Crow Family Happenings

2009-06-29T11:39:00.002-05:00

I got an email the other day from a long time friend. It sat in my inbox for a couple of days because I didn't notice it at first. I have over 450 unread emails cramming up my inbox. Mostly junk. I'm afraid I've missed other emails in all that junk so if you have written me and I haven't responded that could be why. I have created a new email and will post to friends and family. If you would like the new address just let me know in the comments area.

But my point was...she mentioned she checks my blog to get updates and finds I seem too busy to post to the blog. Which is not that far off the mark. In my return email to her I gave a pretty comprehensive update of my family. While proof reading before I hit the send button, I thought it would make a good blog update. So here is The Crow Family Happenings update...slightly modified for a general audience. Enjoy!

"Glad to hear from you. We are doing great. Bruce is happy in his new job and we (me and the kids) are dealing with the frequent travel like champs. Bruce actually feels more comfortable and in his element in this new position so it was a blessing in disguise when he was laid off. Last week he interviewed for a new position within the company with encouragement from his boss. Bruce was told he is at the top of the short list for this position!

I am doing good and feel good for the first time in a long time. I have increased the amount of exercise I get and decreased the amount of food I eat. With 3 months of this I have only managed to lose one pound! Frustrating beyound belief. But the true goal is to increase my energy, endurance and health. The side benefit was supposed to be better fitting clothes but we can't all have everything we want right?

Alyssa has decided to be homeschooled with the boys this year. I am really excited about having all three kids home. It's amazing. It surprises me continually how much I enjoy teaching them and being with them all day. I have seen so many improvements in all the kids.

Austin is so much more relaxed and less stressed about school. Alyssa and Austin are getting along and on occasion actually act like friends! Andrew is just a little love and continues to bring happiness to all. Sibling rivalry is minimal and life seems more enjoyable without the demands of homework in the evenings. We now have uninterupted family time and less stressful mornings.

I love the research and planning involved in deciding what to teach the kids. I have settled on a literature based curriculum for history, geograpghy and language arts. Through reading both classics and "modern" classics we will study the cultures, history and places where we read. All of the writing and english type assignments will be based on what we read.

I am still looking at different sciences because a lot of homeschool science is based on "Christian" science. Meaning they believe in a young Earth (6000 years old) and there is no discussion of evolution. I have found science for the boys but still looking for something that will challenge Alyssa.

We just finished our plans for our family vacation. We are headed to Oregon for my Grandmothers family reunion. All of my siblings will be attending so we will also be doing a mini "Pratt family reunion". We finished planning our route and activities and decided we will stop in Utah for a couple of days. August 3rd-5th. Monday we'll hang out and go to Park City to do the Alpine Slide. (All Utah friends are welcome to meet us there!) Tuesday we are headed to Provo. Bruce wants to look at some documents in the BYU library and it would be fun to take the kids around campus, etc. Wednesday we'll spend in Salt Lake. Bruce has more documents he wants to see at in the Church Archives. (He's working on a historical book about The Cane Creek Masacre that happened in Tenessee in the 1800's.)

We'll leave Utah on Thursday and head to Oregon. Friday my sister and her family will be sealed in the LDS Medford temple. Saturday is the main reunion activities. Sunday we will head to Crater Lake for some hiking, etc. Monday we will go rafting on the Rogue River. Tuesday we drive to California through the Redwood National Forest and on to visit Bruce's parents in Stockton. Then down to Hollywood to visit my brother at his restuarant XIV. Our next stop will be the Grand Canyon! That was Alyssa's request for our vacation. We will travel through New Mexico, Texas, Oaklahoma and Arkansas. All places we've never been before. We will be gone a little over two weeks. We are excited for the family time and seeing many national parks, friends and family along the way."

So there you have it. Crow Family Happenings both past and future. Hope to see y'all soon!

New Job

2009-05-07T06:30:00.001-05:00

I have a job now. It involves travelling a bit more than I did before, but the important part is I have a job. I am working for a software company, installing, training, and consulting new clients on how to get the most out of their purchase. So far in May I will travel 9 out of 20 days, or 45% of the time. But that probably won't maintain itself.

Work progresses on the book. My wife is reviewing the first part and says she likes it so far, and is making lots of "corrections." It proves she loves me. I'll be looking for some others to read it to make sure I can actually write an interesting sentence or if I just think I can. And getting the opinion of someone who doesn't know the story already would be valuable.

My other blog has been getting more attention. The Mormon Times, sort of a online arm of Deseret News, posted a link to one of my posts and my traffic that day jumped 1300%. The Mormon online blogging community (called the Bloggernacle) is not that large, a couple hundred at most, but getting bigger quickly. The size of the readership is bigger but who knows by how much.

