We are in the midst of Power Lab. It has been a great week so far. We have been blessed to have 7 Youth and 4 Adults from Graeagle Community Church in Graeagle, CA here this week to help us with Power Lab. They have taken a huge load off of me, allowing me to relax a bit and have fun. I am definately NOT feeling the stress I did last year. And, they have just about the whole front parking area weeded! Now if we can get it sprayed so more weeds won't grow. That would be great!
We are looking forward to our trip to Washington next week to visit family and friends. It will be good to have some time away for a much needed rest.
An update on Becca and Washington DC, we decided that this was not the year for her to go. It was a hard decision but feel that the timing was just not right. I'm sure she will have another opportunity to go.
Grady on the other hand, has recieved an invitation to go on a 14 day study tour in Japan the summer of 2009. We are praying for God's direction in this opportunity. He doesn't know yet because there are so many extra people here so, shhhhhhhh! We will tell him about in a few days. This is probably a once in a lifetime trip for him so I am hoping that there may be some way he can go, and that he would want to go. He has done great this week, getting out there and hanging out with the kids who are here from Graeagle and having conversations with the adults who are here. I have really seen him come out of his shell this week, I hope it will continue.
I have some brief updates on VBS on the VBS blog, the link is on the left. I can't wait to return from WA, as much as I am looking forward to going, so I can back to scrapping. I am going to start a Faithbook class with the ladies in the church this fall. We will make a scrapbook telling the story of our faith. I have wanted to do this for a long time and with our retreat theme this year, it fits. I have my supplies and can't wait to get started.
Have a blessed day!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Becca's Swim Meet
Becca had her first swim meet yesterday in Hawthorne. Her and 4 other girls from Round Mountain traveled 2 1/2 hours to compete against kids from several towns. All the girls did great for having never competed before. They started practicing in April and have come so far in their swimming.
Becca's main race was the 11-12 year old girls 50M Butterfly. She finished in 16th place (out of 25) with a time of 1:04. One second faster would have put her in 8th. That is a personal best for her. She was excited because she beat the fastest boy in that age group. Way to go Becca!
I remember the first day of swim team when her coach was seeing how the kids did with each stroke. When it was her turn for Butterfly, she got in the pool and said "I don't know what to do." He told her to "Guess." Well she did and took off like she had been doing it her whole life:) That is by far her favorite and best stroke.
Becca's main race was the 11-12 year old girls 50M Butterfly. She finished in 16th place (out of 25) with a time of 1:04. One second faster would have put her in 8th. That is a personal best for her. She was excited because she beat the fastest boy in that age group. Way to go Becca!
I remember the first day of swim team when her coach was seeing how the kids did with each stroke. When it was her turn for Butterfly, she got in the pool and said "I don't know what to do." He told her to "Guess." Well she did and took off like she had been doing it her whole life:) That is by far her favorite and best stroke.
Here a few pictures of her day!
This is during the 50M Butterfly
The Breast Stoke during her 100M IM
New Pictures! (It's about time:)
Here are a few pictures from when my mom and step-dad were here. The first two pictures in front of the Haul Truck are from 2006 and 2007 to show you how much they have grown since we have been here. Nevada sunshine maybe?
It took Grady 6 tries to blow out all those candles! Must be the elevation:)
Friday, July 11, 2008
4th of July
We had a great time with my mom and step-dad. They arrived on the 2nd and stayed until the 6th. It was nice to have them here for Grady's birthday as well as the 4th.
We spent some time just hanging around the house, of course went to the 4th of July picnic and took them out for a little sightseeing.
4th of July was a busy day for us. The church hosted the pancake breakfast at the fishing derby that morning. We had a great turnout and plan to do it again next year. My mom even helped a little bit, mostly with clean-up.
Becca was in the parade with the Middle School cheerleaders. She isn't on the cheer squad but they invited the younger girls and those MS girls who weren't on the squad to join them for a dance routine in the parade.
Then we went to the picnic and my mom and the boys panned for gold. My mom didn't think she had any in her pan and then when they cleaned it up for her, she saw how much there really was. The mine spikes the dirt so you're pretty much guaranteed to a least get some flakes. They put in some small nuggets and leafs (I call them big flakes:) as well.
After we ate and found Becca we went home for a while. Becca thought we left so she walked home, then when we weren't home she walked back. Scary for her, and mom. She may be 11 but she's still my baby. And it may be a small town, but there are lot of people in town on the 4th.
That night we had some poeple from the church over and had ice cream sundaes and watched the fireworks. The town puts on a pretty big show and you have a great view from the church.
