Burley Beal Time

Beckham turned 10 months old! Oh my cute baby boy.

Last week Keaton and Amanda came to visit! We made plans to meet up with Chase in Burley so the three of us could hang while he was in Idaho and all our kids could have some cousin fun. We left for Burley after school on Wednesday and got in around 7:00; just in time for the kids to play for a bit before bedtime. Thursday was originally going to be spent at Baby Animal Days but they were canceled because of the yucky weather so we went bowling instead! It was so fun - Emmett got a strike and a spare, I did not get a single strike or spare, and much to Chase's dismay Keaton destroyed us all. That afternoon the men took over the children duties and we gals went shopping. I copied Rachel and got a home décor piece that's basically exactly like hers. I was even lucky enough to find some exercise and Sunday dress clothes and some outfits for the boys. It was so fun! When we got home we took the kids for a walk on the green belt while Justin stayed behind to set up an Easter egg hunt. We timed it perfectly between the walk and the hunt getting the only good 30-minute window of the day. As soon as the kids finished it started snowing! We had fun chatting until midnight until we finally crashed for the day. We left the next morning after Rachel let Amanda and me raid her clothes she was ready to donate. We loved spending time at their house - it was perfect for hosting all of us. Rachel has it all remodeled so modern and cute compared to how they bought it. 

Saturday was our Easter egg hunt! Keaton and Amanda's extra help made a difference in the set up time. Again we absolutely lucked out with the weather and our timing. We woke up to snow but by the time we were setting things up it was melted off. We had our hunt at 1:00 and at 2:00 it started raining! So so lucky! We had a great turnout and as long as we do I think we will keep throwing it. Keaton and Amanda came over so Keaton could shoot some guns and Amanda helped me make lemon-raspberry cheesecake for Easter dinner. From there we went to Mom and Dad's and played games - even Mom and Dad played! We played Timeline, Slapzi, and Mom even lasted a few rounds into Rage before tuckering out. 

Sunday morning the primary sang for Sacrament meeting. We sang Peace in Christ and they did great! I did an Easter review singing time by putting names of songs in Easter eggs and selecting kids to come up and pick one to open to see what song we'd sing. I also had a puzzle I made of Mary seeing Jesus resurrected and picked a kid each round to come pick a piece and work on the puzzle. Mom had us all for Easter dinner with funeral potatoes - my favorite! Sunday was pretty slow but the kids enjoyed playing with each other while they could. Emmett didn't feel well so we kept him to himself. We said goodbye to Keaton and Amanda that night since they would take off early the next morning. Amanda is due with baby girl #3 in June - so fun that we have three boys and Keaton will have three girls.

We had some predator trouble while the chickens were free ranging and our flock diminished down from eight hens to three! We looked for laying hens all over but people were only selling pullets or chicks. I had to go to Idaho Falls two days in a row for my braces and then to adjust a poky wire so I was totally burned out on driving and did NOT want to go to Blackfoot or Idaho Falls again to get birds. Well I was thrown a tender mercy because in class on Thursday one of my students Randy off-handedly said he was going to sell his already laying chickens to make room for his 4H chicks. I was walking by when he said it and pounced on him immediately: "You're selling chickens? Already laying? I want all of them!" I got his mom's number and texted her right then and there asking about how to proceed. Randy gave us his price that night and I took the three kiddos on Friday into Arco with our dog kennel to pick them all up! Catching them proved to be a challenge - they are much more wily than our chickens! But we are integrating them to our flock now and hopefully we have a successful merge. The internet says to quarantine birds for 30 days after purchasing them (too lazy) and then to have a "see, don't touch" period of two weeks where they get used to seeing each other without the ability to interact yet. I'm too lazy to wait that long so we're giving it the weekend for "see, don't touch" and depending on the weather tomorrow we might let them out to free range while we supervise to see how it goes. The pecking order will need to be reestablished which can get quite rowdy with the pecking and fighting. We are only supposed to intervene if blood is shed...oh my. We'll see!

The new hens are in the coop for a few days so they learn this is their new home.

Emmett lost his first tooth!!

Kids "helping" me prep for this Sunday singing time: Keep the Commandments.

We got our family pictures back! Love love love.

Spring Break

I had a busy spring break with traveling all over! Thursday I ditched school early because there was an assembly last hour. I settled the kids with Justin and then met up with Mom and Trisha to head to Boise. Mitzi invited the Beal women to come paint her bedroom and Mom, Trisha and I answered the call. Beckham joined me for my 10 days of travel because he's breastfeeding.

We got there Thursday night in time for some taco soup. There was enough time in the day that Mom, Trisha, and Mitzi suited up and threw on a coat of primer. Friday morning we got some coaching from Mitzi about proper product placement because the previous night's job was not going to cut it! We managed to get a coat of primer on while Beckham napped and went for a walk while it dried. That afternoon we had enough time to get two coats of paint and then head to dinner at Zuppa's. We topped off the night with Anne of Green Gables.