I'll be arriving back at home late tonight. It will be good to be home. I have really good kids and my wife obviously loves me. [Now, why was it I took a traveling job? Oh yeah, I need the money.]

Waiting

2009-02-23T16:13:00.002-06:00

I was recently laid off from work. My employer decided that in the current market that they could not compete with the low overhead the smaller boutique firm. So instead of even trying, they are walking away from an already established business. In the process my position became unnecessary. I was given two weeks notice and a small severance package.

So into the job market I went. It wasn't so bad really. Lots of phone calls, most to people I didn't know. Many online job applications. Most employers are only accepting the applications online nowadays. Some you can still wal into, but evn ten they direct you to a kiosk with a computer which connects to their internet site. Might as well be at home. A few called me back and scheduled interviews. So that is what the job search consisted of, phone calls, online applications followed by phone interviews.

A little over a week ago I had two face to face interviews. Both seemed to like me. Both called to say they wanted to move foward. One even said they wee going to make an offer, by today. The other said they were going to meet to decide if they were going to make an offer, today. And so I am dying under the anticipation of "what next?". I have a few things to do. But nothing seems to keep me busy enough to stop the "I'm gong crazy!" feeling.

Woodbury Fudge

2009-01-09T15:42:00.002-06:00

My grandmother had a recipe for Fudge that I have found few other places. She got it from her mother who got it from hers traceable back as far her ancestors were Mormon. Over the Christmas holidays, my siblings and I were talking about it origins. None of us could recall the details. So it was time for some research.

Apparently her recipe is called "Opera Fudge" and was "invented" in 1866 in Baltimore. Opera fudge is made like regular fudge except that after cooking to a "soft ball" stage the fudge is then treated in the "creme fondent method" which means it is poured on a marble slab or on a large platter and allowed to cool completely. Then it is stirred with a wooden spoon or paddle until the glossy shine fades to a matte finish. It is then worked by hand adding butter and milk until it is soft like clay. It is then formed into inch thick logs and sliced for serving. It is call Opera Fudge probably because of its similarity to Opera drops, which were vanilla and made the same way but then covered in chocolate. One source claims this method is older than the currently more popular method of fudge making, but fell off because of being more labor intensive.

And the Woodbury connection? Family histories contain countless attempts to supply the sweets the family wanted. Sorghum molasses and honey were the two most common. One ancestor made a very popular sorghum peach preserves. Others made candy with honey. Every effort was made to replace the supply of Sugar the Utah just did not have. At some point the fudge recipe made it out west, since the Woodbury family has been in the old Salt Lake City 4th and 7th Ward since before they were formed in the early 1850's, they would not have brought it with them.

My Aunt, however, thinks her mother got this recipe when she was attending UofU studying Home Economics in the 1920's.

1 1/4 Cup Milk
2 squares baking chocolate
3 Cups Sugar
2 Tablespons of Butter

Adding a little Corn Syrup helps prevent it from crystalizing too soon, but that is a modern addition.

Snow Day?

2008-12-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

I was awakened this morning at 5:30 AM by my cell phone. I didn't think much of it. I've grown used to waking up to my cell phone alarm. But I set it to 6:00 AM. So I grumbled, rolled over and turned it off. 15 seconds later my wife's cell phone went off. "She doesn't use her cell phone to wake herself up" I thought. She turned off her ringer and rolled over. It took me another 30 seconds to realize it was a real call.

The only one crazy enough to call both of us at 5:30 AM was a family member, with bad news! Reaching over I looked at my phone and saw I have a message. A few numbers later I hear this message "This is the superintendent of Robertson County Schools. Due to inclement weather, schools will be delayed for two hours." What? I get out of bed and run (OK, I stumbled) to the window. Looking out I see......nothing. No snow, no ice, not even fog. I see a couple of cars with frost. It is cold. It is in the 20's. But come on! School delayed on account ....cold?

This happened last year too. The school budgets a certain amount of ~~snow~~ weather days, and they never use it all. So when the chance comes, they take it.

I get to work and find there were some areas with snow... south of us. And most of the counties cancelled school altogether. Black ice was every where. There were even some cars with an inch of snow on top driving on the freeway. I must have been in a pocket of clear weather.

Young Women Service Project

2008-12-10T07:00:00.001-06:00

Tonight the Young Women are offering free baby sitting at the church. The idea is that the parents can use the time to go Christmas shopping. Our meeting house sits two blocks from a very large shopping district. It includes a large mall, a Target, a Walmart, and miles of strip malls. So the two hours they are offering would not be taken up driving.

