911! The Internet's not working!

Last night our Mediacom service for our computers, home phones, and TV was out!

Oh, the horror!

We tried restarting things, unplugging and plugging things, to no avail.  There was this small panic moment from both kids, but thankfully they figured it out.

Rhiannon read books.

Wade got out puzzles.

It's nice to know they can adapt and survive when the "power" is out, ha-ha!

Time flies when you're having fun

Our kind neighbors Tom and Margo stopped by this morning to tell me that our waterfall pump was making awful noises.  Sure enough, it was, so I unplugged it.  Hopefully Jason won't have to dig half of a frog out of it again!  I'm just going to leave that little project for him when he gets back from travel!

A comment from Tom the neighbor has made me contemplative this morning.  He said, "Man, your kids are sure growing up fast!"  He's right.  He and his wife are gone for months at a time RVing, so they notice change when they're in town.  For me, it happens so subtly and slowly that I don't think about it, until I sentimentally add pictures like this to the blog:

Rhiannon "entertains" Wade,  February 2004

March 2004

Those are from 10 years ago.  Ten.  If I want to really creep myself out, I remind myself that:

1.  Rhiannon will start high school in less than 6 months.
2.  Rhiannon will turn 16 in 2 years.
3.  Wade will be done with Cub Scouts in 8 months.
4.  Wade will go on a mission in 8 years.
etc.
etc.
etc.

Time flies when you're having fun!

3 Letters

These are future-blog-book worthy.  Had to share.



Letter #1:
                                                 

January 30, 2014

Dear Coach Chris,

Our family is very appreciative of the time and effort you put into coaching the Broncos flag football team this season.  Thank you!


Without going into too much detail, our son Wade needed to have some fun and a good team experience after a very difficult baseball season last spring.  You and Coach Wes were just what the doctor ordered.  We are so grateful for the emphasis you placed on trying hard, having a good attitude, being a good team member, and just plain having fun!  That’s what it’s all about, right?  Wade had a blast, gained some confidence, and definitely improved in his own abilities.


Win or lose, regardless of what the scoreboard might say at the end of each game, this season was great for Wade and our family.  We just wanted you to know how grateful we are for all you did!  We wish you all the best—thanks for everything! 

Wade thought you’d enjoy a movie on us—have fun!  

Your friends,

The Cushing Family

(we enclosed a gift card to the local movie theater--he loved it!)

Letter #2:

10 Feb 2014

Hi Jason,

I wanted to say thank you to you and Tharity (probably didn't spell that right) for the letter and gift.  Please also let Wade know I said thanks as well.  It truly made my day!  Wade was an outstanding kid!  Everything about him... paying attention, listening to instruction, positivity, caring, working hard... he was by far the BEST at what I feel are the most important aspects of life.  I wanted to say thank you for raising such a fine young kid!  I will always look for him during any draft.  So... THANK YOU again for allowing me to teach Wade.

Sincerely,
Chris

Letter #3:

11 Feb 2014

Chris,

Thank you so much for your email.  What you wrote means a lot to Verity (don't worry about the spelling!) and I as Wade's parents.  We have tried to teach him that there are things that are more important than being the "best" on any team he might be a part of.  I've tried to give him three rules...try hard, listen to the coach, and have fun.  It seems to be working so far!

Verity and I both want to thank you for being such a wonderful coach.  Wade had his best season of flag football by far, and that is because he had his best coach by far.  You made the game more than just wins and losses, you made it fun not just for him, but for all the kids on your team.  I wish there were more coaches that took that approach around here.  We would be thrilled if he were on your team again sometime.

Please thank Coach Wes for us as well.  He did a great job too, you were both a great coaching team!

VR,

Jason




Jason sat us down for Family Home Evening a few weeks ago and said he had something important to share.  We all panicked a little, thinking he was going to drop a bombshell on us, and then he read Coach Chris's email.  It was a great moment!

Successful ensemble recital!

Rhiannon and Wade participated in an ensemble recital yesterday.  Rhiannon performed with her friends Nathan and Rachel.  They played a piece called "Out...Standing," which was really funny because Nathan played all his parts standing and moving around.  They did great!  Wade performed "My Hat, It Has Three Corners" with his friends Jon and Sam Nation.  They had fun and made a big deal of taking off their paper hats with a flourish at the end when they bowed.  Fun!  I'm sorry I didn't take video--maybe next time!  This is just one of those "pictures to prove it" posts. :)

Mega Brownie Points for Daddy

Jason super-spoiled his girls for Valentine's Day!  He brought home beautiful flower bouquets on Thursday afternoon that Carin Miles had put together, a talented friend in our ward.  It's been over a week and most of the flowers are still going strong and blooming.  Love!!!  Thanks, babe!!!!

Jason explained to Wade that his Valentine was the golf outing and lunch they'd done the weekend before.  Wade was cool with that. :)  I did paper heart attacks on the kids' bedroom doors and Jason's desk.  But I don't think the flowers can be topped!

