BMX Riders

The cousins sitting on the curb waiting for the BMX riders show to begin.

 See the three story tower in the background?  that's where the riders began their ride! Joel is holding a poster of the Ramp Riot that will be here this week - all the kids want to go!  Isaac is also holding his poster - free of course.

 This rider is only 16 years old - and they put a new truck in between the ramps just for fun!

 Upside down in the air - I told all the kids to NOT try this at home!

 Keenyn and Briella climbed up on these bikes parked near the BMX show - not sure why they were there.

Got all the cousins to pose near the bikes!  Fun activity - Anna was the only one who wanted her face painted!

Car Dealership Grand Opening

 The local Toyota Car Dealership had their Grand Opening at their new location on Saturday - the kids had this bouncy house all to themselves for almost an hour - we got there early!

 Keenyn on the slide.

 Isaac and Eli - the slide had this pool at the bottom - swallowed Eli!  We think it might be filled with water in warmer weather.

Anna, Briella, Isaac and Keenyn - so much fun!

Slumber Party at Grandma's and Grandpa's House

Joel and Anna decided to spend the night at our house - with their Kroeber cousins - when I went into the front room this is what I found - Joel, the oldest cousin and Briella, the youngest, on their electronic devices!

Turning around from them - here are the rest of the cousins on their devices!!  They did have fun!!

 Breakfast Saturday morning - Grandpa made yummy waffles and the Kroeber children were happy to have Corn flakes with strawberries - we enjoyed having a whole table full of family!

Don't know how Joel was looking crazy in both pictures!!  Sure enjoyed having company.

More Fun at the Park

 Isaac climbing in his crocs!  Joel kicking the soccer ball very high!

 Anna and friend swinging with Eli and Heather pushing Briella.

 Briella climbing - she is pretty fearless and you really have to watch her...and stand ready to catch her!

 Briella telling Eli to get out of the way - and then she tells Keenyn behind her to push!

I brought small baggies of popcorn for the kids - here Briella, Kaden and Keenyn are enjoying them.

Kroeber's Visit - Ammon Park

 Between Mortensen's house and ours is Ammon Park - we love to visit when the weather is good!  After playing with the kittens we headed to the park ... Anna has a friend who lives at the top of the hill in the background - she was on her way to see if he could play at the park - and he was already at the park!  Fun!
Pretty good picture of Joel and soccer ball.

 Eli is almost too tall for the zip line thing!

 Anna on the twirly monkey bars - it is hard - you have to get on one and then swing around until you can reach for the next one.  She has been working and working on doing it and finally can!  See Kaden's bright yellow shirt?  for a minute or two we couldn't find him - great - what do I tell his mom?  Then Keenyn told us they were playing Hide and Seek - and Kaden was hiding inside the purple tunnel at the top of the play structure - whew  didn't lose a kid!

 Keenyn on one of the slides - it was fun to play at the park - first to come was Talus and Baden, then Olivia and Sadie and Georgia, and now Eli, Isaac, Keenyn and Briella!

Briella loved swinging - Heather would push from behind and I would push in front - she would laugh and laugh.

Kroeber's Visit - Mortensen's Kittens

 On Friday, April 10th the Kroeber's came from Provo for an overnight visit.  They were on Spring Break and what better place to visit than Pocatello, Idaho?!  When I got home from subbing we went to Kate and Ben's to see the kittens.  Here Joel is showing them how the mommy cat picks them up.  The little boy in the yellow shirt is Kaden, he and his 10 year old brother live in the downstairs apartment of our house.  He was so happy to have Keenyn upstairs - he came right up and asked if he could play with him.  There's always room for one more, right?

 Briella especially liked the kiggens.

 Heather helped her be gentle with them.

 Notice the piano in the background - Anna sitting on the bench with her "Bob" cat.  Heather was amazed that Joel and Anna still had their Easter baskets out and candy in them!

 More fun with kittens and the Kroeber grandchildren.

 Funny frown Briella,  a kitten got it's paw claws stuck in her leggings - she didn't like that!

 The mommy cat came over to check on her babies!

All's well that ends well, right?

More S.A.D.D.

This was the front page of the local newspaper on Friday - very good coverage.  The article listed stats for teenage drivers: motor crashes leading cause of death for teens in the US; 2/3's deaths are when others are driving, only 65% teen drivers consistently wear seat belts; crashes are more common among young drivers than any other age group - 1-4 crash fatalities involve someone 16 - 24 years old.

 These girls joined about 20 other "Ghosts" around school - they couldn't talk to anyone - since they were 'dead' - I subbed in PE - and the only 'ghost' in class didn't speak - but played a great game of basketball!

 The ambulances took the injured first, then a hearse came for the 'dead' girl.  Actually another car came up by the police cars and the 'parents' of the dead girl came running up and knelt by her screaming and crying - it was pretty sobering - I heard a young lady later telling her friend that she was okay until .."the girl's mom came - then I started crying."  Sure hope many teenagers learned a great lesson the easy way with all this.

 They respectfully put the 'body' in a blue bag, zipped it shut, then covered it with the white sheet on the way to the hearse.

 The last event on the street was the tow trucks that came to haul off the smashed cars...then we all went back to class.

On Friday morning - there was an all school assembly  - showed a video the students had made of the event - they must have worked on it all night!  Some of it was recorded earlier, but it showed the accident scene, the first responders, etc. that we all saw - but then it showed the ambulances arriving at the hospital - and one young man was declared 'dead' in the ER. His parents and brothers were there - grieving - sad.  Then the parents of a girl who was in a coma and with a broken neck - the doctor explains how he thinks she will never walk again - the mom cries - but she is a dancer!  The last of the assembly was the court case with the 16 year old female drunk driver - the judge gave her 15 years in prison...very sobering.  They had a judge speak a few words and a mortician - both about drugs, driving and death - hopefully someone will change potentially destructive behaviors - but the judge wasn't very optimistic - he said he sees it over and over - he told the audience:  "Today you are free - keep your decisions correct and you will stay that way."