Pinewood Derby Dash

The Pinewood Derby is one of those scouting rites of passage that all of our boys have gleefully anticipated. This year was no exception as Rex had his first and Bowen his third. There are always the weeks leading up to the races in which the boys debate about what will be the best design for a speedy car. They also take great care in choosing the color of their mighty racer. The common thread year after year has been Theo. He always shares in the enthusiasm of all the planning. He guides. He suggests. He encourages. I love watching the process unfold over hours and hours of cutting, sanding, more cutting and sanding, chiseling, painting, hammering, drilling, and gluing.

The derby was put on this year by the Amarillo Stake. This includes the four wards that are in Amarillo, but also many smaller wards and branches from around the Texas panhandle. Some families came from as far as two hours away to race with our local kids. There were a total of 32 cars that raced, and it was a morning filled with excitement. Rex finished in a very respectable 11th place and Bowen was 5th. Two more cars for the history books.

Touring Texas

This spring break was kind of a last minute affair for our us. Theo and I had talked a little bit about what we would do over the break. This is actually going to be the last time Theo is off school at the same time as the kids until Christmas (boo). Of course, I had all kinds of ideas about what we ought to do. Many of those ideas included things like digging up half the grass in our backyard in order to put in a vegetable garden, or landscaping in the front yard. We could've been scraping our popcorn ceilings, or painting the boys' bathroom. You get the idea.

I also had some grand designs to travel.

Sadly, none of our family or friends had the same week of spring break that we did, so a trip to visit was out. We started looking at what kinds of places were not too far from Amarillo. We are hoping to see more of this great state during our tenure here. Just in case you have never looked closely at a Texas map, it is a HUGE state, and everything is really really far apart! Not to mention, Amarillo is kind of in the middle of nowhere (kind of like Page, is there a pattern here?).

In the week leading up to spring break, Theo had a slew of big midterm tests, so he was essentially MIA in our own home. So, I took the proverbial Texas longhorn bull by the horns and went into planning mode (one of my favorite modes of all). I landed on the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. This is about 5ish hours away, and being a very large metropolitan area has lots to do. In my internet browsing, I discovered that Six Flags was open for one week only, the very week of our spring break! OK, one big draw. I found lots of other fun things for us to do in a variety of price ranges, and some hotels to boot. I was armed with information galore.

On the Friday that kicked off spring break, Theo had his biggest test yet, pharmacology, not his fave. I had avoided bothering him at all costs as he feverishly prepared for this monster test. That afternoon, he finished the exam, and we went out to lunch as a sort of sigh of relief/nice to see you for the first time in a long while kind of date. Theo was clearly relieved to have that hurdle behind him, and so we were then able to get down to brass tacks and decide once and for all what we would be doing for the next several days. I made my case for our little mini-vacation, and victory, Theo was on board. (Timing can be everything).

Sunday after church, we jumped in the car and headed south. We arrived at our hotel just in time to enjoy some cookies from the lobby, watch a little TV, and hit the hay. Monday was our big Six Flags day. This was going to be the first time our kids had really gone to a big amusement park (other than Disneyland), with really big rides. It worked out great with me and the youngers taking it more easy while the olders and dad hit all the scariest thrill rides (yes they did the one pictured above, the Batman). This is also the first time we have done an amusement park with the benefit of multiple cell phones. How nice to text and keep track of each other with such minimal effort! The weather was perfect, warm, not too hot, sunny with a gentle breeze, perfect! We got to the park right as it opened which enabled us to ride tons of rides with minimal waiting. By the time the lines got really long in the afternoon, the kids were done thrill seeking. Here are a few snaps from Six Flags day.

Ready to Ride!

Bo takes us for a drive

Crazy brothers

Say cheese

Waiting in line

I'm tall enough!

Me and my sweetie

Give me a bite!

Spring Break!

On Tuesday, we had a few different options for the kids, and they ultimately settled on going to the Dallas World Aquarium (I may have used some of my persuasive powers on this one). Most of my boys really love to read non-fiction stuff, and a lot of it is stuff about animals. Rex has been especially into this kind of thing lately and was so excited to see a "real live shark"!

We made a big effort to get there very close to the time it opened which turned out to be a  very smart move. The place was busy, but we got right in and were able to see everything with no waiting. It was awesome! There were tons of cool exhibits and animals. My favorite part was Rex acting as tour guide. I was astonished by the sheer volume of information that kid had. He knew more about the animals than I ever would have dreamed! It was amazing!

Wild!

