Happy Easter!

And now--we present the exciting Easter post requested by Janell, who wished she could have been with us, but was stuck far away in Vermont, where there is still snow. (Don't feel too bad. We may have the Easter eggs, but you still have the far superior real maple syrup.)

Saturday our family ventured south to SLC for the Easter party, and to sneak in a quick belated b-day party for Megan with her grandparents. Here is Megan with her awesome art easel present from Grandma & Grandpa Young. Thanks so much for helping enhance her art supplies! Kevin envisions some en plein air art experiences this summer...



For the Easter party Aunt Andrea, with the help of Uncle Tyler, made a delicious coconut cake and some wonderful lemon cupcakes. Thanks to Megan it became a Birthday-Easter cake. She blew out all 11 of the fancy giant candles, so her wish should come true.

We ate a tasty dinner of chicken and rice, egg bread (Challah), salad, and fruit, followed by the cake and cupcakes for dessert. Post dinner and clean-up was the annual egg dying event, sponsored by Grandma Young. This year she got tattoo, tie-dye, marble, and gold egg coloring kits (whatever happened to the traditional color tablets and vinegar?). Carrie demonstrates how to create a tie-dye one in the video.




We regret to inform Scotty that Humpty Dumpty was truly unable to be put back together again . . . He ended up being eaten by Kevin.

We also got to see some of Tanya's photos from her recent experience volunteering at orphanages in Ecuador. She spent three months there and fell in love with all the little children. She's planning on returning in the fall to help again.

And now, for the "exciting" video we promised:

Sunday morning the children found plastic Easter eggs and fun prizes at the Young's house. Next, we discussed the true meaning of Easter using the "Resurrection Eggs" Activity (another yearly family tradition). After getting dressed in Sunday clothes, we went to Grandma Tsukamoto's where the children went on yet another egg hunt in the back yard. Fully loaded with sugar, we ventured to church with Grandma T, where Erin had a very difficult time holding still.

Erin took a nap on the drive home and was fully recharged by the time Kevin and April were ready to go to sleep. Sorry, but no tantrum video of the "going to bed" scene. Happy Easter!

Homeschool Day at Hogle Zoo

Hogle Zoo sponsored another free homeschool day this year. We carpooled with the Crooks and spent a fun afternoon there on Wednesday. We were surprised that most of the animals were awake and active rather than simply sleeping the day away. It must be Spring Fever.

We could have provided you with a video, but we are currently too unmotivated to take the time to compile one. Just imagine the animals pictured above pacing back and forth and that would be the essence of it.

Iditarod Update

Congratulations to Sue Morgan, our Cache Valley representative!!!

Wearing bib #72, Sue completed the Iditarod today in 72nd place in 14 days, 0 hours, 31 minutes, 30 seconds. Way to go! Look for news articles about her in local papers this week.

We have been closely following the race over the past week, reading more of the mushers' biographies, and have been really impressed by several of them. The youngest contestant this year was Melissa Owens, an 18-year-old high school senior from Nome, AK, who finished in 30th place. Jeff Deeter, a 19-year-old rookie, raised all the money and earned his sled dogs by himself. He placed 59th. Legally blind, Rachel Scedoris was racing with Joe Runyan as her visual interpreter (he ran with a dog sled team ahead of her and would call back to let her know of the conditions). Unfortunately, she ended up scratching close to the end for the well-being of some of her dogs (vets continually monitor the health of the dogs at the trail checkpoints). She met Joe at the finish line in Nome later where he placed 61st. We were also pleased to find a homeschooling mother and musher, Anne Capistrant, racing in her first Iditarod (her husband previously raced in 2004). The Capistrant family runs Hoof 'n' Woof Kennels.

Among the top 10, our current favorite is Martin Buser, a 4-time Iditarod champion (he holds the record for the fastest time) and long-time veteran. This year was his 25th year running the race. He finished in 5th place, going under the arch 44 seconds behind Ken Anderson. Martin's 18-year-old son, Rohn (named after one of the Iditarod checkpoints) also ran as a rookie this year and placed 37th. The Buser family owns Happy Trails Kennels, which is now on our list of places to visit in Alaska someday.

We noticed that before dog sled racing took over their lives, many of the mushers earned biology degrees. Perhaps, like us, they were disillusioned when they learned that biologists don't get to spend all their time out in the wilderness. Be forewarned...we may decide to move to Alaska next...

Budding Artist

Megan picked up a brochure about the Junior Duck Stamp Contest a few months ago. She got very excited upon perusing it and made a goal to enter the 2008 contest. Early on, she chose a Canada Goose as her subject matter. After taking several photos and creating several different paintings, she finally decided to enter this one, entitled "Nesting Time." We mailed it this morning, barely making the "postmark by March 15th" deadline.

And in preparation for Easter, she painted this cute rabbit picture:





Both of these were painted with acrylics.

Spring Break Activity

We REALLY wanted to take a camping trip to Southern Utah. However, due to various circumstances, the primary one being that of a certain unfinished large document that Kevin is supposed to be completing this semester, we ended up staying in Cache Valley while the rest of the student population left for the week.

To help curb cabin fever and give Kevin a reward for getting up early and writing a lot, one sunny afternoon the family went ice fishing at Hyrum Reservoir. It was a beautiful, warm day.

