The boys are launching their model rockets this morning with their Cub Scout pack. This has been a lot of fun to learn about the physics behind launching rockets. Both boys had successful flights, and if this is like other activities they have done, they will both declare Aeronautical Engineering as their major... today at least. 😀
This year we were able to celebrate Mother's Day with Gina and Karen! After church, we had an amazing lunch at the Garden Restaurant at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden, then we walked around and got some great family pictures. We got to have a great FaceTime session with my mom, Gale, later in the day. Below you can see some of our pictures from the special day.
I know, I haven't posted anything in a while. I hope to change that, but in the meantime you can watch this. Sam and Nate found a CD with this Doors song, and our parakeet (Olaf) loved it. Go figure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KymNQmJVpIE
This Thanksgiving, I really made an effort to focus on what this time of year represents. Our culture has made it hard to do that, especially when you see Christmas items being displayed in stores before Halloween is even over. Despite the big retail push that seems to start earlier each year, we felt like it was important to focus on those things for which we are thankful. No, I didn't post something new to Facebook each day. I'm not even sure I thought about it every day, but this Thanksgiving season was marked with clear reminders that nothing in life is guaranteed.
We started the Thanksgiving season by participating in a couple of different food drives. The boys and I picked out several cans of food for an initiative at their school, and it was really cool to see them carefully scanning the canned food aisle for items they thought families would enjoy. We also participated in the Live Thankfully event for the second year in a row. Our school is a partner in this event, and we had a great time gathering at Southwest Christian School to fill bags with canned food items and move them to a local church, where families would come to pick them up before Thanksgiving Day. I think the families also got a free turkey, but we did not have to move those. You can see a picture from the event below, where Gina and I are totally not looking at the camera. Oops!
This year was also filled with some sad reminders that holidays can be hard for some people who are experiencing poor health or lost loved ones. We had friends fighting for their lives in the hospital, families doing their best to celebrate with empty places around the table, and others who were unable to travel and be with family because of health conditions. For those of us, like my family, who are not experiencing extreme difficulties, we need to reach out to those who may need kind words, emotional support, or a helping hand.
On Thanksgiving Day, we started our celebration early by participating as a family in the Fort Worth Turkey Trot. The weather was unseasonably warm, and the rain managed to hold off until later in the day. It was a great event for everyone, and I am excited for the day when the boys want to move up to the 5K. Here are few pictures below.
We spent the rest of the day at Tommy's house, eating great food, watching football, and making a lot of memories together. The boys especially enjoyed getting to make a gingerbread turkey, which I have to admit, tasted better than I thought it would.
The next day, we had tickets to the TCU/Baylor football game. The weather was was rainy all day, and the temperature kept dropping by the hour. It became clear by about 1:00 that Gina and the boys were not going to make it to this one. I tried to recruit some of the neighbors to go with me, and I was able to get Ryan to tough the elements with me. The game turned out to be really cold and wet, but it was totally worth it to see the Horned Frogs pull the upset over the Bears. That is all I will say about that, since there are several BU fans in the family.
More than anything, this Thanksgiving was a reminder that everything we have - our health, each other, our home - is a gift. Take nothing for granted and live generously from your heart. That is the theme we hope to carry with us all year long.
It's fall in Fort Worth, which means you can count on a couple of things happening. The first is TCU football (Go Frogs!), and the other thing is soccer. Sam and Nate have really improved their soccer skills over the past few seasons, and they are fired up for a great season this fall. Several of the boys on their team were also on their team in the spring, so they play together really well. They have had one game so far, which ended in a victory. We are hoping for many great games and memories this season. I have posted several photos in our online photo album. Check back for more updates!
Today Sam and Nate got to participate in the worship service by singing Children of God with the praise team. It was a really powerful moment in the service (you can watch the whole service here), and the kids all did a great job. There are also some good shots of the boys singing. Gina and I are so thankful that Sam and Nate want to worship and serve in our church, and we hope they have more opportunities in the future.
https://youtu.be/4QCvcw3unWA
I attended a conference in Boston at the beginning of summer 2014, and I was so impressed with the city that I made a mental note to keep an eye out for future conferences there. The city seemed to be oriented toward familes, especially those who want to teach their children about the history of our country. I told Gina when I got home all about Boston and how great it would be if we could go there together.
