Gardens & Swing

Chris and Landon built me a square foot garden. Then Landon and I planted the garden. We planted peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and carrots. Sadly, Diamond dug half of it up today! So, I will be replanting soon. My awesome next door neighbor, Dave Brown, came over and tilled me up a place to plant a corn crop. Chris was wonderful and dug out all the trenches for me. Landon planted the seeds.

I found this swing at the side of the road with a "free" sign on it last fall. Chris was so put out that I made him stop to get it, but now that he's made a great stand for it, it looks soooo cute! I have since stained it and it looks fabulous!

Libby

We got a new horse for the kids to ride. Her name is Liberty, or Libby for short. She is a really great horse for the boys to learn how to ride on. Chris has been giving Landon lessons. He has been riding her by himself, doing an obstacle course that Chris set up. Korbin enjoys riding her, too.

Our Beautiful Libby is so gentle. 

We can trust Libby with our boys.

And the boys love her!

Little Reminders & Visiting Teachers

I came home from school to find this handprint, of Landon's welcoming me:

Then, the very next day a visiting teach dropped of a note on my door that said the following:
"If you are still in the process of raising children...be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys, scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will -to your suprize- miss them profoundly." President Thomas S. Monson.

Quiet Sundays

We had a wonderful Sunday last week. It was very relaxing. I wanted to take a drive up onto Avon to see the Spring flowers. They are AMAZING! (They weren't out yet, though.) The boys and I took Chris's old truck up on to the flat and waited there for Chris, who rode Eden up. Chris said he has NEVER before ridden a horse on terrain that tough, it was the first time he'd done the treck and the last! He ended up taking her down the road to get home! Poor girl was exhausted when she reached the top.

While waiting for Chris to arrive (it took him 2 hours longer than expected!) we ate a picnic lunch and then climbed rocks.

Korbin

Landon

Korbin heard an airplane!

Landon LOVED jumping the rocks!

We had plenty of time to climb trees, lay in the shade and I became a personal hat rack!

Chris finally arrived and was ready for a long rest, as was Eden!  What a strong girl she is!

The boys found a mud whole, created by a spring. Of course they HAD TO go jump in it. It was clearly evident we were either going to spend our time asking them to get in the mud or just let them get in and enjoy themselves! So, they JUMPED in!

After the mud hole, Chris headed back down the mountain with Eden and I took the boys to a nearby mountain stream to wash off. The water was suprisingly warm! It was really nice!

I just love warm Sunday afternoons with my family.

Alex the Lion

Landon's performance was on May 12. He was such a great lion!!! He made a very convincing Alex the Lion.
Landon was so glad some of his family could come and watch him. Chris and I and Korbin went, as well as, Auntie Victoria, Brinlee, Jacob, Kenadee and Papa Holland.

Each of the students came up to give their acting teacher a hug and to recieve a trophy. Landon refused a hug, right there on stage! lol! He was awarded "Most Convincing Lion". It was a great little musical and we are so proud of Landon!

Watch Out!! Here comes Thunder and Earthquake!!

Well, Eden's name isn't really earthquake, but she does an "earthquake"! When you are riding her, she does a great big shake. I guess it refreshes her. You better be holding on! She did it with Landon for the first time the other day and he just laughed and laughed!

We brought Eden and Thunder back over to our place, now that winter is over. It is soooo nice to have them back!! Eden has been out, giving rides around the yard. She's so sweet. Thunder was jealous! She kept calling out to us, but her time will come, then she'll be wishing she could go back in the corral and eat hay. :)

5 Kiddos at the Park!!

Last week was pretty fun and busy! We had two little ones from shelter care, staying with us. Also, Kamber stays with us one night a week. So, at one point, I had a 6 mo old, an 18 mo old, Korbin-2, Kamber-4 and Landon-6!

I had promised Kamber, the week before, that we'd go to the park the next week. She NEVER forgets, so off to the park we went!! It's quite a lot of work to get all 5 kids into car seats. At least Landon can do his himself. We had sooooo much fun though!!