Saturday we went for a drive. Spencer decided he didn't want to go so stayed home, and got really bored. I told him he would. We drove through a little town called Silver Peak, pretty run down, even more in the boonies than us. There is a Borax plant there, they mine the salt in the area. Then we drove over Coyote Pass, very steep, very fast climb, but spectacular view from the top, and down the other side. We came upon a hot pond area where the state has built a "hot tub" and woulnd't you know it, a bathroom in the middle of the desert!
From there we drove through another small town called Dyer, then Fish Lake Valley (a very green patch of desert!) and Lida. We got back on the highway and went to the old ghost town of Ryholite. The old train station is there and a lot of old buildings as well as a bottle house.
We ate dinner in Beatty and then headed home. On the way home we drove through Goldfield, another old town but still has people living in it. All in all we probably put about 400 miles on the Yukon. But it was fun. Butch and I love to go out and find old Ghost towns and my mom and stepdad love the history of the area.
On Sunday Grady turned 15. I find that hard to believe. In 3 years he will graduate and then off to college. Just yesterday he started Kindergaten. I guess I better get busy and get his album scrapped. And we better get to finding all those grants for college. He wants to go to school for Computer Game Design. We did the research and it will cost about $80,000 just for tuition, books and lab fees for a three year program. Ouch.
We are waiting on Grady's braces until after taxes next year, unless we come into a windfall between now and then. Ha Ha
Becca is also not going to Washington, DC this time around with the Junior Leadership. I just am not ready to send my baby across the country and put her into the hands of people I don't know. I am sure she will have other opportunities to go and this will give us time to start putting some money away for that opportunity. We know how much it will cost so that will make planning for it a little easier.
Tomorrow is Becca's swim meet. She is pretty excited. We are praying that the Thunderstorms stay away since the meet is at an outdoor pool.
As usual, pictures will come later. Maybe tonight if I get everything done for Sunday:)
We spent some time just hanging around the house, of course went to the 4th of July picnic and took them out for a little sightseeing.
4th of July was a busy day for us. The church hosted the pancake breakfast at the fishing derby that morning. We had a great turnout and plan to do it again next year. My mom even helped a little bit, mostly with clean-up.
Becca was in the parade with the Middle School cheerleaders. She isn't on the cheer squad but they invited the younger girls and those MS girls who weren't on the squad to join them for a dance routine in the parade.
Then we went to the picnic and my mom and the boys panned for gold. My mom didn't think she had any in her pan and then when they cleaned it up for her, she saw how much there really was. The mine spikes the dirt so you're pretty much guaranteed to a least get some flakes. They put in some small nuggets and leafs (I call them big flakes:) as well.
After we ate and found Becca we went home for a while. Becca thought we left so she walked home, then when we weren't home she walked back. Scary for her, and mom. She may be 11 but she's still my baby. And it may be a small town, but there are lot of people in town on the 4th.
That night we had some poeple from the church over and had ice cream sundaes and watched the fireworks. The town puts on a pretty big show and you have a great view from the church.
Saturday we went for a drive. Spencer decided he didn't want to go so stayed home, and got really bored. I told him he would. We drove through a little town called Silver Peak, pretty run down, even more in the boonies than us. There is a Borax plant there, they mine the salt in the area. Then we drove over Coyote Pass, very steep, very fast climb, but spectacular view from the top, and down the other side. We came upon a hot pond area where the state has built a "hot tub" and woulnd't you know it, a bathroom in the middle of the desert!
From there we drove through another small town called Dyer, then Fish Lake Valley (a very green patch of desert!) and Lida. We got back on the highway and went to the old ghost town of Ryholite. The old train station is there and a lot of old buildings as well as a bottle house.
We ate dinner in Beatty and then headed home. On the way home we drove through Goldfield, another old town but still has people living in it. All in all we probably put about 400 miles on the Yukon. But it was fun. Butch and I love to go out and find old Ghost towns and my mom and stepdad love the history of the area.
On Sunday Grady turned 15. I find that hard to believe. In 3 years he will graduate and then off to college. Just yesterday he started Kindergaten. I guess I better get busy and get his album scrapped. And we better get to finding all those grants for college. He wants to go to school for Computer Game Design. We did the research and it will cost about $80,000 just for tuition, books and lab fees for a three year program. Ouch.
We are waiting on Grady's braces until after taxes next year, unless we come into a windfall between now and then. Ha Ha
Becca is also not going to Washington, DC this time around with the Junior Leadership. I just am not ready to send my baby across the country and put her into the hands of people I don't know. I am sure she will have other opportunities to go and this will give us time to start putting some money away for that opportunity. We know how much it will cost so that will make planning for it a little easier.