Well, sometime last year I discovered that one of the conferences I had been wanting to attend was actually going to be in Boston, so I applied to be a presenter just to see what happened. Several months later I got word that I had indeed been selected by the program committee to be a speaker. So, now we had some decisions to make. Would I accept the invitation? Would we all go, or just me? Could we afford it? After a lot of discussion, we decided we could afford the trip and that Sam and Nate are at a great age for this kind of thing. They absorb absolutely everything, and there are so many experiences that would stick with them for a lifetime.
Looking back, I can tell you that Boston totally delivered on my expectations, and more! We arrived the evening before the conference began, and we spent some time walking around the Back Bay area. We actually saw Aaron Neville in concert, which was a total surprise. We also took the T to Revere Beach and saw some sand sculptures (as well as a Rod Stewart impersonator). After a late dinner, we crashed in our hotel room for the night.
The rest of the week went something like this: Gina and the boys explored Boston while I attended the conference sessions. There were plenty of free activities for them to do while I was in learning about new strategies and tools for using technology in my classroom. As soon as my sessions ended each day, I would meet the family somewhere in Boston and we would have adventures until late into the night. One such adventure was a Red Sox game at Fenway Park! Oh, I could there to watch baseball every night, and I don't even like baseball that much.
Gina found out about something called the Go Boston card, which is a discount pass to many of the attractions around the city. We did the math, and it seemed like a pretty good deal. Well, I don't have the exact numbers but I am pretty sure we got our money's worth out of this pass. We visited several museums, the aquarium, took two cruises around Boston Harbor, got a tour of Fenway Park, went on a guided tour of the Freedom Trail, and visited several other historical sites. Needless to say, we were totally spent at the end of each day.
There is so much I could write about this trip. It met and exceeded our hopes in just about every way. We learned so much about the early history of our country. We saw some amazing things. We got to spend a lot of time together (even considering how much time I was in conference sessions). We were already making mental notes about what to see next time we visit Boston, even before we left. You can see our pictures from the trip in our online photo album. I took over 1,000 pictures, which still does not seem to capture everything we did and saw. We are grateful for experiences like this, and we look forward to even more.
Here is the latest installment of the Alexander News. The boys are getting better at this, as is their cameraman/director/producer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE0wUQXkAJU
My lands are where my dead lie buried.~Crazy Horse
The last leg of our trip to the Black Hills was a visit to the Crazy Horse Memorial. I had not been here in several years, and my last visit lasted only about 90 minutes (most of which was spent in the gift shop with a 9-year old). I had vague memories about the size of the memorial or what there was to do there.
As has become customary on this trip, our visit to this memorial did not disappoint. There are many exhibits, live performances, Native American artisans selling their crafts, and displays explaining the technical specs of creating such a large sculpture. We enjoyed this memorial so much, we cancelled out other plans and spent the rest of the day there. I think we all learned a lot, gained new appreciation for Native American culture, and look forward to seeing progress on the massive sculpture in the future.
You can see our photos in our online web album.
The main purpose behind our trip to the Black Hills was to see Mt. Rushmore. This is something Sam and Nate have been asking about for over a year, and my memories here are so great that I knew it was something we had to do.
We started our day at the monument by hiking down to the Sculptor's Studio to hear a talk from a ranger about the techniques Gutzon Borglum used to create a massive sculpture out of a mountain. I still have a hard time getting my head around the fact that he was able to pull this off. We then took a hike on the President's Trail, which was not as challenging as the hike around Devils Tower. After our hike, we explored the Visitor's Center and exhibits some more (with the obligatory trip to the gift shop ... boy, I had forgotten how money has a tendency to burn a hole in a kid's pocket). Gina and I splurged on a Junior Ranger vests for the boys, which I have to say are very cool. They wore them the rest of the day with a little more pride than usual.
