Pinewood in Pink

(original post May 8) Blaine and Jenn have been working on two cars for a Pinewood Derby, one car for Jenn and one for her friend, Emma (G.). Jenn has named one "Pink Panther" and the other "Spider". It all started during the regular Cub Scout Pinewood Derby this year when a couple of dads were discussing their classic cars from prior years. In order to settle whose car was the fastest ever they persuaded the ward activities committee to sponsor a ward derby open to anybody, adult or child.

The odds-on favorite is the scoutmaster who is also an engineer in his day job. His youngest two of seven sons are now in Cub Scouts and the family turns out championship cars every year in assembly line manner. Several other dads think they have the best car ever. They are the ones who keep their championship car stored in a shoebox protected with cotton balls. Everybody else planning to enter a car is just window dressing. But, who knows, there may be a dark horse.

Perhaps one of those dark horses will be Jenn or Emma. (It's Blaine's hope anyway). We are completely off the radarscope because we haven't had any boys in Cub Scouts for a while and there isn't anybody still in the ward from the time when Jason was a Cub Scouter. Who wins with a pink car anyway? But Jenn's cars have a pedigree. Sixteen years ago (how time flies) Jason had the fastest car on the track for the year. Jenn's Pink Panther is a similar build.

Win or lose, it has been a fun project!

(updated May 15) The Pinewood Derby was held last Saturday, and Jenn and Emma's cars were among the fastest. Each car raced four times against the clock. Jenn & Emma's "Spider" car clocked fastest overall and their "Pink Panther" car came in third, out of a field of 40 or so cars.

"Happy Birtday Dad"

Early yesterday morning Blaine and I attended a marriage in the Boise Temple. We left Jenn at home with instructions to stay indoors and not open the door for anyone. She was also supposed to get dressed and eat breakfast. Since it was Blaine's Birthday Jennifer decided to make a special Birthday banner for him. She was so immersed in what she was doing that she failed to get dressed, make her bed, eat breakfast, or feed Scamp! We came home just before 10:30, as we entered the kitchen Blaine was surprised to see the 6 foot banner taped across the windows. It was colorful and decorated with pictures. The banner read, "Happy Birtday Dad!" We oohed and aahed over it and Blaine gave Jennifer a hug and thanked her for the surprise. For most of the day the banner stayed taped to the window. Several hours passed before Jennifer noticed that she had misspelled "Birthday!" She was so embarrassed. It's funny that not one of us noticed it any earlier.

Time Flies....

Where has the time gone? Today Blaine and I achieved something... a milestone that by the world's standards is getting harder to reach; our 30th wedding anniversary! One problem though, I'm in Boise and he's in Mexico. Before you get too worried, we're not having marital troubles and I didn't miss the plane. Blaine is on a trade mission to Mexico with Idaho's Governor. It just so happened that the trip was scheduled over our anniversary. However, Blaine did give me a dozen roses before he left with a promise that he'll make it up to me later :)

As Blaine and I have reminisced about our life together we have felt very grateful for the many blessings we have received as a result of our marriage in the Washington, D.C. Temple. The most important one is our family. Our 4 children have brought so much joy to us (okay... there have been moments of some anxiety but then we wouldn't know real joy :)) We are thankful for Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness and the promise that if we live up to our covenants we will be together as a family through eternity.

I tried to find some photos of Blaine and me together without anyone else in the picture. It was really hard but I did find two from last year's trip to Washington, D.C. One is a little dark and we're standing in front of the Washington, D.C. Temple. The second one we are enjoying the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin in D.C. I guess we need to make sure that more pictures are taken of just the two of us during our next 30+ years together.

Turning 11...and becoming a 'guitar hero'

Jennifer turned 11 years old yesterday. We enjoy the special person that she is and the fun and excitement she brings into the family. We also appreciate the closeness she has with her older sisters and brother, despite the difference in years. She has really blossomed this past year as she has studied hard in school, worked diligently to develop her talents, and made many new friends.

The birthday gift she really wanted was Guitar Hero to play on her Sony PS2. It was waiting for her when we returned from Spring Break and she wasted no time in jumping into it. The photos show Jenn jammin'.

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!

Somehow my camera setting was switched to video before I could take a picture of Jenn zip-lining. I couldn't figure out why the camera wasn't working. I didn't realize I was filming her until after she landed. Good thing though because now we have a shot of Jenn "in action!"

Warning: For some reason the video loaded sideways. I have spent hours now trying to figure it out and thought I had it corrected but ...well you'll see for yourself. So instead of spending anymore time on the video I decided that you can help me fix this problem. To view the clip put your left ear to your left shoulder and don't blink or you'll miss it!

Caribbean Cruisin'

Spring break this year found us sailing the Southern Caribbean on the Crown Princess. (Yes, the "Love Boat" and no, they didn't play the theme song.) With winter lasting longer than normal this year, it was a nice warm weather break. We had a great time, got a little sunburned and ate plenty of food. Knowing that the average weight gain for someone on a cruise is about 5 pounds we decided to always use the stairs instead of the elevator. The ship has 17 levels and is one of the largest in the Princess' fleet. Our cabin was located on the 12th level (the Aloha deck, notice the Hawaiian connection?) and we did plenty of stair climbing. Our legs and lungs got a great workout and best of all we didn't gain any weight!

Hope you enjoy these pictures from our trip.

"To be or not to be..."

Jennifer was a terrific Hamlet in her school play. She practiced her lines for several weeks so she could concentrate on her acting and not worry about trying to remember what she should be saying.