Part of May

We stayed the night in Missoula, MT got a geocache so we could add MT to our list of states and then drove to Thermopolis.  We love spending time up there with London and Alissa.  While there, we went swimming, the boys had a great time playing together, and it finally warmed up enough and melted the snow so we could go and play a round of mini-golf.

During our time there, Ashton had a phone interview with Safeway.  It was for a job in Florence, OR, right on the coast.  We thought it was for the staff pharmacist position, but it ended up being for the floater position.  On our way home, he got the phone call that he got the job!  I was really excited.  It would have been so much fun to live at the coast so I was all for it.  The job however, was a floater that would take him up to 3 hours away, either direction.  As we kept talking about accepting the position, on the drive home, Ashton kept getting sicker and sicker.  I finally just told him, turn it down.  No job is worth making you sick.  Once that was decided.  He was fine.  The next day or so, he called the recruiter and turned down the job.  The recruiter gave him an earful about how he was a fool to turn it down, he won't get the job he is looking for, or even a job in this economy...and left him feeling quite distraught.  

We already had another job interview lined up in Waterloo, IA.  The next day, we drove there.  It was with Hy-Vee.  The parts that we saw of Waterloo was the rundown, poverty side so I wasn't impressed at all.    On the way home we drove past Dexter, IA and took a picture of Dex with the sign.  

A few days later, we got the phone call that he didn't get the job.  Bummer.

Back home, Juliette learned how to put the silverware away.  Here is a picture of her first completed job.  She did really well. She took a while doing it, but as you can see, she matched it all up!

We also made it back for the Alumni Baseball/BBQ.  We had gone I think each year.  We had fun.  The kids got balloons, Juliette's puppy didn't last very long...

But she had fun walking through these bushes and showing us the leaves

Once we got on the bus, Ashton said she wouldn't stop waving at the people out her window.  They both had fun riding the bus.

At the game, Jules was a little stir crazy.  She laid on the ground putting the pompoms under the seats in front and then pulling them back up.

Silly kids, and Jules with blue hair

 After some craziness died down, we were able to just go play at a park with some friends.  Here is Julliette and Lainey, holding hands as we walked around Big Lake.

April

April was spent in Idaho.  Ashton finished his rotation, then we were kinda foot loose until graduation.  He had some pending job interviews so we hung around.

General conference weekend during the priesthood session, my sister-in-laws Crystal and McKenzie came out to my parents house and while the men where gone, we decorated these cute bunny cookies.

Juliette and Hadley hugged each other a lot.  It was pretty sweet.

And Juliette still couldn't get enough of Lydia.

Scuba Dex :)

I made this giraffe for Trey.  McKenzie has a giraffe theme for him and when I saw this pattern, I couldn't pass it up.  My goal is to make each of my nieces and nephews something.  

Here is a view of the mountain behind my grandma's farm.  She is selling this place and Amie, one of AShton's Hy-Vee coworkers wanted a picture of the mountain he apparently talked a lot about.  It was a dream of ours to buy this land from her, but life has taken us elsewhere.

 Conference weekend, Curt and his family spent the night at my parent's house so the cousins had a sleepover.  Crystal had turned on a movie and by the time it was done, her kids were asleep, but Dexter was awake, watching every minute.

We were in Idaho while my Mom was at work so we didn't have a car a lot.  We walked Millie and played at the park a couple blocks away and enjoyed having a fenced backyard.

the kids got out a Mr. Potato Head and here is Dexter's creation.  Did you notice his ears?  The little ear is correct if Dex were looking in a mirror.  

Juliette got all of her hair pulled back and bangs trimmed for the first time!

She also woke up with an incredible rats nest mohawk.  

 

We ate dinner over the Jenks with everybody, including London and Alissa, there.  Grandpa Hansen found the fake mustache.  

Ashton had a job interview in Ontario, OR with BiMart.  We were very excited.  It is only 30 minutes north of Caldwell which would have made it 3 hours away from home.  BiMart is closed on Sundays, and it just would have been perfect.  The interview was the same day as Ashton's 2 youngest brothers' Eagle Court of Honor.  I had helped DeeAnn make a bunch of decorations for it prior, but the day of, Ashton and I shot up to Ontario and then made it back just in time for the Court of Honor.  He ended up not getting the job, and that sent him in a panic.  Life wasn't going according to his plan.  I was relieved, because I didn't think that it was the right place for us, even though it all sounded perfect.  

We finally decided on a date to leave and went the long way home.

We went to Boise.  Stopped at Boise State to say hi to Ashton's old co-workers he worked with while he was a student.  We said hi to Glenda Hill and Erin.  It was so nice to see them and they were thrilled to see us and the kids.  We also stopped at my old work place, St. Luke's MSTI Nampa and missed a few people, but got to see the dramatic changes I'd heard so much about.  It was lovely.  We spent the evening and next day with the Higley family in Caldwell. We then zipped up to Spokane, Washington to see Leigh and Michelle.  It had been years since we had seen them and since they were moving to Texas for a job, we knew this might be our only chance for a long time.  

While in Boise, we found Dexter's dream car...  Can you see why?  It looks like it has a shark fin :)

Leigh and Michelle were renting a house, and I was again reminded of how nice a backyard is.

Dex and Ayla playing outside

Dexter and Marleigh.  He had a lot of fun with Marleigh especially.  He kept asking what her name was and saying that he didn't like that and it needed to be "Dexter".  Please understand that all of his favorite things he renames Dexter, so it is a compliment.

All of the kids.  Zayda and Juliette are just 3 weeks apart.

After we left there, we went to Missoula, MT.  Like I said.  We took the LONG way home.