Pine Wood Derby

Last week, Benjamin entered his first Pine Wood Derby. He named his car "Fire Flame." I guess he wanted everyone to know it was really hot! He took 4th place.

Benjamin's Child Dedication

This past Sunday, Benjamin was dedicated at our church during the Sunday service (2/8/09). Rev. Tom Goldsmith of First Unitarian Church in SLC preformed the dedication in which the congregation, friends, family and parents promise to help guide Benjamin to grow into a kind, loving, honest, just, trustworthy and happy person. He stood proud and it was so nice to see the sanctuary full of people. (I'll post a photo if I can acquire one...) Congratulations to our Benny and good luck on your journey, son!

Super times and sad times...

This weekend we got the opportunity to get to know a real character of a guy, Skinner, meet some mules and go for a sleigh ride in Heber. Skinner is a retired flying circus clown, a skilled craftsman and blacksmith, and a true mountain man. He noticed our gypsy wagon, or vardo, in our yard and invited us to store it in the barn where he trains mules in Heber. We took it there and he treated us to conversation, homemade wassail and a sleigh ride. He's building a vardo of his own design to go on a journey from Oregon on, back-tracking the Oregon trail. He seems to know about everything and has some really colorful stories. We really enjoyed the day with him!




Also, this weekend we watched, along will millions of other people, the Steelers beat the Cardinals in a pretty exciting Superbowl game. If was funny to hear Alex and Alan cheering when the Steelers made a great play and groaning when they "fumbled."




Those were some happy times but Sunday evening I found that our last hamster, Pop, had passed away. It was too much for Alan to bear losing both our little friends so close to each other. He felt that if must have been his fault. We know that Blaze died of old age but we're not sure why Pop passed on. It is so hard to see your kids hurting and not really knowing what will make them feel better. I cried myself as Pop was the hamster I took out and played with most often.



Pop was very hand friendly and would come to the door of the cage when ever I came into the room. He always seemed ready to play. He was a different kind of hamster than Blaze (who was a dwarf Russian winter white hamster), slightly larger and more brown colored, a Campbell's dwarf hamster. We got Pop with his brother Pip last January right after they were able to leave their mother. Pop and Pip roomed together until Pip passed away (not long after we got them). Pop wasn't a runner like Blaze rather he just loved to gnaw on the bars of his cage. He was always climbing up like a monkey and gnawing away. We'll inter Pop side by side with Blaze and in the spring we'll create a marker for the graves.




Unfortunately we never took any pictures of the hamsters. Here's a look at hamsters who were similar to Blaze and Pop:



This one looks a lot like Blaze.

Here are two that look like Pop.

Path to Black Belt

Our family is involved in a martial arts for called Kyukido. Alan has been a student since he was in Kindergarten (almost 7 years). This week he tested for his Red Belt. That means he will be able to test for his Black Belt in one of the next two Black Belt tests, either October 2009 or May 2010. We are so proud of his progress in martial arts!



The test begins!

Here is Alan right after passing the test:

From left to right:

Head Master Royal West, Alan, Mr. Joe Kelly (3rd Dan) and Mrs Meda West (4th Dan)

Goodbye Blaze...

Last week, our first hamster passed away. Blaze was just about 14 months old and the softest hamster ever. He loved to run on his wheel which often made enough noise to keep you up at night. He was hand trained and enjoyed getting a piece of cheese as a treat. We received Blaze as a Christmas gift and he was related to several hamsters in our neighborhood. We will miss Blaze and hope he is enjoying hamster heaven.

Our New President

"What a confidant figure," Alex told me as he watched Barack Obama arrive to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. Being busy at work, I only heard the tail end of his speech but I will watch it later. I am both excited and hopeful for the changes that may be made for the better here in our country beginning today. I am planning to use his speech as well as quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday when I teach the kids class at church. It's funny, when I talk to Alan about it he just doesn't understand the concept of prejudice! It's no big deal to him that the president is black. I hope I have truly taught my kids that there are no differences in people that matter beyond what is in their heart, mind and soul.

Benjamin, now eight!

Well, Benjamin's birthday was yesterday. I can't believe he is eight years old! He sure is a handful but so cute and determined to let everyone know He Is Benjamin! He enjoyed breakfast in bed, tv and video games ALL day and dinner at his favorite, Sizzler. Of course there were lots of presents. The day before, many of our friends met with us to bowl at Fats Cats to celebrate. He said it was the best birthday ever, I hope he has many more happy birthdays!