Easter Vacation

We had a good vacation. We vaccinated most of the cows on Friday and branded the new ones that Matt bought. Aubrey and I went to pick up some propane and the lady asked us if we were going camping. Ya right. We had a couple of jumpers that Matt & the boys had to rope to vaccinate. Crazy. It took us about 6+ hours to get it done.

On Saturday Matt took some of the cows to Brigham to pasture for the summer. I think Chance really likes to drive the bull wagaon.

Bo was right there with us. He really did pretty well until the last hour maybe. He went from tractor to tractor and played in the dirt and rocks or so I thought. I could see him playing in a hole then he stood up and started walking over to me. It wasn't a hole it was a mud puddle. He was caked with mud from his waist to his boots. I had to take him home and bath him and then go back. His onesie never came clean and his boots still leave his socks dirty. I think he had fun though. The kids were alot of help to Matt. I don't know what we would do without them.

The kids had a good Easter morning. We went to church. Everyone looked nice in their new dresses and shirts and ties.

We had Easter dinner at Grandma Della's house. I cooked chicken on the grill. Our grill wouldn't start and mom's and dad's was out of propane. Darrin went and got his. McKay finally got mine started and Darrin's started right up. Bo was crying and I couldn't hold him and cook. Matt and Chance had to go to Brigham and take some more cows in. Bo wouldn't let anyone take him. He was getting tired and hungry. Finally, mom took him, screaming and all, in the house and got the tractors out for him. That made him happy. Everything tasted great. Grandpa Olsen is here for a few days. It was good to get together.

Monday I took Bo, Aubrey and a friend to a movie. We saw Mosters Vs. Aliens. I thought it was really cute. Cheyanne and a friend went with us but they went and saw a different movie. I guess I am not cool enough anymore. We still had fun though. I didn't even have to take Bo out. YEAH!

Dad

Not a whole lot new. He acts like he is feeling a little better. He went to the doctor last week and doesn't need to go back for a month. He said he was having some pain but that seems to have eased up. He is still sleeping a lot but is getting around pretty well. Dad has been to a few ball games and looks forward to them. He is progressing, slowly, but it is progress.

Matt took him for a couple of hours last weekend. They drove out to Little Mountain and down to the cows and messed around. He enjoyed it.

A close friend of our family passed away unexpectedly last week. Dad took it really hard. Matt and Darryl gave him a blessing. I think he was feeling frustrated and a little depressed. I have never seem him like that before.

Newest Member of our Family

This little guy's name is JoJo. His mother was sick and wasn't able to take care of him. Aubrey has had a lot of fun with him. JoJo will run after her. He has to be bottle fed 2 times a day. He is out in the barn. He was a little sick but I think he is getting over it.

We lost a cow that was pregnant this week and a calf that has been sick. They have kept Matt and the boys very busy this week.

Aubrey lost a front tooth a week ago Saturday. She had school pictures on Monday, dance pictures on Tuesday and gymnastic pictures on Wednesday. She still looked really cute. This is the same tooth that got pushed back when the pony reared up backwards and went over. The saddle horn got her in the mouth. Her tooth turned black and the dentist thought it was dead. It got its color back and just now fell out. One year later. Aubrey fell off the pony last Sunday when she was feeding cows with her dad. She's a pretty brave little girl.

Chance had an exciting week I guess. He called me Wednesday morning and said he was called to the office. His counselor told him he was lacking 1/2 credit of Fine Arts. I was not happy. I called and talked to his counselor about 3 weeks ago to make sure he was on line for graduation. She told me that he was and all was good. Chance had gone and changed some classes so that he could have work release again. This was before the trimester started. Well the Vice Principle got involved and the counselor was in the wrong. She checked Chance's classes but they were the old ones and failed to check the class changes. She apologized and admitted she was in the wrong. Needless to say he still needed Fine Arts. He would have to have a third hour and take away one hour of work release. He would be three weeks behind in Pottery and would need to make up everything that he has missed so far. His other options were to take a night class at the Community High School. He would have to have 45 hours of class time and had to attend 2 nights a week from 6-9. Or he could take a Fine Arts class at North Ridge Learning Center. It is a packet that is completed at his own pace at home. That's what he decided to do. It shouldn't be too hard for him. If he passes everything at 90% he will not have to take a final exam. Hopefully no more surprises.

