Growing Anxiety

So the Mackay family on all levels is experiencing some growing anxiety. Well anxiety is not the right word, more like eagerness or excitement almost. We have been enduring a cooler and wetter than normal spring this year, but the past few days have been mostly sunny and in the 70's - much more like normal. I think this has caused the kids especially to be longing for school to be out. Their last day is June 8th, so it is still a couple weeks away. So the kids are not all that excited that the weather is getting nice and they have to go to school and keep studying.

I think that Erin especially is having a hard time dealing with this. She is at the edge of moving on to high school, and I think that the teachers are helping them get prepared by giving them finals and all that. Jason is just done with school and wants to be done. Tomorrow they have the yearbook distribution and usually they let the kids have a signing party in the football field. There is a 70% chance of rain in the forecast, and in that event the signing party will be moved to the gym. According to Jason, the gym is too small to accomodate the crowd. He is hoping for no rain tomorrow. Tyler and Conner are still having fun at school, but I know that they are eager for it to be finished for the year too.

Kristin has her growing anxiety because of her knee. For the past four weeks she has pretty much been bed-ridden. She cannot put any weight on the knee yet and simply despises using the crutches. She is getting tired of watching TV all the time, can you imagine that? I guess I understand that there are only so many re-runs and DVR shows to watch, heck even SportsCenter repeats itself every hour! I will be glad to see her on her feet more, just because I think she will be happier and not so frustrated with sitting on the bed all day with nothing really to do...

As for me, my anxiety has mostly passed. Today I played the organ for all 3 hymns for the first time. The hymns were "Do What is Right," "There is a Green Hill Far Away," and "Choose the Right." I was really nervous for the Sacrament hymn. I especially wanted to have it be a good setting for the Sacrament. I didn't want to detract from the ordinance, and wanted to do well. I made a few mistakes, but hopefully none that distracted from the mood. Overall, I got several compliments on my playing, so I must have been mostly successful in my goal. Our ward chorister texted Kristin after Sacrament meeting was over (we have Sacrament meeting first) and she told Kristin that I was "born to play the organ." I will admit that I have a lot of fun playing and hopefully that can be seen by the congregation too. My sincere desire is that I can hopefully add to the spirit of the meeting and help other people feel God's love for them through the music.

Hopefully next time will be a more lively post, but for now I will sign off.

Campouts & Callings

In our ward, I am the Assistant Scoutmaster with specific responsibility for the "new" 11-year old Scouts. I don't like that in LDS units, this is a no-man's land for scouting... but that is a subject for another post. One of the numerous regulations on the New Scout program is that they are only allowed 3 campouts per year. This past weekend, I took the boys (with additional leaders, of course) on a camp to Garden Valley, Idaho. At this particular site, there is a spring of hot water that emerges from the earth that someone in the past tried to collect into a pool. I tried to explain this to the boys, but it was clear that they were thinking swimming pool, not wading pool. The spring runs into a "pool" about the shape of a queen size bed. It hits me at mid calf for depth, so if you want it to cover you, one must pretty much lie down in the pool - which naturally means that no-one else can enjoy it with you. With that reference point, it was pretty entertaining to see that some of the boys had brought swim goggles with them - like they were actually planning on enough water to float in...

Overall the camp experience went fine. We had good meals; no one forgot to bring their share of the food. We just didn't have great execution on how we were going to cook the food and then clean it up afterwards. No one remembered to bring water, so it was difficult to make hot chocolate, but you only really needed it in the morning when it was cold outside. There was frost all over the tent, so I imagine it got down to 25 degrees or so that night. I was pretty cold, so I didn't sleep so well, but I don't usually sleep well when I am away from Kristin.

There were a few minor injuries, mostly as a result of trying to close the pocketknife and getting a finger in the way. But there was one tent of 4 boys who thought it would be more fun to stay up laughing and carrying on until 3:30 a.m. while everyone else was trying to sleep. We had them run up and down the mountain for good measure. It was a pretty steep mountian and somewhat treacherous footing coming down at high speed. One of the boys biffed it but executed a perfect front shoulder roll and landed on his feet and never broke stride! One other boy biffed it hard and it looked like he was going to snap his neck. He ended up with pinecone scratches all over his back and sides - and a large headache - but otherwise not too much worse for the wear.

Then on Sunday, the event that Kristin had been warning me about actually occurred! While I was playing the prelude music on the organ, the First Counselor came up next to me and asked me if I would accept a calling as a ward organist. I told him "I am not giving up Scouts!" and he said that they would like me to continue in Scouts and supplement with the organ playing. Our ward has 4 organists now, so playing once a month should be do-able for me. I can have time to practice for 4 weeks - so that should be OK.

