A New Job & "A" Parking Pass

Dixie applied for a job as an adjunct professor at BYU Idaho. And got it!

No interviews.

No questions.

Just a phone call one day saying "can you start in 4 days?"

Um, yep, think I can do that!

Dixie was given the coveted "A" parking pass as part of her BYU-Idaho employment 

I tossed and turned the night before my first day of work, worried that I would miss my (gasp) 3 a.m. wake up time. I awoke exhausted, but as soon as I looked into the mirror, all fatigue vanished. Everything screeched to a halt.

What. The. Freak??? 

I woke up with a bloody eye. Seriously....

Of all the luck!

Instead of fretting, I decided to go with it and turned myself into an object lesson on blood clotting. When in Rome, right? And then snapped a selfie to prove that I really am legit.

Slumber Party!

slumber party with dad

It doesn't get any better than this

Karate Tournament

Kara... say what...? I thought the boys do tae kwan do? 

They do.

But their do jang was invited to participate in a tournament in Rigby anyways. A few rules were different. For instance, karate-style sparring includes a lot of stopping (every time a point is awarded) vs tae kwan do that continues non-stop for the alotted time, oh and contact is very light. We struggled a bit with that part of it!...our bad....

A point is awarded to Jake as he and Lander spar

And forms were a bit different too. The karate folks did a lot of heavy breathing and arm motions. We were really glad that we don't have to sound like we are having a baby each time we do a tae kwan do form!

Jake earns a silver in sparring and forms, and demonstrates his form: tae geuk sam jang

Lander earns fourth place in sparring and forms, and demonstrates tae geuk sam jang

Master Laderman and some of the Idaho Martial Arts Academy team show off their medals:

Simple Pleasures

“Through all of living have much joy and laughter, life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.” 

― Gordon B. Hinckley

Jake climbs the aspen tree next to the kitchen in Driggs

Easter in Driggs

We celebrated Easter in Driggs. Lander and Grams pose by the fantastic cake that she made for the party.

It's become a bit of a tradition. And tradition dictates that we do an indoor (it's Idaho and cold outside - duh!) Easter egg hunt.

Minecraft Mother-Son Date

The middle school hosted a mother-son, Minecraft themed party. Lander and I decided to go all out, and made these super awesome (if I must say so myself) Minecraft t-shirts to wear. They were the talk of the party!

 We played all sorts of games and activities. Lander was in his glory.

Rasberries & the Dilemma

We had a bit of a dilemma....what to do with the enormous piles of old raspberry canes? In the past we had placed them in the garbage can, but Dixie wanted to try something different. Josh was sure that it would end in an epic failure, and melting of the fence. So we made a few smaller piles and Lander readied himself with the hose while we waited for a wind-free day. 

Our plan worked!