Back to Life...Thankful as Ever

Sorry about the break. Last week was a hard week and now I am even more appreciative of the moments I have with my beautiful family. My younger sister's husband was killed in a car accident on the 17th so a few days were spent with her planning and helping with the funeral and burial. It was very hard to see my sister become a widow at the age of 27. I had never been through an actual funeral planning that intimately before, it was very humbling. Amy asked me to sing at the funeral which I was honored to do, but frightened to death because I knew how hard it would be to sing while my sister was in tears. The funeral ended up being beautiful. Amy even spoke and so did Toby's mother and it was a great celebration of his life. I know she's going to have a hard road ahead, but she is being stronger than I thought she would be. I pray for her continued strength and peace, especially for her boys. The evening after the funeral, my stepmom's father passed away so my parents left first thing the next morning to fly back East to bury him. To finalize the week, this past Saturday, my father-in-law borrowed our 4-wheeler to go out riding with some friends and ran over his leg, breaking his ankle in a couple of places and having to have surgery Sunday morning. Thankfully, he is doing okay, but it is very hard for that man to sit still so we will see how the "resting" part of the plan goes!

Needless to say, I am thankful for this new week - school's out, new beginnings, and happier endings I hope! I have just finished checking in on some of your blogs and it's so wonderful to see some happy pictures and beautiful spring/summer weather.
We have been spoiled with not having to run the AC too much yet because the weather has been hot/cool back and forth lately. I believe it will start warming up for good now...

It is wonderful school is out and activities are wrapped up for now. I have this week and next week left for T-ball/machine pitch/softball games and then we will be done for good. We are going to leave on our family trip up through Bryce Canyon and to go fishing next week so I am busy this week preparing our trailer for takeoff. I need to sew new curtains and cushion covers and put new shelf liner in all of the drawers as long as organize all of the storage situations in there. I love camping in our trailer. It makes life a whole lot easier when you have a crew of children to pack/unpack/and go to the bathroom at night! It should be a great time and I will post pics when we get home.

I'm posting some pics of Trista's field trip to Zion and our family trip to the Grand Canyon. We went out with Jon and the other exchange students and it was beautiful! The kids really loved it and it was nice to get away for a day.

I also wanted to mention that I was hired down at the gym to teach a couple of aerobics classes along with substituting when they need me. The great thing about the classes - they are Silver Sneakers classes, which are classes specifically designed for senior citizens. When I went today, there were over 20 in the class and we had a blast. You would be surprised how well some of those seniors can move. Anyway, it's been a great time and sometimes more fun than the younger groups! Maybe they'll let me take some pictures of them and I'll post them. We'll see! Well, that's about all for now. It's good to have a break from school, from dancing, and from grief! So seize the day, my friends, because you never know when it's your last! (Seriously) Love you all!

Some Spring Pics

Here are some of the latest doings...EJ's T-ball (I haven't taken many pics of the other kids in ball because the weather has been bad every game), Kayle's field trip to Zion, the girls' dance recital, and ej's kindergarten program (it was so cute). I have to tell you a cute story. I told EJ to try to get in front at the program so I could see him to film and take pictures so he told his teacher 3 times that he had to be front and center because his mom said so. I'm sure she thought I was a stage mom or something, but I must say he sang and danced his little heart out! Everything has been great. The picture of Tball has EJ and Rich together (Rich is he coach this year). EJ is so proud to have his Dad out there with him. Rich didn't volunteer, they kind of roped him in, but he loves being with him. School is winding down and summer is approaching fast. I'm not looking forward to our exchange student's departure, but I am looking forward to summertime and swimming with the kids' - I am a summer girl!

In Need of Your Help...

This is a call to all my friends, fam, and such....I am bored with my current recipes/food situation and I know that there are a lot of you out there that are fabulous cooks! I would love to have some new recipes to try and enjoy and use, BUT here is the catch - they have to be fast, kid and husband friendly, and able to cook for LARGE FAMILIES because that is what I do here, folks. So, if you have anything cool like that, please share with me because I would love to have some new ideas! Thanks a bunch!!!

I will post some new pics soon. I went on another Zion Field trip with my other son, Kayle, yesterday and took some pics so I will put those up soon. We have just been doing the day to day around here and I haven't had much to say!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Sorry I haven't posted for a bit. Life gets a little crazy sometimes. I didn't have any pictures to post, but I wanted to catch up a bit. School has been winding up and winding down as the end approaches. I have been busy with room mom and library volunteer stuff and I have been doing fundraiser stuff with the drill team. We had a yard sale last weekend (in the wonderful Hurricane wind), but it went pretty well. We were able to raise quite a bit regardless of the weather. I swear, it has blown here every single day in April and now it is May...I wonder what that will bring! The kids are full into the baseball/softball/T-ball/machine pitch groove now along with Richard playing softball. We are at 5 games per week and a few practices so we have been staying busy. I will post pictures when I get some good ones. It has been so windy that I have been watching games from the car just to stay somewhat sane. I don't know how they play in that stuff! The wind was blowing so hard the other day and Richard was pitching. He only walked 2 guys in 2 games and I don't know how he was able to do that in the crazy wind!

