New Year's Eve 2024

 New Year's Eve was spent in Arizona with the Routsong Cousins.  Nick, Carissa, Kipton, Aria, Kamden & Alina.  We went to Carissa's parents house to celebrate and enjoyed all kinds of fondu.  She had fondu pots of hot oil for which to fry up pieces of steak, sourkrout balls, chicken and shrimp on skewers.  She even mixed up some batter to dip and fry large mushrooms, cucumber & other veggies.  She had a charcuterie board to snack on, delicious frozen punch, and of course a chocolate fondu fountain with all of the goodies to go with it.  The kids had a ball frying all their dinner course and dipping all their strawberries, pretzels and marshmallows in chocolate.  They ran around and played tag outside with their cousins and the cousins' cousins.  Cooper & Jax played some songs on their grand piano.  Kaylee and Dawson played Nintendo with Kipton and Aria.  Jax and Nate got to give the flight simulator a whirl with Carissa's dad.  Then they lit off fireworks outside in the road to celebrate.  A super fun evening to remember.  Goodbye 2024, and Welcome 2025!

Kaylee's Christmas Present

 Kaylee wanted a second set of ear piercings for Christmas.  So I wrote it up like a gift certificate and she opened it up on Christmas morning.  Since we were leaving for Arizona, we decided to get it done here.  And we couldn't have made a better choice.  We found a professional piercer, Amber Gray, who had a studio in her own home.  She was so knowledgeable and kind and explained everything in an easy way to understand.  She treated Kay with such respect and kindness and walked her through every step of the way.  Amber used the hollow needle method, and she even measured Kay for future piercings to make sure it was all evened out.  Kay did great, breathed through it and said it was not nearly as bad as she thought it would be.  And then she was done!!  Congrats Kaylee!!  You are beautiful!

Antelope Canyon X

 We took a Canyon X tour on the Navajo lands.  The Navajo own so much land in the area.  The land is sacred and secured.  We could not bring bags, food, trash or anything but water and phones into the lands.  We took a 15 passenger van down to the canyon entrance.  The short hike down into the canyons revealed caves and cliffs underground, hidden by the flat desert land above.  The canyon is called Canyon X because when you look up, the skylight is in the shape of an X.  There is also a Canyon Y and a few others.  It is interesting that that is how it got its name, rather than the characteristics of the caves themselves.  The walls of the canyon are super tall, smooth and you can see the lines on the sides of the walls that comes from the wind routes.  The canyon acts like a wind tunnel and over time makes lines.  

Our tour guide told us about the natives that used to live in the canyons here, and many natives still do up in the Grand Canyon.  They raise animals in the canyon, keep safe from heat and weather, and cook and sleep in the canyons.  It was once the way of life here and still is in some native groups.  During the rainy season the canyons can flood, so the natives move out during the rainy season.  The tour groups have to pump water out of the canyons for tours during the rainy season. 

It is all so fascinating to learn about and to see the canyons first hand.  This world is so big and there are so many types of people who live in so many different ways.  Their stories of how they are and where they come from are so fascinating to me. 

We got lots and lots of pictures here in Canyon X.

Horseshoe Bend at Antelope Island

 Horseshoe Bend is a piece of Glen Canyon (the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon) that looks like a horseshoe.  We hiked a wide touristy trail to get to the edge of the cliff.  At the edge of the cliff, its hundreds of feet straight down.  Below us was the Colorado River and it went around this horseshoe shaped corner.  The light from the morning sun hit the cliffs in certain spots and it was just magnificently beautiful.  It was pretty nerve wracking as the kids are climbing and looking over the cliffs.  But they loved it and won't forget the experience!

Page, Arizona

 We traveled to northern Arizona, to the city of Page, with our cousins to visit Glen Canyon and Antelope Island, which is the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon.  It was a 5.5 hour drive and the scenery changed so many times.  It went from dry, flat, cactus land to hills and trees, to mountains and pines, and then to red rocky cliffs.  Its very interesting how the landscape can change so drastically within that 5 hour drive.  

We spent time at our AirBnb townhomes cooking up food together, playing board games, exploring the nearby trails.  Lots of fun with cousins :-)

Goldfield Ghosttown

 Nick & Carissa took us to the Goldfield Ghosttown, a small old mining community, turned tourist attraction.  We went down inside a mine that once went down 1000 feet following a vein of gold in the rock.  The miners hit underground water and the mine ended up flooding, not allowing the mine to be a functioning operation any longer in the 1890's.  It was interesting to learn the history of this Ghosttown, how the population flourished and earned them a post office and put them on the map and then went desolate pretty abruptly after its 5 year lifespan.  Under the ground inside the mine, we learned about the manual drills they used to drill holes in the rocks with their body weight, how they would be allowed 4 candles a day and drill by its light, and how they would detonate the rock and run for safety.  What a dangerous job.  The "honeydipper" job would man the toilet cart and then empty it with a ladle at the end of the day.  Jaxton's nickname has become "Honeydipper," while Dad's nickname has become "Greenwood," a westerner Jax made up. 

