Haircuts for kids, and pony?

Recently I took Sadie to get her hair cut. I was tired of combing her long, tangled strands and hearing the cries of an unhappy child. Her hair was just and inch or two shy of her waist, so it was time for a change. I finally convinced her to cut it to her shoulders, which two days in has been a dramatic change. Green Canyon will be a little easier without so much hair to do each day for lessons and wash every day as well.
While I took Sadie to the salon in Salmon, Cory took pity on our pony Willow. Bangs were covering his eyes in front so bad he was running into the fences. I came home to find hair all over the lawn. But he looks much better. If I had done it I would't have cut his bangs quite so short though. . . . . . . . it makes his head look bigger than it really is.

July 4th

This is the only picture that I took for the day, pathetic I know. But it turned out cute especially with their kittens in it. We had a great day going to the annual EMT Breakfast with their famous Strawberry Rhubarb syrup; going to the parade in the afternoon; bidding on the silent auction and seeing who bought the items we donated; spending time with family eating and playing cards; seeing the fireworks from out front yard. It was a fun filled day and very busy. I'm glad it only comes once a year!! Happy Birthday America!

Fun for February

Here are some of the things that happend in the month of February. Of course there was a ton of snow for sledding, building snowmen, snowball fights, etc:

At the end of this month was cousin Abbie's birthday which we got to go down for a fun play day at Adventure Zone and to go to the dollar show. We saw Tangled and the girls loved it!!!

Lexi has been doing pre-school at home with mom (so I don't have to make my two trips to the school a day turn into three). She is very organized and particular where her things are placed, even her fruit snacks:

We had an oportunity to go to Idaho Falls and spend the night with my sister Jenn and her family. The kids loved having a huge slumber party with all eight kids, the moms weren't so sure about it but they tried really hard to all stay put for the night:

Oh, What Do You Do in the Wintertime?

You Get CREATIVE!!!! Even teh kids realize the need for changing up the routine. Here is Haylee after a twenty minute lesson from Sadie and Lexi trying to teach her to jump. We got one foot up!!
Now this was the kids' idea to pretend to be Cinderella. I enjoyed this idea however, we go lots of houseworkdone that day :)

Haylee as the superhero-cowgirl.

And finally nothing can beat just a couple of boxes, today was the pushing contest. Sadie and I reaced across the kitchen floor pushing Haylee and Lexi. I'm letting my inner-child come out. He He He!

Valentine's Day

Every year for Valentine's Day we try to have a nice candlelight dinner with our family. The girls have so much fun helping make decisions and prepare a nice meal for Daddy when he comes home. We decorate the house with heart drawings and messages for each other and daddy surprises us with a present. This year he brought the girls some fignernail polish and they were ecstatic!!! We never seem to make it to dinner for Cory and I until a later date so it is fun to involve the whole family with the celebtation.

Second Chance

Sadie got a second chance at skiing this week. We went this time with the Tendoy school (another school thirty miles down the road with about fifteen kids in our district). We had lots of fun this time too, she was really good at skiing this time. She didn't fall too much and improved a bunch. I was really proud of Sadie.

Basketball and Consequences that Follow

Sadie has been playing in some basketball games this year. During the half-time of the JV and Varsity games at the schooll, they let the little kids play a game to help them get acquainted with the game. Leadore doesn't have much for sports to offer, just mostly basketball. It's fun to watch how they learn the game rules and grow from trying to dribble and shoot the ball. We take the whole family to the school and watch Sadie play, we don't get out much.
This particular night, Lexi found some friends of hers to go play with while Sadie was playing ball. I told Lexi she could go out in the hallway with her two friends (there was an older cousin out there watching them). Enjoying taking pictures and watching Sadie, out of the corner of my eye I saw the older cousin come running into the gym, a little panicked. She stopped right in front of me rushing to get out that Lexi had blood running all over her. I handed Haylee off to Cory and ran to investigate. She was really bloody, but it was a nose and mouth wound. Lexi and her friend were chasing each other and one decided to stop the chase, the other failed to notice until she slammed in to a still shoulder. Just an accident but Lexi was pretty upset over the deal. I got her home, changed her bloody shirt and then took the pictures. Her two front teeth were loose, her nose swollen, mouth swollen and the makings of a pretty good black eye turning colors, but she still smiled for the camera! What a trooper!

Sadie had yet to learn sometimes you need to move around a bit on the court but she still did a good job and even got to take a shot!

Lexi and her sore face.

When Daddy comes home. . .

I'm not exactly sure how this happened but for some reason the girls' LOVE to help daddy take off his boots when he comes home. They actually fight over who gets to help. Go figure. . . . . .

Sadie's First Ski Lesson

I had the opportunity to go on a school ski trip with Sadie this year. Our school takes the elementary kids skiing a couple times a year and the price is very affordable! We went to Maverick Ski hill in Montana which is about a 90 minute drive from here. We left at 7 a.m. and got to the ski hill around 8:30. By the time we got all the kids in their gear ready to ski, it was almost time for their lesson. Sadie was on the bunny hill with her class and instructor for the lesson but did really well for her first time. It took here a bit to understand how to maneuver in the skis but I was really proud of her. By the end of the lesson she was snowplowing really good on her own and could get up after she fell. We went to eat lunch after her lesson in the lodge with all her friends. It was fun to visit with the moms and have the girls together for a fun outing. After lunch it was back at it! Sadie couldn't wait to get back on the hill-she very impatiently waited for me to finish my lunch. There were five kids on the bunny hill that just stayed there using the rope tow to go back up the hill and then ski on down. Sadie enjoyed it so much she asked me if we could go everyday! After a full day of skiing though, she was tired and slept most of the way home on the bus. We didn't get home until 5:30 p.m. She slept really well that night, she even snored. I enjoyed having some down time with just Sadie and sharing something I enjoy with her. I look forward to many more ski trips with my kids through the years.

Haylee the Ham

Haylee is totally our little ham. She loves to just "cheese" it for a picture. Here are some cute pictures of her being independant and feeding herself; and sitting in her beanbag that she LOVES:

The Snow Is Growing

We have had more snow this month than any so far. Our snow piles out the back yard have quadrupled! Our snow banks surround three sides of the house and are anywhere from four to six feet high. The kids have had tooo much fun playing outside in the snow. Sledding, digging caves, building snowmen, and anything we can think of to do outside is the name of the game.

This is the pile of snow that was pushed out of our driveway so we can acutally get in and out. The kids think of this as their "King of the Hill" pile.