Brian Regan!

I am so excited! Jeremy just called and said he got us tickets to the sold out show tonight. Apparently they opened up some seats reserved for the handicapped. I really need a good laugh.

The Winston Highland Games

I have been waiting for this day for months. My friend Janelle is the MC for the games every year. She is very into her Scottish heritage. She has been to Scotland and bought her official clan tartan. This is serious stuff to her which makes it very exciting when she describes it. I thought it would be a great addition to Jaden's schooling.
Today we drove up to Winston so the kids could participate in the kids competition. After a little bit of cajoling they were glad we made them enter. The events included the stone throw, sheaf toss, caber toss, weight for distance, and the farmer's walk. It was so fun to see the kids trying new things. Ella was not old enough to compete so she spent the day climbing trees, getting her hair french braided, and cheering for Jaden and Kyla. I didn't get a picture of it because I was so busy screaming, but one of my favorite moments of the afternoon was Kyla doing the stone throw. The other kids her age had scratched because the stone was to heavy. Kyla struggled for a few moments to pick up a 35 pound stone, I thought she was going to give up. At the last second she gets it about six inches in the air and hucks it across the line. It went about 5 in. I was so proud of her for not quitting! The caber toss was another neat event to watch. The kids pick up these giant logs and have to toss them so they flip end over end and hit the ground upright before they fall. It was a blast watching them practice. I think it made them feel powerful.
After attending the games I can understand why Janelle loves them so much. Thanks for sharing this great experience with us. The kids wanted to rush home and find out if we had any Scottish ancestors. The closest we could find is Irish. We'll have to keep looking.
I'll have to get some big logs for the backyard so we can practice for next year.

Janelle of Clan MacDougall, Ella, and Kyla

Level 4 of the sheaf toss

60 lbs. Farmers carry

Kyla's first attempt. She got better, I promise.

Maiden Voyage

Friends don't get better then this!

Friday we went on our maiden voyage in the raft. We spent a wonderful day with our friends the England's on the upper Rogue. We had the river to ourselves which made it a great day for Ella and Alana to get their sea legs. Ella finally got brave enough to let me help her in the water. By the end she was sitting on the front of the raft riding the "rapids". The boys got bored with no one to water fight with so they decided to start throwing each other in. I am so excited for our future journeys.

PS. We'd love to have company.

The Knights of the Medford 2nd Ward!

My primary class this year signed a code of honor that they wrote outlining their responsibilities and rights in our classroom. Each sunday that they fufilled their responsibility they got a stamp from the King (me!). Last week they earned their twentieth stamp and got a party at my house. They choose "Minute To Win It" games and pizza. We had a blast! The only thing that could have gone better is if it hadn't been so darn hot outside, and some of my fantastic class hadn't missed it due to vacations. My camera battery went dead in the middle so you only get to see the beginning and end.