Spiritual Feasting

After having viewed all the sessions of General Conference this weekend, I can say that my spirit is full. I enjoyed the sermons - although I could not pick a favorite. I can tell you that I need to re-read Doctrine and Coveants Sections 20, 88, 121 and 134. I also have the increased desire to do my duty, be a better husband and father and make sure that I am truly penitent to fully leverage the Savior's atonement in my behalf. I know that is why we have Conference; everyone gets something different out of it. Since we are all at different stations in our lives and have different growth rates, Heaveny Father does not expect the same messages to affect everyone in the same way. I know I took from the sermons the things that will help me to be a better Christian in my life right now. If you ask Kristin, she will tell you a whole different set of things that she was impressed by.

General Conference for me growing up was not as strictly enforced as Kristin and I have tried to make it. I remember that my parents only "made" us watch the Sunday morning session, and when I was old enough to recieve the Priesthood, I attended all the Priesthood sessions with Dad as well. Kristin and I have implemented the policy that until you are 12 years old, you only have to sit and listen when the Prophet speaks. After 12 years old, you must sit and listen to all the sessions. We have tried to help out with having activites like Conference Bingo to help keep our attention focused; and we have tried to make it fun by having "Conference Candy" as a special treat. Conner was up at 3:00 in the morning on Saturday; we think mostly because he was so excited about conference candy. I told Kristin that its pretty strange that he is more exicted about conference candy than Easter candy. She laughed and suggested that maybe it's because we don't give the kids very much candy on Easter. We focus more on the Savior and His resurrection than on giving the kids candy, eggs and gifts.

Ok now changing gears - we have our traditional final four championship meal coming up tomorrow night. We always get a bucket of KFC for the championship basketball game. No-one in our family picked either of the teams playing in this game, but I think the consensus is that we want Bulter to win it all. In any case it should be an exciting game and that is what makes the tournament so much fun.

Had Enough Yet?

Here we are at the end of March already! This month seems to have flown by... Maybe its the wind. There certainly have been many more "lion" days than "lamb" days so far. There are still a few days left in the month, hopefully they become more lamb-like. I could use a little bit more sunshine outside. The crocuses are doing great - I don't think we have ever had so many before. The daffodils are starting to show their bloom pods, but have not yet blossomed. The tulips are still growing their leaves, so they are a while off yet. I love to see our Dutch bulbs flower in the spring, they are so beautiful and bring joy to my heart.

Here's another thing to bring joy; I won our family bracket! I know that there is still one more weekend for the tournament, but after the upset wins this past weekend, no one in the family can score anymore points. I had Ohio State, San Diego State, Notre Dame and Duke in the final four. I actually scored 36 points, Kristin had 35, Tyler had 35 and Jason had 30. If Kristin had gone with her gut, she would have scored 37 points. For me to win is a pretty rare occurance, so I will enjoy it until I get thumped next year.

And the Winner is...

Its pinewood derby time yet again. I remember my own experiences with this fabled Cub Scout tradition... I have good memories of Dad helping me cut out the shape, sand it down, get the weights added in, then turn the wheels and get the axles all coated with graphite. My car won a few races my first year, but after that - I don't remember many victories from my corner...

Fast forward now to Jason: we made 3 cars for him and I think he won a total of 1 race. Now fast forward more to Tyler: we made 3 cars for him and he won zero (yes, that's right none).

Conner had his first race last week. I am pleased to report that I am not favoring my youngest son - he won zero races, so he is off to our typical start. Each of these boys was the best sportsman. Most of the time, they really didn't care if the car didn't win, they just had fun with the electricity of the derby event. They were happy to race and participate. I on the other hand am pretty upset that I can't seem to get this pinewood derby thing down. I don't expect to create the car that wins the whole enchilada - I would be satisfied with just one win... Two years ago as we were making Tyler's second car, we were talking with Kristin's brother Travis who had just had both of his boys use a neat design. His cars ended up taking first and second at the derby. Tyler had high hopes. We crashed miserably with the same design that Travis took home the trophies with! I am convinced it is the Mackay Pinewood Derby Curse. It seems that nothing I do or try with respect to these little wood cars makes any difference, I still make a cellar-dweller. Don't get me wrong - the cars look really cool and the boys are so excited to see them match up against the other cars. They just don't go down the track for beans. I have done some research into the concept of designing the car. From all I have read, there is little impact to the shape of the car, the whole thing is that it needs to weigh in at the limit. I have really put forth the effort I thought these cars needed, but obviously I need to take some remedial coursework. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, I would be happy to hear about it. Here is Conner at the derby last week. He is so happy and excited to be participating. And here is his car. He got the "Golden Speed" award for his car. It looks neat and we had a good time building it, but when the races came down, he got to run it twice and lost both times. They weren't even close races. We got toasted.

