Issue 24

Halloween

My children were replaced the other night by a hillbilly, a robot, a black knight, a scary witch and a beautiful Snow White. First we had fun Trick-or-Treating at Great-grandma's assisted living home in the afternoon. It was fun to show off our costumes and the kids brought in a haul, Trick-or-Treating at the residents' open doors. Then they canvased the neighborhood on a surprisingly warm evening. We had fun placing familiar faces with their houses. Whitney offered to stay home and man the candy bowl every time the doorbell rang, so it was the first time I got to go Trick-or-Treating since becoming a mom.

A close up of Steve's awesome handmade costume. I love to see his creative spirit shine.

Toothfairy

"When will my tooth fall out?!" This question has been my constant companion since Janey first noticed a small wiggle in a bottom tooth a few weeks ago. The fateful day finally arrived, and Janey produced the world's smallest baby tooth for the Tooth Fairy. It was a proud day for her and she loves showing off the front and center gap in her delightful smile. Tonight she noticed the neighboring tooth was loose, and I have a feeling that I'll be hearing for the next few weeks, "When will my next tooth fall out?"

The Willows by Steve L.

Two weeks ago I went on a scout camp to the Willows. I had chess class, so I got there late. We had a dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers and stayed up until 11:00 playing Kubb (if you don't know what that is, it's the funnest game on earth. When we got up in the morning we went on a big bike ride. We would have ridden all the way to Thanksgiving Point, (the trail went right by there) but Eric (one of the other scouts) almost got frost bite, so we had to turn back. When we got back to camp we packed up and went home. It was fun. I'm going to go back there and ride the whole trial sometime when it's not so cold.

This is Kubb. It rocks!


Me, Eric, and Jared coming back with the kill. It took us over a half an hour to saw this off a dead tree. It was worth it, plus it was fun celebrating.

Cold morning (Under 20 degrees F). We had to warm our hands over the stove before we could start the fire.

Homecomming and Choir by Whitney

Last week at school there were two exciting things that happened. First was the Homecoming dance. It was really cool and I went with my friend Aubry. I borrowed my mum's blue taffeta skirt and a white blouse. I went over to Aubry's house to get ready, and then we went to the dance. It was really cool and I got home at 12:30. It ended at 11:00, but I went to Aubry's to get my stuff and we were tired, so it took ten times longer than it should.

I also had a choir concert too. It was really neat. There are three choirs. Anyone one can get into concert choir, but you have to audition to get into Bel Conto (A woman's only choir, I'm this one), and Madrigals, which is a choir for girls and boys. And the different bands where playing too. It went really well. Bel Conto sang three songs; Johnny said "No", Vois Tushionmea (A french song), and Al Shlosha (a Hebrew song). We sounded really good and we got a standing ovation from the crowd and the madrigals. It was really neat, and Mrs. Steinman said we where so good, that we are going to perform at temple square at Christmas time! I can't wait. (Eventhough we have to memorize five new songs that I've never heard before.)

Opoutere

We found the loveliest spot in all of New Zealand quite by accident. Opoutere is an enchanting campground that borders a pine forest. A short walk through the woods puts you onto the worlds most gorgeous beach and rare bird preserve. We originally signed up for two nights and ended up staying 8. We just couldn't tear ourselves away. We took the North Island at a much slower pace compared to the whirlwind South Island Trip. We filled our time with morning and evening walks on the beach, ice cream novelties, buying fresh plums from roadside stands, flashlight searches for eels at night in the river, and playing board games.

Opoutere happens to be the best place to view the New Zealand night sky in January in the entire country. Opoutere boasts it's own resident professional astronomer for five weeks every summer. He comes from Wellington to study the stars and gives evening lectures to everyone interested. The children were fascinated and asked great questions. We were fortunate enough to be present the week that McNaught's comet streaked past. We got to view it in the astronomers telescope and see it with the naked eye. (Click on the above image to make it larger.) This was a rare and unforgettable experience!

To see a map of the places we traveled so far in this series, click on this link: <http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&ie=UTF8&ll=-40.359103,172.875366&spn=8.067848,12.128906&z=6&msid=116765397961150020384.000451b63510a46db34d4>