the blogadillos: April 2012

April 23, 2012

A trip home (San Antonio style)

Jason found out right after he started his new job that there was a credit conference in San Anyonio in October. It was the perfect chance for me to make the trip with him and show off Ila Jo, since we moved four weeks before my due date and none of our friends got to meet her. The first couple of nights we stayed in the hotel the conference was held in. It was kitty korner from The Alamo. Pretty sweet digs. After that we stayed with the McCallys. We had late game nights every night, just like the good old days. We love our Texas friends so much. It was a great chance for us to go back. By the end of this summer almost all of our friends will have left, except 3 or 4 families. Lifetime friendships. It really did feel like going home to me. These picture might be all over the place, but I'm posting from my phone and can't make sense of it.

Alamo drive by shot

Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App

Ela, Ila, and me at an afternoon movie

Spoons! At the McCally's

Our day trip to Austin had to include Mighty Fine burgers

Game night at the Hansen’s

Melanie, Lisa, me, Corinne

Burke, Jason, Brad, Adam

Melanie was 40 weeks pregnant and staying up into the wee hours of the morning with us. That is true friendship right there.

Jason’s birthday night at the McCally’s

That is a Texas sized game of Rummy

Corinne and Ila

Mmm…..Harmons….

April 16, 2012

Halloween

This year I was super ambitious. Not sure when, or if, that will happen again. The costumes were crazy expensive on ebay and I knew I could make them for a tenth of the cost.
Anyway, we decided to be an Angry Bird family. My mom helped quite a bit, that probably helped my ambitiousness. My dad also designed a few of the faces. Ila Jo was our King Pig. Is that even what they're called? I'm not sure, because I have never played. But Colby has, and Jason, maybe even Eva and Lilia.
We had a trunk-or-treat and then we trick-or-treated in our neighborhood. It was the craziest trick or treating I've ever participated in!!! We've never lived in a neighborhood full of kids before, but I'm pretty sure I could count on one hand the houses in our neighborhood that don't have kids. So that was an experience!

The most felt I'll probably ever buy!

We made a trip to the corn maze/pumpkin patch and the kids loved the maze!

First Day of School!

Eva started kindergarden and Colby started 1st grade.

Waiting in line to go in to class.

An after school shot

School pictures (pictures of pictures)

We did Fall soccer this year, the kids had a blast.

Lilia

Eva

Colby

In November Eva got into a charter school, which was quite miraculous I guess! It's really hard to get in, they do a lottery each year. This year was a little different because they opened an extra kindergarden class, so they somehow had room for her. If you don't get in in kindergarden it is almost impossible because siblings get first dibs and there is only a couple of openings in each class every year. It's a great school, and Colby was picked in the lottery for 2nd grade! Yay! This is Eva's first day at her new school.

Summer 2011

Well, here I am.

Last summer we spent a couple of months at my parents' cabin in Cascade. It is so stunning, it's hard to believe we have access to such beauty such a short way from home. Even growing up in Idaho, I guess it's something I'll never get used to.

Jason came up a night or two each week and then was there for the weekend. I think I will always feel a special connection to Cascade because of the summer of 2011.

Cascade had a summer reading program through the library. Each week they had an activity at the park. They focused on a different country each week. My kids each got a t-shirt and a backpack. It was the highlight of the week.

Becky & co. came down for the week before the 4th of July. The kids played outside and enjoyed each other's company. We had so much fun we decided that it has to be a tradition from now on. My brother and his family moved to Spokane. More close family, yay! They got there just before the 4th, unloaded their moving truck, and then drove the 5 1/2 hours down to Cascade to be able to sit on the golf course and watch the fireworks over the lake. (Gorgeous, by the way. It's my favorite way to enjoy fireworks.)

After that the kids and I spent a week in Pocatello, where I suffered through 3 root canals. Joy. Not. But I will survive. We also made a trip to SLC while I was visiting to see my friend from TX, Megan. It was so great seeing her and Makena!

Then it was back to Cascade for another month. In August it was another family gathering! My sister Leslie and brother-in-law Alex came to visit and brought my newest niece, Lola. Norah, Lola, and Ila (destined to be BCF-best cousins forever) got to meet up! They were born between January 2011 to June 2011. They haven't seen each other since, but I'm hoping they will again this year over the 4th.

We didn't plan on being there as long as we were. However, when buying a house in this crazy economy, you never know when it will all finally fall in to place. We had a stressful time of it all, and closed a month and 10 days after we initially hoped to. Luckily we were in to our house before school started, and that was really what I was concerned about.

We had 2 weeks to enjoy the neighborhood pool. It was pretty fantastic, something I would have really liked to have available in Texas, but I'll take what I can get!

Now for the pictures. There are about a million, so I apologize ahead of time, but I have problems cutting down.

Field right off the deck.

Our friends came up to spend a few days with us.

We drove up into the mountains when the Binghams were visiting. The day after we were swimming at the lake.

Miss Jo

Story time

We went to a church picnic on the beach and didn't put the kids in suits because we thought it was too cold. Instead they went swimming in their clothes. Take a closer look at Elliot. :)