Halloween Costumes from 3 years ago

Shoot, while I'm at it, why not post a Halloween picture from three years ago. The only part of these costumes not made by Amy are the lightsabers and the Darth Vader mask.

 

Last Year's Halloween Costumes

Shame on me! I didn't post pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes last year. I hope what they are is apparent.

 

Washington County Fair - The Ribbons are In! (Part 2)

I guess blogger limits the number of pictures in a post so I had to divide my fair post.

 

Deveny colored this Tinker Bell picture and got a second place ribbon for it. She got a first place ribbon for a T-shirt she colored (also Tinker Bell - see a pattern?).

 

I got into the fair game this year and entered two of my photos. The one above earned a first place ribbon. It is of a yet unidentified flower I took a picture of in Palo Duro Canyon the summer before we moved to St. George.

Washington County Fair - The Ribbons are In!

The Washington County Fair just wrapped up this weekend with everyone in the family earning some ribbons. Amy did not enter as much this year but everything she entered received first place ribbons and one earned a Sweepstakes ribbon. In total she had 6 first place ribbons and one those also earned a Sweepstakes ribbon.

 

 

This is a dress she did for Deveny. Amy actually did not think this would be the one to get her something more than first place but I like it, especially the details on the smocking.

 

LaVar did not think this painting had a chance but we thought it was a good one. It got a first place ribbon. He got first place ribbons on some of his pottery and a paper mache mask. A photo he took of the Salt Lake Temple earned a 2nd place ribbon. The image I currently use for this blog is a print he did in school which received a 2nd place ribbon. In total he had 4 first place ribbons, 3 seconds and 1 third.

 

Alonzo did this at home. I think it will have to speak for itself. He did get a first place ribbon for it. He also got a third place ribbon for his pinewood derby car he raced this year.

Has it been that long?

Has it really been that long since I last posted? We had an enjoyable hike at Pine Valley this last weekend. The trail was wonderfully wooded and needs my more personal attention at some point (no kids complaining about how far we've gone). This was a perfect activity with St. George cooking in 100+ heat.

Here are a couple of pictures from the trek.

Spring Break

We had some out-of-towners come in for Spring Break. We enjoyed a brief hike in Snow Canyon State Park namely Jenny's Canyon (a slot canyon), with my BIL's family. Later that week we intended to take my brother and his family there but found out it was closed until June 1 (starting the day after our visit earlier the same week).

We also visited some of the best petroglyphs I have seen so far near Ivins. Some places state they are 800 year-old Anasazi petroglyphs but I question the Anasazi part. Regardless, Anasazi is not the preferred name so Ancient Puebloans may be more accurate. 800 years seems to put the petroglyphs at the end of the time of the "ancient ones". There were many there and some we didn't get to. The hike around the petroglyphs was also nice - lots of rocks for the kids to climb on.


Of course, with any out-of-town visitors to St. George, you have to take them to Zion National Park. The crowd was not too bad considering Spring Break and the weather was nice - at least, in the sun it was. It was kind of cool in the shade. There were still places in the park with snow.

Simple Joys

To my embarrassment yesterday, I realized after going to the grocery store that I had gone without a hat after one of my daughters hair styling sessions (sorry, no pictures will be provided). Thankfully, I had not received one of her more creative styles.

As I thought about it I realized how much I enjoy little moments where I'm with one of my kids just enjoying their company. It is unimaginable to think what life would be like without them. Those simple little joys add up to what makes life so wonderful.

Patrick Boivin

Here are a couple of Patrick Boivin stop motion videos I thought some might enjoy:

St. Nicholas and St. George Snow

As part of our Belgian heritage, St. Nicholas pays the kids a visit December 6. The evening before we enjoy some yule log and the kids place their shoes out to be filled with goodies. Amy includes some yummy mirange mushrooms to place around the yule log (I think the kids like the mushrooms more than the log itself.

St. Nicholas doesn't leave too much but gold foil chocolate coins, a tangerine and Christmas tree ornament are the regulars. Included this year was peppermint coal for that little bad in all of us.

Today we had a not so typical event in St. George. It snowed enough to make a snow man. With all the leaves in the snow, it is tempting to call this snow man a leaf man.

The work was fast and furious and there was little snow left in the front or back. While the work progressed the snow started to change to rain. I am afraid the little snow we had will be a big tease for the kids who will now expect more but will most likely be disappointed.

The Rising

This is a wonderful song and great video compilation. Jimmy Westbrook is the singer and it is from the album Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet. Enjoy!

New Post on Politics and Society Blog

Just a heads up on a new post over on my Politics and Society blog - The Pickens Plan. Yes, finally. Now, I just need to get some posting done here.

Whitney Pockets

For Memorial Day weekend we went on a little excursion to Whitney Pockets in Nevada (near Mesquite). We were originally going to go to Pine Valley but the snow on the ground deterred us.

View Larger Map

We set up camp right next to that big rock center left (west) on the map. The first day it rained most of the time and the second day off and on but we got some good hiking in as well as some ATVing.

