Fall at Heritage Park

It was a warm, beautiful, sunny day, so off we went to Heritage Park for a great time to catch Claire at 13, Moriah at 11 and Noah at 8.

10 days, 80+ miles, 12,400+ ft - Philmont 2011

In July, Joshua and John went to Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico, to join Houston's Troop 220 for Trek 27. The trip would take them over 80 miles through lush valleys, mountain peaks and passes, and through dry hills and valleys in the Sangre de Christo range of the Rocky Mountains.

The trip is a high adventure, minimalist backpacking experience where the crew brings everything that they will need for 10 full days of hiking. Water was available at most overnight locations and food pickups were made every three to four days.

Along the way, the crew were able to do a variety of activities. The boys won the burrow racing contest, which entailed pulling a burrow around a 1/4 mile race track. Of the roughly two hundred boys in the race, it was amazing that only one got hurt (broken collar bone).

While hanging a bear bag (used to store food and other 'smellable' items high above where bears can reach), John and several of the scouts saw a large mountain lion, starting at only 25 to 30 feet from the scouts(!). It was stalking something, which we never figured out; we were just happy that it wasn't us!

Joshua loads shotgun shells for clay pigeon shooting at Harlon camp site.

John climbs a sandstone cliff near Dean Cow camp. (If you look close, you can see the blue safety line.)

A short break on the way to Copper Pass. This was are longest day, with an increase of well over 4000 ft, then back down about the same, and about 11 miles hiking overall.

The group hiking in Greenwood Canyon.




Leaving Poneil Canyon and entering Greenwood Canyon... still a lot of smiles.

Joshua takes aim at another clay pigeon while shooting at Harlon.

Nice shot, Josh!

Joshua and John pause from hiking near Clark's Fork, where they would enjoying a chuck wagon dinner that evening. The next morning we were up at 4 a.m. to climb Schafer's Peak and head back 13 miles down the Tooth of Time ridge to base camp.

Grandma's Visit

Grandma enjoyed the gondola and a special walk in the mountains.

Happy Birthday, Moriah !!

For Moriah's 11th birthday, we went to Calaway Park, an amusement park overlooking the mountains. Grace made a special cheesecake and Moriah got new skis, and boots!

A funny song

Horseback riding in the mountains

Grace and Red, Claire and Powder, Moriah and Willy, Noah and Copper went for a 2 hour ride in the mountains. The highlight was seeing an elk and its baby up close. They rode with a family from Vienna, Austria.

Claire gets braces...

Family Picture

John and Grace at an orphanage in Chile!

Happy 18th birthday to my baby!

I can't believe that Grace turned 18 years old. She got her ears pierced, had her hair layered and shopped! "A perfect girl day with Mommy." We went to all the make up counters and tested perfume. What will be next?

Braces part 2

The day finally arrived for Moriah to get her braces.

He uses a different type of bracket than I have ever seen and so I would appreciate any comments on this: Damon systems by Ormco. Moriah has the damon q which are all metal and close like a door. This was the really interesting part. . . she only has appointments every 10 weeks. I thought I seriously missed my calling. . . I should have been an orthodontist in Calgary! The price of braces is twice what it is in Houston and I only have to see patients every 10 weeks. We saw the ortho today for less than 30 seconds.
The orthodontist's assistant did everything. The braces were on a wax mold and they just slipped it over her teeth. Then they took the wax off and the braces remained. Interesting.
Mimey only has braces on her 6 front teeth as this is a phase 1.
She was so brave!

Braces

A Happy Anniversary

Our 20th anniversary was spent in Banff. We took a gondola ride and saw spectacular views on the top of Mt. Rundle. I am truly blessed.

Noah's Birthday

Today is Noah’s birthday and we celebrated by skiing.The ski resort is called Naksiska and it is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house. It is a beautiful place with large trees and scenic trails.

We went with fear and trepidation because the temperature was -30 but lessons encouraged us and ski masks helped us. By the time we left, it was -20, which felt warm.

All the kids eventually managed the chairlift for the blue trails. The sun came out in the afternoon, and it really was a beautiful winter day.

Grace completed her first black run without any major injuries. J When she was exhausted, Moriah became Josh’s ski buddy. We are hoping the signs of frostbite do not continue. All the kids and their dad are sore. Moriah said, “I was traveling at the speed of Joshua and I flipped over. I tried to straight-line it.” Moriah and Noah went down their first blue.

