Family Update

Just a quick update on what we have been up to. Last week we were kept pretty busy; me looking for a board patient, still no luck and the kid's end of school activities. Sadie had her spring concert for band and had a solo. Here is the clip of it - sorry if the video seems shaky, I started crying a bit when she started her solo - I guess I was just so proud of how well she was doing!

Cody had the chance to do an Idaho History Project for school this year. Every 4th grader in Idaho has Idaho History as their social studies for the entire year. Here is a photo of him sitting next to his project in his classroom. He skinned a beaver, just like one of the mountain man trapper's from early Idaho. For his display he made a poster of photos that were taken while he was skinning the beaver. Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins, while they were here,
helped him put it together. I thought it turned out great, and he got an A on the project so he was pretty proud. The furs that he displayed are ones that Brett has trapped and had tanned.
Last weekend we were able to make our annual CJ Strike Crappie fishing trip. We camped in the pouring rain and hurricane force winds - in a tent! That part wasn't very fun, but the fishing was still pretty good. Here is a photo of one of the big "small mouth" bass that Sadie caught. It was cold, thus the hat on her head.

That sums up the update! We are busy as usual, with more stuff to get done than we have time for. I am sure most of you can relate! Have a great Memorial Day!

Graduation and Relaxation

Me - Giving a little speach.

See how happy my family looks now? Yeah - Mommy is done!

Brett, Me and my Mom and Dad Graduation day - I thought it would never come.

Strong enough to get through this program? Then strong enough to do ANYTHING! Yes, I wore jeans and running shoes :)

So - It has finally happened . . . I have graduated! Some of you might not realize that I took my first pre-requisite classes for this program before my twins were even thought of - Now, 9 years later, I have a bachelors degree in Dental Hygiene. It has been a long time coming and I am so excited to be done. I am proud to say that of my immediate family I am the first of my 6 siblings to have my bachelors degrees (Sarah will be getting hers in a couple weeks and Kelly is working towards hers as well - keep at it!).
On Friday May 7th the Dental Hygiene department had a private graduation ceremony and because I was our class president for the two years of the program, I was privileged to say a few words, thus the silly photo of me at the podium. I didn't have 2 caps on, one is the shadow. I was very blessed to have my parent's come all the way from Oregon to be a part of this occasion. We were really excited that they came and that we were able to have such a great visit with them. We love you guys! On the 8th the actual university graduation ceremony took place. Now, I have attended these before and I know how boring they are, but I figured that I am only going to do this once so I might as well do it right. I wore jeans and my running shoes and I was so glad that I did. We stood around for over an hour and then had to walk to our seats, then when it was finally my turn - walk all the way across the stage. Wow - then it was done! Yeah! I think my kids and Brett are the most excited about this being over. They are really glad to have me home. Thanks to those of you who supported me along this journey, whether by notes of encouragement or especially by being my patients - I am truly grateful.

The Monday after graduation Brett and I took off for 4 days alone (my parents stayed and watched the kids) - in Yellowstone National Park. We stayed in West Yellowstone and explored the park during the day. We were so thrilled to see more wildlife than we ever have before. Here are some photos of our relaxing trip.

The first photo above is a group of otters that entertained us on our first day. The first Grizzly photo is of a 4 year old female. We watched her tear into a beaver hut to no avail. The second grizzly is a sow with her twin cubs from this year. They were all over her, but it seemed like she just wanted to introduce them to the public (the photographers were going crazy as is visible in that shot in the slideshow below). The black bear was a sow with her yearling twin cubs, which means that they were born last year. I have only ever seen one bear in Yellowstone before this trip, and that one had just ran across the road and disappeared. Brett had never seen one in there ever before, so needless to say, this trip was amazing. I think we will make this an annual event, and may even take the kids next time.
Overall we saw 7 grizzly bears, 3 black bears, 10 bighorn sheep, 5 otters, 1 coyote, 6 deer and countless buffalo, elk, antelope, ground squirrels and birds (too many raven to count). It was fun and relaxing and we are so grateful to have had the chance to do it.

Here is a slide show with some more cool pics. Enjoy!