Stinky Feet

I had heard the story that once upon a time there was a little boy whose feet stunk so badly that his older sisters refused to sit in the same room as him.
He was forced to bathe his feet after peeling off his sweaty school socks and sneakers. 
The worst part was that his shoes stunk so badly, even after every type of foot powder and spray known to man was applied to them, that they had to be kept out of doors.
Sounds exaggerated you say?
Not so.
Apparently it is a true story and that boy grew up to become my husband, and although he himself passed out of the stinky shoe phase he passed it right on to our oldest daughter.
Good thing she is so cute.

Next story, also true, is about that cute girls first pair of "Twinkle Toes".
For those of us not into Elementary school sneaker couture, they are tennies with little jewels on the toe area.
Cute girl begged and pleaded for a pair, just like she begged and pleaded for a puppy.
Man, we should have never given in on that puppy!
Anyways back to the twinkle stuff.
Christmas came around and she received not just a pair of sneakers that were blingy but a pair of fashion boots as well.
It's a good thing she got both since the sneakers were somehow not the correct color to be cool at school.
Black, Pink, who cares, they're shiny aren't they?!

The well loved boots were worn non stop all winter and spring.
The smell of the darling boots could easily clear a room by springtime.
No passerby would ever suspect that it was the cute little girl with the darling Twinkle Toe boots causing flowers to wilt and animals to howl in the neighborhood.
After fair warning (when it hits 70* those have to go!), fetching them from the front porch each morning, and some tears the girl was able to say goodbye to her beloved boots.

The End!

GoodBye note for the boots.

Grandmas trash, just so they couldnt be somehow fished out and hidden under a bed before trash day came around.

"It says "4 Sell Dollars" "

 One day you think you might live in the arctic forever and the next your house is up for sell. Trying to do what is best for the family takes a lot of prayer, a lot of listening to the Spirit for direction and a lot of Faith to act on that direction.

  Alma 37:45 And now I say, is there not a  type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

We feel like we are being carried to a land of promise,( although so far it doesn't seem far better, just better )back to live by the Grandparents.

We lived through the house showing process and got a great offer after just 3 weeks! Now we have to live through traveling 4 hours round trip to buy a replacement. Sounds easy but have you ever had to travel in a minivan with Harley?! Did I mention she is shedding?!

"Skate or Die"....

 ...should really be Skate and likely you will die or be seriously injured"
We spent several afternoons this spring at the local skate park.
Who knew that cement could be turned into something so fun?
We corralled the kids in the big steep pool area, keeping them away from the real skaters and flying out of control boards in the other section.

The only way out, besides a tall daddy lifting you over his head, was a full sprint and giant leap for the edge.

Soccer Season

                                                Warning: Tons of soccer pictures ahead!


Z. Loves the girls she played with last season and this season.
They are so fun to watch!
They are getting to be too good for their own good.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Go   Trouble!

T. Loved the idea of soccer until he had to actually go to practice and actually play in the games.

He wanted to be "X 'd" out after running for more than 2 minutes.

I think that if he would pace himself it would work out better for him, he is just so "all or nothing".

He loved his teammates also, maybe a little too much, coach sometimes had a hard time getting his attention away from them and onto him.
Every chance he got he asked coach for a break, usually to climb the chain link next to the field.
He decided their team name was the Cheetahs, ROAR.

Mothers Day Mommas

My very most favorite Chocolate Cake and my Mom and my Sister here for a visit. Who could ask for a better Mothers Day?! I really was that excited.

Hail and the Fun Run

S. and Harley were terrified of the hail we got.

I had to bribe them to get close to it.
S. decided she could brave having her foot out the door but nothing else(even that took so much concentration she needed her tongue out a little bit).
Harley decided after tasting a little that she loved it and went for a run around the yard playfully.













The Fun Run was a cold as the hailstorm.
N. did finally warm up enough to take his hoodie off.
He was too quick for me to get a finish line picture but he would have been sneering anyways, he hates the Fun Run.
Z. is fun to watch when she races.
As a toddler her ankles and knees seemed to go in different directions but she has outgrown it and runs like a small antelope now days.
The best part is always the Creamies after the finish!

Easters

3 days celebrating seems fitting for the 3 days Jesus' body lay in the tomb.
Cousins in Idaho invited us out for an EggHunt and BBQ.
Lots of Food, lots of Candy!
Farm equipment and Teenagers to hide the eggs makes for a wonderful event.

Sunday was church services, Family dinner and the traditional Family picture(hurry before the boys rip their ties off), none of which was done outside, because, although it is springtime it was still freezing.

Last and smelliest was the Egg dying. I typically forget all about the dye(I dont know how with kids hounding me every day to do it!) and just to keep up with that tradition we dyed them on Monday for FHE , after Easter. OK, not true, I did in fact forget again! Colored eggs are fun no matter when they're made.

Finally!

What a feeling, and Cum Laude, at that!!