Video of the Rain Gutter Regatta

LIFE

I was taking some video off of the camera tonight, and found this video from July 10th. My kids were playing the board game "Life" and I was listening to them talk about the game. Isaiah (of course) said something really funny, so I got the video camera out and had them all tell me about their game.

Trusting in the Lord

I personally have felt like I have been through a wringer recently with our hope to adopt. The up and down of it has had me in tears and doubting the feelings that one of our children isn't here with us. I know that this is the right thing for us to be doing, but my patience with the waiting is being tested right now. Anyway, I was messing around on facebook (instead of working on my math homework) and saw a link someone posted for a "Mormon Message" on YouTube. The church posts a new clip on YouTube each week with a message about various topics. The one from facebook was called "What Matters Most", and it was a great message. There is always a list of other videos off on the side, so I started watching some of them. I was getting hungry, and decided to watch one more before having lunch. It was called "Trusting in the Lord". I was not expecting a video about adoption, but it was really powerful to me. The way the woman worded how she felt and what she learned, spoke straight to my soul. I hadn't thought about adoption teaching me this particular lesson and I am grateful I can have a new view of what I might need to learn from all of this.

Playing at the glacier

Today the kids and I went out to the glacier for a few hours. It was a chance for us to get out of the house and for the kids to just play outside. We walked around the little raised loop trail first, then went to check out the sledding hill. The kids were sad that we couldn't get over to it anymore...the sledding hill is actually an island, but in the winter the stream is a lot smaller and there are planks to get across to the hill. They played in the water for awhile, and then we went to the base of the visitors center and they climbed on the rocks for at least an hour. I sat on a bench and watched the tourists. It was fun. I will post the pictures of my tourist watching below this post.

Brooklin took this picture of the glacier while standing up on the rocks.



Caleb and London climbing the rocks.

Caleb and London climbing the rocks

This is a picture of the sledding hill...without any snow. The kids are sad we couldn't go play on it. Maybe on a warmer day, we can wade across the stream and play. Isaiah is holding a piece of glacier ice he found in the stream.

Kids wading

Isaiah wading...
I can't believe that just a few months ago, we all hiked across this and touched the face of the glacier!

Brooklin posing in front of a locked door. =)

While the kids were playing up on the rocks, Brooklin found this bird skeleton, so she came down and grabbed my camera to take a picture of it.

Wading in the water.

Little rock climbers

Tourists will take pictures of ANYTHING!

This series of pictures were taken in a 27 minute time frame. I could have easily taken 3 or 4 other shots, but the crowds around the subject matter wouldn't have made for a very good picture. I laughed more (to myself) in the hour I sat there tourist watching, than I have in awhile.

See her camera?
She is taking a picture of something on the ground...



This woman sees something too...and she takes a picture.

I wonder what is so fascinating, there on the ground?

Honey...check this out!

Seriously!?
Think of the scrapbook pages these people will have of their trip to Juneau, AK!
Stunning whales...massive glaciers...beautiful scenery....
and bear poo!!!

(btw...I made Brooklin take this picture, because I didn't want to be the one taking a picture of bear poo!)



Video of the event too...since I had my video camera with me.

5th grade promotion

Caleb has graduated from elementary school and will be going to middle school next year with Brooklin!! His school had a fun little ceremony for the them and their families. The principal started by giving out special awards. Caleb was surprised to have his name called for a special award. He got a Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Citizenship and Courteousness. There were about seven other kids that received this award, and the certificate came with a pin.

After the special awards, they called each of the kids up to receive their "diplomas". When that was done, they had their school band play, and then this drum group play (it was all 4th and 5th graders in the band and drum groups). Next the entire 5th grade did this really cool step/clap dance and then the Virginia Reel...I got those on video.

I can't believe Caleb is old enough to go to middle school next year. Brooklin asked if she had to walk home with him after school...ummm YEA! She will be in 8th grade and isn't interested in being seen with a lowly 6th grader... =)

Caleb with his teacher, Mrs. Vreeland, and with his two certificates.

