Green Canyon 2009

We just returned from one of the funnest years ever at Green Canyon!

Andrew and Zach loved swimming. I made them wear their life jackets the whole time even though I know they'd learn to be good swimmers faster without them. I just didn't feel comfortable watching eight kids in the pool by myself! (Not that I really have to "watch" the oldest four, but I did feel nervous with the four youngest.)

Here they are watching the swim lessons, and waiting patiently for them to end so they could go swimming!

Courtney got a great teacher this year, a girl who was in our ward in Rexburg. Courtney really improved a lot in her swimming skills. She was determined to pass her level this year! During free swim time, she was such a sweet sister and spent almost the whole time teaching Zachary swimming lessons. By the end of the week, he could doggy-paddle around, float on his back, etc. Courtney is a great teacher & a wonderful big sister!

Mallory during one of her lessons. She was wearing a life jacket so they could practice going off the diving board. Mallory refused to go off the board. She was much braver this year than last, though. Maybe she'll pass level one someday! On Friday she finally decided she wouldn't attend lessons anymore. We tried to get her to go to the last lesson on Saturday morning, but she came down with a bad stomach pain until after the lesson was over. She loved swimming during free time, however.


Aliysa absolutely loved her lessons, the fun friends, capture the flag, water basketball, hiking, doing facials with her friends, etc. She didn't want the week to end.

Spencer was a little fish, as usual. He passed off his level with flying colors. You can see Mallory in this picture, getting as far away from the edge as she can to make sure her teacher wouldn't get her to jump off the edge.

Andrew loved camping. And my prayers were answered, he was kept safe all week.

Abby climbed out of the motor home whenever the door was open, so she could play in the area of dirt just outside the door. She was covered in dirt all week.

Jace did well in his lessons, he passed level 5

Zachary loved the whole experience

Aliysa would just go, go, go all day. One day she was in the pool from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm. taking lessons, and playing water basketball. She finally remembered to eat around 7pm.

Part of that time she spent in the freezing cold soak pool. One of her friends, E.J., sat in the pool for 7 minutes. So, she had to sit in it longer than him, and she stayed in for 15 minutes. The next day he sat in it for 20 minutes, and then she stayed in for 22 minutes. The next day they both conveniently forgot to challenge each other because they didn't want to face it again. Brrrr!

Jace settling down for the night.

Abby, all tuckered out.

We love this smile!

Aliysa and friends went on a long hike, up to where the old swimming pool and hot tub were by the original hot springs. We had heard stories of how this old pool was taken over by snakes. Well, it turns out that there are tons of blow snakes in the area (they are an enemy of rattlesnakes) Every time kids have gone hiking around here, they find one of these huge snakes. Aliysa and E.J. found one:

And this "harmless snake" bit Aliysa!

She was so proud of this injury that she wouldn't wash it off until we had taken a picture.

A group of kids all interested in the snake!

Here's a funny snake story that I found in the history of Green Canyon: (http://www.greencanyonhotspring.com/history/)

In the old pool, the dressing rooms lined the sides of the pool and were only about four feet from the water. One day, Myrtle Neeley was changing to get into the pool. She bent over to pull her swimming suit up and almost grabbed a coiled snake that was under the bench in her dressing room. It scared her so bad that she jumped backwards into the dressing room door. The door flew open and she tumbled backward into the pool with her swimming suit still around her ankles.

They found a little lizard, and gave it to Jace. He wanted to bring it home, but unfortunately, it got lost before we left. (Tasha: yeay!)

Bob was able to come up some of the evenings. Camp is so much fun when he is there. He played capture-the-flag with all the kids, entertained the campfire participants with a couple of "uncle Jake" stories, played flag football and just made life more fun!

Courtney and some friends lounging around in the shade on a hot afternoon.

Jace with his lizard

Andrew and Zach with their own version of "Uno."

I'm not sure why Andrew has some money, maybe there was some gambling going on???

I wish I had a video of Andrew & Zach's "hide-and-seek" game that they played in the motor home one morning while the kids were at their lesson. It made me laugh. They would both end up hiding at the same time, and then hollering for each other to come find them. The idea of hiding quietly and trying NOT to be found is still not a concept they understand. Even when Zach tries to hide quietly, he giggles too much.

