Alligator Abuse

Last year we had a little Alligator slide/pool. It lasted most of the summer and the kids LOVED it! We eventually had to throw it away because I couldn't patch all of the holes in it from all of the abuse it took. I was thinking maybe we should graduate to a bigger - more sturdy kind of pool this Summer. BUT Kaycee and Jackson promised that they wouldn't get too wild and crazy on it if we bought another one. Well.... I found one that was half off, so I caved and bought it. After taking a few "nice" pictures for me - I left them alone to play. They didn't realize I snuck back and caught them red-handed (hence the middle pic)! Four patches later... it is still surviving, but I suspect that Alligator's number is coming up. Awh well!

Cabin Fun!

We headed to the cabin this weekend...was so NICE to just relax and hang out. I think the dogs especially had a great time - as you can tell by the great big grins on their faces!! Old man Coda was running around like he used to when he was a pup. I think he prefers 50 degree weather instead of the high 80's we had last week. Heh.

While all of us were relaxing, Grandpa Gerald made use of his time by "widdling" a knife for Jackson and a doll for Kaycee. I think Kaycee was expecting something a little more elaborate.... she wasn't too grateful to receive her gift. Jackson however, hasn't let his knife out of his sight!! It has accompanied us EVERYWHERE since we have been home. THANKS Grandpa Gerald!

The kids had the most fun playing baseball, riding on "blackie" the horse-swing and riding on the 3 wheelers. Kaycee wouldn't let anyone ride ahead of her on the 3-wheeler or motorcycle (no... she wasn't driving it by herself). She would scream at Jason to go faster and faster and try to take over the handlebars when one of us passed her. Talk about a speed deamon! She's now telling us she wants a little motorcycle for her birthday. We say, she needs to learn to ride a bicycle w/out her training wheels FIRST!

Picnic

We headed down to Salt Lake over Mother's Day weekend to see my Grandma Schaefer. Was so GREAT to see her! My Mom and Uncle John flew her out here from Ohio as a Mother's Day/Birthday surprise. Our whole family was able to make it out to see her - was so fun to have everyone there!! Wish I would have taken a few more pic's.... but with ALL of us taking them - it was like a paparazzi fest. Thanks for the fun weekend Mom!!

Boston!

Jason and I were able to sneak away to Boston last week so I could run in the marathon. THANKS Granny and Grandpa Conder for babysitting the kids for us!!! We had so much fun! Jason was VERY SWEET to go with me. He is NOT a fan of flying, big cities or crowds of people. I'm fairly certain he won't encourage me to qualify for Boston with the promise of accompanying me again.. hee hee. But, I am so glad he went. Minus flying in the thunderstorms with lighting all around us and becoming uncomfortably cozy with passengers of an overly crowded commuter train, I think he had good time. Anyhow... we took only a zillion pictures. Most of which I can't take any credit for. Here are a few of them...

There are so many monuments and statues we found along the freedom trail, and some we happened to pass by. Ben Franklin's monument site (top right) is in a graveyard in the heart of Boston, so strange to see a cluster of old, tilting headstones surrounded by skyscrapers on all four sides.

The old buildings and churches in New England are AMAZING. Not quite the architecture I'm used to seeing. Bunker hill was so tall (bottom right). We climbed up the winding 294 steps in the center of the monument and could look out the small windows at the top. Beautiful 360 views from up there. While in Cambridge, we strolled by Harvard's Law School (top right). Juuuuust a bit bigger than UW's.

Boston...cont'd

I think heading out to Revere Beach was one of our favorite parts of the trip. Jason has never been to the ocean-front before (Pacific or Atlantic). It was so relaxing to just walk along the beach and pick out seashells for the kids. There were even some guys windsurfing which was cool to watch (see 2 pic's down). We also made it to Cheers, the USS Constitution and the Cassin. Had some tasty lobster our last night there... was REALLY good, but could have eaten a little more without those beady little eyes staring at me.

The race was so cool!! Hard though. I think the 8+miles we walked over ther weekend sightseeing may have been part of the reason I felt a little "off". But, at least I beat my 2002 time and I felt good afterwards. I seriously doubt there is a marthon out there with more spectator support than Boston. It is IN SANE!! In a good way. Dave (my little bro) made it down from Portland, Maine to hang out with Jason and see me finish. Although, they missed seeing me - but can you blame them? There's only thousands of people there!! Now the girl running in the flourescent green wrestling suit, the guy w/a pink tutu and the running "juggler" were a bit more noticable! Btw... look closer at the flowers on the bottom right pic... notice what they are using instead of flowerpots??

Just a few more shots from the plane, the beach and w/Dave by the Charles River. Was such a great trip!!! We sure missed the kids, but knew they were happy to go to the zoo, Dinosaur museum and UofU red/white game with Granny and Grandpa. I think they were a little bummed to come home.... hee heee. THANKS again Kathy and Gerald!!!!

Easter

Kaycee and Jackson had so much fun decorating their Easter eggs this year. Thanks to Grandpa Bruce for providing the decorating kit!! Jackson was mostly interested in the dying process while Kaycee performed most of the decorating. Jason and the kids ate almost all of our Easter eggs this year. Who knew they liked boiled eggs so much??? I guess packaging can add more appeal, eh?

We had no problem getting the kids out of bed on Easter morning. Jackson could have cared less about hunting for Easter eggs once he discovered his bowling game. Kaycee found and counted 37 eggs throughout the house and in the back yard. As she said "I can't believe my eyes, the Easter bunny came!". Later in the day, Jackson gave us his take on the holiday saying "So....someone shot the Easter bunny.... and then, he came back to life...??". Only in our household could he gather that interpretation. Heee heeee.

Lilies

Thanks to the salesmanship of a 16 year old schoolgirl, we've subscribed to the Family Fun magazine for awhile. Kaycee found a cute lili project she wanted to make for her Kindergarten teacher in it (Mrs. Perez's birthday is on Easter). So, we made these fun Lilies yesterday. She was so excited to give them to her today!! Had to give them to her early since spring break is next week. I think we will make some more. Which is a good idea, since nothing else seems to be looking like "spring" around here lately... snowing again today!!!! Grrrrrrr.