Death Valley Camping Trip, February 2014

For Valentine's/President's Day weekend, we spent time with our friends the Okerlund family in Death Valley.  It's the perfect time of year to go there, and the weather and scenery were amazing!  We camped in the Texas Springs campground near Furnace Creek and drove all over that area of Death Valley seeing and hiking through places we'd never seen before.  Can't wait to do it again!

Jason took some fantastic photos of the scenery and our hikes.  I took pictures of life at our campsite. :)  Enjoy!

Gold Canyon

Artist's Palette

Card games at the campground

My just-woke-up face.  The coyotes yipping at night and the moon-as-bright-as-sunlight made for a rough sleep for me.  Thank goodness my sleeping bag and sleeping pad were jjjust rrright.

Rhiannon's just-woke-up face

Wade slept well!  :)

"Mom, take a picture of you kissing me!"

Yep, we got a little reception up there. :)

Sun setting over our camp

Brandon and Wendy--good buddies!

Our campsite

Mountains in the west

Artist's Palette

Their orders when I went to the local store with Wendy

Camping Queens

Artist's Palette

Badwater

Near the Natural Bridge area--we saw the bridge and kept on going.  There were some neat things to see!  Rhiannon and Wade had SO MUCH FUN with these kids.  Jason and I realized we need to go camping with friends more often--the kids entertained themselves!

Natural Bridge hike--this was scary for me, I'm not gonna lie!

Badwater

Badwater

Natural Bridge area

See!  There's the bridge! :)

Devil's Golf Course--so interesting.  Sharp and hard to walk on, but worth it!

Devil's Golf Course

Brandon was offering a dollar to the first kid who found a "golf ball" out there.  Here was an example of one that had fallen in.

Texas Springs campground--that's our kids at the top of that hill.  They had a blast climbing that and playing Capture the Flag when it got dark with our friends and a bunch of Boy Scouts.

Breathtaking!

Gold Canyon

Gold Canyon

Gold Canyon

What a beautiful place!

That's Love

Jason:  Wanna go to lunch today?

Me:  SURE!

Jason:  Where do you want to go?

Me:  I want to go where YOU'd like to go.

Jason:  How about Miso (a sushi place)?

Me:  Sounds great!

We met up at 11:30 and had a super tasty lunch.  As Jason ordered off the all-you-can-eat sushi buffet, I enjoyed my standard Bento-style box.  And asked for a fork instead of chopsticks.  I told Jason that I really appreciated the lunch date, and the fact that he still takes me to "chopsticks" places even though I can't use chopsticks worth a darn.  Love.

2014 "Go For the Gold" Blue & Gold Banquet

Last year when the Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquet rolled around, I didn't get involved.  I came, I ate, I enjoyed, and then I left.  A part of me still hadn't recovered from the banquet I'd helped with in 2012, when everyone but a handful of us left and we were there a long time cleaning up.  It left a bad taste in my mouth, especially since the event had been so well-attended and there were lots of people who could have helped but didn't.

The lesson learned that night was one that has helped me a lot since then:  if you want help, ASK FOR IT!  It's not fair to others to assume that they'll know what's going through your head and what you need help with.  People aren't purposely turning their backs on you--they just haven't been clued in.   I've been a lot better about asking for help since that fateful night, ha-ha!

Fast forward to last night, our 2014 "Go For the Gold" Blue & Gold banquet with a Winter Olympics theme. There was a HUGE turn-out, it was loud, messy, crazy, and fun, and....I loved every minute of it.

So what was the difference?

A.  Attitude--my own, that is.  Cub Scout events are not quiet affairs.  They are noisy and crazy. You kind of have to embrace that because you can't change it, ha-ha!  Some days I'm oblivious to it, and other days I want to pull my hair out over it.  Also, it was Wade's last Blue & Gold, so I felt I owed it to him to not get annoyed and have a good time.  Good thing, because HE was the one who ended up being annoyed with the little kids throwing balloons up in the air and stuff.  Normally that would bother me, too, but it didn't last night.

B.  Classy, simple decorations=easy clean-up.

C.  Games geared towards kids  (Minute-to-Win-it style, they were a blast).  This was important because I'm pretty sure kids outnumbered adults 1,000 to 1, and we planned for 150+ people....

D.  Simple program, no speaker, just a regular pack meeting format.

E.  Most important, we asked for help with clean-up and people really came through.

F.  Our Cub Scout committee really came through, too.  There were lots of little things that needed done, and we pulled it off via division of labor. :)  That doesn't mean that I didn't worry about ALL of it, but it was great to see it all come together.

G.  I got home an entire hour earlier than I thought I would.  It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

Here are some fun pics that my friend Kristin Hawkins took...I'm very grateful to her because she stressed and fretted with me and did so much to help with the decorating!

Kristin's snowflakes were the perfect touch!  I liked how my balloon stands came out, too.  The little circles on the walls were paper plates with pictures that the Cub Scouts drew, to go along with the Olympics "rings" theme.

Another Kristin creation--she'd made these felt country flags a long time ago and had the great idea to put them up for the Olympics theme.  I loved it!  Kristin also printed up paper games like word searches for people to work on at the tables.

