Hammocks

Mike was asked recently to go camping with the scouts.  Since the scouts are preparing for a high adventure this summer with lots of hiking, they were going to do some backpacking and carry everything including food and gear to start practicing.  Mike really didn't want to lug the tent around, which has started leaking in wet weather and is also a bit big for backpacking.  The scoutmaster usually uses a hammock for camping and Mike wanted to see if he could find instructions for making his own hammock instead of buying one.  He found a great site at www.tothewoods.net that had instructions that were fairly easy and not very expensive.  Lena helped Mike with some of the sewing and showed him how to do some of the sewing himself as well. 

Unfortunately, the campout was canceled due to lightning, but the hammock and packed backpack came in handy the following weekend for a tornado cleanup in a neighboring state.  After sleeping in the hammock, which was the most comfortable camping Mike has ever had, he thought it would be fun to make camping hammocks for the whole family.  Lena picked up some more nylon fabric from the store and we spent a couple days making everything.

Mike and the kids set the hammocks up in a series of trees in our yard one night this past week.  Only Kirsten managed to sleep outside all night with Mike.  The other kids slowly decided they wanted to go inside and sleep for one reason or another.  So Mike didn't get much sleep.  They wanted to sleep in their hammocks again the second night, but Mike wanted more sleep, so we hung them from Jon and Rebecca's loft beds.  Here are some pictures of the kids in their hammocks.

Merry Christmas!

 To our friends and family:
We hope your holiday season is filled with JOY as we remember the birth of our Savior, tons of cookies and steamy cups of Hot Chocolate!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year. Jon was a Ranger's Apprentice. Rebecca was Anne of Green Gables. Ethan was a refrigerator (he got tons of comments on his clever and cute costume). Kirsten and Alyssa wore poodle skirts. Keith was a bear. Mike was the Angry Birds game (complete with working slingshot, birds, and collapsible blocks. Lena made all the costumes except for Keith's. Mike won 2nd place at his company's costume contest. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

For Real

 In seminary we were having a bit of a problem with handheld devices causing distractions.  I'm glad to report that my students are doing much better in that regard and put their phones in "the basket" while we have our lesson each day.  I really liked this message from Elder Bednar:
 
It's so important to step away from the virtual and get back to what is real in our lives. 

Sunday Walk

On a nice Sunday afternoon, sometimes a walk is just the thing. for getting all the pent up energy out of the kids' systems.  We can enjoy God's beautiful creations, and the dog gets a walk too.

Have a great week!