This is March!

Hello all from sunny Medicine Hat,

I recently got called to be the Venturer Leader here in the Medicine Hat 3rd ward. I went to woodbadge one and I'm excited to have some good old fashion fun out in the tulies. Our first camp was Feb 15-16. We rolled a round straw bale down the cutbank into the grove by the river at Wayne and Judy's. Then we lashed a 7 foot square cube out of poplar deadfall. Then we propped more poplar branches all around it to make it like a tipi. then we filled it in with lots of willow. then we put straw on top of that to keep the wind and snow out. Then we put loads of straw inside to sleep on. It worked like a charm. So next time you go camping and happen upon a big round bale of straw you can try that out. The river was frozen really well after a few weeks of bitter cold so we were able to hike into the grove on the ice with sleds and toboggans. It was really nice to be able to pull in loads of stuff on a slick surface without needing to carry it on our backs. Some of the Young Men used ice skates too.

Work is going well, I'm following in Uncle Kevin's foot steps with a similar field in building systems engineering. I do mostly mechanical design, but some lighting and electrical and controls. all in all its a nice mix. I'm saving the planet one plumbing fixture at a time!!

My virtual mountain bike contraption is in it's second edition now. I'm using linear actuators from old tread mills and gas shocks from an old hatch back for the platform this time. I have the thing built, now i'm working on controls. it should be better for the next reunion. Thanks for all your constructive feedback from the last rendition.

Jenn is the Sunbeam teacher. She just got a new batch of kids that don't know how to sit and not hit their neighbor, so she's tearing some hair out (mostly her own). Her magnetic personality is bringing our family out of obscurity here and we have quite a social life keeping up with all our new friends here. She is also our chief home renovator. She always has the best ideas of what to do with this house we're working on. We're actually renting it from Ryan and Tonya, and we're saving up to buy it, if that's still in the cards when we have enough. When we moved in it was somewhat of a dive, but thanks to Jenn's genius and hard work things are looking great.

The weather here has been so awesome! I love southern Alberta! Edmonton seemed so dismal and gray all winter, but here it gets interrupted by the blessed Chinook. Our camp was actually during a Chinook, so our main concern was staying dry; warmth was no problem.

Kali is just finished swimming lessons, so now she just has preschool a couple times a week. Jenn is signing her up for soccer in the spring, so that should be fun too. Kali loves to dance and sing everywhere we go, she really makes life so much more bright and meaningful. Yesterday we were at home hardware and it was time go and Kali wasn't having it so she gave me a little whack. I didn't think much of it, but there happened to be a wonderful elderly woman standing by that saw the interchange. She sternly, but lovingly told Kali that she was a grandma and that Kali shouldn't hit her Dad, because he loved her more than anything. Kali was speechless and embarrassed, but i sure was glad that there are great people like that lady walking around in our neighborhood.