A Touch Of Tyrell

The very next Saturday after the motocross races, Jake had to take the scouts on a snow campout. Jake was a boy scout long, long ago and has many great memories. Now he is a boy scout leader over the 12-year-olds. They really wanted to camp in the snow... so after putting it off for many weeks, they finally went.  I didn't even think they'd find snow but they did.  There are a lot of things Jake wishes were different about the scouting program, but he's getting the hang of it. We both wish it took less time away from our family but we've already seen so many blessings from his "volunteer" service in the scouting program. 

I'm backtracking a little, but in early February Jake went to a motocross event/show/race with Kevin.  Jake had a lot of fun and can't wait until he can take Everett to one.  For so many reasons we sold our quads last year so this is just Jake dreaming of the future: He said the track and the races were so cool and there was even a part of the track that went out of the stadium and then back in. But he forgot earplugs which, I guess, was a pretty big mistake! 

Lucky for us, our back-fence neighbors have a lemon tree and want us to pick as many lemons as possible.  One Sunday afternoon in February Jake helped the kids make some homemade lemonade.  And then he cooked dinner and we ate outside. It really was a nice as it sounds :)

Once or twice a year our neighborhood has a "party" at the park. Vendors, free food, games, balloons, snow cones, cotton candy, face painting, etc.  For the first time, Everett got his face painted!! He was so cute. He also did a pony race with his friend Bella. She spanked him big time! Everett and Emily (his "girlfriend" whom he is convinced he'll marry someday) went through the obstacle course bounce house at least 5 times. Jake and Breckie races a few times too.  The first time Emily beat him he cried and cried. But we couldn't be too hard on him because he actually tried so many new things that he'd been WAY too timid to do in the past. We have to work on one thing at a time! The giant hamster balls were a big hit.  And I still can't believe it but Everett wanted to go in this crazy contraptions that spun you in circles. He was so brave! After being spun a few times he was ready to get out. I'm ...

Everett and I colored Easter eggs on Saturday. Beckie didn't want to and Jake was gone on a boys trip.  We had tons of fun and it was such a cute experience.  Everett measured and mixed each color, colored cute and creative things on his eggs, and was fascinated at how they turned out.  A few days prior we had gotten an Easter package from my mom and the bubble guns have been a huge hit.  We have church at 8 am so we didn't really get the chance to get a family Easter pic on Sunday but it's okay... The Easter bunny stopped by and hid eggs while we were at church. The kids thought it was magical- and he left almost 100 eggs for them! Later we went to the Millers for probably our best holiday meal yet... and another egg hunt.  We also celebrated the real meaning of Easter and it's cute to see their understanding and testimonies of Christ grow. 

We had to check out of our hotel by noon so we went to the beach first thing that morning.  The Millers joined us for the first hour in building sandcastles.  Jake rented a surfboard so he could have a little fun with Everett and to see if he could catch a wave or two himself.  Breckie was content on the beach.  Up next was the boogie board. It was a little easier for Everett to stay on.   They both had a lot of fun and I was impressed at how long Everett lasted in the water.  We headed back to the hotel just in time to pack our room, check out, and then swim in the pool for two hours :) Eventually we made our way back to the Fish Shop for more shrimp & chips and ceviche. We left around 3:30 and it was kind-of a rat race to get home. We stopped a few times, took the wrong exit, and ended up taking a few back roads to get home... but we made it back with lots of wet clothes, sand...