Otherwise, things have been pretty normal. We are trying to plan for our family vacation which will be around the 2nd week of June. We are going to take the kids up to Lagoon and then up to Idaho to visit some family and friends and then to Yellowstone so it should be fun. We wanted to do something fun with our exchange student before he leaves the end of June. We sure are going to miss him. He has been such a blessing. I wish we could adopt him, although he is almost 18! Well, I'll post again when there is actually more exciting news to post!

Field Trip to Zion

Spring time means fun field trips with my kids' classes to Zion. Most every grade in school ends up going to Zion, so that gives me 4 different trips. I love Zion. I really could spend time there every week if I had time. Anyway, last week I went with Ethan's class and they went to the lower Emerald Pools and then to the animal farm. We had a blast except when we went to leave and the bus broke down...oh well, we ended up getting home an hour late and it wasn't so bad. Here are a couple of pics.

Kite Festival Nightmare!!!

If any of you have ever been to the kite festival, with kids, you know that it is quite a challenge, when you have as many as I do, to keep them all with you at all times. Well, I thought I would be smart and use the buddy system, but Rhett ended up getting lost...Guess who was his buddy? (ME) Anyway, this is the story. I was there alone because Richard usually is working at the kite festival, but he was at a softball tournament in Delta. So I had to go anyway because the drill team was doing the kite war contest and I had to be there with the girls. While I was helping them get ready, my little guy climbed out of his stroller and escaped the gated area in which we were in. I immediately ran to Richard's boss (who was driving around a sporty little golf cart) and she radioed everyone and one of his coworkers finally found him after 20 minutes! Those were the longest 20 minutes of my life...I thought I was going to die after circling the whole festival about 3 times along with everyone else. I was so thankful he was found. Needless to say, I strapped him back in his stroller and had everyone keep a death's eye on him. You know that feeling of wanting to hug and strangle your child at the same time...yeah that about sums it up. I don't think I've ever hugged him quite as tight. Anyway, our drill team girls ended up taking 1st place and winning $1000 for our team so it was an awesome ending to a scary day! Here are a couple of pics.

Stole from Jaime...

I thought this was a funny little quiz, so I took it from Jaime's blog and posted it on my own! You can do it too! (Thanks Jaime)

What's in a name?


1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Zac Galant
2. YOUR GANGSTA STAR NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Oreo Wedge
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Blue Horse
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Elaine Vegas
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name): Hir Sa
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Purple Lemonade
7. NASCAR NAME (the names of your grandfathers): Gayle Louis
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Staheli Salt Lake
9. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, favorite flower): Summer Lily
10. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you are wearing right now): Watermelon shorts
11. HIPPIE NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Eggs Mulberry

So I decided to post some older pics because I thought these oldies were so cute. The first is my girls performing in the Nutcracker Ballet this past December. It was a fun recital and they did 2 shows in the one day, so it was VERY LONG...They looked so beautiful. Their next recital is a week from today. The other two are a couple of the Tigerettes goofing off before a competition. They are so much fun and great girls. They're a lot more humble than some of the bigger name schools so they are a bit easier to teach and train. I SOOO appreciate that!

We spent the day on Smith's Mesa today and I forgot to take any PICTURES! I brought my camera and I was all prepared and the day got away from me so now I am home thinking - why didn't I take any pics. Anyway, we had a great day. We went four-wheeling and the boys looked for sheds. It's always fun to play in the mountains. It was a gorgeous day and the mountains were breathtaking. We couldn't stay and camp because Tris had to be back for the Drake Bell concert and Richard was leaving for a ball tournament up North. So back to life it is...

Sorry Guys...I Forgot

I forgot to post the picture of Clay O'Brien Cooper. I didn't realize it until I was looking over stuff. Here he is!

More Pictures...

More Pictures, More Fun, The Rural Way!

Here are some more recent pics. David's horse had a new baby this past Friday and we took the kids to see it. They were so excited. We also went to the Clark County Rodeo to watch Cody ride and he did a great job. It was also fun because when we stopped at the gas station on our way out of town, Richard noticed Clay O'Brien Cooper from the movie John Wayne and the Cowboys. We took a picture with him and showed our little boy because that is his favorite movie ever. I think the guy was surprised Richard recognized him being so young and all...Anyway, here are some more spring pictures and misc. stuff. There are pictures of a family BBQ with Richard's family, our exchange student's date to the prom, us on the 5th grade hiking field trip, etc. Soccer season is coming to an end and softball season is beginning so more business. The girls' dance recital is in a couple of weeks and camping is beginning to happen. We are working on our yard a little at a time, but it may take us a few years to get everything done depending on how things go. I can't believe there are only about 6 or 7 weeks of school left. Time is flying! Well enjoy the pics and take care! Spring is here and summer is coming!!! I love hot weather!

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.