Easter 2008

We had my mom, sister and brother up for Easter this year. It was beautiful and sunny the day before, but Easter was cold with a mixture of snow and rain all day. Below is some video footage of the family.

Add comment March 25th, 2008

Sandbox

The girls are out of town this weekend, so I spent the day with my two sons. It turned into a beautiful spring day with huge white clouds and sunshine reflecting on the snowy mountains. We turned a corner of our patio into a sandbox using some landscape blocks left over from our wall project. The truck, which has been buried under a layer of snow for the entire winter, took a while to start (I forgot to unhook the battery last fall). We finally got going this afternoon and drove to a forest road where a huge sand bank is exposed. I shoveled about a square yard of north Idaho sand for our new sandbox while the kids ran around. It was really a great find... clean, natural sand with absolutely nothing intermixed. When we got everything put together the boys spent an hour digging and arguing about who owned which part of the sandbox. All in all, a success!

1 comment March 15th, 2008

Photo Backlog

I'm finally posting some pictures from Christmas, January and Madeleine's first birthday.

Here are the December photos:

And here are January's:

Add comment February 13th, 2008

Snow Bunnies

We're experiencing a record year for snow in north Idaho. Total snowfall has been more than 100 inches, and we've had about 2 feet on the ground for quite a while now. Every parking lot is edged with mountains of plowed snow and walkways are beginning to look more and more like trenches every day. Of course this means we've had excellent sledding and skiing all winter. Our neighbors graciously allow us to tramp up their hill and sled down into our back yard, and it is a perfect sized hill for easily-tired children.

After a couple of months of winter I usually start to cook up some new ideas for the spring. One of these is raising rabbits. Ever since I bought my Mad Bomber rabbit-fur hat, I have been hankering after a herd that I could call my own. Tonight I am picking up two female rabbits, one a grey lop (short-hair) and one a white Angora (long-hair). The grey lop will, if my plans work out, serve as the maitron of a long line of rabbits raised for their pelts. The Angora's offspring will be luckier, since you just shear the wool (I'm hoping to make some felt products).

Add comment February 5th, 2008

First Snow, Night Skiing

We had our first substantial and lasting snow on Tuesday. It's been cold all week so we still have nice powder on the ground, and the weather forecast is for another snow storm this weekend (which should get the ski resort open). Tuesday morning I woke up to 7 inches of snow and both our vehicles without snow tires. After a valiant attempt to keep my car on the road, I decided that driving without snow tires is suicidal, and worked from home. Lesson learned: get the snow tires on before Thanksgiving.

Two nights ago Kayla and I went out for some night skiing in our back yard and the woods behind our house. We both bought new sets of cross country skis at the end of last year's season, so this was the first time she got to try her new pair. The snow was perfect. To top off the night we went sledding down the hill a couple of times. I love winter in north Idaho!

Tomorrow is my last class session before Christmas break. We don't reconvene until the second week in January. I think I'm ready for a holiday. School has been very invigorating and very tiring as well. I'm hoping I can use some of my free time in December to come up with a topic for my thesis.

Add comment November 30th, 2007

Thanksgiving: Quiet, Thankfully

In the past Thanksgiving has been a time to see family and experience the typical flurry of holiday activity. This year, both sets of parents are out of town and we had a quiet meal at home in Bonners Ferry. It was very nice, especially in contrast to the busy and sometimes stressful events of the last few months.

We started the day off with a community football game at the park. Miraculously, no one was injured, and despite not having played football for about two years, I completed several passes (and was foiled once by an interception). Nadine played her first and probably last American football game, which she characterized as "boring". I had to agree with the assessment. American football is strongest as a game of strategy and fast, short bursts of activity. However, the constant stopping and starting, with most of the game spent standing around, gets a little tiresome. I still stand firmly behind the opinion that soccer is the noblest of sports, but that is mostly based on the fact that I am horrible at other popular athletic activities (read basketball, baseball and football). Soccer is suited to my physical style: lots of running requiring deep endurance, plus constant vigilance and foresight in terms of strategy. I like the fact that soccer is a fluid game in which offensive and defensive moves continue in a steady stream, with little letup in the action. In contrast, football does seem a bit dull.

