On Friday night Jbird finally lost his first tooth. Here is a picture before hand (remember the dentist said it needed to come out so the other one could come in).

Here is what it looks like with the tooth gone.

This little guy left today for his first road trip with dad.

 They went down to Texas.  JR is going to hook up with some of my family to hunt hogs.  They are both so excited!  JB and JR will spend some time with my dad and then JB will hang with my mom while the actual hunting is going on.  They will be back sometime around the 10th.  I am looking forward to lots of down time, errands, cleaning the first week and then next week a friend is coming from North Dakota.  We were hoping to do some hiking, but looks like snow is in the forecast for next week.

A picture of all three of them.  JB is up to my chest.  He is really growing.  I think he will be the one to inherit the tall genes in the family.  (He does have on his shoes but catching up to Jbird quickly.

Friday night was a magic/variety show up at the boys school.  They had a great time watching the sword swallowing and fire breathing.  Then on Saturday we got tickets to a 'real' magic show by someone who travels internationally.  It was really cool watching tigers appear and motorcycles disappear.  The wonder and amazement of the slight of hand.  Still have no idea how he did most of the tricks.

Looks like we are going to get a taste of being an employer this summer.  JR's niece has bought a ticket to come up and visit/work for 6 weeks this summer. She will be a senior in high school and is really wanting to leave Miami when she graduates. Would be fun if she decided to come up here after graduation. Not sure how much work we can line up for her, hopefully at least 20 hours a week. (The going rate is about 4 times up here than what it is in Miami, so even working 15 hours a week here will be like full time there.)  The boys are looking forward to getting to know her. We have not seen her since summer of 08.

On Saturday I ran my 9k (5.5 miles).  JR ran with me until mile 2 and then he went ahead.  He stopped at 4.5 miles to wait for me.  I was hoping for 12 min. miles, which would have been 1 hour 6 minutes.  I ran it in 1 hour 7 minutes and that was with a bathroom stop and to tie my shoes once - so I think it is safe to say I hit my goal.  I ran the first 1.5 miles and then alternated between running and walking.  It is amazing how differently the muscles are used between the two.  I was able to maintain my breathing the whole time.  It actually was not as difficult as I expected.  It helped having people in front and behind me to keep me motivated.  Did not have any real good pictures during the race, but here is one before hand.

On Easter we headed to Yellowstone National Park with another family. It was free admittance day and we wanted to visit the Boiling River. This is where a local hot spring enters another river and creates pockets of cold and hot water along the river's edge.
B is standing up in the middle in the white shirt. Notice the buffalo grazing above the walking trail.

This is obviously the hot spring that feeds into the cold river.

It is only about knee/thigh deep in most spots. It will go from about 45 degrees to 110 degrees in a matter of a footstep. Crazy fun. There are warm pockets you can find and sit all day if you desire.

The boys had a great time and are asking when we can go again. (Maybe when all the Ks visit us....) It often closes sometime in the spring for a bit due to high snow run off.

Here are a few other pictures taken during our 1/2 mile stroll to get to the Boiling River.

Boys always love a good climbing tree.

It was interesting to see how each of the boys tackled this side hill.  Watching how they chose to get up and get down said so much about their personalities.

Jbird taking a flying leap.

They found a little rock to climb!

Looks like a great spot to grab a book and read for an afternoon.  The weather was just about perfect.  No wind, probably 65 degrees and lots of sun.

After the river we drove a few miles into Mammoth Hot Springs. This is a small village that often times have elk and buffalo roaming freely. We did not spot any animals there but there were tons of poop piles on the lovely green grass - literally about every 4 feet. I can't imagine the job of picking it all up, but as I remember they don't leave it there, so surely someone cleans up because it is a beautiful spot.

We walked around Mammoth.

At one point we saw this sign.

