Christmas Dance Recital

Sadie is the second girl from the right. She did great! I missed it in person, but was able to watch this video that Molly recorded for me. I sure like watching Sadie dance.

Bear

Well, we couldn't stand not having a dog around, so here's Bear. He is an eight week old Golden Retriever/Black Lab from Etna Wyoming. He has been fun to have around. I think Daisy would approve too.

Exercising

I should take a lesson from Sadie and Kaden. They are good little exercisers.

State Wrestling Tournament

Kaden wrestled in the 90 lb weight class at the Idaho State Folkstyle Championships in Rigby, Idaho. He wrestled hard and was able to get 2nd place. Grandma and Grandpa Donahoo were there to watch with Molly and I. Aunt Candice was nice enough to watch the other kids for us. Kaden really worked hard at wrestling well this year. He learned a lot and he definitely earned this medal. You can see more pictures of that day at http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=13k2c4dv.83o92exn&x=0&h=1&y=rt355&localeid=en_US

Daisy, 2001 - November 6, 2009

When Kaden was little, he got bit by a dog and it made him terrified of them fro a while. We found Daisy at a shelter in Rock Springs, WY. She was 5yrs old at the time and calm as could be. Kaden really liked her and was comfortable around her. She has helped him get over his fear of dogs and remember how much he loves animals altogether. Daisy has always been gentle with the kids no matter how much they pestered her. She was great in the river retrieving ducks for me and Kaden too. The whole family really liked this dog. Well, we buried her today. Not a good day.

Fishing (sort of)

This was my introduction to Chesterfield Reservoir and something amazing happened there. It is called powerbait. Powerbait is weird smelly dough with glitter that Ben showed to us. Although we were all embarassed to use it, we did it anyway because that is what the fish were biting on. I even have dad on video catching a fish with powerbait smeared on a fly. Priceless. This was a cool trip because all the brothers, my dad, and Kaden were there. Of course, Jake kept us laughing. He tore his pants on the dock and that is why he is doing lunges in the picture above. Ben caught a really nice fish. Kaden was happy because he got to drive the boat. Dad caught fish because that is what dad does. I took pictures and went along for the ride.

Grandpa Donahoo

This is my Grandpa Donahoo in South Dakota. He saw these sage hens while driving home from work one day. He was alone, and took this picture of himself. It is by far my favorite picture of Grandpa and I thought the family could print it off from this blog. I have some more that I will be scanning in sometime soon.

My Grandma's Birthday

Happy Birthday Grandma Donahoo!!

Secret Code

No sound....just a secret code that Gabe made up and taught to me. He is sure that noone could ever figure it out, so I think it is safe to post it on the web. You can all try to learn it if you want. Pay attention to the details though. He is so sneaky.

Yellowstone

This is a trip after the 4th of July reunion at Sally's house. After stopping at the Waite's house in Powell and getting a new radiator, we pushed on into the park. Right as we got to the lake, we saw this grizzly bear not too far off the road. It was far enough away that we could get out of the car and look at him though. Then we toured the park and saw buffalo, elk, a coyote, and two wolves. We stopped at all the main attractions and had a great time.

Last Football Post, 2009

It was cool to watch Kaden learn about football this year. He played both sides of the ball all season long mainly at offensive tackle and defensive end. He shifted around to linebacker a little bit at the end of the year too. I think he likes football and I'm guessing that he will stick with it.



We thought that we would have a break after football, but he is now wrestling for the jr high team and is having fun. So far, he is 2-2. We'll update throughout the season.

Deer Hunt

Molly and I loaded everybody up on Friday morning and headed for the hills to see if we could get a deer. Molly is the best spotter ever and she can see them from a long ways off. We found a little buck about 200 yards up a hillside. I shot him through the lungs and Kaden helped me find him. He ran about 20 yds and crashed. I dragged him most of the way down before the family came up. Everybody came up the hill to see, then Mom, Sadie, and Gabe went back down while Zach and Kaden helped me gut the deer. Zach got a kick out of it and kept asking if he could poke the deer's eyeball with a stick. I dragged the buck the rest of the way down the hill and slid him into the bed of the pickup. One of the easiest deer hunts ever. It was fun to have the family there.

Fishing Chesterfield

I took the kids fishing at Chesterfield Reservoir and they had fun even though it was cold. Kaden caught a good size fish and the other kids cooked giant marshmallows and stayed warm by the fire. The one in the picture that doesn't belong to me is Ezra (Zach's friend from pre-school).

SUN-BEEP

This is Gabe's interpretation of a primary song.

Insanity on the Gridiron

This game was against American Falls 6th graders. Kaden is #12 in the pictures. When Kaden's team had the ball, he had the monstrous task of blocking #38. Let me just list some stats...and remember, these are 6th graders.

Kaden - about 5' tall, 94 lbs
Gigantor - 6' 3", 207 lbs, and a beard.



Look at the eyes of the beast. How intimidating it must have been for Kaden. Needless to say, Kaden flew a lot during the game. During a timeout, I talked to Kaden and he was pretty frustrated that he couldn't do anything with this kid. I told him that he should hit low and keep getting up. He did that and had some success slowing the monster down.



This is my favorite picture. Kaden finally moved this guy by hitting him right in the numbers and driving forward. He stood the kid up and took him out of the play.



Luckily, speed is key on defense and Andre the Giant was not fast. While playing defensive end, Kaden got around big beefy on this play. The guy on the ground is the quarterback who Kaden had just knocked down to break up a pass play. Kaden hit him as he released the ball and it fell short.



We were proud of Kaden for bouncing up like a rubber ball every time he got knocked down. He made the best of it and came out smiling. He was team captain for this game because of his hustle during practice all week. I'm sure he'll be sore tomorrow, but he loves to play.

Purple Fingers

I can't say too much about this place. Our friends swore us to secrecy. We love huckleberries.

Bear Lake's North Shore

This is our favorite lake to swim in. It is shallow for a long long ways, so you don't have to worry too much about the kiddos.

Sprinklers are like Heaven in the Yard

Our kids love to play in water when it is hot. Of course Gabe has to do it his way.

Brothers.....

This is what happens when mom gives in. It is so hard to get the middle post of the beater clean without getting goo on your forehead.

First Day

School started for the kids on August 19th. Kaden is in 6th grade, Sadie is in 3rd, Zach is going to start preschool, and Gabe will be so lonely.