I recall an advirtisement last year for a church that did the same thing, except they offered it Sunday Morning. Parents could drop off their kids and go shopping while the kids went to church. It gave me all sorts of mixed up feelings. Is it good or bad?

I have fewer mixed feeling for this activity, mostly because it isn't on Sunday, but have we just bought in to the commercialism we should be staying above. Do we really need help from our church to be more material? When was the last time group baby sittng was arranged for a ward temple trip? Or a service project?

Fast & Testimony Meeting

2008-12-07T19:34:00.001-06:00

I posted this over at Amateur Mormon Historian today.

Elder Nip King Lun (Wilson)

2008-11-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

This morning I received notice that a mission companion of mine had passed away from liver cancer on October 28th 2008. He had been fighting it for a while. About a year ago I lost contact with him. He had apparently moved from Seattle back to Hong Kong for medical care and to be with family around that time.

He was very intelligent, and idealistic. He finished law school and was practicing in Seattle. He considered himself a nationalist (small "N") Chinese, but supported the Communist party as the legitimate government of China. Of the many companions I had, he was one of the few with whom I connected personally. When we would see each other he would quote the opening lines of the "Sounds of Silence" as a way of greeting "Hello, darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again." It was his way of making fun of me because sometimes he caught me with my eyes open during a prayer. Think about it. We served in Macau together for three months and later spent time in the Mission Office together.

When I last spoke with him he was nervous about introducing his wife and daughter to his family in Hong Kong. They did not even know he was married.

He will be missed.

Saturday Activities

2008-11-22T20:35:00.002-06:00

Jennifer went to a Christmas fair today. She has started selling spice mixes and hot chocolate mixes at fairs and craft shows. Today's was in Springfield, outside on the town square.

Alyssa went to a stake youth activity. There were lots of people there. They played capture the flag in 30 degree weather, had a huge bonfire and there were two boys dressed up as turkeys. It was kind of funny because to make them look more like turkeys they had stuff, stuffed up in their shirts.

Andrew spent the night at a friends house. Mom brought him back when she returned from the Christmas fair. Afterwards we watched Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Austin spent most of the day playing on the computer, though he watched the movie with us when we turned it on.

And Bruce ran some errands for Jennifer, and installed a dishwasher Jennifer won in a raffle two weeks ago. It is stainless steel, just the way Jennifer likes it.

Christmas Wish list 2008

2008-11-21T09:00:00.011-06:00

So we have some time before Christmas. We aren't sure what we are doing yet, but We have been thinking about something Jeff & Sandy did. Instead of spending money on a lot of small presents, they bought fewer but nicer gifts.

We may do something similar. We may even get the same thing they did. But aside from that Christmas wish lists tell you a Little about what a person is doing or is interested in at any one time. So with that in mind...

Bruce

Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Guided Tour Through Modern Revelations by Steven C Harper;
When Push Came to Shove: Mormon Martyrs in an Unrelenting Bible Belt, 1831-1923 by William Whitridge Hatch
Joseph Smith Papers, Volume 1. Just came out.
500 Little Known Facts in Mormon History by George W Givens;
Sojourner in the Promised Land By Jan Shipps;
Great Basin Kingdom By Leonard J. Arrington, Ronald W. Walker;
Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints By B. H. Roberts;
Rugged digital camera. One that can get wet, dirty and dropped but still work.
Working on 72 hour kits. Still need an Andrew sized sleeping bag, a pack and sleeping bag for Jennifer, a hatchet,
Black Dress Socks

Jennifer

Wii
Wii fit (game)
Kitchen Aid stand mixer (Copper would be really nice, or Cinnimon Red)

Alyssa

My Sims (DS Games): Kingdom, Pets, etc.
Cooking Mama (DS Game
Digital Camera (Hot pink)
Elastic hair bands (without metal)
Sims (Computer game)
Nail polish/manicure set
Taylor Swift CD "Fearless"
Books (fiction, science fiction)
Yarn
Hair Brush
Bobby pins
Socks, warm & fuzzy
Nice watch, waterproof
Board/Card games (Sorry, Uno)
Chicken soup for the teenage soul

Austin

Duel Hydronoid (Bakugan)
Delta Dragonoid (Bakugan)
Spore "Creepy and Cute" (computer game add on)
Big Lego set (like Indian Jones or Star Wars)
Pokemon Pearl (DS Game)
Pokemon Emerald (DS Game)
Spy Gear
Army Lego Set