Eventually we found a couple taking pictures who pointed out the bear to us. He was high on a slope. According to the photographers, about an hour earlier, they had witnessed (through their lens) the bear had found an elk kill. He had ripped the elk open and it had a fetus. They watched the bear drag the unborn elk up the hill, where it was nestled under a tree eating. It was too far to get any good pictures, but fun for the kids to see.

All in all, a great Easter day!

Gearing up for the race on Saturday. Feeling a lot stronger than several months ago, but not sure about much faster. I have been working more on my breathing. If I can start off in control of the breathing, I will do okay. It would be nice to average a 12 minute mile over the course, we will see. JR is going to run too. He has said he is going to run along side me, but I don't know. He can cover about twice the ground I can, so I might send him on ahead. My knee has been hurting a little too, so might keep a slower pace with more walking than running. I am hoping a friend can take the boys to the finish line. Would be fun if they could run across the finish line with me. Hopefully I can get a few pictures. The weather is suppose to be low 50s. Hope it is not too windy and cold cause I don't like that!

I sure love the warm weather we have been having, although it seems like we have went straight from winter to summer. One thing I always forget about, is how hard it is to get the kids inside to go to bed! My boys just do not do well without adequate sleep. But they certainly don't want to come in for homework or bed. We have to hammer out about 30 more days of this so some negotiating is in the works. I wish they would play outside and then just come in and go to bed, but seems like it takes them an hour and a half to settle into bed.

Yesterday was Easter. A wonderful weekend we had celebrating our risen Lord! On Saturday, B and I left the house around 7am to help our 4-H group hide Easter eggs for a Museum's annual egg hunt. The organizers were not ready for all the energy, because we finished 'hiding' (mainly putting in a field) 4,000 eggs in about 30 minutes. In years' past, it has taken them well over an hour. Then we had to wait for over an hour for people to show up because we were to 'police' the start line and make sure no one crossed. During that hour, we went into the museum to see their exhibit on geckos. I don't really like creepy, crawly things (I blame that on my brother), but I found it very interesting. They always have really nice displays. Here are lots of pictures, because I just could not decide which ones to omit.

They have them in these really nice, well lit displays.  Most of the ones we saw loved to be upside near, near the lights


This one was really warm!  The picture on the right and on the next row, show one lizard upright and one upside down.


The green gecko was rhythmically sticking his tongue out, obviously licking something.


Beautiful colors and markings on them.

These two pictures freaked me out because every time I would put the camera down, I saw another gecko that I had not even seen before.  Just weird to know it was there and you never even saw it.


They had computer stations along the way giving information and allowing interaction.  One station talked about the DNA and how they isolate it and create other geckos.


I liked these next four pictures that showed huge panels of the different tails, skin, eyes and toepads.




Here is a statue that stands out front of the museum.


A picture of the kids lined up at the start line..this is only the 6-8 year olds...and off they went.



After that, B and I stopped off at another egg hunt. It was starting soon and I told him I would walk up with him and he told me I did not need to if I did not want to. So, I sent him off by himself into a sea of people. It actually started 30 minutes later than we thought, so he did come back to the car to get me. As we crossed the field, he wanted to have a foot race. I am glad to say that we hung pretty close during that short distance, with him edging me out. I would like to think that I would have had the stamina to go further than him.

Then we hit the mall and stopped by the house. We were suppose to pick up the younger two for them to all do an egg hunt, but the boys were not home. So, B and I headed out again. This particular egg hunt was at the local high school football field and I believe it was the first year it was held. So, not many kids there. They all spread out along the sidelines and each of them pretty much had a 5 yard (crosswise) stretch to themselves. B kept coming back to unload. After the egg hunt there was a football game, which we watched the first 3 quarters then left.


Lots more pictures to share from Easter day but will save for next post.

Just two pictures of my hard working, fun loving JB.

Yesterday was the last day of Cubbies for AWANA.  He has graduated and was very excited about his Cubbie bear he received for perfect attendance all year long.

