NOLA and the King Cake.

At the end of January, I took what I believe to be my first trip to New Orleans.  It was for work, but I managed to squeeze in a bit of fun.  One night we had a murder mystery dinner, also a first for me.  It was good fun.  I even managed to get an award for the best actress.  My character was a clumsy, nervous sort.  Not much of a stretch:)

Kevin had been talking about King Cake.  I picked one up on the way home for the girls.  They are letting me know whether they liked it or not.  I got a sideways thumb from Kendall.  She is not big on pastries.  I got a thumbs up from Sidney, who ate hers and offered to eat Kendall's too.

Sidney got the baby in her piece of cake.  This symbolizes a year of luck and prosperity for her.  Wouldn't that be nice if it rubs off on the whole family!

Smarty Pants.

Kendall loves school and loves a good challenge.  It is awesome to watch her get so excited about academics.  It is also very exciting to see her hard work pay off.  She was awarded for her Academic Achievement recently at school.

 

 

She took a picture with the other award winners (to include attendance, reading, etc).  Her teacher this year is awesome.  He really understands how to motivate the kids.  He also seems as excited about school as they are.  He is also as goofy as they are!

 

Hannah and Kendall teamed up for the Awana Bible Quiz Bowl again this year.  Those girls are unstoppable.   

They received their very first "First Place" award this year. 

Congrats to all of the winners this year!

BSU STEM Festival

I was asked to volunteer for the BSU Engineering and Science Festival.  Of all things, they needed help in the Scratch Programming room.  What?  Thankfully, it was intuitive and easy to learn.  I took Kendall along with me for the day.  She took to it faster than I did.  Go figure!

It was fun to spend time with her.  The Nelson kids showed up mid-morning.  Kendall ran around with them until I finished up.  The BSU Facebook page showed her driving a robot, so at least I had an idea of what she was up to.

After our volunteer time, we went out to lunch.  We often frequent the same places.  This time, I wanted to surprise her with some yummy goodness.  She was up for the adventure.  We went to Willowcreek Grill.  It was absolutely delicious.  Kendall ordered the "plumpest, juiciest" hamburger ever.

I had the roasted Anaheim Pepper and turkey sandwich on marbled rye with sweet potato fries.  It makes you hungry just reading it.

Bailey Versus the Squirrel and Other Random Things.

Bailey has gotten very big.  He is crazy.  Our yard will never be the same, but we still love him.  We have a squirrel that lives next door.  Bailey and this squirrel have developed a very playful relationship.  It is one that involves incessant barking (also ugh).  However, it is hilarious to watch.  The squirrel teases Bailey and runs back and forth along our fence line until it gets a reaction.

Coach Pete gave Kendall a golf lesson for her Birthday.  It was amazing how much her swing improved in the 45 minute lesson.  I think that we might all take a few lessons with him.

Sidney decided to break out the legos and make a town.  Her town was complete with a drinking fountain, bridges and bicycles.  I love legos!

Kevin finally felt well enough to take a trip to Montana.  He drove to Seeley Lake to spend the weekend with Roy.  It turned out that Sherry, Cody and some other friends and family came over to visit.  He had an awesome time.  He was thoroughly exhausted when he got home.  I was thankful that Aunt Sherry Pie was able to connect with him for the trip home.  While Kevin was gone, the girls and I enjoyed pizza without him.  This is the running family joke.  We all love pizza!  When one of us is away, the rest of us are sure to go out for pizza and flaunt it.

Our blog books from 2017 arrived in the mail.  Sidney spent the entire weekend reading through it.  I am so thankful for the memories that the girls will have through reading these.  Each year I buy two copies so that each of them will have a set when they get older.  We are up to about 8 or 9 volumes now.

My goofy daughters...enough said!

Pinewood Derby

The girls and Kevin participated in the annual pinewood derby.  The girls decided to go for design awards this year (versus speed).  Kevin was all about the speed.  Sidney's age group had a ton of entries this year.  I truly thought the race would never end:) 

Asher decided not to put a car together this year.  Kendall and Hannah both decided to do sandwiches this year.  Ironically, they made this choice independently.  Those two girls think so much alike.  Hannah did a meatball sub.  Kendall did a meat and cheese sub.  The girls secured front row seats. 

 Kendall's sub sandwich car is on the red track, ready for takeoff.

 

The Strong family were big winners.  Kevin took home the first place medal for speed in the adult division.  Sidney took home first place for design in the 3rd and 4th grade division, with her Hershey car.  She also received a 4th place honorable mention for speed.  Fast and fun!  Kendall received the first place award for design in the 5th and 6th grade category.  Way to go!

Signs and Wishes.

Wishgranters is an awesome, local, organization that grants wishes to terminally ill adults.  Kevin was blessed to receive a wish from them after he was diagnosed.  It meant the world to us.  We have done what we can to stay in touch and support the organization.  The original founder, Doug Raper, and his wife Bonnie are incredible people.  KBOI did a story on Doug and the organization last fall.  If you have a minute, watch it here:  Wishgranters - Paying It Forward  

Recently, they held a fundraiser that entailed sign making.  We thought it would be fun to go.  The added bonus, Valerie went with us and we got to catch up with Bonnie.  Kevin was literally the only man in the room, but this did not seem to bother him one bit.  He had a great time.

Kendall was excited to join us.  Sidney decided to sit this one out and have a special evening with Grandma Terrell and Aunt Sherry Pie.

The signs turned out great.  Kevin made this one for my sister.

Kendall made this beauty for her room.

Valerie made this one for her home. 

I made this one for Sidney.  Wise words to live by!

Kendallville.

For a class project, each student in Kendall's class made a colony named after themselves.  Hannah was over for the weekend, so the two of them went about creating this beauty.   

The colony had a corral of farm animals, two houses, a church and a fire pit.

The girls made a bridge to cross the river.

The dollar store and the recycle bin are a parents favorite thing for these projects!  Couple that with a big imagination and you have a colony that I wouldn't mind living in.