Another Trip to Yuba Lake

Remember the Dodgeball Tournament that Chad was in??? Where the prize was a $100 gift certificate that had to be spent in Emery County (which not everyone lives in) so it was decided that they would buy fishing equipment with the prize money and then go on a fishing trip and have a little competition to see who could win the prizes??? Well, this past weekend was the big fishing competition and the rest of the family decided to tag along for some fun.

We left Friday afternoon and headed for Yuba State Park with the whole family including Dauber this time. We got there about 7:00 pm and ate a yummy dinner and then the guys decided to go late night fishing for catfish while the kids and moms watched a movie.

Saturday was full of fun adventures, such as:

• A bike ride where we saw a snake (already dead but this didn't phase Kenzie who picked it up), we saw a huge amount of swallow nests, we threw rocks off the bridge and saw the beautiful lake for the first time without ice on it.

• The younger kids played in the sand box while Dauber took a nap (who, by the way, was eshausted after playing and roaming around all morning with his friend Collie-our friend's dog).

• The girls found an old house that people who built the dam lived in and fixed it up as their little house. This required scavenging the hillside for treasures any spare minute they had. Some of the things they found were used as the door bell (an old garbage can lid), decorations (old bottles), buckets (used for mailbox and garbage), tire rim (used as a silly mirror). They were so excited about the finished product that they had me take a ton of pictures of it so they could always remember it.
  

• Went to the beach and played in the water which was still a little cold but the kids had to do it for a little while anyway.
  

• Played on the beach which included a sand fight, drawing pictures in the sand (Hayden drew several pictures of SpongeBob and Patrick Star) and sand castles.
  

• And last but not least Chad finally caught a Northern Pike the last 5 minutes they were fishing (about 8:00 pm) and it won him 2nd place. The prize for 2nd place was an electric fillet fishing knife, which he was excited about. First place went to Wayne due to the fact that his Pike had a fish still in its' belly (top 2 pictures on the right).
  

Happy Birthday Kenzie!

We can hardly believe that you are now 10!
Kenzie we love your sense of humor,
your laugh, your caring personality, and your sweet spirit.
We hope you had a great birthday!

I know this is a week late but we had 2 separate parties for her birthday and party number 2 was yesterday so now you get the recap.

PARTY #1:

On the 5th (her actual birthday) she took cupcakes to her class at school and we had a family party that evening. She chose her favorite dinner (BBQ ribs, baked potatoes and green beans), we opened presents and had dessert (chocolate/strawberry parfait). The parfait thing is strange for a birthday dessert, I know, but she was checking out my recipe books and thought this looked really good.

PARTY #2:

On the 13th we had a party with a few of her friends at the wave pool. She chose to have pizza and flip flop cakes. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was probably the easiest party I have done yet. I am now asking myself why I haven't done this before.

Spring Soccer

This spring Courtney decided to play soccer which started back in April and just finished today. She finally decided that soccer is really fun and plans on playing again. (This is compared to the first time she played back in kindergarten and thought there was far too much running involved.) We all had fun watching the games - our only complaint was the cold weather back in April.

Cort's favorite thing to do - play as goalie and throw the ball in.

She never ended up scoring a goal although she did come close a few times (she had to get over her worry of kicking the ball and hurting someone else). Hopefully she can do it during fall soccer.

Mother's Day Festivities

Our festivities started on Saturday when a home improvement store in town lets you bring your children in and they get to plant a flower pot for their mom for free. (Yeah free!!!) The kids loved picking out the flowers and planting them and I loved the finished product that is now sitting on my front porch.

On Sunday I was showered with hugs and kisses, more flowers and homemade gifts and cards. I was also pleasantly surprised by Mackenzie giving a talk about me in Sacrament meeting that I had no idea about. (I can't believe that she was able to keep the secret.) She did an amazing job all by herself and of course she made me cry - big surprise.

Kenzie's gift - a magnet

Cort's gift - a portrait of me with letter

I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day - I am truly blessed!

P.S. Happy belated Mother's Day to all of you! I hope you had a great day too!