Kip's Guitar

Promised Kip that if he got good grades he could have guitar lessons. Well, his first report card this year was good enough to land him on the Honor Roll, so he got his lessons. His second report card was just as good, so I bought him a guitar. Wish I'd gotten a shot of the look on his face when he saw it! I tried to upload a video of him playing it, but I got an error message, darn it. I'll try one more time and then just post it like this.

Merit Badge Day

This past Saturday, Kip's Boy Scout troop hosted a Merit Badge Day for the troops in the National Capital Area Council. He earned his Art merit badge, and Leatherwork. He came home with a hand-decorated neckerchief slide and a coaster. Here Kip is using the leather punch to make holes for lacing, with the instructor, Mrs. Hoitt, in the background; and Mr. Hoitt gives him a pointer on keeping the rawhide straight while lacing.

Winter Camporee

The Boy Scouts go camping or hiking at least once a month, and winter months are no exception. Yes, they camped overnight in January! (Better them than me!) I dropped Kip off on Saturday morning, with his friends Paul & Sam, and stayed to watch them lash together snowshoes and a backpack frame. They invited me to stay for lunch, which Kip helped cook (beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches). Then I supervised and motivated the boys while they broke up firewood, stacked it, and cleaned the scrap wood from the area. They had quite a pile, and very little was left when I returned for them the next morning, so I suspect they were glad they had gathered so much of it. The weather was warm enough on Saturday, while the sun was out, maybe 50-55 degrees. But the temperature dropped that evening, and was in the 20's when I picked them up Sunday morning. Everything was coated with frost, and no one wanted to do much except get into a warmed car. But there were tents to fold and duffel bags to pack. Kip said he had a good time despite being cold in the night. So it's all good. And he got a chance to use all the camping gear he got for Christmas. Thanks Uncle Colby and Grandad!

Past and Present

The house that Lon, Marla, and Colby grew up in has been razed, and a McMansion built where it once stood. We drove by one day and were amazed. Compared to the smaller, older houses in this long-established neighborhood, the new house is a behemoth. Instead of two rooms deep, it is 3 rooms from front to back! It is a whole room wider than the old house, and you can tell that it towers above the modest homes around it. Plus it's an ugly color! The back yard hill that sloped up to the woods and the playhouse has been chopped out and a retaining wall built. We'll have to come back in the spring when it's finished and landscaped, and take more photos.

More at Colby & Kathy's

(Continued from the post below - Celebrating Christmas with Kathy & Colby) We have Colby modeling his new shirt, and Kathy showing her new blouse. Kip looks happy with the lantern he got from Grandad. It collapses, so it'll be handy to pack for camp. Ayden, Kip and AJ wait patiently at the table for dinner. They were all well-behaved ... probably because no uncle was making them laugh by showing them a mouth full of food! Some of you know who I'm talking about... And Colby and Lon were not allowed to sit next to each other at the table, ha ha. For those of you unfamiliar with their antics, imagine surprises added to your milk, like peas, salt, olives... some boys never grow up. But they provide a source of amusement to us all!

Pre-Christmas with Colby & Kathy

Two days before Christmas we drove up to Colby & Kathy's and spent the afternoon and evening with them and Allan. We had a delicious ham dinner and opened presents. Kip received several camping-type gifts: an all-purpose tool, a lantern and several flashlights. Lon got a couple very nice-looking shirts and ties. I was ecstatic to receive a generous gift card to Barnes & Noble! Everyone knows by now that I could spend the rest of my life in a bookstore or library and be perfectly content. Here's AJ putting a bow on Colby's head; Ayden and AJ watching Kip play his Game Boy; Kathy reading to Ayden before bedtime. It was good spending time with them for the first time in about 6 months.

Trimming the Tree

Kip picks our tree every year, and each year he picks a really nice one. This year he is tall enough to put the angel on the top without a stepstool or chair! (We measured ourselves yesterday, and he is now 1/4 inch taller than me!) Kip was taking pictures of Blizzard in front of the tree, and I was fooling around, but this turned out to be Lon's favorite picture, ha ha. See the dog's expression, I startled the heck out of him!