Weekend with the Hursts

We just returned from an eventful weekend with the Hurst family. The Lamar Hurst family had the annual family reunion at Willard Bay, and for the first time in six years of marriage we got our act together and made it to the festivities.

In fact, we had such a great time visiting and catching up with everyone, I neglected to take many pictures of the family.

But I did capture a few fun moments by the lake. This massive inflated trampoline/blob was a big hit with the boys. Vyla and I were confined to the shore, but we still had plenty of laughs watching everyone bounce around on that thing.

 Hinder is the little head in the water in the picture below. Pretty brave little kid to swim all the way to that toy by himself.

After the reunion, we snuck over the the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.

We loved every minute. This type of things is right up our alley. The museum did not disappoint. Hinder was giddy with exceitment the entire time, and frankly, so were we.

Miss V even seemed to enjoy herself.

The variety of fossils was outstanding. Every type of dinosaur and prehistoric animal we have read about was there to see. They had two enormous sauropods that were a major highlight.

 Hinder loved this massive Utahraptor and was sure to point out the retractable hind claw. Maybe we have a future paleontologist on our hands?

My favorite display was this mammoth.

Notice the cave people trying to take him down?
Amazing.

Another Graduation

We made a quick trip to Washington to see my not-so-little sister graduate from high school. Devon and D'laney were making the trip anyhow, so the kids and I hopped in their van and we made a weekend out of it.

We did the usual things...like stopped in Missoula for a fast food/restroom/convenience store snack break, sang to Glee songs for 16 hours, rented movies from the local Harvest Foods, went for jogs, and stayed up too late watching movie trailers and giggling to YouTube clips.

We did a few new things...like playing endless games of Monopoly Deal, baked and decorated dozens and dozens of cupcakes, had a hair-dye fiasco, and watched Davis finish her high school career with a fun (a.k.a. short) graduation ceremony and party!

Here's a couple of pictures from her day. She's just as gorgeous as a brunette.

 Congrats to you, Miss Davis Killian!

Hinder's Gymnastics Showcase

Hinder performed in his first ever gymnastics showcase last weekend.

Imagine 50 kids, ages 3-5 plus all their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings AND their camcorders. It was mayhem. Awesome mayhem.

Seeing his cute little face when he received his medal and applause was the highlight for me.

 Playing "chop chop timber" into the foam pit was the highlight for H.

 He did an A+ job on all of his little routines.

Here's a few blurry, one-handed photos.

Thank you to  all of his patient, talented coaches.

We're genuinely sad to have to say good bye to Madison Gymnastics in a few months.

We Can Do Hard Things

"I Can Do Hard Things" is our family motto.

And by family motto, I mean the thing I say to Hinder twenty-seven times a day when he uses the 'I can't' excuse to get me to do things for him that he easily could do himself.

 But I cannnn't put on my socks....

But I don't know hoooowww to do it...

But it's toooo harrd to pick up allll those toooyyyysss...

You can do hard things!

(I'm hoping that if I say this enough times it will stick with him at a time when he actually is facing something more challenging than donning his stockings. But I digress...)

Lately, I feel pretty proud of our little family. We've accomplished some hard things lately.

Miss Vy, cute as can be, has learned to roll from her back to her tummy. I realize this is a natural developmental milestone. But apart from the birthing process, this is the first truly challenging thing she's accomplished.

 (I don't count rolling over from tummy to back as an accomplishment. Babies heads are so big...they just tilt those noggins and gravity does the rest, right?!)

You should have seen the look on her face the first time she did it.

So smiley and pleased with herself.

 As for me, I've FINALLY managed to get all the pregnancy pounds off.

It's like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Literally.

 And this grown up boy, he had his first days of preschool.

 He asked dozens of questions the night before. Whether or not I could stay? What would they do there? How long it would be? Would I come back to get him? Would they have real T-Rexes there? Would his new preschool friends like T-Rexes?

I was concerned he would be nervous and not go without some tears.

 But the next morning he confidently walked up to his teacher, took her hand, and walked up the sidewalk without looking back.

The only one shedding any tears was me.

And Riley turned 28. Older and handsomer.

But that's not the hard thing he accomplished.

He got accepted into Pharmacy School.

We're moving to Portland, Maine at the end of the summer and we're dying with excitement over it!

 Endless adventures await. And many difficult challenges are looming in the future.

But it's okay, because we can do hard things.

Six Years and Another Birthday

(Rascal Flatts concert November 2005)

Yesterday was our 6th anniversary AND Riley's 28th birthday. The birthdaversary weekend.  It was wonderful. Long, leisurely dinner with an actual conversation...one that didn't involve talk about finances, preschools, diapers, babies, sleep training or the like. It was wonderful.

This time of year, I naturally start thinking about Riley and I and when we met and started dating. It honestly seems like another lifetime ago. I love that we started our life together so young and we've grown into the people we want to be together. And I can honestly say that I'm more happy today, six years later. Our life is far from perfect, we've had plenty of disputes and disagreements, and I often wonder "how on earth did two people who are SO vastly different in every way end up together?!" But somehow, the differences make each day even better.

Here's to a great 7th year together, starting...NOW!

Lately We've Been...

BUSY!

 So much has happened in the past few weeks. We've had constant visitors for the past six weeks, an awesome spring break playing constantly with family, and a trip to Boise for Easter. Riley just got back from an interview in Virginia and we'll say goodbye again tomorrow when he heads to Portland, Maine.

Here's a few random pictures of our recent life.

Vyla is approaching five months already. She's discovering her hands and gaining more and more of a sweet personality.

Hinder wiped out from a day of causing mischief.  I pray daily we'll make it through the 3-year old stage. This kid is my love.

 The school Riley visited in Virginia. It looks so historical and charming.

A sauropod fossil from the Chicago Field Museum. Riley took a picture for Hinder, who was green with envy that he didn't get to see it.

 Easter egg hunt in Grandma and Grandpa's yard.

 Spring came to Boise a little earlier than we're used to in Rexburg!

 Sid and Grandma helping Hinder find eggs.

Life is good, we're hanging in there, and anxiously waiting to find out where life will send us next.

Conference and Kiting

We week of General Conference we had some visitors. I LOVE when this happens. Davi, Dallas, and Dalyn spent their spring break with us. We partied and played every single day. Saturday, in between Conference sessions, we ventured to a near-by field to play around with Riley's huge ski kites. It was gusting too dangerously to pull out the big one.  We stuck with "Hinders kite", a small 6 meter that still had the capacity to throw me to the ground and drag me like a rag doll. In the words of Riley, "Behold! The power of the wind!"