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!"

More of the Children

My sis-in-law Mallory is insanely talented with a camera.

Here's the proof:

She gets my kid to smile and laugh...

and hold still long enough to be photographed...

These photos are precious to me!

Thanks for sharing your talent, Mal!

(malloryhurstphotography if you want to see more!)

And on a totally unrelated note...

When we were growing up, my mom used to to play the game "one good thing, one bad thing" with us. We each had a turn to tell one good thing that happened that day and one bad thing. When I came to college, I started playing that game with myself in my journal, but I changed it to "Five good things, Three Bad things". (gotta keep that positive mental attitude)

Here's my entry for today:

The Good

1. More beautiful pictures of my children sent by Miss Mallory. I love those little butter beans.

2. Davi, Dalyn, and Dallas are on their way to spend spring break with us. Yay! We love when they visit.

3.Date night tonight. Nothing more romantic than a jog and grocery shopping with my hubs. (bwah!)

4. General Conference starts tomorrow! YES. My spiritual cup feels a little empty.

5.Vyla's starting to come alive just a little bit more this week. Babbling, rolling over, and giggling. She's my little dolly.

The Bad:

1. Hinder's attitude. Snarky three year old= Lots of time-outs.

2. Raining/windy weather today kept us cooped up for most of the day. See #1.

3. Somethings been trying to penetrate my immune system the past week, in the form of body aches and sore-ish throat. Can't really say that I'm sick, but I'm pounding the echinacea and crossing my fingers.

Hinder says...

(Our sweet three-year-old boy. Thanks Mal!)

One afternoon, we came back into the house after a little time outside. Hinder brought with him a long stick and a little rock. He sat down on the carpet and immediately started playing all sorts of imaginative, dinosaur/fight/attack type games with his treasures. After a few minutes, he said this,

"This is my sword (pointing to his stick). It cuts T-Rexes. And this is my 'throwith" (pointing to his rock). Because I throw with it."

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Hinder is generally a pretty terrific little road trip companion. This last February, we made the 8 hour drive to my parents house; a drive we are all too familiar with. We stopped at the usual service station in Missoula. I took Vy to the bathroom for a diaper change, and Riley took Hinder to the men's room to take care of business.

A few minutes later I hear a yelling/screaming toddler. As I left the women's room, I exit just in time to see Riley busting through the bathroom door with a wriggling, angry Hinder. I swap him kids and jet out to the car to find out what the deal is. Hinder's having a freak out this entire time.

(Come to find out, he had insisted on standing on the disgusting public bathroom floor without socks and shoes, and then proceeded to 'lose control' while going #1. I hope someone washed those walls)

Anyway...Riley and Hinder tend to butt heads a little anyway, but this time H was very angry. I sat next to him in the backseat of the car while he fumed. I questioned what was wrong, but he was just too darn mad. Finally, he turns to me with clenched fists and says,

"You go tell daddy, "stupid" from me! You go tell him that bad word!"

It took all my facial muscles to keep from cracking up.

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Hinder loves to say the prayer before dinner, and we equally like to hear his prayers. They never lack for entertainment. About a year ago, he started saying "thank you that this food is yummy", and when he saw how pleased that made us, he always repeats some form of that phrase.

One night, it was just H and I. I tried a recipie for Gorgonzola Gnocchi. It was a mistake, but I didn't know that at the time. I've since destroyed that recipe. I dished our plates and set them on the table. In the ten seconds it took to walk to the silverware drawer and turn back around, Hinder had sampled his dinner pre-prayer and was already making a stink-face. Then I asked him to say the blessing on the food. And this is what he said,

"Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day. Thank you that I have a fork and spoon. Thank you that this food is... (long pause)... Thank you that mommy made this..."

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Hinder adores his sister. The other day, I turned just in time to see him cuddled up beside her on the floor. He got really close to her and whispered most sincerely in her ear,

"How about you just grow up big tomorrow?"

So sweet.