Easter & Spring - Wonderful Things!

Here are a few pictures from Easter. You can tell the kids were amused at the Easter Egg Hunt - actually in their defense they were just ready to go. The wind got going pretty good and they were all cold. We took the kids over to IFA. They were having a spring sale/party and they had a mechanical bull, a climbing wall, roping, mutton busting, games, Easter egg hunts, and food. All of it was free, which makes it even better. I told the kids that whoever made it to the top of the climbing wall would win $5 and Alayna was so determined, she not only made it to the top, but she went up the toughest one (the adult one) and made it faster than any of the adults! She is our little monkey and boy is she competitive. The kids enjoyed the mechanical bull, Rhett looked so cute! The hardest part was getting them away from all the fun!

A Visit From Jon's Parents!

We had the wonderful opportunity to meet our exchange student's parents last week. They were only here for a day and a half so we jam packed it full of adventures. We put them on our pony, we took them for a drive up through Zion, we held a spontaneous partial-family dinner with a surprise gift presentation from them, they went on an exchange student field trip with Jon, I took them to the temple, I drove them up through Snow Canyon, they rode the 4-wheelers, and we took them down the strip and to the water show at the Bellagio before returning them to their hotel on Freemont street (where they watched the light show). It was a very fast and exhausting day and a half! We all had a blast and they are wonderful sweet people! It's easy to see why their son is so kind and nice. We really hated seeing them go so soon, but they invited us to come stay in their country with them many times and we look forward to doing that in the future. Here are some pictures from their visit. His mom and dad came along with his dad's cousin. His dad's cousin was a hoot and even rode the kid's 50 cc motorcycle. It was so fun!

Grandpa Hamel

For those of you who have been wondering...My Grandpa did not die, we had to move him to an assisted living facility. This was something we did not want to have to do, but it came that time when things were getting dangerous for everybody and it was the best thing for him. We moved him out to a little house in LaVerkin and we visit him every Sunday. He loves the food and there are a few people for him to visit with. They only have 5 residents at the most and right now there are only 4 including him. They really spoil him and he seems to be happy. That makes me happy too. We miss him, but things have been a lot safer and we haven't had to worry about leaving Grandpa alone during the day or on the weekend. We took some pictures when we went to visit him the other day so here they are! Things 'round here are about the same - crazy and fun and never a dull moment. Take Care!

Life on the Farm!

My cute little nephew in Murray likes to say that we live on a "farm." For any of you who have actually lived on a farm or been on a real farm, you will find this funny, but he is passionate about his visits here. Everytime our family is brought up in a conversation, he will tell my sister, "When can we go visit my cousins on the farm?" I love it! It is so cute. Anyway, here are some cute pictures I took of our horses, Coy & Kate, and our pig, Davey Jones. Davey is going to be butchered in a few weeks, but the other day, he got out of his pen and he was galloping around the yard. I never realized pigs could gallop, but it sure was fun to watch! Here is also a cute picture of Kayle and Ethan dressed up like "Captains of the Army" they told me. They like to create their own costumes with various items they own. They have been very creative lately. Maybe it's because we turned off our cable...I sure love them, though. Kids have crazy funny imaginations, it's great!

Tigerette Spectacular!

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls at their Tigerette Spectacular! They had a great year and I was thankful to be a part of it. Each year just gets better as the program grows. Here is a picture of all the girls on the team and then one of me and head coach, Anna. Here also are some pictures of Trista and Alayna performing at the spectacular. It was a great time!

Aren't Kids Funny?

Have you ever looked at your kids in certain positions and just wondered how it could ever be comfortable to be like that? Well, that is wondered a lot in this home. My kids are always falling asleep in weird positions and in weird places, and although I'm sure it's not comfortable, it sure is adorable. Rhett fell asleep the other day on the bar stools and I just had to take a picture. Kids sure are funny!

ROXY HIRSCHI

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our family, Roxy. She is a border collie/mountain kerr mix and the kids sure are excited to have her. Mom was not really keen on the whole idea, but I was assured that I would not have to take care of the dog at all - we'll see...We picked her up yesterday from a family in Nevada. They met us in Cedar. The kids have been ecstatic ever since. Rhett was upset last night because she was wimpering in the garage and we told him she could not come in the house and that she would be okay. He insisted she was so upset and he said, "But she's arfing for us, mom and dad." He is a cutie. Hopefully they stay entertained by her for a bit and the excitement doesn't wear off too quick. Plus, I was told this definitely would cheer Ethan up since he just had his tonsils out last week and was feeling a little down. I would've posted pictures of him in the hospital, but my camera has decided to delete pictures lately. Anyway, that's the news for now!

P.S. Ethan named the dog Roxy. It was totally his decision and I don't think he realized that was his Aunt's name. He got the name from his good friend, Renic, who also has a dog named Roxy.

Our Exchange Student, Jamshedjon

Since August, We have had the blessing of having an exchange student from Uzbekistan in our home. His name is Jamshedjon (just like it is spelt) and he is 17 years old and a junior. He has been such a blessing in our home. He is lots of fun and such a great help around the house. He has had some fun opportunities since he has been here including meeting Mit Romney and some other state representatives. He recently went up to the State Capitol during the legislative meetings and was able to tour the Capitol and meet some of the politicians. It was a great experience for him. He happened to be up there the day after President Hinkley had passed away so it was a special experience to be near the Salt Lake Temple during this time. You can see the flag at half staff at the Capitol Building. We call Jamshedjon Jon and we are grateful to have him a part of our family. Hopefully a lot of you get to meet him before he leaves to go back home in June. He will be a part of our family forever now as he has nestled right into our hearts!

Welcome to the Blog!

Hello Family and Friends! I thought I would keep an online journal of sorts by doing a family post - Plus all my friends and family seem to be doing it lately. I thought it would be a cool way of keeping in touch with those we don't see all the time. I have enjoyed so many of your blogs lately, I wanted to see if I could do it or not. We'll try it and if it doesn't work, oh well, we're not out anything, right? Anyway, we will try to post some pictures and such and keep you up to date every once in awhile to what is going on in this crazy place called Hirschi Land. Enjoy!