Abby getting ready for the campfire, watching the flag football game.

The crock-pot was my best friend! I cooked yummy lentil soup, pot roast with potatoes & carrots, and used it to warm up several other things. Cooking is always an adventure while camping!

Discovering some neat bugs with Dad.

We were all tired and happy at the end of the week. What great memories!

Save the flowers!

http://lamoreauxhomeschool.blogspot.com/

Edible Aquafer

This week in Cub Scouts, A lady from the Soil Conservation District came and Spencer got to make an edible aquifer.


1. Ice - represents rocks
2. Sprite - water (aquafer)
3. Ice cream - soil (clay layer) (they used a spoon to make the ice cream seal off the Sprite)
4. Crushed graham crackers - soil (sand layer)
5. Green sprinkles - grass, plant life
6. Candy - insects & worms (very important for the soil)
7. Red food coloring - contaminants (gasoline, etc.)
8. Straw - represents a well being dug.

They took the straw and pushed it into the ice cream where the drops of food coloring were. They got to see how contaminants can get into the aquafer.

Then they drank some of the sprite to see how the aquafer gets depleted. Then she poured more Sprite on top of the ice cream, and we waited. Slowly the Sprite leaked into the "ground", and suddenly it would re-fill the aquafer. She talked a bit about other water issues - how not to waste water, etc. Then the boys ate their aquafers.

Good Nutrition Eliminates School Problems

I hope you'll all read my recent post on my health blog. It is an amazing study!
http://marathonofmotherhood.blogspot.com/

Abby loves shoes

I love how determined and patient little children are when learning new things. Abby just thinks that shoes are the greatest. I think it's so cute how proud she is of herself.

Family Update

Bob is staying busy with school, he is now on a full-tuition academic scholarship (yeay!) He did well teaching seminary as part of his Methods of Teaching Seminary class, and has been hired to student teach seminary next school year. I think he will be a great teacher. We don't know if he will be offered a job teaching seminary full-time or not (this year they were only able to hire 3 full time teachers out of the 18 student teachers.) but I'm sure whatever is supposed to happen with that will happen. He is playing flag football right now, serving on the school board for a local private LDS school, and trying to help with the firework show for this year (which may not happen because of our county government here in Rigby Idaho, argh.) Bob and I have really enjoyed many of the coaching classes he has taken in school recently, they give us good ideas relating to parenting.

I have been working hard getting more food storage accumulated, put in buckets, etc. It feels good to get it done. This week I'm packing for our yearly camping trip to Green Canyon Hot springs with a bunch of homeschool families. The kids will take swimming lessons there, two lessons a day Tues-Saturday. After swimming, all the kids play capture-the-flag until evening when we sit by the campfire & share stories & songs. It will be fun! Recently I spoke in Stake Conference. It was a little intimidating because it was just me and two general authorities (Elder Neuenschwander, and Elder Marchenko), their wives, a member of the temple presidency, and the Stake presidency. It was a great experience for me to plan the talk, I spoke on “why the temple is important to me”

Aliysa just finished seminary, and finished the Physical Science course that her and her friends did together this year. (You can see some of their experiments on their blog - link to the left) They are excited to continue with high school biology, although Aliysa doesn't want to dissect any critters. She also finished the babysitting job that she had this year. She is enjoying having a break, but wants to find a way to continue earning money. She went to a fun dance the other night with two of her friends at a dance studio that one of our friends owns. I'll post pictures of her later, her friends put makeup on her (despite her protests), and she looked quite grown up. She just got a cute hair cut, we cut about 8 inches off her hair, and then she got bangs & layers put in later.

Her cat just had kittens, so she'll be finding homes for them soon. Aliysa and Jace have been going with our friends, the Partridges, to do baptisms for the dead every Thursday at the Idaho Falls temple. I think it is great that they can go so often.