After a quick lunch at our cabin, we went to Rushmore Tramway Adventures to ride the chairlift and alpine slide. The view from the top was really beautiful, and the boys did great driving their own sled down the mountain. Nate was a little nervous about it, but he did great and was quite excited when he got done. We spent the rest of the afternoon in downtown Keystone looking in the shops and, yes, the money was still burning a hole.
We came back to the cabin for a quick rest after dinner, then we went back to Mt. Rushmore for the evening program. I had not seen this in quite some time, and it is definitely worth the effort. In fact, if a person were to go to Mt. Rushmore only once during the day, I would suggest going in the evening to see the program. The movie goes into more detail about each president and what he represents in the monument. The boys were mesmerized during the show. At the end they ask all people who have served in the armed forces to come down to the front, and each person states his or her name and branch of service. This was inspiring and moving for everyone in the audience, which must have been at least a couple of thousand people.
Suffice it to say, Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills have met, even exceeded, our expectations, and Gina and the boys are already talking about when we will come back. There is so much to see in our country, but I know we will make it back before long. The last leg of our journey will include the Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park. You can see our pictures from today in our online web album.
We started our adventure today by driving to Devils Tower, which is about 3 hours from Casper. If you have never been here before, it is totally worth the trip. This national monument is unlike anything you can find elsewhere in the United States. We took the plunge and did the entire 1.5 mile hike around the base of the tower. You can see all kinds of varied terrain as you complete the loop, from valleys, rivers, canyons, and mountain ranges. The tower itself seems to change shape as you walk around, which is why we took so many pictures (oh, and a new camera). We saw squirrels, deer, birds, prairie dogs, and rock climbers up on the tower, and we met some very nice people as we hiked. We even saw the old wooden ladder that people once used to climb the tower themselves (YIKES!). Sam and Nate did great until about the 1-mile mark. You can see from their expressions that they were pretty worn out from the trek, but they bounced back in no time after they earned their Junior Park Ranger badges.
There were no alien sightings, but we have heard those don't usually happen until after dark. I did have this strange urge to play with my mashed potatoes at supper (movie humor). We are now in our cabin in Keystone, and we can hardly wait to see some more amazing sights tomorrow. You can view all of our photos from today in our online web album.
One of our favorite places on the entire planet is Casper Mountain. A lot of people do not know this, but it is very diverse, with everything from sprawling meadows to caves to deep canyons with beautiful creeks. My family has had a cabin up there since about 1980, and I have explored just about every square inch of the canyon on which our cabin sits.
Each summer the boys explore a little bit more of the mountain with Gina and I. We already got to show them the fault line at the top of the canyon with Leif and Io, and yesterday we stayed the night up there and got to see some more amazing sites.
One place the boys have been interested in visiting is Bear Trap Meadow. When we got there, Nate asked where all of the bears were. I laughed because I had this same thought when I was his age. I guess both of us were hoping to see a meadow filled with bears caught in traps, and finding out that it is really just a big grassy field was a little anticlimactic. Even with the disappointment, we had a fun time walking around and testing out all the swings at each picnic shelter.
Our next stop was Ponderosa Park, which was totally destroyed by a forest fire in 2012. I had not been to this part of the mountain in many years, and the last time I was there was on my mountain bike. I had forgotten how far it is from Bear Trap Meadow to Ponderosa Park, which made me wonder how in the world I used to make this trek on a mountain bike (13 miles round trip, with a killer 2 mile climb coming out of Ponderosa Canyon). The entire area looked like something out of the Hunger Games, with charred trees and picnic structures all around. There is new growth starting to emerge from the fire damage, and it creates quite a beautiful contrast. This part of the mountain is characterized by sandstone formations and a breathtaking view of Medicine Bow National Forest. We will definitely make another trip there in a year or so to see if any of the picnic structures have been rebuilt.
I have included several photos below. There are also some photos of the Great River Raft Race on the Platte River, which - let's just be honest - is just an excuse to drink beer on a raft in the river at 9 o'clock in the morning.
Earlier in the day, we went fishing at Yesness Pond. The fishing excursion was quite successful as each boy caught about 10 fish. They like to brag about how many fish they caught, while I was amused by the fact that the sum total of all 20 fish was probably less than 5 pounds! That may actually be an exaggeration (it is a fishing story, after all).
