2013 Ice Sculptures

This has been an EXTREMELY cold winter.  We were in the negatives continuously from the second week of December until the end of  January.  With cold weather comes outdoor ice hockey and our traditional ice sculptures!

This year's theme was high school mascots for the valley.  Of course we were especially partial to the Alamosa Mean Moose.   It will be hard for Brandon to transition to being a Pelican, but I'm sure he will adjust.

We were all freezing cold.  It was deceptively cold.  We only lasted for an hour.

There were the Cowboys.

The Tigers.

The Falcons.

The Vikings.

And something else that I'm not sure of.

It was fun to watch them work on it.

Danielle especially loved it.

Eagle Ceremony

Brandon's Eagle Court of Honor was held, Sunday, January 20, 2013.  I was surprised by how moving the ceremony was for me, and how wonderful a celebration it was.   It was a simple ceremony as is typical of our style, but still nice.

He was able to move his name up to the Eagle slot on their troop recognition plaque.

 He sat with his friends that he has bonded with over the past several years.  They have become good friends, and it will be hard for him to leave them in four months.

Dick Williams gave a brief description of an Eagle Scout.  He was the person that Brandon chose to give his Mentor's pin to.  He was both surprised and honored.  He has been involved in scouting for many years, but this was his first Mentor's pin.  We are grateful for his influence in Brandon's life.

Keith Vance was also a wonderful and hardworking scoutmaster.  He made all the difference in all the experiences Brandon has had.  He was the perfect mix of working on Merit Badges while still having fun.

I was able to pin Brandon's Eagle badge on his shirt.

He then was able to pin on my Eagle Mother's pin.

As well as Nathan's Father's pin.  That is the only father's pin he has received so far.

Then he spoke to the group and showed the responsible young man that he has grown into.  Obtaining an award of Eagle Scout is a rite of passage that really does introduce our young men into manhood.  I am proud of him.

He was welcomed into the Eagle's nest as its newest member.  Included were Bishop Randy Jackson,  Rod Holloway, Torben Walters, Bishop Jeff Motz, Keith Vance, Rich Loosbrock,  David Douglas, Dillon Vance, Dustin Southway, Martin Sowards, and Kurtis Cooper.  They have all had an influence on his life.  What a great group of men.

What a fine young man.  He will do many good things in his life.  This in only the beginning.

Boxes

This month I have started to pack up the lesser used items in our home.  We have lived in this house for 6 1/2 years, which is the longest length of time that I have lived in the same house.  I consider myself a simple person with few possessions, but I still am amazed at how much we have accumulated in such a relatively brief period of time. 

I packed the Christmas decorations with more care this year and taped the boxes shut, knowing that next year, we will celebrate the holidays in a different home.  I feel a rush of different emotions at times like this.  I will miss our life we have created, but at the same time I feel a thrill of excitement at the new adventures in our path.

 

How can we possibly have so many books?  I vow to not buy another book until we read all the ones we currently own.  Also, I've decided that I like living with half as many toys.  I will rotate toys forevermore.  They play better with the ones they have and I pick up fewer toys.

The one thing I have enjoyed less is keeping the house clean for perspective house buyers.  We have had a couple people want to see it, which gives me hope that we will sell it before we move, but I feel a compulsive need to stay on top of the cleanliness of our carpets and windows.  Some days I hope the house sells quickly, even though we would have to find temporary lodging.  That way we could buy another house and know where we will be living.  Other days, I don't feel in any hurry and figure we may just rent a house until we can sell this one.  Whenever I feel particularly stressed and pray about it, I feel a calm that all will happen as it should in the proper order.

I would really like to put some roots down when we move and stay for a longer period of time.  It will be nice to be so close to our family in a more mild climate.  It is hard for kids to move consistently, and I would like for our four older ones to graduate from the same High School.  

 

At the same time, I cannot plan that far, and I have no crystal ball.  As I pack my belongings into boxes, I accept the uncertainty of my future and agree to take it one step at a time.

Texas!

Now that we are moving to Oregon, I feel an increased need to do a few things.  One thing that I have always wanted to do is see Texas and Oklahoma, while they are still so close.  We decided it was now or never and embarked on a crazy trip.  The day after Christmas our family pulled out of the garage at 4 am sharp.  We drove through the corner of New Mexico and crossed the border into Texas just as the sun was beginning to rise.  It was a beautiful sight.  We spent 15 hours of that day driving and with the time change, checked into our hotel at 10 pm.  It went amazingly well.

The next day we woke up and headed to the Houston Children's museum.  It is ranked as the #1 children's museum in the U.S. by Parent's magazine.  I think it is up there with many we have been to, but it was a little crowded for my taste.  I didn't realize until we got there that Houston is the 4th largest city in the country.  It seemed to go on and on.  The older boys didn't enjoy it as much as they would have 5 years ago, but the younger kids ranked it their favorite part of the trip.

Danielle was especially in heaven!

They loved climbing in this 3 story maze.  Nathan was a good sport and took Danielle through it.  I opted to snap photos.

The next day was the big event that really prompted this trip.  There are 3 Saturn V Rockets that are left on the earth.  One was a test rocket that was never intended to be used, but the other two were built for missions that ended up being cancelled.  We have seen the two that are in Florida and Alabama.  The final one was at the Houston Space Center.

We went on a tram ride to "THE" mission control and the building that housed the Saturn V rocket. Danielle was kind enough to fall asleep right as we got to the rocket.  She slept through the outstanding tour given by a retired NASA employee that was fascinating.  I was interested to learn that the first and last words spoken on the moon were "Houston."  (Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." and "We're On Our Way Houston.")

It was amazing to see the place where so much history occured.  The buildings were built to look like a college campus to promote the feeling of learning and cooperation.

I have a similar picture of this in Florida.  2012:
 

2008:

 

 They have really grown up.

The boys all went on a fun ride.  It was a really fun day.

We took one night to drive out to the Houston Temple.  It looked like Texas to me.

 The drive home was a little more rough because of our many hours in the car.  We stayed the night at Oklahoma City and saw the Oklahoma City memorial which was quite peaceful and beautiful.  We discovered an amazing hamburger/ ice cream joint called Braums.  I will forever crave their food.  Hopefully we can get back some day. 

The kids liked joking about how everything is bigger in Texas.  I must say that we went to the unequivocally largest gas station that I have ever encountered.  There was even a woman who worked full-time keeping the restrooms clean!  We also ate at a restaurant made famous by their fruitcake.  I'm not a big fan of fruitcake, but this was amazing.  It better be for $67.  We enjoyed the free taste test.  We finally pulled into Alamosa on the evening of the 30th to enjoy between -22 and -30 degree weather the rest of the week.  I must say that I won't miss this bitter cold.  I now have been to 31 states....only 19 to go!