Mayday

I have been learning a lot of things about specific Sanpete culture.  One of the major local events is the annual Mayday performances put on by the elementary school.  Everyone in town shows up!  Everyone makes sure they look their best, and the kids work hard for weeks to perfect their dances.  This is big-time around here. This year Andrew's kindergarten did a Hawaiian dance and Joshua's 3rd grade did the parachute dance.  It is fun to see the kids do these dances that are so traditional and have been performed for literally generations.  One nice thing is that they have bent the rules and use contemporary music which keeps things lively and fun for the kids.

I helped sew maypole ribbons for the 4th graders this year as well, so I guess we all got involved in the tradition!

Sorry about the fuzzy pics.  My ipad doesn't have a flash  --  really?!  someone needs to ream mac about that -- anyway, Joshua is in the white shirt with blue shorts.  He really worked the dance moves!

Muffy

Our cat is such a character!  She is so small you think she is weak.  Then she shows up with a pot gut on the front porch.  She loves to lounge on the couch in her favorite spot, and sometimes get so comfortable she loses all sense of propriety.  She has broken two legs, and lived to meow the tale.  She can be quite a pain, but alas, we love her.

Geckos

We have two new critters in the house.  Joshua and Andrew wanted pets to take care of all by themselves, so we settled on leopard geckos.  Please say hello to Janet and Striker.  Andrew named his Janet after his Grandma Jaussi, and Joshua named his Striker because she is a voracious eater.  They are fun and make a great addition to the Jungle room.

April Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the April babies!  Andrew (13th) turned 6, Laura (30th) turned 32, and Grandpa Barlow (also the 30th) turned the big 7 - 0!  What an awesome adventure for all three of us!

Spencer

Yes, it has been a while!  Here's what we have been up to in the last three months or so...

We had the awesome oportunity to experience what it would be like to have twins in April for a week while my friend Holly and her family went to Disneyland.  We got to keep Spencer, who is 4 days older than Caitlin.  He is such a sweet boy!  Granted, the two babes seem to have it out for eachother, but it was fun to have an extra baby to cuddle.  He is such a lover.  And I love little boys!

Everyone had fun pretending we had twins.  The boys thought it was a grand adventure.

On the rare occasion that the two weren't fighting, we got some good cuddling in.  Spencer was so good, even without his mama for a week.  It was good for Caitlin too to realize she isn't always the center of my life.

The best part of having Spence is that Holly and her family had a wonderful time at Disneyland and didn't have to worry about the baby who was too small for the rides.  She is such a great friend and it was nice to repay some of her generous kindness.

Easter

This Easter was so much fun. We had a blended family of sorts, since the Jaussis were here with us and we went to the Barlows for easter dinner. The Barlows are so good at making everyone feel like family. We had a delicious Ham dinner followed by a beautiful traditional Easter bunny cake. Carrie set us up with a ton of filled eggs so we had an egg hunt in the back yard for the kiddies. As we were about to call it a day the Easter bunny made a surprise visit and handed out candies. It was such a lovely Easter.

We are having the time of our life!

Jon and Carrie are having the time of their lives on a ten day Caribbean cruise. All of their children are visiting with us for eight of those days. I will admit the idea of 8 children for eight days was a little intimidating but I am pleased to say that we are having a fabulous time! The older girls are so helpful and everyone shows so much love. I can feel the magic of a large family. Thanks to Jon and Carrie for raising such wonderful kids.