A busted stroller meant carrying baby while we walked at the park - his preferred position! Hahaha

Saturday Mom and Trisha took off for home while I stayed behind to catch a flight Sunday morning. Mitzi and I had a pretty chill day. We did some shopping, grabbed lunch at Chipotle, and I enjoyed a much needed nap. While on our walk the previous day, I wheeled my stroller through a parking lot full of goat heads unbeknownst to me, and THREE punctured my stroller innertube! So annoying, but we managed to get it fixed in time. We grabbed ice cream at Culver's (my new favorite) and watched TV before bed.

Sunday it was time to head to AZ! Justin asked me a while back what I'd like for my 30th birthday. I said if I was to do anything, I would want to see my friend Rachel. So I made it happen! I flew down to Phoenix and my friend Heather picked me up. She was a friend from our WA days who recently moved to Mesa. I spent Sunday night with her family. We sat around the table Sunday night to do Come, Follow Me and it filled my cup in a way I didn't know I needed. As the mom, I'm the one trying to teach my littles and at church I'm also teaching the littles through song. It was so refreshing to sit around a table and let my cup be filled with the discussion. Wow - I was so impressed with those kids. 

Monday Heather treated me to lunch and gelato and then dropped me off at Rachel's. Rachel is my soul sister. I hadn't seen her in three years and it's like no time has passed when we're together. We've been friends for nine years, but only lived in the same state for one. 

Dean is a gifted piano player; their family gathers around the piano and sings the most beautiful harmony! 

Tuesday was the best day with her! We went to High-Low Fitness class at the rec center with just her and me with the instructor because nobody else showed! After we got cleaned up, Rachel treated me to a birthday foot zone. She said my thyroid is the healthiest she's ever felt in a woman. We went to lunch and then grabbed some groceries so we could cook dinner together for her fam (she's got seven kids with four left at home). I made them butter chicken with rice and naan which was a new recipe for her family. Rachel was licking her fingers at the end and everyone grabbed seconds - it's one of our favs!

We are terrible at taking pictures together because we're too busy enjoying our time! But I did manage to have her daughter snag this pic of us while we made dinner. 

Wednesday was another travel day. Rachel drove me to the airport to head to Seattle. I cried as we said goodbye. She is a special person who has continued to bless my life. She sees me exactly the way I want to show up in the world and sees me as the person I want to become. Every time I'm with her I feel so uplifted. She is truly an angel on this earth. Beckham had a hard time on this flight up to Seattle. He fitfully napped while he nursed 90% of the three-hour flight and I was completely exhausted by the end - and ravenous. He had been nursing a lot more the whole week probably because he was freaked out by all the new people and new places. Justin picked me up and took me to lunch. We met up at his parents house for dinner. 

snuggles for aunt Laura

Thursday we headed to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. It was cloudy and chilly at 40-something degrees. I thought 40 degrees would feel warmer but with all the water in the air I was freezing! The animals were smarter than we were and stayed in their warm spaces for the most part, but at the very end we saw the gorillas and there were two babies that we absolutely adorable. Everyone was hushed around that enclosure - it kind of felt like a sacred space to me. So precious those babies with their mommas. We had lunch at the zoo and headed home to relax the rest of the afternoon. We had family pictures scheduled for that evening, then headed to Jon's for dinner.

The kids are obsessed with their new snugglies from the zoo

Emmett was so excited about his costume

Friday we did the Vashon Island ferry and drove to the lighthouse on the beach for lunch. I took the kids plus Joe to pick out cupcakes to share for the picnic. It was breezy but sunny, so we had a great time. It made for another long day with driving and ferrying every which way, so it was lovely to hire a babysitter so we could do adult dinner for our last night in town. We played games at Jon's house afterward.

Saturday my friend Suanne picked me up so we could grab "coffee" and catch up. This trip was booked nearly every second, so I was lucky to have any time to sneak away to see a friend. We gabbed for an hour and then I met up with everyone for brunch at Jon's. They did an Easter egg hunt for the kids that afternoon and then we played at their neighborhood playground. The rain chased us back indoors where we killed time until out 7PM flight. The flight home was absolutely dreamy compared to the AZ-WA flight. Beckham fell asleep after takeoff and stayed asleep the entire way. Emmett had a window seat next to me and was absolutely amazed at everything which was so fun. Flying to Idaho Falls is a new kind of luxury for us to only have an hour drive home from the airport. Our kids were zonked and thankfully slept in today so we could get a bit of recovery. Saturday night was my first in my own bed since the Wednesday of the previous week! 

It's not a Rose gathering without an Easter egg hunt.

Today we caught the last two sessions of conference. It was so nice not to plan a singing time after all that traveling. Tomorrow is back to real life and then only 7.5 weeks until summer break. Sneak Peek from pictures!!

Some pictures from before spring break

Home at last

Logan living his best life