Eagle Scouts

You know it's something good when the post starts out like this:

The lovely Lissie flanked on each side with
two of our Eagle Scouts, Christian and Bryant

You may be wondering about the darkness of Christian's skin . . . well, Lissie's been wondering if maybe he's adopted. But really, he just got back last Saturday from a week in the Swiss Alps and mountain sun. That explains it!

We scurried around after we got back from Switzerland to finish our preparations for the Eagle Court of Honor that was to be held the next day for Bryant and his good friend, Matthew Steffen.

Here are the honorees:

We are so proud of both of them!

Christian and Aaron, the fine big brothers, were the emcees for the program. Here is Christian leading the boys in the Eagle promise:

Here they are in the "Eagle's Nest" with their awards, certificates and specially flown-in-Afghanistan (thanks to Br. Steffen) flags:

The beautiful congratulatory cake and other yummies . . .

Congratulatory Kisses!

The parents were all given some time to tell about how scouting had helped to build character and leadership in their boys. Among other things, I gave examples of how some of the tenets of the scout law are evident in Bryant's life -- How he worked and saved to buy his own Apple Computer which was no small feat for a 14-year-old boy (Thrifty). How I have only ever known him to get truly angry one time -- and it had something to do with his new computer! (Cheerful). How he has a love for people of all ages, and a love for animals too. Just ask him about his cat! (Friendly). How he taught me more faith and humility last winter when we were fasting for Jillian's new little baby. I had suggested that he and the other kids break their fast before they went to the stake dance that evening. (I was worried that they would get sick.) But he said to me, "Mom, we can't break our fast. This is for a baby! And he fasted until he returned home later that night, around 11:30 p.m. And that baby is now thriving! (Kind, Reverent).

Dad talked on how some of these characteristics are inherent in Bryant, and how he appreciates scouting for how it helps to develop righteous leaders.

Here we are with our newest Eagle Scout:

It is an honor and a joy for us to be his parents.

The River ROCKS!

While Christian and Tracy were at Camp Helaman at Kandersteg, I offered to take Bryant and two of his friends, Matthew and Jared, to a campsite just 20 minutes away from Kandersteg -- in Frutigen, Switzerland (Okay, well I slept in the car, but the boys were in a tent!). They were all for it even though I told them that the weather forecast was for rain -- and lots of it! But we were pleasantly surprised when we had only partly cloudy days and a little bit of rain . . . I think the rain found its way up to Kandersteg though! They were rained out for a couple of days.

The Frutigen campground offered free bike rental in case the boys wanted to go exploring, but they were mostly content to play down by the river -- all they needed was a little mud, water, and river ROCKS!

Here are the boys on the first night. They were just getting ready to build a fire with some wet wood and a little drizzle . . . they gave up when the drizzle turned to steady rain.

More attempts at a campfire . . .

They spent all of Friday morning building rock "kingdoms" complete with moats, towers and waterways.

The proud princes and their "kingdoms."

The campsite also had free internet so the boys watched a movie the first night (while it was raining). This didn't pan out for the second night though since they had drained the batteries on the laptop. I happened to unwittingly drain the battery on the car too (Hey, I was doing my homework!) so the camp owner gave our 2005 Toyota Sienna a jump start with his WWII Jeep -- He proudly informed us that it was 60 years old! We should have taken a picture because it was quite the sight.

It was a pleasure to be back in Switzerland even if it was only for a few days . . . such beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers . . . and camping buddies!

Camp Helaman 2011

Camp Helaman is essentially a missionary prep camp for the 16 to 19 year old boys in our stake. They are divided into districts with a district leader, and they get a chance to teach discussions from Preach My Gospel to each other -- in an exquisite setting.

Welcome to Kandersteg, Switzerland!

Here are pictures of the Kandersteg International Scout Center (KISC) lodge and the campsite. I think Christian got to hang out in the little blue tent (right of the red one) and Dad got to sleep in the big blue tent!

The boys and leaders also got to go on hikes up to glacier lakes.

. . . and meet some of the furry residents.

They played games and had wrestling matches

More breathtaking scenery . . .

and a tired young man who is anxious to one day serve a mission!

Piano Pleasures

We couldn't be more pleased with our piano teacher, Emma Patterson. She is amazingly accomplished on both the piano and cello (she has a Master's in Cello Performance from BYU), but what I love most about her is her upbeat, yet down-to-earth, personality. We have never had a better music teacher and we're so blessed to have her for one more year. Here she is with Lissie and Bryant after the performances. So lovely!


Their recital was last Saturday, and as their mother I could watch the performance recordings over and over and over again . . . but I don't expect anyone else to have such motherly inclinations about any of my children's accomplishments. Thus, I will only post the highlights -- Lissie playing the first movement of Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven



and Bryant playing a duet with Matthew Steffen called In der Halle des Bergkoenigs by Edvard Grieg.

