Issue 121

Local Fire

Blogging time was preempted by fire watching. Steve and I put the kids to bed and then drove out to see how bad the fire we had been smelling all evening really was. Our "quick trip" lasted an hour and a half as we watched the fire eat it's way down the mountain and engulf home after home. The wind is fierce tonight and is fanning the flames and spreading the fire. We have many friends in the area and pray that their homes will not be included in the casualties.

(My iPhone did not do the scene justice, so I borrowed this picture from the Deseret News.)

Issue 120

Knight's Summit 2010

The Knight's Summit of 2010 was the best one ever! The two day simulation taught the boys (age 8-12) the virtues of Knighthood, they went on a quest, participated in the Queen's tournament, had the final battle and the ending feast. Daniel had a blast and was so worn out at the end of the two days he could hardly walk.

This picture doesn't even begin to show the 150 boys and 75 villains (dad's, big brothers and uncles) that participated in the final battle to return the kingdom to the rightful King and Queen. (And it's not just because my thumb is in the way! I'm still getting the hang of my new iPhone.)

Issue 119

1st Day of Kindergarten

All our kids have gone to at least some kindergarten, and Ellie is so excited for her turn. We do our homeschooling together in the morning and in the early afternoon the other kids have lessons, clubs, classes and tutoring to fill their time. Ellie has just been along for the ride come afternoon, so afternoon kindergarten turned out to be a perfect fit. Janey was green with envy that Ellie gets to ride the bus home everyday, since there were no buses to take her to kindergarten when it was her turn. So, to fill her life long wish, I drove to the school and made sure Ellie got on the right bus and asked Janey to sit with her. I followed the bus and arrived just in time to snap a picture. Ellie thinks her teacher is very nice and I think she will have a great year.

Issue 118

Sweet 16

Whitney's friends threw a surprise party for her 16th birthday, and it couldn't have been more perfect! She was caught totally by surprise. Grandma was in on the conspiracy and picked her up from school and took her to Jamba Juice while I picked up some of her friends. Some other friends were running late, so we stalled Whitney by saying the cake had burned and asked them to pick up another mix on the way home. We hid her friends' cars in the garage and hid a dozen of us in the kitchen for the big moment. Whitney has such a great group of awesome friends and it was fun to celebrate with them for the afternoon.

After the party and dinner, Dad took her driving. Seeing her behind the wheel, I wondered how she could possibly be sixteen, since I don't feel nearly old enough to have one.

Happy Birthday Whitney! We love you!

Issue 117

Arrow of Light

Three Generations of Scouting!

Daniel moved from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts on his 11th Birthday. Before that he completed all the requirements for his Arrow of Light, the highest award in Cub Scouting and the only badge that you get to transfer to your Boy Scout Uniform. It was exciting to celebrate all his hard work in Cub Scouts and witness his transition to the Boy Scouts.

Shakespearean Festival

I had the opportunity to chaperon Steve's Shakespeare class on their trip to the Cedar City Shakespearean Festival. The class chose to see Macbeth, since they were fascinated with the curse that is supposed to surround the show. The two day trip was a blast and we got to go on an awesome "back stage" tour. It was especially fun to have our cousins and Aunt Becca along on the trip. I can't wait until next year! We are going to try to catch 2 plays next time.

Issue 116

Girls Camp by Whitney

This week I was at my stake girls camp. The theme was "A.R.M.Y." (A Righteous Mormon Youth.) The entire stake was there and each ward got a different color of camouage for their shirts. My ward got "savage orange." On the little slip of paper that had a sample of the pattern it looked good but when we actually got the shirts the result was horrendous. It was orange, brown yellow and black. it looked like someone had thrown up on them after eating a burnt hot dog. Luckily we only had to wear them the last day to the closing ceremonies.

Other than that it was a blast. I was a YCL (youth camp leader) so I was able to help plan the camp and help when we got to camp. I helped at the giant zipline and taught a class with one of my friends about what to do if for poisoning and broken limbs and severe bleeding (apparently I scared all the beehives to death with my spiel about stomach wounds) and instructed at archery. (I love archery and have had professional instruction so that one was especially fun for me.)

Our ward got the best campsite, instead of the sagebrush and aspen campgrounds the others got, we had giant pines and real shade trees with deer and squirrils. It was great but cold in the morning and the squirrils kept waking us up. :)

I loved being there and cant wait for next year when it is ward camp instead of stake camp. IT WAS AWSOME!!!!

Issue 115

BLAB by Steve L.

well...

Week long scout camp, with fifteen scouts and no flushable toilets within four miles.

'nuff said.

Okay, mom says I have to say more. Well it all started 5 o clock in the morning. All the scouts gathered at our house and piled in to the cars. Then we slept all the way there. We arrived at our campsite and set up. It was a really pretty site, right next to Bear Lake. It was awesome, because we got to swim every day. Well the next week was pretty packed with merit badge classes. I think the funnest was climbing. We got to repel off a sixty foot vertical wall, with nothing but a rope keeping me from falling to my death. Ya, that's what scouts consider fun. Ya, we're lunatics. Well as far as merit badges go, I earned the wood-carving, photography, pioneering, leather-work and climbing merit badges. For wood carving we carved a carved a cylinder, a neckerchief slide, and a letter, which turned up being an S, which turned out cracking, which ended up as the bear lake monster. For pioneering, we built a bridge out of wood and rope, nothing else. And then there was that rattle-snake. It crept into our camp, and killed four kids before the staff got it with a shovel. Yep, just a typical day in the typical week a a scout camp. (yes, the rattlesnake was real).

Note from mom: No actual children died on this camp!