We were able to visit a "mystery house" that was sideways.  Not sure the history of this, but it was a fun experience!  We rode the railroad to learn more history about all the mineholes, surface and underground that were following the veins of gold.  Lastly we saw a western shootout in the middle of town with blank gun shots and western actors.  What a fun experience!

Arizona Trip: Adults

 We went out to dinner with Nick & Carissa, Jordan & Lauren, Jax and Cooper to Bam Kazaam.  This was like a multi-escape room.  There were about 16 different puzzle rooms, each with 3 levels total.  We had 2 minutes to solve the first room's puzzle, when a new door would open to allow us into the second level of the experience.  When we did not solve the puzzle, the game ended and we would have to leave the room and try again later.  So we went from room to room solving puzzles.  We never made it past the 2nd level unfortunately, but we had a lot of fun trying to figure everything out.  Jordan & Lauren live in Mesa about 30 minutes from Nick and Carissa.  Jordan is working from home and Lauren recently got a new recruiting job for Carvana.  It was a lot of fun!!

Cub Scouts Blue & Gold Ceremony

 Congrats Cub Scouts!  Another year accomplished.  Nathan graduated from Bears and Owen graduated from Tigers.  It's been a fun filled year, full of experiences, friendships, and accomplishments.  

Troop 2 Spring Campout

 Dawson is thoroughly enjoying Troop 2.  They went on a campout to Chain o' Lakes.  It's rainy and muddy but they went and it sounds like it was a great time.  They built raccoon traps, explored, built fires, and spent time in the beautiful springtime nature.  Kim Burrow, the one leading the camp said:

We had lots of fun and mud.  We finished several requirements and more mud.  All of the boys came back without the ranger's help, but with plenty of mud.  Did I mention the mud?  I am just glad the rain mostly came while we were in the tents at night.  We saw some racoon friends and heard a barred owl asking "who cooks for you?".  All in all it was great event.

Another Licensed Driver

  Yes, This kid got his license.  Look out Fort Wayne.  Cooper is ready and excited to start driving!  Congrats Cooper!

Owen's Leo Soccer Team

Owen went out for soccer this spring.  He plays all the time at playtime at school and he plays with Nathan a lot.  He is really good, better than he gives himself credit for.  Go Owen Go!

Dawson Plays Tennis

 Dawson joined the Oak Farm Middle School Tennis team this spring with Coach Doug.  He's done a handful of lessons in the past, but never been on a team.  He and some friends joined the team and it has been an incredible experience for him.  It has built his confidence and given him a skill that is his own.  They've practiced almost every day after school and the matches have begun.  He is thoroughly enjoying tennis!

GRIN State Master's Swim Meet

 So I did a thing!  I competed in a State Master's Swim Meet at the IU Indianapolis Natatorium.  What in the world!  The team convinced Cara and I to go, so we did it.  We went down to Indy the night before and got a hotel.  We had a blast just the two of us, catching up, talking about life, and sharing stories.  Real true fun.  

When we arrived at the Natatorium the next day, we were both on edge.  Visible shaking from nerves and being cold, high levels of anxiety.  What in the world was I doing?  I felt so much out of my comfort zone, so inadequate and new at this sport.  It all just felt so overwhelming.  To hop into the pool for warmups felt awkward, freezing, uncomfortable.  However, once swimming, things began to feel more natural.  No different than the Jackson R YMCA pool, right?  I tried to tell myself that.  

I was always in the first heat in a lane near the edges, a sign that I was the rookiest of rookies at this crazy sport.  But I did it, and I did it all.  I did it and it is something I never dreamed I was capable of.  Never once believed I'd be competing in a state swim meet as an adult.  It never would have crossed my mind, not ever.  Yet here I was.  I'm so glad I had Cara with me.  We had each other through the experience.  

I competed in several races.  I did several 25 yard races, some 50 yard races, and the biggest challenge for me was the 200 yard freestyle that I signed up for at a moment that I was feeling daring.  A huge challenge for me.  I don't know what I was thinking to sign up for that.  But I did it, and everyone cheered, and I was proud, and felt so incredibly accomplished.  

This swimming thing again is something I never ever once thought I'd be doing at age 40.  Sometimes I still ask why in the world do I get up at 5am to hop in cold water and force myself to run out of breath?  Its the people.  Its the team, the challenge, the feeling of accomplishment after that hour of swimming back and forth and completing the sets.  Its been an incredible journey for my own growth and feeling of self worth.  I can learn anything at any age.  

ISSMA Jazz Fest

 Jaxton & the Garrett Jazz Band attended the ISSMA Jazz Fest.  Here are the musicians looking proud!

Losing Teeth

 Owen is losing more and more teeth.  He is looking cute!!

Cub Scout Little Libraries

 The Bear Cub Scouts built little free libraries last fall.  Now we are installing them.  This first one is getting installed at the Leo-Grabill baseball sports complex.  Lots of people pass through this area so it hopefully will be used a lot!  Nathan and Hunter and Cameron installed this one (with some dad help).  The second one got installed at the Leo Riverside Gardens park.  We had lots of Scouts working on this one (and dads) and the boys are super proud to be able to be a part of this project!