July 31, 2011

Last week I did not post anything to the blog. I was at scout camp without internet connections. So here is the blog updates a week late but still great to have.


The Jackson's of Albuquerque

This week was pleasantly stormy in Albuquerque. Kevin hopes that with the added rainfall the state will open up the mountain trails soon. On Monday Stacie and Kevin enjoyed FHE and a round of Harry Potter Guess Who. They also started working on a Harry Potter party set for the end of the month. On Wednesday Kevin enjoyed playing golf with his friend Nick. Afterwards Stacie joined them for pizza. Although it rained heavily on Wednesday, it was nothing compared to their stormy experience on Friday. After work Kevin and Stacie went to Costco to grab a bite to eat. While walking around the store lightening and thunder started to shake the building. They strategically positioned themselves in the baking section of the store to insure that if they were stuck in their for a while, they could eat their way out.


On Saturday Stacie started her second sewing project. Although her first attempt outside of class resulted in a bit of a mess, she was excited to see that her second and third turned out to be alright. She is sewing more tote bags and attached is a picture of her project. In the evening Stacie and Kevin were excited to attend their first baseball game together. They purchased tickets as part of the UNM Staff Appreciation month. Albuquerque has a minor league baseball team called the Isotopes. Attached are pictures of the game.


The International Haws Family

My ever horrible habit of not contributing has worsened during my time here alone, this week however I am early.

I have a couple of fun stories/comments that I thought I would share.

Derick has repeatedly had the funny idea that he could break the web-cam and come through my side of the computer as if it were some sort of transport system. Renata even had to stop him from trying to step on it a few days ago. I enjoyed hearing that very much and was more pleased that his attempts had failed.

Felipe, Lucas and Derick have enjoyed having their aunt and uncle return to live near them. Mom and Dad met their aunt, Tais. She was pregnant when they visited and now has a boy that everyone enjoys playing with. Derick loves little kids and continuously asks for a little brother, Felipe enjoys the children of others and continues to dream of being an only child, Lucas just sees soccer balls.

Another fun story occurred yesterday as Renata tried to prepare a small treat for the kids. In Brazil they like to eat canned peaches with a heavy table cream on top. When preparing the snack as she accidentally poured white spaghetti sauce over the peaches instead of the white table cream, the boxes have similar size and the product is of similar color. To make matters worse Felipe and Lucas ate while attentively watching tv and did not notice the difference in taste. Only after did Renata go to clean up and notice the package she had opened. All quickly felt nuascious and complain for the rest of the evening, but like most small inconveniences they make for good stories after the pain is gone.

My week was pleasant. Work has kept me busy and I enjoy it very much.

The Colorado and Afganistan Haws Family

This week was an okay week. On Monday, we had a little bit of car trouble but everything turned out okay, and I am grateful that we have Brother and Sister Stewart and others at church to rescue us when we need help. On Tuesday I was able to adventure off to the commissary while Haley and Kayla went to play at Emma’s house. It was nice to go without the extra hands trying to grab things or extra legs trying to go to the next isle without me, but as nice as it was it turned out to be kind of boring without them. On Wednesday to beat the heat we went to the library and then to the swimming pool. The swimming pool was much too crowed but Haley and Kayla didn’t mind. I really liked the kid pool for the girls because they were able touch the bottom and safely have their head above the water. Haley thought jumping off the side into the pool without any help was the funnest part; Kayla however decided to cling to me the whole time. On Thursday I took the girls to see a magician at the High School. They thought it was pretty neat to see all of the tricks that he could do especially watching the elephant disappear and a rabbit appear in a cage. On Saturday we were able to attend a baptism of one of our friends who was in our ward in Hopewell, Virginia. I am glad that I was able to take the girls to the baptism to so they could see how one is baptized and the importance of it. On Sunday Kayla gave the prayer and a talk in primary which was a paragraph from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” It was good that she was assigned this one because it was a good reminder of how important the family unit is. It sounds like Andy has been staying very busy. Here is his contribution to the news letter. I finished these past two weeks with a total of 69 missions completed, which means I will be doing about 140 missions per month plus 2.5 billion dollars of fuel accountability per month. That is great numbers for my NCOER. Again thank you for all of your continual prayers.

The Wisconsin Haws Family

Logan and I spent the week at Boy Scout camp. We had a great time. Logan worked on four merit badges and completed two of them. He is ready to advance to the rank of second class and should be able to go on to first class in the next month or so. He was a pleasure to spend the week with and is a good example to his peers (and me). Logan is leaving this week to visit Julie and Jeff. It is a delayed and much awaiting birthday gift. He is very excited. Today was a special surprise as the Pilsner family came from Mexico to visit. Cheyenne and Fiona are very special friends.

Emily was able to earn her driver's license this week. It was with great personal joy that she drove to work and other activities. Emily is leaving today to go to Palmyra, New York for EFY. She will be gone for two weeks. One week for EFY and the second week to visit family.

Lanette had a great weekend visiting friends (the Elmhorst family). She enjoyed the opportunity to sleep in a bit . She will be traveling with mom and I as we go to Palmyra to pick up Emily and then to travel on to see others. Mom has worked on contacting the school for the Blind in Pennsylvania so that we can find some activities that will fit Lanette's interests.

Mom will be traveling to Madison tonight. She will get Logan and Emily on their airline flights. She has been doing some major revisions in the kitchen eliminating clutter and tidying up before our trip. In addition she has been a major help to me in getting all things in order for scout camp.

My week has been spent primarily with the scouts. It was a beautiful camp set in the north woods of Wisconsin. The camp is full of white and red pine, oak and maples. It is beside a beauty lake called Crystal Lake that is essentially reserved for the scouts. The loons and eagles populate the sky and water ways along with turtles and plenty of fish. It is really an amazing place.

I look forward with excitement to the upcoming days of visitng family and friends. I look forward to seeing the Liberty Bell and the birthplace of our great country. It promises to be some wonderful moments. I express my appreciation to people like your grandfathers and Andy that have help to protect America and make it a free land. Despite my frustration with our leaders I still prize America as the greatest country that has been established.

Love,

Dad