim (ha!) and just took off outside in their suits.

photos from franklin

As I mentioned in a previous post, my mom was buried in the Franklin, Idaho Cemetery on February 18th. I didn't even think to grab my camera that day, so I just "stole" these photos from my brother(s) and niece, I believe.

My parents, in their planning ahead, bought their headstone this last fall. I actually went to look at it with my mom when I was in Utah last October. The death date will be added soon:

This is the headstone for Ty, a full-term stillborn, that my mom is now by (he would have been two years younger than I am):

My mother's parents:

The kids walked around the cold cemetery as they waited for everyone to arrive:

(This photo of Burke was clearly taken by a cousin and not his mom or dad--that smile!)

My dad arriving with his sister, Sandie, my mother's sister Pat, and
my cousins, Bob and Jackie:

(Mark, Adler, Todd, Alex, Kevin, David, Rob and Jamie)

Graveside service (I am sitting between my two aunts, Pat on left, Sandra on the right):

My brother Mark dedicated the grave:

Tyra placing flowers after the prayer:
I LOVE this one of my Dad and niece McKaylynn. So sweet:

Mark and me (in my mom's hat):

Pat, Jackie and Hewitt looking at my Uncle Al's headstone (Pat's husband):
Liv found these silk flowers in some drawer at my mom's house.
We decided to leave them at Ty's grave:

Grandpa and my niece Taylor:
My sister's cute (and growing!) family; Jamie, Amanda, Mindy, Alex, David, Samantha, Kevin, and Melanie. They had found out the night before that Alex got in to BYU. Way to go, Alex! All of the "Linton" kids will be in Utah this fall:
Liv and Bunny:Dinner at Maddox:

catching up on the kids

So I thought I'd give a little update on the family and our recent doings. We're actually in the middle of a few home projects right now, one of which is our yard. The backyard is getting awfully close to being done. We bought several more plants this weekend (here we are fitting in a load of trees with the kids--It was a jungle!) and we should be ready to get gravel by next weekend maybe? This month for sure.

We planted a few different trees yesterday and then stopped to finish up Burke's car and go to the Pinewood Derby. I must say how pleased I am that Burke is such a great sport. His reaction after each heat is exactly the same whether he comes in first, second, or third place. Cousin Bob joined us to cheer Burke on and he ended up coming in 8th place. He didn't advance to the finals (stake level) like last year, but that was just fine with us and allowed us to get home to more yard work which Burke had fun helping with. He is really a great kid and growing up all the time. Maybe soon he will let me video him playing "The Throne Room" from Star Wars on the piano (he's getting really good!) Here are some derby pics:

I took this one this morning of the boys creating some story together before church (Tosh left before the photo). I want to note that Burke has taught Tosh how to play Monopoly Deal and those two have been playing it together a lot which is such a great thing! Burke likes someone to play with and Tosh is easy going and catches on quickly. This photo of Burke and Hewitt reminded me that I haven't said anything about our kitchen...
Rob had the kitchen cabinets refinished while I was in Utah. This was the photo from his iphone that he sent to show me. It looks really good, but we still need to get a couple of things finished up (pulls for the drawers put on and the rock facade done around the island--to match the rock around our fireplace). We picked the blue paint when we first moved in with white cabinets in mind and I really think it looks fantastic. Thanks, Rob!
Hewitt lost both front teeth while I was in Utah. He looks super cute, and has a slight lisp.
So another photo I stole off of Rob's phone is this one taken at my parents' house in Utah. The cousins spent lots of time timing how long they could hold onto this weight-bearing pole in the basement. Hewitt held the record for a couple of days with a time of 4:54. YOU try it, it's tough and nearly impossible for adults. Go Hewitt! p.s. Rob just said something to me the other night like, "Did you know that Hewitt is learning violin in music class at school?" Um, no. We really need to get him started on piano. He can do a standing front flip on the trampoline and land on his feet (every time). I really should get that kid back into a tumbling class (although he really WANTS to do tennis more than anything right now). I'm still just trying to get a handle on homework and the other basics for the kids. All in good time, right?

So the only photo I could really find of Tosh taken in the last couple of weeks is this self-photo (?) taken on my phone. I just registered Tosh for kindergarten. He should be tested for the gifted program this month. No pressure or anything (seriously trying to avoid the boys talking about it much), but we're hoping he gets into Burke and Hewitt's school... He really wants to go there, so let's hope it works out. Tosh is going though a kind of mischievous stage...he likes to stir thing up a bit. He has suddenly gotten picky with food. This MUST be an age thing, because my other two did the same thing and are now back to eating well. Tosh does just about EVERYTHING with a laugh and a smile, so thank goodness for such a happy kid. Tosh and Liv play quite well together and we've been spending tons and tons of time reading books and playing outdoors this week.

While the three boys were in school on Friday, Rob texted me and asked if Liv and I could meet him for lunch (so fun)! Liv was all dressed up with no place to go, so she was so excited to meet her Daddy and explore the Home Depot with me on the way (here she is looking at retaining rock for a garden). Liv is very particular with what she wants to wear (the fancier the better) and wants to wear a dress everyday (I really have to sell her on anything else). I grabbed a few "Fancy Nancy" books from the library this week (first time seeing them as my boys would have never been interested), and she wants me to read them over and over. I'm just realizing (thanks to Rob) that she isn't climbing quite as much, and wants to help with everything we are doing: cooking, planting, unloading dishes, etc. She talks and sings all the time and seems so grown up.I really think it's time to work on potty training. This might be TMI, but we let run around outside tonight for a while without anything under her dress and she came inside to go potty on the toilet twice! Wish us luck with that one. Would love to have her out of diapers or pull-ups before her birthday.

My Dad is coming down for a visit this next weekend so we are looking forward to that.