May 2025

With eager anticipation, Evan went horn hunting on the first day of May from 5-3, then went insulating from 5-9. The next day, James was finally feeling better, and we all went to a little birthday celebration for JoAnn. The boys are obsessed with how old she is (93). On Saturday (3rd), Evan insulated for the morning while the kids and I went to BethAnn's for a moment, hit up the library, and made a quick stop at the grocery store (the place all our money seems to end up, sigh).  

After Evan got home from insulating, we packed up and headed to Big Elk Creek from 3-8! The fishing season has officially begun! We enjoyed gorgeous weather and caught 8 fish to add to the sweetness. It felt so nice to be out on the boat again! That Sunday brought more fishing with the boys heading up the Snake River with the Simpson boys. The babies and ladies stayed at home awaiting the stories of the adventure. The fishing turned out to be dismal, but James did catch a sculpin, much to his delight!

We finished music classes on the 5th and the boys had their first recital on the 9th at the Salt River Building. There was a bit of goofing around (just like in every class), but they both did well, and had a lot of fun! Now we'll break for the summer and see how we do at piano lessons with Miss Kay next school year.

On the 10th, Allen and his 2 older boys met us at Palisades for some more fishing. The kids had a blast (Thomas was a bit goofy and a little bossy with Liam, which was a tad annoying), and we caught enough to make everyone happy.

James has enjoyed preschool lately with trips to the fire station, show and tell, pizza parties, and field days. After two years of preschool (and two different preschools this year), he's ready to be done and head to kindergarten. Evan has been having a fun month, too, with a big purchase from Mark - his 1987 GMC single cab short bed. After 13 years together, I learned something new about my husband: This was his dream truck in high school, and now we own it!

The weekend of the 16th/17th was joyfully spent at Green River Lakes. We pulled the camper and drift boat up doubles and had a heck of a good time! We left on Thursday after school and got there after dark. We ended up staying in the horse trailer parking lot and pulling into a campsite the next morning. Evan and the boys took the boat out several times on Friday while Renee and I walked around and around the campgrounds. She enjoyed several good stroller naps during this time. 

Justin, Tessa, and their kids joined on Friday night and set up their tent in the campground where our trailer was. It was the same campsite we had several years ago when we took Thomas and James up there for their first time. On our drive in, we saw a few moose and oodles of elk as well as a couple of deer. Justin and Tessa saw nothing, so we must've been lucky with our timing, which was quite a bit later than ours had been.

Our campsite made me so happy with how full of life and socked into it we so quickly became. We had a clothes line to dry out some wet clothes, Justin's tent, and our camper plus the coolers and two boats. The weather really was gorgeous as well! On Saturday, we had breakfast then loaded up the boats. With the boats all loaded, we crossed to the inlet where we caught a few then joined Justin and Tessa over by the shore where they were catching more. 

Eventually, we decided it was a good time to hike into the upper lake. The kids were all too eager to make this happen, and the boys walked nearly all the way in and out on their own. We didn't get any bites up there, but the view was a stunning as always. Justin and Tessa stayed one more night, but we decided to come home that evening. 

That next week (19-23), James graduated from the CDC (again), and we said goodbye to them. They all tried to get me to come work there when I said I'll not see them again for many years (until Renee is 3 if then). I told them they can't afford me. HAHA (what a snob I am). Thomas also had a field trip that week, Terynn came to visit us, the CDC had their field day, the 1st grade had their end of year program, and we all breathed easy (lakeside) with no school on Friday. So much packed into the end of the school year!

Summer kicked off with the boys hopping in Mark's truck with Evan and Justin to head down the Tooele to pick up the last of the things from Mark's house there before it sells. Renee and I spent the day lying low and enjoying some sunshine. 

Memorial Day weekend was spent at Blackfoot Reservoir. We pulled the camper up on Friday, and found the lower campground completely full, which required us to fill up a nice one in the upper campground. Actually, we found we enjoyed it there much more than the lower campground. It was less crowded, easier to maneuver the boat in and out of, and there were no birds!

We fished all morning on Saturday, then sat around in the wind the rest of the day. On Sunday was a similar story, but BethAnn and Dale joined us after they were done with church. On Monday, we celebrated Thomas's birthday! It is strange to think he is already 7 years old! He is proud to be a joker all the time and loves to hear and tell jokes as well as give us giggles with his good sense of humor when we least expect it. He is Renee's favorite person in the world, and an excellent student with high scores in math and reading. He loves football and basketball, and hanging out with his friends, Beston and Biam (his nicknames for Weston and Liam). He's goofy and fun and full of love!

After that, it was the last week of school! On Thursday, the 29th, I attended SVHS graduation with Julie to witness the final class I taught in the district walk across the stage. It was lovely to see former colleagues, run into community members, and see that so many of those little knuckleheads made it through the final 2 years of high school! 

On the last day of school, Thomas had about 9 friends ride the bus home with him for his birthday party. For the next 2 hours, I single-handedly managed all of them, including games, food, dessert, and present opening, along with watching Renee, keeping people from getting run over by Carson's four-wheeler, and my house from being overrun (they go wherever and whenever ever and you just have to be ready for it!). It was a relief when everyone had gone, as I was quite exhausted by then, but I think they each had a lovely time. At any rate, Thomas had a blast and felt very special by the occasion. I'm certain this is our new tradition (this being the 2nd year in a row) for celebrating his special day. And now, let summer begin!