This Son of Mine

Zeak turned 12 in February. I am not ready for this grown up little boy to move to the next phase of life. He on the other hand is so excited and can not wait. The two Sundays before he was ordained to the office of a Deacon, he would study the Deacons and ask lots of questions. He could hardly wait to meet with the Bishop and be ordained. I truly hope he keeps his enthusiasm for life and the gospel. He is a boy with one of the biggest hearts in the world. He truly wants to be good, he wants good friends, he wants to do what is right, and he wants to be happy and have everyone around him Happy. As a mom you always worry about your kids and you are always the hardest on them. Hearing criticism about them is painful and maddening. At the same time your heart jumps for joy and the grin on your face at the sound of praise is everlasting. So watching this boys of mine I often feel like I am on a roller coaster. Even though I am sad that he is moving to the next phase of life because, this means he wont need me as much as he once did, I am excited to see where life takes him. (There is that roller coaster again.) Today is his last day of sixth grade. So goodbye elementary, Hello Junior High!!! What I want most for Zeak to keep his loving heart and be the best he can be. Always Choose the Right no matter what. He teaches me daily and I am so grateful he honors his priesthood! I love him very much and am so grateful for him being MY SON!

April Agenda

Zeak participated in the Mona Elementary School Science Fair this year. He came up with his project all on his own and with some help from his totally supportive and amazing mom he won the Excellence Award! He chose to do his project on the Action in Team Roping Ropes. He wanted to know if the engineered action of a team roping rope would improve the chances of catching and winning. Zeak had me take picture of him using three different ropes so that they could see what action was. Second, he had me take photos of the Junior High Rodeo in Toole. I had to keep a tally on who caught, how they placed, and then from that information and the photos Zeak put together his Science Fair Board. The conclusion of his project was if all elements are in the correct position, (the horse, steer, and rope) then yes the engineered action in a rope guarantees a catch. I was so impressed with the thought and effort Zeak put into his project. He did a great job and I was so excited for him when he was presented with his award.
Friday April 1st was a wonderful night for Dan and I. We drove through 3 hours of grueling North Bound traffic to enjoy the evening with some of the most wonderful people in the world. It was Dan's mission Reunion. The spirit was incredible and I have to wonder if the reunion when we die will be similar. Since I have never died and have not received any revelations on this matter I will go with my theory that this is what Heaven might be like. We were fed Brazil dinner that was delicious. After we had been fed physically we were fed Spiritually. It was so incredible. I so look up to President and Sister Prieto and hope to one day be like them. We spent the evening with the Snell's and they are so fun to be with, wish they lived closer so we could hang out more. It was truly the perfect start to a very spiritual weekend. Saturday was General Conference and a Baptism for our niece Madison. This photo says it all, how grown-up she is, and how excited she was to be baptized. The morning started early with Zumba for all the girls. Then, we were invited to a fun dinner that was unique to her and had such a special meaning behind it. We watched conference and attended the Baptism after.

Shannon, Lance, and their family stayed with us for the weekend. It was so fun for us to play host. Normally everyone stays at Grandma and Grandpa's house but with all of the families growing it is getting hard for everyone to stay there. We didn't mind at all. The Greers on the other hand might think twice about staying since we had a minor flood in the basement where they were staying. When arriving home from Zumba Shannon and I were greeted to the boys tearing up the carpet and vacuuming out water. We cleaned up as much as we could before needing to leave for the Luncheon. After the baptism I went out to move the desk and furniture that was soaking up more water we hadn't previously caught.

Sunday morning the kids woke up with very different opinions and views. The 6 inches of snow had the Greer children excited and wanting to go play. The Woodlands were groaning and wanting to go back to bed hoping it was all a bad dream. With a little coaxing the fun began with a fun snowball fight for all!

So glad tulips and daffodils can handle the snow.
Springtime is full of new life. Grandma Woodland always brings the kids tiny caterpillars that start out so small you can barely see them and they turn into creatures of beauty in no time at all. Kaci and Jake love to let their caterpillars go. I don't have any photos of this but my sister and her family stayed with us overnight and the kids let the butterflies go inside my house. They lost one of the butterflies. The adults were visiting in the front room and when Dan stood up he was sitting on the butterfly. All laws of science say the butterfly should have died but it was alive and well. So the next morning we set all the butterflies free. One of my new favorite sayings is When WiNGS develop BUTTERFLIES and CHILDREN fly AwAy!




The second weekend we went to Toole for a baby blessing. Brinely Fae Teeples. Ariel and Kaci are so happy to have another girl on their side!


I LoVe school projects that help my kids think and make them learn without knowing they are learning. This project turned into a friendly competition. The idea was to put a raw egg in something then drop it from off the roof of the school and see how many eggs didn't crack. Both sixth grade classes did this project. Dan had his idea which was balloons and duct tape when he tested it at Tina's it didn't work so he went to plan B and used saran wrap (press and seal because that is all I had) Tina wanted to fill her balloon with jello and let it set up with the egg inside. Hers was not a complete success in the testing stages either. We couldn't get the jello inside the balloon. The air from the balloon would push the jello out and then the jello wouldn't fill the balloon. So with some trial and error on both projects the day came to see whose egg was untouched. Tina wrapped her egg/jello/ balloon in plastic grocery bags and then put them in the ice cream carton left over from our ice cream sundaes the night before. And the moment of truth. Both were a success! I was helping in Jake's class with his Easter party and missed all of the action but it sounds like there were many creative ideas and success stories with the Egg drop. I just hope we will be able to convince the district and Mrs Wolhesfoth it is a great activity and tradition we should keep.
Jake's room mom this year was so organized and on the ball she had the parties completely organized and planned out from the treats to the activities. So my job was easy I just had to provide a portion of the treat and carry out the activities. I am grateful that my kids love me coming into the classroom and being apart of parties.
The first weekend of Spring break was like Christmas for the Woodland house. We were invited to the annual Church Ranch Branding. My kids all of them including my big one. Love this weekend probably more than Christmas.
Sometimes they get a little rowdy the competition and testosterone take over.

