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April 2018
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: April 1st was Easter. And April Fools’ Day. Fun combination! We were in Richfield with cousins, so that was even more fun. Kezia pulled some pranks of her own see her section), but the adults had some tricks, too, and the kids had a memorable egg hunt – some eggs were super-glued shut, some had veggies in it, some had empty wrappers. J They still managed to get plenty of candy and money, though, and their baskets all had books and goodies, too. It was also General Conference & we enjoyed watching it with family. Monday we stayed in Richfield (start of our Spring Break). We enjoyed going swimming in the Richfield pool l (they even had a floating obstacle course!), and just hanging out. Tuesday morning we got up and took off for Capital Reef. We stopped by the Visitor Center & watched a short film, ate lunch, and headed off to explore. We did the Capital Gorge Wash (pretty! But the water holes at the top were mostly dry), Hickman Bridge (fast hike, the bridge was awesome), and we stopped at Panorama Point. We ate dinner at a pizza place in Torrey. The pizza was yummy, but it was expensive!! Afterwards, we went to Days Inn & the older girls – including Noelle - went swimming. Oaklyn didn’t sleep well that night (she only slept for 10 minutes in the hiking backpack), but it was nice to have breakfast taken care of the next day. So, Wednesday was driving over to Escalante. We really wanted to try the Peek-a-boo & Spooky slot canyons, so we headed that way. We knew it was 27 miles away, but didn’t realize that was all dirt road. Most of it was very washboard-y, so we either took it slow (which would have taken even longer than it already did), or just go fast & push through it, and feel like the van and all of our bones are being rattled apart J We finally made it and everyone did great with the hike. Unfortunately, Jason threw out his back a couple days before, so he wasn’t able to hike into the Peek-a-boo slot Canyon, so Heidi went with Ireland & Kezia. It was SO SO neat! We definitely want to go back one day. We did the other slot canyon that we could all walk in and that was really cool, too. By the time we got back to van, and drove back to the main road, it was time to head home. We were sad we didn’t get to do more in Escalante, but we hope to go back one day. We ate dinner & have a beautiful drive back, getting home about 10pm on Wednesday. Then we had a couple of relaxing fun days with friends to finish off our Spring Break. Saturday, the 7th was Noelle’s 4th birthday party at the aquatic center, and then we celebrated her real birthday the next day. It was a lot of fun – see her section for more details! That day, we also went to Brecken Bealer’s baptism, and Maddy Sobel’s reception. The week of the 16th, daddy had his work meeting in Ogden. We had a fun girls week, painted nails, read, and rotated who got to sleep with mom. But we were so glad when he came home! On the 18th, the Potts headed back up north, not coming back till after their mission L On the 21st, the Foleys from our ward invited us for a get-together at their barn in New Harmony. It was so beautiful – a lovely evening visiting with friends, meeting new people, chasing chickens, eating hot dogs & s’mores. We all even got to pet a huge snake! That next night, on Sunday, we had a fire in our backyard & enjoyed laughing & talking with Truly and Levi. We broke out the guitars and Truly got her Ukulele and it was a great time. On the 25th it was warm enough to break out Noelle’s plastic pool that she got for her birthday. We all invited friends and it felt just like summer! We can’t wait till the real deal! On the 27th, the Vogts had us over for pizza & we met a new family that just moved in the area. It was fun! In much less fun news, the past couple months, we have had some extra residents in our home, unwanted! We’ve been catching mice, and mom hated disposing of them, so each of the older girls earned $5 disposing of mice! They didn’t love, it, but EASY MONEY! Heidi also worked to make sure we all have working bikes & new helmets this year. Let’s go on some bike rides!
