Haircut

It's been awhile since Sariah had anything more than a trim.  This one can be considered a haircut.  

James wishes he could have some of it.  Maybe not quite like this though.

What a funny Dad!

Miss Connell...Makaley Specht!

(Wish I knew how to rotate these.)

Sariah and I have been going to Junior Miss since 2010 when Laryn took the crown.  With Makaley participating, we took the boys with us this time.  Now there is another crown in the family!  She was outstanding for sure!

Sariah says she's feeling the pressure now.  So far 2 winners for 2 participants in the family.

Rose among thorns.  Handsome thorns anyway.

National Pancake Day

Following tradition, we made it to IHOP for free pancakes.  Unlike usual, we were in and out in less than 45 minutes.  The big kids took advantage of that and went to the discount Tuesday movies afterwards.  It's kind of fun to have them go off on their own together.  Talmage and Bryant know not to let Sariah out of their sight.

It also happened to be buy one get one for $.99 Blizzard week.

Pancakes followed by ice cream for dinner.  If they weren't all so skinny maybe I'd feel more guilty.

Hyrum Turns 10

It was going to be a fun birthday with cousins over for the night, but it got really fun when Kami found out it was Hyrum's birthday.  She kidnapped the three amigos and they came back with jackpot!!

And I think they actually slept that night until almost 6 the next morning.

Mr. Riverhawk

The long await event finally came, even after being postponed due to weather.

March 5th, Talmage and 13 other senior boys put on Mr. Riverhawk, a spoof pageant.  It was so much fun!  Talmage had waited and waited to showcase his Pirates of the Caribbean piano solo and he nailed it---after he rode his unicycle to the piano on stage.  The whole thing was just for fun and that made it fun for everyone.  All the boys had to sing a solo with earphones on so only they could hear the music.  Talmage dressed as Maui from Moanna and sang, "You're Welcome." It's been fun the last few weeks to hear him belting it out in the shower downstairs.  We took the whole family even though we missed the Pinewood Derby and no one complained because it was so entertaining.

Mr. Riverhawk

Each contestant had to come up with a school spirit costume and answer a question on stage.

The little guys were pretty impressed.

One of the boys has Down Syndrome and it was really neat to see how all the other boys helped and cheered him on.

Talmage is contestant #9 from the left.  He has his Maui tattoo shirt on under his white T-shirt.

More Winter

We never know from one day to the next whether or not there will be school.  This week while James and I were at his Area Conference at Skamania Lodge, the kids missed school a couple days so they made the best of it at Grandma's house.

After whitewashing themselves in snow, they jumped in the hot tub.

The kids said Grandma was crazy because she made them put on sunscreen.  Glad they were are her house, I wouldn't have remembered that.

I think this picture may have just been for show to send me while I wasn't with them.

Getting their reading done all cozied up.

We got back Friday evening, and Saturday James took Sariah, Rex, and Lyle out to 351 to work on pinewood derby cars and meet Vard there with his Razor.  They had a ton of fun zipping around with Vard.

Sariah's basketball season came to an abrupt halt after only 5 or 6 games.  Games were cancelled and rescheduled and cancelled again, and then spring sports started (kind of).  Her best game was 15 points at Riverview, the game James went and watched.  She has some good hussle and isn't afraid to get in and fight for it.  She even made both of a 1 and 1 which was at the end of a quarter so all the players were on the sidelines.  All eyes were on her and she nailed them.  I'm glad she stuck out the season even though she didn't like the long days.

Hyrum's team still has a game tomorrow and next Saturday.  Hyrum does a great job on defense always picking up the shooter when no one else does.  He isn't afraid to shoot and is everywhere on the court often getting his own rebounds.  He has good court smarts and I enjoy coaching him. 

Me, Hyrum, Caidan, Bode, Gabe

Owen, Tommy, Cash, Ayden

Blake, Jude, Tytan, Oliver

(It will be easier for you to turn the book than for me to figure out how to turn these pictures.)

Snowmagedon

February 9, 2018 - Rebecca's Funeral

Rebecca wished for snow on the day she died.  Monday, February 4, 2018, was that day, and the day it all started.  Saturday, the day she was buried, some called "Snowmagedon."  Friday evening, the evening of the viewing, I picked Sariah up from Merrill's Corner and went straight out to Basin City with our things to stay the night because I had a feeling we wouldn't be traveling home that night.  By Saturday, it was all out blizzard.  James made it out with the rest of the kids to Grandpa and Grandma's house in the 4 wheel drive pick-up.  He brought Talmage and Bryant to the funeral.  People with tractors had worked most of the night to keep the drifts off the road so people could make it to the chapel and then to the cemetery.  Even with the crazy storm it was standing room only.  It was a huge blessing to us that James didn't sell the 4 wheel drive pick-up that he fixed.  It was a life saver.  Rebecca's funeral was as beautiful as it was heart-breaking.  By the time we got to the cemetery, they said the wind chill was -20 degrees F.  The snow was pelting us horizontally.  It was a short graveside and difficult to hear Shad's dedicatory prayer.

The storm raged for the remainder of the day and into the night.  We watched it out the windows and Mom and Dad's where we were stuck.  Spike layed down in the backyard and Rex and Lyle were worried about him surviving.  James carried him to the only dry corner he could find in the lambing shed.  (Dad has been warming and hand feeding Spike ever since.) 

The kids were in heaven--snowed in at Grandma's.

Sunday we woke to calm but the drifts were incredible.  If it weren't for Derek Price and Chad McGary and their tractors, we would never have made it out of the driveway.  The kids dug huge snow caves in the drifts.

Out the back window on the way home on Eltopia West.

With more snow in the forecast, we knew we had to take advantage of the window of sunshine on Sunday afternoon to try and get the van, the pick-up, and us home.  We took the long route to avoid hills--through BC, to Merrill's Corner, and then Eltopia West to Birch to home.  Farmers with tractors had dug trenches through the drifts on the roads.  Miraculously, we made it to our driveway but there was no way we would make it to the house.  We parked at Ed's house and James borrowed Howard's tractor to dig us a path to the house.  It took quite awhile.

Valentine's Day at Home

Valentine's Walk

Since then, I've lost track but it has snowed and snowed.  School has been cancelled all week.  

We had to do snow removal in the attic, which was not fun.  We are going to have to figure out a permanent fix to our ridge cap problem when the snow blows.

One day, James borrowed the tractor and he and Talmage and Bryant went over to dig Kathy Hanson out of her house.  It happened to be her birthday.  

We took soup and rolls over a couple evenings to her.  

She is such a great lady.

One day, James went and dug out the seminary building.  James has spend A LOT of time shoveling this week.  We got the van stuck in the driveway going and coming from church but the other roads are finally driveable.  It's a good thing, we're getting cabin fever for sure.  Everybody usually goes out in the morning for a few hours.  It takes until the next day to dry out all the snow clothes and gloves.  In the afternoon we get through some math flashcards, piano, reading, and they play board games and watch movies and youtube clips of motorcycle races and football highlights.

Their forts for snowball fights.