April 2013

While the husband's away, the family will play...

This month was a crazy whirlwind of trips, vacations, skiing, and spring.  For the first ten days of April, I was gone with students on a field trip to California.  These trips are miserable for me because I am stuck with the same students 24-7 and several of them annoy the heck out of me.  While I was gone, Lindsey just sat around and pined away for me…or maybe that’s just wishful thinking.  Lindsey stayed as busy as ever putting on a birthday party for Jed, teaching Carson’s Joyschool class, hosting late night parties for the kids and their friends (18 kids), doing Girl Scout cookie booths, cooking Sunday dinner for an apartment full of college boys (Ian and his friends), and inviting two families (13 kids total) over for family night.  Apparently, Lindsey doesn’t like to be alone – or take it easy – while I’m gone. 

Jed becomes a party animal

Jed’s birthday party was a safari party. 

As each boy arrived, they were inoculated with typhoid shots (from a pretend syringe) and given malaria pills (jelly beans). 

The kids then participated in Amazon Archery,

Alligator Alley (obstacle course), Coconut Crush (individual piñatas shaped like coconuts that they got to crush themselves…this was the biggest hit of the party),

Elephant Tag (nylons on head w/ sock in end, last person to not have their nose pulled off wins),

Animal Attack (hot potato with stuffed animals), and Bush Bingo. 

As always, Lindsey made Jed an amazing zebra/giraffe birthday cake. 

Did I mention that she did all of this without me…I’m pretty useless, but that is still amazing.
 

Just a spoonful of sugar...

The kids had a late-night for being so helpful during the week with me gone.  Lindsey was amazed at how many waffles eighteen kids could put down. 

 

They each brought a treat to share and there was definitely a new house record for most sugar consumed in one day…soda, popcorn, licorice, M&Ms, sour patch kids, bottle caps, lemonheads, lollipops, cookies, gummy bears.  Add in the syrup from the waffles and you’ve got a household of wired kids!  The party was a blast and the kids didn’t seem to miss me much when I called that night.

 

 

Gone in sixty seconds (literally) 

 

Two days after I got home from California, Kai and Wyatt had their pinewood derby.  I had gotten the cars cut out before leaving on my trip, but the boys and Lindsey had to paint them while I was gone.  The boys have done pretty well in past pinewood derbies; but, I made a colossal error in adding the weights this year.  I put all the weight in the back (behind the back wheels).  Both Kai’s and Wyatt’s cars popped a wheelie right off the starting line and fishtailed the whole way down the track.  They did horribly.  I chalked it up to one of those live and learn life lessons. 

           
 

Our new arrival!

 

The day after the pinewood derby we celebrated the arrival of the newest member of our family - Xela (pronounced “Shay-la”).  We got the name from the area I served my mission in Guatemala – Xela Quetzaltenango.  It’s a Mayan word that means “my mountain home.”  We thought it was a pretty good name for a dog as well.  Xela is a white/blonde lab with brown eyes and a really good nose.  She loves chewing on duck wings that I saved from last year’s hunting season.  The kids have been mauling her and she has been mauling Texas and everyone has handled their maulings very well.  Xela knows how to sit and come, and will be an amazing duck dog this fall.

My new baby girl!

Nice and clean

Seven weeks old

I love this video of Xela because it not only shows our cute little puppy in action; but, if you listen carefully, you can hear Quin's first full sentence.  Xela had been chewing on her coat and Quin came out to have a few words with the puppy.

 

Our other new arrival

 

Shortly after Xela’s arrival, we welcomed our second newest resident for the month of April – Ian.  Ian is Lindsey’s cousin who is attending BYU-Idaho.  He’s moved in with us for the summer.  Ian also has brown eyes and good nose.  He loves chewing on just about anything Lindsey whips up (just as you would expect a college-age guy to do).  Ian already helped haul McCall’s elk out last December, so he should come in handy this fall as well.  With a household of nine people and two dogs, things stay busy around this place!

Sunday Dinner - Don't even ask!

The Pirate, The Stud & Sleeping Beauty Baby

Visit from the Hansens 

 

The same day we got Xela, my cousins Brooks and Krissy, and their kids, Austin and Savannah came up to go to a cousin’s wedding.  It was fun to catch up and let the kids spend some time with their second cousins…that is a major disadvantage of not living in Cache Valley.  The kids loved playing with the new puppy and were quite sad when their new friends had to go home. 