One of our Wolf leaders, Ryan, did a great job MCing the Minute-to-Win-It games on stage.  He drew kids' names randomly, so not everyone participated.  That kept the excitement level up, too--so many kids were hoping for their names to be pulled!  Kristin made "prizes" for those who participated--the Snowman Poop was my favorite. :)

These boys were there early, helping out!

Some of our Webelos getting awards from Sister Grant.  We have 10 Webelos right now--they're awesome!!!!  Especially that 3rd kid from the left--love that boy. :)

For our menu we had hot dogs, chips, water to drink, and then guests brought either a salad or dessert to share.  Our Cub Committee chair stayed busy in the kitchen boiling the hot dogs--everything else was just grab-and-go.  We went heavy on desserts, which was probably a good thing. :)  And we made a few announcements reminding people that we could use lots of help cleaning up afterwards--it made all the difference in the world!

I did have one failure that I'm still laughing about.  I wanted to do something special for Sister Grant, who was recently released after serving over 4 years as our Cub Master.  She is an amazing lady who always has a smile on her face and puts up with a lot of cranky parents.  She's still acting as Cub Master until her replacement has been called, and she did SO MUCH for the banquet.  So, I got our 10 Webelos boys and we did this little cheer for her using the letters of her name, Karen Grant.  K is for kind, etc.  Well, it came off perfectly when we practiced it, but when we did it for realz one of the letter plates was missing.  I asked the kid which letter he had and he said, "Reliable," so I grabbed another plate and wrote R on it.  Well, when the boys got up there it said this:

K. R. R. E. N.  G.R.A.N.T.

Apparently "reliable" was actually "Always reliable," with an A.  The crowd got a big kick out of that, and so did I.  It was an epically funny fail!

Listening and following through

I sent out an email to family yesterday about some stories I heard at church on Sunday.  The stories were so profound to me that I wanted to add them to the blog, too.  That way, when I come back to them, I can remember again how I felt in that meeting.  

In our women's meeting at church, the lesson was from our Relief Society president on listening to the Spirit and following through on promptings we receive.  The moral I got, after listening to some amazing experiences that happened to people I knew, was that it doesn't matter if you think it's from God or just a random thought--if it's not hurting anybody and it feels right, you should follow through, and quickly!

The friend sitting next to me in the meeting is a newlywed. She and her husband moved to Ridgecrest in October.  She shared about something that happened to her husband a few weeks ago.  He was working out at the gym on base lifting weights, and he had the thought to go get on one of the bikes.  He hates cardio, but he followed through.  Just as he got to the bike, a janitor lady that he was friends with walked over to the water fountain near him and collapsed to the floor from a heart attack.  An ambulance was called and she got to the hospital and stayed alive for 15 hours, enough time for her family to come say goodbye before she died.  The crazy thing is that the bike and water fountain were in this out-of-the-way spot where no one goes.  There's no telling how long the woman would have laid there before someone found her.

Then an older friend talked about driving on the highway and having the thought to get over in the other lane.  She ignored it a couple times and finally moved over.  Just as she did that, a deer ran onto the highway, jumped over her car, and kept on going.  If she'd been in the other lane, there would have been a bad accident.

Then our teacher said she felt inspired to talk about this topic of listening and following through after an experience her family had gone through just this week.  She and her husband own a trucking business, and one of their drivers called from a little town in Texas saying that he felt really sick and needed help getting the truck back.  Our teacher was listening to this conversation and felt right away that she needed to call some members of the Church to check on him.  She didn't know how to do that, but felt inspired to get on the Church website and quickly located Church members, strangers to her, and asked them to go check on this friend at his motel.  She was worried they'd think she was crazy, but asked them anyway.  A branch president and missionaries went to check on their truck driver, who was experiencing kidney and liver failure by then and was obviously suffering from something worse than a flu.  He received a priesthood blessing and was life-flighted to a big hospital in Texas because he was having a heart attack and other complications.  Their truck driver friend is not a member of the Church, but he is grateful for the blessings he received, calling them "when the men prayed over me," and he is making a remarkable recovery.

As you can imagine, we were all very touched by that lesson and the stories that were shared.  I'm sure there were lots of other stories that could have been shared, too.  I'm thankful that I was there to hear the lesson, especially since I was itching to get home at the time and watch the Super Bowl. :)  I would have really missed out if I'd skipped.  :)

Now that's what I call a sunset

Last week Rhiannon and I raced out the front door to capture one of our valley's spectacular sunsets.  They never cease to blow me away with their beauty.  You have to be quick, though, because they don't last long!

Rhiannon took this one with her iPhone!  WOW!

Maybe a minute after her I took a panoramic shot with my phone.  Amazing how the colors went from reds and oranges to purples and pinks.  Stunning!

I've been feeling a little homesick for Texas lately, so these sunsets sure helped to remind me that I've got it good here in the middle of nowhere, too. :)

Way to go, Broncos!

Well, the Denver Broncos choked in the Super Bowl, but Wade's Broncos flag football team had a lot of fun this season.  Wade had some great coaches, Coach Chris and Coach Wes, who taught the boys some fun plays and were very positive and upbeat.  Their team only won a handful of games but never got beat into the ground on the losses, either.  Way to go, Wade!  He liked playing linebacker the most.  It was a fun season that ended too quickly!