I love this photo I might need to blow it up with a saying so they know they can be friends, work together, and get the job done.
Zeak and Body Shepherd were a great team this year and really proved to be hands.
Only on the ranch with Grandpa Don as the cow boss can you get permission to have a rotten egg fight! ewwww!!!
And after two long days of branding the Dad's and Kids still had time for fun and games! Normally the men play a little farm yard basket ball. This year the kids started up a game capture the flag that lead to the Dad's joining in.
When they gathered the cows and calves before branding they had to leave a calve because it was sick and slow. Grandpa Don sent Body and Zeak to gather the calve. There were some who doubted they could do it. But, you can see from the look on their faces they did it. Then Jake and Tate cut out the mama cow and brought her in. I can hardly believe how big they are getting and how much they have grown since the first branding.

Kaci was happy to be there in her hat and boots and play with the kids.

Jake's job was to keep the mama cows away from the branding fire. He did awesome and stuck with it.

My Spring flower beds.

Our biggest surprise of Spring was this adorable little guy. This was minutes after he was born. Vanessa had come home to hang out with us and she asked Jake if he had a baby goat. He said no but it sounds like one. They went to investigate and came in just screaming. Dan had been waiting for his heifers to calve so I called him and said, "you got your first baby today." He was so excited and asked, "which heifer?" When I broke the news that it was not a heifer it was the GOAT Santa brought Jake for Christmas he was not thrilled. Not knowing what to do Zeak called our friends the Daniels' they raise she and we figured a goat had to be similar.
They were so awesome to come to our rescue. This photo is Cameron and Hadley trying to milk the mama. She was mean and wouldn't take care of her baby at all. So we milked her 4 times and then fed the baby in an actual baby bottle.
Jake was so excited and has been so good to take of his new friend. I am certain if I would let him he would keep the goat in the house. For several days Jake floated on cloud nine. One afternoon I was a bit shocked and a lot sad when Jake came in and said, "mom it is ok if I don't have any friends I have my goat and that is all that matters!"
This photo shows how little the baby was. Sparkles was so cute and must have known he would need a friend.
After all of the excitement of the baby we came in to color Easter eggs. Jake and Vanessa gathered duck eggs and we colored them. Cort was so tired from all the running and excitement that he had a little nap on the rug by my back door. Aunt Lisa didn't want him to miss out on the egg decorating so I woke him up. As you can see he was not impressed.

This little blossom is my hope that Spring is coming!

My baby nursery in the garage. Next year I hope to have a nursery set up out side with lamps, running water, with all the necessities for saving orphaned babies.

He looks like a lamb but he is an Angora Goat.

I had so much fun with my kids during Spring break. We did so much together. This was one of our favorite activities. We decorated Easter Sugar Cookies and delivered them to friends and neighbors.

Saturday we went to Fillmore. The kids actually went down Friday and had a sleep over. It was a cold rainy day but we still found a dry spell to go roll eggs at the sand hills west of Holden. My kids love this activity. I took the confetti eggs to throw and have fun with as well.

Zeak thinks he is to big for all the silly decorating and fun so he opted to hold Brinley while we colored eggs.

Grandma seeking revenge with a confetti egg.

Easter Sunday was so amazing. The music was amazing mostly because we had people who love to sing. The opening song felt like a huge gust of wind trying to blow me over it was so amazing. After church we took a few photos and then I made Easter Sunday dinner. I had an idea earlier in the week and it worked perfect. The kids helped a little but most of it I did. I set out the good China and prepared an extra plate for an extra special Guest! Everyone loved the dinner and asked to do it again soon. Might have to be our new Easter Sunday tradition.







Jake made a deal with Uncle Clay on his two goats. I really didn't think he would sell them especially since they were a gift from Santa. Jake is such a sentimental little guy and gets attached to everything!!! He didn't even cry and helped load them into the truck. Maybe it helps to know they are going to a good home and he will be able to see them on a regular basis. He know Uncle Clay and Cort love animals as much as he does.

Whew I am so glad this project is done and over. Not because it was hard or I hate the Animal Fair because I love Animal and Science fair. I just hated the fact that this consumed Jake's mind almost 24/7. He bugged me about printing photos and his reports even before we had specific instructions. He chose the Snow Leopard and now has a goal to see a Snow Leopard in person someday. He did a great job and I am very proud of him.
Yep this is the view of the month. If she isn't on the ice with her Ice skates then she is on her "roller glades." I am not sure what is going to wear out first my floor or her wheels. I am glad she has a love and passion.

What I learned in April is that I have the BEST Family in the World we are not perfect but we had a great month spending time with each other enjoying all of the simple pleasures this life has to offer. We celebrated a Beautiful Season and The Most Wonderful Holiday celebrating the most wonderful person to have walked the face of the earth. My hope is that my little family with come to know and love him more everyday and that we can follow his way and return to Him and or Father and Heaven.