Bad Choices?

Okay, so you can judge me for letting my kids watch "Raiders of the Lost Ark" all you want (besides, it wasn't me, Isabelle started it for them... I just didn't stop it once I got home) but first you need to hear this...

At the end when the Nazi's are opening up the ark and all that stuff starts to happen - lasers going through eye sockets, people catching fire, blowing up and melting heads (my personal favorite part of the movie by the way) Jacob leans over to me and says - super calm-like - "Maybe they shouldn't have opened up that box."

I'm glad he can tell when someone makes a bad choice.

Calf-Catcher!

YOUTH WINS CALF SCRAMBLE AT RODEO

San Antonio –The calf scramble was held Thursday, February 11 at the San Antonio Livestock Show & Rodeo.

4-H and FFA youth competed for $800 certificates to purchase breeding animals to exhibit in the 2010 San Antonio Junior Livestock Show. Twelve certificates were awarded last night to those who caught a calf. Four of the winners were from Helotes, TX.

One such winner was Aubrey Brieger. Brieger is an 11th grader who participates in Helotes 4-H LSO. She plans to purchase a swine with her award.

Audrey’s twin brother was also a winner last night. Chad Breiger is an 11^th grader who also participates in Helotes 4-H LSO. He plans to purchase a swine with his award.

Zane Walz is also a winner from the area. Walz is an 8^th grader who also participates in Helotes 4-H. He also plans to purchase a swine with his award.

Isabelle Deal is the final winner from Helotes, Texas. Deal is an 11^th grader who participates in O’Connor FFA. She plans to purchase a dairy animal with her award.

Mission Update

Mikkel was called to the mission office for the third time in 8 days last Monday. He thought it was for a multi-zone conference but it turned out to be an entire mission conference. They announced that they are splitting the mission in two (adding a mission) and then left it at that. No one will know any more until around June when it will all take place. President Hansen doesn't know if he will stay in the Veracruz mission or go to the new one. None of the missionaries know if they will stay in the current or go to the new one either. So, there will be speculation and drama for the next several months until we hear more news.

The first two times he had to go to the mission office weren't so wonderful... He was transferred from Temezcal to Mendoza (a town in a valley of the tallest mountain in Mexico) and his companion there "liked to have fun, he likes to sin" (as Mikkel put it). He didn't like Mikkel much because he wants to work. Mikkel, being the senior companion thought he could just encourage the elder and it would all get better.

Well, a week later the companion said that Mikkel was the source of a week-long migraine and he wanted to go home. Mikkel tried motivating and encouraging with no success. The companion called President Hansen and asked "what do I need to do to go home?". So they and another companionship had to travel two and a half hours (each way) to the mission office to drop off the one going home.

Once they got home, they started doing the usual p-day stuff when they got a call saying "come back, we have a new companion for you!". So off they went - another 5 hour (round trip) bus ride to get a new companion.

This one is much better, he's from Whistler, Canada so Mikkel has a sweet place to stay if he wants to learn how to ski in a year and a half or so. They get along great and things are moving much more smoothly. They even had a baptism - Mikkel's first one since November, which is a long time in that mission.

Just for the record... the one that went home was a trouble-companion before Mikkel came along, it didn't start with him nor was he the reason for all the problems. That didn't make Mikkel feel better at the time but I think he realizes it now.

Bad Words

Jacob "Haley, there are two 's' words that are bad. One is bad and one is really bad."

Me (thinking - "what has he heard in kindergarten?!?")

Haley "What are they?"

Jacob "Well, the bad one is 'stupid' and the really bad one is 'shut up'."

Me (thinking- "Whew!!")

If only they stayed so innocent.

Cows - part two

She caught a calf and won an $800 voucher towards a breeding animal. She's been on such a high ever since! We're now just waiting for the information to come in the mail and the picture to come out in the newspaper. I'll try to post it when we get it.

Questions and Cows.

Jacob - "Mommy, can we walk on the outside of the planet that we live on, (you know, Earth)!

Abby - "Mom, why don't I dream in chocolate?"

Why don't I get the simple straightforward questions like "where do babies come from?" kind of questions???

On a "side-note" Isabelle is competing in the calf-scramble in the rodeo tonight. There are 24 kids and 12 calves. They let the calves go and the kids run for it... if you catch a calf and can put a harness around it's neck, you win! Well, you actually win money towards a breeding animal. If she wins, she's hoping to "buy" a dairy cow, (you can make a deal with the breeder to keep it at their place if you don't have space, etc). If she can get a dairy cow, we'll have fresh milk anytime she goes and milks it (she plans on at least once a week) and when it's time to show and sell it, hopefully she'll make quite a profit! Personally, I'm just hoping for fresh milk.

I remember going to my aunt's home to get fresh milk and let me tell you, nothing comes close! I don't really like to drink milk these days partly because it just doesn't have that sweet "fresh from the cow" taste...