Happy New Year!

We spent the last night of 2008 with Charmaine's family, which has been the tradition for the last several years. We eat, play games and ring in the new year together. Well, technically we toot our horns at 9:00 p.m. which is the new year in Boston. :) This way Felix is still able to wake up for work in the morning!

Tonight we played a new game for us called "In a Pickle," which was a fun word game to stretch our brains. We made a lot of noise and then said goodbye for the last time in 2008. See you next year...

Disneyland Day

We surprised the kids today with a trip to Disneyland. They had never been there before, and have often talked about how much fun it would be to go. We were not disappointed! The weather seemed questionable with predictions of much rain, but we just tucked an umbrella in our backpack and went anyway. The rain ended up discouraging a lot of people, and we spent the first half of our day breezing through lots of rides with no lines! It would have been fun if some California friends or family could have joined us, but maybe we can work it out next time. The park and the characters were decorated for Christmas.

One of our first stops was a sidewalk show in front of the Golden Horseshoe, and they pulled Clint from the audience to be part of the performance. He had to repeatedly yell out, "Ba Humbug!" He was a natural and we were so proud. We later enjoyed one show with some hilarious bluegrass performers.

There were lots of new rides since Clint and Becky were last there (more than 10 years ago). Some favorites were the Pooh ride in the Hundred Acre Woods, the jungle boat ride, It's a Small World (Christmas style), the parade, Dumbo's ride, and teacups. We probably should've skipped the Matterhorn and the monorail. Nemo's ride wasn't really worth the long line.


We have been collecting the smashed pennies on our travels for about a year, so we added to our collection with several neat coins here. We missed the princesses despite our plans to see them, but managed to squeeze in some yummy giant ice cream cones. It was certainly beautiful with all the Christmas decorations. There were several opportunities for "snow" to fall on us. Sarah couldn't get over how pretty the castle was with all the lights, and everything was so "enchanting."

Disneyland was so much fun we could hardly break away! We slapped a set of mouse ears on each kid and headed out, wishing for just a little more time. It was pretty close to midnight when we made our way to the car. It would have been nice if we could have just let a magical elephant fly us back home!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

To Grandmother's house we go! We're off on our Thanksgiving adventure starting at Clint's mom's house. We arrived late last night, and made it to most of Sabbath School and church.

Then we came back to her home for the first of our Thanksgiving celebrations on this vacation. We had more food than we could eat (of course) and enjoyed some of the new recipes she tried. It is a challenge to make a vegetarian Thanksgiving without nuts out of consideration for Ben's allergies, but she really pulled out all the stops.

After lunch, we were so stuffed we needed to have some activity, so we went geocaching! What a surprise, I know. Anyway, we had some fun with searching for caches in her town and went to a park in town which was a blast for the kids.

Tomorrow we leave her and drive to the airport to catch a plane to Vegas for the next phase of our Thanksgiving adventure. Thanks to Grammie for a wonderful weekend!

Festival Festivities

Tonight was a fall festival at the church where the kids go for Adventurers and Pathfinders. Becky helped with the big Pathfinder silent auction to raise money for the club to go to the BIG camporee in Osh Kosh this August. Ben helped with the Adventurer club booth, and had fun showing the kids how to get through the maze. Sarah helped with making/selling burgers, and the face painting booth. There were lots of booths for kids and grown-ups too.

I'm sure it will be even better next year. So many great donations for the silent auction, and we ended up with a few items when we left too!

Brilliant Colors

The trees have been taking our breath away with bright reds and shocking yellows. Today we paused after church to capture this red beauty on our way home. Already we are seeing the leaves falling and turning brown. We need to soak in the color for a little while longer!

Clowning Around

Sarah has been doing some face painting for some kid activities, so we have been accumulating face paints at home. Tonight they decided to do a big paint job!

They Survived!

We were glad to make it back home tonight. Two nights away was long enough and we were ready to see the kids again.