Jace was just called to be the Deacon Quorum secretary. When he was set apart, he was told that it will be his responsibility to help activate any boys that are not coming, and to do a good job keeping records of their quorum. He has a job working for our next-door neighbor (a widow), doing her yard work this summer. Jace has been observing many birds nests in our yard, and watched a robin hatch out of an egg the other day. He rescued an egg that he found lying on the ground, found a nest to put it in, and it did hatch & is being raised with the other starlings. (Bob wasn't so sure that rescuing a starling was worth it, but around here we love all the birds.)

A couple of weeks ago, Jace went on a scout campout to Craters of the Moon. There are tons of caves, and an 800-foot long lava tube. They hiked through it, and saw lots of bat guano (poo) and pigeons. Jace found a tiny hole in a rock, and squeezed inside it. It was a cave about 15 feet long, 3 feet high, and maybe 4 feet wide. His nickname now is “groundhog” because he went into every cave and tiny hole that he found.

Courtney & her cousins making fruit kabobs for their "summer club."

Courtney is excited because she just finished her fifth grade math program. (Only one more grade to finish until she can have her ears pierced!) Last month, we were making french fries, and Spencer tried to pour the hot oil into a plastic container. It melted the plastic instantly, and it spilled across the counter and down Courtney's leg. It was a very bad burn. Thankfully it is much better now. Courtney loves to babysit for me whenever Jace and Aliysa are gone, and she does a great job. Abby completely adores Courtney. Each morning she looks for Courtney and wants to be held by her and play with her all day. If Courtney goes out of the room, she usually bursts into tears, and will not be comforted until Courtney comes back & holds her. Courtney and Aliysa will be starting soccer soon, Courtney is excited to be on her first sports team!

Spencer is enjoying summer. He flies through his school & chores each day so he can get out and play. We've been playing badminton lately with the family, and he really likes it (Bob is taking a methods of teaching badminton & soccer class this semester, he was told that he is an excellent badmitton teacher, and a real natural at playing badminton. Who would have known?)Spencer is dying to be able to play sports, but I make my children wait until they are 10 before I will let them play organized sports, so he'll just have to wait & enjoy badminton with the family for now. :) I am still the Cubmaster in our ward, so Spencer and I have fun doing scouting together, along with Jace who is our den chief.

Mallory is as busy as ever. She has developed quite a mind of her own lately, and being so determined makes her work hard to keep up with her older siblings in school. She has decided to learn cursive, because the others were practicing it. She is careful to do all of her schoolwork each day, and reminds me if we ever have skipped anything. She makes herself practice piano almost every day.

Zachary is just in his own little world a lot of the time. He likes bike riding and loves playing sports. He is better at badminton than I am. He is generally well-behaved unless Andrew gives him an idea of some mischief to get into, then Zach laughs and joins Andrew. Zach and Andrew play outside almost all day, they have been helping to take care of the little chicks we are raising. Andrew is always trying to carry the chicks around, which is a funny sight to see. They have also enjoyed catching a few little frogs.

Abby is just at the cutest age! She is definitely loved in this family. She has learned to walk, and she chatters on in baby language that is so cute. She loves to be outside, and has loved seeing the baby chicks and kittens. Her favorite animals are our dogs, she observes them in quiet awe. She loves shoes, and is always trying to put on any shoes she finds in the house. The other day I was telling all the kids to get ready & get in the car when we were going somewhere. Abby crawled in the mud room, and stayed busy pulling the kids shoes off of their shelves, and trying them on. She finally settled on wearing Courtney's pink cowgirl boots. She squealed in delight and chattered happily until we all came and told her "good job!"

Our ward is moving to a newly finished building next month. There are four wards sharing our current building right now, so they are letting us go use the new building until they re-do all the stake boundaries. We have to drive through Rigby to get to the new building, and we probably pass about 7 other ward buildings on the way to church. All our kids are already dreading any changes in the stake, they are worried that we won't be in a ward with many of their good friends. I keep trying to tell them that they will still see their old friends and will be able to meet new people, but I think we'll all be a little sad when it happens.

Life is busy & wonderful!

This is the song that never ends....

