I am Grateful for the Sabbath!

I am so glad when Sabbath comes. Then we can RR (rest, reflect) from our busy life. Dad is wanting to slow down. I am trying to figure out how that will happen, and when.

Yesterday we were suppose to go help Grandma move. Mikaela had a meeting at the Hanson chapel in Kennewick. So I took her to Crandal's at 8:00 a.m. for a ride in. On the way home I decided to check on the Ponies at Diaz's. All of the horse were at one end of the pasture eating except Carmel (Mikaela's horse). I scanned the pasture and saw Carmel was laying out in the middle of the pasture, I could not see her breathing. I panicked as I feared the worst. Immediately I started to try and figure out how to tell Mikaela that Carmel was dead. I flew to the end of the pasture where the gate was, by the time I got out of the car, Carmel had gotten up and was heading toward the other horses. I felt a wave of relief. While I was there, I decided to go out in the pasture and check the horse. When I put my hands on Carmel's neck I realized that she was foundering. Which meant I had to get her moved off the pasture and into a dry paddock. I went home and put everyone into motion to move the horses. We brought the ponies home and moved the big horses to Diaz's. After a hour Leslie and Garrett were on the road, and we were on our way to Grandma's ( an hour late).

We got Grandma moved, and then we had to get Skyler home and ready for his formal dance at the Richland Stake center. Of course we had errands to do while we were in town. We finally got Sky home with just enough time to get ready for his date. Dad went to Pasco to pick up fencing for the horses and I went to get Mikaela at Glodo's. When I got home we took Skyler to Nieman's for his date. I must admit he cleans up pretty good.

Skyler spent lots of time putting this date together . Between Ben Nieman and Sky they put together a pretty cute date. Skyler's date for the evening Katie. Sky worked for Sister Glodo to earn money to make this date happen. He went to McDonald's to get a happy meal box for Skyler's dates corsage in. The boys went to goodwill to get shirts for their dates to wear during their meal, as they were having boneless ribs. Then they picked up their dates in Nieman's van (which had been decorated inside with garland and lights). They went to a park in Tri-Cities and was invited to go boat riding on the river while they waited for Bro. & Sis. Nieman to cook the ribs. Then to think that we get to do this again next week for prom at the High School. This time his date will Be Mandy Boyle.

Happy Birthday Heather! I guess a day late is better than not.

Love to all! Mom

Today is a big day in Kat and Jon's life .Jon graduated from B.Y.U. today.We were not able to be there so we watched it on the internet.I wished I could of been there to share in the moment.I know that they are both happy that this part of Jon"s schooling is over and now it is time to move. To Michigan to start a new chapter in their lives . How fun that will be .
We are also counting down the days until Garrett& Leslie's wedding. What a wonderful young lady Leslie is ,I think that Garrett Has found the cream of the crop in Leslie.I think she will be good for him.
Heather is also getting ready to graduate from her Message thearpy school. That will happen at the end of May at which time we will go down and pack up all the kids and send them off in their many different direction.
Bradley is still at B.Y.U. Idaho he had life guard try outs today from the sound of it He had to rescue the try outs . Some of them weren't sure what to do. and kept ask him question about what to do next. he likes his life guard duties. He is also doing well in his studies. his grades for the last semister were better then he thought.

The Hodgson's at Snoqualmie Falls

Fall City

Well ya'll... Garrett will finally be off your hands. He's moving to Fall City this weekend. :-D Oh... don't you worry though... we'll be back to visit a LOT. He'll be living in the apartment that is attached to the house, and then when we are married, I'll move in there too. He has no idea what he is getting himself into... life on the Cook Farm is insane... so, hopefully he can cope and I am hoping he will bring another element of "fun" to the family here. Not to mention we'll have another slave! Mwahahahahaha. He'll be mowing lawns, doing stalls, maintenance and all sorts of fun jobs to earn his keep.

I also hope to get Garrett to be a fully capable horseback rider by the end of the summer. He claims to love horses, and to love riding... so we'll see if he'll crack or not. :D

So, make him feel good, and make him feel like he'll be missed. ;-)

Love you all!
-Leslie

Brett's Weight Check!

