The Sage Center

We have been in the area for almost four years and we had never gone to the Sage Center in Boardman.  So on Presidents Day we decided to fix that.  I didn't know much about the center besides that it was about agriculture and was kid friendly.

There were lots of fun things for the kids to do.  Here Rachel spins the wheel to see the impact of water on the community.

Practicing being a farmer and driving a tractor along a path.  I didn't know that tractors were automatically driven by machines.

This is getting the feel of aged cheese.

Whitney practices milking a cow.

Here the kids got to push a button for different crops that are grown in the area and then see how those are exported around the world.

This was our "hot air balloon ride".  You get on and go on a eight minute ride where the balloon goes up and down about a foot and you watch a video that is suppose to look like you are flying over Boardman.  

The girls loved this and kept going back.  Here you play a little game where you try to flick off the bad French fries and just let the good fries fall into the basket.  It was really tricky since the fries traveled quickly.

Upstairs was a huge traveling display of how potatoes get made into French fries.  I thought this was really cool.

And we decided to treat ourselves to some Tillamook ice cream.  The ice cream was delicious.

Then we went outside and got to touch the huge farm machines.

The day was warm enough to spend a little time at the park outside of the center.

Adam loved his little rocking cow ride.  He was very good at the Sage Center and was looking awfully cute.

It was a fun center and now we know somewhere else we can bring people when they come visit us.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a great Valentine's Day here.

Here we are doing a craft.  The girls cut some paper hearts and we made a necklace.

For a treat we decided to make rice krispy treats.

We used cookie cutter hearts to shape them and then the girls got to decorate their hearts.

Here the girls show off some Valentine presents.  They each got some stickers and a lego set and some little candies.  Look how happy they look.

Another church in our community had a Valentine's Day dinner.  It was a free event for the community so Will and I decided to go.  The dinner was extra yummy since I didn't have to cook it.  And there was child care provided.

Will's boss at Lifeways ended up being the man in charge of the whole activity.  Here a few couples participate in a newlyweds game.

The library had a party a couple of days after Valentine's.  The girls getting some tattoos.

Rachel playing a tossing game.

Whitney tries to throw a little arrow into a heart.

Megan plays some bingo.  Each of the carnival games had little candies and prizes.

Finally we spent some time doing a heart magnet craft.  So it was a really fun party.

I hope everyone else had a great Valentine's Day with lots of love.

A Sad Passing

Will's grandpa died a few weeks ago.  He was in his mid-nineties and getting sicker, so it wasn't totally unexpected.  But it was still sad because Grant Reeve was a wonderful man.  Will was able to fly to Utah to go to the funeral.

There was a nice funeral service for Grant.

A lot of people loved him.  Will said it was nice seeing some of his cousins and aunts and uncles that he hadn't seen for a long time.

A light lunch for the funeral attendees.

Will got to spend some time with his brothers.  I think he hasn't seen John since our wedding.

Hanging out with Dave at Will's parents' house.

On the Saturday the group decided to go on a hike.

Will said it was really cold, but the frozen waterfall was beautiful.

It was sad to hear that Grant Reeve had passed away.  He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him.  But I am glad that Will was able to go to Utah and spend that time with his family.

New Years!

I promise this is the last blog about the holidays. then we will finally be caught up.  We had a fun New Years at First Night in Kennewick.

Because we were some of the first people there, the kids all got 2017 glasses - complete with little flashing lights.

We played some little carnival games and the kids got little candies.

More carnival games.  We decided to skip the really long line for laser tag.

Here we meet Elsa.  Cinderella also made an appearance in the night.  But Elsa is Rachel's favorite.

Riding on the merry-go-round was a hit.  Whitney was the only one brave enough to go on a horse that goes up and down.

I wanted to see the juggler so we stopped and watched his show.  I thought it was cool.

Stopping and taking a little coloring break.  They were suppose to decorate a pizza to try to win a free pizza.  But we didn't win.  I guess we will just have to buy our pizza.

And we were at the bounce houses for a long time.  So it was a fun night.  Thankfully my parents watched Adam for us so we wouldn't have to hold him the whole time.  There were thousands of people there, but it was good.  And no one got lost.

Christmas and More

So this is the last Christmas post.  We had a great Christmas day.  I love having Christmas on Sunday so we can also go to church and enjoy the beautiful Christmas music.

We let the kids open their stockings before church.

Megan was super impressed with the new addition in the stocking - Fun Dip.  It has been greatly appreciated since then too.

We told the girls if they hurried to eat and get dressed for church there might be time for them to open one present.  Worked like a charm.  They were so excited to each pick one gift to open.

After church we started the crazy present opening jamboree.  Here we opened our new family trampoline.  Good for getting some bouncing done while it is still so cold outside.

Adam liked opening presents too.  He got some clothes and toys and diapers - the essentials.

Cousin Tessa decorates her face after opening her gift.  And look, she doesn't even need a mirror.  It was really cute how excited she was.

Later we got to talk to my sister Kaitlin.  She has about six months left on her mission to Mississippi.  It was great hearing some of her stories, and hearing her "ya'll".

Besides Christmas we had a couple of other fun events while in Pasco.  This was a double baby shower for Kylee and Allison.  We ended up having a good turnout and had fun playing games and eating chicken salad.

We all 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the cute outfits and blankets.

Another event was Conner getting his Eagle Scout award.  That was really neat.  I wouldn't know but it sounds like a lot of work and dedication.

This picture turned out a little blurry but Conner was able to give a little pin to my parents.

And then it was time for root beer floats.  Adam loved, loved the ice cream.  He got mad when it was all gone.

Anyway, we crammed a lot of fun things into our time in Pasco.  And it was great seeing everyone.