Yesterday morning I heard Andrew singing at the top of his lungs. His "singing" is always, well, a bit off key, and LOUD. He was in the living room, and he had tied an exercise band on for a necktie, sat Abby on the floor in front of the fireplace, and was singing church songs to her.

Andrew had been singing for about 3 minutes before I got the camera, then I filmed this short segment, and started filming again. He went on for almost five minutes in the second video. The five minute video is so funny, but I'm sure it is too long for blogger to handle. Perhaps I'll put it on YouTube sometime. I bet he was singing this song for close to 10 minutes total. I was trying so hard not to laugh, that the camera was shaking. At first, I thought I'd let him go on until he decided to end it, but after that long, I decided to help him end the song. I think he was relieved. Oh, I think this little guy is adorable. I just have to squeeze him several times a day.

Aliysa's dream come true

Lisa got to help ride a horse that Lisa was training while Lisa lived in Idaho. It is a small foxtrotter, named peanut. Aliysa loved it, and learned a lot from Lisa.

Lamoreaux pranks

So, Bob handed Lisa a quarter and asked her to see if she could roll it in an exactly straight line from her forehead to her chin. She did really well.

What she didn't realize was that Bob had rubbed some graphite from a pencil onto the edge of the nickle. HA HA HA! Ah, the joys of living at the Lamoreaux home. Don't you miss us already, Lisa?

Like Father, Like Son

Just like Bob, these boys can sleep just about anywhere. We were up too late one night, and found both Zach & Andrew asleep on the stairs. I guess they just couldn't face going up two flights of stairs to their beds. Don't they look comfortable?

My wonderful husband

Elder James E. Faust said: “In the enriching of marriage the big things are the little things. It is a constant appreciation for each other and a thoughtful demonstration of gratitude. It is the encouraging and the helping of each other to grow. Marriage is a joint quest for the good, the beautiful, and the divine”

(in Conference Report, Oct. 1977, 13–14; or Ensign, Nov. 1977, 10–11).

I just had to take a picture of this rose that Bob recently brought home, for no special reason, other than that he loves me! It bloomed & looked so pretty, this picture doesn't really capture it. I really have the most wonderful husband on earth. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this, but this is an e-mail he sent me the other day:

"I am reading a few selections from Anne Bradstreet, a puritan poet, and so far have really enjoyed and, I think, understood pretty clearly her thoughts and feelings. I read the poem "My Dear and Loving Husband" and it expresses pretty well my feelings for you, but I have to change it to be from a husband to his wife.

So I will make a few changes in the first four lines and the rest will be untouched. This is how I feel:
If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever wife were loved by man, then thee;
If ever wife caused happiness in man,
Compare with me, all husbands, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee, give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay,
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
That while we live, in love let's so persevere
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

love you babe,
Bob"

I have always loved this quote by President Spencer W. Kimball, because it describes exactly how Bob has always loved me:

“We need an unspoiled companion who will not count our wrinkles, remember our stupidities nor remember our weaknesses; … we need a loving companion with whom we have suffered and wept and prayed and worshipped; one with whom we have suffered sorrow and disappointments, one who loves us for what we are or intend to be rather than what we appear to be in our gilded shell.”

--The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 310.

Bob has always loved me for what I "intend to be" someday. He ignores my faults and treats me as though I'm the most perfect person ever. I'm so lucky to be married to him!

Mom & Dad L. leave on a mission!

Bob's parents are leaving tomorrow morning for their 23-month mission to Romania.

You can stay updated on their mission at: http://bobandpeggy.blogspot.com/

We will miss them a lot, but we are so excited for them.

Mom & Dad, we are so proud of you!

Our spring visitors

Here's what we saw out the window a couple of days ago. There are a few more deer in the trees.

Spring is time to ride bikes

Our kids enjoyed the recent 3 days of warm spring weather so much. Zach decided to go get his bike helmet & kneepads out of the garage, so that he "wouldn't get hurt when he rode his bike." This is how he looked.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I came home from Cub Scouts on St. Patrick's Day, and found this cute little red-headed leprechaun in my kitchen. Courtney was babysitting, and she helped him make the hat & other props. The green blocks are "clover", and the yellow is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!