Derby and the Wolf

 I'm just going to say here that I think the derby car thing that the scouts do is a good idea.  But PLEASE next time can we start on time!  When we got there at 9am and the track wasn't even there yet, I started thinking bad thoughts.  So two hours later they finally started the races.  I'll just leave it at that. 

 Here is the car.  He wanted it to look like a shark.  He did a great job I think.  Dad helped with the band saw and Sam did the sanding and the painting.  He didn't win any races, and he was feeling kinda sad about it.  Buy we just told him Sharks are faster in water. I don't think that helped any.

 Keaton had a great time.  They had one of his favorite snack foods.  This one was giant size!!!!!

 To help Sam feel better, I let him play with my camera, and he always likes taking funny pictures.

 Good 'ol Sam!

 Sam took a picture of the track, that we waited 2 hours for.  As for me I would just like to block this day out of my memory.  Bret is taking Keaton to his, when its his turn to go.

 And this is a good way to sum up this part of my blog.

 Last week the kids had an early out on Thursday and no school on Friday.  So we decided to take the kids to The Great Wolf Lodge, in Kansas City.  This is our 5th year going, and Amber's last time.
 

 We had our trusty and very good looking driver to take us safely there.

 We had the kid cabin room.  Everyone was happy with their beds but Amber.  She had a hide-a-way bed in a not so good couch and it wasn't all that comfortable. 

 Sam is ready to go swimming!

 3.....2......1......

 BLAST OFF!!!!!!

 There's a giant bucket that dumps 1000, gallons of water every 5 minutes.  One of the favorites!

 This is Bret, Ben, Sam, Keaton is in the blue shorts.  The kid in the black and green is not mine.

 So after a long couple of days swimming, water sliding, and running around the hotel playing MagiQuest, this interactive wizard  treasure hunt fighting dragons thing  that they have there we had some downtime with the DS's and....

 Ice cream.

On Saturday afternoon, we left the Lodge, and drove to the Buells.  It's always so nice to see them. Jennifer and Mike, there kids, and Eric and Megan, came over as well, and we had a yummy dinner with them and had so much fun talking and visiting.  Sunday morning we drove to the new Temple in Kansas City.  So very beautiful!!!!!  I can't wait to go back on April 18th to the open house.  We drove back to Omaha and went to Sheri and Derrick's house for the blessing of little Cameron, and had a wonderful dinner with them, and all of our family here in the Midwest!  It was a great weekend.

Taking a break

Thought I'd take a little break from reading the great words of Isaiah, and give you an update on what has been going on. 

Spring has come early this year, and last week it almost felt like June instead of March.  Highs in the upper seventy's and lower 80's  with that touch of humidity in the air was very nice indeed after a not so bad winter.  The boys are breaking in the pond early and even though the water is still very cold, they wanted to be the first one's to jump in the water off the dock.  Ben will get that prize this year. Sam and Keaton were happy with just playing on the beach and wading in the water.  We have a pair of Geese that have made our pond their home and it's fun to watch them gently glide across the water.  They don't seem to be bothered by the cars coming and going from our house, and kids running around.  Hope they stay for awhile. 

Jaime is very busy with her job at the Wellness Center, teaching classes, personal training, and helping anywhere she can.  She's also a councilor in the Young Women, so she's busy with those activities as well.  She also is discovering the lovely running conditions we have here in the midwest.  Mostly the wind  is hard to deal with all year round, but in spring it seems like it never stops blowing. But at least it's a warm wind from the south. Then there is the rain that appears quite often, making the dirt roads nice and mushy.  We're trying to keep from driving her crazy, and so happy she is here with us!

Amber is winding up her Senior year.  She is in the last few weeks of Jazz band. They have state on April 10th and then the final Jazz dance at the school, where they get to play in front of the community. It's just a great time and comfortable atmosphere.  (no judges)  They will be doing a final farewell to Mr Britt, the director, for he is leaving Harlan this year and moving to Des Moines to be with his new wife.  The poor man has been commuting from Des Moines this whole school year. Bless him. Graduation is May 20th, coming closer and closer.  Amber also got accepted into BYU!!  But she has to start the summer semester, June 18th.  So we will be taking her out there the first part of June.  A LOT sooner than we expected!  We will all miss her walking around the house singing with her ear buds in, hearing her beautiful piano playing, her hair dryer during the early morning hours, and the strong spirit she brings to our home.   (sniff)

Ben is slowly transforming into a man.  He keeps looking at the peach fuzz on his upper lip and saying its getting darker.  Still no voice change though.  He is growing a bit! He had Piano Festival last week and he got a Superior ranking, that's the highest you can get, and he received a trophy for sticking with piano for 5 years! 

