Ian's First Pinewood Derby

What a fun night! We weren't expecting much- we have a small troop and we found out just this past Sunday that it might be today- but it was just right. There were 4 scouts and the cub master's little boy. We hadn't spent much time on the car, Kevin and Ian had cut it down some and sanded it, so last night they painted it and that was pretty much it. I kept asking about weights, but Kevin said they didn't need them. The only other thing they did was add a tiny washer to each wheel between the wheel and car so there wasn't any friction with the wood. We got to the Derby and the other boys were "practicing" and their cars were pretty fast- one of the boys had added little weights to the entire bottom of his car. I had prepared myself to console Ian since I didn't think his car would do that well without the weight. Little did I know we had some kind of mojo going on and his car would win every heat he was in! A couple were close until the straight stretch at the end when his car would just pull ahead. It was so freaky! We even let the others check out our car after the races were done and they couldn't believe it either. On the way home Ian just kept exclaiming his amazement that he had won since he thought the other cars looked faster. He was very happy with his first Pinewood Derby experience- and so was Daddy! He got a little bit of "I told you so" on that one!

Latest trip

Once again, Kevin surprised me with the suggestion we go visit Grandpa in Ogden- 5 hours away. I was able to talk him out of leaving Friday afternoon around 2pm- it helped that the hotel we like to stay in was sold out. Go Jazz! Anyway, we left Saturday morning at 7am and once again "Lead-foot Annie" was driving and with a stop in Nephi for gas, we got there at around 11:30 or so. Grandpa was very happy to see us, but kept asking when we were going to get him down to St. George. My goal for the month- what's left of it- is to get on that and not stop until he is here. Nicole and her family have done a great job taking care of him this past year, but her health isn't the best and I know Dad would just feel better being "home"- and out of the snow!
We went over to Nicole's to visit and see her 2 new mini-schnauzers- Taylor (a girl) and Ruff( a boy). They are too cute! Ian had fun playing with the cousins and we just visited- Grandpa came too!- and ate some awesome Chinese food. The weather was great- we did have some ground fog along the way- and we were home by 11:30 pm. We did have a moment outside Parowan when Kevin suddenly swerved because he was about to hit a deer. Luckily the deer kept going across. He laughed because I was reading and when he swerved I looked up, saw the deer, and cursed loudly, "SH**!!" . Ian was so out he didn't even realize what had happened. We were all glad we had another safe and successful trip to Ogden.
We have just been enjoying our days off with the long weekend and are all rested and ready to get back to work/school! Oh! We also bought a chest freezer, so if anyone has any suggestions on freezing meals and such to put in the freezer- that means you Sherrie- let us know! Thanks!

Holiday recap

Okay, everyone is getting after me to update so I am going to update and try to do better this year. Over the holidays it was just nice to not have to be on the computer for anything. When it is a part of your job it gets old.
Our Christmas was nice. Like all of you, we kept it simple and didn't spend too much. In fact, Santa gave Ian a DS Lite and instead of playing with it all the time- like I was sure he would- he and I played Chess for almost a week straight before he picked-up the DS! He is such a smart kid! We got a game called No Stress Chess. It teaches chess basics with playing cards, and eventually you will be able to play without the cards. We both learned alot and now we we have to keep it at best of 3.
Christmas eve was an adventure! Kevin decided around 12:30 that we should drive up to Ogden- about 5 hours away- to visit my Dad in the Assisted Living place he is at. There was a huge storm on the way- as we all know by now- but we headed out anyway. "Lead-foot Annie" aka Ann-Marie drove on the way up. We stopped to potty and for gas and made it up there about 5pm. Grandpa was very surprised to see us, yet very tired. We stayed with him for about an hour and a half. We didn't know at the time he was fighting the lingering effects of his latest bout with MRSA- a super-bug type of staff infection that he picked-up last year and gets again and again. He was so out of it I worried he would wake the next day and think it was all a dream! Ian had tucked him into his recliner with the new blaket we bougth him and he was all set. He had the relcliner tipped all the way back, his blanket wrapped around him, and his oxygen mask on. I snuck a picture with my new cellphone I got for my birthday, but decided not to share it- it looks really Hanibal Lechter-like!
We stopped at my sister Nicole's house and had a quick bite to eat and then we headed home- it was about 7:30 pm. I thought we were doing a good job because we left before the snow started- I didn't realize the storm was coming from the South! We hit the worst spots around Fillmore- of course- and Cedar City. We got home safely- thank you Kevin- around 1:30 am. We all went right to bed and Ian had us up at 6:30 to open presents. We later went to Mesquite for Christmas dinner with my brother Wil and his family. All said, it was a pretty nice holiday.