Glasses for Savannah

Savannah had been coming home from school complaining of headaches for a couple of weeks and I started thinking there may be something to this - she may really be experiencing some vision problems. So I scheduled her for an eye appointment and sure enough, glasses it is! She was so cute trying on lots of pairs of glasses and looking in the mirror to see how they looked! Larren's office is just a few blocks from the eye doctor so she wanted me to call daddy and ask him to come over and help in making the final decision, her daddy obliged and left his desk and rushed right over to see the choices! She was so happy to have Larren come over for a third opinion, and I am grateful for a hubby so good to his kids and always willing to be there for them! We finally settled on what I think is a really sweet little pair and she looks cuter and smarter than ever! Here's our girl with her new look!

Four Generations

Larren's dad and grandpa came to town the weekend of March 13 & 14. They were in Ogden for a wedding and then they drove up to visit us on Saturday. They met us in Pocatello on Saturday to watch the girls dance at Idaho Dance Fest, which the girls were really excited about. It was a nice visit and so neat to see Larren's grandpa, the one thing Larren wanted to accomplish while they were in town was to get a photo of the 4 generations of Covert men! We did it! Here they are from oldest to youngest, Mitchell Covert, Robin Covert, Larren Covert and Jonas Covert! What a neat memory to have, I am glad we were able to get a picture of them all together! How fun for us to have a son to carry on the Covert name!



Here are all the grandkids with Great Grandpa Covert.

Lately. . .

Wow! So I haven't blogged in a while - and I decided that big deal, so we haven't had any major excitement for a while, it's been nice to live a somewhat quiet life the last few weeks! A rarity for us but a nice change! I started a new project this year, like I needed another project - but this has become more than a project, it's become a whole new way of looking at and living my life! I started my Project Life 365 in January, and the goal is to take a picture every single day for a whole year and document life as we live it and seriously I am loving the experience! It has made me stop and notice the simple things I do with my family each day and has given me a new appreciation for the blessings in my life! I live a very good and blessed life and I am so thankful for this new little project that has given me that perspective! It has made the mundane and routine, fun again and the ordinary, exciting! I think somehow I got in a rut where it was like a just put one foot in front of the next kind of mentality and this has me looking around again and noticing things I haven't noticed in a while, it has been a really inspiring experience and the funny thing is I was already living this way, this is my life, I just wasn't noticing, appreciating it, or enjoying it as I should. Finding joy, laughter and fun again has been so good for my soul!

So in the spirit of my new happy little insight I thought I would just post several pictures of the simple little goings on we have had lately. We enjoyed some glimpses of the nice weather to come and have taken full advantage of those moments, we have worked together and played together and that is all we have been up to lately . . . .

Our first outing to the park, the girls will spin themselves silly in these things! It is hysterical and a little crazy!

So there was still a little snow pack at the park! Jonas had a great time playing in it and digging in it with sticks! Poor little cold toes though!

Sliding down the slide - I can't believe how much bigger he is this year than last year! He can go all by himself now! What a big boy!

We've enjoyed lots of living room forts!

With our new 9:00a.m. church time slot we love Sunday afternoon drives - here we are coming into Swan Valley. So beautiful - even with the snow!

A little falling down building on the way to Victor, Idaho, I would love to take a picture of the kids in front of this building in the summer and whenever we drive by this little shack the girls and I make up imaginary stories about a family that might have lived there "back in the olden days!" It was fun to see it in the snow! Maybe we'll get our summer picture this year too!

More of our drive!

So the day before this picture was taken, Grace had been playing outside and splashed in lots of puddles and came in soaking wet, wet shoes and wet pants up to the knees, so now back to the day this picture was taken. So when she went outside I said, "Grace, no splashing in puddles today!" "OK, mom." So later I go outside to tell her it was time to come in and I found her standing under the rain gutter on the back deck letting the water draining out of the rain gutter just pour down on her soaking her completely head to toe! I said, Grace!" She looked at me and said, "Mom this is not a puddle!" She was right, it was not a puddle! Here she is soaked head to toe - NOT from a puddle!

Audrey doing a little spring cleaning of the driveway! She loves this kind of stuff and love me to come check out her work at the end, she swept and swept until all the winter grime was gone!

Grace tried and tried to hula hoop, it was so cute to watch her try over and over again!

More hula-ing!

Look at those hips working it! She is so cute - I am constantly amazed at her spunk and determination! She is so much fun!

We went out to dinner at Pizza Hut to cash in the hard earned Book It coupons, they had earned enough coupons that all four kids got a free personal pan pizza! How sweet to share them with Grace and Jonas! It was a fun night out!

Grace enjoying her pineapple pizza - that is all she wanted on it - just pineapple and of course cheese! Interesting choice - but she downed it in no time flat!

Jonas is a big fan of pizza too, only he calls it zeppa for some unknown reason! It is so cute to hear him ask for it - and he asks for it a lot - one of his favorite foods!

So there you have it - our life lately, nothing too terribly exciting, but our life nonetheless and we love it!

Sledding

We went sledding with Bryan and Jamie's family up near the windmill's and Bryan brought his snowmobiles to tow the kids back up the hill. It was a beautiful afternoon and all the cousins had so much fun together. I even let Kendrik take me for a ride on a snowmobile, he quite a good little driver! It was a lot of fun! I wish we would have brought hot chocolate, that is the only thing that would have made the day better, otherwise it was perfect! The cousins all took turns going down together in various combinations and Jamie and Kendrik towed them all back up on the snowmobiles, now that is the way to sled, no trudging up the hill! We'll have to make this an annual tradition - a great time was had by all and here's our proof:


Jonas, Grace, Audrey and Savannah - they all fit on the sled together - cute!

Just another shot of the kids all on the sled! Pretty cute little marshmallow babies!