Tomorrow is Becca's swim meet. She is pretty excited. We are praying that the Thunderstorms stay away since the meet is at an outdoor pool.
As usual, pictures will come later. Maybe tonight if I get everything done for Sunday:)
Pictures of House
One of these days I'll have the pictures ready when I post the updates:)
Here are the bathroom pictures and a picture of our new porch. Now we just have to get the house painted and it will look great!
The color is blue with Sea Salt (white) Trim and doors. Instead of a new tub surrond we used vinyl panels. Instead of sheetrocking over the old paneling we used a beadboard paneling and painted it blue. Now we just have to do the floor. We came through Fallon too late to get a piece of linoleum when we got the rest of the materials for the bathroom. We plan to pick that up Monday. So for now it is a nice fresh, updated bathroom with 70's yellow lino.
Butch started the deck while our LTCC friends were here and got it finshed shortly after they left. I stained it while he was doing the bathroom. When we redo the roof of the house, we are going to put a partial roof over the deck as well, maybe over the whole thing. Once we paint the house, probably next week after we go to Fallon, I'll post new pics.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sorry for the lack of posting:)
Wow, have we been busy or what!?!?!?!
This last month has been a whirlwind of activity for the Hallenbeck's. I'll go back and try to catch you all up on life in Round Mountain.
The last week of school was crazy busy. Spencer graduated 8th grade on May 27th. Of course we get there and I forgot to bring back-up batteriies for the camera, so I got like 2 pictures and that's it:(
Butch had the privilege of speaking at the Senior Baccalaureate Service May 29th. They have the Senior dinner, the Senior awards, and then the service. It was a little different than what we are used to in Washington. He spoke to the kids (and parents) about the kind of Legacy we leave. How will you be remembered? It was a great opportunity for us to minister to families. We had several students come up afterwards and say how much they appreciated what he had to say. It has also opened the door for us with others in the community.
That Sunday, June 1, we left right after church for our annual Staff conference. This year we stayed with Village Missionaries in Graeagle, CA on the way to conference. Their youth group is coming out to help us with Vacation Bible School so it was a chance to meet some of the group that is coming. Then we drove on to Scotts Valley, CA, near Santa Cruz for our week of rest! We went to the Mystery Spot on one of our afternoon outings. That was interesting. Check out themysteryspot.com to find out what it is.
On our way home from conference we spent a few days in Sonora, CA and explored some of the old Gold towns there. We spent one day in Columbia, which has been preserved as a State Historic Park. It was fun to go in the old shops and see hwat they were like in the good ol' days. We went to Yosemite one day as well. We didn't hike much but did go to Bridal Veil Falls. We might go camp there next year.
We got home the 9th and played "catch up" pretty much that whole week. Then....the bathroom sprung a leak. Great, back to Reno to get what we needed to fix the bathroom. We were going to remodel it anyway so we decided it must be time. The last week and a half have been spent trying to get the bathrrom done before my mom and step-dad get here, this Wednesday. We are pretty much done, except for a couple of minor details.
So now today, I get to update you all on our lives so you don't think we've forgotten about the blog.
This week will be a little busy too. We're trying to get everything done by Wednesday so we can enjoy our visit. This Friday our church will be hosting the Pancake Breakfast at the 4th of July fishing derby. This will be another great opportunity for us to have a presence in the community. Then we will go to the Picnic put on by the mine. The kids will play all day, carnival games, inflatables, cotton candy and sno-cones. That night we will host and ice cream social for the church family and watch fireworks. The town puts on a pretty good show, provided the Thunder Storm stay away. Our first year here we did not get fireworks because of the weather. Last year we had a great show and very little wind. We haven't had a lot of Thunderstorms yet so hopefully they will hold off until after Friday:)
I have a ton of pictures to edit. I will try to get some online in the next few days. In the ,oidst of all that I am trying to keep up on my scrapbooking for this year's pictures at least. I haven;t done any digital pages since I finished the calendars (last December:) But I will try to get some of what I am working on posted as well.
That's all for now. Beacca is doing something with the Middle School cheerleaders for the 4th so I have to take her to practice. She is also swimming 4 days a week. She will have a swim meet July 12th. Pray for her to do her best and to not be intimidated by the other team.
Take care and have a safe 4th.
This last month has been a whirlwind of activity for the Hallenbeck's. I'll go back and try to catch you all up on life in Round Mountain.