Grammie kept them fed and happy, and it seems they kept her happy too. They kept her up too late, got her lost for awhile looking for a park, and talked her into watching videos, but in spite of it all, they really had a memorable weekend. Grammie leaves us in the morning and we'll miss having her around. We'll have to come up with some excuse to get her back up here again soon.

Thoughts on Unicycles

Unicycles just have one wheel.

I'm noticing the teenage boys seem crazy about them.

The teenage girls seem crazy about the boys riding them.

Clint sometimes releases the teenager hiding inside.

Clint was able to ride a unicycle when I first knew him in Academy.

He says he has to do it because his Pathfinder boys are doing it.

There was a Unicycle Honor being offered at the retreat.

Somehow Clint's name showed up on the list to take this honor.

Maybe I should keep Sarah away from boys on unicycles?

Will Clint be the next one-wheel wonder? He's pretty good for not riding in a few years.

If the X-ray tech breaks a bone, who will take the X-ray?

Too many thoughts about unicycles?

Let us know if you feel a sudden desire to ride a unicycle after watching this video!

Pathfinder Leadership

Well, when we signed up for this Pathfinder Leadership weekend, we were anticipating some relaxing in such a lovely setting away from kids. We did enjoy some time to talk in the van on the way here. Once we arrived and saw the schedule, we were a bit surprised to learn that we would barely have a moment to ourselves.

We had meetings from early in the morning (before breakfast) and into the evening. We are on slightly different meeting "tracks," but most of our meetings overlap. I'm working on an Adventurer track and Clint is getting his counselor training for Pathfinders. The good news was every meeting was really great and I am so thankful to have had this opportunity. The whole weekend has been well planned and executed. Since this is my first time here, I have to be careful to get to the right building at the right time. The other attendees have been great as well.

Our banquet tonight was optional for outfits - past, future or heavenly Pathfinders. We were thinking of a few ideas, but didn't have anything worked out when some friends learned they were unable to come. They passed along their WONDERFUL heavenly outfits so they would get used. We had to work on placing the patches on the sashes, and a bit of pinning, but otherwise it was very easy. We couldn't say no, and we had fun going as heavenly Pathfinders. We ended up winning a prize! The photos are all a bit dark, but hopefully you get the idea.

There were some very creative outfits - a caveman Pathfinder, a Native American Pathfinder, and several in old uniforms from parents or grandparents. Our friend, Felix, wore his uniform from when he was in Malaysia which was a great blue color.

After the banquet, we changed and met back for some free time. It was late, but we agreed to play one or two quick games of Boggle. We pulled out other games but didn't see anyone else interested, so agreed to just play each other. After a moment, a few people joined so we played some more. I think we had more than 10 people at the Boggle table for one game. It was crazy! We kept playing "one more" until we were really tired and called it quits. It was a nice break after so many meetings.

Grammie and a Puzzle

We were so happy to get home from school and piano lesson to find Grammie had made it here for her weekend visit. She lives a bit too far away to see her very often, so we're always glad when she can make the trip. Ben had an idea to put together a new frog puzzle sent for his frog birthday from Grandpa John & Grandma Hazel. Everyone joined in the fun, and we even included some reinforcement from our neighbor, Charmaine. Teamwork was the key word for this project. Before we knew it, the puzzle was done and we were all in the mood for a good evening together.

Grammie is here because Becky & Clint are heading out for a Pathfinder Leadership Training Weekend, and she is brave enough to stay along with the kids while we're gone. This will be our first try at this, and we hope it will all go smoothly. We leave tomorrow afternoon and return on Sunday evening.

Matching Girls

Sarah's school was celebrating Red Ribbon Week with a matching day. Her buddy, Krista, suggested yellow and white tops, and they looked pretty good together. It was a very positive week with lots of emphasis on making good life choices and saying NO to drugs!

Apple Pickin' Time

We have been enjoying wonderful apples for several weeks and feeling so thankful to be in a land with so many apple choices. Today Ben traveled with me to the apple growers where we sorted through big bins of less-than-perfect apples.

Today we thought our timing was perfect because we found so many great apples. We found so many giant Fujis with no noticable blemishes, crisp Goldens, bright Red Delicious, and some Grannies and Braeburns to fill up our box.

