Off to the MTC!

Our great neighbor Kent Astle took some pictures of Chance in his Mission suit.  What an amazing grown up young man!

 Chance was getting nervous as we drove to the Missionary Training Center.  2 years seems like a long time, but everyone says it goes fast.  I believe them, the first 18 years sure did!!!

Getting ready to go in to the MTC!  I made him stop and get a few pictures.  NOT what he wanted to do at that moment...all packed and ready to get going inside.  Thank you for making me happy Chance:)  I love having these pictures of that day.

Important mail

Chance got a letter addressed to "Elder Kennington Chance Hokanson"  Not what we usually call him at home, but something he'll be getting used to.  The letter called him to the MEXICO TORREON MISSION.  He was so excited to open it.  We had family on 3 different computers with Skype and google plus.  So much cheering!  We were all proud and excited.

Hanging out with Aunt Kenzie...

We got some fun family pictures this spring.

New Puppies

Mishka had 3 puppies yesterday.  She was due on Christmas, and we all hoped she'd have them then, especially since she was born on the 4th of July- we wanted to continue the holiday birthday tradition.  But she went in to labor and stopped, then the same thing happened Dec 26th.  Finally we took her to the vet, and she had a torn uterus and had to have a c-section.  Good thing we went in, all 3 puppies are doing great.  No names yet, but the are all very wiggly and squeeky.  Mishka is a gret mom, she licks them and keeps them warm all day.

Shoshone Falls

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 We went on an impromptu trip to Idaho last week to have uncle Steve do some dental work on the kids.  Of course the trip included a stop at Dairy Queen in Burley (more business for uncle Steve). Abby couldn't keep her ice cream in the cone, but that didn't seem to bother her.

We heard that the Shoshone Falls (in Twin Falls) had a lot of water this year, so we drove out to see.  It was amazing.  Probably the widest waterfall I've seen.  I love the rushing water mixed with fine mist in the air.  It makes you feel happy to see the beautiful streams and falls, but humbled at the size and power of that river.
We then went to visit Grandpa & Grandma in Idaho falls- with stops to see the lava rocks.  It was a great way to spend a couple days off.

Easter Surprise

For Easter this year the little girls woke up to the sound of chirps and some fuzzy new friends. They didn't know, but the chicks had been smuggled the night before, from their cousin's house in Harrisville, in a little box. We put the box under the front seat and turned the radio up so they wouldn't hear the chirping. It worked great, and the Easter Bunny was able to come through Sunday morning.

Pictures from Monterey

Here are some pictures we took last November before we moved. We were near Lover's Point in Monterey, and it was raining and misty. A little cold for the kids, but the pictures turned out amazing. Thank you to our wonderful friend Sam Baily, an excellent pro photographer, who took them for us. There were some huge waves coming in with a storm. Check out the water splashing up the rocks in some of the pics with Justin and Chance!

We Moved!..OK, 5 months ago

We Moved!..OK, 5 months ago. I have been a blog slacker, but we moved to Orem, UT & it's a kind of crazy story. The kids & I really wanted to finish out the school year in CA- they loved their new school & I loved the weather & our ward. Justin had a couple job possibilities but it was a year contract, & then we'd be in the same boat: middle of the school year with no job. Then his unit in Ut said they could give him a position in Draper that hadn't even existed before, and could turn in to a permanent thing. We decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

We thought we had a house to rent in Lehi (10 min from Draper), so over Thanksgiving we packed up & moved. The Lehi owner called & said she was giving it to someone else, so we found another one in American fork. The owner there wasn't able to move because his paperwork didn't go through for his new home, so we took all our stuff to my parent's home while we worked on a house. The kids were just hanging out, not going to school, & Christmas was in 3 weeks. Then the Lehi owner called back and said the renters didn't work out & wanted us to please rent her house. We thought it was the answer to our prayers, but the day we were supposed to move in, she said someone offered to buy her house and she was selling. We decided to just look at houses to buy, but after all day in UT county, nothing worked out. One house we wanted even got an offer while we were looking at it.

