Motherhood!

I just wanted to make a post about the benefits of being a mother who stays in the home. Although it can be very stressful at times, it is so worth the end result. You get so many more opportunities to see the cute things your child does and to hear the special things they might say. I love my girls! These are some of the moments I got to share with my girls this week.

• We baked cupcakes while I watched them decorate with mounds of chocolate frosting and loads of candy sprinkles.

• I watched the girls "go fishing" inside the house with a stick and a sheet while learning about the importance of family.

• We played bingo together on the TV!

• We washed the dishes together. Who knew that Mackee could rinse and Keely could put them in the dishwasher at such a young age.

• I did the girls hair and then they did mommy's hair!

• We snuggled eachother in the middle of day while drinking hot chocolate.

• I listened to Mackee read when she didn't even know I was listening!

• We chanted Izzie on to crawl even though we knew she wasn't going to move.

• I watched them sleep at night while giving them hugs and kisses...

• We did homework, gymnastics, and even learned how to keep our underwear dry at night!

• We laughed, we played, we cried, we kissed booboo's, and we hugged all in the same day.

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Keely got to come to preschool this week and she did amazingly well with all those 4yr olds. We were learning the letter "O" so our snack of the day was OCTOPUS on a bed of green sea weed.

Here are some cute pics of the girls.

Ultrasound Results

I just wanted to announce to everybody that my sister Raegan had her ultrasound today on her twin babies that are due to arrive late May... 1 BOY & 1 GIRL! We are so excited for her. Raegan said both babies look great. They are paternal twins (seperate sacks). The boy is 9 oz and the girl is 7 oz. I am posting this for her for all our extended family becasue she still doesn't have a blog. Get on that Raegan will ya!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAQUEL!

I turned 28 this past week and boy did I get spoiled. The night of my b-day Zack and the girls decorated the table and cooked me a fabulous steak dinner along with the best homemade birthday cake ever. Ontop of all that excitment Zack took me on a very special overnight date over the weekend. I got taken out to lunch at the Pita Pit, then to Edwards for a movie, then to the RED LION hotel in downtown Boise, and then out to Applebee's for dinner. It was so nice to get to spend time together as a couple, we had a lot of fun. Thanks to grandpa and grandma Koehler who drove all the way from Idaho Falls to come baby-sit for us. We couldn't have done it without them!

Mackee got tested at kindergarten this week by her teacher for report cards and she did awesome! I was lucky enough to see the early results because I was volunteering. I watched her from a distance in the classroom and I knew she had gotten every answer right but at the end I asked her how she did and she looked at me and said "I DID AWESOME"! That's my girl... So I came home and baked her a giant size chocolate chip cookie as a reward. She was ecstatic that the whole thing was just for her.

Date Night!

Boise Temple

This week has been really crazy for me but also very rewarding. I spent much of my time taking care of Mackee who has a severe sinus infection. I also had to clean up throw-up, got locked out of the house by our two year old, had some buisness complications with preschool, and I found out that a friendly neighbor passed away.

Although life can be stressful at times, it is so nice to know that there is somewhere on this earth where we can go to get away from it all. The temple is where I feel peace and joy.

Zack and I went to dinner and to the Boise Temple tonight with our good friends Aaron and Janell Bowman. It was such an marvelous experience... When we arrived at the temple there were so many church members there serving that there was no parking available in either the Temple or the LDS Church parking lot next to it. I have never seen a temple so busy before. The temple workers did not even know where to put everybody. Not only was the spirit thriving inside this holy place, but my heart was so overwhelmed because I had the opportunity to perform sacred ordinances for women born in the early 1600's... For those of you who are members and reading this right now, then you will understand that those people have been waiting a very long time for their temple work to be done.

I am so glad we had the opportunity to go and serve this week. It is not always easy getting there. Especially, when babysitters have to be arranged and sick children need your attention, but once you are there, it is so worth the sacrifices. Not to mention the blessings that come from serving in the house of the Lord.

If there was ever a place in the world where we need to go,

then let this be the place.

Fly Fishing!

Fishing with the one you love...

A huge part of our family life is fishing in the great outdoors, and I realized the other day that I have no fishing pictures on my blog. So, I managed to find a few that I had available and thought I would post them. All of these fish, even the salt water ones, have been caught on fly rods.

Zack and I have made a lot of memories catching fish together.

It is one of the many things that made us fall in love with one another. Even though we do not get to go as often as we would like, since our time goes to raising our children these days, we still love to share this talent as a couple whenever possible...

Wadding the Owyhee River in Oregon

Drift boating on the Snake River in eastern Idaho

Owyhee River, Oregon

Pontoon boating in Hoodsport, Washington

Fly fishing the salt water in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Just Zachary and his dad because I get really sea sick. These little guys will kick your butt!