Ben enjoyed choosing apples with unusual shapes, while I chose either giant or snack size apples. Our friends are so impressive with their abilities to make applesauce and do other canning, but we're content to just eat the apples or bake them into something yummy.

Last Days of Fall

We sort of enjoy the fall season, and watch for trees changing color or piles of leaves under the trees. Today we pulled over to catch a couple of family photos under some red and yellow trees on the way to a Pathfinder movie and burgers fundraising event.

Laundry Day

I thought my days of finding Ben playing in the laundry basket were long gone! Guess I was wrong. Today he was having a ball playing with his favorite dinosaur and bird, complete with the blanket from his crib days. I wasn't too disappointed because it gave me a good excuse to put off laundry for another day!

Sarah Meets Fish

Sarah's 5th & 6th grade class was treated to a great experience today. They have been studying fish in science class, and today a guest came in to help them dissect the fish. Now, one might think a typical 10-year old girl would not care for dissecting any creature.

However, Sarah is not exactly typical! She loves this hand-on, real science stuff. She couldn't wait for the day to come and was thrilled to learn her two partners didn't want anything to do with the fish. "That means I'll be able to do the whole thing!" Well, Ben and Becky stopped by after his music class, and discovered Sarah diving into her project with enthusiasm. It was a blue mackerel and her favorite thing was when she got to pop the swim bladder. It went flat like a balloon.

Life with Allergies

Generally speaking, Ben handles his allergies to tree nuts and peanuts really well. He is cautious about eating things people give him or eating at restaurants. We feel grateful there have not been any reactions in several years, but realize it is largely due to efforts to avoid all nuts or items made on machines with nuts.

Today was one of those days when he had to be brave and let them take his blood. He is comfortable with the Lab team, and really doesn't complain. We're all praying for some improvement in his levels so at least it won't be so life-threatening if he had a nut by mistake sometime. We'll let you know what the professionals think about his status in the months ahead.

Ben & Sarah's Art Works

Today Ben was looking out the window and noticed the pretty sunflowers. This gave him an inspiration so he grabbed some paper and crayons, and went to work drawing sunflowers. After the sunflower picture was finished, he was in the mood to keep going. He colored several creations and posted them around the room. He made a sign for his new art studio - "Ben's Art Works." The sign was later ammended to include Sarah since it really was a family studio.

Corn Maze

We were so glad to join our church family at the corn maze today! Clint and Sarah came straight over after the Pathfinder campout. This year the maze was a lighthouse with boats and dolphins offshore. We went through several times in the light and after dark too.

Ben in Motion

Ben was most excited to discover a new scooter for his birthday. It is just right for him and he's been spending lots of time working on scooter skills. Today he was showing me how fast he can travel!

Clint & Sarah are off on a Pathfinder campout so we've been having fun hanging out together. We visited with two different families on Sabbath! We're glad to have each other, and appreciate the nice weather for scootering, but will be happy when the family is all back under the same roof.

Quilting Frenzy

A group of women at church banded together to work on a quilt for a friend, Jonna, facing a serious cancer diagnosis. She just learned her diagnosis, and everyone wanted to do something quickly for her.

I was amazed at the whole process. Someone bought material and cut everything out one Sunday. Then the next day we showed up with six sewing machines, two people manning ironing boards, and another couple working at cutting/trimming stations. In one night, we were able to get most of the top put together! It was amazing. Then the next night we ran into issues with the power out, but they were able to get it assembled so the next day it was finished quickly and taken to someone to do the "quilting" work. When she learned of our cause, she offered to do it without charge. God was really working with us as we pulled together. By Friday we had the finished the quilt and had it delivered to her. We're hoping Jonna will feel the love of her friends and God wrap around her with this quilt.

It was inspiring for so many reasons, and I was just thankful to be part of it. I have minimal sewing abilities/experience, so this project never would have seemed possible to me. Now I'm wishing I could call on everyone to help me finish the quilt my mom had started! It would be nice to do one for happy reasons.