This morning we took the family on a hike up to Myrtle Creek and the small dam that provides our town's water supply. It was about 18 degrees when we set out, probably the coldest morning we've seen this season. Everyone was bundled up, including Madeleine in her pink snowsuit. The boys and Uncle Matthew broke the ice in every puddle on the way to the dam, and had a good time seeing who would be the first to break the creek ice with a rock. Nadine has been making holiday wreaths and we spent some time collecting materials so she can sell some wreaths at the upcoming craft fair.

This evening we went downtown for the arrival of Santa Claus. He pulled up to the curb in a firetruck and all the kids lined up for a chance to meet the big man. I sang a few songs with our quintet (quartet tonight... one person couldn't make it). I had to take off my gloves to work the pitch pipe and turn pages, and after only four songs my fingers were numb. Luckily we went to the library afterward and warmed up. Our community choir performance is coming up, and Kayla and I have a duet in one of the songs. This is the first year she's been able to join the choir and it's been fun singing with her.

Tomorrow it's back to life as usual... I have homework to finish and lots of projects around the house. The holiday has been good while it lasted.

Add comment November 23rd, 2007

October 2007 Family Photos

Here are some photos from this month. Jeremiah had his birthday and we've enjoyed lots of hiking as the weather has cooled and there's less to do in the garden. No snow yet... check back at Thanksgiving!

Add comment November 4th, 2007

Family day at Kootenai Falls

Saturday I couldn't face doing homework, so we went on a family outing to Kootenai Falls, Montana. The trailhead is right off the highway about 45 minutes from our house. We arrived early in the morning to a very cold and frosty day. Madeleine was bundled up about as warm as she could be in her new snowsuit, ready for winter.

The hike is interesting and short, two essential elements for any successful family adventure. You first descend down a steep slope to the railroad tracks, where there is a caged bridge that takes you up some metal stairs and down the other side. Then comes the footbridge, a la Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, minus the crocodiles. Crossing that bridge is just about the most unsettling thing I've done on a hike. I can handle steep hills and drop-offs, but a bridge that sways in the wind and, if broken, would hurtle you hundreds of feet below to churning frozen waters is right at my limit.

We continued on to hike up the slope of the valley, where we got some good views of the lower part of the falls.

Pictures are on our Picasa site or in the slideshow below.

Add comment October 28th, 2007

Captain Drew Jensen

Occasionally I visit the website of the Gresham Outlook, the paper in Gresham Oregon where I went to school. I often find news of people I knew from Oregon, most of which is not happy (newspapers aren't the best place to find positive news).

This morning I read that Drew Jensen, a kid I knew in school, had died of injuries sustained on duty in Iraq. Drew was the younger brother of a friend of mine, Shane Jensen. Shane and I had French class together for two or three years, plus a shared history at Damascus Middle School.

Drew was a captain in the infantry. He was shot in the neck by a sniper while attempting to help a fellow soldier after a road-side bomb explosion. After several months in a hospital, he asked to be taken off life support and passed away September 7, 2007.

There was a great article in the Seattle Times about Drew. The eighth-grade history teacher mentioned in the article was Stephen Corkett, who was also a very big influence on my early interest in history and military strategy.

The family also set up a site about Drew here.

Add comment October 22nd, 2007

Dad's Funeral

My dad passed away on October 4th in Spokane, Washington. Here are the pictures from the funeral.

Here's the obituary that ran in the paper (with a few minor corrections):

SCOTT, Phillip John
Passed away October 4, 2007 from complications of leukemia. He was born July 4, 1941 at his grandparents' house in Annis, Idaho. Most of his adult life was spent working for LDS Family Services, a private social service agency. His work was very respected by many. After a brief early marriage, he married Julie Ann Stoddard on March 12, 1966. They were sealed in the Salt Lake City Temple on May 11, 1967. Phillip was a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was a very faithful servant until the end. He was also a dedicated and loving husband and father. He and Julie were married for 41 years and had eight children: Andrew, Nathan, Jonathan, Amy, James, Matthew, Ryan and David. He also had two children by his previous marriage, Cindy and Phillip Jr. He is survived by 32 grandchildren. He will be sorely missed by his children and all who knew him. He has gone on to a glorious place to continue serving his Savior and rejoin his parents and loved ones. Those of us left behind will sorrow at his passing but take joy in his memory.

Add comment October 14th, 2007