Hyrum is eight years old already and was baptized with his friend, Dylan, on Friday night. It was a great baptism. He was soooo excited! The family all pitched in with Dad doing the baptism and confirmation, Moroni and Grandpa Mel being witnesses, McKay giving a prayer, and Mom giving a talk on the Holy Ghost. It was a very special evening. Afterwards, Hyrum was so excited that he got baptized that he was telling everyone...even the clerk at the store. The conversation went something like this:
Hyrum to the clerk: "Guess what, I'm eight years old and I got baptized tonight!"
Clerk: "Why would you want to do that?"
Hyrum: "So I could get the Gift of the Holy Ghost!"
He had a similar conversation with the person at the ticket office of the movie theater. He's a missionary already! Speaking of missionaries, through the magic of photoshop, Ammon was able to attend the baptism also!
The boys enjoy doing a pose they call "The Barney Stinson." Silly boys!
This year Hyrum wanted to be Mega Man for Halloween. I had the perfect colored stretch lycra material already in my stash. I picked up the rest of the supplies at a thrift store. I used a basketball for the helmet. It worked perfect because it was soft and pliable and I was able to cut the shape with scissors. I used a football for the mega blaster. These were both covered with the lycra and glued in place with the glue gun. I cut a hole at one end of the football and wedged a flashlight in it. It serves two purposes. One, to use as a handle to hold the blaster, and two, as a cool light-up power source. I covered the lens with transparent red tape. The boots were made using thick plastic/foam placemats. They were also covered with the fabric. Hyrum LOVES it so I'd say it was a success!
So Dad and the boys survived their second fifty mile hike this summer. Dad wasn't able to make it for all of it (on account he was spending time camping with Hyrum and I) but, he was able to be there for the toughest day! A seventeen mile hike on rough terrain and little water supply! I guess it was pretty grueling. Moroni and McKay did great and really made a fashion statement along the way. In their words..."We've been rockin' these bad boys all week!" See for yourselves...
I'm glad I wasn't there to witness McKay standing on this cliff with VERY steep sheer drop offs on both sides...SCARY!
Man, our far-out friends, Warner, LeAnn, and Carol all turned 60 this summer. To celebrate, they threw a party at the Mitchell's pad. We thought it would be groovy to dress the part. A trip to Value Village, and a few evenings of sewing turned a moo-moo, pillowcase, shower curtain rings, two t-shirts, and pants into these mod outfits. RIGHT-ON!
I was lucky to find some bright green strappy sandals with chunky heels at Value Village the same day!
This was the groovy inspiration that blew my mind, baby!
Is there anything this kid can't do? First off, he learned to operate the excavator....
Then we went camping at Diamond Lake and he caught his first Rainbow trout on Uncle Rick's fishing boat. He pulled in three on the first day. Then, on the second day, he pulled in two—including one that measured 17 1/2"!!
What a whopper!!
(Of course, he was hoping to catch a Barred Knifejaw because they sell on Animal Crossing for 5000 bells!)
And while he was at it, he learned to be captain of the fishing boat! Thanks Uncle Rick for taking us out in your boat!
Posing with Dad to show off the haul from the first day...
Next on the list was to become a Junior Ranger for Crater Lake National Park.
He studied hard...
Had all the right answers...
And earned his patch from Ranger Brian....
Pretty cool, don't you think?
Notice the "Master Sword" tucked into the back of his t-shirt? No self respecting ranger goes anywhere without one! (He would bring his sword on our walk to the restroom to "protect" me. One time a car came along. He said, "Watch out, Mom! I've got to stay alert for those!" What kind of a seven year-old uses the term "stay alert!?")
And last, but not least, on his week of firsts...the crowning event...drum roll please....
He learned how to ride his bike!! His dad worked with him a lot before he had to leave and meet up with the boys on their fifty-miler. He pretty much had it, and could go about 50 feet without his dad holding on, but wasn't completely confident. It took a lot of convincing to get him to practice. One conversation went something like this...
Hyrum: Mom, who's the boss, you or Dad? Because Dad says I can't play video games until I ride my bike...and I don't think Dad should boss me around like that? (He was hoping that I was the boss and could boss Dad around!)
Mom: Dad's not bossing you around, he just knows you'll have fun once you learn to ride your bike. Its fun to ride a bike. Once you learn how, you'll love it.
Hyrum: How do you know I'll love it? I don't think it will be fun. I'm okay with not riding a bike.
Mom: You know, to be a missionary, you'll have to learn to ride a bike.
Hyrum: No I won't. I can be a walking missionary.
Anyway, this went on and on. But, finally....
SUCCESS!!
And, BTW, as soon as he learned to ride his bike he said, "Okay, I was wrong, it is fun to ride a bike!" And from that moment on, he announced to EVERYONE that went by our campsite that he could ride his bike! All in all, I'd say it was a pretty eventful week!
The Springfield High School Kaleidoscope choir performed songs from Grease at the spring concert. McKay chose to, and had fun, dressing as the nerd. They had lots of fun putting the numbers together and performing them.
Who says it has to be a nice day to jump on the trampoline? Hyrum proves otherwise! Although, he had to completely change his clothes (because they were SOAKED!) and he had to have a big cup of hot chocolate when he came in!
Well, if Kim is a soccer mom, then I must be a soccer grandma! I love these kids and am longing for the day when we live closer! But, for now, I am thankful for the technology that keeps us close.
Hyrum received a certificate of achievement today at school for reading. I credit it to reading scriptures. Instead of reading words like "Run, Spot, Run," he's reading words like commandments, inheritance, genealogy, obedience, wilderness, Jerusalem, etc. Now, you just don't get those words in your typical first grade book!
It's mating season for the turkeys and this is becoming quite the pick up joint! Can't you just hear the three tom's on the hill?
Tom #1..."Wow, check out the feathers on that hen!"
Tom #2..."I don't know, I'm kind of a beak guy myself."
Tom #3..."Me...I like the legs. Those are some pretty good lookin' drumsticks!"
(Click on the picture to see them better.)
And check out this guy....he's really struttin' his stuff!
Our friend has been feeding the turkeys and now there's about 40 of them that come around. In about a month or so, we should get some good pictures of the cute little poults (which is turkey talk for chicks!) Did you know that a turkey has exceptional eyesight in the day, but not very good at night...and, they can run up to 25 mph, and fly up to 55 mph? Don't you feel smart now that you've been educated about wild turkeys?
This happened just before Spring Break, but I just now got the video. (My batteries went dead during the performance, so I had to get a copy from the school, of which, I think the cameraman was a little distracted in the beginning!) Anyway, McKay auditioned and was one of the twelve chosen to perform that night. He sang an original song he wrote about Pikachu. He actually wrote the song the night before auditions. Where does he get this from?! He also made his own costume to look like Ash Ketchum. He sewed his own shirt, without a pattern, and made all the other props and accessories. Enjoy...
Yesterday we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Ben's two little nieces came over, which made it more fun for Hyrum. It was a beautiful day and they had lots of fun.
As you can see, this was a fairly easy egg hunt!
I know these are weeds, put they are kind of pretty!
And they're off!!
Some eggs were even hidden under the trampoline.
Hyrum was quite the gentleman and even retrieved some of the eggs for the girls.
This is usually where we hear one of Hyrum's signature sayings...
"Uh, people, could I get a little help here!" (Seriously, he says this quite often!)
It's a good thing all those weeds are growing well in the flower beds.
Otherwise, is would have been hard to hide the eggs!