Well now we come to the reason why we stay around the TV all weekend in mid-March every year: it's NCAA tournament time!! We all had our brackets set (except Erin - she says she doesn't see the appeal). Then Thursday comes and the games begin. Kristin is so funny with her bracket. Some years she really obsesses and tries to scrutinize every game. Lately she has tried to go with her "gut" but she still ends up making multiple brackets. This year she has two entries, the official and the gut. After the first weekend, the gut bracket has two more correct picks on it than the other one... I keep telling her to just go with her gut. Jason usually makes out his bracket based on the mascots or school colors - it is all about if a spartan or musketeer is more ferocious than a buckeye or hoosier. I'm not sure how Tyler picks his teams, and Conner just takes the prompts from Kristin for right now. My method is pretty unscientific. I just try to figure out which one I think will win, but I admit that I am biased towards teams that I am a little familiar with. That means that west coast teams usually get the nod if I don't really know much about either one.

We give one point for each game picked correctly. After the first weekend, our ratings are: Tyler: 34 points, Scott: 34 points, Kristin: 32 points, Jason: 30 points. Some of the upsets have taken their toll on our brackets. Already Jason and Tyler have two of their final 4 teams out. Krisin and I both have 1 of the final four gone. It is so maddening and yet so exciting all at the same time. These games are by far the best in sports. Professional players in the NBA are all just a bunch of well paid loafers compared with the college players. The hustle, the passion, the excecution are all so much better, nothing compares!

Spring is in the Air!

The old saying that "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb" is especially true this year. We seem to have had more rain/snow mix precipitation than I can remember in recent years. We even had one event called "thundersnow" by the local weatherman. It was a snow storm, but had the temperature been above freezing, it would have been a thunderstorm. I was quite astonished to see lightning and hear thunder while the snow was falling. The weather does not seem to have dampered our spring bulbs, however. The crocuses are blooming and the daffodils and tulips are sending up their green shoots - poking sprouting foliage through the earth. Kristin says she always knows it is springtime when she sees little newborn lambs frolicking in a field. There is a rancher down the street from us that raises sheep, and this year the crop of lambs has been bountiful. I do agree wholeheartedly that they sure are cute as they run up and down the fields. Since I don't have a picture, you will have to take my word for it! Kristin also says that spring is here because it's March Madness time! We are eagerly awaiting the tournament selections to see which teams will compete in the NCAA tournament. Most everyone around here knows that March Madness is a holiday in the Mackay home! We'll see who's bracket turns out the best this year!

A New Tradition?

Last week Tyler came to Kristin and asked if he could make cupcakes. She was surprised, but agreed to let him do it. I'm sure she was dreading it because usually these things are more of "I want cupcakes, but you will have to make them for me" type of situation. I know she was quite surprised when Tyler was able to do most of the work himself. Tyler needed some help to separate the egg white from the yolk, but other than that he was able to read the recipe and follow the instructions. This week Tyler wanted to make more cupcakes and I told him to go for it. He asked me if he could add chocolate chips to the batter in order to have chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes. I told him we would do it. This time he only needed me to help stir up the lumpy batter. He did everything else by himself. He had to cook them a little longer than the recipe called for, but that didn't even faze him much. He stuck the toothpicks in to check on them and when they came out with uncooked batter, he just asked how much more time we should cook them. I am very amazed that he is so comfortable doing all these things by himself. He is becoming so independent that I have mixed feelings about seeing him grow up. He seems so confident in trying these new things. I know he has had the example of seeing Jason and Erin do most of these things before, but I am glad to see him trying them for himself. The picture is after we have snacked on most of the cupcakes, but he is sure proud of his accomplishment!

Friday last week, my new company sponsored a PPW (Preferred Place to Work) event in which they invited all the employees and their families to attend a hockey game. The Idaho Steelheads are the local semi-pro hockey club. The kids had never been to a hockey game before, so they were a little hesitant about it, I think mostly because they didn't think it would be "cool' enough. I am happy to report that they had a great time! Even Conner was getting into it at the end. He is one that doesn't much care for the loud noises and unexpected sounds. But towards the end of the game, he was dancing in his seat and smiling and having a great experience. The office rented three suites in order to accomodate all the people who were in attendance. I think it was a great time and hope that these events continue to be in the future of our family.