Enjoying our Summer

 Wow, the time sure flies when you are having fun. August is already here and school starts in 3 weeks, unbelievable. We had a good July and here are some of the highlights. But first, as promised, pictures of the 

kids saying good bye to our old mini-van and a picture of our new 12 passenger :). (These pictures are from two cameras so they ended up out of order, but such is life - enjoy the journey of our summer).

Hyrum and Seth climbing the Throne

Aidan, Shennie and Jenika enjoying the morning of caamping

Enjoying the Lake at Payson Lakes

My sister and me after "conquering" our fourth 4th of July 5k together.

Waiting at the Parade

Michael and Hannah decided to do half and half... Walk down the Parade route until they came to where we were sitting and join us there.

Hannah and Molli meeting their new cousin, Jenika, a day after she was born.

First of the season sunburns, they are sure to wear sunscreen now.

Some of us even won medals

Iona days 5K Fun run/walk

More of the Splash Park (out of order, should be further down the page)

Can't have a summer without getting their one ride at "The Fun Park"

It is not that great, but they like it.

Michael found a peacock feather at the zoo.

Molli and Hannah showing off their new dress and skirt they made.

The lion yawning

Camping at Payson Lakes: Michael's Throne

The snow leopard rolling around

Riding a ride at Circus, Circus in Las Vegas

At the airport ready to fly to Las Vegas

Daniel and Erika coming out of the temple after they got married. Shennie did a good job finding the right yellow tie for Daniel.

At the St. George Visitor's Center

Hannah wanting to touch the temple

Some hawks in a tree, weird.

St. George Splash Park with the cousins

At a rest stop near Orderville

Hyrum climbed way high on some rocks

After returning home, we went to Yellowstone Bear World

This wolf looked so hot and tired

We got to follow a Curator Tour van

Their favorite ride at Bear World

Ready to head home.

And Summer has Begun

Somehow it is the middle of June and I missed posting anything in May. May was actually a bit of a blur. Towards the beginning I told the girls we couldn't cut their hair until after their dance performance. The dance performance came and went and we still missed getting their hair cut because I got really sick with E. coli. It was awful. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.... ever. The day after the dance performance (which happened to be on Hannah's birthday) Hannah and I went to Salt Lake with my parents, but, on Hannah's birthday I went to my first prenatal doctor's appointment. Yep, we are expecting #6 in December. Anyway, we headed down to Salt Lake and I wasn't feeling too fabulous. I thought that it had to be something more than just pregnancy. As it turned out, that was the beginning effects of the E. coli.  I still don't know how I got it.

While down in Salt Lake Hannah and I went to lunch with my mom and some of her friends, and then we got our toenails painted. After that, my mom dropped me off at a rehearsal for an orchestra put together of people that have been led by Jack Ashton, my former high school orchestra teacher. It was great fun and I am so glad I did it, even if I was very sick. After the rehearsal there was some finger food and pizza. Little did I know that that pizza would be my last real food for about two and a half weeks. After the performance, which my mom loved and kept thanking me for letting her be a part of my life, Hannah and I took the shuttle back to Idaho Falls and got home about 2:00 in the morning. We had fun and I am glad I was able to be with Hannah. The next week my mother-in-law came to help with the kids while I was sick. She ended up staying for three days and then on the last day of school took the kids with her back to her house for a week. That was fun for the kids and great for me. The kids got to spend time with their cousins who had been in Korea for a year.

So after finding out I am pregnant, I decided to be the new PTO president for next year. We are getting a new principal and I hear she is wonderful and I can't wait to meet her and work with her. So that about sums up May. Now that we are in to June, Hannah has summer school four days a week, and all of the kids just finished up two weeks of swimming lessons. Hyrum has T-ball two days a week. He really loved it at first, but with four games left,  he is done and keeps letting me know. I will have him finish, but I'll let him decide for next year if he wants to do that again. 

In July, my sister, Andrea, and I will be doing another 5k on the 4th. This will be our 4th one together. She told me she probably wasn't going to run it, she'll be walking it. I told her that I was going to be walking it as well. Maybe we will actually finish together this time. That only happened on the first race we did together. I have also signed up my family for another 5k for July 21. It is the one in Iona and this will be our 4th time doing this one as well. After that 5k we will head to St. George a few days later for Robert's brother's wedding. July will be good and I am excited to be taking trips in our new 12 passenger van! We just got it last night and I am very excited. The kids were sad to see our other van go, but they are also very excited about this one. We have a friend that we traded with (plus us giving them some money), but they were ready for something smaller and we are ready for something bigger. It is a good way to tell people that I am pregnant.

I hope to post pictures later, because let's face it, blogs are more entertaining with pictures, but this will have to do for now. Life is good.

What have we been up to?

Time for another post from the Idaho Esplin Clan. We had an enjoyable spring break and Easter and the kids are really enjoying their last few months at school. Last Thursday I joined Hannah's class on a field trip to the museum. Right now the exhibit is "A T-Rex Named Sue". The whole school actually got to go. Molli's class went in the morning. She said she had fun and the dinosaur was smaller than she thought it would be. I still thought it was pretty big. Michael's class was there at the same time as Hannah's, so we saw him a bit.

Hyrum will be doing T-ball in June and I hope he enjoys it. I want him to realize there is more to do than playing on the computer. He does like to draw and he is getting good at his name. Evan is even to the point that he knows an E and A are in his name, but he doesn't know what they are called. Here is a picture of Hyrum so proud that he can spell his name with play-dough:

We had a fun time at the cabin in Island Park for Spring Break. The kids were all sick at one point or another, but we had fun all the same. We are glad Grandma and Grandpa came to join us.

The Loft - it was hard to get up to and hard to get down. Luckily, Grandpa is tall

Evan making a snow angel

Sledding down the hill

Painting their own race cars

Finished products

Our Cabin was perfect and just what I was hoping it would look like - thanks for the upgrade :)

First of three Easter Egg hunts and one basket hunt - Thanks Grandma :)

Hyrum not feeling too well

View from upstairs into the living room

Grandpa helping with Michael's Pinewood Derby car

It's getting there.....

... And it's done!

Having fun in the hot tub the last night we were there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These two pictures are of the Easter Basket hunt the kids had at our house. I made bread bunnies and used leftover Halloween candy. Success :) I did a scavenger hunt for them to find their baskets. Each was in a different part of the house.

Getting ready to go on the 2nd Easter egg hunt, this time with Daniel and Erika at Grandma's house

And they are off!

And at their 3rd Easter Egg hunt at the church

 

Finally, we got some nice weather in Idaho Falls and I took advantage of it. I took Evan and Hyrum to the Zoo. I thought, "My goodness, I have a lot of these pictures of these things at the Zoo." But then I realized that it is with different kids and that makes it all worth it. So here is the Zoo.

 And here is another day near the Snake River on the green belt. Hyrum and that dragon suit are a constant thing lately.

That about sums up our April and end of March. Life is Good