Spotlight Spencer - Kindergarten Roundup

Spencer was very excited to spend an hour over at the school as part of his "Kindergarten Roundup" this past week. Spencer said the teacher was nice, he was able to color, and that it was awesome to cut paper with "real" scissors. It is hard for us to believe that he will be starting school in the fall. Spencer says "Hi" and that he loves to play the "Nintendo DS" and the "Wii". Spencer says that his favorite food is "spaghetti", his favorite drink is "Chocolate Milk", and his favorite dessert is "ice cream". He likes to play outside with his brothers, he still loves to go bowling, and he is excited to see his cousins this summer in Utah.

Spencer's B-Day

Spencer's big day! So our little Spencer is not so little anymore. With me being out of town this week, we decided to celebrate Spencer's 5th Birthday today. While it would have been more fun to have all of you here for the party, we still we able to have a lot of fun with Spencer. Spencer got new clothes, a special Spiderman cup, a Lego Star Wars (Clone Wars) video game, gift card to Target, and other fun things. Spencer picked out the type of cake and ice cream for his party and said that it was "very yummy." We hope you are all doing well and look forward to when we can spend time with all of you again.

The time has sure flown by since our last post. Our "not so little" family is back in Omaha, as Derek took a position with Union Pacific Railroad. While Derek is at work, Stacy gets the privilege of trying to keep the five (5) boys in line. Some days are better than others. Taylor just turned 16, is a Sophomore at Millard West High School, loves to skateboard, and (watch out) now has his driver's permit. Nathan is 13, a 7th grader at Beadle Middle School, loves to go out and shoot his bow, and is the self-appointed family scholar. Landon is 10, attends the 5th grade at Reagan Elementary, loves using his new Kindle Fire, and still is willing to be silly with his little brothers. Spencer is now 4, thinks he can handle any electronic gadget in the house (with or without permission), loves playing Spiderman, and thinks that Lego "Lord of the Rings" video game is the "best game ever." Lastly, there is Jayden. Jay is 2 years old, loves to copycat his older brothers (which is not always a good thing), loves to have "zoomers" with his Dad, and still gives the best cuddles. We hope you are all doing well and look forward to seeing you again. *** Yes, I know that the family pic is outdated. We will work on that as well ***

It is sad to think just how long it has been (and how much has changed) since Stacy and I have last posted on here. We are doing well and getting adjusted to our new surroundings. The boys have adjusted well to their new schools and remain active as ever. We will be more diligent in keeping this up to date. *** EDIT - so much for keeping up on this. What a bunch of slackers *** :-)

Daddy & Landon's Trip to the Ballgame

Here are a few pictures of my trip to the Omaha Royals baseball game with Landon.  We had a great time in what turned out to be an exciting game.  The game went into extra innings and while we tried to stay until the end (we stayed until the 11th) we just got too cold and tired to make it through all 18 innings.

Family Trip to Nauvoo

Stacy and I decided that we wanted to "experience" Nauvoo before we headed back to Utah.  The trip was not too long, at least compared to our Utah trips, and everyone seemed to really have lots of fun.  The weather was perfect and the people we met there were wonderful.  Some of the highlights included visiting the Browning home, taking a wagon ride through the streets of Nauvoo, making rope and candles, watching the blacksmith make a mini horseshoe, watching a bald eagle sitting along the banks of the Mississippi River, seeing a "dream home," seeing the Nauvoo Temple, and visiting Carthage Jail.  The trip helped Stacy and I really appreciate the great sacrifices that these early church members made for the cause they believed in.

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Spencer's birthday "Tractor"

We let Spencer pick out something fun for his birthday and this is what he chose. He loves to ride his bike all over the place! It will be even more fun when it is warm enough to enjoy going outside.
He is always busy and loves to look at the big trucks and diggers as they work along side the road. What a big boy; we sure love him!

BIG BROTHER IN TRAINING!

Look who is going to be a BIG brother!

Yes, Derek and I found out recently that we are expecting baby number five!  I haven't been to the doctor yet, that is coming up this week, but as the children already know we figured we should make sure to share it with all of you.  We will keep you informed of the information as it comes along.

Merry Christmas

I hope this finds all of our friends and family doing well and enjoying this special time of the year. We had a wonderful Christmas with the boys in Omaha, though we were stuck inside our house for two+ days as we were hit with blizzard conditions. The boys are all so active and getting so big. Taylor is fast approaching the beginning of his teenage years; Nate is convinced he will play professional baseball; Landon loves having his very own Nintendo DS; and Spencer is hooked on Blues Clues. As for Stacy and I, we are still very much in love!!!

