Ethan's Graduation

My next to youngest brother Ethan graduated from high school a couple weeks ago and Ella and I went to Texas for the ceremony. It was a quick trip but so much fun to see family and help Ethan celebrate. This year represents my mom's 25th anniversary of homeschooling. 5 down and 1 to go!




Ella passed out on my mom during the ceremony


Ella had fun playing with her cousins who were visiting from the Domincan Republic. Here's my brother Isaac and Adeline racing down the driveway



My mom and Ella



We also made a trip down to Huntsville, Tx to see my brother Caleb. It was so nice to be able to see him and give him a hug! My other brother, Clayton is in North Carolina so I didn't get to see him but I snapped this picture of Caleb and Clayton's hats hanging at my parent's house. It reminds me of them.

Happy Belated Birthday

To my favorite husband Brad. I meant to write this before I left for Texas so I could post it on his birthday, which was Monday. Anyway, better late than never right?

Brad has been a busy guy since we moved to Idaho. I'm so proud of all the things he's accomplished. Not only has he gotten his DER (Designated Engineering Representative for the FAA), his PE (Professional Engineer) license, Airframe licence and managed to take several difficult classes, he's also been pretty constructive around the house:

A couple months ago he took the shed in the back yard and turned it into an office/extra room



Then he created this nice implement of obstruction for Ella (which she can now climb over)


Then he built us these nice bookshelves


An with all that to do he's also figured out how to be a pretty awesome dad and great husband. I guess I can put up with him another year.

I'm Free!!

I took my last actuarial exam on Friday. It was a long miserable process, but it's over now. If I passed it will only be because all my family and friends were so kind and let me ignore them for a couple months and took care of everything for me. I won't find out the results until July, but either way I'm never taking it again. I figure if I announce that for all the world to read it will prevent me from even considering it again in the event I don't pass.

So, what to do with all my free time?? I don't know, maybe hang out with Ella and Brad, read, do a Bible study, cook, take pictures, hang out with friends again, go hiking, mountain biking, finish a quilt, catch up on organizing pictures, etc.. Even cleaning the cars sounds fun.

I've started making my own yogurt. My mom had a yogurt maker from 1975 which she gave to me and I can't believe how easy it is to make. All you have to do is boil some milk, whisk 1 Tablespoon of yogurt in and poor it into the yogurt maker. 10 hours later you have 4 cups of delicious yogurt. I mix it with cottage cheese, fruit and nuts with a little jam or honey and that's my breakfast almost every morning.

On to the pictures. We had a fun time at Claire's wedding in California. It was a beautiful wedding and we all had a blast! I didn't get any pictures at the wedding, but here's one of Claire and her husband, Ian.


Here's Ella at the same spot


The night before the wedding, Ella and I walked down to the beach and she went on her first swing. She couldn't stop laughing!


She also loved eating the sand and putting rocks in her mouth.


After L.A., we spent a week in Phoenix and then the weekend in Tucson where we got to see Aunt Sarah's piano Ensemble.