Skiing, Disney and More

Wow it's been a while. I guess I'll start at the present and see how far back I go.

Skiing

The best snow on Earth or something like that. We signed Ryan and Colin up for the local weekly lessons. You get four lessons, and an all mountain pass for each day for a really good price. They have both gotten really good on their boards and can pretty much keep up with me wherever I go. They did their first black diamonds this season! They also got 3 passes (one left to use) through the school system for $30 so they have gotten their fair share of boarding in this season.

Mason and Jack have also started this season. Mason has taken 3 lessons and did his first blue yesterday up on the big hill.  He has actually been really tough up on the mountain and is really enjoying himself. Jackson has a ski harness and goes down in front of me. He wears the biggest grin as he goes down the mountain and elicits waves from everyone who sees him. Yesterday we went up with our neighbors the Anderson's and had a bbq with them in the parking lot.

Disneyland / Universal

We made our pilgrimage down to Southern California and missed our usual layover in Vegas with Karla and John. We stayed in St. George instead. Since we were missing church, we stopped over and spent some time at the St. George visitor center. We did the family theater presentation and the kids really liked that. The temple and weather were gorgeous.

We did three days at Disney, and one day at Universal. On our last day we did a character breakfast, the rainforest cafe and watched the lego movie. Mason LOVED both Star Tours and Space Mountain. He loved to talk on and on about how the movie kept changing on the Star Tours ride and said that Space Mountain "was awesome." He still gets scared on some of the bigger stuff. He got freaked out on Indiana Jones and Return of the Mummy ride. At Universal Mason loved the transformers ride and really liked meeting Bumblebee. Mason got chosen to partipate in the "Jedi Training Academy" so that was really neat.  (Ryan and Colin also got to participate back when they were 6)  He got to go up on stage and fight Darth Vader.  Jackson was really cute. He loved meeting all of the different characters and even wanted to meet Tow Mater twice. He was really bummed on the last day when he found out we weren't going back. Ryan and Colin just enjoyed doing everything and ditching a week of school (though homework when they got back was rough). I'm sure that they could fill you in on the highlights if they feel like it. I really enjoyed the Donkey Kong portion of the tram ride at Universal. It was intense. Christine had to cover Jack's eyes and I ended up covered in T-rex saliva. Very cool.

Life

Life in general has been good but busy. Ryan and Colin continue to enjoy spectrum at school. Their class wrote, produced and performed an opera in February. Ryan and Colin were 2 of the 4 accompanists and they did great! The opera was really well done and sounded like a neat experience to put together.

Outside of one school bus fight, Mason's school behavior has been exemplary.  He still has a low frustration tolerance which is hampering his progression in reading, but overall we are grateful he is behaving for the teacher. He can do three digit addition but ask him to read "See Spot Run" and he'll be screaming for the next hour.

Jack of course is cute as always. He has such a mellow personality and is just all smiles all the time. We all love him. He thinks he is potty trained, but several times a day his pants just get wet somehow. Weird, huh. Hopefully he catches on soon.

Christine keeps doing what she does. Her dryer balls sell faster than we can send them in. We had 15000 delivered last week and have 15000 balls coming this week too. Its a good problem to have, but my do I have a lot of balls at my house. Her listing keeps alternating between the number one and two slot on amazon depending on whether or not we can keep them in stock. Her undersocks sales continue to climb and she recently did a professional photoshoot to better market them. I guess I'll be doing a new website this summer.

Hope all of you are doing well.

Krogue Family History Trip May 2013

Uncle Paul was kind enough to let Ryan, Colin, and I tag along on his memorial day trip.  It was a really fun trip back in time and getting in touch with our Krogue / Bischoff family roots.

Hyde Park, Utah

We started our journey in Hyde Park. After coming to Salt Lake and a short stint down in Springville, Anna, Charlotte and Jens Peter Krogue were called to help settle Hyde Park. Located just north of Logan, we were able to find a monument to the original settlers.

Reading the names we found one that looked familiar!

We found a "Peter Crouge" which according to this newsletter is none other than Jens Peter Krogue.