I will post a few Christmas pics soon, as well as a more detailed writeup on each of the boys.

Snacktime !!!

Spencer has become much more "active" the last few weeks; much to our dismay. As you can see from the pictures, Spencer figured out how to help himself to a little snack. I think we are in for a challenge. :-)

Hill Air Force Base Museum

Here are a few pictures from our family trip up to the Air Force Museum that we took yesterday. The boys had a great time looking at all of the planes and learning about the history of the Air Force. Stacy and I especially enjoyed watching the boys as they played on the flight simulators. Nathan wants to be a fighter pilot now, but only if he can fly an A-26B invader (whatever that is). Landon really liked dressing up as an astronaut and pretending that he was blasting off into space. Taylor was not into the dress up clothing, but thought sitting inside of an airplane simulator was very cool. Stacy and I enjoyed it because it was free and got the kids out of the house for a few hours.

Ice Skating Fun

Nothing like beating the summertime heat by going ice skating. Stacy and I took the boys up to the Ogden Ice Sheet (site of the 2002 Winter Olympics Curling event) for a little family fun time. We had a lot of fun watching the boys skate around the rink. Taylor and Nate never fell down and proved to be very quick on skates (yes, they beat me in every race we had). Landon, while a little uncertain about skating at first, was able to skate around with Stacy by the end of the day. Lastly, Stacy proved to be a little ice princess as she "floated" around the ice doing various spins and twists. Overall, it was an enjoyable family outing.

Where has the time gone?

I cannot believe that it has been more than three months since I last posted about the family. So much has happened over the last little bit that it will be challenging to accurately capture all that we have experienced, but I will try my best.

I must first begin by saying that our family has been, and continues to be, blessed beyond measure. Our health is good, we have wonderful family and friends, and we are humbled by the comforts and freedoms we enjoy.

While we are uncertain where we will eventually end up (now that law school is over and the hunt for work begins), we are confident that if we continue to live our lives according to gospel principles we will be directed to where our family needs to be.

Prince Landon

Our family was able to watch Emmaline & Tate a few nights ago and Landon made the most of it. Landon was so cute to play along with the kids when they wanted to dress up and play "pretend." While he may not readily admit it, I think Landon had a lot of fun being the brave prince.

Opening Day - Part III

Just had to add in some pictures of Spencer.

Opening Day - Part II

Nathan's big day finally arrived. He was so excited for his first game that he was completely dressed (spikes and all) some four (4) hours before game time - it was fun to see Nate so excited to play. Nathan said he had a lot of fun, though he did complain about his toes being cold as the weather was not the best. Nate's team won 9-4 and he got up to bat four times; reaching three times and getting one rbi. He was a little disappointed that he spent the game in right field, but is still optimistic that he will get his chance to pitch.

Opening Day - Part I

Opening day for little league baseball for Taylor (majors) and Nathan (minors). Taylor's game started at 9 AM (yeah, no fun getting him up out of bed on a Saturday morning that early) and the weather was cold (48) and a little drizzly. Taylor's team WON 13-6 with Taylor playing 4 innings at second base, one inning at shortstop, and one inning at pitcher. Defensively, he had two fielding chances (at second) and made the play on one and had an errant throw on the other. He was a little on the wild side while pitching, but did strike out two batters and seemed to settle down as he got adjusted to the mound. Taylor had three plate appearances, going 0-2 (2 k's) with one walk and one stolen base.

Look Who's Walking

Hope this finds everyone enjoying a great Easter Weekend. Spencer has decided he has had enough of the whole crawling routine and is now trying out his walking skills. Enjoy the videos:

The Joy of Living in Nebraska

Had fun last night with the tornado sirens going off. While the real bad weather stayed to the west of us, we did get some real heavy rains, strong winds, and a little hail. I was at work when the alert was issued, so I had to bunker down there for about an hour or so until the alert was lifted. Stacy and the boys were at home in the basement riding things out. One of the fun things about living in the Midwest.