Did you see that?!

Sharks!

Lovin it

Meet you on Corbin St.



After taking in the sites at the aquarium, we headed out. After a long stop at an outlet mall and lots of driving, we got home on Tuesday night, tired and happy. This was a fantastic foray into the heart of Texas!

Bringing our Traditions to Texas- Blue and Gold

This week, it was time again for the Blue and Gold Banquet. In Page, one of our traditions was to have the boys and their dads participate in a cake decorating contest. This was something we have always enjoyed. Since I am now the Cub Committee chair, I have some sway over the big activities. I told our leaders about the cakes, and they liked the idea.

I was a little worried as we planned and prepared for this event. Our pack meetings have not been well attended since we have been here. I really wanted to get lots of families out. All of the den leaders really pulled together to do their part, and we had all of our regular scouts come out along with their families. It was awesome! The theme was Resourcefulness, and there were a total of 11 cakes to be judged. We had some good eatin when it was all said and done.

Happy Birthday to the Cub Scout program!

Rex and his recycle bin, complete with worms and pop bottles

Bowen loves baseball

Look close and you will see the pool of blood a plastic soldier was laying in

a compost heap and an oil slick

classic Blue and Gold

A cozy Campfire

a gourmet raspberry delight, I have a feeling there was a mom involved here

Swiss Army and a fisherman

Ye Shall Not Fear

A couple of months ago, our bishop issued a challenge to the families in our ward to have their 72 hour kits by March. This is something that we have had over the years, and maybe like some of you, we let it get outdated. It was time for a re-vamp.

We got individual backpacks for each of our boys. These I had actually purchased last fall when they had all of the back to school stuff at Walmart. I always try to stock up on school supply type stuff there in the fall since the prices are crazy cheap at that time of year. We had a couple of FHE nights where we talked about what kinds of emergencies could arise, and what we should do in those situations. I was proud of the boys as they seemed pretty savvy.

I think the phase they enjoyed most was when we actually went to the store to purchase the items we needed to complete our kits (mostly food). With most of the menu planned, we let the kids each choose a container of chips (in a cylinder to prevent squishing) and a package of candy (no melty chocolate). They loved it.

In the whole process, we realized we really do have most of the things that we needed, but having them corralled in one place was the challenge. The other thing we had a hard time with was choosing clothes to put in the bags. We opted for any jeans that had holes in the knees (lots to pick from there) and long sleeved t-shirts (they can always shorten the sleeves if it is hot). I love one of the rotation ideas that I heard years ago (I think from sis, Kim) to take out your food over conference weekend and eat it. That way, every six months you have new stuff.

Doctrine and Covenants 38:30

30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms... but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

Hopefully, we will never need our kits, but I feel great about trying to be prepared.

I Heart the Dentist

The week before Valentines Day, I attended a technology conference in Austin with several of my co-workers. While I was away, Rex apparently developed a toothache. I am not sure what it is, but in our household, there seems to be some kind of feature on our phone that blocks anyone of the male persuasion from phoning anyone that you might need to schedule some kind of appointment with, think doctor, pest-control guy, dentist, you get the gist. So by the time I got home on Friday evening, poor Rex was none too happy with the discomfort he was feeling. Since we were now into the weekend, he was going to have to tough it out for a couple more days.

Monday rolled around, and I was able to get Rex an appointment with a pediatric dentistry place that had two offices, one for regular patients, and one for "emergencies". With all of the pain, I felt we definitely qualified for the latter. We were scheduled for Tuesday morning, and I arranged to be off work to take care of the said toothache.

We arrived bright and early for our 9:00am appointment, and got all of the necessary paperwork taken care of. As we waited our turn, the waiting room quickly swelled with other patients. About 45 minutes after our scheduled appointment, they took Rex back (parents are only allowed for kids under 4).

After another long wait, one of the dental assistants came out to tell me that they were going to have to crown the tooth that had the cavity in it. With a silver crown!! What, my kid is going to have a silver tooth?! OK, trying to be cool about it. The tooth is near the back, it wouldn't be too noticeable right?

More waiting.

Return of the dental assistant.

OK, they are actually going to have to PULL the tooth because it is too damaged to save. Great! We are now two hours into our visit. About 20 minutes later, the same assistant returns for the third time to tell me Rex is coming out of the gas, and I can come on back. He is laying in the dentists' chair stiff as a board watching cartoons on the ceiling with the little oxygen mask over his nose and a big wad of gauze in his mouth.

