Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Things We Did in May

Okay, so my camera is really on its last leg so some of these pictures are pretty awful, but at least we have something to document the fun things we've done in life. May has been full, and I do mean full, prepare yourself for a marathon post, of fun things for us. Here are a few:
First up, I talked Jarom into taking me to Boise to see Wicked. Oh it was SO good! So. Good! I have been wanting to see this for a really long time. Even Jarom was impressed by it. And Boise is BEAUTIFUL this time of year. Trees and flowers in full bloom, and perfectly warm weather. Makes me miss living there something awful...but then I remember the hot hot summer nights and I'm perfectly content with knowing the warm summer days and cool summer nights of Idaho Falls are just around the corner.

We had booked our Wicked tickets months ago and then found out that the same night as our Wicked performance, Alyssa was graduating from D.A.R.E.(Drug Abuse Resistance Education). Talk about guilt. But Grammy went and recorded it for us so that we could see it when we got home and Alyssa was such a great sport about it. She got an award for "Nicest Kid" and also was elected to read her D.A.R.E. essay aloud that night. She wrote it in poem form and I think it turned out great.

Why I Want To Be Drug Free By: Alyssa Manwaring

Why I don’t want to do drugs is easy you see it’s almost like counting one, two, three. Drugs are so bad they can even drive you mad, or give you horrible diseases. You might get teases about not doing drugs, but on the inside know that you’re defiantly cool enough.

The boys might think they are so cool with their drugs and such. The girls think they are more beautiful. But really they boys are becoming less and less cool the girls getting less pretty.

All the bad things drugs can do to you. I can only name a few. There are disease and sickness, losing your family, and your friends. Don’t even try once you know what it can do to others, and especially you.

Oh, you’re the tough one, you’re the smart one, and you’re the coolest of them all. If all you do is be drug free. Just be tough it could be rough, but just think of all your drug-free possibilities.

We are very proud of Alyssa. She is such a great kid!

My family with Kaylee and Moses from Biggest Loser. The Biggest Loser Finale aired about a week ago. Neither Kaylee nor Moses won, but they are both so much more healthy and happy with life that it doesn't matter. We've gotten SUCH a kick out of watching our friends on t.v. these past few months.

My kids particularly enjoyed the boxing bits. Photo courtesy of www.kayleekinikini.com.

After an intense scene of Kaylee boxing with trainer Kara, Kate came upstairs dressed in her boxing get up. Complete with head gear. (It's a swimsuit bottom.) So funny, and I love it when my kids use their imaginations.

We wish the Kinikini's further health and happiness as they continue on their road to a healthy lifestyle.

Also in May, we made a day trip to Yellowstone National Park. It was a hot animal sighting day and we had a great time. Don't confuse that with a "hot day" because there is still several feet of snow in places in Yellowstone.

Included in the sightings were this mama moose and her baby.

Several baby bison; they are freshly born this time of year and so tiny. Can you see the tiny one snuggled up to its mama on the ground behind Kate? Hard to believe they will grow into the massive adults that roam freely in the park.

This is the time of year where they shed their winter coats and this poor guy had a very itchy belly.

We also saw a grizzly, but it was tucked up in the trees a little too much for a good picture, a Rocky Mountain Bluebird, lots of Elk, and a swan. BUT the coolest sighting of all was two wolves....right on the side of the road. I've seen wolves in Yellowstone before, but always a far distance away and have had to use binoculars to really get a good look at them. But these wolves were only about 50-100 ft away. They are so big and move so fast. I can only imagine how dangerous a pack of them would be.

I got some GREAT video of the wolves running along...or so I thought. Apparently every time I thought I was turning the camera on, I was actually turning it off and vice versa. So...I got ZERO images of the wolves and lots of video of my lap and the floor of the truck. BOOOOO!

And last but not least for this May recap post, is Kate graduated from preschool! She has LOVED preschool. She is my only kid to attend a "real" preschool and it has been such a good thing for her. I really think it has helped her with her shyness....maybe even a little too much. ;) The girl can talk your ear off if you let her.

She is going to miss Miss Kris so much!

Don't you worry, there are a few more fun things from May to talk about but we'll end this post here. More to come soon.

6 comments:

becky ward said...

i love the boxing get-up! how funny. i can't believe may has already come and gone.

Our Family said...

Good to see what you guys are up to!! It looks like you're keeping busy with lots of fun things. And don't feel too bad, summer here in Boise is totally teasing us. It was nice for the time you guys were here, but it's been pretty rainy for several days now! Maybe we'll head to I.F. for a while. :)

Trish said...

You told me not to expect much, and then you had pictures of moose. Not sure if that's some kind of betrayal. ;) LOL, well it looks like a wonderful month! And that whole wolf video thing-- just the sort of thing that I would do. :) Congrats to Kate, big graduate!

Lee Ann said...

So glad to catch up! Sounds like you've been busy and having lots of fun!

Allisyn said...

Wicked was so good, I would go to it again..

Mama Williams said...

Great recap. We just returned from Boise and I miss it just a little too. sniff sniff! Good memories and you were a part of all that!