The last week of school was crazy busy. Spencer graduated 8th grade on May 27th. Of course we get there and I forgot to bring back-up batteriies for the camera, so I got like 2 pictures and that's it:(
Butch had the privilege of speaking at the Senior Baccalaureate Service May 29th. They have the Senior dinner, the Senior awards, and then the service. It was a little different than what we are used to in Washington. He spoke to the kids (and parents) about the kind of Legacy we leave. How will you be remembered? It was a great opportunity for us to minister to families. We had several students come up afterwards and say how much they appreciated what he had to say. It has also opened the door for us with others in the community.
That Sunday, June 1, we left right after church for our annual Staff conference. This year we stayed with Village Missionaries in Graeagle, CA on the way to conference. Their youth group is coming out to help us with Vacation Bible School so it was a chance to meet some of the group that is coming. Then we drove on to Scotts Valley, CA, near Santa Cruz for our week of rest! We went to the Mystery Spot on one of our afternoon outings. That was interesting. Check out themysteryspot.com to find out what it is.
On our way home from conference we spent a few days in Sonora, CA and explored some of the old Gold towns there. We spent one day in Columbia, which has been preserved as a State Historic Park. It was fun to go in the old shops and see hwat they were like in the good ol' days. We went to Yosemite one day as well. We didn't hike much but did go to Bridal Veil Falls. We might go camp there next year.
We got home the 9th and played "catch up" pretty much that whole week. Then....the bathroom sprung a leak. Great, back to Reno to get what we needed to fix the bathroom. We were going to remodel it anyway so we decided it must be time. The last week and a half have been spent trying to get the bathrrom done before my mom and step-dad get here, this Wednesday. We are pretty much done, except for a couple of minor details.
So now today, I get to update you all on our lives so you don't think we've forgotten about the blog.
This week will be a little busy too. We're trying to get everything done by Wednesday so we can enjoy our visit. This Friday our church will be hosting the Pancake Breakfast at the 4th of July fishing derby. This will be another great opportunity for us to have a presence in the community. Then we will go to the Picnic put on by the mine. The kids will play all day, carnival games, inflatables, cotton candy and sno-cones. That night we will host and ice cream social for the church family and watch fireworks. The town puts on a pretty good show, provided the Thunder Storm stay away. Our first year here we did not get fireworks because of the weather. Last year we had a great show and very little wind. We haven't had a lot of Thunderstorms yet so hopefully they will hold off until after Friday:)
I have a ton of pictures to edit. I will try to get some online in the next few days. In the ,oidst of all that I am trying to keep up on my scrapbooking for this year's pictures at least. I haven;t done any digital pages since I finished the calendars (last December:) But I will try to get some of what I am working on posted as well.
That's all for now. Beacca is doing something with the Middle School cheerleaders for the 4th so I have to take her to practice. She is also swimming 4 days a week. She will have a swim meet July 12th. Pray for her to do her best and to not be intimidated by the other team.
Take care and have a safe 4th.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wacky Weather
Can you believe it? Monday it was 95 degrees here. Today it is snowing. Monday when I got up at 6:30 it was already almost 70 degrees. Today it is 31 degrees. So far it is just a real light flurry. If it amounts to enough to take a picture I will post it later.
I've been watching the forecast all week so I knew it was coming, but really, it is the end of May. Of course our first year we had 3 inches of snow on Memorial Day weekend. So why not again this year. I am just ready for it to be summer.
And the wind, that's a whole other story. It has been so incredibly windy the past few days. Tuesday our valley was smoky, thus the name, Big Smoky Valley. I'm not sure where the fire is that is sending smoke our way but I guess fire season has begun!
So have a great day. I am going to build a fire in my woodstove that has already been cleaned out for the season, snuggle up with some hot cocoa and have a do nothing day. Well maybe not the last part, by Thursday I have a lot to do to get ready for Sunday, like pick the songs we will sing.
Blessings to you:)
Jen
I've been watching the forecast all week so I knew it was coming, but really, it is the end of May. Of course our first year we had 3 inches of snow on Memorial Day weekend. So why not again this year. I am just ready for it to be summer.
And the wind, that's a whole other story. It has been so incredibly windy the past few days. Tuesday our valley was smoky, thus the name, Big Smoky Valley. I'm not sure where the fire is that is sending smoke our way but I guess fire season has begun!
So have a great day. I am going to build a fire in my woodstove that has already been cleaned out for the season, snuggle up with some hot cocoa and have a do nothing day. Well maybe not the last part, by Thursday I have a lot to do to get ready for Sunday, like pick the songs we will sing.
Blessings to you:)
Jen
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