Trip To Dallas

In January we got to go on a trip to Dallas with David (he just happened to attend a conference there.  It was wonderful!!!  Here are some of the great reasons to go to Dallas...

Cousins!!!

(Of course, all that fun can really wear a guy out...)

I served as a missionary in Dallas over 10 years ago!!!  My companion and I taught the gospel to a couple, Germain and Lydia Madrid.  They were not married at the time, and we were able to help them get married and then baptized...

 Eileen was a little one year old girl, and the cutest flower girl ever!

WELL, here they are today!!!  Eileen is 13 now and they also have two boys.  They are a happy family and living the gospel.  It was the BEST THING EVER to see them.  LOTS of joy for me!

 Hunter's sense of style--we went to a museum and he wanted to wear a tie.   : )  Makes me smile.

My sisters!  Katie lives in Dallas and Laura came from Idaho to spend a couple of days with us.  

I love my sister!

And, once again....COUSINS!

AND we got to spend some time with Stephen and Shara (David's brother and wife).  We were there when they found out the little girl they were expecting is actually a little boy.  : )  We're excited to meet a new Blunck boy in a few months.  : )

Snow fun! (From end of January)

January random pictures

 (Rocket men.  I laughed so hard when Hunter ran up to me, so proud to show me his rockets.  Oh, Benjamin.  You are SUCH a clever brother.  And how blessed you are to have an innocent victim, I mean, sidekick.)

Dining room floor

David tackled the project of refinishing the dining room floor.  Here are a few pictures, including some boys who worked hard to make him a sign and cookies (also a good way to block off the room while they couldn't go in there.)  : )

Chickens (and raccoons)

One of our big adventures that started last fall is our chickens!  Here is Benjamin with the first egg we found. That was very exciting.  Along with chickens come raccoons (and hawks).  We started with 10 and are now down to 4.  Never fear, David has caught 2 raccoons in a live trip and taken them far away.  (And instead of roaming freely during the day they are now in an enclosure most of the time.)

Cousin Nick's Visit/Wright Brothers

David's cousin Nick is a senior in high school and has decided to pursue an education in mechanical engineering.  He came to spend some time with us and go to work with David to get a feel for what David's experience has been.  He was so much fun to have with us and the boys LOVED him.  Yes, he did spend a bit of the visit feeling very sick-but I hope overall it was worth his time.  : )

One of the really neat things about Dayton is the history involving the Wright Brothers.  They owned a bicycle shop here in Dayton and this was their home as experimentation and test flights were conducted.  Their story is so inspiring to me!  We took Nick to their bicycle shop, which is now a little museum, and to the larger museum about the Wright Brothers next to it.  I hope learning about them has inspired my boys to dream big.  : )

Sledding fun

Pictures from a few different sledding outings...

Benjamin looks particularly mischievous in this picture.  : ) 

Yes, they're wearing my hat and scarf.  David is an efficient guy, what can I say.  It's not worth it to him to take much time looking for his own hat.  : )

 David's cousin Nick was visiting us and had fun sledding with the boys.  He was a great sport. : )