Receiving his award and diploma from Mr. Wilson the principal

this is the step and reel dances...it is 6 minutes long, but it was pretty cool.
(Caleb is hard to see, but he is in the center line...right under the word Valley on the sign...and he is fifth back, wearing a navy blue shirt)

Boats and a float plane

Brooklin driving the boat out to Excursion Inlet (Doc Warners)




Float plane landing


Float plane ride.

Family outing to the gun range

On Saturday, we took the kids out of the gun range to shoot our new guns. Darwin got a little 22 (the Cricket) for Christmas, and I bought him a Rugar 10/22 two weeks ago. He hadn't been able to go out shooting yet, so we decided to take the kids and all go shooting together. We had so much fun. None of the kids had ever shot a gun before, and I haven't been shooting since I was in high school. We stayed out for 2 1/2 hours and put nearly 100 rounds through the Cricket, and about the same through the 10/22. We also shot the 243, but maybe only 10 or 15 times...and London and Isaiah did not shoot that one...it would have knocked them over! =) There was also a cowboy shooting contest going on at the other shelter. It was really awesome, and these first three pictures are of London and Isaiah handling a Colt 45, and then watching the cowboys shoot. Darwin, Brooklin and I all made a bullseye...mine was on my 3rd shot with the 10/22! =) Don't mess with me! HA! There is also video after the pictures of each of us shooting.

Just for the sake of saying it...all of us had earplugs in and safty glasses on the entire time...safety first! =)

London with a 45

Isaiah with the 45

Isaiah and London at the cowboy competition

Isaiah shooting the Cricket

London shooting the Cricket


Caleb loading the Cricket by himself...BTW, this is the picture I am using for my second Spring Break photo for photograhy class.


Caleb shooting the Cricket


Brooklin after shooting the 243...she like the jolt and the loud bang!


Brooklin shooting the 243


Darwin shooting the 243


Me shooting the 10/22


My bullseye!


Darwin fixing the targets


More targets


My bullseye just after it happened


We shot so many times, we shot the stick in half that was holding the box up!


Darwin went out to fix it.


Close up of the busted stick


Brooklin and Caleb shooting

London's turn with the Cricket


Isaiah just wanted to pull the trigger...Darwin had to keep taking his fingers off the trigger so he could help him aim. The next time he got a turn, we made him count to 5 before firing.


Caleb with the 243


Brooklin with the 243


Me shooting the Cricket

Kung Fu Fighting!

We bought a PlayStation 2 in Dec. of 2002. We bought it because of one particular game ... EyeToy Play. We were introduced to the EyeToy game by Darwin's sister Lisa while we were visiting Idaho for Christmas. We played her playstation every other night, because it gave us all such a work out, we were too sore the next day to play it again, and had to give our bodies a break. We left his parent's house and headed to my parent's house, and we didn't have a playstation, so we went to Toys R Us and bought one...and the game. We came home and played it with my family. My parents came home one night, and from their car they watched us through the window. They didn't have any idea what was going on in their living room. All of us were sitting around watching one person standing in the middle of the room flailing their arms around wildly. We always said it would be fun to video tape someone playing EyeToy, but we never did it.

Fast forward to this week...Dec. 2008. We dusted off our well used copy of EyeToy Play, and set up a bunch of lights. We haven't played this game for at least a year. We were all having a great time. Then I suddenly remembered that we never did get any video of us playing the game. We have this GREAT video camera, called a Flip Video. I ran into the other room and snuck up on Darwin playing the Kung Fu game on EyeToy. He knew that I was taping him after just a few seconds, but that didn't stop him from playing. He wanted me to try and beat my old score, so he could tape me, and these are the videos. Enjoy! Oh...I did beat my old high score, and if you have the high score, it takes a picture of you for the leader board...that is what I am doing at the end of the video. Posing for my picture. =)

