Uncle Andrew's Wedding

The happy couple, Andrew and Vanessa Perkins

Three darling cousins at Uncle Andrew's Wedding.

Amelia, Elizabeth, Mallary

Perkins Siblings

Matthew, Aaron, Kristie, Amy, Andrew

Reading Strategies

Clay's teacher was discussing with her students some strategies that would make them better readers, and help them when they couldn't figure out what the words say.

Student #1 says, "Sound it out."

Good Strategy

Student #2 says, "You could look at the pictures."

Good Strategy

After a little pause student #3 says, "You could always just ask Clay."

Clay has turned into such a good little reader. About Christmas time he really picked it up and will read just about anything now. He LOVES to read. I suppose that makes him a good "reading strategy."

Thunder

We have a new horse. Thunder. He's perfect with the kids. Sam will be able to do 4-H with him this year. I'm so glad that they have this program where he can learn all about caring for horses, and how to deal appropriately with them. I feel even more blessed that the gal who sold him to us is giving Sam lessons (with Clay as a sidekick). She's a genius with horses. He's already a part of the family. Emma and Mia daily walk up to the fence with a few blades of grass in their hands and call out, "horsie, horsie." It's so fun to watch.

Regatta Champion

On April 26, at the pack meeting, Sam took first place for his troop!!. He lost only once to his friend and cousin, Austin. Now the funny thing about it all is that Sam and Austin had similar boats. Instead of just modeling their boat after the picture on the box, they had dads get online and find some helpful tips on creating a great Regatta boat. Nate and Derek found the same design. (Sam did do most of the work himself) So, Sam and Austin pretty much "sailed" on by the competition, sweeping the meet. Clay was so proud of his big brother!! We had fun.

Spring Break

Spring Break this year was the last week in March. Nate had scheduled off the weekend to do "something." Pretty close to the last minute we decided to visit Nate's Aunt Jan and family in California. It was the best trip. Although the 12 hour drive was not exactly "fun," we made it in good spirits in the middle of the night. Jan and family were the most gracious hosts and made us feel so comfortable at their home. The children (mine) had a blast with their cousins, who doted on the girls, and played with the boys. Amelia was so anxious for the long awaited swim at Jan's. She asked hourly if it was time to swim at Jan's. Sam was amazed at how neat and orderly everything seemed in California. He kept saying how "organized" things looked there: the houses and roads and buildings.

On Thursday, Jan took us to see the Sacramento Temple (of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). (Clay stayed and played with Jack at a friends house) It was beautiful and so peaceful and we enjoyed the immaculate gardens. Later, we sampled some In-N-Out while the kids played at the park, and enjoyed the company of Jan's good friend and her children.

On Friday, Jan kept the kids while Nate and I had a "date." We went to San Francisco!! We walked along the piers, took a boat ride under the Golden Gate Bridge, and past Alcatraz, and ate lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. It was so fun. Although I would never recommend trying to leave the city at 3:30 on a Friday. It took us an hour to get to the Bay Bridge so that we could leave. Nate's not a fan of big cities anyway - that didn't help! I just loved being somewhere new with so much to see!

We all just had a marvelous time, with not enough pictures to prove it, but plenty of memories.

Let's Blog!

Here we go! It's time to enter the world of blogging. With as much as I enjoy keeping up with family and friends through their blogs, I figured it was time for me to share our happenings in our little corner of Southwest Wyoming.
I set this all up just after Easter when our new horse had her baby on Easter Morning. What a miracle! I must confess that I so secretly in my heart wished for this miracle. Why? I suppose it was because there is nothing more fitting for Easter than new life. We named the colt Easter Lilly, and we will call her Lilly.
SO, I will back-blog a bit, and hopefully we'll catch up to the current going-ons.