There were only a couple of other ice fishing groups further away, so we staked out a spot fairly close to the boat ramp, set up chairs, and the boys started "drilling" holes with the ice auger.

Once the holes were made, Erin helped by scooping out the ice chunks.

Then Dad got the poles set up with bait (delicious maggots) and the fishing began.

Since she doesn't have a current fishing license, April decided to "walk on water" and ventured across the reservoir to the other side. Erin lost interest in fishing shortly after and decided she needed to go find her mom. She walked nearly half-way across before meeting up with Mom on the way back.

In the end, nobody caught any fish (or even got a bite), but we all enjoyed getting out in the sunshine for a bit. We did see some grouse, Canada geese, and the ever-present gulls.

To Nap or Not to Nap. . . That is the Question

Part One: Why Erin should NOT take a nap:



Part Two: Why Erin SHOULD take a nap:

And the Winner Is...

Lance Mackey, 37, from Fairbanks, AK, is the 1st place champion of the 2008 Iditarod! He completed the race in 9 days, 11 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds! Read the full story here. Have you had as much adventure over the past 9 days? Jeff King finished in 2nd place, and as of this time the 3rd place winner hasn't arrived yet.

It has been fun for our family to follow the race via the Internet this year. We didn't have any personal favorites, but we are pleased to see that our own rookie Cache Valley entrant, Sue Morgan, is still in the race (currently in position #77). Go Sue! We'll have to arrange a field trip to visit her sometime and hear about the experience firsthand.

Elk Adventure (along with deer and a moose)

Ian's Cub Scout group went on an outing to Hardware Ranch last Saturday, and families were invited along. It has been several years since we last visited, so we bundled up and joined in the fun. On the drive through Blacksmith Fork Canyon, we saw over a hundred mule deer--one is ALWAYS guaranteed to see live deer along the sides of this canyon road during the winter.




When we arrived at the ranch, we stopped in the Visitor's Center and looked at the various displays. Erin said the big stuffed bull elk was "too scary," so we were a little worried about what she would think of the sleigh ride out in the middle of the live herd.

Fortunately, she was excited about the ride when it was time to go on it, and we all boarded the sleigh. We saw nearly 600 head of elk at the refuge, with several big bulls (one of which Kevin claims he saw during the bow hunt last fall). The guide said they will break off into groups of about 12 when they leave later in the spring. He also told us the bulls would start dropping their antlers in a couple more weeks. If only they would let the scouts return to collect dropped antlers!

For the nature education of cousin Scotty, we present a video so that he can learn to recognize elk. We expect his parents to provide him with more details, but here is a start. The video even features an exciting stampede scene which we witnessed as we were leaving. We have no idea what spooked the elk, and we were jealous of the group in the sleigh who got to watch them up close.

After the elk adventure, we drove back down the canyon and April spotted this cow moose resting and chewing its cud next to the river. It was our second moose sighting for the year so far.

Megan Turns Eleven!

Miss Megan turned 11 years old this past Thursday (6 March). We were so surprised that we nearly forgot to get any presents for her. In fact, celebrations didn’t even begin until that evening. In the morning we went to the Logan Library, where Erin had her weekly Storytime, and then the afternoon was filled with the annual Cache Valley Homeschool Science Fair. Megan presented her experiment with Brine Shrimp (she tested the effect of different salinity levels on hatching success) and Ian displayed his homemade Weighing Machine. Both of them received participant ribbons, and Megan was one of the few who received a special recognition award for her project. (Due to the chaos of the day, Mom forgot to bring the camera and is still waiting to get photos from another mother.)

When we finally arrived home, Mom and Dad were able to make Megan's traditional bacon-spinach birthday quiche and a homemade chocolate cake (with no frosting--Megan isn't a frosting fan). We ate a late dinner, opened presents, and ate cake and raspberry sherbet.

Birthday celebrations continued the following day when Megan had a party with her good friends Emily and Amelia. While the children played, Mom and Dad made spinach-alfredo pizza (Megan’s second dinner request). After dinner Mom & Ian went to karate while Dad and the girls (including Erin) went ice skating. Emily decided ice skating was not her favorite sport. Erin liked being pushed in her stroller across the ice and also enjoyed shuffling along in her boots. Megan and Amelia had fun and showed improvement throughout the night. Post-ice skating we ate chocolate cupcakes and finished the sherbet. You would think that crazy, sugar-filled friends would then stay up all night for the sleepover, but perhaps the skating had worn them out—it was a quiet night.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEGAN!!!

The Newest Member of our Ward

Ian was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, 1 March 2008. He was so excited for this day, and he has been diligently preparing the past few months. It turned out that he was the only child from our Stake being baptized this month, so we had a small, intimate group of family and friends attending. He listened patiently to the talks and the music (Mom gave a little spotlight about him, Megan played a piano medley of Primary songs, and Dad gave a talk as the High Council representative), and finally it was time for him to enter the water. When Dad opened the doors to the font, he was surprised to see that about half the water had drained out! Fortunately, there was enough left to accomplish the ordinance. After the baptism, he was confirmed a member of the church.

We were especially grateful to have Grandpa Young in attendance, and also grateful that both Grandmas and Tyler and Andrea could come share the experience with Ian. We celebrated with family and friends afterwards at a lunch at the house. The adults visited while the children played together.

Last night, after writing in his journal about the day, Ian said, "This was one of my best days ever!" Thank you to all who helped make the day memorable for Ian.