Visiting New Hampshire

Our family spent two days in New Hampshire. We visited the children's museum there and spent time outdoors hiking and swimming.

A New League

We enrolled Ammon in soccer through the Killingly Rec Center. We thought this would be an activity that he would enjoy, but it's been a challenge. He's had a difficult time socializing with the other children, and struggles with it since he doesn't have control over the situation.

This entire process has been baby steps for us:

(1) Getting Ammon to wear the shirt. It's the #8 and since he's almost four, he insisted that he wear the #4. We talked him into wearing the shirt since 4 + 4=8. He's learning some simple additional now, and he will finally put the shirt on without a fight. Wearing the #8 is even better, because it has 2 fours in it!

(2) Getting him in the car to go to practice or games without a meltdown in the car. No matter how much I tried to prepare him for this transition, he felt so much anxiety. This is still a challenge, but at least now the meltdowns don't happen until we pull into the parking lot for practice.

(3) Not having him yell at the Australian Ref. when he referred to "yellow light" as "orange light," while they were playing red light / green light. It's been three weeks since this happened and Ammon still gets worked up about it. One of the young men from our ward just left for his mission, which he is serving in Australia. Now every time he brings up the situation, we just talk about John-Mark, and it lightens the moment. Ammon absolutely adores him!

(4) Having Ammon kick the ball or participate at all in the activities (This is our current goal for him). He participated last week, which Nate and I were both pretty stoked about.

A new addition to our home...

On Mother’s Day weekend, Nathan and Ammon were driving and nearly ran over a turtle attempting to cross the road. Ammon has been fascinated by turtles ever since Grandma King brought him teenage mutant ninja turtle figurines that she had acquired at a yard sale in Arizona. Ammon named it “Raphael,” after the red turtle (due to the red stripes under her shell). After finding the turtle, Nathan researched painted turtles online and we soon realized that it was actually a female. So, we have a new addition to our family. Unfortunately this will be the only pet our family has for a LONG time.

Our Family visited Davis Farmland in Sterling, MA on Saturday. Each year they have a day for "Hero's" and since Nathan serves in the military our family was able to visit for free.

Cutest Little Fire(wo)man...

Ammon loved feeding the animals and enjoyed a day outdoors.

One Happy Girl

Yummy Treats!

Ammon & Wilber

Feeding Animals was lots of fun!

Hay Ride Fun

Farmer Ammon milking Bessie

Maddie had a little lamb...

Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to express my love and appreciation for my beautiful wife on this well-deserved Mother's Day. Lona is an amazing mother. I know being a mother is a difficult job that is filled with long days, frustration, endless worry, self-doubt, and lack of appreciation. I am sure I am not alone when I say that I do not tell my wife enough that she is doing a great job. Lona has given so much of her life for her children and I know she loves them more than life itself. I know that she is in constant thought on how she can best help her children be happy and healthy. I know that her life is the most joyous when she sees her kids happy and smiling.

From the day Ammon was born, we knew our life would never be the same. One of the greatest moments of my life was seeing Lona hold Ammon for the first time.

Our little princess, Maddie Sue, is a wonderful blessing. It is awesome to see the powerful bond between mother and daughter.

As Ammon grew and more of his peronality bubbled to the surface, we knew Ammon would be a blessing, but also a challange. Ammon is creative, intelligent, and can be the sweetest boy in the world. However, Ammon likes to be the boss and has difficulty adapting to new environments and situations where he has no control. He has a fiery temper and can be as stubborn as a mule. Lona has had to deal with the frustration of having moments of doing everything right, but still having everything go wrong. With her help, Ammon has learned to better control his emotions and is improving the social interation with his peers. I appreciate the hard work Lona has done in behalf of our son and his happiness.

Maddie is the little girl that Lona deserves. She is a happy-go-lucky little baby and brings us so much joy. I love the mornings where both kids climb into our bed and everyone is smiling and laughing. I love our little family with all my heart and I am so thankful to my wife for choosing to be a mother. Happy Mother's Day, sweetheart!

Honoring Mothers

As Mother's Day approaches, I have felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude towards my mother. Not only is she my mom, but has become my best friend. Words cannot adequately express the love that I possess for this incredible woman. She is one of the hardest working women I know and is always willing to lend a helping hand. She taught me the value of the dollar and instilled a work ethic in each one of her children. She is an elementary school teacher and a licensed contractor. She can build a house from the ground up, can operate heavy construction equipment better than most men I know, and she knows her way around every power tool known to man. She tough as nails, but as soft and loveable as a teddy bear. She gives the best advice and has taught me what true Christlike love is. She is the teacher that everyone loves and adores, but has eyes in the back of her head. You can’t get anything passed this lady… I live on the opposite side of the country, yet she can somehow tell when I’m having a rough day. She is my mother, my confidant, and my best friend.
You might ask yourself; how did my mom became such an incredible person? From my grandmother! There are few finer people that ever walked the earth... I can't think of my grandma Sue without tearing up. She is one of my most favorite people. As a young girl, I decided that if I ever had a daughter of my own, I would name her after my grandmother.

I think the hardest part about living away from family is that my children aren't able to have the type of relationship that I was able to have with my own grandma. I have countless memories spending time with her... She has taught me so much about life and is an incredible example to me. She always has a smile on her face. In all my years, I've never heard her say one cross word about anyone. This is a picture that I view on a daily basis... My sweet grandmother holding my precious little Maddie Sue.

I am also blessed to be married to such a wonderful man. I know he wouldn't be as wonderful as he is had he not had such an amazing mother as well.
Kathy is one of the craftiest people I know. She loves holidays and makes each one of them so special. She’s a true kid at heart and is so much fun to be around. She is an incredible cook, and is an amazing artist. Her Thanksgiving dinners are a sight to see. It looks like something you would see in a magazine. She is always helping others and loves to spend time with her grandchildren. The dress that Maddie Sue is wearing is the same dress that all of the King granddaughter's were blessed in. Their family has a lot of great traditions that I hope to share with my children as they grow.

Carol is a wonderful step-mother and grandmother. She is an amazing musician and has a beautiful voice. I am very blessed to have such wonderful women in my life, who are all great examples to me. Ammon & Maddie Sue are so blessed to have such amazing grandmas! Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women in our life!