Cub Scouts Pack Meeting

Isaac is a true scout. He loves outdoors, challenges, learning new skills and anything physical. This is a picture of a foot race after the festivities. It cracks me up that Eliza, Danielle and Isaac are so close near the front. Isaac is a fast little racer but when it comes right down to it his sisters are about the only ones that give him a run for his money.This was a team race, forward and backward, holding hands between the legs. Isaac thought Eliza and Mom had an unfair advantage. The Scout master had us race twice. Go Tweety Bird.
Camp fire skit and awards

One word...Smores

If you give a moose a muffin...

Scott and I escaped for one day to Sun Valley, Idaho. We traveled with NML company winners, stayed in the historic Sun Valley lodge, ate in their yummy restaurant, crashed in down comforters, didn't wake up until 9 A.M. It was awesome.

We were given ski lift tickets but opted to stroll downtown, eat crepes in an atrium surrounded by overpriced boutique stores and steal kisses from a moose. We had so much fun together. It was a nice break from adventures in a big family and the flu that hit the previous week. We were home Saturday night, just in time to start prep for a full and busy Sabbath Day.

Half a dozen

Scott's brother Jeff and his beautiful wife Angela have been working on their tans in Hawaii for the past week. I was lucky to have their three boys and darling princess Emily for a couple days. Jacob was a great help, Caleb made a fun race, game or competition out of everything, Matthew was happy until I didn't let him in the shower with me (He took a two hour swim in Aunt Mandy's river AKA spa tub instead), and baby Emily is so cuddly and cute.

We had some sunshine during the afternoon and nobody enjoyed it more then Emily. I am not a proponent for providing constant entertainment and outings for kids because it is more fun to see what creative ideas come from their own minds. We didn't do anything fantastic but the kids had tons of fun together playing dress-up, legos, pirate ships and furniture gymnastics.

I took a few pictures because these little boys are moving across the country and we wanted to capture some of the fun to remember!

Spy Micah

We are so happy to have our two oldest sons home again. Gideon woke up this morning, while rubbing his eyes, he said "Where are my big boys James and Micah?". James held Gideon for a long while when Gideon cut his toe (Gideon wanted James not Mom), he has read a chapter book to Eliza at night and Micah is snuggling his buddies again. Micah has let Thomas come crawl in bed with him a couple times. He'll put his arm around his neck and tell him "Spy Micah" adventures.

Scott and I are really loving this stage of life.

Growth charts

March 22, 2011

Children's growth in the past year and a month

James Kyle 5 foot 2 inches, 97 pounds Grew 3 inches, gained 12 pounds

Micah Cornell 5 foot 3 3/4 inches, 108 pounds Grew 3 inches, gained 16 pounds

Danielle Alice 4 foot 6 inches, 68 pounds Grew 2 inches, gained 6 pounds

Isaac Scott 4 foot 5 3/4 inches, 61 pounds Grew 2 3/4 inches, gained 6 pounds

Eliza Janet 3 feet 8 inches, 38 pounds Grew 1 1/2 inches, gained 3 pounds

Thomas Leslie 3 feet 7 1/2 inches, 37 pounds Grew 3 inches, gained 5 pounds

Gideon Stoddard 3 feet 1/2 inch, 28 pounds Grew 2 inches, gained 5 1/2 pounds

Pineapples, Mango and Coconut

Our ward's annual spaghetti feed and fundraiser was a month ago. Scott and I scoured the silent bidding sheets admiring the creativity of the youth and the generosity of our church members. There were handmade hair pieces, dolls, flower arrangements, goodies galore, music lessons, lawn care, juggling lessons (that one was Scott), house cleaning, fishing trips, weekend cabins; you name it and it was up for bid. We were a little shocked at the auction listing= a week in Hawaii at a beautiful condo on Waikiki beach. Scott thought we should put down a bid and I thought no (practical side of me). It wasn't long before I remembered a 15 year old goal we had wrote as a couple. Before we ever had children we decided we would like to take individual trips with our early teenagers, before they became too cool or too busy. My wheels started turning about the possibility of seeing that goal come to fruition. I headed back to the auction table and wrote down $100 dollars for the trip to Hawaii. It must have been meant to be because one month later Scott, James and Micah had the trip of a lifetime.Plane tickets were $300 dollars less flying out of Las Vegas then Boise, so the boys left Friday afternoon and stayed in Ely, Nevada, the birth place of their Grandma Lori Stevens. Saturday morning they were up and ready to hit Circus Circus. James and Micah had never been to an amusement park or on a roller coaster, so the largest indoor amusement park in the US seemed like a good stop.