 View of Hyde Park from Valley:

Montpelier, Idaho

We took approximately the same route from Hyde Park that Jens Peter and Charlotte Krogue would have taken in the Spring of 1864 when they were called yet again to move their family.  We figured it would have taken almost a week for them to drive a team of oxen with all of their belongings to get to Bear Lake Valley.

Once in Montpelier we took the full tour. A couple of highlights were Angus and Bertha's home that they shared their whole marriage which is still standing:

It was sad to see that Grandma Frankie's tulip garden has been turned into a parking lot :(


At the museum we were surprised to see Grandma Bertha's wedding dress! (Ryan was not thrilled to pose for this picture) The museum also had a plaque with Frankie Bischoff's name on it recognizing her "Scholarship Loyalty and Achievement."

Krogue Farm

~7 miles to the north was ggGrandpa Jens Peter's dry farm (Paul got permission from his cousin Leonard the day before for us to walk out there).  He left 40 acres of this farm to Angus.  The kids enjoyed looking at all of the farm tools that were rusting near the silo:

Geneva, Idaho

It was really neat to visit Geneva because we got to talk briefly with Great Aunt Nadine who lives in the same house that Grandma Frankie grew up in.  She shared a few stories and then pointed us to the appropriate corner of the lot to get a similar picture to the "famous" homestead picture that great aunt Ruby has hanging on her wall (need to remove the out buildings, the covered front porch and the siding on the house):

We wandered around gGrandpa Alf's homestead a bit and got this picture looking up what google maps tells me is named "Bischoff Canyon:"


We drove down into downtown Geneva and saw the church, post office and old country store.  I made the following map of where Alf, his brothers and father Homesteaded (more detailed map with descriptions can be found in google earth kml at the end):

Bloomington

Bloomington was fun too.  Not only did we see the old Krogue homestead, but we got to meet Grandpa Elmer's cousin Leonard.  He was in good spirits and was walking around the property with some of his nieces and nephews when we arrived.  We didn't get to go inside the home, but we did get to go inside the big Barn that was built when Leonard was in high school.  Ryan and Colin really enjoyed grinding wheat using their gggGrandma Charlotte Krogue's wheat grinder:

Here is a picture of the house:

Ryan and Colin got a kick out of the door on the second floor that led to nowhere.  It was the group consensus that Charlotte and her family built the house while Jens Peter Krogue was on his mission.

There was also some discussion about where Jens Peter's other wife Anna would have lived.  Leonard thought it was off to the SW, with Paul recollecting it off to the SE.  Paul deffered to Leonard, but I think that  Paul is correct.  If you download the image below and zoom in on block 11, you will see a lot kittycorner to the SE that appears to be in the Krogue name:


Here is my overlay from google earth:

Anyway, we had a wonderful time.  Many thanks to Paul and Jim for showing us around and for all of the stories.  Also thanks to Christine for watching the little ones so we could go.  Paul has a grave spreadsheet that he put together.  Using this and Google Earth, I made an attempt to load all of the graves as well as all of the places we visited in one place.  I marked out different homesteads so that future generations might be able to see these places without a guide. If you do use it and notice some errors, let me know. Thanks.

Here is the Google Earth kml

June in Texas

We had a very fun and very full summer. It's hard to believe that the kids are back in school already. It's hard to figure out where to start, since it has been 4 months, but I figured why not start at the beginning?

We drove to Texas for the first time since we've been married back in June. It was 1200 miles each way, which was pretty daunting for us (I know we are wimps compared to some of you, but hey we're rookies so cut us some slack). To make the drive a little easier, we did it in 3 days for each direction.

Our major rest stop on the way down was Mesa Verde National Park. It was amazing to see what people could do with no technology on the sides of cliffs (And I can't even keep up with my yardwork). After chasing around Jackson all day, it also made me wonder what their two year old mortality rate must have been. Here is Mom with the 2-year-old firmly in hand:

From MyFamily\2012\TexasTrip

From MyFamily\2012\TexasTrip

Anyway, a lot of miles later we finally ended up at our destination:Grandma's House! Mom and Dad were very, very gracious hosts and we had a really good time. We did so much stuff, that I probably can't list it all, but I'll share a few pictures. We all really enjoyed the animal park. Especially Mason (who loves animals) and Jackson. Here is a cute picture of Jackson who doesn't know what to make of it all:

Then of course we had fun at Grandma and Grandpa's Ranch. We did horseback riding, paddle boating, and of course we also made very good use of the Pool. It was nice to have it basically to ourselves. I think we swam in it 4 times?