Here's Kamber Lee on the BIG slide...it's seriously deadly...lol..I tried it and it was frightening! lol...

Here's Miss Betty Boop helping me with her brother.

And Landon and Kamber walking Diamond. I had a cute picture of Landon on the swing, but my computer is being silling and this one is downloading better.

Here's me and Mathew. He's tiny! He's 6 months old if you can believe that! He was a sweetie pie and loved swinging with me. And that's how bad I look after taking care of 5 kids! lol!

And of course we can't forget little Korbin. He is old enough now to really enjoy the park and he LOVED this little climbing wall.

All in all it was a really fun week! But, let me tell you, I don't know how people do it with that many little ones around, every day! Takes someone special to have 3 kids under 2 in the same house, plus two more!

Daisy...May she Rest in Peace

Our sweet little Daisy dog passed away tonight. She was a great friend and family member. She will be deeply missed. She was only 5 years old, but due to her undeniable instinct to hunt, her life was ended early by a porky pine attack. Numerous quills went into her lungs and there was nothing we could do.
She will forever be remembered. She has been burried under her tree, in the front of the yard. She loved her tree and she loved laying under it, when the weather was nice. I have painted daisy seedlings growing on my kitchen table, so as soon as the frost danger is over, the daisies will be planted over Daisy's grave, in honor of her.
Daisy was amazing!! When I was very ill, with my pregnancy with Korbin, hooked up to IVs, unable to walk, she would gently creep into my bedroom and slowly and gently put her head under my arm to comfort me. She always made sure to be extra cautious, so as to not pull out my IVs.
When we brought Korbin home from the hospital, Daisy got down and slowly pulled her body along the floor to creep over to him to say hi. And although she was excited about Korbin, she thought we'd gotten rid of Landon. Then, when Landon come home from his grandma's, Daisy went nuts, realizing that her boy was home!!
Daisy saved my life from a cougar that tried to attack me. Without thinking, she ran, jumped and intercepted the cougar before it had a chance to land on me. In mid air, they intercepted and Daisy fought hard to make sure I was okay. She was unlike any dog.
Although, we have our humurous moments, like when she got on point and Chris said, "Get the bird" and out ran a black bear! But then again, this is the dog, who would play with rattle snakes! She thought she was invinsable!
Daisy was an exceptional hunting dog and someone even offered us $3,000 on the spot for her. Of course, we declined, she was our family member. She won 1st place in her very first pheasant trial, against professional dogs.
But, not only could she hunt, but she knew how to comfort. When Kamber, our foster daughter, would have terrible nightmares, Daisy was the only one who could soothe her. We would spend hours with her trying to get her to calm down, with no luck, then one night I thought, "Let's bring Daisy in". Kamber immediately calmed down, gave Daisy a love and Daisy spent the rest of the night on her bed, held in Kamber's arms like a teddy bear. From that night on, Daisy spent countless nights comforting a little girl in need of love that only a furry, four legged creature could give her.
I could go on and on, but for now, I will end, just saying that she was the greatest dog anyone could have ever asked for!! She will be remembered always! May our sweet little girl, Daisy dog, rest in peace.

(Sorry the last part of the song is kind of loud. We just loved the first part of the song. I'd like to cut it off, towards the end though. :) )

Adoption Update

Well, I think most of my family knows we are trying to adopt a little girl, but for those of you that don't know, I will tell you now! lol..
There is a beautiful little girl, 9 years old, in Oregon that we are hoping to adopt from foster care. Her name is Kayla. We've put in our homestudy and now it's in God's in hands. :)
We have no idea how long this process could or would take, hopefully a decision can be made before too long, for Kayla's sake. Whatever may be, we will be praying for Kayla. If I hear anything else, worth saying, I will certainly keep you updated!!

Our Signature Picture

This is a picture of our horse, Thunder. We LOVE the picture!!! And while I'm missing riding the horses, due to bad weather, I figured I'd post a picture of Thunder.