This was the jet that Lando made. These pictures are backwards, this was after we got home.
Backwards--we were at Arctic Circle in Green River. I asked Ana to take pictures because I thought the saddle seats were cool--these were what I got. Not quite what I was hoping for, but still cute. :)
Ah, there's at least one picture with a few of the saddle seats.
And this was at Grandpa's-obviously. We went to Utah for a couple of days for Ana to get her wisdom teeth out. It was great. The first nigh we spent at Megan's and the kids had a great time NOT sleeping on the trampoline. The next day I took Ana to get her wisdom teeth removed and Andrea watched the kids for me. Then we spent most of the day at Andrea's just visiting and letting the kids play. And then that evening we went to Grandma's ward picnic and pool party. Which the kids of course loved. And the next day I went and ran a million errands--mostly shopping for girls' camp and our camping trip. That was fun, especially after the guy helping me load my van broke open a 50 lb bag of flour all over me and the van. It was right after I told him I didn't care that he ripped open another box, just don't rip the flour. Seriously. I was very hot and tired by the end of that day. But Grandma was so nice to watch the kids all day despite my grumpiness. And Ana went on trailsides with Grandpa both mornings we were there, so I guess she was doing okay with her wisdom teeth recovery. Then these pictures are from when the kids got to ride one evening.
Efraim's first ride.
My selfies with a horse. Just because.
The horse was nibbling my toes. I must have tastey toes.
Grandma and Grandpa live in paradise.
Landu's the next Trinity. Actually, he was mad he didn't get to sit in the saddle.
Elena was in the school talent show with her friend Isabel. My camera was acting funky so I only caught the song part way through, unfortunately. But they were super cute and it was fun to watch her.
One of these things is not like the others.....
Waiting for her turn to shoot. I have to say this was long waiting, but if we had got there earlier it wouldn't have been a wait at all and it wouldn't have been so hot in the rodeo arena. And it's nice because once it's your turn you just keep shooting till you're done, and you can go home then. So much better than a swim meet where you swim for 1 min and then wait for two hours to swim 1 more minute.
Yes, there was a gator to shoot at.
She hit the bear with all three arrows, but it's judged on if it's a kill shot or not (close to the heart).
Baggs (pop. 470) and Dixon (pop. 98) are super pretty. Too bad I didn't know the speed limit going out there (70 mph) and may or may not have got a speeding ticket. I kind of have an innate belief that all Wyoming roads have a speed limit of 85. This is not true.
Hot little boy.
I saw this guy wearing these boots and immediately thought of this. Is that just me? Anyway, good times. I hope my other kids want to do archery too. I really enjoyed watching Elena shoot. That's not the case with many sports.
We are almost done with this school year!!! YAY!!!!!!! I am worn out. It's been so crazy busy. There was Webelos, Seminary grad, Soccer Awards ceremony, Preschool grad, bike day at the elementary school, archery, 4H cookie making class, 4H dog class, RS presidency meeting, YW camp stuff to do, a triple baby shower I hosted at my house, youth temple trip, 4H expo and classes in Cheyenne, talent show tryouts, piano lessons, bi-ward Memorial day picnic that Leo and I did all the shopping and prep work for--cutting tomatoes, etc, 1st grade awards ceremony, the kids were asked to sing Gethsemane at a baptism, and haircuts for Elena and me.
Leo and I skipped the Memorial Day picnic though and went to Fort Collins to buy a washer and dryer. And then he took me to JoAnns and patiently waited while I picked through the patterns that were on sale. I love that man. And then he took me to Rodizio Grill. YUM! I was in heaven. And we only had Efraim for the entire day!! It was amazing. Our friends Andrea and Josh Williams watched our kids for us. It was so nice.
So first a cute picture of adorable, squeezable, kissable Efraim. He is such a doll. I couldn't ask for a better baby. He almost always sleeps through the night now. Crazy, I know! I'm not complaining though.
Ana at the soccer award ceremony. She lettered in varsity, and got an award for keeping her grades above 3.5, and also was awarded All Conference. Sweet!!! Good job Ana!!!