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: April 1st was Easter. And April Fools’ Day. Fun combination! We were in Richfield with cousins, so that was even more fun. Kezia pulled some pranks of her own see her section), but the adults had some tricks, too, and the kids had a memorable egg hunt – some eggs were super-glued shut, some had veggies in it, some had empty wrappers. J They still managed to get plenty of candy and money, though, and their baskets all had books and goodies, too. It was also General Conference & we enjoyed watching it with family. Monday we stayed in Richfield (start of our Spring Break). We enjoyed going swimming in the Richfield pool l (they even had a floating obstacle course!), and just hanging out. Tuesday morning we got up and took off for Capital Reef. We stopped by the Visitor Center & watched a short film, ate lunch, and headed off to explore. We did the Capital Gorge Wash (pretty! But the water holes at the top were mostly dry), Hickman Bridge (fast hike, the bridge was awesome), and we stopped at Panorama Point. We ate dinner at a pizza place in Torrey. The pizza was yummy, but it was expensive!! Afterwards, we went to Days Inn & the older girls – including Noelle - went swimming. Oaklyn didn’t sleep well that night (she only slept for 10 minutes in the hiking backpack), but it was nice to have breakfast taken care of the next day. So, Wednesday was driving over to Escalante. We really wanted to try the Peek-a-boo & Spooky slot canyons, so we headed that way. We knew it was 27 miles away, but didn’t realize that was all dirt road. Most of it was very washboard-y, so we either took it slow (which would have taken even longer than it already did), or just go fast & push through it, and feel like the van and all of our bones are being rattled apart J We finally made it and everyone did great with the hike. Unfortunately, Jason threw out his back a couple days before, so he wasn’t able to hike into the Peek-a-boo slot Canyon, so Heidi went with Ireland & Kezia. It was SO SO neat! We definitely want to go back one day. We did the other slot canyon that we could all walk in and that was really cool, too. By the time we got back to van, and drove back to the main road, it was time to head home. We were sad we didn’t get to do more in Escalante, but we hope to go back one day. We ate dinner & have a beautiful drive back, getting home about 10pm on Wednesday. Then we had a couple of relaxing fun days with friends to finish off our Spring Break. Saturday, the 7th was Noelle’s 4th birthday party at the aquatic center, and then we celebrated her real birthday the next day. It was a lot of fun – see her section for more details! That day, we also went to Brecken Bealer’s baptism, and Maddy Sobel’s reception. The week of the 16th, daddy had his work meeting in Ogden. We had a fun girls week, painted nails, read, and rotated who got to sleep with mom. But we were so glad when he came home! On the 18th, the Potts headed back up north, not coming back till after their mission L On the 21st, the Foleys from our ward invited us for a get-together at their barn in New Harmony. It was so beautiful – a lovely evening visiting with friends, meeting new people, chasing chickens, eating hot dogs & s’mores. We all even got to pet a huge snake! That next night, on Sunday, we had a fire in our backyard & enjoyed laughing & talking with Truly and Levi. We broke out the guitars and Truly got her Ukulele and it was a great time. On the 25th it was warm enough to break out Noelle’s plastic pool that she got for her birthday. We all invited friends and it felt just like summer! We can’t wait till the real deal! On the 27th, the Vogts had us over for pizza & we met a new family that just moved in the area. It was fun! In much less fun news, the past couple months, we have had some extra residents in our home, unwanted! We’ve been catching mice, and mom hated disposing of them, so each of the older girls earned $5 disposing of mice! They didn’t love, it, but EASY MONEY! Heidi also worked to make sure we all have working bikes & new helmets this year. Let’s go on some bike rides!
JASON We’re not sure how daddy doesn’t just tip right over with all the hats he’s been wearing lately! Employee/Boss – 2 week-long meetings this month and some major drama to deal with, Elder’s Quarum – In general conference, all the elder’s quorums got disbanded, and a unified Melchezideck Priesthood Quorum was formed. So, Jason’s respite was short-lived, as he got released, and then called again as the 2nd counselor of the combined Elder’s Quorum. He is such a great man and we support him in his new calling, especially glad to at least have him home most Sunday mornings now. Soccer Coach – Jason is Kezia’s soccer coach for U10. He has had practices once a week, and 2 games a week. He has done such a great job & it’s great to see how the girls trust him and have a great repore with him. Kezia especially is ecstatic to finally get her daddy as the coach. He is learning a lot with this since it’s his first time, but he’s doing so great! Daddy/husband – he still is great at making time for helping with homework, housework, and honey-do lists – he even installed 2 ceiling fans and put up some peg board in the garage! We love you daddy – thank you for all you do!
