Kids Bedrooms

I have had so much fun decorating the kids rooms! We made quite a few mistakes, but in the end we learned a lot and are happy with how they turned out! Thanks to Grandpa and Dad, Mom and Ashley
we got Taylor's room mostly done in a day!
Taylor and Emma didn't really help, but they liked painting for fun!

Taylor's Room Finished!

Emma's Room Finished!


Stripes were a lot more labor
intensive than we thought, but
we are happy with how they turned out!

Easter Sunday!

I wanted to girls to have new dresses for Easter, but due to Sheridan's lack of shopping I was in distress so Grandma came to the rescue and went shopping for us! Thank you so much! The clothes fit perfect and the kids looked so cute for Easter!!
We hope you all have a very happy EASTER!!!

Easter EGG Hunt!

We moved our Easter egg hunt inside
to the church due to the snow! The kids still had a fun time and we had an enjoyable Easter lunch with our ward family and friends!!

Easter Morning!!

What a fun Morning!! They each got on little toy, some candy, and flip flops!! Unfortunately we woke up to an inch or more of snow! Inspite of this we still had a great day!

Dying Easter Eggs

We had a lot of fun dying easter eggs! The kids were at the perfect ages for this and both Tay and Emma kept commenting on how fun this was!!

Joseph playing ball!!

I rarely put things about Joseph or I on our blog so I thought it might be fun to brag for a minute about my husband. He has been a little disappointed about the enthusiasm for basketball here in Wyoming. The men here are fishers and hunters but not as many ball players. Anyway, it was our Stake Basketball tournament this past Saturday and Joe was excited for a chance to play. The tournament ended up being more of amateur pick up ball (only 9 guys total showed up) but it was still fun for him to get to play and us to get to watch! Above are a couple of pics showing that even at 30 he's still got it!! Taylor was thrilled to watch his Dad play ball and told Grandpa that he had gone to a big basketball tournament!!

Emma's Birthday Party

We had a small party at the house for Emma the afternoon of her birthday. She had a great time! We invited a few friends from preschool and primary. She really is growing up so fast and I had one of those days where you wonder where the time has gone. (the boy on Emma's right is named Kyler and is all the Emma talks about. ) She promises she doesn't have a crush on him because we told her she is too young, but everything we hear about revolves around this boy lately! My 5-year-old is going on 15. Luckily all the other girls her age also have similar "crushes" on boys so hopefully this is a phase we will outgrow!
Oh, I forgot to add that Kyler's mom said that he too says that he wants to marry Emma! Aren't boys supposed to think girls have cooties at this age?!!

Emma's Birthday Morning!

Emma found her bike a week early in the garage. You would think we would be better at hiding things by now, but I guess not. She was very cute about it though and promised she would try to forget about it before her birthday. Even still, she was very excited about it and despite the rain and cold we went out riding that morning!!

Emma and Madi Dancing

Emma and Madelyn love to dance. They can be quite funny when they get going. We take a little class called Sunshine Singers and the girls are a hoot, esp. Madi who tries to do everything the big kids are doing!

Taylor and his New Best Friend!

Tay got this lion for his birthday. It was meant to be a reading cushion,
but the lion has gone with him all around the house. The kids ride him
and Taylor sleeps with him. I usually think stuffed animals are a waste
because they are rarely used and just take up space, but this was worth
every penny!!

Taylor's Birthday!

Taylor turned 6 last month! He had a fun birthday with more than 15 friends over. We decided we definitely need to refine the list for next year! He had a great time. We had a jungle party. Taylor's new found love is jungle animals, esp. Lions! Yesterday we had to search the information section for lion books. I must admit they are a bit boring to me, but he loves them! He is really progressing in his reading. He even helps read the Book of Mormon in the morning, he reads the easier words and we help with the more difficult!

What a cutie pie!

Emma tried to
swing like Tay
but had a more
difficult time.
She sure looked cute trying.

Taylor loves to swing
on the rope at Dave
and Cindy Riddle's!

Katschke family picture out at the Riddle's house(some friends of ours).

We went and took family pictures this week. It is always a gamble with three small children, but they did great. I am really bad about posting things on this blog, but a little update. The past few months have flown by. Taylor is reading now and brings home books from school each day as homework. Emma had a Christmas concert this past week with her little singing group and did great. Madi is giving me a run for my money. Either I forgot how many tantrums the other two children threw at her age or else she really is the most stubborn of the three. She is very sweet though too. She loves to see pictures of Santa and is going to be asking for a baby doll and a bottle, however don't ask her to go anywhere near a Santa in a mall. Then she cries, "Santa get me, Santa get me." Maybe next year!

Finally Official!!

For those of you who have been offering many prayers on our behalf we wanted to announce that we received Joseph's Wyoming License this week in the mail. After many months and much stress with the board here in Wyoming we are so thankful and relieved to finally be able to practice here. Joseph has immediately jumped into to seeing his own patients now and really likes the office at WyoVision. We want to say thank you to all of you who fasted and prayed with us. We truly had our testimonies grow as we went through this and we are so grateful that we are staying here in Sheridan!

Graduation was a bitter sweet time! We loved being back in
California with all our friends and it was hard to say good-bye!
Since Graduation we have moved to Sheridan, WY. We bought
a house here and really like the people here. I have been put
in the Primary Presidency and Joseph is in the Elder's Quorum
Presidency. We are truly in "the mission field" as they say.
As many of you know, we are having a hard time obtaining a
Wyoming license for Joseph so there is a chance we will be
moving soon, but we hope to stay as we have made a lot of friends here! Taylor loves kindergarten and Emma is thrilled to
be in 4-year old school as she calls it. Madi is starting to go potty on the big toilet. I am not ready to train her but she thinks it is time so ready or not! This is an update from the past few months of our lives! We are happy and healthy! Life has definitely presented some challenges the past few months, but we are growing and the Lord truly is watching over us!