I took Brett to get a weight check, and today Brett weighs 20lbs 2 1/2oz. Which puts him in the 38th percentile!!! He is 28in. long, which puts him in the 33rd percentile. While we were there I decided to have the doctor check him out. For the last couple of days, Brett has been so cranky. Which as some of you might know is not like my baby! When we took him to the after hours clinic a week ago, the Physicians assistant said that Brett had a 30% ear infection. When Dr. Jensen checked his ear today, he told me that Brett had a full blown ear infection. For a full blown ear infection, my little boy isn't that cranky. Luckily we got some antibiotics for him so he should be feeling better soon. He is such a good little boy, Jon and I are so blessed. What we did to deserve him, I don't know.

the fat cow ran fast

but the butcher ran faster

MY DAD IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!

Like I said my dad is amazing!!!!!! He is working so hard to learn this blog thing.

Trip to Fall City

Yesterday we left for Leslie's home. When we neared the top of Snoqualmie the signs for road conditions were flashings. So we tuned in and the highway crews were doing avalanche control. So we got to set on the freeway for almost an hour. When they finally released traffic it took 10 minutes for us to get moving, and there was traffic a few miles behind us.

Upon arriving at Leslie's we visited for awhile and then it was off to Snoqualmie falls. We had to hike it, of course. A STEEP hike, both ways. At least it felt like it! My left knee feels like it is done for. My Ortho. doctor would of had a fit if she would have seen me. However the trip to the falls was beautiful.

14 DAYS and COUNTING!!

Can you tell that I am very excited about graduation!! When we first moved to Provo, I remember telling myself that we only had three years. That seemed like a very long time! Anytime something crazy happened I would tell my self, only two years left.......Now we are down to MONTHS!! I am so excited to be moving(I am not that excited to pack!) to a new place and to meet new people. Oh the places we'll go! Right now we are weighting our options for grad schools. We went to the temple yesterday seeking answers and we decided that we really need to get more information and weight our options. We might have an answer soon. Either way we will have plenty of adventures. If we go to Penn State we will be close to DC, New York, lots of US historical sites as well as church sites. If we go to Michigan we will be close to family and friends, the Upper peninsula of Michigan which I hear is just beautiful. There is also a community college close so I might be able to finish my schooling. We would also be closer to grandparents. Who knows, we are not basing our decisions off of any of that, so it should be intresting to see what we come up with!! Wish us Luck!

Brads early/late birthday gift

hey look. It fits brad perfectly. I made that just for you brad.

Brett Walking

Funny Story

Brett has become more curious everyday and so now all the doors in the house have to be shut after us. Jon and I were getting ready to go to the temple. Heather was still at school and when she going home she was going to watch boo, while we were gone. I watched Brett while Jon got ready. I started doing my hair and I closed the bathroom door behind me. I thought Jon was watching Brett, needless to say Brett crawled into our Bedroom and was just playing around. Well it got quiet, in fact too quite. So I went out to see what he and dad were up too, and there was my boo. Next to dads night stand, sitting in a pile of muscle rub. Brett had managed to twist the lid off and squeeze it all over himself and the floor. Luckily for us he didn't put any into his mouth, but I bet his hands felt funny. We gave him a quick bath as a precautionary measure. We are going to have to watch him close from now on. Jon thought that I was watching him, I guess we need to make sure the each of know who is watching him. What could have been a scary situation, luckily turned out to be just a bedroom that now smells like Bengay.

Home on the Farm

~ CARMEL ~

In February 2008

Okay Gang, here is what is new................... We went from 5 horses to 13. Mikaela bought a mini and has named her Carmel. She is a real sweetheart. I wish my horses had Carmel's temperament.

However all the horses have had a huge attitude change since they have come to live with us. Even Carmel ran like a scared rabbit when we first tried to catch her to bring her home. Now she will run across 5 acres to see us. Mikaela is thrilled that her horse will run to see us and we still have to chase the others. Mikaela's little Carmel is only about 36" tall. She is not so little sideways though. She should deliver a little critter soon, or at least we hope. Any woman who gets as large as Carmel is would be begging for deliverance. So everyday we go down to Diaz's to check on her, but no baby yet.

Leslie actually owns 3 of the 8 new horses. So Brad you can breath. Plus I am getting rid of my old woman. Heather is planning on moving her horses. (Our pasture really needs a rest.) I have Treasure plus 3 of the new ones here at the house. We have three down @ Diaz's including the old Woman. I have one (believe it or not) @ Riedinger's. That leaves Tessie here on the farm. Skyler wants to keep her and learn to train her. So When we are done I hope to only horses in the round pen, and none in the pasture.

Okay, so my news isn't all new. However everyday we make a little more progress then the day before. Patches (Mikaela named her.) is learning that I want her head not her rear end. I think she will be really awesome once she calms down, and begins to trust a little more.

Love you all.