HEIDI: Heidi’s 8 (it’s really 7, though) challenge started this month after Easter and while she hasn’t lost weight yet, she has been doing good with her goals and getting around to some backburner items, including organizing, working on Family History, and just trying to be a better mom. She REALLY enjoyed exploring the national parks for Spring Break & hopes to go back and do more. The slot canyons were really incredible and it fills her soul to be out exploring.
McKINLEY:
- McKinley has been very busy with school, and on more than one occasion, she’s stayed up past 11 working on her homework. Her teacher assigned a unitl on medieval times. She has made a working parts triorama, from-scratch lemon tarts, and a huge family tree, complete with pictures. She’s also doing 2 written reports and is going to do a game with the class. She also has a lot of math homework, and has been doing SAGE testing (her favorite!! ;))
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IRELAND:
- For some reason we never knew before, but found out that Ireland doesn’t like potato chips. She likes corn chips, but not potato chips.
-One night this month, Ireland had a nightmare. When asked about it the next day, she hesitantly told us it was about barbies. Barbies who were chewing her sides. And while they were doing it, one happy Barbie asked politely, “On scale of 1-10, how much does this hurt?”
-Ireland finished gymnastics for this session at the end of April. She was really bummed she didn’t make it to the next level (4), but she only has a couple more things to work on & she will be there. We are so proud of the progress she’s made!
-Ireland picked out a new bike at Walmart & it’s super-cute! She’s had fun riding with Mahina.
-Ireland has also been playing more with Izi Newbold, and spend almost the whole Saturday with her.
-Ireland played Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Bard Birthday Bash at SUU. She was nervous, but did such a great job!! Daddy even came from work to see her.
KEZIA:
-Kezia can’t let an April Fools Day go by without one prank or another. This year it was on Easter & we were at Grandma Devenish’s. She saved a brownie from the day before & grabbed some lemonade & made a very convincing “accident” that one of the dogs did. She got grandma, who laughed and went to get grandpa. Grandpa was about to beat the dogs, when we told him the joke. Another one was putting mayo & mustard in place of the filling of an Oreo (they were yellow spring Oreos). And she gave everyone some of her EMPTY can of Pringles. She’s a prankster for sure!
-Kezi started soccer this month & was so excited to have her daddy as the coach. While she says he calls her name too much, he really does a great job and she is having fun being a different color this year – yellow. They are the Golden Warriors! This year she is playing with older girls, on a bigger field, and there are goalies. She actually has done an awesome goalie job!
- Kezia did reports on frogs & seahorses this month & learned a lot! She made the cutest frog with wax paint and her seahorse book was SO cute!
-Kezia got to go on a field trip to St. George! She also had a swimming pool field trip, and got to go to Courtney Riddle’s birthday party J
LINK:
Our weeds have been popping up everywhere & it’s a big job to keep them at bay. There was what looked like a weed by our back door, but mom decided to wait & see. So thankful she did! It ended up being a forget-me-not! Daddy saw it and said “is that what I think it is?” Sure enough! What a sweet, sweet love note! Thank you our sweet boy! Thank you for all your love notes & being so close to us.
NOELLE:
-Noelle usually exclaims “Don’t say maybe!” when we tell her maybe to a question she asked.
-Noelle was “playing” the piano & Kezia wanted to play. Noelle say “Stop! I want to plactice!”
-One day we had friends over & it was lunch time. Noelle asked for a hot dog. Mom replied that we didn’t have any. Noelle said “Then make some!”
