Our house "Warming"

We finally got all of the tests and paperwork approved for us to burn down the old farmhouse on our new property. Monday was perfectly calm-no wind at all-so we had our very own "house warming".  It was quite the show, and most everyone from around that area showed up to watch! haha

The kids were excited that their friends Spencer and Maggie could come to the "party"

This is the house before it was ablaze!

The boys with Spencer

Livia and Maggie

 Adam technically got to start the fire--he was pretty thrilled---the fire department stood by to keep an eye on things though.

It's starting!

 The boys got to sit on the fire truck. They thought it was pretty cool! And they made a new friend (also named Spencer)

Not much left that evening-----now a few days later----you'd never know there was a house there.

Our monthly update!

It seems like the fastest I can get to the blog is about once a month! The month of April slipped by pretty quick somehow. We've been staying pretty busy!! But surprisingly there aren't many pictures to prove that we've been doing anything. haha.
We had a second before church one day and everyone was looking especially good, so took advantage of that moment and took a few pics.......

The girls...

Ashton and Aaron.....don't they look so good in their suits?!!

My boys

 And Ashton had his birthday!!!! He looks forward to this day all year. (He's already planning what he'll do for his 8th birthday)

Ella decorated this ninja cake for him.....pretty good job!

He got a "nerf" crossbow, and loves it!

 Happy birthday Ashton!!! We love you soooo much!

And a BIG step for us......on the 16th of April we closed on some property!!!!! It's quite the project place, but we've (Adam mostly) already made some big changes.

And the kids are figuring out the equipment pretty quick. They think that's cool.

What a stud!

 Our project------3 acres..... 2 acres of nice field and 1 acre of garbage.  One acre is actually quite a bit of work to clear out! But everything you see in these pictures are gone now. So picture flat, open space perfect for a shop building......I'll try to take more pictures.

These 2 gems are the last to go.  (I hope you can hear the sarcasm) The house is getting burned down next week by the fire department and someone is coming today (hopefully) to get rid of the trailer house  Don't be deceived by appearances. That house is TERRIBLE! They put new siding and a new roof on a 1920's farm house that I'm guessing has never been updated.  So we are very excited to see them go.

 This is what has been the fate of almost everything on that lot.........We've had a lot of hot dogs and marshmallows. :)
So that is our project.....because Adam always needs a project! It will be amazing pretty soon. And we're excited to start building our shop, and then eventually (someday) our dream home.

And.....Ella had a band concert. I really thought that I took more than one picture. She is in the 5th and 6th grade bands and is doing so well! She's a much better clarinet player than I was at that age, I know.   It is so fun for me to watch my "little girl" do the things that I used to do! Ahhh, the memories of band.  FUN!!!

 If this video downloaded-- it is of Adam pushing down one of the old dead trees with his tractor----he already chainsawed it and it ended up landing just where he wanted it to.  It was very entertaining! (you can hear the Brown family and ours cheering Adam on.  haha)

Poor Preston

I knew it would happen someday---since we have boys---and a trampoline----we now have a 2 year old with a broken leg. :(      POOR PRESTON!!!

Aaron was bouncing Preston just a little too high, and Preston came down wrong on his leg. He fractured his tibia (shin bone) right below the knee. So he gets to wear a full leg cast all month long. He's handled it really well so far (just not at night). He's already attempting to walk on it. Which looks pretty funny. So, now, we will be more careful on the trampoline so this never, ever happens again. Right.

He started out with a splint for a few days---we did not like that. A cast is much better. But he did get some great attention.

Then on with the blue cast.....

 Here's to a quick recovery!!!

Then I found this pic---This was in Vegas---Livia made me laugh so hard.....she holds up her cone and says, "Look mom, I'm the Statue of Liberty!"  hahaha

This was the boys at Hoover Dam.  Good lookin' boys!

Easter was a lot of fun. We went to Adam's parent's house. All of his siblings were together-which hasn't happened in a while.  Adam brought his crossbow that he got with his birthday $$$.

The kids had a fun Easter egg hunt in Grandma and Grandpa's yard!

 Painting eggs

 All the cousins!

We had a really fun Easter (Saturday) with everyone. Easter Sunday we focused more on what Easter is all about. What a blessing it is that we have a Savior. A perfect man, who loved each of us, that he gave his life, so we can live again with Him.

March Madness

We don't get our kids wrapped presents for Christmas anymore----instead we plan a family vacation and that's their big present---we just don't ever know when in the year we will go.  Well, we went last week to VEGAS!!!  Note:  Wandering around Vegas with kids was not fun....but going to the shows we went to was  awesome!

The first night we went to the Excalibur jousting show and dinner---which I only have pictures of that on my phone.  It was the best show to take kids to ever!!!! It was constant action, and they get fed. What more could you ask for? It was a blast.

The next morning we walked around (not the best idea with kids).  But it was so funny to see people's reaction to our size family. Obviously people hadn't seen a family that size before. We were called the "almost Brady Bunch", and got lots of comments like, "WOW! are those all yours?" and we could see people counting.......it was pretty funny.

 The kids liked the "Eiffel Tower"

 We got to see some flamingos at Flamingo. That was cool.

 The second day we went to the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus. This was sooooo much fun too! There were no lines at all, and we probably went on more rides in one day than we did at Disneyland last year! There were great "little kid rides".  And of course the big kids went on the big rollercoaster, and all the crazy rides. It was a lot of fun!

 Liv's reaction to the carousel  (her favorite!)

Ashton's reaction to the carousel (haha!)

 Ashton, Ella, and Adam upside-down!

 Liv and Preston rode this ride soooo many times. They'd get done and they'd say, "Again!" and so the lady just started the ride again!

 The next day we went to Hoover Dam.

The kids rubbed the bronze statue for luck.

                                                     

This new bridge you see as you look out at the dam, it's called "Memorial Bridge". It is incredible!

 Then we drove 200 miles to the Grand Canyon turn off and we ran into this........white- out blizzard!! Oh no! 10-14 inches expected where we were. And there was no where to stay, and there was nothing we could do but turn around and go back to Vegas. We were so close!

 Back to Vegas.....oh well. We stayed in a nice place, and had a really nice buffet dinner. We'll see the Grand Canyon some day. :(

The next day we drove to St. George, UT.  We stopped by the St. George LDS Temple. It is so beautiful!  I don't know how they keep it so white. They must repaint it every year.

 Adam and Ashton racing. :) Ashton won. haha!

 
Later that day we went to a place in St. George called Pioneer Park. It was one of the highlights of the trip. We had soooo much fun. It is 52 acres of red rock to explore, hike, climb, picnic.......the kids were in heaven.

ok- some parts made me a little nervous......but for the most part, I did ok.

                                                     

 What a great lookin' bunch of kids!

 Preston loved picking up the rocks.

 We had so much fun on our little get away. It was nice that we could be flexible with our plans. Luckily we hadn't made any reservations in a hotel by the Grand Canyon. I am so lucky to have such a great group of kids. Our last day in Vegas during breakfast a man came up to Adam and I and said he'd been watching our kids and was so impressed with them. He told us what a good looking bunch we had (we already knew that) but it was good to hear. hahaha. That was probably my highlight of the trip!  I do love my family, and I'm glad we can have these fun memories.