OurLittleMcFamily.com

Ezzy–we participated in your baptism this month. We are so proud of you for making the decision to follow Jesus. Lately, you are consistently the first one to remind the other kids when they have forgotten a prayer at the table. You are maturing before our eyes, physically and mentally, and we are so pleased with what we see. Your face glows with happiness and love. You take your responsibility as the oldest girl very seriously. You are almost always the first to offer assistance and to help me and the other children. We are privileged to have you in our home.

Ezzy wore my baptism dress. A splish of Oxyclean and a splash of vinegar later….a perfectly white dress that fit her perfectly. It brought me great joy to pull the dress out of my hope chest–like a dream that I never thought would be realized.

I remember standing in my grandmother’s bedroom as she and my mom dressed me for my own baptism some 25 years ago. It was my eighth birthday, and I had just gotten a perm and pierced ears as presents from grandma. Mom worked so hard to sew my dress and to have it ready for me. She also crafted a small box for my new earings. It had a rainbow design across with a blue piece of yarn that secured the box in place. I remember it as though it were yesterday–wishing desperately that Ezzy’s great-grandma was still here. The picture of Grandma Penning doing Ezzy’s hair is that much sweeter to me because of my memories.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to attend and support this special event in our daughter’s life. It is a day that will stay with her for the rest of her life, as mine has with me. These are the things that matter most to us, and we are so grateful to have such a broad circle of influence around our family.

Thanks for flying, Grandma and Grandpa Penning!

Ezzy’s eighth year is going so fast. She started attending Activity Days. One of her first activities was a Daddy Daughter Dinner. How cool is it that she has a daddy to take her?

October always bring Fall Conference to our home. It is one of only two times a year that we intentionally stay home for church–glorious internet. The kids did awesome. They sat through all four sessions of conference while coloring ties and pictures of the speakers, and writing down the main themes of each talk. What a difference a year makes when it comes to communication, right?

I started exercising again today. Yeah, it was only a mile walk. But I also went out and walked with the kids later in the day too. Maybe my motivation is slowly returning. It would be really good for it to hit around the holidays. Perhaps it will stave off extreme amounts of weight gain due to even more extreme amounts of consumed peanut brittle and sugar cookies. :)

Danny’s First Real Rappel

Calico Basin, Red Rock…with Daddy and Uncle Dave.

September 26, 2009

Whew! That’s a mouthful! The subject of my inaugural product review are the Super Makalu CORE-TEC Antishock Trekking Poles by Leki. These Leki poles were a gift from my wife 5 years ago. Their first service was on a hike of the Upper Skyline Trail at Mt. Rainier National Park in July 2004. They proved invaluable in varied terrain.

Prior to getting these poles I was one of those, “You guys with poles all look like dorks” kind of hikers. Now, I sing a different tune. These poles have traveled with us on all sorts of hikes, all around the country. I find that they keep me more upright, improving my breathing. They also help me balance when carrying a heavy backpack. I usually rest standing up and these poles help make that more enjoyable. Now that I usually hike with trekking poles, I tell those without them that they are missing out.

They can be a hindrance when your hiking involves a lot of scrambling or downclimbing. I have taken them in some slot canyons when the approach hike was long enough to justify the hassle once in the canyon, but it’s usually easier to leave them at home on these trips. I bring them on all other hikes. They were such a ubiquitous feature of our hikes that our kids all wanted poles. Now everyone has a chuckle when they see us on a hike, 6 pairs of poles walking down the trail.

From the beginning though, they had one annoying feature. The antishock feature in one of the poles never worked as it should. One of the poles was always stiffer than the other. The spring just never quite worked, but I never bothered with it. Fast forward 5 years. My poles are still going strong, but on an overnight to Mt. Charleston. Coming down, the difference finally bugged me enough to do something.

I came home and looked up the Leki website. Encouraged by the information that they sold individual leg sections, I investigated further. Turns out they have updated the poles in the intervening 5 years. The antishock design in my poles has been upgraded. I wrote a message to their customer support address, explaining the situation. I asked if the old ones were still available for sale. The reply I got back was a shocker.

Adam,
Send me your shipping address and I will send out new middle sections to you under warranty.

Seriously!? Even though they are 5 years old and not “broken,” Leki came through with great customer service. It took a little while for the new sections to come, but come they did. With about 5 minutes of time, I had replaced the middle sections of both my poles.

As you can see, the design was changed slightly. To me it is an improvement, as it is now less likely to accidentally engage the antishock. The version that is current is different from this. I haven’t been on any long hikes yet with the new poles, but look forward to it. Leki is a winner in my book and will continue to get my business and my recommendation!

Daniel raced in his first “space derby” and received his first Cub Scout award all in one night this past September. Danny received his rocket on Sunday, and had to race it on Thursday…September 24th, 2009. Needless to say, Adam and Daniel spent the three evenings in-between frantically sanding, shaping, glossing, and tweaking the shiny red and black vehicle. After the race, Daniel received his Bobcat and his Wolf allowing him to advance into Bears. He also earned two arrows.

Our nine year old son could not be any more excited than he already is about scouting. He dances around the house chanting, “I’m going to Scouts!” every single Thursday. He is an oldest child in every sense of the word. It drives me insane sometimes because I see my own oldest child tendencies manifesting themselves in him. So when he is too nervous about unimportant things, or when he gets frustrated because he didn’t do something exactly right the first time, it is like looking into a very sharply focused mirror. I suppose you do not have to be related by blood or race, or even speak the same language to be so much alike after all! :)

The super-supportive siblings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HELLO ENGLAND!!!!

Adam and I were able to take a trip across the pond in September. We spent most of our time in the English countryside at a very fancy resort. You know, the kind of place where the food is way too expensive and the staff is impeccably polite. Adam worked most of the time we were at the hotel (the reason we went), which meant I got a lot of down time–all to myself. After a summer of single mom-hood, it was a welcome relief.

From our hotel window:

Being a literature buff, I was drooling over the footpaths, the lakes, the rolling hills. It was everything Jane Austen. We just wish we had more time and mobility to explore more of the countryside. There was a little lake that we walked to every evening. It rained a lot, which was heaven to me. I also had lots of time to prepare my homeschool materials for the year.

And then to London for a couple of days:

We did the touristy stuff, which was fun. This was my second time in London–much more fun with Adam along! :) We took the train into the city, and had a blast just picking our way through the winding streets of the very large city.

On our last day, we headed out to the London Temple. We thought it was the perfect time to go since our children were already with babysitters at home. After a $50 taxi ride, this is what we saw:

At least we tried. We get points for this, right?

All in all, we had a fantastic time. We have said it a hundred time since we’ve been back, but THANK YOU again to grandma and all the tias for helping tend the children while we were gone. More pics here.

Adam’s mom, Grandma McCracken, earned a Master of Library Science degree this year. We came home from our summer vacation to specifically celebrate this momentous occasion. We would not have missed it for the world. Debbi has worked so hard over the past two years to accomplish this rigorous degree. She has a great love for books, and for learning. What an example she is to our children, as we try to teach them that one is never too young, or too old, to accomplish the things he or she desires.

Congratulations, Grandma McCracken. We are sooooo proud of you!

Our summer vacay ended with some time at Aunt Jaimee’s house in Logan. The kids played with cousins that they rarely see, tried their hand at fishing, and played non-stop in and out of the water. Man, we had a great time!

We sure were glad to come home to daddy though. A huge thanks to all of the tias and grandma and grandpa Penning for hosting us this summer. The kids had a blast visiting new places and meeting new family and friends. Summer 2009 was my first real summer as a mom. And for that, I am grateful.