Kindergarten Graduation

 It was crazy bringing Savannah to finish Kindergarten in the same school I went to!  A lot of the same teachers are still there.  She ended up making some friends and really loving it!  They put on a cute little program for their graduation. 

Singing "Tootie Tot-tot"! 

 

The Elementary school mascot used to be the coyotes.  They still have the stuffed coyote on display in the hall.  I guess they are the bunnies now. 
Savannah loves school, and is a great student!  I am a little sad she is in school all day now!

Mountain Lion

In May our ward had the Father and Sons' camp out.  Matt took Maxwell, and he had the time of his life!  He still talks about it all of the time.  Of course we do not have any pictures of the actual camping because there were only fathers and sons there.  However, shortly after they left for the trip, Matt called me and told me to hurry and head up the canyon to meet him with the camera because he had just cornered a mountain lion.  Really? Actually, these kind of things don't really surprise me anymore.  We drove to meet him, and sure enough, just off the gravel road was a young cougar.  He kept trying to get through the fence and couldn't.  I was surprised he didn't just run past Matt and through the field the other way. 

 

It really was pretty impressive to see one so close up.  As you can tell by the pictures, he wasn't quite as thrilled with seeing us.  Matt kept getting way to close for comfort, and was tossing rocks at the bushes to get him to scream for the camera.  He is crazy, and I don't seem to have any control over it. 

He finally figured out he could just run along the fence line until the fence ended, then he ran off through the field.  I have since been jogging along this area, and have been a little nervous that he is going to remember me and come back to get me!

Easter egg hunt

Lynndyl puts on a cute little Easter egg hunt.  It is a really nice one.  There is a good size crowd, but not so many kids that they have to fight to get some eggs.  We had a great time.

 It was a little bit cold if you couldn't tell by how the kids are dressed.

 Inside the eggs there were a few coupons for a free baby chick at IFA.  Of course we headed right into town to pick them up, and they were all out.  I wasn't all that disappointed. 

 Sawyer had a coupon for these bunny ears too.  He obviously didn't notice they were on because he left them on all day.  His life is pretty good...taking a nap with a treat in one hand, fish snacks in the other, bunny ears and cowboy boots. 

The kids all dressed up for Easter Sunday.

Major Life Changes

In February, we received the news that Platinum, the company Matt has been working for, was closing its doors.  We were surprised with the news, and suddenly found ourselves unemployed.  It has been pretty tough for everyone involved.  I was a complete mess for a couple weeks, but we pulled it together and decided to try to rent out our house.  We were so blessed to find some great renters.  It meant we had to move a little sooner than we originally thought though. We packed up our house, and moved to Leamington in March.  Leaving Mapleton was really hard for us, and I still cry occasionally when we drive through.  We loved it there, and have a lot of great friends there!  Luckily we have been close enough to visit sometimes.
Matt started working for Absolute Air, and was making the commute from Leamington.  My parents were nice enough to let us move in with them while we did some work on their old house.  That project has been both fun, and a big pain...I will post more on that later. We knew Matt's job was only going to be a temporary one for him, but we kept having a hard time figuring out what our plans for the future were going to be.  When we thought we should go one direction, things didn't work out, so we would change again.  We finally made the decision for Matt to go back to school full-time.  This decision has felt right from the moment we made it, and we are excited for the opportunity!  Going to school full-time with a family is tough though, and we have been so blessed to have help from so many people!  We really could not do it without them!
So, here we are.  We have now moved into the house I grew up in.  Honestly, it has been great!  Being in Leamington has made all of this a lot easier.  The kids love living on a "farm" and being by Grandma and Papa.  It really is a great little town and hard not to be happy here.  We feel like we will really be able to enjoy these next two years instead of just wishing they would go by fast.  While this has certainly been a trial for our little family, I am amazed at how the Lord continues to bless us and make our burdens light! 

Digging for trilobites

Around Christmas time we also headed out to the west dessert to dig for trilobites.  It was pretty chilly and a long drive, but the kids loved it!

 Poor Sawyer had to wear his sisters extra clothes.  I didn't have anything warm for him.  He looks so cute though!

 

Catching up/Christmas 2011

I am finally going to try to catch-up on this blog.  It has been a while, so I will just post a few events/activities that we have been up to.  I guess I will have to start with Christmas time:

We spent Christmas and a few days afterward in Leamington with my parents.  It was just our little family, so it was pretty quiet for the most part.

 Maxwell and Sawyer in their matching PJ's

I have mentioned before how one of the perks of Christmas eve in Leamington is that Santa comes to visit every house to drop off a bag of candy before he starts making his rounds delivering presents.  The kids were pretty excited, and kept watching out the window for him to come.

They all got to sit on Santa's lap....some appreciated it more than others.

 Savannah FINALLY got her Rudolf!  I don't know what it is with her and that reindeer!

Maxwell got a Hot Wheel set, and Sawyer got a ball popper toy that I am pretty sure has NEVER been played with.  Oh Well, you win some you lose some. 
We had a great Christmas!  I love when Christmas falls on a Sunday.  It's nice to be at church, and spend that time to worship and think of the Savior!

St. George

Most of my family was able to get together in St. George for a Christmas party this year.  We love it down there, and it was a lot of fun!  Our first night, some of us went to the Tuacahn theater to see their live Nativity.  That theater is amazing, and the kids really enjoyed it.  Now I think we need a camel in our back yard! :)

Sunday, after bombarding some poor un-expecting ward with all 31 of us, we had our official party.  The cousins all drew names and had a gift exchange.  They also all got a chance to preform some amazing talents for everyone.

 Maxwell rocked out to "Dynamite" while Savannah sang "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree".  I was impressed they knew every word!  Savannah was a little nervous and would not take her eyes off me.  Immediately after she finished her song, she raced to the couch and hid her face.  She did a great job though.

 Another day, we went on a little hike.  The kids loved exploring.  Papa was nice enough to hang out with the slow pokes in the the back. (Max and Millie)

 An attempt to get all of the grandkids together with Grandma and Papa.  Some of them are hiding though.

 Remember my goal to make my family take more pictures?

 Ahhhh....how cute!

Right after I said that Sawyer never falls asleep anywhere but his bed, he crashes on Dad's shoulders.  It was a long day for the little guy.
We had a lot of fun, and it was nice to have (almost) everyone together.  Thanks Jake and Krystal for hooking us all up with a place to stay!