Our Hair Kid

Brooklin is a hair kid. I'm not actually sure what that is, but one of my seminary teachers used to call kids that...but I think when he used it, it was to let them know that they were getting on his nerves. Anyway, I digress. Brooklin loves to do things to her hair. She has TONS of hair, and it is curly. One of her favorite things to do is brush it out in the evening, and see just how big she can get it. She also likes to make herself look like a poof ball head, and then put it all in front of her face, and then put her glasses on over it, so she looks like a very puffy Cousin It. Her friend has some video of her dancing to music looking like that, that I hope to see on facebook soon (Wendy).

Tonight, she came up with a new way to have fun with her hair. What a goof ball!

Isaiah singing a solo

Isaiah sang his heart out!

Caleb, London, and Isaiah doing hula to Pearly Shells.

London is second behind the girl to Isaiah's left, and Caleb is in the back of the next over from London.

Darwin dancing Fiji style

The Elder's Quorum did a dance from Fiji. It was funny, they were supposed to have music, but someone forgot it.

Melissa doing a Tongan Dance

The Relief Society Sisters did a Tongan Dance....check out my feathers!

Brooklin dancing at our ward party

Our ward's Christmas party theme was Aloha. Each axillary did a different dance. Brooklin's was from Tahiti. She did Awesome!

Moving - Day One

My camera is buried somewhere in a suitcase, and the video camera wasn't so here is a video of our first day of packing...mostly boring, but hey...it's a post! =)

A lady from church took the kids for the whole day, which was really helpful. I left mid morning to take the sleeping bags to the laundry mat. I got some crocheting done, and listened to about 12 chapters of Genesis on my ipod. I've had a goal for a little over a year now to read the bible cover to cover, because I never have, and now I've read the beginning of Genesis like three times. I found out you can download the bible for free on lds.org, so I am changing my goal slightly and am now listening to it. I can multitask this way...lol. I can clean house or sew, and still make my goal. I actually learned some things...go figure. I'm not sure I knew that Joseph with the colorful coat was the son of the Jacob that worked for his wife's father to earn her, and then got given the older daughter, and had to work seven more years for the one he wanted. I know you all knew that...and I did know both of the stories, but didn't make the connection between the two.

Anyway... =) ...The movers will be back tomorrow at 8am, and this time, they are taking my computer. I may have a magic trick up my sleeve, so I might be able to post even after they take my computer, but we'll have to see. If not...see you on the other end!

Water balloon fight

Dar got a container of water balloons for his birthday last week, so this morning we filled up a bunch of them, and had a water balloon fight. It was short, but it was really fun.

Turtle video

Darwin took Gary (a friend from Juneau who is here visiting) out spear fishing today. No luck, but they got some good video of a turtle.

Brooklin's video

Piano Recital

Well, we had our piano recital last night. It was really fun. It was Brooklin's 3rd recital, London's 2nd, and my 1st. London played "I Am A Child of God" from the red Primary Partners book. She did a great job. She memorized her song as well. Here is the video of her playing.

Brooklin played a song from The Little Mermaid..."Part of Your World" by Alan Menkin. She also memorized her piece...which was over 4 minutes long! She did awesome. She said that the whole time she was playing, her fingers and legs were shaking a lot.

I played a song from the Disney version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"..."God Help the Outcasts" by Alan Menkin. I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. My hands and legs were shaking so much, it felt like my body was experiencing an earthquake. I played it better than I ever have though. The video camera ran out of batteries just as I sat down at the piano, so we missed most of the first page of the song...so I had to preform it again for the camera at the house. I didn't do as well playing it at the house, but you get the general idea. We had a lot of fun, and I am glad I got to do it. It is a lot different than playing on occasion in Primary!

*** If the videos of Brooklin and I are not on here yet, it is because they were too long for the blogger way of posting them, and I am waiting for them to download on YouTube, so they will be on here shortly...so check back later.***