Memorial Day Fun!

So, we headed to Yellowstone this last holiday weekend. Todd ended up having to work on Saturday morning so we got kind of a late start. But the weather was kind of crappy so being in the car for the day was not so bad :) We, okay really just Todd, set up the tent at Bridge Bay amid the snow coming down! The next morning we woke up and headed toward Mammoth for a little warmer campground. We went to church in Garder at probably the smallest branch I've ever been to. Sunday was much more pleasant with only a few rain showers. And we got to have a CAMPFIRE for dinner, which is pretty monumental because it was the first one we've ever had. So we broke out the hotdogs and s'mores to celebrate :)Oh I do have an exciting story to tell about Saturday night. Coleman wanted to go on a walk around the campground so I took his hand and we started on our walk. We had been hearing a cow elk calling for her baby a few minutes earlier but she had stopped and I assumed she found her baby. All of a sudden there was this really loud high pitch yelping and Coleman and I looked up on the hillside and saw a baby elk bounding down being chased by a coyote. Well, if you know me you know this is about the last thing I want to see--a baby being killed by a coyote. The coyote was so close, then all of a sudden 3 cow elk came over and chased the coyote away. Whew! I looked around on the road and other campers had gathered to see the action along with 4 other elk--all of us standing together! The other elk moved up the hillside I guess to help out in the guarding of the little elk. So yay, a happy ending to my little story!
On Monday, the sun came out and we spent most of our time walking the boardwalks looking at geysers. This really won the boys over and they were not too excited to go home! I'm sure we'll be back in the park soon! Here's a few pics! (Sorry I took some blurry one!) And yes we actually saw a bear--for about 3 seconds before the ranger yelled at us to get moving!

Race Day!

So back in March Todd must have decided I needed some extra exercise cause he challenged me to do a 5K. He even looked on the internet and found one that also had races for the boys to run--the Endurance Festival in Pocatello. Well, not wanting to back down from his challenge I tentatively accepted! I started the Couchto5K program that Monday and it really helped me get ready. When I first started I could barely run for 2 minutes. And yesterday I ran a 5K--can't believe it! It felt so good to set a goal and work towards it and actually accomplish it! Now I'm excited to set a few more goals and see where they take me. And I MAY run a few more races. I told Todd yesterday as we were driving to the race that I thought races were stupid and I didn't feel excited and all I felt was nervous. But by the time I found myself taking off at the starting line I was ready to do some running! I came in 3rd out of the few women who raced so I got some prizes. A Gold's gym membership for a month in Pocatello--which sadly I will not be commuting to so we gave it back! And I also got a necklace that Liston has claimed and a $10 gift certificate to an overpriced bike shop where I found some socks--yay!
The boys ran yesterday as well! I was so proud of them for stepping up and running the whole way. Coleman had to hold his Dad's hand but he still made it. And they all got metals and as much gatorade, fruit and Great Harvest bread as they could eat! It was a great day! Thanks Todd for getting us there and cheering us all on. I know I couldn't have done any of it without you!

Tonsils!

Deacon has always been a snorer! I remember sitting in church with him as an infant and he was snoring so loudly I could hardly hear the teacher :) I'd have to juggle him around trying new positions to see if he would quiet down. And every year at his yearly check-up I'd ask about his tonsils and the Dr would say they were fine. Well, this year at Coleman's check-up I asked the Dr to take a look at them again. I was afraid he wasn't breathing very well at night because I'd hear a delay in his breathing constantly. Well, this time the Dr said his tonsils looked terrible and ordered a oxymeter to test his oxygen. The results--those nasty tonsils and adenoids needed to come out!
Deacon was very brave--I was a little worried he would be scared. But he was happy and talked to all the nurses and Drs and asked them all kinds of crazy questions. He really wanted to see his tonsils when the Dr. cut them out but they sent them to the lab. He was kind of sad until I showed him a picture of some on the internet and he said they looked GROSS!
Here are some pics of my brave boy whom I think is finally on the mend. He made it through the whole night with no medicine and hasn't asked for any this morning--yay! Love you Deaq--glad you're feeling better!

Spiderman/Hulk/Kung Fu Panda/Abomination

Deacon came upstairs yesterday and wanted help putting on the spiderman mask, which isn't uncommon. But when he came back upstairs and started to head outside to play with his brothers he had on alittle more than the mask. He got the outfit on all by himself aside from the mask. He just looked to good to let him get by without a picture or two. He had a sword in the back of his shirt as well : )

Happy Easter

Easter Egg hunting

Last week I went golfing but since then we have had a couple good snow storms. Targhee reports they have had 43" in the last 7 days with most of that in the last couple. We didn't get that much of course but we got some. When I looked outside this morning the wind was blowing the snow around pretty good. I wasn't sure if they would have the easter egg hunt or not. Kids were bundled in their snow gear and we headed out to find out. The bank that put on the hunt had a backhoe and some people shoveling yesterday to remove snow from the park so they could have the easter egg hunt. Didn't do much good as it still snowed last night. The boys took off their gloves so they could pick up their eggs. Coleman got 2 before he made me stick his glove on. Deacon got the most and kept asking if we could go now because his hand got him cold. They all had fun and it wasn't that bad out. Deacon scored with the most treats. He got 3 eggs that had a little pig key chain as well as 2 eggs with prizes that he will claim at the bank. One is a piggy bank and the other a pink pig. Which is pretty good because he still loves pigs.

Jam

Strawberries were finally on sale today so we stocked up and headed home to make some freezer jam! Deacon is my mini chef and excitedly volunteered to help! He sure did a good job :)

I asked him to pose for me in front of his hard work. I got one picture of my sweet little Deacon:

And about 10 of these:

My wild, crazy little man! Love you Deaq!