-We have had mice in our house & Noelle is not having any of it! She is continually gathering all kinds of random items and proclaiming them to be mouse traps and coming up with various ways to kill them. One night she yelled “Everyone get their scary stuff!! We got to get the mouse!!”
-Noelle is SO so SO excited about going to see her cousins, Grace & Maddy in Minnesota. It’s SUPER hard for her to wait. She keeps gathering random things from around the house & telling mommy “I’m taking this to show Grace & Maddy!”
-One evening we were sitting around our backyard campfire and singing all the verses to “I am a Child of God.” We sang “I am a Child of God, and so my needs are great.” Noelle piped up “No, my knees aren’t grey!”
-Noelle LOVES to color – especially with the new smell-good art set that she got for her birthday. One day she drew a picture, handed it to mom and said she wanted her to send it to God. She drew lots of people on her drawing. She said it was the people that live with God J
-Noelle had a couple really bad allergic reactions this month. We’re still not sure what caused them, but the first one happened after a soccer game and we went to our SUU rental. Her eye was so red and swollen, she could barely open it. The other time, her face was all red and blotchy L
Our weeds have been popping up everywhere & it’s a big job to keep them at bay. There was what looked like a weed by our back door, but mom decided to wait & see. So thankful she did! It ended up being a forget-me-not! Daddy saw it and said “is that what I think it is?” Sure enough! What a sweet, sweet love note! Thank you our sweet boy! Thank you for all your love notes & being so close to us.
NOELLE:
-Noelle usually exclaims “Don’t say maybe!” when we tell her maybe to a question she asked.
-Noelle was “playing” the piano & Kezia wanted to play. Noelle say “Stop! I want to plactice!”
-One day we had friends over & it was lunch time. Noelle asked for a hot dog. Mom replied that we didn’t have any. Noelle said “Then make some!”
-We have had mice in our house & Noelle is not having any of it! She is continually gathering all kinds of random items and proclaiming them to be mouse traps and coming up with various ways to kill them. One night she yelled “Everyone get their scary stuff!! We got to get the mouse!!”
-Noelle is SO so SO excited about going to see her cousins, Grace & Maddy in Minnesota. It’s SUPER hard for her to wait. She keeps gathering random things from around the house & telling mommy “I’m taking this to show Grace & Maddy!”
-One evening we were sitting around our backyard campfire and singing all the verses to “I am a Child of God.” We sang “I am a Child of God, and so my needs are great.” Noelle piped up “No, my knees aren’t grey!”
-Noelle LOVES to color – especially with the new smell-good art set that she got for her birthday. One day she drew a picture, handed it to mom and said she wanted her to send it to God. She drew lots of people on her drawing. She said it was the people that live with God J
-Noelle had a couple really bad allergic reactions this month. We’re still not sure what caused them, but the first one happened after a soccer game and we went to our SUU rental. Her eye was so red and swollen, she could barely open it. The other time, her face was all red and blotchy L
OAKLYN:
-Some of Oaklyn’s favorite phrases lately: “Go away” “let go!” “Look!” (pointing), and “watch this!” She’s also very adept at saying all her sister’s names now, and likes to take them things that are theirs.
-She LOVES singing –
especially The Wheels on the Bus. We got it on video, but she will be crying
and sad and if you start singing the Wheels on the Bus, she will stop crying
& start signing. It’s so cute!-Some of Oaklyn’s favorite phrases lately: “Go away” “let go!” “Look!” (pointing), and “watch this!” She’s also very adept at saying all her sister’s names now, and likes to take them things that are theirs.
-Oaklyn loves making water messes!
-She usually takes a 2-3 hour nap each day about noon. Sometimes we have to wake her up so she’ll sleep at night. She still takes the binki for naps & bedtime.
-If you hold your phone up, or get the camera, she will smile and say CHEESE!!
-Oaklyn still loves nursery and gym daycare – we hope it stays that way!
-Oaklyn has been more into shoes lately – even mommy’s heels!