We also got to go the Hurricane Harbor which was exciting since its much bigger than the waterparks here. We left Jackson with Grandma and took the older three.  Mason was a little nervous but he loved all the slides.  (Esp the ones in the kiddie area, but he braved some of the big ones too)  Ryan and Colin had a blast until we were forced to leave around 3 by a huge storm.  One last Texas picture - Ryan and Colin picked up the art of frog catching from their mother and absolutely loved going outside and catching little frogs all over Grandma's yard:

On the way back home we got to visit Joel and Ashleigh for a day and see their son Cardon get blessed. Joel and Ashleigh were also gracious enough to hold a joint birthday party for Ada and Jackson.  And Joel introduced us to his awesome lazer tag set, which we promptly bought when we got home.




And here is Uncle Neil doing his usual video game corruption:


It was a lot of fun seeing everyone, and thanks for hosting us!

Dinosaurs

So Christine was nice enough to take us boys on a dino adventure for her birthday weekend. I have fond memories of dinosaur national monument from when I was young, so I have been wanting to take the kids there for a long time. Unfortunately, the dino wall and visitor center had been closed since we got here due to structural concerns. I think the park got some stimulus funds though and rebuilt everything to open last fall. It was a lot of fun to visit. We meant to get out there during spring break, but had to cancel the trip, so I could train to be a refinery operator (strike training).

We had a blast. You can look at the whole album here and I have shared a few photos below.

Ryan and Colin absolutely loved learning about all the different dinosaurs. They had lots of questions for the rangers (luckily it wasn't crowded) and for me.

Mason even had a good time. He struggled with the hiking a little bit (we did about a 1.5 miles), but he maintained a great attitude the whole time. His favorite part was the allosaurus. He brought home a mini one and it likes to eat everything in sight. Since it's such a naughty dinosaur, he spends a lot of time in time out. Mason is such an interesting kid. He loves Mommy the most (He loves daddy just a little). The other day though he told Christine that he loves his Donkey Kong Wii game more than her. Though he doesn't want to have to choose.

The petroglyphs were really neat to. Apparently the natives were really into lizards:

Jackson is of course our little Doll. He goes with the flow and enjoys whatever we are doing:

Also, don't forget the ice cream:

Mining for Copper

Originally posted April 21 2012

It's been a pretty and fun busy week for us. Unlike Mom and Dad Krogue who are putting the finishing touch on their botanical gardens, we're struggling (somewhat unsuccessfully) to keep the dandilions from taking over the yard and to get the grass to look a little greener. We spent part of today picking out some of the weeds, spraying others and applying fertilizer. We also got the sprinklers turned on for the season.

Yesterday we got the news that Ryan and Colin had been accepted into the spectrum (full-time gifted and talented) program. In Davis county this is quite an accomplishment (they accept about 2 kids per school per grade). Unfortunately the elementary school with the program is a 22 minute drive. Ryan and Colin are unsure they want to leave their friends. We have to decide one way or the other by the end of the month. Any thoughts?

Last night I took Ryan and Colin to see Chimpanzee. It was an enjoyable film about an unlikely chimp adoption story. We really liked it.

Today we went out to the Bingham Canyon Mine to take the tour. Ryan and Colin absolutely loved it, and Jackson went along for the ride. Mason was perpetually bored, but what else is new. It was fun to see the big trucks, the huge open pit and learn new things. They have quite the operation.

From

On the way home we swung by the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was really pretty and there were several wedding parties loitering around the grounds.

And no day would be complete without ice cream of course!

Pinewood Derby Time

It seems like it has been too long since the last time I posted an update on here. Christine's mother suprised us last week by offering to come watch the kids so we could get away for the weekend. It was a nice suprise, since our last attempt at a get away was thwarted by an unfortuante accident (my mom fell down the garage steps and shattered her radius or maybe it was the tibula), and work has been really busy lately. I had to work one weekend to get some compliance testing done at the end of March and we had to cancel our planned trip to Dinosaur National Monument during spring break so that I could conduct emergency strike training (the Union was slow to ratify their agreement). We decided to just stay in Salt Lake, and it has been very relaxing so far. Christine is napping, so I figure I could attempt an update.