As I took Rex to the overflowing waiting room to sit while I settled up our bill, the receptionist informs me that I need to schedule TWO more appointments. Wait, What?! Yeah, so they have to take an impression of the gap, make a spacer, and then have him come in again to have it put in so his teeth won't drift. Why did they not take the impression while he was still in the chair feeling all happy with the gas? Good question that I never did get a great answer to. I convinced them that we did indeed intend to pay that day, and they could do the impression NOW.

Poor kid.

Back to the chair. Another shot. More fiddling around in his mouth with a big medal band and then a lump of clay looking stuff. This round was short but not pleasant for any involved.

Three and a half hours after arriving, we were finally on our way home for lots of soft foods like pudding, yogurt, and apple sauce. Popsicles saved the day. The one small favor was the fact that Rex had already had his Valentines Day Party the Friday before, so he didn't miss that. In a cruel twist of fate adding insult to injury, he was now unable to eat any of his candy!

Happy Valentines Day!

You Never Know



One of the things that I have really enjoyed about going back to work outside of my home is the opportunity to interact with people that are not of my faith. In Page, the vast majority of my closest friends were LDS women in the throes of raising their LDS families. In our small town of about 7000-8000 people, there were five wards (congregations) Here in Amarillo, a town of about 200,000 with 4 wards, being a Mormon is more of a novelty.

I recently had an interesting conversation with one of my new co-workers that I had a lot of mixed emotions about. At first it was kind of scary, but ultimately very faith affirming and positive. The women who occupies the cubicle next to mine is a delightful woman named Janet. She had retired from Amarillo School District and has now come to work for the education center. She has been divorced for more than 20 years, loves to quilt, and dotes on her grandkids that live here in town. I adore her. She is also pretty religious. Many times as we have been getting to know each other better, I have felt her deep commitment to living a Christian life. I don't know which church she attends, but she is certainly devout.

So, one afternoon we were chatting as I shared with her the fact that I would be traveling to a memorial service in April for my Grandma that passed away in January. This led to inquiries about who in my family would be there and the like. I should insert here a note that I have had several occasions to describe the make-up of the family that I grew up in, including the number of siblings I have. I still have to catch myself and adjust when saying, "three brothers, two sisters". It still sounds weird. People have no idea the inner turmoil they have caused when they ask about our family demographics. Anyway, we started talking about siblings and our relationships with them. She talked a lot about a brother that she had struggled to have a relationship with in recent years because of his conversion to Buddhism. Without much forethought, almost to my own surprise, I started talking about Debbie/Weston. I usually avoid this topic if at all possible. Not because of embarrassment, but rather to avoid sensationalism or salaciousness. Unless people really know Weston and our family, I feel like it is a difficult matter to explain without sounding titalating.

Janet was naturally surprised and very gracious when I told her about our family struggles over the last several years. She got the cliffnotes version, but the most interesting part of the conversation wasn't really about Weston at all. I found that as I explained the unfolding of the events leading to where we all are now, I was able to share many aspects of my beliefs as a Latter Day Saint. Janet is always very careful to be respectful and appropriate, and obviously wanted to understand without being intrusive. We talked about things like the Plan of Salvation, the nature of our spirits, showing Christian love, the role of the Savior and the Atonement, lots of good stuff. I felt like if nothing else, our conversation gave her a real understanding that I am a Christian too, just like her. We share a lot of common beliefs.

When I came home from work that day, I told Theo that I was so excited to have had a missionary experience that day at work, but also how surprising it was in the way that it came about. As I tried to recount the things that were said, I was unable to articulate it in the same way that I had earlier. I suppose that is the way the Spirit works. He lends us the words we need when we need them.

Although I still have a lot to work through with the relationship I have with Weston, I am grateful that I have made a new realization. The experiences that we have had over the last several years have only stengthened my testimony, and they have given me a greater depth of understanding of a lot of gospel principles. I guess you never know what your struggles will bring, and you never know when or even how you will have a chance to share your testimony.

Christmas Southwestern Tour

For the Christmas break this year, our family was once again debating how we ought to spend our time off from school. The kids would have the standard two week break, and Theo would have his longest break of the year of four weeks. Then there was me at the new job. Only a week off for me between Christmas and the New Year. We decided that we would keep the plan in place to go to Durango first, then Salt Lake, and finally ending up in Page. Since I would have an abbreviated vacation, I would come home to Amarillo after the Salt Lake leg, and the family would continue on without me.

