Alaska - Day 1

Well, the day finally arrived for Livvi to head to Alaska.  The bigger delegation of 40 goes next month, but there was a smaller delegation from Cincinnati that was to go today.  That group went from about eight (five boys, two girls, and one adult leader) down to just three.

The flight took off on time and the weather was perfectly clear.

At the time of this writing, they have already landed in Dallas for a four hour layover until their flight to Anchorage.  We got Liv a phone for the trip and just got the following text:

We landed in dallas and are deciding where to eat. Miss you

They won't be landing in Alaska until after 11:00 p.m. (our time).  Poor girl is going to be tired!  Hopefully, she gets some good sleep as the fun starts tomorrow!

We all prayed together before bed last night.  We prayed for safe travel, fabulous times, and reminded ourselves that Livvi belongs to our Lord and not to us.  We are to trust Him in ALL things.

This has been pretty hard on us all.  Heather is being very strong for all of us.  While at (many) times I cry missing my oldest girl, I feel silly as I get her back in less than two weeks.  There are many families who don't get that.

So excited to hear reports from our Livvi on her new adventures.

-----------------------------------------
UPDATE:  They landed in Anchorage about 10:45 p.m. our time!  Now they have a welcome dinner with the other ambassadors that made it. About 20 other kids got stuck in Houston and won't arrive until tomorrow.

Derecho

Last year's derecho occurred with Heather and I in the front yard.  We heard it coming before it even arrived.  Kind of eerie, yet cool at the same time.  The winds really picked up and it was scary enough we told the kids to stay inside (but we stayed outside to watch).  The temperature felt like it dropped 10-15 degrees in minutes and dust and leaves blew all over the place!

With the forecast predicting another derecho to occur here very early Thursday morning (it was supposed to arrive around 2:00 a.m.), we prepared the house as best we could (taking in stuff that might blow away) the night before.  We started several plants by seed this spring in pots on our deck.  Since they were doing pretty well, we thought we'd better bring them in so they didn't get damaged in the wind.  In a matter of minutes, our garden was in our kitchen.

It apparently wasn't as bad where we live.  We were on the edge of it and I think we got a lot of wind, but not the really bad stuff.  I took the plants back outside in the morning.  It may have been premature, since at 8:45 a.m. that morning, this rolled through (pictures were taken from where I work).

The winds really picked up and it rained like crazy!  Probably should have left the plants inside, but they came through OK (and got PLENTY of water).

"Breaking" News

In a previous post, I explained how Olivia was going to get to go to Alaska this summer.  While it will be a great and educational adventure for her, it isn't cheap.  We were looking for ways to help raise money for the trip.  Her martial arts school, Cincinnati Martial Arts Club, had a great idea of a break-a-thon for Livvi to do.

The break-a-thon actually offered two different opportunities for people to give:

1. Donate $5 per board to break the board themselves
2. Sponsor Livvi a total amount or a per board amount
3. I guess a third opportunity was to do both!

I think all money is now collected.  Everyone was so generous!  Livvi broke 60 boards in 30 minutes and raised $1,705!

Here is a video of her breaks:

Thank you to all who donated their time and money!  It is truly humbling!

Student Ambassador

We received a letter in the mail back in December.  Olivia was being invited to interview for a student ambassador position with People to People.  We thought we'd look into it and attended a meeting at Wyoming High School to find out more information.  We were all interested enough to allow Livvi to interview for the position.  Well, that is all it took and she was chosen to be a People to People Student Ambassador to visit the great state of Alaska at the end of July for 11 days with 39 other 5th and 6th graders from the area.

She has a few more meetings, assignments, and at least one service project that need completing.  The biggest hurdle will be coming up with the $5000 for the trip.  Liv's martial arts school gave us a great fundraising idea.  It sounded like a unique and fun way to raise some money for the trip.

On March 23 from 11:00 a.m., there will be a BREAK-A-THON!  You can sponsor Livvi and can donate money per board she breaks in 30 minutes or just a total donation.  Or, if preferred, you can break boards yourself!  Each board would be $5.  If you buy 5 boards, you get a 6th one free.

If you would like to donate, you can send us a check or click the donate button below.  All donations given will be used toward Livvi's trip.  We are so thankful for your help!

It's All Downhill From Here

Yesterday, we had an opportunity to go skiing at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg, IN.  I had to decline because of a meeting I felt I needed to attend.  However the girls were all set to go!  Livvi and Joie even completed their Monday school work on Sunday so they could go.

Shortly after they arrived at the slopes, I found out I could go after all!  However, with the spotty cell service at the slopes, I wasn't able to get a hold of Heather as quickly as I would have liked.  When I finally did, we decided I'd head that way!  I wasn't dressed for skiing and if I headed home to change it would just waste time in me getting out there (I sensed Heather wanted help with Joie).

I arrived to see Heather and Joie making their way to the lodge.

Joie and I went in to the lodge to have lunch while Heather and Livvi skied some more.  When we sat down to eat, Joie said something to the effect that it is nice to spend some time with her dad.  I must say that it was nice to hear!  After lunch, we walked around the lodge, including the ski shop.

While Joie had a great time, she was tired and didn't want to ski any more, so we turned in the skis and boots and got her regular shoes back on.  By then, Heather and Livvi were back and wanted some lunch.  After lunch, Joie and I headed home while Heather and Livvi wanted to hit the slopes for a little while longer.  Before we left, I took this picture, which would have been good, had I had the good camera with me.  Therefore, I just got a nice outline of my girls.

We (I) wanted to get a look at them skiing, so I took these three pictures, then this video.

A good time was had by all!

Another Belt Promotion

Last night, our Livvi tested for her next belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Master Strickland seemed pleased with her kicks.

The girl can really get off the floor!

She sparred well.

She broke well.

Time for the new belt!

Then it's time for pictures...

They worked her hard, but she did really well and came through with the brown belt rewarded to her.  Congratulations, Livvi!  Also, congratulations to the 14 other kids getting promotions!

More pictures here.
Form video here.
Sparring video here.

Dance the Night Away

Friday night was the annual Father/Daughter dance for the west side troops of American Heritage Girls.  While I have been to at least three others with Livvi, this year Joie wanted to go as well.  I had two dates!  This year's theme was Winter Wonderland.

If you recall in a previous post, Jo now plays soccer.  When does she play soccer?  Friday evenings from 5:45 - 6:30 p.m.  When did the dance start?  6:30 p.m.  Fortunately, the dance was 5 minutes from soccer.  After a quick change, we were ready to boogie!

My girls were beautiful and we had a great time!  It was sweet and special being able to slow dance with both at the same time!

Also, I'm pretty sure I had the best looking date there that night.  Agree?

Even though she was working the event, we were glad to have Heather there, too!  So, you could say, I was there with three very lovely girls!  I'm one blessed human being!