One Piece

Look!

Over yonder!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, It is a One Piece.

Here is the famous Samuel in his new One Piece - the first one in Fort McMurray. I especially like the wig his uncle bought to add to the ensemble. It adds a certain something to the over all look.




This is so exciting! Samuel was overjoyed at the arrival of the new outfit. He plans to wear it to Mutual tonight, and to school on Friday in the a.m., and then to the ski hill in the p.m.

Below is my favorite look of the new One Piece.

You need to know the "rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say.

We were having breakfast this morning and we saw a car pull up in front of our house. Out pops a Somali cab driver and he slinks to the door looking like he is trying not to be recognized by his buddies. (was he embarrassed by the unknown contents of the box he was delivering?) He dropped the box, rang the door bell and bolted! You would have thought he had been shot out of a cannon. He bounded back to the cab, and sped away - at least as fast as is possible with 6 inches of snow on the street.

Michelle told Joseph to let him get away before answering the door, in case he was trying to be kind of like a secret Santa or something. Joseph retrieved the box, and we immediately started to scheme about how to make Samuel work for it. Eventually we were over ruled by the boss, and just put the box on his bed to await his return from school.

At about 3:15 p.m. he came home, and could not contain his glee at the prospect of the new duds. He carefully opened the box, read the note from his uncle, and then ran to his room to put on the wonder-garment. He stopped by the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror before presenting himself for the unveiling.

I was waiting, in eager anticipation, much like the family members on those remake shows on TV where people "unveil" themselves after some miraculous transformation. Samuel sauntered into the room, looking for all the world like Kermit the Frog, except for the "Sylvester ate the Tweety Bird" grin on his face. I'm pretty sure Cinderella felt the same way after spying her new prom dress from the fairy godmother. It was a magical moment to be sure.

Samuel, my hat is off to you for your fashion style, and bravery. I am eager to hear of the reaction of his friends and classmates.

to be continued...

Thanks a Lot

Yep, 'tis the traditional day of thanks, so here goes:

1. Wife

1a. Children

1b. Parents

2. Gospel

3. Health and health care

4. Grand children

5. Sunshine

6. Mathematics

7, Friction and Gravity

8. Fresh Bread

9. Snow shovels and tennagers to drive them

10. Self Reliance

11. Sunday School Teachers that get their own substitutes.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Gig 'Em Aggies, (beat the hell out of t.u.)

Hugs and Kisses,

Alan and Michelle

to be continued...

Eagle Scout

Congratulations to Joseph A. Simpson for successfully completing his Eagle Scout Board of Review tonight. As soon as the application is signed at the national Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Texas, he will become the newest Eagle Scout in our family. The email version of the documents has already been sent for approval and signature.

to be continued...

Dear Diary,

It snowed last night. Darn it.

Day Light Savings Time

This is always a sad time of year for me because the days now feel like they are really super short, dark and dreary.

However, this year we did the "fall back" thing really well, too well in fact. Here is how not to do it:

Step one. Be the only person in the house to ever pay attention to Day Light Savings Time and reset clocks as required.

Step Two. Have a son, pick any one of the herd, reset the clocks in the house and not tell anyone he reset them.

Step Three. Get up at about 2 or 3 in the morning because you are old and just don't sleep well any more to check the clocks. Tell yourself that all is well and you still have several hours to try to sleep more.

Step Four. Get up at the regular time, according to your alarm clock that has not been reset, stumble out to the kitchen to reset the already reset clocks that the entire family uses to schedule time, reset said clocks, then get ready for the day. Now everyone thinks the time is really one hour earlier than it really is, making the family late to church yet again (not that it is a habit or anything...)

Step Five. Rush like crazy to make it to church at a reasonable time.

Step Six. Laugh about the time change all day with the family. Make jokes about new found responsibility and usurping.

Now we are looking forward to the winter solstice, because after that measly short day (about 5 hour sun light) the day only get better.

to be continued...

Halloween

From the "Party Rock Anthem" video we present the dancing robot. See the real robot on youtube under LMFAO Party Rock Anthem by vevo. Song is so-so (in other words, I'm old) but the dancing is amazing. Samuel collected all the stuff to make his own version, complete with blinking eye, bling (courtesy of Michelle) and other attire.

I was a curmudgeon, again. (long running theme, like wedgie the clown from the Hopkins household). I play the part well.

Just before Halloween, Joseph took a course in safety and operation of skid steer loaders. Now he is prepared to get a great job ($30+/hr), as soon as our Canadian residency comes through. He passed the course in flying colours, and we hope to get him a job before he has to leave to BYUI in January.

We have a friend here that supplies us with soda from time to time. He sponsors various seminars and he passes us some of the left overs. Today it was Dr Pepper from the Waco, Texas plant - a rare treat indeed, even for the USA. We made a couple of DP floats that were outstanding. Reminded me of days long ago in the summer heat in central Texas.

Here is the dancing robot as promised, with a little shuffle, and a little sponge bob. He was in the costume contest at school, and was runner up to a "lame Charlie Sheen" get-up. Lame and Charlie Sheen seems a bit redundant, eh?

to be continued...

Hugs and Kisses,

How to Carve a Pumpkin in Northern Alberta

The photos have nothing to do with the actual carving, but they capture a portion of the whole experience.

Step 1. Buy a bunch of pumpkins at the local grocery store.

Step 2. Drive into the country far enough for the report of the fire arms to not scare local residents.

Step 3. Use chain saw to fell tree and make stands for the herd of pumpkins.

Step 4. Set up pumpkins and potatoes about 50 yards from where you park the trucks. Forget trying to hit the papas, they are too small to explode anyway.

Step 5. Choose the biggest gun in the truck to kill pumpkins.

Step 6. Load, Aim, Fire.

Step 7. If you are the guy shooting, just shoot close enough to scare the pumpkin.

Step 8. Everyone else: laugh at the guy shooting because he can't hit anything with a scope that is about 8-inches low. Mother or mother-in-law jokes are optional, but way too funny to pass up.

Step 9. Repeat until someone falls down laughing at the "marksmanship" or lack thereof.

Step 10. After about 200 rounds, go set the herd of pumpkins back on the stands and try again.

There were 7 of us shooting this afternoon,, and we spent more than 1000 rounds of .4570, .330 mag, .308, and .22. Then out came the shot guns with the slugs and after about 50 shots at pumpkins we brought out the clay pigeons.

After spending all 300 shells, we tried to hit the pigeons with a semi-auto .22. Too much fun with absolutely no hits.

One of the highlights of the day was watching a 9 year old son shoot a 12 gauge. His father simultaneously caught him and the flying gun after he fell backward from the recoil and let go of the gun.

Joseph with a Remington Defender 12 gauge. We also had a Mossberg and a Browning, both with standard barrels.

Another highlight of the day: Joseph and Samuel are both good shots and are looking forward to next week foe another opportunity to shoot.

So here is the Jack-O-Lantern, courtesy of Samuel. Start with any big bore rifle, then switch to a .22 to finish the details of the face.

To be continued...