Sunday, November 25, 2007

Happy Holidays!!!!!

It has been an amazing Thanksgiving break for us.The original plan was to leave early Monday morning to visit Niagara Falls where would see the falls, do some hiking, and scout the gorge for a possible future run :). We would then head over to Palmyra, New York, and spend the next day and a half visiting church history sites. On the way home we would stop at the Aaronic Priesthood restoration site and then at Kirtland, following (more or less) the trail of the Saints as they made their way west.

As it turned out, Rachel got a horrible toothache and was seeing the Dentist all of Monday morning getting a root canal. Not the greatest start to our vacation, but we were able to make the best of it. The Niagara/Palmyra trip will have to wait for another time, which is great because it gives us something to look forward to! Instead, I was able to play racquetball in the mornings, which was a lot of fun. Rachel was also excited to be also able to workout all week which she has missed because she has had a terrible cold, then an exquisite toothache.

Also, on Tuesday we went on a hike at Cuyahoga National Park. This is a small park just about a half hour south of us, and every time I go I am reminded how pretty it is out here. It is the time of year that the trees don’t have many leaves on them anymore, but the ground is carpeted in an immaculate array of color from those that have fallen. We were there for a few hours, and we did several small hikes to different landmarks and overlooks. It was a beautifully brisk day that was perfect for hiking. We feel lucky to have a place like this so close to where we live.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with friends from the ward and from school. We were able to have our feast in the cultural hall of the ward building. Eight other families showed up and we had a lot of fun eating, talking, playing basketball, and just “hanging out.” The food was great- the company was better; we are happy that there are such cool people around us to share our time with. Also, there were plenty of leftovers, which means that we can have Thanksgiving dinner again and again for a long time!

The day after Thanksgiving I had a new experience- I went shopping. Not just a leisurely stroll through the mall either-no, this was extreme shopping. I’ve kayaked class V+, and I’ve climbed mountains with thousands of feet of exposure, but those pale in comparison with Black Friday Shopping. We got up at 3:30 in the morning. We stood in lines. We watched fights break out all around us. We laughed at the things people say and do- for example, I heard someone at Circuit City ask what a particular electronic device was. “I don’t know,” their friend replied, “But it’s fifty dollars off. I’m buying it!” I think next year instead of shopping I’m just going to bring a lounge chair and watch people squabble over the hot items. Nevertheless, we did get some pretty fantastic deals, so I guess to some people all the madness pays off in the end.

On Saturday we made our annual gingerbread house. This is a tradition we started the first year we were married, and hopefully one that continues through the years as our family grows up. Every Thanksgiving we carefully make our blueprints (finally! A good use for geometry), plan our decorations, then go to the store and buy tons of candy. This is generally a two or three day process because of the gingerbread recipe. The dough must chill overnight, then we roll it to cut our designs, bake them, trim off the edges and wait for them to harden enough for the structural design. Our home building skills improved considerably this year because we figured out some new tricks! First off, the hack saw we used to trim the pieces was a great success, and second we figured out how to put the frosting in a bag and use it to ice the pieces together (it took us way too long to figure that out). I think that this year’s house turned out pretty good, but more importantly, it was a lot of fun to make- and it will be a lot of fun to eat when the time comes.

Also, the day after Thanksgiving is the traditional “decorate for Christmas” day, and it was fun to bring out some the Christmas decorations and music. I love this time of year! Happy holidays to everyone! We are looking forward to seeing many of you in upcoming weeks.

Here are some pictures:


This is a cool tree we found at Cuyahoga National Park. Does anybody know why it looks like that?

Here's a cave we hiked to. It actually goes back pretty deep. We'll have to come back with flashlights to explore.


I'm posting this for Diane because she very stealily sneaked into it. These are the preparations for The Feast.


Fun, Food, and Friends. What a good way to spend a holiday.


Our annual gingerbread house. I think it turned out pretty good.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad and me at the City of Rocks on one of our many fun trips together
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My dad's birthday was on Tuesday- 50 years old! That means that he is exactly twice as old as me. Crazy.

For his birthday my mom put together a book of memories from all of his friends and loved ones. I'll post part of my letter here on the blog- a tribute to the best father anyone could ever hope to have.
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All I Really Need to Know I Learned From My Dad…

How to be happy • How to love life • How to show others that I care • How to light a fire with just one match and a tall cup of white gas • How to make the best of a tough situation • How to laugh • How to win a water fight • How to change a flat tire • How to be nice • How to put my family first • How to always do my best • How to know that my best is good enough • How to do the little things • How to fight off a bear with a handful of pebbles • How to be happy that at least the bear didn’t eat the Spam • How to appreciate beautiful things • How to show my dear wife that I love her • How to ride a bike • How to admit when I need help • How to be confident when I can’t have help • How to scout a rapid • How to swim a rapid • How to have faith • How to make the name Leroy sound scary • How to be patient • How to drop everything when a friend needs help • How to stop a school bus • How to manage my time well • How to dance • How to win • How to lose • How to tie a figure eight • How to try everything at least once • How to skip rocks • How to pray • How to make other people feel special • How to hug • How to enjoy a good book • How to be obnoxious in a racquetball court • How to keep going, even when I don’t think I can • How to set goals • How to listen • How to drive a fifteen passenger van on a road that was only meant for jeeps • How to involve everyone • How to write well • How to make people laugh • How to admit when I’m wrong • How to catch crawdads • How to teach kids not to gamble by taking all of their candy • How to know what’s important • How to make lasting memories • How to be the best dad in the world

Sunday, November 11, 2007

"You are not a scrub" -President Hinkley

That quote came up in the church news this week and I thought it was funny to picture president Hinkley using the word "scrub" over the podium. We have the coolest prophet!
Anyway, apparently we forgot to write in our blog last week. That is probably because last week was mostly full of me studying for finals and Rachel working. It was a great week, but not a whole lot of exciting news for the blog.
This week was a little more exciting. It started out fun last Sunday when we had a friend, Kevin, and the missionaries over to our house for dinner and a movie (the movie was "Believing in Christ"). Kevin is investigating the church and will be baptised soon.
During the week Rachel worked a lot, and I studied a lot. I have finals this week, so I have been pretty preoccupied with that. On Thursday, Rachel had a doctor's appointment to check on WB, and everything seems to be going fine. Our baby girl is now the size of a half gallon of milk, and supposedly Rachel's uterus is the size of a soccer ball. Every once in a while I'll be talking to Rachel and all of a sudden her stomach will do this weird lurching thing as the baby shifts around. It is a little bit eerie, but exciting also because it means that we will be parents soon. We've been doing a lot of babysitting for friends and the prospect of parenthood, as frightening as it sounds, is starting to seem doable. I guess that's easy to say when you can just walk out on a screaming baby after mom and dad come home!
On Saturday we finally decided we needed to get out of the house, so we got in the car and started driving out into the country with no particular destination. First we went to the Aurora outlet Mall where we walked around and enjoyed the atmosphere. Then we drove to Cuyahoga Falls, which is a charming little town just South of here. There is a series of beautiful waterfalls which gives the town its name, and we were fortunate enough to make friends with a local Social Studies teacher who gave us a brief historical tour of the downtown area. It will definitely be a place to go back to.
Here are the pictures for the week. We love hearing from everybody, and we hope you are all doing well. Congratulations to Tyson and Cambria on their wedding!


Here's the pie we made for dessert with Kevin and the missionaries. It was soooo good!



Here we are in beautiful Cuyahoga Falls

Here's a picture of the waterfalls. For those who are interested, they are all runnable (class V). The river then continues for a few miles of class III.