I love the rosy cheeks on Grace from the cold, what a cute little snow bunny! She had so much fun sledding and playing in the snow, the hill was a little big for her so she didn't go down too many times, but she played in the snow and pulled Jonas around on a sled, it was really sweet!

The dynamic duo! These two are best friends, they are 6 months apart and at any family event they are inseparable, it has been so fun to watch them grow up together! Of course by the end of sledding they had hatched a sleepover plan - leave it to these two to always come up with something. So after the sledding fun, Savannah slept over at Ashlyn's and had a blast!

Off they go! They went down together about a hundred times, they traded hats, the took turns being in the front and just plain had a good time together!

Larren taking Jonas and Grace down the hill - what a fun dad!

Jamie towing back Savannah and Ashlyn after a run down the hill.

McKade waiting for Kendrik to take him for a ride, he's got his helmet on and is ready to go!

Grace playing with the sled on the top of the hill.

Savannah and Ashlyn waiting for a ride back up to the top of the hill.

They gave up on waiting and trudged back to the top - what cute girls!

Jonas went for a snowmobile ride with Larren! He loved every minute of it - loud and fast - what more could a little guy want!

Kendrik heading back down to pick up some of the kids, he really impressed me with his skills, you can tell her grew up riding, he was such a good sport picking up kids and giving them rides!

Audrey coming back from having a ride with Kendrik, that is a face of fun and happiness!

Larren and Kendrik going for a last ride, starting to get dark - we played until daylight gave out, it was a fun day, we had tired, cold, rosy cheeked kids who were begging for more!

Piano Recital

Savannah had her first Piano Recital on February 25th. I am so proud of her hard work at developing this talent! She played beautifully! She was so funny before we left for the recital she practiced each song 10 times, so she would be sure not to make any mistakes. She practiced each song 5 times and then once she got her dress on she decided to run through them another 5 times! She had been playing them perfectly for quite a while, so I had no concerns, even though she can phych herself out and get nervous at times. She didn't let any nerves bother her at all and it was really neat to watch her perform. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Emily and Ashlyn all came to support her too, she was so excited to have everyone attend! Her piano teacher gave each of the students a mini bust of Beethoven and a Symphony candy bar, that was so sweet of her! Savannah played two songs, Bugle Call and Bravery at Sea, both were perfect! Way to go Savannah!

Savannah playing Bugle Call.

She is such a sweet, happy girl! I am so happy that she did so well at her recital and that she loves the piano, she and Larren spend many hours together working at it and I appreciate all his support and help with the songs. She works hard and is really progressing nicely, we are so proud of her! Savannah and her piano teacher, Meggan.

Treehouse Museum

The girls had their first dance competition of the season on February 13th in Ogden, it was a really fun weekend. We drove down the night before, which they were so excited about, they love staying in hotels! We ate Friday night at Training Table, the kids love that restaurant because you call in your order on a telephone and then when your food is ready, the phone at your table rings to signal to come pick up your food. Since we have to go anyway, it's fun to add in some extra little treats for the kids and make a mini-vacation out of it!

The girls did well in both their dances and we had a fun weekend as a family. The girls were done dancing by 10:30 in the morning, while they wanted to stay the whole day and watch all the dances, the little ones weren't interested. I promised the older girls when we attend a local competition I will stay with them to watch all the performances and Larren can take the little kids home. So after coming to that agreement we left the competition and headed out for a little surprise fun that all the kids would enjoy! We went to the Treehouse Museum in Ogden, it was fabulous! A really fun place for kids, we had such a good time watching the kids play, there was so much to see and do, we could have spent many more hours beyond the four we stayed playing, it was so much fun! Here are some photos of all the fun we had!

Savannah, Audrey & Grace planting a garden!

Jonas playing with a train set, I see one of these in his future for sure! He absolutely loved it, the whole time he played he said, "choo choo" over and over again!

Ride 'em cowgirl! Grace ridin' in the rodeo, She stayed on that bucking bronco! Yee haw!

Grace milking a cow, milk actually came out, a little weird in my opinion, but she thought it was super fun!

Jonas' attempt at milking the cow! He managed to get some milk out too, it kind of startled him and then that was it, he decided he was done!

Audrey was a little grossed by the whole process, farm life may not be in her future!

Savannah in her Indian princess outfit standing outside her tee pee. They had so many vignettes from different time periods and foreign lands, that you could play in and they had clothing to dress up in for each vignette as well, it was really fun for the girls!

Grace enjoying a tea party in an English cottage, Audrey joined her later. Grace loves play kitchens and play cooking, this was right up her alley!

Savannah sitting in the Oval Office. There is a cut out of President Obama standing looking over her shoulder, but I cropped it out. Sorry President Obama. This room was replica of the Oval Office, it was really neat, Savannah spent a lot of time in here reading all the information on the walls and looking at the pictures. She loves learning about history, just like her mom!

There was an enormous music room upstairs, lots and lots of instruments and very noisy, the kids loved every minute of it! Grace and Audrey and bopping along and playing a song!

Audrey pounding on the drums!

All of the girls banging on these huge African drums! So loud and so fun!

A different view of the African drums, they pounded on these for a long time!

Even Jonas got in on the action, there were so many things right at his height, they actually charge admission for walkers on up and I can see why, there was so much he could do and play with, it was totally worth the admission price for all the fun he had!

After the Treehouse museum we decided to take the kids for a treat and what is better that Krispy Kremes!?! They loved looking through the window and watching the donut making process, not gonna lie, I'm fascinated watching every time we go too!

Here they are chowing down on those squishy, sticky, melt in your mouth glazed donuts! YUMMY! Nothing like it! We even managed to sneak a dozen of the cute frosted heart donuts home to surprise them when they woke up on Valentine's Day the next morning!