With lunch at the lodge, pizza for dinner, I think we made a memorable experience for Noah’s eighth birthday.

I watched the movie Blood Money by the niece of Martin Luther King Jr.. . . instead of skiing. It was reminiscent of watching Food Inc on vacation. Both are very heavy documentaries for such a happy day.

Year End Review

Servants Anonymous

I went to a really interesting " jewelry party" last night to help educate and protect women involved in human trafficking. It was very sad and overwhelming.

The first thing they asked me when I walked in the door was, "Are you a Texan?" My reply is always, " I lived in Houston, and before that I lived in Holland." There were the usual comments about "the States" and there's always the thoughtful, " So, what do you think of Canada?". That is always hard to answer, but especially yesterday because the temperature was -18 with heavy snowfall.

One lady did say, " I have to go to a wedding in April in Houston. Give me one good reason to go to Houston in April".

"The weather. "

She was not satisfied. "Houston's most beautiful natural resource is its people. "

A Poem by Ruth Bell Graham

I thought this was beautiful.

The Man I Prayed For

Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid

(as we're inclined to do)

I do not need a handsome man

but let him be like You;

I do not need one big and strong

nor yet so very tall,

Nor need he be some genius ,

or wealthy, Lord, at all;

But let his head be high, dear God

and let his eye be clear,

his shoulders straight, whate'er his state

whate'er his earthly sphere;

And let his face have character,

a ruggedness of soul,

and let his whole life show, dear God,

a singleness of goal:

then when he comes

(as he will come)

with quiet eyes aglow,

I'll understand that he's the man

I prayed for long ago.

The last day of our Christmas vacation

We had an amazing 16 days in Houston, but instead of being chronological about it all, I thought I would recount the last day while I still remember it.

When we left Katy, I thought my children must be part middle eastern mourners, the way they carried on, but then again, what could I say? I felt the same way. I just didn't know they had that in them.

We went to our hotel rooms and the girls and I immediately watched Sarah Palin until midnight as we weren't used to going to bed at our usual 9pm.

In the morning, the day I dreaded came upon me and I went to the dentist to replace a crown. In hindsight, it was positively providential as I didn't dread the flight or returning home nearly as much as I dreaded the dentist. I always think when I get into a dental chair something like,"you know, I could run away if I want to." Instead I waited 1 hour and something as the guy in the chair in the next room had an "aggressive situation." After about an hour, I was feeling an aggressive situation of my own. At 8:45, they said he would be there in 10 minutes which is the same thing they said at 10:00.

By noon, I was done. . . drilling, shots. . .it was all over. It didn't hurt until I took a big drink of green tea on the airplane and suddenly felt the nerves near my tooth and had to give up my beloved drink. Just for the record, it did hurt.

When we got to the airport, it was not crowded as I feared. It was so empty which is not the same our rental car. . .I always tell John that I won't buy much and we will bring things, but not return with much. Nope. Didn't happen.

We got separated at the airport as some of us took the elevator and others the stairs. Then there is the weighing of the suitcases. One was 54 lbs so I casually asked the Air Canada guy, "how much can 4 lbs cost?" His reply was "$75." I said, "We won't be doing that." So we opened suitcases, threw clothes and all sorts of things I didn't want the entire airport to see, but in the interest of $75, I sacrificed all dignity and we made it to security.

This was a longer line. I did make the mistake on the way to Houston of cracking a security joke to the policewoman who didn't laugh. . . Grace and Joshua did not find it amusing in any way. . .so I was very quiet.

I was worried about the gold crown that the dentist had given me as a souvenir, but no one beeped on the way home.

When we got to the boarding area, there was an anouncement: Would Mr. Gollum please report to the security desk? I knew we had watched Lord of the Rings too many times as our family started laughing. The Canadians were not amused.

The airplane was on time andI sat next to a guy with a Canada hat. I watched the Food Network.

The customs worker asked if we saw the tv screen with the hockey game playing. He informed us that the score was 2-0 Canada over the US.

When we got off the plane to our shuttle, the driver excitedly wanted to know if we were the family whose house had burned down. The owners were on vacation and still hadn't been notified. The house was near ours. I didn't like that. He was explaining to us, the difference between Canadians and Americans/ people from the States. . . basically the superiority of Canadians. We were home.