Flight Simulators

We had such a great Spring Break! We spent a long weekend with Lance's brothers Wade and Matt, and their families. The kids never lacked for entertainment. On Friday morning we went to the Air Force Base in San Antonio where we were privledged enough to spend an hour on the flight training simulators. We each took a turn leaning the basics of flying, and in most cases crashing. Some were more skilled than others. Our camera battery died shortly after taking this picture of Sophie.
Wade had a flight suit made for Rachel when she was little. Josh wore it the whole time we were together. Perhaps we have another furture pilot in the family.

Day at the Beach

Saturday we spent the day at the beach. Aiden was in the ocean before the rest of us could even get out of the car. We really need to live in Hawaii where he can play in the water everyday. Josh and the other kids had just as much fun burying Aiden as he did being buried. The kids all had so much fun together. Cousins are great!
Aiden trying to catch a few waves.
Aubrey, Aiden, and Brennan dug a huge hole. It only took one wave to fill it all back in.
Sophie had a bucket of mud and a spoon. She was feeding the ocean one spoonful at a time. She said that it really liked her food.
Brennan likes the mud too.

We drove quite a ways down the beach looking for a good place to set up camp for the day. We found a great spot, but it wasn't too long before some rednecks came to join us. The most amusing part of it all was that they weren't there to play in the water, or take long walks on the beaches. They were there to encourage every car that came past to spin out in the sand. This wasn't just entertaining for an hour or so, this went on all day. And, these weren't teenagers. It was people in their late 20's and 30's with kids. Of course they cheered the loudest for their buddies in their big trucks with a confederate flag flying from the antena, but they were happy to watch the golf carts peel out as well. They'd take an occasional break to some of the brisket that they had smoked in the smoker that was in some cases possibly welded to the back of their trucks. Somehow the whole scene didn't hold much appeal for us. To each their own I suppose. Maybe you have to have a few beers in order to catch the vision. We considered it a cultural experience.

Easter morning we got up to discover that the Easter Bunny had left a big web of string throughout the downstairs. Each child had a string with their name on it that eventually led to their basket.
Sophie and Josh were dillegent as they wound their string around a spoon.
One should never leave their camera unattended while Wade is around.
The kids colored hard boiled eggs (and a few raw eggs, oops), and had an egg hunt outside. Some of the eggs hidden outside were empty. Would someone have taken out the candy and coins and rehidden the egg? Hmmm.
Everyone dressed and ready for church.

Sea World

We spent Monday at Seaworld. The kids weren't at all upset about missing school. For a while we split up our group so that the older kids and dads could go and ride the roller coasters. This is Sophie and Josh by the flamingos. Sophie has been learning about animals in her science classe at school, so she was very excited to see some of the animals up close.
Matt is such a good dad. He took Sophie and Josh on this little ride. They had a good time.
One of the highlights of the day was getting to go back stage at the Sea Lion show. Wade and Jodie have a friend in their ward whose brother works there. It's all about who you know. We got to ask questions about the animals and the show. The performers are everything. They perform, care for the animals, train them, clean the cages, feed them, etc. They said that one of the funniest times to be on stage is when one of the animals relieves themselves on stage during the performance. The kids, of course, would like to see that.
After the show we all went over to feed the Sea Lions. They sure are cute.

Spring Break

Here is Sophie at the Easter Egg hunt playing a game. More about the egg hunt below.

We spent a few days at the Bell's house. They were are some of our best friends while we lived in Monahans. They now live in Burleson just outside of Fort Worth. We discovered that the drive isn't bad. We are only about 2 1/2 hours away from each other. The kids had a blast together, picking up where they left off.
At the end of the week we went to the ward Easter egg hunt. Fortunately we were blessed with a beautiful day. I heard that the kids in Twin Falls hunted for their eggs in the snow.
Aiden most likely telling his dad that he's tired and bored of being at the egg hunt.

Sophie at 100 years of age.

For the "100 Days of School" celebration, Sophie's teacher asked the kids to draw a picture of themselves at 100, and write a few lines about themselves. I loved her picture, but I have to wonder why she has a such a full beard. Or are those pearls? I believe that her paper says (I really should ask her): I will have horses. I will have glasses. I'll babysit my grandkids. My grandpa is hot stuff. Will have a mustache. I'll be retired. I'll get dressed in old fashioned clothes.

School House Rock

The 3rd grade classes at Murchison Elementary put on a performance of some of the School House Rock songs. They performed during the day for the rest of the school, and held a night performance for the parents. Brennan missed his Cub Scout Pack Meeting for it, but he had a good time singing with the group, and was a good sport about it.
Aiden watching when the 3rd graders performed for the school.

Here is a clip of the kids singing "Interjection".

First Soccer Game of the Season

Brennan has been so happy to be back on the soccer field again. We missed the deadline for the Fall season, so he hasn't played on a team since Spring 2007. About 5 of the boys on his team have been on the same team together for a couple of years, so they have learned how to play together. Brennan is really starting to find his place on the team. The boys are learning to work together and pass to each other in order to score. He has made two of the three goals that his team has scored during the last two games. It's so fun to watch them all improve their skills over the season. He's excited for the next game.
He got to be #10 which he was very happy about.