The sandstone rock formations were very interesting, almost other worldly. The flora included the barrel cactus and Joshua trees. The fauna was the usual desert fair - lizards, chipmunks, a Desert Kangaroo Mouse visited us during the night and a quail passed by on one ATV run.

Mortality

It was interesting week that just passed. I returned from seeing my grand uncle in the hospital after a major heart attack. It was nice to live closer to where I could go down and visit him after a few hours drive rather than multiple hours. He was communicating good by writing on a clipboard when I got there, which I am grateful for. A doctor initially made it sound like he had little chance of making it but as of today he is breathing on his own but is quite weak with his heart functioning on a limited basis, a fact that will not change with a valve not working properly.
After returning to visit my uncle, my wife got a call from her sister. Her husband was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer his father died from after it came back from remission. The symptoms seem to indicate that it is a more severe type (don't ask me the name of it) but the tests have not come back to indicate which one he has.

Then, as the week ended I was reading the blog of Nathan Shumate (Tachyon City) and found out he had a stroke. Nathan is my age.

All this has made me think about my mortality a bit. I would think that would be a natural thing considering the week's events. I have thought about it before due to my family history. My father had what I believe was a minor heart attack a couple of years ago while still in his 50s. My grandfather died from a hunting accident before I was born at the age of 44. His father died at the age of 45 from a heart attack. My 2nd great grandfather died at the age of 42 (a brain aneurysm, if I recall correct). My 3rd great grandfather died at 58, and his father at 47. You have to go back to my 5th Great Grandfather (direct paternal line) to find an ancestor who lived into his 60s.

The uncle I went to see is one of two brothers of my grandfather's who are still alive (of 7). One died at the age of 9 and was my grandfather's twin - illness weakened his heart. Two died in their 50s. My two grand uncles that are still alive, namely the one that had the heart attack, are probably the more healthy of the group, exercising on a regular basis and have eaten healthy. I really can't compare myself to them (unless we're looking at opposites) as I am overweight and not in shape. I can try to blame some of that on asthma but not all of it. I really need to take a look at what I can do to better my health so I can stick around for a good long time.

Even if I get myself in shape it is no guarantee I'll be around as long as I want though that is not an excuse not to try. There's other things that can sneak up on you like cancer. My sister has MS which I hope can be kept under control - that is something that can't be avoided as it just happens.

We're mere mortals with a limited time here. Or are we really eternal beings with limited mortal existence? Well, the latter is true so our mortality, while limited, is not the sum of our existence but a small portion of it. A guess that limits the sting of death a little. However, when we leave spouses with children still at home behind there is much more of an impact. There's a responsibility for us to do what we can to be there for our families as long as possible. That's fine and dandy for those who have some control over that but for those who don't, fate is in charge.

The Trek West

Well, we're now in St. George, Utah. It definitely doesn't feel like the Wasatch Front here but it is definitely Utah. I don't mean that in a negative way but when you have LDS churches around every corner, you're probably in Utah. So, another chapter in our family begins. Where we go from here is still open.

E-bay and The Last Mimzy

Our daughter really likes the movie The Last Mimzy. Of course, it is because of Mimzy. In the move, Mimzy is what appears to be a stuffed rabbit but turns out to be more than that. The Tonner Doll Company came out with a replica of Mimzy earlier this year and it was so popular it sold out (I think the Mimzy frenzie really hit when the DVD came out). You can buy them at e-bay, of course, but you'll have to bid a chunk of money to get it ($100 plus) when the ones available were originally $24.95 (there was a more deluxe version available for $59.95 or so).

New Line, the company that distributed the movie, made available a new talking Mimzy in a limited quantity of 2,000 just yesterday for the price of $29.95 (originally - they increased the price to $36.95 today). Despite there still being some available, these talking Mimzys are already showing up at e-bay for as much as $229.00 (Buy-it-Now price). If anyone bids on one of these Mimzys before the retail supply of 2000 is exhausted, they're nuts! If you want one go to New Line Shop before they run out but don't go to e-bay and pay a ridiculous price.

With e-bay there seems to be a trend. I think professional e-bayers are buying certain popular products to a point they are almost not available at your standard retail outlet (either brick and mortar or online). Our oldest son wanted a Bumblebee transformer based on the one recently seen on the Transformer movie. You couldn't find them anywhere except on e-bay. After some diligent effort on our part we located both versions (the older camaro model and the new one) at local stores right after being stocked. In both cases we got the last of each and ran into others trying to get the same ones.

I have purchased one toy on e-bay for more than standard retail once. It was a Jessie doll from Toy Story 2. We never saw them in stores and we really wanted to get it for our daughter because she was always playing with her brother's Woody doll. I did not, however, pay an exorbitant amount for it nor would I for any toy.

I will be watching this gift giving season to see what happens with these short supply high demand toys to see what prices are paid. I wonder if supplies will kick up for the transformers but thus far most retail outlets have had few of them (Wal-mart has been the worse) though Target and Toys 'R Us have had more in stock (though Toys 'R Us had been without them here locally for two weeks after they ran an ad advertising them - at least the $9.99 versions). Most likely procrastinators will pay - either in price or in a disappointed child.

Oh, and for those shopping on e-bay, check around before bidding.