Last Field Trip for Molly

We had our last field trip with the Joy School kids on Monday.  We were able to go one of the other mom teacher's cousins farm and see the cows.  The kids got to feed the cows bottles.  Molly thought it was pretty amazing.

They took us all on a trailer out in the field where all the big cows are.  The cows thought they were coming to feed so they all eventually were following the trailer. 

Molly and her friend Presley. 

Then the kind farmer took them on a ride on his tractor.  Pretty amazing field trip for these little 4 year olds!  

We have been so blessed to have such great friends to do school with.  All 3 of my girls will now have graduated from mommy Joy School which makes me a little sad and a lot happy.  I am especially excited that after 3 years of joy school in a row we will have a couple year break before Lincoln needs to start.   :)  

Health Challenge Update - Half way!!

One of my favorite places to go exercise is over at the track behind Bonneville.  It's so close to our house and it's quiet and there is so many possibilities over there.  Ella and I ran over there the other night and afterwards we did some laps up and down the bleachers.  She did lots of cartwheels and made up some games for how we could get the top of the bleachers and it was good quality time with my big girl.  Not to mention GREAT exercise.  I hope I am teaching her good habits.

I was determined to go last week and had no choice but to take all the kids so we loaded them up on their bikes and Lincoln in the stroller and off we went.  Molly sat with Lincoln at the bottom of the bleachers until the very last one he climbed to the top with me.

I'm getting a lot better at making dinners like this: 

And my kids are getting much better at eating them along with much healthier snacks.  They still love their candy and bowls of cold cereal, but I will never deprive them of that.  Hopefully just teach them a little better about  moderation.

I am so thankful for the strength I have had to accomplish these goals.  I have only lost 5 pounds this challenge which is actually only 1 pound down from the past challenge, but I have still worked hard and been hopefully continuing to set the example for my family as well as make myself more healthy. 

Preschool Field Trips - Cal Ranch & Albertsons

One of my favorite part about doing Joy School is that we get to go on all the field trips with these cute little kids,  This month we had the opportunity to go on 2 field trips.  We went to Cal Ranch and got to see baby chicks, ducks and turkeys.

The kids thought it was pretty great to pet them but they really wished they could hold them.

Molly was taking the rules very seriously - that's pretty good.  And don't you love her outfit?

She has a "crush" on this cute boy in our class.  Arthur Inglet.  I just had to get this picture to document that funny little idea.  Glad they can be friends. Not super glad my kids think they have to have crushes all the time.

Our other field trip was at Albertsons.  Their super great employee Noelle was so patient with the kids as she showed them around the store and let them taste foods and pretend to check out at the check out stand.

Craters of the Moon

A few weeks ago I did a little venting about how I don't have anything to really look forward to and haven't really got to go do anything out of the ordinary in a while (aka Spring Fever!) and so Dustin and I decided to put a Family Campout on the calendar a weekend of every month and make sure we went to do something as a family that weekend whether it be an actual campout of just a day trip.

This month we decided to go see Craters of the Moon because Ella is studying Idaho History and got extremely excited when we told her we might go there.  All the girls gathered their backpacks, a jacket, flashlight and some treats and I packed us a lunch and off we went.

Dustin packed Lincoln

He was in heaven all day being outside and especially because his sisters shared their baby suckers with him.  He had about 4 of them today.

The loves of my life! 

So fun to see flowers growing in small cracks of the rock. 

I love how interested Ella is in learning about things and what a good teacher her dad is. 

and how happy Lincoln is!  :) 

We found a picnic table and Dustin brought a small little grill and we had brats and sandwiches. 

The girls found some places to climb nearby. 

We found some small walks to go on to get into the rocks a little more.  I thought it was funny Alissa was leading most of the time and doing cartwheels along the path.  She definitely has the most energy in our family. 

Molly having a massage on the path by Ella. 

We climbed a big hill to have a fun picture on top and see some beautiful Idaho scenery. 

I think he likes his boy.  :) 

We had to have a permit to go in the caves at Craters and the visitors center was closed so we were pretty bummed by that but we decided to stop at the 17 mile cave on the way back into Idaho Falls.  We had brought flashlights and glow sticks so the kids were looking forward to it.  However - this cave is gross with all the trash and graffiti on the walls so we didn't stay long.  The kids still were happy with the short exploration of the cave.

I think we will call it a pretty successful family day.  Sure love these guys!

Molly's First Date with Dad

 We try to keep date night on the calendar for the girls and dad.  He doesn't get to spend as much time with them as I do and they LOVE their daddy.  Molly got to join the rotation this month and was pretty excited to go.  When I told Molly to go get ready, she hopped in the tub.  I asked her why she as bathing and she said, "I want to smell good for dad."  It made me laugh because I know she remembered our conversation the night before when Dustin was telling the girls how important it was that they bathe often because boys will notice if they are stinky.  Then told them how much he used to like to smell my hair when we were dating.  ha!

Anyway, then she put on her lovely Sunday dress and some tights and borrowed Alissa's high heels.  It took only a tiny bit of convincing for her to change though when he told her he was planning on letting her play at Arctic Circle.

Oh I love this little family.  These kids make me laugh every day and my good husband is such a great daddy.  I am so blessed to have him by my side to help in this crazy attempt at raising 4 kids.

And just because I thought these pictures were silly..