Silly Times

Rinar is now in full swing with his new job. That means that he has been gone a lot, learning the ropes. But when he is home, he sure is silly.

And so are we!

Favorites This Month

Here are some of my favorite snapshots of my little kids over the past month or so...

I was going on an errand and I saw this little beauty outside riding her bike. I was just loving the outfit, an ensemble she put together herself. And so I took the picture from the seat of my car. And then the girl gave a killer pose. Iconic.

Here is another killer pose. This seems to be a favorite lately. Harry is so scary!

Just darling.

The last vestiges of Eli's birthday party. He just loved the balloons so much.

At the Chevron up the street, hanging out with Mark Twain, Reno's most famous resident.

Another outfit of her own creation. This girl has style.

Farewell Galena

Saturday night we had a lovely evening at Chris and Kimberly's house. They hosted a farewell party for us and we had so many wonderful people come to wish us well on our journey to Utah. We had fun eating and visiting. I have been very blessed with the many associations I have made in Reno. And I can say that I have definitely learned a lot about myself over the past two years.

Gloria, Steve, Rob, Anna, Sariah, and Leah

Kelli, Larae, and Kimberly

Rinar and Rose

Paul, Brett, and Brian

 Rachel and Rusty were not able to make the party because they had a long drive back from Sacramento. So Rachel invited our family over on Sunday for some cake and ice cream. The kids had a lot of fun playing with their family and that gave us time to visit with each other. Rachel and Rusty are fun and we enjoying hanging out with them. I wish we had been able to do it some more. We will really miss them a lot.

But the kids sure loved the dessert.

Reno Emergency Preparedness Fair

Last year, I had a vision. After talking to many of my homeschooling friends over several months I realized that I needed to take action. They were constantly discussing prepping and how to do it and they had lots of questions. And though I will readily admit that I am no expert, I knew that the talents and resources of my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) could really help these women with their questions about such an important issue. And if they had questions and were interested in preparation, then it only made sense that there were loads of people out there who wanted some guidance with preparing for emergencies.

So I proposed a fair. Why not have a big, huge emergency preparedness fair geared specifically for our friends and neighbors in the community?  This was a totally doable idea in my eyes, but there were many people who thought I was nuts.

But I persisted and we made it happen. And I have to confess that it was just about the easiest things I have ever done. This is because for the first time probably in my entire life, I did a fantastic job of delegating. With the help and sage ideas of my fellow ward missionaries, we were able come up with lots of great ideas and figure out the right people to ask to make it happen.  

We came up with the subject matters that we wanted to share with the community and then found the best people to be in charge of each area. 

And the result? It was a huge success! The entire gymnasium was full of booths, with samples, displays and oodles of information. It was colorful and exciting and meaty. And for the entire four hours of the fair, which ended up happening on Saturday, March 9 from 10-2pm, the church was constantly full of people.

We also offered two class options every hour: wills & trusts, investing, gardening, water storage, getting started, bread making, canning & preserving, first aid. The teachers were well prepared and we had good attendance. And there were constantly people talking to the experts at the booths. We also had lots of food samples, which never hurts.

I learned a lot from this event. It doesn't have to be difficult. I kept it simple, planned way ahead, communicated my needs to our army of volunteers and then prayed like crazy. Heavenly Father heard my prayers. I hope this event will foster positive feelings for us and the community in Reno and that many good things will come from this. I think it is so important to put yourself out there to be a force for good, wherever you are planted. I also learned that it is important to dream big, set goals, and then implement them. 

It is so satisfying to think up something big, and then watch how it all comes together. Fantastic!

A Perfect Ski Afternoon

One of the perks of homeschooling is freedom to be flexible. On March 6th, we exercised that right and had a short school day so that the kids could enjoy an afternoon of skiing at Mt. Rose. The weather was magnificent and the slopes were just perfect.  

I don't ski, but I am a good ski-watcher. This is the first time they went on their own and they did fantastic. And surprisingly enough, both of them had fun. Zach is a bit more reluctant to hit the slopes but after he got the first one off his back, he actually enjoyed himself. I am so glad we were able to seize the day and enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

Eli is 5

I think it would be very safe to say that this may have been the most anticipated 5 year-old birthday party in the history of the world. Eli has been talking about his birthday party for the past 8 months or so. It was almost to the point of an obsession. This is what happens when you are the younger child in the family and a guest at a brother's party. You know that it is totally awesome and you want one of your own.

Finally the day arrived. The big party.  We actually held his party on Wednesday February 20, because of another birthday party being held on his actual birthday. I don't think he minded that small technicality.

It was a great day for Eli. He had lots of friends come to his party, just the way he envisioned it. We played many games and colored and ate cake and enjoyed treats.

Ira had a mouth full of marshmallow in this fun game.

Here is Eli mastering the bean bag toss. Look at the concentration in his eyes. Masterful. Carter is standing behind him, then Kaislee, Ira, Jason, Harry, and Lincoln. 

It is wonderful to have to very enthusiastic 11 year-old boys. They were so helpful with the games and activities. Plus, it was a day off of school, a double bonus for them! Ira shoots, while Kaislee, Lincoln, and Jason wait their turn.

Eli is an avid colorer and he was joined by Alyssa, Abby, and Kaislee. 

Alyssa is getting ready to pin the Lego on the Lego board. 

 Harry nailed it! Good job kid.

And finally, the birthday cake. I took Eli to Costco to pick it out. I would have liked to have made the cake but I had to be practical considering the fact that it was a day after we came back from our house hunting trip in Utah. I put a Skylanders toy on the top and the kid was pretty darn happy.

I have to say that I have been very blessed to have this boy in my life. It was not an easy journey to get him here, but it was worth every poke, punch, prod and appointment I had to endure. He is a joy beyond measure. He is so sweet and kind, thoughtful, full of love and joy. I love watching him grow up. This kid is going places.  I love this little boy.

Fishing Tournament

Rinar's brother Nordel is on the fishing team for Dixie State College. Did you know that colleges have fishing teams? I didn't.  There was a fishing tournament in Chico, California on January 18th and Rinar decided to bring the hotel to Nordel and his teammate Matt for the weekend competition.  In other words, he pulled brought the trailer and brought a cheering section: Zach and Eli.

Nordel represented Dixie State well and finished in the middle of the pack. While they were out there on the lake, Rinar took the kids around town for a little bit of sight-seeing. Zach and Eli had so much fun and were able to have some good bonding moments: around the fire, eating elk jerky, playing games at the campsite. It was a great weekend for the boys.