McKay has been working on a Lewis and Clark Journal. It has been quite a project for him. We have tea dyed some muslin for a cover. He wanted a map on the cover so I said we could print on off and iron it on. It worked great all accept that I forgot to print it upside down. Everything was backwards. So now we get to try it again. It has to be seven pages and hand written. He can draw pictures but it is supposed to look like an actual journal. McKay had to make a catapult out of a mouse trap, a dowel and a plastic spoon. It had to catapult a weighted ping pong ball. He loves this kind of stuff. The school record was 54 feet and his went 60 feet. Way to go McKay. The other night he put a motor on his pinewood derby car and had a mouse trap on it and it was hooked up to a battery. It would go across the hard wood floor. Amazing how his brain works.

Cheyanne has been busy with volleyball. She has a tournament this Saturday. We had young women's at our house Saturday night and we watched the General Young Women's Meeting. Everyone brought treats and I had a pizza for them. It was quite nice. Bo and Aubrey were here so I am going to have to watch a rebroadcast or online or something. We went to parent teacher's conference. Most of her teachers said she is a fun girl and likes to talk alot. But it's not all her fault (one teacher told me) she just seems to be in the middle all the time. She is a very social butterfly. Matt and I tell her that we send her to school to learn. She just laughs at us.
She wanted to go to the mall on Friday but she didn't want me to go with her. All of her friends were busy so she decided it would be okay if I went. We had a fun time. It's a good thing I didn't let her take all her money or she would have spent all of it. She came home with $16. I think I have a shopper on my hands. She modelled all of her clothes for her dad and then she modelled mine.



Bo is just Bo. Not more to say. He likes playing in the toilet and in Jingle's water dish. We have shut all the doors so he can't get into things. He has learned how to say Aubrey (AUBEE). It's funny. He will sit right next to her and yell AUBEE, AUBEE, AUBEE. He loves to go outside too.

As for me, I got a wild hair. Or should I say alot of short, spiky hairs. Yes, I cut my hair again. It's in an A-line and has the pokey hairs. I really like it. I have wanted to do it for a long time. Matt hasn't said much about it. I don't know if that is good or bad.

Happy Patricks Day!

Nothing much new and exciting has happened lately. I guess that is a good thing.

Aubrey did not want to wear green to school today. They can't pinch each other anyway. I sent a green Ribbon tied into a bow that she can pin on her shirt just in case she changed her mind. She stuck it in her pocket. She's a funny girl.

The cow herd keeps growing. We have had some sick ones and Matt has had to spend quite a bit of time with them. It's getting warmer now and that's good. Matt said we are down to the last 2 weeks of hay. It better hurry and get warmer so the grass will grow. We will take them to Malad in May.

Cheyanne had a volleyball tournament 2 weeks ago. Her team took third. It was a two day tournament and the girls seemed to be tired. She has another one on Saturday. I let her color her hair to a dark brown. It's pretty. I told her that I wouldd to pay for it but she couldn't "GO" with boys for the rest of the school year. I keep telling her that boys have cooties. I don't know if she believes me anymore.

McKay's eagle project was a no go. For him to be able to do it he would have to personally go to Africa and deliver the supplies. He really would like to go. Our neighbor, who is putting on the auction, would love to have him go as well. He told me Sunday that there isn't very many boys that he would even think about taking with him but he would definitely take McKay in a heart beat. We got McKay's grades and he is doing better than ever. He got A, A-, A-, A-, A- and a B+. I think he thinks it's pretty neat.

