Trip to La Junta

Brandon's work has him travel sometimes to work at various offices in the company. During the kids' Spring Break, Brandon needed to go to La Junta.   The kids and I decided to tag along. 

Of course, one of the big highlights of the trip was swimming in the hotel's swimming pool. Lucy was too busy staring at her reflection in the mirror to pause for a picture.   My kids are fish and enjoy every minute in the water. 

After we dropped Brandon off for work the next day, the kids and I headed to Pueblo to see the zoo there.  

The Pueblo zoo is small, but it was the perfect size for our adventure.  The kids and I enjoyed seeing various animals.

The kids loved using the map and figuring out where we were and where we should go.  

The boys LOVED feeding the animals.  It took awhile for Emmy to work up her courage, but she did it.  Lucy decided to pass on her animal food for her brothers to pass out.

After awhile, Lucy decided that she needed to walk.  She did really well about staying close by.

One of my favorite parts of our adventure that day was when Lucy would make various animal noises to let me know what she wanted to see next (she did the elephant and the giraffe).  However, the zoo didn't have the animals she was requesting.

The kids thought it was pretty neat to stretch out their arms and see how they compared to an eagle. 

I think the kids' favorite part of our trip is that when we were leaving the zoo, there was a snake and a lizard for the kids to touch.  They thought their Papa Van would scream if he saw them touching a snake.

The kids also enjoyed watching the hedgehog up close and talking and asking questions to the keeper of the hedgehog. 

Afterward our time at the zoo, we played at the park, grabbed some lunch and headed back to pick up Brandon and head home.  It was a short visit, but very enjoyable. 

Harry Potter

One thing I have always wanted to help my children develop, is a love for reading.  Hyrum received the first Harry Potter movie for Christmas from Santa. Brandon and I told him he needed to read the book first in order to watch the movie. Hyrum, Ben and I got to work on reading and listening to Harry Potter together. The girls and Brandon would sometimes listen as I read the book, but for the most part, it was a great bonding experience for the boys and I . 

To celebrate when we finished the book, we had pizza for dinner while we watched the show, and had popcorn and treats too.

The boys loved the movie and the book.  It was a fun time for me with my boys. 

Students vs. Teachers

During the month of March, right before Spring Break, Hyrum was able to participate in a basketball game against the teachers at his school.   The school only allows the older students to play against the teachers.  There are some pretty hefty requirements in order to participate in the game.  The students had to have all their school work turned in and have good grades, good behavior was also required.  The students also had to GIVE UP their lunch recess twice a week to practice running drills and improve their skills with the janitor.  The kids practiced for around two months.

Hyrum was so excited about being able to play against the teachers.  He worked so hard during the practices and would come home and practice outside to make sure he was ready for the game.  The night before the big game, Hyrum had his clothes all picked out and told me that he was nervous.   I told him to do his best and have fun and that  he would be fine since he put in a lot of time practicing. 

The morning of the game, I made sure to make him a nice breakfast.

Lucy and I were able to go and cheer on Hyrum and the other kids playing against the teachers.

Lucy gave Hyrum a pep talk before the game. 

  It was so loud in the gym.  It was fun to see the other students cheering on their classmates.
Can you find Ben and Emmy in the pitures?

Each grade level had a team or two and the team was able to play against the teachers for five minutes.  I was so proud of Hyrum, in the five minutes, he made two shots, stole the ball, and played great defense.  Too be honest, it was a little emotional for me watching him play. After having such a rough wrestling season, I really wanted him to have his confidence boost just a tad.

He rocked his game! I could not have been more excited or proud of him.  He was pretty happy himself. 

Wrestling 2014 Season

During the months of February and March the boys once again participated in a local wrestling program. 

They worked hard, learned new things, built muscles and experienced frustration.Trophies and medals were won.

Ben did really well and only lost a handful of times.   He was pleased with how many trophies he won during the season.

Hyrum struggled EVERY match. He lost EVERY time.  However, I was proud of him.  Hyrum talked about doing wrestling even before the season started.    I was proud of the fact that even before the season started, he was doing push-ups and sit-ups on his own to gain muscle. He worked hard in practice and did extra work at home with Brandon.  Despite Hyrum's hard work and effort he did win a single match.  My heart breaks thinking about how hard it must be for him to put in so much hard work and not reaping the results. Hyrum was very positive through it all when I think most other kids would have been heartbroken and devastated. 

It was a season of much growth for the boys in more ways than one.