Oh my word, I take back every negative thing I ever said about graduations. Preschool graduations are not evil torturous devices created by the devil. Preschool grads have no speeches and the kids dance adorably, and they want to be things like an "African Elephant" when they grow up. I loved it.
Lando and Brooklynne and Filbert behind them. They played the most together at preschool. Brooky was the one who wanted to be an African Elephant. Lando wanted to be a jet pilot.
I finally used the stamps I had been saving for 4 years for baby girl birth announcements. Sniff.
Efraim was scared of the car wash. I'd been nursing him while waiting in line.
Baby shower decorations done and tons of cupcakes made. That was a nerve-wracking morning on Thursday--I made the cupcakes before a RS presidency meeting at 9 AM at my house, and I had hoped to have my three pans filled and ready to go in the oven so I could cook them during the meeting. That didn't happen, which was good because I did have one pan ready and it came out looking like a cake. So then I stewed about it all through the meeting and added flour and and after 4 more cups of flour added and an additional 4 more test pans, the cupcakes were somewhat normal. I had made a quadruple batch and so I ended up cooking cupcakes ALL day. But I had enough to freeze to take to girls' camp and the wrecked batches I scooped into a ziplock bag for Elena and Isabel to make cake pops out of later. AND my friend said my cupcakes tasted as good as the $4 ones at the fancy bakery in Saratoga. So it was all worth it. They were chocolate cupcakes with a hint of hazelnut and chocolate fudge filling and raspberry cream cheese icing.
Hungry yet? They were good.
And then I spent all day Saturday in Cheyenne--I took Elena and Isabel to a 4H expo thingy. They each got to take three classes and I finally learned how 4H projects work. Isabel took cake decorating, the food cook off class and the table setting class. Elena took the dog skill class, a photography class and then the table setting class. I had the tires on Leo's car changed to the summer tires, and I spent a lot of time in Target, also went to Sally's and then I scored big time at Once Upon a Child because they had a sale on so everything marked with a clearance sticker was on 60% off. I bought a ton of shorts and shirts for Jubal, because all the hand-me-down clothes that I was given and then worn by Sebastian and Lando were completely worn out. I threw away 4 shorts with holes in the bum this spring. And the shirts are all fairly trashed. And it was really nice to just spend time on the drive with Elena and Isabel. Efraim came too of course.
And to end on Efraim again--I got this awesome onesie for him!!! I love it.
I'm a mom and a nurse, hopefully decent at both but that's debatable. I love history and family history and blogging is my way of keeping my family's history. Most of all, I love Leo (mi papacito esposo de Colombia) and Ana, Elena, Isabel, Sebastian, Nicolas, Jubal, and Efraim (mis hijos). My other passion is also dark and rico and from South America--that would be chocolate. Basically I like to eat chocolate, eat chocolate icecream, eat frozen hot chocolates from Dairy Queen, eat Peppermint Yorks, Junior Mints, and of course dark chocolate truffles. Okay, now that I've wiped the slobber off my chin from thinking about all of that, I'll get on to the rest of my blog. Oh, and I'm trying to learn Spanish but spend too much time blogging/sewing/reading/sewing instead.
"Managing a home involves much more than keeping a house clean, organized, and attractive. These skills are important...but these skills are only a means to an end. The paramount objective is to create a setting where family and friends are comfortable and happy, where there are good dinners and good times, where there is fun and laughter, where children acquire good habits and are taught life skills and how to be self-reliant and responsible, where challenges are faced by coupling temporal endeavors with eternal perspectives, where joy through gospel teaching and living prevails, where kindness and respect reign supreme, where love is strong enough to bind the family forever, and where children are nurtured toward eternal life."
--Daryl Hoole
“Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels.” Elder Boyd K. Packer - November 1993 Ensign
"Dear Prude,
Sober of not, I am forever yours."
-Percy French, a letter to his wife (1776)
"Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories."
-John Wilmot
"Science advances, it's like a ladder--one step leads to another. But art isn't like that. Art is about being human. Children make art instinctively. Archaeologists know that when they find evidence of art, they're found evidence of human beings. It expresses all that is best in us--our desires, our hopes, our truth. And so, art changes, but it doesn't get better."