Andrew

MarioKart (DS Game)
Pets (DS Game)
Legos set (Star wars)
Nerf Gun (long)
Fun Shark pool toy
Rollerblades
Star wars toy
Storm trooper helmet
Guitar
Indiana Jones Toy
Indiana Jones Lego set
Anti gravity car - sticks on walls and ceilings
Fathead wall stickers (spiderman)
Robot that comes with the shirt at Walmart
Wall-E action figure
Bakugan
Wii Indiana Jones
Army Lego Set

Evening of Excellence

2008-11-20T14:47:00.000-06:00

Wednesday night the young women in the Ward had an Evening of Excellence, wherein each young woman, presented on how they were doing for the personal progress award. They got to show off their talents, skills, and things that just interests them. Alyssa's presentation included her softball memorabilia as well as photos of her teaching Andrew how to use skates. She included a few photos of various things she had taken herself

The evening included a video collage of photos taken throughout the year. Set to music it was nicely done. Most of the pictures were from girls camp with a handful from other activities thrown in.

Things to do in Nashville

2008-06-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Parthenon / Centennial Park / Athena’s Statue: For those of you who thought this was in Athens, Greece, you were seriously mistaken. OK, so they have one there too. But this one is in much better shape. Centennial Park is around it and inside in Athena’s Statue. It is $2.50/$5 per kid/adult so a pretty good deal.
Tennessee State Capital/ Bicentennial Park / Farmer's Market: Cool place to walk around. Small monuments and fountains scattered through out the park. The farmer’s market is kind of indoors with international shops and flea markets. The capital is at the top of the hill and the museum is on the other side. All Free.
Edwin & Percy Warner Parks: Great place to walk around. I haven’t been there yet but it come highly recommended by everyone I ask. It is on the far side of Nashville.
Port Royal State Park: Nearby our house. It is a day use park that has a river running through it and picnic tables.
Dunbar Cave State Park: This one is a little further away (only a little), but has a bit more to see. The cave is only open for tours on Wednesday through Sunday at 1 and 3 pm and is $5 per person
Bledsoe Creek State Park: Unless you want to stay in a glorified mobile home park, this may be the closest place to go camping.
Adventure Science Center: This one would be good for the kids. Hours of non stop stuff to do. It is $7/$9 per kid/adult, though. Jennifer & Alyssa went here with her school group. They have a handful of fun exhibits, but the rest is less than average.
Belmont Mansion: 19th-century Italian villa-style mansion. It is $3/$10 per kid/adult. Can you guess why the kids are only $3.00?
Belle Mead Plantation: Southern plantation at its best. It is $6/$14 per kid/adult.
The Hermitage: Andrew Jackson’s home. It is $7/$15 per kid/adult. We went here with the whole family. The audio tour is included in the cost of the ticket, which made it better than some other historic tours I have been on with my kids. But there is only so much a kid can tolerate. The grounds are huge and there is lots of room to play around in.
Cheekwood: Botanical Gardens. Hiking trails. Art museum. It is $5/$10 per kid/adult
Tennessee State Museum I walked through this on my lunch hour. I didn’t see the whole thing. It is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. It focuses on periods of Tennessee history. Indigenous, Antebellum settlement, Civil war, Reconstruction, and lots of small exhibits of silverware, apothecaries, politics, etc. In some ways it reminds me of the Museum in Stockton, but without the French paintings.
Tennessee Central Railway Museum: I haven’t been there yet.
Opryland Hotel: Huge indoor atriums (four of them, I think) with periodic exhibits, restaurants, shopping, music-synchronized lighted fountain shows, even a bayou style boat ride inside the largest atrium. I’ve been there, more than once. I’d go again.
The General Jackson is a river boat that has cruises docking just outside the Opryland. It goes up and down the river. They have shows on the boat and serve you food.
Country Music Hall of Fame: I don’t think I need to say much about this. But I can’t just leave it off the list.
Grand Ole Opry: If you go to Nashville and don’t go here, what will you friends say when you get back? Pricy. $20 to $50 per person depending on the show you see.
Ryman Auditorium: This is the old location of the Grand Ole Opry. Historic tours and such.

Michigan

2008-03-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

I went to Michigan for the final presentation to a client I have been working on for several months. It was good to see this stage of the engagement. It was a careful balance of giving them enough information to satisfy their business need and not giving them too much so they are overwhelmed. I often live in the details. At the level this meeting was, the details were not only unnecessary, but would lead to questions best left to the people actually doing the work. :)
At the airport we saw this awesome fountain. It invokes an abstract image of airplane flight paths. very cool. I had seen this fountain once when travelling before, but had forgotten about it.