Last night was the pinewood derby. Ryan and Colin both really enjoyed designing, painting and building their cars. Ryan's car finished middle of the pack, but he was looking more for a repeat of his "best design" award from last year, so he was pretty happy when his truck won the "coolest design" award this year. Colin went more for a sleek aerodynamic design and came away with 2nd place overall, which he was very happy with. Anyway here are some photos and video from the races:







Ryan's Car Race:



Colin's Car Race:



Ryan and Dad



Colin and Dad



Ryan and Colin had a great birthday. They got electric scooters as their main gift and they sure enjoy them. For their party, they chose to have a "mad" scientest come and demonstrate some cool chemical reactions. Other than the scooters they got quite a haul. Mason was also quite pleased that he recieved a Wii game too - it's his new favorite game.









A few weeks ago we went to Kaysville's newest enterainment place - a giant trampoline park. The favorite activity by far was taking leaps into huge foam pits:


Anyway that's about all I have time for. We continue to enjoy living in Utah, although it has been a lot lonelier since J.D., Marissa, Neil and Kelli moved away. Jackson is still the cutest little thing (IMHO) and continues to grow. He's still meeting with a speech therapist and her official diagnosis is that he is lazy. I guess three caring older brothers will do that to you. Mason keeps us on our toes and definetly has issues with authority. He loves his little life here though and has multiple friends over everyday which is good since he is very poor in the self entertaining arena. Ryan and Colin just completed research assignments at school. Ryan did his on the "Amazing" Narwhal and Colin chose the Tarsier. They both did a really good job of course. We'll have to see if I can get more posted someother time. Hope all is well with you.

-JA


p.s. Oh yes and one more picture of my four wonderful sons eating some frozen yogurt at our favorite place:

Thanksgiving update

We had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. It has been a five day weekend for me and I have really been grateful to relax and enjoy my family. What a priceless opportunity. This point has really been driven home this week. This morning we helped with the funeral of our backyard neighbor. He and his wife were in an automobile accident - he didn't make it and she will be in the hospital for a month, with a long recovery after. Just another reminder to cherish each precious moment that we have here in mortality.

Christine did a great job with our first solo Thanksgiving. The turkey was moist, the stuffing scrumptious, and the pies were delicious. Jackson smeared food all over his face, Mason nibbled on some turkey, and the rest of us enjoyed the feast.

This was Jackson's first chance to be big enough for the thanksgiving feast and he sure enjoyed it:




Here is all of us preparing to eat:


On Wednesday we went to Utah's brand new natural history museum. It was really wonderful. The building is very modern and cool-looking and the exhibits were interactive. Its 5 stories tall. Ryan and Colin really liked learning about Utah's dinosaurs, and the rest of us had a good time too.


I've used the spare moments over the last few days to put up our Christmas lights. We skipped lights last year (and Ryan and Colin were very disappointed and sad about it) and this years weather has been exceptionally nice so I went all out. Mason really enjoys looking at them:


In other areas we are doing well. Ryan and Colin ended their first term at school. They are doing well of course. They are in the same class and have a very nice teacher that seems to challenge them. They are doing a once-a-week pull-out program for kids who need an extra challenge. Mason is a very intense three-year-old. He has a very active imagination - today he has been a pirate all day. He is doing a neighborhood co-op preschool that Christine hosts once every 6 weeks. We just had their preschool Thanksgiving party here. Jackson is super cute and we think he might be saying a word or two now, but nothing confirmed. He is full of giggles, is pretty laidback, wants to play like an 8 year old, and is a great eater which has been helpful in motivating Mason to eat more than pop tarts. We plan to have him evaluated at 18 months for speech. He loves to play outside on the playset and will even go out there when its really cold and not want to come in. He can swing forever. Christine's undersocks seem to be selling well. Since launch she has sold a few hundred pairs and is almost out of some of the bigger sizes. We are trying to decide how best to proceed with this endeavor.

It has been a very peaceful and relaxing thanksgiving, and our hearts are very full of thanksgiving for the many blessings we enjoy. We hope all of you are well. Love John (and Christine).