Carson & Savannah go for a ride

 

C-O-O-K-I-E-S ....Go Cookies!

 

Lindsey and McCall had six Girl Scout cookie booths to man during the month of April and spent a lot of time doing that while I stayed home to man the fort.  This is the first year they’ve sold cookies in April (usually they sell them in March) and Lindsey thought it would be much better, but it turned out to be worse weather (more rain and snow) and people bought fewer cookies.  So, Lindsey is hoping the council leaders in Boise move cookie season back to March for next year. 

McCall dressed up like a Thin Mint

All good things must come to an end (at least for 7 months!)



Mid-April, we got a family season pass to Grand Targhee for next year.  They allow you to ski the remainder of the 2013 year on a 2014 season pass, so Lindsey took the kids up for the last day of the season on April 20th. 

 

The kids had a blast skiing and watching the cardboard box derby race. 

 

Watching the Cardboard Box Derby

 

Contestants constructed cars out of cardboard and then rode in them down the mountain.  Lindsey thinks she is going to do the race next year and is already dreaming up vehicle designs. 

 

 

Pony Party Extraordinaire (and some interesting comments about cutie marks)

 

April 20^th is also Carson’s birthday.  So, before everyone left to go skiing, we had orange rolls for breakfast and opened her presents. 

Carson turns four

Carson got a My Little Pony castle which she and I played with all day.  I was Shining Armor and she was Pinkie Pie and we got “married” at least 25 times. 

 

Carson's magical pony castle

 

I also took her out to McDonald’s for lunch and then she went to a friend’s Hello Kitty birthday party.  When she got home, she decided that she wanted an ice cream cone from Artic Circle…twice. 

A couple days later, we had a My Little Pony birthday party for Carson.  When the party guests arrived, we put cutie marks (the symbol on a pony’s flank) on everyone, put different colored Pony Tails in everyone’s hair, made Pony Wands,

Party favors, pony wands and pony tails

played “Horse, Horse, Pony”(like Duck, Duck, Goose),
played My Little Pony Memory,

and Hot Little Pony (like Hot Potato). 

Our final game was Pin the Cutie Mark on the Pony. 

One of the boys at the party asked, “What’s a cutie mark?”  Lindsey explained that it’s the symbol on a pony’s rump and that it’s kind of like a birthmark.  At which point in time the little boy who had asked the question replied, “Oh – well then I’ve got a cutie mark on my nuts!”  Lindsey could have sworn that she had heard him wrong so she asked, “What did you say?”  The boy repeated himself – louder than before – and this time there was no mistaking what he had said.  We quickly changed the subject.  Lindsey also made another amazing birthday cake for Carson's birthday. 

After her party, Carson told Lindsey that the cake was beautiful, but it would have been much better if Lindsey had frosted it pink. Apparently, in a four-year old girl’s eyes, any cake will be beautiful as long as it is pink.

 

Welcome Home!

The last weekend of the month was the most exciting because Mom and Dad Hunt got home from their mission to Mongolia.  We drove down on Friday night and met them at the airport Saturday morning. 

I felt sorry for them because they were so jetlagged, but were trying to be cordial to all of us staying at the house…I would have told everyone to leave me alone and let me sleep for several days.  It is so nice to have them home.  They brought four large suitcases home and most of it was stuff for their kids and grandkids.  The boys are loving their new silk ninja suits, McCall loves all the new jewelry she received and the little girls have been wearing their sheep wool hats.   

           

Quotable Quotes

 

Last but not least, here are a few funny things the kids said or did this month. 

 

Carson loves to help Lindsey “make and bake” – it doesn’t matter what Lindsey is doing in the kitchen, Carson is always right by her side helping cook.  Sometimes she’ll be in the mood for cookies and will go and get out all the ingredients – butter, salt, baking soda, flour, vanilla, eggs, sugar, Crisco, etc. – and then come and get Lindsey and tell her it’s time to make cookies.  It’s pretty impressive.

 

Wyatt got in trouble at school.  A girl in his class, Kamilla, told him that she’d kiss him if he didn’t braid her hair.  Not wanting to chance getting kissed, Wyatt did as he was told and started braiding.  Shortly after the braiding was initiated, Wyatt was reprimanded by his teacher and told to stop braiding Kamilla’s hair.  I found the entire incident highly amusing.