Rocky Mountain High…

So we took a little family trip on Memorial Day to Colorado to visit Grandma and Grandpa Shafer. Now both officially retired, they moved away from the grandkids in Utah so they could act like old farts do. Now that they are just getting settled in there new dwelling we decided to shake things up a bit. We arrived on Friday and enjoyed a pleasant evening and got a chance to finally see Jon’s brothers’ new house that he and Heather had built. An amazing house and beautiful location in Granby, Christian and heather really did an amazing job designing and building their home; it made our stay extra nice. We were able to take in some of the sites that John Denver sings about so eloquently. We visited the Rocky Mountain National Park, where we saw the wildlife, forests, and traveled on the highest paved road in the United States. We also did some swimming at the recreation center; we partook of the awesome view of the moon via Grandpas telescope, and even fit in a little fishing and the pond. We all had a great time relaxing with family, carving walking sticks, BBQ’s and the kids’ loves riding their bikes down the dirt road (after a few crashes they adjusted to the dirt traction pretty well). We had a great time and can’t wait to visit again.

Kason’s Graduation…

   Ahh the good ol’ days when we were just happy to be out of school for the year and didn’t need to have silly graduation ceremonies for every grade you passed. Well if anything I think it is more for the parents because the kids really could care less, they just wanted to get through it and have cookies. We are however thankful for Kason’s teacher Mrs. Vickie. She has spent the last year teaching Kason and we have seen amazing improvement in his comprehension of numbers, letters, writing, talking, understanding, and now the kid never shuts up. She filled the year with not only classes but she had a number of field trips to the fire station, pumpkin patch, farms, etc. She also had a winter program that the kids performed and a commencement program. The kids were fun and we always got a laugh. Mrs. Vickie, thank you for all that you have done we will never forget you. And Kason, way to go cheese ball…

Sing Me A Song Piano Girl…

 So Sarah’s parents were generous enough to hand down their out of tune and worn out piano at the beginning of the year. After they had it tuned up for us they enrolled Alison in piano lessons, and after a few months of lessons, Alison had her first recital this week. Her teacher Mrs. Maybe held the recital at a local music store which was a really cool opportunity for the kids because they got to play in a theater on a Grand Piano that retailed at over $60,000. Like any other parent, we had a hard time enjoying the recital in fear that our child would be the one to break it, leaving us with the tab. But seriously Alison did an outstanding job and didn’t skip a note she played two songs without difficulty and was the best one in the recital. I know what you’re thinking, “I’m biased”. Not at all even other parents came up to us and said “wow, our child sucked and wasn’t nearly as good as your little princess.” At least that’s what I heard. After a perfect recital there’s nothing quite like a good dinner with the family

Alison Gets Awarded…

So speaking of awesome children, Alison was given a “Huskies Award” for the outstanding work and determination she showed at school in her class she was awarded a certificate, a pencil, and a bunch of free meals (yum-o). That same day she graduated the D.A.R.E. program and was asked to read her D.A.R.E. essay to the entire school (1 of 5 kids). Some say the D.A.R.E. program doesn’t prevent children from doing drugs, that may be true but it does help them understand the dangers of smoking, drinking, and other harmful drugs. It is our job as parents to protect them until they are adults and if the public school system wishes to implement a program such as this in “my” child’s school, I am certainty not opposed to it. And I am damn proud of both my little girls for having the desire to finish the D.A.R.E. program. Way to go Alison on both of your accomplishments this week.

Honor Roll...

Well it is definitely not in the family jean pool but it is possible, it must be the outstanding support we provide as excellent parents. Oh who are we kidding, she is an amazing kid. Laurissa has made the Honor Roll again and we couldn’t be more proud. Just because the took on the challenge of enrolling in Honors classes at the beginning of the year we were concerned that she would have a difficult time in those classes, well she sure showed us. She loves her classes and her teachers, especially her math teacher who has really turned her love for math from a hate to a love, way to go Mr. Saunders. Laurissa has also taken on a new hobby. She was reading a lot of “Fan Fiction” on the web and after reading some of the stories decided that she could do that too. So she did. Now writing a fan fiction story about her and her life long love of TRANSFORMERS!!! Oh and you know those excellent parents we were talking about earlier, yeah they are not in the story for more than a chapter. There is something wrong with that man!!! Check it out at http://m.fanfiction.net/s/8037517/1/  yeah “Transformers girl 1234” is waiting for your comments.

Happy Easter To All!!!

 

As we spend Easter this year in Idaho Falls in a hotel room I must admit it was different spending Easter away from home. All I can say is thank goodness that the Easter Bunny knew where we were, although the kids got to hunt for Easter eggs on Saturday in the park, it was a joyfull morning for them to wake up with eggs everywhere. Mom and Dad can't figure out how that darn bunny got into the room without a key? Hummm...

A Little Time At The Falls...

No not Niagara...

 

 

We ventured to Idaho for a graduation and baby blessing in Rexburg/Rigby Idaho. David and Beth graduated from BYU Idaho and then blessed Bella on Sunday. We had fun hanging with the extended family and also got to check out the Falls, not to mention the easter egg hunt on Saturday.

It's Showtime!!!

 

 

 

This last weekend Laurissa stared in her first official playhouse performance. After months of rehersal the Desert Star Playhouse debued it's performance of Jack and the Bean Dip featuring it first ever all kids cast. With 2 of the 3 shows sold out it was a very successful show filled with song, dance, comedy and just plain cuteness it was indeed a fun show to watch. Laurissa was the best out of everyone on the stage of course and that is not a biased opinion, even Alison dropped her jaw when she heard her sister sing in her solo and said "I didn't know that Laurissa could sing that good". Congratulations Laurissa you and all your new friends worked so hard and it showed and thanks to Kelly Clifton for all her hard work directing 28 children and making things come together, we look forward to your next performance.