He just loves winking in pictures these days.  Not sure why, but it sure does frustrate him that he can't wink with his left eye. (not sure why it is blurry...)

Then he wanted me to take a picture of all his animals that he sleeps with.  This kid cracks me up.

For the first time ever, all three boys were home on Monday throwing up. JB started it in the morning, I got a call from the school about 10am regarding B and then Jbird did not throw up until he walked through the door after school. We have never had a bug 'go through' our house before. I think they caught something from the family they stayed with while JR and I spent an overnight away from home. Fortunately it passed quickly!

The boys were at the dentist this week.  Jbird has not lost a tooth yet (although several are loose) and I was a little curious about it.  Well, the dentist told me he has one tooth that has to come out ASAP.  The adult tooth has already broken the gum and we need to get the baby tooth out so the adult tooth can move forward.  Well, JR tried the other day to get it out with pliers, but it did not work.  I will give the tooth a few more days and if we can't get it out, will be making a short visit back to the dentist.  One of the boys has 2 cavities.  Uugghh.  The dental hygienist said it is time to take on the battle of brushing the teeth!  So, we are back to teeth brushing 101 at our house.

The other day I came home and found JR cutting up an elk.  Was a little surprised since hunting season is over.  Turns out a semi hit 5 elk the other night and did not stop.  The elk were all wounded.  The sheriff found out about it and had to go put the elk down.  The deputies called a former deputy who hunts.  This deputy hauled off one of the animals (the one easiest to salvage).  He in turn called JR to see if he wanted half of it.  Boy, is it good meat.  I always love when God provides in such crazy, out of the box ways!

JB continues to amaze the therapists.  Such a hard worker.  When he is talking and I don't know the context, I can still understand him about 95% of the time.  He is making up for lost time, just always chatting away.

B brought home a robotic kit to prepare for his robotic 4H demonstration tonight.  We get to keep the kit for the week, so all the boys are excited to play with it over the next couple of days.  I will have to check in to what kind of kits can be bought.  They will all spend hours creating.  I also came across a website recent that teaches kids how to do programming coding and create their own video games online.  Some great gift ideas.

JR and I are getting away for an impromptu overnight tomorrow.  Some friends are gonna watch the boys.  JR is looking for a 'new' business truck, so that is one of the things we are searching for this weekend.  He is leaving in a few weeks to drive down to Texas to hunt wild hogs.  He is so excited..calling it a dream vacation.  He will have about 5-7 days to walk around some private property with a gun and shoot whatever he can find.  He will be doing some night hunting, which will be a first for him.

Off to clean the house.

Spring is here!!!  We have temps for the next 10 days in the 50s and 60s!

The boys came home from school today and played outside for 4 hours.  All the neighborhood kids were out too.  Football in the street, skateboarding, playing basketball.  I love hearing all the kids outside.  I was even throwing the football with them.  I had the wind behind me and was able to throw zinger spirals.  The boys were amazed and commenting how much it hurt them to catch the balls I threw.

We finished up skiing.  I have already ordered ski helmets for next ski season.  (The helmets they wore this year were okay, but not the snuggest fit compared to what is out there now.)  I need to be on the hunt for skis and boots for me, so I can easily ski with them next year.

Finally hit the road and got some running in.  I was so sore.  I can only imagine that it is the difference of running on pavement versus treadmill.  Slowly increasing my mileage each week so I am ready for the 9k the end of April.  Amazing how hard it is to get going again after not exercising for 3 days.

B is in his final month of robotics.  He is doing a robotics demonstration this Friday for his 4H club.  They are also allowing younger siblings to do a demonstration and I believe Jbird is going to do his on soccer. Will be sure to get videos.

Trying to line out our summer plans.  No road trips, unless we decide on something spur of the moment to somewhere 10-12 hours away.  There are lots of places within a days drive I would love to take the boys to but will be much easier when they are older.

I promise to pull out the camera soon and start putting more pictures on here!