26 February 2023

Here's one last photo from DECA last week, with the team wearing the sweatshirts Helen designed. Back row: Erik, Ryder, Bryan, Gibson, Noah, Noah, Mary, Grace, Aunika and Danica. Front row: Tayvon, Rowen, Elise, Collin, Cason, Helen and Sammie

 

It snowed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, not enough to cancel or delay school, and it melted every day before it snowed again. Becky took this photo while walking to school.

Gibson worked with some of his friends on President's Day to clear brush and trees for a neighbor who lives out of town. Now he has a bad rash caused by poison oak. It's a potent plant, even in February when it doesn't have leaves and it's hard to spot. Gibson will be on oral steroids for a couple of weeks to help him heal.

Helen and Gibson went with friends to see the new Ant Man movie last night. From the left are Gibson, Ed, Gib, Cason, Jason, and Helen.

19 February 2023

On Tuesday morning we did our morning run through the snow-blanketed neighborhood. School started two hours late because of the snow. All of the snow melted by 10 am.

 

For Valentine's Day, Brandan and Becky attended a Japanese Taiko drumming concert performed by a group named Yamato. The performers got a good workout as they beat on large drums for almost 2 hours. Their high energy and joyful expressions made the concert delightful.

Meanwhile, Helen and Gibson spent half of the week in Portland at the state DECA competition. This is a photo of Helen with Cason, her partner in the Marketing Team Decision Making and Business Law and Ethics Team Decision Making Events. Helen also competed with Mary Nadauld in the International Business Plan Event. Gibson competed in two individual events, Retail Merchandising and Apparel and Accessories Marketing.

Here's a photo of the entire team on stage. From the left are Grace, Aunika, Danica, Gibson, Mary, Ryder, Tayvon, Collin, Cason, Elise, Bryan, Rowen, Erik, Helen, Sammie, Noah and Noah. The team brought home a stack of awards including a 10th place finish for Gibson in Retail Merchandising, 7th place for Helen and Mary in International Business Plan, 4th place for Helen and Cason in Business Law and Ethics...

... And State Champions for Marketing Team Decision Making. This is a photo of Helen and Cason on the podium after their award was announced. 

Helen and Gibson got home from their trip Wednesday afternoon. They had a great week with a good mix of work and fun. Soon they'll start preparing for the international event in April that will be held in Orlando, Florida.

Winter Formal was Friday night. This is a photo of Helen and Chase before the dance.

Ed asked Helen to be his date a few days before the dance.

From the left are Ed, Jason, Cason and Gib all holding Gibson up.

This is a photo of all the kids who met at our house before the dance. From the left are Adia and Cason, Ed and Helen, Chase and Gib and then Gibson and Jason who didn't ask dates.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to the temple to do baptisms. As a new priest, this was the first time Gibson was able to baptize. He's already a pro. Gibson baptized Helen and Becky and was also baptized himself for several family names. Brandan recorded the baptisms and performed the confirmations. Brandan needed to meet with a member of the temple presidency afterwards so he missed our wet hair selfie outside the temple.

12 February 2023

Last weekend Helen made and decorated 15 dozen sugar cookies for a fundraiser for DECA called "Take Money, Make Money." Their advisor gave each student $20 to start a business and then the students paid him back with their earnings. The rest of the money they earned pays for a trip to the state competition. Helen earned enough money to pay for state plus extra to put towards the international competition in April. 

Helen handpainted each cookie with food coloring diluted with almond extract. 

This is a photo of Helen delivering one of her boxes of cookies. We've heard from many friends that the cookies are too pretty to eat. Gibson earned money by baking brownies and selling them to other students at school.

Sister Harris, a new senior missionary serving in the Busan Mission office sent us this photo of Abe and other missionaries shopping. She titled her email "caught doing good" and we're interested to learn more about the context from Abe.

Helen and Gibson left Friday morning for the state DECA competition in Portland. Gibson is wearing a red sweatshirt 5th from the right and Helen is wearing a white sweatshirt 2nd from the right.

They got dinner at food trucks Friday night.

Here's another group photo.

The team went to a Winterhawks hockey game on Saturday night. The state event starts tonight and competitions begin tomorrow. They've worked hard to prepare. We're looking forward to hearing their stories and seeing more photos when they get home on Wednesday. 

5 February 2023

Helen and Gibson are late to seminary almost every day, so it was refreshing to see them leave 10 minutes early on Thursday morning. They invited a friend to come to seminary with them and left early to pick him up.

About 50 youth and leaders spent Friday night at Lake of the Woods for a winter campout. The lake was frozen over so they had lots of room to play. This is a photo of Ed, Stephen, Gib and Gibson out on the lake.

The full moon was very bright. This is Ed, Gib, Helen, Gibson and Gib.  Brandan joined the group after work on Friday

This is a photo of Gibson, Gib and Ed hiking out of the camp on Saturday morning. The kids had a great time being together and enjoying the snow.