Chance is working alot lately. Maybe because it is getting warmer. He might have to pull a 24 hour shift this week. He's looking for a truck to buy. I wish he wouldn't be in such a big hurry to grow up. Is there any way to stop it?? HaHa. We got his grades he got an A, A-,A-,A- and a B+. I was totally impressed.

I had the opportunity to take the young women and young men in my ward down to the Draper Temple open house. Cheyanne and McKay went with me. They were fighting with one another and I told them it wouldn't be a good thing for me to kill them before we go to the temple. They thought that was pretty funny. Then they both decided to ride down with me. I guess it's a good thing that they think I am cool. It was really neat but I kind of felt like we were herded through. I thought that we would be able to spend a little more time in the rooms. However there was someone in the sealing room that took a few minutes with us. Very beautiful though. The brides room was neat. It had the prettiest chandeliers that I have ever seen.

Bo's new thing is to go into Matt's closet and put on his cowboy boots and a cap. He comes clonking out with the hat on backwards. He is getting into everything. Nothing is safe anymore. We went to the bookmobile and I found a book with tractors in it. He loves it. He likes the page with the loader on it. He also likes to play with his cap guns that Chance gave him for Christmas. He is still a daddy's boy. Matt seems to really like that. When Matt leaves Bo will stand at the door and cry for 15-20 minutes.

Dad

There hasn't been much change for dad. He is eating a little better. He still doesn't feel all that great. He has been going for a few little walks when it was nice outside. Other than that there hasn't been much change.

Dad went to the doctor who did his colon surgery yesterday. The doctor told them that it was a miracle that he could walk into his office without a walker or even a can. He told mom and dad that he was very sick and it may take a couple of months maybe even six before he gets feeling better. They both need to be patient. He is still having therapy 3 days a week. I think he is getting stronger.

Dad

Dad is still plugging along. He had the stove turned up so high last night that it just about ran us out of the house. He was just right though. It was hot. Then he went to bed. Didn't say goodnight or anything. Bo went to his bedroom door and just looked at him. I told him to give grandpa a kiss bye and he did. Our neighbor in church said that they saw him driving his truck very slowly down the road. He doesn't eat much. He says nothing tastes good. When we go see grandpa and grandma Bo likes to play with dad's toy John Deere tractors. One in particular, it has a loader bucket on it. Needless to say we ended up brining it home. Bo refused to leave it. He has played with it all morning.

Baxter Family

This weekend went by way too fast. Matt, Cheyanne, Aubrey, Bo & I left Saturday afternoon and drove 3 1/2 hours to Ferrron to attend my Grandpa Olsen's 90th birthday celebration and open house. We spent 2 1/2 hours with grandpa and then got in the truck and headed home.

Crazy huh. Aubrey was a big help to Uncle Roy. They kept the refreshment table stocked up. She dug right in and helped.

The boys were not able to attend. McKay was working on his Eagle Project and that afternoon then he and Chance had to feed.

We had a good time though. Mom didn't feel like she could leave dad for that long of time. I took lots of pictures for her so she would be able to see some of the people. I recognized some of them but not very many. It was nice to see grandpa again and Aunt Pauline and her family.

One of the show steers died sometime Saturday. I am not sure whose it was. It's a good thing Matt kept back a few extras just in case something like this happened. Needless to say he was not very happy but what can you do?

Mckay has been working on his Eagle Project. He and about four other boys are helping our neighbor gather donations that will be auctioned. The proceeds will go to Tongwa, Zambia, Africa to help the villiage get needed medical and school supplies. Our neighbor has been to Tongwa several times and has helped build a school for them.

Aubrey was picked as the "Star Student of the Day" today. We got to make a poster about her and the things she likes. I am not sure what the "Star Student" gets to do but it must be something pretty neat because she was sure excited. She told me that she got to be the "Star Student" because she helps and picks people up and not put them down. She really is a sweet spirit.