Lava Break

We ended spring break with a good old fashioned Idaho Bang. We took the boys swimming at Lava Hot Springs. The water is warm, the pools are fun and the kids have a blast. It's a win all around. 

This progression shows how Kyle really feels about pictures. He loves the first one, but doesn't last much longer than four. 

Nobody was more excited about swimming than my goofball, Beckett. 

One of all the boys

It's safe to say they had a fun day! And would you look at those blonde brothers. Sweetest boys! 

Now back to real life! 

Say Geronimo

We had the pleasure of spending the day in Pocatello/Inkom with our cousins, Grandma and Grandpa Packard and Aunt Ashley. We hit up one of the kids favorite spots in Poky, Geronimo. I love how they call it "Say Geronimo" after the song.

They had a great time! We spent the rest of the day at Grandmas house playing and hanging out. They fed us Pizza for dinner and let us stay into the evening so the boys could crash on the way home. It was the perfect Spring Break day!

Action shots of the kids. Beckett wanted to look like he was standing on air.

All the cousins.

Helping Handouts

Today marks the first day of our 2018 spring break. Per usual, we are hanging out at home and enjoying some down time. However, I wanted to try to make it a little different this year and do something special with our time. So we will be focusing on serving this year.

Today, we made "helping handouts" for the panhandlers. We talked about what they could use and what would be beneficial to them. I explained that we don't give money because they could choose to buy drugs or alcohol and that would not be helpful for their situation. So, we packed a little bag with a water bottle, some granola bars, a pair of socks, a couple of band-aids and a can of soup.

We drove to a guaranteed homeless man corner and passed our goodies to him through the car window. He thanked the kids generously and they beamed with pride. They all mentioned that we should keep a little something in our car to give and help when we can. Its amazing how willing kids are to serve if we point them in the right direction.

It feels so good to do good. 

Phone Dump

So many pictures to share, with such little time to do so. So, enjoy an overload today. 

A few weeks ago my Father in Law, Dave, retired. We had a fun retirement party for him at Outer Limits. It was kind of busy with lots of people running around. Beckett did not want to loose Cache and kept a hand on him as we walked back from the bathroom. Luckily I caught this picture, because directly after my phone died. 

I'm in awe of Kyle lately. I've never had a baby as old as him before, yet I'll never have one as young again. 

Don't tell Tayden, but Tanner just wants his pizza.

Cache likes to write on any medium possible. Including snow. 

Ky was having a hard time sleeping one night. Scott and I were already downstairs watching a show and Tayden was still awake. So we put him on big brother duty and it really worked in our favor. 

Sweet Beckett growing up faster than I'd like to admit. Newborn, 4 years old and 7 years old. 

The days when the boys play for hours on end with each other are my favorite. This particular set up lasted roughly 3 hours. 

Our unfortunate run in with Firths Disease. 

Everytime Ky needs to poo, he lays his clothes out like this. He must have picked up the naked habit from Cache, but the clothes are all his own. 

Old man Tanner, just can't hang like he used too. 

Playing outside in the sun after a long winter. Its hard to open your eyes. 

Kys hair is finally long enough to style and not unruly like it used to be. It makes him look so grown up! 

Bowling

The stars aligned Friday and everyone had the day off. Scott always has Fridays off, but the kids didn't have school either, leaving everyone free for the day. We had planned to head to Lava Hot Springs to take the kids swimming, but winter decided to finally show up and it snowed all day. We didn't want to chance the roads, so we stayed in town and took them bowling instead. It may have been plan B, but it sure was fun.

Scott and I got to bowl on our own lane. I was beating him the whole time until the last frame and then, wouldn't you know it... he beat me.

Tayden turned out to be quite the little bowler... with the bumpers. He was the only to get a strike and even beat me by a couple of points. The experience was a bit stressful for him though, as his little brothers didn't take to listening to him like he would have wanted. Everyone was crowding the ball return and it was bugging him, as seen in the picture below. 

Throwing heavy balls in right up Becketts alley, so of course he loved it. He loves to test his muscles and show us all how strong he is. He did pretty well and true to his sweet nature kept telling us thank you for the fun activity. He was very helpful with his little brothers (and at times too helpful).

Cache had a great time and insisted on doing it the "big boy" way. He surprised me with his strength and determination. And he had a great attitude! He would miss the pins and say, "Well, I'll try harder next time." 

Kyle loved it, as long as it was his turn. If it wasn't his turn, there a good chance he was face first on the floor screaming. After Scott and I realized neither of us fed him lunch, we got him some fries and he was much more patient. Not by much, but there was less screaming involved. 

We had a great time doing something different as a family!