Snow

2008-03-07T21:00:00.000-06:00

It doesn't snow much in Nashville. But it is snowing now. We were told to expedt 4 to 6 inches. Well we've got at least 2 and it is stil coming down. The map above puts in the 3-5 inch range almost next to the 4-8 inch line, so who knows.
We rented movies and curled up on the couch. My kids are getting too big for that. Used to be the we could all fit together on the one couch. Now, not so much. Mrs Froggie has put a sectional sofa on her list of things to get next year when the her employee discount kicks in.
Of course all the baseball practices for tomorrow are cancelled. I'm fine with that.

Baseball

2008-03-06T21:00:00.000-06:00

The kids are in baseball this year. Mrs Froggie has this need to register our kids to do stuff. I don't see it, but oh well. So I now have three baseball practice schedules to drive the kids to. And I do mean me. What ever happened to just playing outside? But I do know what the problem is. We experienced this last summer. So many kids have structured activities that if my kids go out to play there is no one to play with. I know the kids enjoy it. I know they will grow. I just think that with so much else they need to do, there is little enough time to finish their homework, science fair projects, chores, scouts, young women, or just play. Let alone stuff like going to the aquarium, or hiking, or visit family. How do you pick between good better and best activities when many of your choices are made for you? I guess that is how real life works.

Sold

2008-03-02T21:00:00.000-06:00

Well, it is over. The old house has sold. The papers are signed and we are out from under the mortgage. I'm still waiting for all the papers to arrive, but It is really a good feeling. I I just read that congress passed the law exempting mortgage debt forgiveness from being considered income in 2007. If that law stays on the books for 2008 we will be set.

Total Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-21T21:00:00.000-06:00

Last night was a total lunar eclipse. We watched it with the kids. But since it was cold last night and very slow, we had to do it in five minute increments. We would check on it every 15 minutes or so. By 9:30 Central time we put the kids to bed. It was only half over.
I pulled these pictures off the internet since my pathetic excuse for a camera (it's OK) wouldn't take pictures like this. :)

Sell the old House

2008-02-20T21:00:00.000-06:00

Well the house in Baltimore looks like it will sell. I still have the deck to repair, the chimney inspection, and the insulation on the electric service line.The AC unit is under warrenty, the other items on the list have been cleared. No radon problem, no termites, the roof is done, the plumbing is fine.
The latest problem was that the previous lien holder never filed the proper paperwork with the county to release the lien once it was paid off. But last night I found the letter they sent me telling me why they didn't file the paperwork and the title agent said that would be good enough for her to continue with a closing date of Feb 29th.
I'm realizing just how hard this can be to arrange from 700 miles away. At least I'm not trying to buy a new house and move all at the same time.

Judy Harper
this is a cute house! too bad it's not here. We're looking for one just like it. :)
Friday February 22, 2008 - 07:12am (PST)

Mr Froggie
That is why we liked it in the first place. It is really cute. And it is perfectly sized for two people, just not for five people.
Friday February 22, 2008 - 12:46pm (CST)

School's Out

2008-02-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

School was closed today on a ccount of sickness. In fact school has been out for the last three days. At first it was the weather. But apparently there is some clause that says if there are enough reported cases of illness that the school will close to prevent the spread of infection. There are just too many people who will send their sick kids to school. All three of my kids have been sick. So I can't help but wondering if my most recent one sent them over the edge.

Lady J
i bet there are some other parents thinking the same ting.

Friday February 15, 2008 - 05:07pm (PST)

And so forth

2008-02-12T22:00:00.000-06:00

Chinese new year goes on for 10 days. The last few days are less specific as far as what you do, but the extent of the celebration depends on your ability to stay away from your vocation. By now most businesses have reopened, and people are back at work.
Tonight the eldest daughter has her first meeting for softball. Pity she still feels sick. It is probably the flu. Her brother had it last week and I'm sure the germs are around the house. I may end up going without her just to make sure she still gets to be a part on the team.
Our pediatrician pointed out a phenomenon in "the South" that we had heard of but had never really seen. Most of the boys are kept from entering school until they are a year older than the girls. Even school teachers have said things to us like "little boys just aren't meant to be in school". As near as we can figure it, the intent is that they will be bigger than their peers when they get into sports. But the result is that since it is so common, that they turn out to be the same size afterall. So in my youngest boy's class several little boys are 6 already, or will turn 6 shortly. My boy won't be six until a few days into the next school year. Ultimately I'll have to decide what to do based on what is best for him, not based on my pride in his academic advancement at a young age or a desire that he excel in sports.