Discouraged and lost, Justin, Emma & I went to Arby's in American fork (food always helps), and said a prayer right in the restaurant. We needed somewhere to live. After eating we decided to check a newspaper. We saw an ad for a house to rent for less than he others, but it was in Orem. Justin said: "we have to see it, it has TWO fireplaces." I said " I don't want to go to Orem, it's too far south." We decided we weren't going to rent it, but we were already nearby so why not quell Justin's pyro curiosities. Well, the manager just happened to be nearby, and could show it to us right away so we drove down. It took about 5 seconds after walking in to know that we were home. We signed the contract @ 5:00, drove back to Ogden for our U-haul, and were back by 9:00 to move in. There were neighbors and young men waiting for us when we got there to unload our truck, tell us how to find the schools, and offer whatever we needed. It was a very happy ending.

The very next day as I was registering the kids for school, I got a phone call from the owner of the American fork home saying his paperwork finally went through and we could move in, and a call from a Charter school in American fork I had been trying to get the girls in to for weeks saying they has space for all 3. I also got a call from Hill Air Force Base saying they had a house for us, when they had said the week before there wouldn't be anything for 2 months. We had either jumped the gun, or found where we are supposed to be right now- (we are sticking with the latter since we can't change it anyway).

It has turned out to be a great house, great location, and great schools. The Elementary is literally in our backyard, and several of the teachers are in our ward. Alyssa loves her Junior High, and Chance's High School has classes correlated with UVU that will help him get a LabTech certification, and a jump on the classes he needs for pharmacy school. It is a very quiet street, but close to everything (I can walk to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Old Navy). We have a garage for the first time (still filled with boxes...) and our front window has an amazing view of Mount Timpanogos. For some reason, we have been very blessed, & we hope to give something back to this new area.

Favorite snack

Abby tried a new snack this summer, and she asks for it all the time. We took nutella and dipped different things in it to find our favorites. Apples, marshmallows, ritz, and of course fingers. Abby's favorite is graham crackers, I like the pringles honey butter stix. Pretty fattening, but definitely yummy!

Shou Shu

Chance, Alyssa, Emma, Justin & I have been studying Shou Shu at a great studio in Monterey. It's a form of Kung Fu. Our friend from China told me the chinese characters on our Shou Shu shirts mean "animal style fighting". It has been good for the kids to learn how to put effort into classes, and work hard even when they "don't feel like it" (insert whiny teenager voice). I like knowing I have a few good moves that would hopefully come out if I were ever in danger. The more you practice, the better muscle memory you have and you can react in an emergency. Plus, it's just a lot of fun to hit and kick stuff.

Abby's unplanned hair cut

I had a fun present on my birthday this year, I found Abby behind the living room chair with a pair of scissors and her hair on the floor around her. Alyssa always tells her they are "same, same sisters" because they both have blonde hair, blue eyes, and like the same things. When asked why she cut her hair, she said she had to be "same same like Lyssa". That's my Abby, always trying to be 10 years older!

Oakland Temple

We took these pictures on a temple trip in August. It was a bright sunny day-not that common in the bay area, although the temple usually gets up above the fog. The girls love the fountains. The picture of Kyra and Emma is from the garden walkway on top of the temple (kind of like the conference ctr). You can look out across Oakland, the bay, and San Francisco (top left). It's an amazing spot.

Abby's message to Kenzie

This was right after Abby cut her own hair off. She sings songs for us every day. They are usually about her family or friends, and dancing in the flowers. She is so much like Alyssa. Lyss sang made up songs so much, that Chance's most common phrase in 2000 was "just stop singing, Alyssa!!

Kyra's message to Kenzie

These were made @ a little cove near lover's point. Kyra had a class picnic to meet the other kids in 2nd grade at her charter school.