Cambria Selfies

I'm constantly finding Cambria selfies uploaded to Amazon Photos, so I had to share a few. She is such a beautiful girl, inside and out.

Happy 16th Birthday, Atreyu

Atreyu is 16 and almost finished with his sophomore year of high school. This boy has had my heart since day one. Atreyu is such a hard worker. He puts his all into his schoolwork and he's basically maintained a 4.0 since middle school. He joined track and he's making a lot of friends. He's been sick a lot since we moved and the elevation difference has made things more difficult, but he's constantly improving. He's taking driver's ed and growing into an amazing young man. We had two mini celebrations for him. Grandma made him a couple cakes for one, and I made Boston Cream Pie and Four-Layer Delight for the other.

Adventurers

For years, our kids have loved to play "adventurers" with their cousins and friends. It's basically LARPing. They always have so much fun! I saw that Cambria had taken some pictures of Atreyu and Archer battling and I had to share them.

Easter

At the beginning of April, we were finally able to start moving into the house. As thankful as I am that we were able to stay with Eddie and Bernie, it's so nice to have our own place again. While we don't have everything moved in yet, I had to decorate a little bit for Easter. 

I love the opportunity Easter gives us to remember our Savior and ponder on all he did for us. Over the past few years, my testimony of the Atonement has grown so much. Jesus is my rock. I know that no matter how far I stray, He is always there, solid and strong, waiting for me. He is my shelter. He lifts and protects me from the heaviness of this world. He is my comfort. He strengthens me and offers peace to my troubled and restless heart. He is my friend. He’s someone with whom I can share my greatest joys and deepest heartaches. He is my Savior. He is the one who has rescued me and has taken my sins and sorrows upon himself. He made it possible for me to return to live with Him, my Heavenly Father, and my family someday. I love My Jesus and I will forever be grateful to him for his atoning sacrifice on my behalf.

Egg Hunt

I took the littles and Cambria into town for the annual Easter egg hunt. While it wasn't exactly a "hunt" like the kids hoped it would be, the had fun collecting eggs. Cosette saw one of her new classmates and I saw some people there that I haven't seen in years. I'm looking forward to doing more in this community.

Resurrection Garden

One day while we were working in the house, Grandma helped Cosette make a resurrection garden. It turned out so beautiful and I am so thankful Grandma took the time to do something special one-on-one with Cosette. Later, the kids had a candlelit dinner with Grandma.

Youth Temple Trip

Atreyu and Cambria had the opportunity to go with the youth to the Star Valley temple for baptisms for the dead. I feel like they are starting to make some friends at school and in the ward. The ward has changed so much from when we used to live here. I'm looking forward to getting to know the youth better.

Flooring

I haven't taken many pictures of all the work we've been doing in the house, but we have been working our butts off every day. We pulled up all the carpet throughout the house and then painted over any stains on the floor. Our friend, Steve Myers, installed carpets in the bedrooms for us and I absolutely love it! Annie and Cody came down and helped us install our vinyl flooring. I am so thankful for them and their expertise. It was a long, hard day but with their help, we finished in one day. I am loving how the house is coming together.

Lava Hot Springs

We were so excited that the Lockwoods came up to tour BYU-Idaho with Brendan because that meant we were able to see them. I took the kids out of school a bit early, and we meet the Lockwoods at Lava Hot Springs. We haven't been apart from them for too long yet, but it was so refreshing to see them again. I will forever be grateful for and love this family!

Our Little Helper

While the older kids have been at school, the rest of us, including Magnus, have been busy working on the house. Magnus has been a great help to Grandpa handing him nails and he had even done some painting, I'm thankful for these last few months with him at home before he, too, goes to school.

Magnus has even been able to get in some good snuggles with Grandpa as well as many games of Strawberry Shortcake.

I found Atreyu's old pedal tractor in the bin and Magnus loves it!

New School

Atreyu, Cambria, and Cosette started school this week. Each of them is in a different school. Cosette is at AJ Winters elementary, Atreyu is at the high school, and Cambria is at the middle school which she'll only be at until the end of the school year, and then she'll go to the high school with Atreyu. When we were registering the older kids, there seemed to be so many more options for classes. Every grade at the high school can take college courses and potentially graduate high school with their associate's degree. I'm excited for the kids and the things they will accomplish now that we're back in Idaho. Cosette was the only one I was able to get a picture of, but I did get one of the bus driving away.

Chrome in the Dome

Every year Grandma and Grandpa love to go to the Chrome in the Dome car show in Pocatello. We went with them and while the littles enjoyed playing with the Simmons and Josh and Kim's kiddos while we were there, they didn't really care for the car show. They thought it was fun to look at everything for a few seconds and move on and that is not how Jesse or his parents do car shows. Needless to say, they won't be coming next year. Magnus and Cosette picked out their favorite cars and Jesse was even given a mini-American flag for his military service.

Back Home

After 9 1/2 years away, we finally moved back to Bern. When we originally left, the plan was to be gone for five years. Little did we know that Heavenly Father had other plans for us. Since we left so late in the day, and since the moving truck would govern out at 65 or so, and since Jesse didn't want to stop anywhere for the night, we arrived in Bern around 2:00 or 3:00. We're staying at Jesse's parents' house while we fix up our house and thank goodness, we were able to rest for a couple of days. We finally got the truck unloaded into Eddie's Conex after which Jesse and Eddie drove it down to Salt Lake to pick up our new carpet. We started on tearing up carpets and baseboards. It's a big job but I'm excited to have the house fixed up.