Stirling Scholar District Awards Night

Last fall Austin decided to apply to be a Stirling Scholar in the Trade and Technology Education.  This is a scholarship application that requires an extended portfolio of all of his accomplishments and awards from all of his high school education.  There are thirteen different categories including general scholarship, agricultural education, Trade and Tech. education, mathematics, English, music, etc.  Austin decided to go after the Trade and Technology category because he felt like he was more qualified in this area with his welding, woodworking, and mechanical experience.  He won the high school level easily because there wasn't anyone applying against him.  On March 1, 2012 the high school level winners were honored in an awards ceremony given by the district and held at Snow Canyon High School.  All of the  recipients were awarded a $200 check for their achievement and to put toward their additional schooling.  Doug and I are very excited for Austins achievement and for his desire to apply for this scholarship.  It took a lot of work and time to put together a 36 page portfolio and to describe everything. 

Way to go Austin!  We are very proud of you! 

Principle Pedersen is reading off all the school winners and their categories while
the students stand forward to be recognized.  Austin looks so thoughtful. . .  

Receiving his certificate and check.

Our next hurdle is the regional competition where he will be interviewed by judges in his category and they will judge his portfolio, which we have been going over with a fine-toothed-comb.  His FFA advisor Mr. Daley thought it would be best for Austin to cut his mullet before the interview, but at the district awards ceremony there was a boy there with a Jedi braid, which Austin picked up on and decided to leave the mullet.  I guess we will see what happens.

The difference between men and boys. . . .

I have often heard the phrase "The difference between men and boys are the size of their toys", which is true in our family.  Doug has never out grown the love of trucks and tractors, even though he has become an adult and a father.  When he was little he played with Tonka trucks, back then they were built out of sturdy metal and could move small mountains in the sand with ease. Now he enjoys driving his semi-truck and running tractors for the church farm or neighbors who need his help. On his trip north to move houses he had the opportunity to work for his cousin Wesley moving dirt to flatten out a steep hill that Wes wants to plant potato's on in the next year or so.  Doug was back in his element in the seat of a tractor, moving dirt and working with other men who also hold his passion. 

Doug and his brother Mike posing in front of the  tractors they were operating.
They were pulling scrapers to haul the dirt from high spots and carry
it to low spots in the field.  They also pulled land planes that leveled the ground.

This is the field.  In the distance you can see the dozer pushing dirt down,
and the scrapers are pulled by tractors and dozers also moving dirt down
to level the field. 

These are dozers that are also pulling scrapers.

Our nephew Logan who is four really likes the big trucks and tractors
like Doug does.  He is shy around most people, but not around Doug. 
When Doug was running up north he would stop in Pocatello where his sister
Katie lives and give her kids rides in his semi-truck.  On this day Logan came
down and rode with Doug in the tractor for about an hour.  Doug let him
"drive" for a bit to help him get entertained and he was very excited. 

Doug goes north again.

Doug again had the opportunity to move houses to North Dakota and took advantage of it.  He left on a Friday and was able to move several homes before they finished another series of houses.  He finished earlier than he thought so took some time to visit with his family in Southern Idaho.  While there he was able to help his cousin move dirt as they prepare a field for farming.  He was gone for about three weeks and had a great time.  Check out these pictures.

Doug is hooked to an office unit he took from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City,
then over to Rock Springs, WY. 

He spent the night in Bear Lake, Utah and this is Logan Canyon the next morning.
It was a quick moving, very wet storm that surprised him and they closed the canyon
behind him.

He traveled through Rexburg on his way up to move houses north
and captured this picture of the Rexburg temple.  Very nice. 

This trip north Doug had a lot more snow and cold, it seems winter doesn't come to Montana as early as it does here in Southern Utah.  He finished the work he was given and headed to his parents home to visit with them.  

Spirit Stick

For Spirit week at Hurricane High the students do what they call the "Battle of the Sexes".  This includes finding the spirit stick some of the faculty has taken from the school and hidden somewhere in the Hurricane Valley.   Austin and his friends could not let the girls find it this year and used their superior texting abilities to communicate with each other in finding the clues given to help find the stick, and eventually finding the stick.  Austin said they found it in only an hour and had the stick repainted and hiding in his Dad's shop before the girls had even finished half of the clues.  The boys were so proud!  They locked it in the shop so that the girls had no chance of stealing it during the night before the boys could take it to school and claim their victory the next day.  It is fun to see Austin so involved and having so much fun. 