The duetists -- Good job boys!

You all were spectacular!

Joanna's Excellent Ride . . .

around the church parking lot!



I love this!

New Bicycles(s)!

It was Bryant's 15th birthday last Friday. He decided he wanted an apple pie (instead of an ice cream cake) for his birthday dessert. Here he is right before we sang "Happy Birthday!" to him.

He also decided to buy a suit coat and a new bicycle with his birthday money. He says he likes his suit so much that he could wear it everyday. With this combination, he looks just like a missionary. So handsome!

Then on Sunday, we were privileged to get to see our friend, Joanna, with her new bicycle. It is a "cargo bike" and when I first saw it I said, "that is not a bicycle!" She actually rode it to church (about a 40 minute ride) and she was beaming! She is in love with her new cargo bicycle and I can see why. She can just place her baby, Timothy, right up front and talk to him as they explore the wonderful world together. (There's also room in the "cargo area" for her gorgeous green purse and . . . at least two or three more kids!)

I attempted to put a video of Joanna riding around the church parking lot right here . . . but obviously it didn't work. I guess I'll have to go the YouTube route (watch for a later post).

She also let Bryant and Christian go for a spin . . .

They might have been a little more wobbly than Joanna. We were a little concerned for some of the parked cars. And baby Timothy!

Here is Timothy after those two crazy rides. He doesn't talk yet, but I know what he wants to say, "MOM! Who are these crazy people and what were you thinking?"

The Fun of New Bicycles!

Swing Kids

We actually just watched Swing Kids last night (a movie that I definitely recommend because of its compelling message of courage), but it was also fortuitous for these kids (below) because I was going to give this post the title of . . .

Tutti Frutti!

These are the lucky boys from the advanced ballroom class --
Parker, Matthew, Ethan, Bryant, Christian, Myles and Devan

Lissie and Devyn got together one afternoon and made them all matching T-shirts for the Tutti Frutti swing dance performance (the girls were in poodle skirts).

Here they are in their "Charlie's Angels" pose:

with their lovely teacher, Arianna:

And showing off their nicknames (and muscles!)
It is hard to see in these pictures, but Lissie and Devyn came up with 50s names for each of them --

Hipster, The Bomb, Kookie,
Finger Zinger, Cupid, Beefcake and Hunk-a-Chunk

The boys loved them!

Showing off again!

One more picture with the girls too:

It was the last day of class before the summer break . . .
and they had to say goodbye to a few class members that are moving soon
(Parker, Devyn, Abby and Emma - they will be missed!)

So long to such a wonderful year of ballroom dance together.

Ballroom Dance Soiree

Here is Lissie with dance teacher

Arianna Heck

Every year the ballroom dance classes culminate their year with a Soiree at the Village Pavillion. It is an evening of elegance as each class displays their diverse dance skills. Lissie and Christian have been taking lessons since the classes started being offered in 2005, and Bryant since two years. They are all together now in the advanced class in which they were taught some impressive routines for salsa, rumba, swing, and even a 50s dance to "Tutti Frutti." Here is Lissie (and friend Catherine) in her Poodle skirt just before the performance.

The YouTube video:
(All of our kids are up front)



Bryant and Lissie also learned a couples swing routine to
"Dance with Me Tonight"
Here they are just before their first performance:

We had to come up with new costumes (rather than the blue dress remake and bow-tie from a previous post). That pretty blue dress was unfortunately causing some technical problems. But they still looked WAY cute!

Here is the YouTube video:



Here are Bryant and Christian at the end of the evening with their teacher, Arianna:

And a couple more pictures of them with Lilly (Arianna's daughter):

Can you tell the camera was getting weird on me?

Seminary Graduation

This title can be a little misleading . . . our family didn't have any seminary graduates this year -- just certificates of completion -- Christian 3 years, Lissie 2 years, and Bryant 1 year. We are all glad for their successful year and for the chance now to get a little more sleep :) Last Sunday evening we gathered at the Kaiserslautern Stake Center to honor the graduates and seminary students in general. And, 20+ students earned the

Seminary Excellence Award

by memorizing all 25 scripture mastery scriptures, reading the entire Doctrine and Covenants and Our Heritage, and by having at least 90% attendance. I thought the most challenging part of those requirements was the Joseph Smith History scripture which is about a page long. Lissie surprised me late one night by coming to my room (I was asleep) and excitedly saying that she had memorized it and asking if she could recite it to me RIGHT THEN (it was well after midnight). So I woke up to listen to a page-long portion of the Joseph Smith History -- three times. I was impressed! She definitely deserved to receive the excellence award and accompanying Sunstone pin. She was elated too that her dad arrived to the stake center (from a meeting in Frankfurt that day) just in time to present the award AND to give her a big hug.

Congratulations Lissie!