James played a dart game and surprised everyone when he hit the bulls eye the second throw. The prize would never have made it home so the staff gave James a brand new acoustic guitar. He was so excited that he won, especially because the game had rarely been beat.

Micah loved the free fall rides and had his share of prizes. They both had a good time but called me that evening and told me they didn't really like Las Vegas because it reminded them of the Lotus Casino in the Percy Jackson series. Micah said that people would just spend lots and lots of money and never walk away. Both boys were keenly aware of what Vegas had to offer and were relieved to leave the city and board the Hawaiian Air flight that night at 2 am.

Sunday morning they arrived at their condo at 6 AM and hit the pillow. Scott said they slept for hours. When they woke up they had their first taste of paradise. They walked down to the boardwalk, listened to a charity concert of traditional Hawaiian music and enjoyed the warm sand and weather.

Diamond Head was a great hike, especially for dad who left the camera at the bottom and got to run/hike to the top twice.

The forcast had warnings for flooding but somehow the weather was amazing. Boogie boarding was a hit and Dad even surfed. I think Scott was reliving his Hawaii days.

Pearl Harbor was sobering but made an impact on our young boys. They spent hours learning about World War Two.

Wednesday the men headed to the North Shore.

They were entertained at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The Samoan tribal dance was officially the "coolest" along with the fire dancers. Scott said the luau and food buffet was a huge hit.

They went back to the apartment Scott stayed in years ago at BYU Hawaii. The ate in the cafeteria and toured the campus. James and Micah are sold.

Laie Temple was as beautiful as ever.

Pineapple Dole Factory

James and Micah had to keep up on practice in order to compete in track and tennis when they got home. They hit the courts 3-4 times and ran a couple times. They ran to "Muscle Park" one afternoon and did push-ups and pull-ups with the "huge" locals. Micah was pretty impressed.

Scott taught James and Micah how to snorkel and scuba at Hanauma Bay. They had taken one lesson in the pool at the condo and the rest was up to dad. I faxed Scott his PADI certification and he rented the gear. James swam with turtles and Micah enjoyed the coral and fish.

Friday night the boys said goodbye to tropical paradise and loaded on their red-eye flight at 11PM. Hawaii was the vacation of a lifetime for all three. Ironically the thing that both boys talked about the most was the food (fresh fruit, crepes, buffets)...typical teenagers! They arrived at 7 AM in Las Vegas. Saturday was a detour trip to Hinckley, Utah were they stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Bishop.

Grandma was so sweet and prepared a nice dinner. They visited about the new farm and equipment. Grandma Bishop has quite the memory and can tell historical stories.

You can see Grandma Bishop's rock collection in the back ground.

Sunday morning the family went to church before making the long drive home.

Danielle, Isaac, Eliza, Thomas and Gideon all missed their big brothers for the 10 days they were gone. Our home didn't have the cool train tracks that James usually builds or Micah to snuggle the little guys during scriptures. They were missed in so many ways. Gideon would call Daddy everyday and ask about the "Bolcano with hot lava". He was really worried about it. Isaac was excited to tell his big brothers about his two best tournaments and show his wrestling medals.

Months ago the three oldest kids opened checking accounts with $75 dollars. US Bank matched their $75 dollars and sent them debit cards. Micah and James learned a good lesson on the value of their money as they paid for a few meals and gifts for their siblings. They both have always been budget minded but never had their own debit cards. They were extremely generous with jewelry for the girls, lotion, pearls, t-shirts, shark tooths, coconut banks and stuffed lizards. The prizes were the best.