Spencer's 1st Birthday

Hard to believe, but Spencer is now officially a one year old "Big Boy" - how time flies. Here is Spence digging into his birthday cake:

Cute Video of Spencer

Thought you might like to see these cute videos of Spencer showing that he is a "Big Boy"

Trying to Catch Up

Stacy and I feel bad that we have allowed this much time to pass without updating the blog. We are doing well and keeping very busy. Our family has been battling sickness the last month or so, but we think we have finally overcome the worst of it. Spencer got the worst of it and ended up at the doctor/hospital with pneumonia.

School is going well for all. Taylor, Nate, and Landon just had their parent/teacher conference and received outstanding report cards. We really have been blessed with sons who love to learn and have adapted very well to being in school. My law school days are numbered and things are getting real hectic. I finally turned in all the information & documents needed for the Utah Bar Exam, though it just gets harder from here as now I have to pass the test.

Stacy and Spencer are having fun together and seem to always be doing something new. Spencer is getting so big and active - time is passing by much too quickly for my liking. While he has not taken any "official" walking steps yet, he is so close to doing so.

Thanks for hanging in there with us and hope you are all doing well. We look forward to hearing from you.

Love,

The Hinds Family

Winter Fun in Utah

Here are a few pictures of the sledding activity that we had with our good friends the Andrews Family. They have four children (3 girls and 1 boy) that are very close in age to our children. It was a great family activity, the weather was nice, and we had lots of fun.

Family Fun at Grandma & Grandpa's House

Christmas Day is here and it has been a great visit to Grandma & Grandpa's house. It was so nice to have the cousins together last night for the Wright family Christmas Eve tradition of acting out Luke 2.

The grand kids were so cute and they seemed to really enjoy being together. The only thing that could have made the night better would have been to have Jarom & Rochelle here - we sure miss them. Christmas morning came early (at least it did if you stayed up until after midnight wrapping gifts) and the boys were very appreciative for the presents that they received. Overall, I would say that it has been a great day.

Winter Driving Excitment :-(

While we finally made it to Utah, it sure proved to be an eventful and certainly “memorable” trip. Our Christmas vacation road trip began early Friday morning with our van covered by a nice Omaha ice storm that coated our van with over an inch of ice. After more than an hour of chipping away at the ice, and cracking the windshield of the van, we were finally able to get started for our trip to Grandma & Grandpa Wright’s house.

The drive across Nebraska went very well and we really were making great time. Yet, as soon as we reached the Wyoming border the sky turned dark and, for all practical purposes, it was all downhill from there. It was about 5:30 at night (dark) when the first snow began to fall. Within just a few minutes, the wind was whipping a rather steady snow around to the point where driving became rather difficult. Then the strangest thing happened – the road disappeared. We happened to drive right into a complete and utter whiteout. I honestly could not see the road or my surroundings. The ONLY way that I knew I was still on the road was by driving – at 5 MPH – on the bump strip that runs along the side of the road. Relying on the bump strip and the reflective road markers, we were able to creep along for a good 20 minutes before the road began to reappear. While not a fun experience for Stacy and I, the boys (thankfully) were able to sleep through most of it.

Because of the time that we lost stuck in the whiteout, we (thanks to Grandma & Grandpa) were able to spend the night in Rawlins, Wyoming. It felt great to get a good nights rest and we woke up to clear (though cold) skies. We once again made good time on the road, and despite the extreme cold (we hit 40 below a few times), soon found ourselves in Western Wyoming. That is when the snow started up again.

About 65 miles East of the Utah border, the authorities shut down I-80 due to a combination of weather and accidents. Thankfully we were able to get off the road and found a nice hotel/restaurant to kill a few hours in. It was nice to stretch our legs and get a little food. While the accident was finally cleared the weather did not improve all that much. We crept along for the next few hours until we crossed into Utah and the roads (and weather) immediately cleared. While the drive was not very fun and my opinion of Wyoming in the winter is not very high at the moment, we thankfully arrived safely and without too much concern. Now we get to enjoy the Christmas season.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope you all had a great day!


***Okay, for those that did not get the picture, just ask yourself - Where is Big Bird? ***

Random Pics of the Boys - Part II

So since it was pointed out that I left out 1/2 of my sons in the previous set of pictures, I thought it best if I did a quick upload so that Nate and Landon would know that I love them.

Random Pics of the Boys - Part I

I know that it has been a little while since I added any pictures of the boys, so I thought it best not to wait any longer.

*** EDIT *** Okay, so I just realized that Landon and Nate are not in any of these. More pictures on the way.