6 Month Anniversay

So it has been officially six months that we have lived in Boise/Meridian Idaho. Sometimes it feels like 6 years other times 6 weeks. While we really miss our comfort zone we had in Arizona of friends/family and never worrying about the weather, we are grateful for renewed relationships with friends and family who have welcomed us into their daily lives. We recently met our neighbors and they conveniently have two boys our boys age and they are sports lovers as well. The boys love throwing the ball over the fence to each other.

We are looking forward to the lazy days of summer and Alex especially is looking forward to me not nagging him about homework. Although it took him 10 min max plus reading time. It appears that summer will fly by but we are looking forward to warmer days, time with family, vacations to beautiful places, Alex's baptism, three birthdays, trips to the Zoo, and the occasional blog to update our fans on our lives.

Last week we hosted Mason's First Birthday Bash. (Mason is my cousin Steph and Jake's little boy) We had a Luau complete with leis and strawberry daqeries. The kids had so much fun and decided to try and eat cake with no hands too. We all adore Mason (May Me as Syd would say) and it is fun having a baby visit often.

Mason's Birthday Bash

Weekend at Grandma's

This past weekend all who could congregated at Grandma Marie's home to do yardwork. I had heard how much fun it was last year and so we were happy to be able to attend this year. I have many fond memories of spending time at Grandma and Grandpa Wood's house. Being that they only lived a few miles away we got to spend a lot of time together. I especially loved it when the cousins would come for a visit. Inevitably, Steph and I would would ask if I could sleepover and they always said yes. We would stay up late, make up dances, eat lots of yummy treats, play Sticker and Bank Stop (Sticker and Bank Stop is a one stop shop for purchasing stickers and making bank deposits. We are still trying to pitch the idea but haven't found the perfect invester). We would wind down the evening talking about our futures in the orange and yellow striped bedroom. Times have changed as the orange and yellow bedroom has been updated and now we are the ones with kids hanging out together. But one thing remains the same our love for family and spending time together and helping each other out. Thanks Aunt Peggy for the pictures both past and present. They are priceless.

My Greatest Feat by Alex Henry Richardson

I found this writing assignment in Alex's backpack last night. It is so Alex!

My greatest feat is when I was playing flag football. It was my second to last game. My friend threw the ball and it wasn't where it should be but that's where it was going so I went fast has I could and two 3rd graders were guarding me but I dove and caught it. My teammates yelled touchdown!

No April Fools Here

This is what we woke up to this morning. Snow! I say to myself it is April and Spring isn't it? They say we are supposed to be in the 70's on Sat. Thankfully, as I am typing the snow is melting away.

Well, my better half won the bracket tournament. I screamed when it went into overtime. Like I always say... fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. You have to make your free throws. Okay so I don't always say that... Cris does. It just sounded good. Oh well there is always next year.

Alex first game was entertaining. About half of the kids know and understand what is going on. The other half... not sure why they are there. But it makes for a good laugh. Thank goodness the coaches are very patient. We did loose and Alex wasn't even upset, which is huge for him. Very competitive. We have another game on Friday.

Here are some pics of our Master Bedroom. It is mostly done. We need to hang stuff and accessorize. We were going for a coastal chic look. We put 3 inch wide bead board on the ceiling. I told Cris since he did such a good job his next assignment is crown molding in Syd's room.

Go Memphis!

Okay so not really a big Memphis fan but they are my pick to win the NCAA championship game tonight. Yes, I am in the lead in our family bracket contest. I picked the Kansas and Memphis with Memphis winning. If they do win Alex comes in second and Cris - well a distant third. However if they lose, then Cris comes from behind, me in second and Alex third. Zach's picks of Notre Dame and Texas in the final game well it just didn't happen. But he is loyal to the Irish. No idea why he picked Texas. We will be watching the game a little later after Alex's first Little League Baseball game. Should be good fun. He is so excited. Go Blue Jays!

Sunday Sunday

Another weekend come and gone and a great one at that. It was General Conference weekend -- one of my favorites of the year. We have to start making our own GC memories in Idaho. For the past 9 years we have gone to or had our dear friends the Hales over for dinner on Sat eve. The men go to Priesthood and we catch up on life. It is amazing at one time their was only one kid and at last count their were 7 running around at our last gathering.

So on Sat we went to dinner before Priesthood with Darin and Natalia at Carrabbas and then sent the boys on thier way to the Priesthood session. One of my favorite talks of the weekend was by Dallin H. Oaks about testimonies. I realized we need to help Alex develop his own testimony as it is only a couple of months before he gets baptized.

My friend Jenny sent this link to me and it was a great way to end my Sunday. It is a slide show entitled Reflections of Christ made by a photographer in Mesa. This gentleman, Mark Mabry, recreated the story of Christ’s life with photography, and he took all of the photos in Arizona, in places that best resembled the areas of the Holy Land where Christ’s ministry took place. This video/slideshow (link below) has most of the photos, though not all of them. It is It is on display at the Mesa AZ Visitor's Center. It is simply beautiful. Enjoy

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