Lloyd Family

Kory participated in the Great Poem Project at CSI Ezra built a wooden box with scrap wood- all by himself! Zac participated in State Night at his school. He chose Washington, since he loves the Seahawks! Sara chillin' with her good friend Jesse, outside our woodshed. Sara and Ezra participated in an Art Day put on by our high school. Loving on Luke. Best friends! Sara on the BMX track we are building on our property. Zac's turn!

Hanna is really into music these days.  In the Filer High School Spring Concert, she... ...sang in the choir... ...played drums in the jazz band... ...played piano in the jazz band... ...and accompanied the choir. Hanna has a beautiful talent, and we always love when she shares it!

When we bought this house 17 months ago, we knew this tree would have to go .  We're not tree haters, but this monstrosity , which was at least a quarter dead,  had huge limbs hanging over both the house and power lines .  With the high winds we get here, it was only a matter of time.  We decided to take care of it! One down- this is easy! Yum! Is this what pioneers ate? D-oh!  Just in case... Almost there! Ta-dah! Now we're left with tons of clean-up work,  but we're grateful the dangerous part is over and no one was injured! Bonus: once it dries, this firewood should keep us going for a couple of years ! Side note: Kory is extremely  impressed with his inexpensive Poulon chainsaw.  Worked amazing!

We had stake conference today, which means church was over by noon. By three o'clock, the kids had done all their usual Sunday activities  and were bored. So I challenged them to all make Muddy Buddies together. I think it's the first all six have worked in the kitchen at the same time! They kept coming to me for help at first,  but settled down and had a great time together. I think growing up with siblings helps a kid to learn to argue,  get over it, and move on. I hope.

Hanna turned 15 yesterday! She requested a strawberry cake, as you can see, and lasagna for her special dinner. It's nice to have family so close-  Grandma and Grandpa Jensen and the Lawrence family  usually make it to our birthday celebrations. Hanna has taken an interest in softball lately,  and we have had some fun times playing catch together. Hanna, I hope you enjoyed your birthday!  We love you SO much!

Ezra turned 7 on March 16th! He was super excited for this event, of course. His breakfast choice was bakery doughnuts. For dinner we dined on tins of herring  (Hanna and I abstained)  and fruit kabobs! Ezra chose, and helped make, a pinata cake.  He frosted and decorated a little cake just for himself. One of the gifts we gave Ezra was an airsoft gun.  I think one of the highlights of his day was having a big airsoft battle with  Zane, Zac and the Lawrence cousins: Bryan, Ethan and Tyson.  Our boys had created a big battlefield on the lawn  (only a part of which is pictured) with plenty of places to hide behind. Good times. We love you, Ezra! You are non-stop imagination, creativity and fun!

Over the last several months we have noticed that Hanna almost always has a sore throat.  She's had difficulty swallowing food and sleeping at night.  We took her to Dr. Mayes, a ENT, who confirmed that Hanna's tonsils were larger than normal  and she would probably benefit from having them removed.  We decided to go ahead with it. The operation was Wednesday of Spring Break.  We arrived at the hospital at 6:40 am and got some lab work done.  Hanna got her first IV! Then we watced TV and read for a while.  We met various nurses, the nurse anesthetist and the anesthesiologist. About 9:00 they gave Hanna the sedative and took her back for surgery.  She said later that she went under within a few seconds.  The surgery took only about 20 minutes and went perfectly.  An hour later the nurses brought Hanna back to me where she woke up some more  and was required to eat a root beer popsicle before she c...