In the week leading up to Christmas, the boys (including Theo) ended their semester on Wednesday. The weather was nice, so Theo took the boys on another Palo Duro Canyon hike. This time they tackled the Lighthouse trail. I got to work Thursday, so I missed that one, but by Friday we were all officially on break together. In years past this would often be a very busy time of last minute shopping, parties, and family gatherings. Being here in Texas, we had our shopping done, and we were hanging out on our own. Kind of relaxing.

Christmas morning we had a snowy surprise. Although the forecast had called for sunshine and temps around 50, we woke up to snowfall which continued throughout the day. We are learning that a weather forecast here is not something you would want to bet money on. We did the usual gift opening and eating with plenty of time to get ready to go to church by 9am. Apparently our kids are not yet old enough to care about sleep more than gifts.

Christmas afternoon was devoted to packing our bags. Despite the dreadful weather, we had scheduled ourselves to leave for our big cross country trip. Monday morning, long before the sun came up, we loaded the kids and the dog into the SUV, put it into 4-wheel drive, and headed out into the frozen tundra. About 7 icy hours later, we arrived in Durango for a joyful reunion with the Gilleland clan. This was a quick one night only stop. We had originally planned to caravan to Salt Lake City together, but an unexpected surgery for John's mom required the Big G tribe to stay home to watch over their recovering grandma.

Once in Salt Lake we were able to spend several days with the Hannays and Grandma and Grandpa Ross. One evening we had a big family dinner at Kim's and we were joined by Weston (Debbie). You can read more about that here if you are not in the know. My parents had asked Theo and I ahead of time if we were okay with the kids hanging out with Weston. They have not seen him in about a year and a half. The physical changes would be obvious. We figured, no time like the present.

We had a very nice dinner, and once we had finished eating, many of us sat around playing card games. It was a fun filled and light hearted evening that passed without incident. In fact, it was probably the most enjoyable time I have had with Weston in a few years. A few hours later as we headed back to Grandma's to go to bed, Bowen asked Theo and I, "Who was that other person that was there?" I was pretty sure who he meant as we had all been playing together the last several hours. I played dumb and asked Bo who did he mean. He said, "The person at the table with the hat." With a sidelong glance to Theo I told him that person was Debbie. There was a pause. I went on to explain that Debbie wants to look like a boy and that she goes by a different name now. He and Rex asked several more questions, mostly related to how exactly a girl goes about growing facial hair. It was a bit awkward to say the least, but I think we handled it. Rex summed it up well when he said, "So it was like Debbie, in a disguise, like a Debbie disguise." Yeah, I don't even know what to do with that.

The following day, Theo, Drake, Corbin, and I got to go to the Jordan River temple with Nate to do baptisms. I couldn't believe how busy it was there! It was nice though. Even having to wait a long time, I liked having the quiet time to relax in the temple. That afternoon, Brad and Keryn came up with their brood and spent some time with us. Grandma was in and out since her mom was not doing very well. Altogether, it was a nice hang out together time.

The last thing on our agenda in Salt Lake was a visit to Temple Square to see the lights. This is something we have not done in many years. Brad and Keryn were going to come with us, but finally opted out. Luckily, it wasn't too cold, and we had a nice time cruising the grounds.

On the morning of New Years Eve, my boys loaded up and headed off to Page. I of course had to stay behind so I could catch a plane home on Sunday. I must say, I was very jealous that they were getting to go home to Page without me. I would like to say I had some great pictures that Theo took of all the merriment they made. That would work assuming Theo had taken any pictures! Oh well. The boys were able to reunite with friends and run around in their hometown.

I spent New Years Eve at Kim's with her and Steve and my parents. We played games and chatted. It was nice to be able to head to bed before midnight. I have really become fond of going to bed at an early hour. Late Sunday morning, Kim took me to the airport, and I got to fly home all by myself. It was weird getting back to our house and no one else being here.

I headed back to work Monday morning, and then later in the day I got a call from Theo. Rex and Bowen had both come down with stomach flu in the night. I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say, eventually all of the boys came down with it one at a time, they fell like dominoes. I felt a little guilty that Theo was on his own to deal with the plague, but not that bad. Sadly, with all of the germs abounding, there was a bit of a damper on the merry making. The rest of the boys' visit was spent quarantined at Grandma Martin's.

By the time they rolled back into Amarillo on Wednesday night, they had all pretty much recovered. I was so glad to have them back. Peace and solitude are only nice for so long! And so, another Christmas season has passed. We were so very fortunate to have seen so many of our loved ones. Happy New Year!