Pinewood Derby

This past week, the cub scouts had their annual Pinewood Derby!!! The boys were given their car kit two weeks ahead of time, with block of wood and wheels. Cameron decided on the design he wanted and dad helped him cut it out.



After a lot of sanding down, Cameron chose from the paints we had in our garage, what color he wanted to use for his car. He used brown, green and tan for a "camouflage" looking body. When dry, they attached the wheels, and added enough weight so that the car was the maximum 5 ozs allowed. (Wheels and weight are important factors when building a "winning" car).



Trevon brought one of his old Derby cars to the race - for fun. Corban held onto it through most of the Derby. After the cub scout races, he raced his car against Cameron's. ((Cameron's won!))



Cameron tied for first place at the Derby. He didn't lose a race. It was a lot of fun watching his car cross the finish line. He is lucky his dad has had lots of experience in building these cars, and that his Papa taught Mike how to build "winning" cars!



The cub scouts had a lot of fun racing their cars. They were all unique and fun to see race. Here, the boys hold up their cars before ending the night with rootbeer floats!

Yard Work

I love working outside in the yard. It seems to be good for both the body and spirit. This past week we have been helping my neighbor prune his peach orchard. There was (and still is) quite a bit of dead growth that needed to be trimmed off of the trees. We got a good start on it.



On Friday morning, after trimming an hour or so, Mike came into the house calling for me. I didn't think anything was serious, so I took my time getting to him. When I found him, he showed me a gash on the top of his head that he received as a limb had dropped on his head! Luckily I've had previous experience in such matters. Though a good gash, because of being in the hair, on the head, it could be left alone to heal on its own. We cleaned most of the blood off of his pounding head and soon he was out trimmimg again! I wanted him to put on a hard hat after that!




Our kids and I took turns helping to move the cut limbs into a row between the trees. It was fun working together outside and the trees are looking so much better. I was really happy that the weather was just right for working outside.



Cameron made a "fort" in the middle of the trimmings.






Kristi was a GREAT worker!



I found an old nest in one of the trees:

Lunch!

Last year, Cari had a group of friends that would come weekly to our house for lunch. This year, Trevon occasionally invites his friends over. This past week was one of those times. I like having his friends over because it gives me a chance to get to know his friends better. They are a great group of kids. Cari also joined the group, because a homemade lunch is so much better than anything else!



I made them Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Corn and a Tossed Green Salad. For dessert they had Peanut Blossom Cookies. YUM!!!

Chicken Enchiladas
1 can cream of chicken
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 pint sour cream
1 can green chili
1 chopped onion
corn tortillas
cooked, shredded chicken (3 cups)
2 c. grated cheese

Layer the bottom of a casserole dish with tortillas. Add a layer of sour cream mixture, followed by chicken and cheese. Repeat. Top with a layer of tortillas followed by sour cream mixture and cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 min.

Spanish Rice
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. salt
pepper
1 c. rice
1 1/2 c. water
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add rice and stir a few minutes. Add water, tomato sauce, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, simmering for 20 minutes.

Peanut Blossoms

1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. butter
1 c. peanut butter
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour

Mix all ingredients well. Shape into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Immediately press a chocolate candy kiss into each cookie.

ENJOY!!!

Star Stretch Game

Sadie invented a "fun" way to stretch your legs and get some exercise. I happened upon this happy group of children one evening and this is what they were doing: the "Star Stretch."

To play, simply sit your group of friends in a circle, with their toes together and legs straight. This will form a "star" rather than a circle. Then, get a playground ball (using two balls for a larger group), and roll it around the star.

When the ball comes to you, you roll it from toe, over your legs, to your other toe - to your neighbor's toe. The ball cannot be dropped or touch the ground. If it does, you are out of the game and the star becomes smaller, until one player remains (the "winner").



Also, if you bend your legs then you also are "out." All legs must remain straight, causing you to stretch as you roll the ball around. This is a fun and fast moving game and would be great for reunions or track meets!

Honors Orchestra

More music this week, like last! Sadie participated in the county school district's honor orchestra this past Friday and Saturday. Saturday night, we attended the concert. The songs chosen for this concert centered around the theme of "water." Each of the middle school orchestra teachers in our district directed the orchestra in a number. Here, Sadie's school teacher, Mrs. Thornton, leads them in playing America's Cup (Silva).

They also played Song of the Sea Mariner (Newbold), Over the Waves (Longfield), Riversong (Sharp), Ice Sculptures (Balmages), and Pirates of the Carribean (Badelt/Rickets). The Pirates song was Sadie's favorite to play and I really enjoyed watching the conductor, Suzanne Czamecki, as she led.

Here is a really short clip from Pirates:

Earlier in the week I took a picture of Corban "helping" me as I worked on making dinner. He had seen me grabbing some spices and wanted to add some (all of them) to the pot as well!

He pushed a stool over to the counter and climbed on top. I looked up to see him there. Nothing is out of his reach these days; if he thinks it, he can do it (so he thinks!). When Cari did such things I would jump real quick.....now days, I still jump, but not quite so quickly (I grab the camera).....

He kindly had rearranged the spices; stacking them too....something I hadn't thought to do.

Hungry kids stop their play time for a snack before dinner time. Mmmmmm.

Honor Band

First of all, Mike is doing MUCH MUCH better! Thank you to all who have remembered him in your prayers. They have helped! His MRA test came back looking great and he was placed on a strong antibiotic to combat sinus disease. He started to feel better on Wednesday and is really happy that he is able to work. We are glad he is returning to his happy, pain-free self!

Cari and Trevon participated in the ALL-COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL HONOR BAND this past Friday and Saturday. They spent Friday and Saturday rehearsing with, Dixie State College and Southwest Symphony director, Gary Caldwell. On Saturday night they gave a concert at the COX Auditorium in St. George. They both enjoyed playing with other musicians who, "take music seriously" and "really want to play."

This is part of Gayaneh Dance Suite No. 1 (Khachaturian/Snoeck):

The next two recordings are of American Riversongs (Pierre La Plante). You cannot see Cari or Trevon as they play, but listen for the trumpets and flutes and you will hear them!

They also played American Rhapsody No. 3 (Clare Grandman), Amparito Roca (Texidor/Winter) which was our favorite part of the program, and "Cantus" Song of the Night (Thomas Doss).

Scenes of Winter

On the last day of school vacation (Monday), we woke to a blanket of white snow covering everything outside. The kids were excited to be able to play in the snow while it lasted. Before long, neighborhood children were in our backyard helping to build a gigantic snowman.





I looked out the window to see red noses and big smiles. Before long the littlest ones came in with their mittens soaking wet. The snow started to melt by the afternoon, but left standing in our yard is the smiling snowman. I had Mike take a picture of me standing next to it, to show just how tall he is. I'm sure he'll be hanging around for a while!




Mike continues to suffer with terrible headaches. He does not know what is causing them. Last week he ended up in the emergency room again and had another CT Scan and a Lumbar Puncture (similar to an epidural). The tests ruled out any immediate and serious life threatening problems, which is good. He is having a hard time finding relief for his pain though and will be going to see a neurologist this week. We hope that the cause of his headaches will be determined so that we can tackle them "head-on." Please keep him in your prayers!