Our Saturday

Please refer to the last post before you read this one--it will explain the insect music and the pictures of our oldest daughter!

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I do not have any recent pictures of Bethany that are not silly. That is because the last few times I have seen her, she does something funny each time the camera is turned on her and I also haven't seen her for a couple of months. The girls and I are going to Provo to visit the first week of August. Until then, these old pictures will have to suffice.

Bethany and her friend Molly

Pirates of the Caribean opening
Christmas Around the World at BYU
Seth ran in our stake pioneer fun run yesterday. No, he wasn't the only one running--people were just spaced out. Then he went to Idaho Falls looking to purchase a new bike. Madi was babysitting down the street for the day, so John, Taylor and I drove up to Victor and floated Fox Creek into the Teton River.
Taylor is pretty good navigating her own kayak. It is a beautiful place, even though everything is a little hazy. We wish California would quit burning so that we could see the Tetons a little clearer. A funny dog ran along the river bed with us. Every once in awhile he would jump in the river and cross so he would be closer to us.
Taylor found a snail along the way, and she let him ride on her kayak. When we got to the take-out, she released him into the wild. Then we stopped at Rainey Creek Corner store in Swan Valley for world famous square ice cream on the way home. John and I had huckleberry and cream. Taylor had Oreo, but she said it tasted more like Heath Bar.We had really good sushi and homemade french fries with fry sauce for dinner.

It was a successful Saturday!

Listen closely...

We have crickets in our basement.

About the song after the crickets--John wanted me to change it, but I really like it even if it is a little hillbilly-ish.

By the way, we have not turned into country bumpkins as of yet. And we haven't adopted Rigby-ites ways completely either. We do not own a four-wheeler or a snowmachine. But we do think it would be nice to have an RV (we don't want to be grizzly bear snacks!). I would adopt the riding lawn mower thing if the price tag wasn't so high. Our grass is growing so fast that it needs to be cut more than once a week.
All of the songs on my playlist are of my own chosing, and do not reflect the preferences of anyone else in our household, except the one that is by the Beatles--Seth found that one.

This is a photo I took of Madi on our doorstep. The smileys are from her picture file. I think Bethany would like me to post a more flattering picture of her (see Bethany doing the "Karate Kid" pose below and comment 4 of the last post). I'll see what I can find...

TA DA!!! We have grass!

We have been working hard to obtain something besides mud and dust on our acre, and we have come up with...grass! And weeds. Lots of really tall weeds. But at least there is less plain old dirt.John put in a drip system to water our 150+ trees, and they seem to be doing well. He also put in a little garden. The tomatoes have flowers on them! The corn is only about 2-4" high, but we are cheering it on--even though it definately is not knee-high by the 4th of July.

Seth graduated from Boise High School May 27. We were able to go to Boise for Memorial Day weekend. Even Bethany surprised us by showing up. It was fun to be all together. We hopped in the car(s) and spent a night at Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park. We took a couple of friends with us--Holger and Nora.

Taylor and Nora Harren

Watch this for a splash!

a little frisbee...
alright Madi!
Seth, Holger and the Harren's went on a float trip last week in Oregon. Seth forgot his fly rod, but had some leader and flies. He found a stick, tied on some line, and landed quite a few small mouth bass. Holger will be returning to Peru July 7. He made Seth promise him that he would visit him there some day.

Seth is working almost full-time at Journeys here in Rigby. He works with developmentally disabled individuals helping them to achieve goals. He found an ultimate frisbee team to play with in Idaho Falls, and has been doing that a couple times a week.
Madi has been busy with summer band and a little babysitting. She marched in the Jefferson County Stampede Days parade a couple of weeks ago, and tomorrow morning she will march in the Menan 4th of July parade. She turned 14 and went to her first stake dance. In her own words, "It was amazing!"
Taylor is making new friends and learning to work in the yard. She is very good at weeding and raking now. We have taken a couple of trips to Rigby Lake and she is still an excellent swimmer. Bethany is working 2 jobs in Provo this summer--one at the archaeology/ethnology museum on campus, and one at a Mexican restaurant. She has immersed herself in Spanish to learn the language more quickly--she has moved into an apartment half-filled with Spanish-speaking returned missionaries and instructed them to only speak to her in Spanish. She is planning on the fall semester at BYU where she will be the teachers aid for the Spanish dance class, and also dance with a folk dance team. She is preparing to serve a mission as soon as she turns 21 (Jan. 1, 2009).I'm going to give it a try! I've found a place to rent, I have some interested people--I guess it is a go! In September, yellowstone clogging company STAMPEDE! will begin. Take a look at my website http://yellowstonecloggingcompany.cabanova.com/ to see what I've been up to!

adventures in april...