On Sunday, we set off from Fort Worth to make our annual summer trip to Wyoming. The heat is starting to crank up in Texas, and this is always a great way to escape and enjoy cool temperatures in July. After the long trip getting here, we finally arrived on Monday evening just slightly road weary.
We were not only greeted by my parents, who we are here to see, but we got to meet Leif and Io who are traveling with their grandparents, Jeff and Melody, to a wedding in Colorado. We have known Jeff and Melody a long time, and I have met their children one time. This was our first time to meet their grandkids, and we have really enjoyed getting to know them.
Sam, Nate, Leif, and Io hit it off right away, and they have really enjoyed playing together. They have played soccer in the back yard, rolled candy under the tires of the oncoming cars in the parade (Leif's idea), marched like soldiers at the cabin, and hiked up the side of Elk Horn Canyon to see the fault line at the top. Considering we have only been here two days, I would say our annual visit to Casper has gotten off to a great start. You can see some of the photos so far below. (We got a new camera, which is why I am more trigger happy than normal).
This year we were able to stay in Fort Worth and celebrate Independence Day with our neighborhood friends and family. We started the day by participating on our neighborhood Fourth of July Parade. Sam and Nate decorated their bikes and rode with the other participants on the (nearly) two mile route through our neighborhood. By the end, they were a little hot and tired, but we had a lot of fun.
Later that day, after spending some time packing for our trip to Wyoming, we drove out to the Gooch farm to eat dinner and launch fireworks with our family. Each family brought so many fireworks that I thought we would never get through them. We did not leave the farm until 11 PM, which meant we got home around 1 AM. Not my best time of day. Sam and Nate, as usual, loved the fireworks and even got to shoot some Roman candles.
This time of year is a great reminder about all the blessings we enjoy as a country. We have freedom to make our own decisions about life, faith, career, and happiness, and on this day we come together to acknowledge that these freedoms come as the result of individual accountability and many men and women who have fought to preserve freedom and liberty for our country. It's a day that makes me both proud and humble at the same time.
You can see some pictures from the big day below.
Nate got used to how the boats worked, and he took second place in our den. I think this is the first trophy he has won based on actual competition. He did pretty well in the all-pack race, but not enough get win a trophy. He was very happy with himself that he was able to beat some of the older kids.
I am proud of both boys for finishing their boats and showing such great sportsmanship. We look forward to doing this again next year (now that we know what to do).
Sam and Nate finally got a bike upgrade this weekend. Their old Spider-Man bikes were so small, their knees were really cramped. So, we got them mountain bikes that seem to fit better, and they are definitely cooler. They struggled more than I thought with the new bikes, but as you can see from the video, they are starting to get the hang of it. We are looking forward to having some good rides this summer! https://youtu.be/f_smAHVvq1c
Over Memorial Day weekend, we all traveled to the farm of Gina's aunt and uncle to spend some time with our cousins. Even though the forecast looked ominous, the rain held off while we were there and the weather was beautiful for playing outdoors.
Sam and Nate got to play with Max and Wes, which was the highlight of the weekend for them. I think it is so great having cousins so close in age, and they all get along so well when they're together. They splashed on the slip-n-slide, swam in the pool, rode the Gator, climbed trees, fed the cows, and watched a bonfire.
We also got to spend some quality time with Tommy and his family. Zach and Kendall had a great time driving the Gator around the farm, with Kierra as their supervisor. I can hardly believe how fast those three are growing up, and it has been awesome to see them transition into young adults.
We were sad to see the weekend come to an end, but we are looking forward to another chance to get together. You can see some of our pictures from the weekend at the farm.
I noticed today on Facebook that Ella is the featured Butterfly Child for Butterfly Brand. This company sells soft clothing and toys, specifically for children with EB. Every month, a percentage of their proceeds goes towards a different child with EB, and this month that child is Ella! Their write-up is below. You can also purchase items from their website: www.butterflybrand.org. Thanks Butterfly Brand for doing this great work!
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