This is the very long spirit stick that they are labeling with 2012
and painting in boy colors. 

This is Austin, Andy Ashcroft, Cody and Mady, and
others.

Putting their own flair on the stick.  Cowboy up! 

Happy Valentines Day!!

I love to celebrate Valentines Day.  Not only is it a day for the ones who love romantically, but also to express love and appreciation to those that you love all the time.  We have created a tradition in our family of the "Big Kiss".  I started it years ago when the Utah Dental Convention was on Valentines Day and I was in Salt Lake City on the special day.  I would leave oversize Hershies Kisses on the kids' pillows before I left and they would come home to a big kiss from me.  They thought that was pretty cool and so the tradition started.  This year I was home, but had to work on Valentines Day at the dental office and the kids all had their usual activities so we didn't get together until later that night and I nearly forgot to give them their kisses.  As it happened, we had our prayers and everyone was in bed before I remembers and delivered them to the kids with a real kiss.  They were all happy that I didn't forget, and I am too! 

Cami and Dalyon are the only two in elementary school where they still exchange Valentines as a class and they each made a box to collect their Valentines in.  They were pretty creative. 

Cami wrapped a box in X's and O's and put her opening under its flap.
She filled it with candy and Valentines.

When you lift the hood on the car, you can put the Valentines inside.

Dalyon used all of his creativity to create a care complete with headlights,
a side spotlight, and turbo boosts in the back.  Funny guy.

I was glad that Doug remembered and got me some
very pretty flowers.  They are my favorite thing to get from
him.  I love our family!  Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Birthday Dalyon!

February 2, 2012

After Dalyons' Arrow of Light came a monumental birthday.  He turned 11 and entered New Scouts.  He is very excited to finally go on camp outs and work on Merit Badges like his older brothers.  For his birthday we let him have a couple of friends over to play video games and have ice cream and cake.  He invited his friend Joshua Hall and AJ Sampson.  They played Austin's Xbox  for an hour or so then came upstairs for ice cream and cake and presents. 

Posing for a picture is Cami, Dalyon, AJ, and Josh.

Dalyon got the game "The Cheese Touch" from the book "Diary of a
Wimpy Kid", which he really likes.

He also received clothes and a Nintendo 3-DS and a game.  Little did
I know that the DS is Internet capable, so I spent most of the night putting
on parental blocks to protect him from unsuspected and unwanted "things"
from the Internet. 

He is all aglow with eleven candles on his cupcakes.
Happy Birthday Dalyon!!!

Dalyons Arrow of Light

We have come to and end of an era for our family.  Our last son, Dalyon, was awarded his Arrow of Light and crossed the bridge into New Scouts.  We are so proud of all of our boys and their achievements in Scouts, and especially Dalyon.  He received the 20 patch award which means he earned all 20 activity badges in the Webelo Cub Scouts, as well as his Religious knot and his Arrow of Light. 

Doug read an old Indian story that followed the boy's progression through
the Cub Scout program until he achieved the highest honor, which is the
Arrow of Light. 

Dalyon is receiving the rest of his merit badges from our assistant Cub
Master Marcia Cahoon.  He received all 20 and a patch for his achievement. 

Dalyon pinned the Webeloes Mothers' pin on me and we pose for
a picture.

Dalyon received a compass and a whistle as a reward for earning all
20 activity badges.  These things will help him in scouts.

This is his patch and pins on a homemade duct tape frame.  Don't you just love scouts!!!! 

Every boy who achieves his Arrow of Light award gets to learn to shoot
a bow and arrow as a passageway into Scouts.  Dalyon, Cody and Austin practiced
at home and this is him shooting his first arrow.  It missed the bales of straw, glanced off
a rock and stuck into our neighbors radiator.  Woops!! 

Brother Holland changed the direction of the bales so that he wasn't aiming for
any cars.  He got to shoot 10 times and hit the target 7 of them.  Great job
Dalyon!! 

As part of the ceremony they give him an arrow and place feathers on
it.  Each feather represented a different concept of what a scout aspires
to be.

This is the Arrow of Light award with the arrow and the feathers.  Our leaders
go to a lot of work to make this memorable.  Thanks Nola Alton and Marcia Cahoon,
and his Webelo leader Jen and Lei Kane'.