Bethany came up for conference weekend, and we went for a little hike to the top of one of the Menan Buttes. It was supposed to have been a little hike, anyway, but it turned out to be much more challenging than we thought it would be. Only a couple of us actually made it to the top...it was a great break in between sessions on Saturday, and it was beautiful to look out over the valley.
I have been substitute teaching for different schools around here. So far I have taught kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 7th grade social studies & drama, 7th grade language, and elementary PE. I have taught at Harwood Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Midway Elementary, and Midway Middle School. I have signed up to teach English at Rigby Jr. High in a couple of weeks. Hope I'll be ready! I am not going to try high school for awhile yet...

We have been contending with a bird at our house. Every time I go outside to use our gas grill, I open it up and there is a nest in it. In one week's time I cleaned out 3 nests! Leaving the lid open is the only way we have discovered to keep it out. I don't blame it for wanting to build in there though--the wind is relentless here.

We finally have a smoothed out front yard, and we are working on getting a little fill dirt for the back. Then will come the sprinkler system, fence, grass seed, trees... and I put the numbers on the house yesterday. Now if you come out to see us, you'll know which house is ours!

march in rigby...

March in Rigby is not like March in Boise. We closed on our new home on March 21, the first day of spring. It was hard to get up the front steps because the ice was so thick. Just when we think it might warm up a little--surprise! we wake up to white again...

However, the snow has begun to melt, and in a couple of the yards in our neighborhood, they actually have green grass! Next year it will be us. We ordered a whole bunch of trees yesterday to plant around the perimeter of our property--they will look like twigs for the next five years, but we will be patient. We are enjoying our new home; we can finally unpack boxes. I haven't found my pizza peel as of yet, and I accidentally broke one of my pizza stones moving across town #:- ( , but other things are slowly turning up! We have a jetted tub in our master bath, and we have been taking turns lounging in it. Taylor's barbies have had their turn as well. And we love our gas fireplace, even though it is fake. We think we might put a wood stove in downstairs, some day.

We have changed wards, so we are new again. We are looking forward to getting to know everyone--and hoping that they will let us use the talks we just gave in the other ward when they ask us to speak in this ward. Just kidding--we are glad to prepare on whatever topic we are assigned (sigh).

John's parents brought Seth over for a couple of days and we celebrated his 18th birthday. We put them up in our unfinished basement (I made walls in the bedrooms out of unpacked boxes), and they survived despite the fact that it is not yet heated. We took them to Charlie's for dinner while they were here, and also to the local bowling alley (They actually took us--just try and pay for anything with Grandma Jean and Grandpa John around!!!).

Seth started working at Maggie Moo's at 8th Street on his birthday. Go by, have some ice cream, and remember to tip well!

snowy, snowy day

This is a photo of our first snowman and snowdog of the season. It has finally warmed up enough to make the snow packable (the first sign of spring here in Rigby!).

We are hoping to be in a permanent residence by the end of March--just in time to start working our new acre of mud!

Visiting Boise

It was Kick-off Boise this past weekend and we were there! It was weird to go to Boise and be visitors. We had a great weekend, but we are glad we are back here in Rigby (even though it is spring in Boise, and definitely still winter here!)

We are still searching for a permanent residence. It is hard to feel settled in this rental, even though it is very nice. And it is hard to be patient with the search.

My ankle healed well enough to dance with my team. We did great on our dances! I did so-so on my solos. It was really fun. I miss Boise Cloggers.

Please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/mitzihull to see my photo gallery of the competition, or to http://www.americaonstage.org/Competitions/KOC/Boise/kocboisehome.htm to see results and pictures. John was great to hang out and take pictures while Madi and I danced!

We now live in Rigby...

Well, we are here! It has literally cost us blood, sweat and tears (and more tears), but we are now official Rigby-ites (Taylor and Madison are denying this currently--they say their home is still in Boise, but as of today, the house at 1618 Malad Circle belongs to someone else!)

We are currently renting and looking for a home to buy. Taylor goes to the largest elementary school in the state of Idaho (960+ kids, grades kindergarten-5th), and is trying to adjust to her new teacher and new class. Madi goes to jr high (8-9th grade) and will be going on her first ever ski trip today to Kelly Canyon Ski Resort.

Our new ward is very friendly and nice. Madi has already been involved in New Beginnings and a Daddy Daughter Party in Young Women's, and we have been here only for 2 weeks. Taylor will have her first Activity Day next week.

I had a little accident on the stairs last week which resulted in a trip to the "doc in the box" for some x-rays on my ankle and foot. Luckily there is no break--but I am impatiently trying to recover so that I will be able to participate in the Boise Competition with my clogging team next weekend. My foot is an interesting shade of blue currently. I am walking on it now...