Sam is still being Sam. He also got a superior for Piano Festival, and when we got in the car, he said, "Thanks mom."  I said, "For what?"  He said, "For signing me up for piano lessons!"  I guess he likes it which made me happy.   He had his pinewood derby for scouts last weekend and although his car looked so cool as a shark, it would've been faster in the water I think.  He came in last all four times his car raced.  He had a little moment with tears, which he said he was only crying because his mouth hurt.  But I new better.  He's such a tender heart. He's doing excellent in school as well.    Keaton is just trying to make his mark in the family.  He's going to go down as the best and loudest burp-er of us all. He's kinda hitting that annoying stage as well. Lots of loud and weird noises coming out of his mouth all - the - time!  He sings in the bathroom just as loud as he possibly can, and is very vocal when he's playing his DS or the Wii.  Despite this ruckus he makes at home, he is a perfect little angle at school.  I get emails from his teacher saying how well behaved he is all the time, and how she can always count on him to listen and follow directions.  He's also a great helper in class with the other students and is so kind to everyone.  So he must save it all for home.  Which is just fine with me. 

Bret is working hard so we can pay our taxes, and pay off all the land we've bought around here.  Also saving up for a trip to South Africa this July for our 20th wedding anniversary!  I'm so excited!!!  Amber will be at school, so it will just be Jaime home with the boys.  They'll have a great time!

I'm looking forward to the end of the school year just so I can have a break from morning seminary.  I've loved it, but just ready for the summer.  :)

My garden is a mess, so I'm trying to find some time to go out and get all that cleaned up.  Anyone want to come help????

Mr. Ben goes to Washington.

Every year the 8th grade class has an opportunity to go to Washington DC.  They have to pay their own way, and during the school year they do fund raising opportunities to help with the costs.  I went with Amber 5 years ago, and had such a great time, I wanted to go with Ben as well.  It's through a program called World Strides.  They meet you at the airport in DC, and take you to your hotel and take you all over DC.  We started out getting on the bus to take us to the Omaha.

Our leader gave us all bright yellow shirts to wear so we wouldn't lose anybody!  See if you can find Ben in this picture at the airport.  We had a direct flight, and went strait to the hotel and tried to sleep, that first night is always exciting and the kids aren't interested in sleep.  The next morning breakfast was at 6:30, and there were quite a few sleepy kids. 

First stop, day one.  The Iwo Jima memorial, sorry I didn't get a full picture.  The weather was a little cool, and drizzleing, but warmer than Iowa! We also went to the Arlington Cemetary, and saw the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solder, and a few class members were able to lay a wreath at the tomb, which is a very special honor.  Also while that was happening, there was a fighter jet fly-by right over our heads!  I don't know what it was for but it was incredible sounding!  There were four of them, and just as they got over head, the middle two split and dove strait up!  So amazing, and loud!!! 

We visited the white house.  Such a treat.  We walked all the way around it.  Very pretty, and well guarded!  

Washington Monument.   With Amber's class we got to go up inside it to the top.  But last August they had a pretty good earth-quake and it had some damage to it, so no visitors.  This picture was taken at the WW2 memorial.  It didn't quite turn out.  Ben should've had his hand under it so it looked like he was holding it.  But it was raining and I was trying to hurry because we were supposed to be getting on the bus.

 This is a new monument they have done for Martin Luther King Jr.  It's HUGE, I've noticed everything in DC is HUGE.  Notice his legs and feet aren't finished.  They did that on purpose to represent that his work wasn't finished before he died. 

This is a picture of us in the Fords Theater, where Lincoln was shot.  They had some local schools doing a little presentation on the speeches that Lincoln was famous for.
 

This is the big statue of Albert Einstein.  You can climb up it and touch his nose to make you smarter.  At least that's what they say. 

The whole group at the Air and Space museum.  Ben had a lot of fun here.  It's one of his favorites.

The Lincoln Memorial

 We went to Mount Vernon, which was the home of George Washington.  This is my favorite place.

Ben really getting into the Inaguration of George Washington.  Sure wish he could come back and fix things!  I think he would say "This is not what I meanteth!

 This is at the 9-11 memorial at the Pentagon.  This had a different meaning to me.  All the memorials in Washington are for events that happend long ago before I was born.  This happend during my lifetime.  Something I watched happen.  It's kinda weird to think that none of these kids remember it.  It doesn't seem that long ago.

 Ben's ultimte favorite place was the Museum of Natural History.  He's a dinosauer freek! 



Driving to the airport.  It was a busy 3 days!!!!

We covered almost everything you are able to see in this historical city!  The Holocaust museum, The spy museum, the American history museum, the Jefferson Memorial, the Korean war, Vietnam, and Rosevelt memorials. We took the subway, to see the National Cathedral, had lunch at Union Station, saw General Robert E. Lee's home, and much more!!! 

I really enjoyed going. Sam wants to go when he's in 8th grade, I keep giving Bret an opportunity to go, but he know's how much I like history, and he said I could go with him too!  So hopefully things will work out so we can go again.