A lot of fishing.

 James and John and I went to Idaho for almost a week so we could help put a new roof on Uncle Joe's house. This is the only picture I have to document it.

 Grandma and Grandpa Butler and Uncle David came for a visit. We borrowed a boat from my friend Paul and had a great time. Dad was having such a good time that he fell asleep.

 The catch. Oh yeah, we also set Uncle David up on a blind date while he was here.

 James Grace and Anne joined the track club for the month of June. They love it so far.

 Anne and I had a daddy daughter date. We were originally going to go out to pizza, but Anne decided that fishing with me and Paul would be better. She's a pretty good fisherman, "I'll let you reel in the next one dad."

 We saw a lot of baby geese while we were out on the water. If you look very closely you can even see a deer in the background.

Anne also got to gather a couple dozen eggs and chase Paul's ducks, chickens and turkeys while he and I were cleaning and filleting the fish.

A Persistent Spring

 With all the wet weather we've been having, it's been hard to get outside without getting soaked. We did find some time to borrow a freinds boat and take it out on the pond.

 Grace and Anne had their final violin recital with Miss Alena. She will be sorely missed, but is getting married next month.

 Leonora and Kevin visited this long weekend and brought their three little girls

 Jennifer decided it was time she got her first fishing license. We went out to the pond and she outfished me. She caught several greyling.

They were all bigger than my sunfish-bluegill hybrid.

The Little Things that Count

Chocolate milk bubbles are things we do when dad is away.

Late work nights can be fun from time to time.

Anne told me she was practicing.  She didn't mention she dressed for the occassion.

Edwin's birthday router.  He's practicing (complete with sound effects!)

The little treasure we found for the wee ones while dad was awaiting a birthday surprise.

Edwin's new truck bed cover.  I hope he like it this summer. 

We played Bocci Ball outside with our new trees planted in the yard.

Grace sang a solo and our community Easter program.  We estimated 300 people in attendance.  She sang beautifully, Jesus Once of Humble Birth. It was a joy to be her accompanist.

Trip to see family

Grace and Anne didn't have school two Fridays ago, so we decided it was a good time to see some family. Our first stop was in Evanston to see Uncle Scott. Jessica decided to ditch school that day so she could see us too. We had a great time playing in the back yard and playing some cribbage before hitting the road again.

 Next we drove to Cache Valley. We stopped by Wellsville to see Tad and Solviej and their three kids. We had a great time visiting, especially since it had been almost eleven years since we last saw each other.

 We spent the night at Great Grandpa Stucki and Grandma Arlie's house. Jen and I took turns going to the temple on Saturday while the kids played in the yard and we chatted with Grandpa and Grandma.

 Next it was on to Idaho where we stayed with uncle Tim and aunt Amber. Grandpa Ray came to town from New Hampshire so we took advantage getting lots of hugs...

 and losing at cribbage. Well, at least Anne was able to beat him.

 Aunt Leonora and her three girls also made it to town for Uncle David to come home from his mission. It also happened to be St. Patrick's Day so we dressed up for the occasion.

 We had a great time greeting him at the airport.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Suzanne invited us over for dinner while we were in town. All in all it was a great mini family reunion trip.

Project Icicle

 We've had a bit more snow lately and have grown some great icicles. James likes the ones that are taller than he is.

 We have a cubby hole over the stairs in our family room. But we can't use all of it because we don't want the kids to fall into oblivion. We've been blocking off the scary part with bookcases.

I knew just what to do to remedy the situation. Build more bookcases. I put them together in an L shape so they can't be tipped over easily.

Now we don't have to worry so much about the little ones playing up there and they can use all of the space.