Hike to twin lake

 Since we are having girl's camp at our cabin this year, I am in charge of finding a hike for the girls to go on.  So tonight we went on a hike to twin lake.  Sabrina came with us in Jaxon's place since he was at baseball practice.

Before we started the hike, we had a little dinner

                                         Kierra and Sabrina with Silver lake behind them. 

Katie before she decided she didn't like this hike

Me and Kierra with Silver lake behind us

I love Brighton!



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Katie was really excited to go on a hike but she lost her excitement pretty fast.  It was pretty steep most of the way.  She is lucky that her Dad and Jadon were willing to carry her part of the way.

We made it to twin lake!

When we got back down to Silver Lake, we saw two baby moose playing in the grass,  They got really close to us,  It was cool but a little scary.  While I really enjoyed the hike, I decided that it is too hard for the Young Women.  Now I have to find another one.

Awesome baseball season!

Kyson had an amazing baseball season this year!  He has improved so much and had a lot of great things happen!  The biggest and most exciting thing that happened was when he hit his first over the fence homerun.  He played several different positions but was mostly on 2nd and short.  He was able to pitch this year, which he handled so well.  He didn't get nervous.  He just got out on the mound and had a great time.  He had 2 ground rule doubles.  He got several kids out and was always a dependable player.  It was so much fun to watch him have fun!

I love Kyson's serious face, especially when he is up to bat.  He also looks very serious when he's running into home.  He became known for that face.  He would frequently drink blue Gatorade during his game so he would have this serious, blue face while he was running home. 

At the end of the season, the league had a tournament with all the teams in Kyson's league (minors).  Kyson's team played so well and ended up winning the tournament with only one loss.  Kyson played so well and it was so exciting to see them win it!

number 3

 Now that we have insurance for our kids, we are able to get braces for them.  Dale felt strongly that he owes it to Jadon to get braces.  Jadon really didn't want to get braces in highschool because everyone was already done with it.  We told him that we thought he should do it now because he would regret it when he was an adult if he didn't.  We also told him that he could make the decision to get braces.

Well, he decided to do it!  Our orthodontist said he is confident that he can straighten his teeth up in a year so that he can get them off before his mission.  He got them on yesterday and said it wasn't that big of a deal.  Today, because his mouth is bugging him and it hurts to eat, he decided he doesn't want braces!

The Contest

Everyone helped in the process of building the pool

Approximately 3 months ago our family started a contest.  The purpose of the contest was to improve ourselves.  We each had 4 things that we were suppose to work on.  We got 1 point every day for each of the 4 things.  Each person received 1 point for reading their scriptures and 1 point for saying their prayers every day.  The other 2 points were from something each person chose to work on.  The person with the most points, after 90 days, was the winner!  The prize was going to be a mini ipad.  Everyone was pretty excited and motivated.  As time went on, it got harder to remember to work on our goals.  Through most of the contest Jadon, Jaxon and Kyson were neck in neck.  Kyson decided at the beginning of the contest that he would rather get a pool than an ipad so we told him he could do that.  Well, as you can see by the pictures, Kyson won!  The best thing about Kyson winning is that our whole family is going to benefit from it!


This picture was taken the first time in the pool.  The water was VERY cold but they didn't care.  They just wanted to swim!  Jadon and Kierra were at youth conference and that's why they aren't in the picture.

The kids quickly got the idea to put the trampoline next to the pool.  Jaxon was the first one in our family to jump in that way.

Dale read online that putting Styrofoam sheets under the pool helped create a softer bottom so that's what we did.

Kyson was so excited to help build his pool!

We built the pool with the kids inside so they had to wait until the ladder was built before they could get out

Building the ladder

The kids have been in the pool every day, except Sunday, since the day it was full.  The neighbors come over every day.  They are having a blast with it!

Ky and Kierra

Jadon diving in from the tramp

Kierra and Katie.  The first day that Katie swam she had a life jacket or floaties on all the time.  Just a week later, she is swimming like a fish and never wants to wear floaties.

Having a pool is a lot of fun and a lot of work.  The kids spend hours in the pool every day.  It's so much fun to watch them playing together every day.

Kierra in braces

Kierra was 15 when she got braces.  She only got the top braces on so far.  She will get the bottom ones on in about 8 weeks.  She will have to wear them for about 18 months.  The first day that she had them wasn't too bad but they really hurt her the 2nd day.  She said she doesn't like having braces because they cut her mouth and she can't eat apples. 

Easter 2014

The kids coloring easter eggs

 We went to Pocatello to celebrate Easter with Gladys this year.  We always have so much fun when we go to visit her.  She always makes sure that the kids have such a great time.

She set up a shooting target for us.  The kids brought there bow and arrows and guns and had a great time shooting balloons!

Hanging out on the deck after shooting

Kierra

 We always go to Ross Park and play and then eat at Ross Park Drive-In.  We had a great time on the swings, played catch, Frisbee and a game of kickball.

Katie

 The kids love to play on one of those old fashioned merry go rounds.  They spin and spin until they get sick.

 We had a fire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows and twinkies.  We also played games around the campfire.  It was so much fun.

The kids with their Easter baskets

Kierra in her Easter dress

Katie in her Easter dress

My handsome boys

 Gladys planned a really fun Easter egg hunt for the kids.  Each kid had their own eggs to find.  Jaxon had to go the farthest to find his egg.  They had a great time finding eggs.  There was 4 eggs that never were found. 

The kids with Gladys

We had such a great couple of days in Pocatello.  We had so much fun together and nobody wanted to go home.  I'm glad that Gladys does so much for them.  I'm sure they will always remember there wonderful visits to Pocatello!