Good times on Mt. Baldy

 A few weeks ago we took the kids to Mt. Baldy for some fishin' fun.  This particular place stocks these little ponds with BIG rainbow trout.  It's definitely cheating but it's great for kids who don't want to wait all day for a fish.  You have to buy whatever you catch and they clean them for you and pack them on ice.  We let each kid catch a fish.  Lila's was the biggest and she named it "Cocoa".

 Sky named her fish "Flippy" because it flipped around a lot (and she squealed each time it did). 

 Brad named his fish "Die" because that was what it was going to do...  By the way, doesn't Brad look handsome in his glasses? 

Then we drove up the mountain a ways to see the rapidly melting snow.  When we got home, we marinated the fish, grilled them and everyone ate some.  Pretty fun!

Museum Acquisition

What has Ken been doing lately?  Besides being an awesome husband and father, keeping up with the ever-present yard work, teaching his classes, being on a search committee for a new Old Testament professor, planning a trip to Israel, trying to finish up his commentary on the biblical book of Judges, and teaching Sky and Brad to play the piano, he also is the head of a committee that is in charge of moving The Museum of Biblical and Sacred Writings (sacredwritings.org) to BIOLA's campus.  No wonder he drinks so much coffee! 

The Museum of Biblical and Sacred Writings was established several years ago in Irvine, CA by Dr. George Giacumakis, and has recently moved to the Biola University campus. A partnership is being developed at this time wherein the Museum and the University will exhibit ancient inscriptions and archaeological artifacts related to the world of the Bible.
Biola is providing office space for two Museum staff members in the Biola Professional Building, storage space for its non-exhibited collections, and display space in the lower level of the Library for exhibits that bring the ancient world to light.
 The following items are on display:

• The Habakkuk Commentary Scroll (1QpHab) of the Dead Sea Scrolls in facsimile. The original scroll was copied in the second century BC.
• The Testimonia Fragment (4Q175/4QTest) of the Dead Sea Scrolls in facsimile.
• The Copper Scroll (3Q15) of the Dead Sea Scrolls in facsimile: three framed mountings on the wall, each featuring four columns of the text.
• Archaeological charts and equipment (e.g., camera, theodolite, etc.) from the Dead Sea Qumran excavations directed by Roland de Vaux in the early 1950’s.
• Terracotta artifacts (lamps, vessels, diagnostic sherds, etc) from various Near Eastern sites/periods.
• A Hebrew Torah Scroll from the late nineteenth century AD (105.5 ft. wide, with 172 columns on 54 panels) that survived the Holocaust.
• Near Eastern Grinding Mill from Lebanon, probably from the Middle Ages.
• Copies of archaeological artifacts that can be handled by students in classes which focus on these items. 

 Here are some pictures from the displays that he has set up on BIOLA's campus.

Easter Egg Hunts

 I haven't been able to blog in some time because blogger wasn't allowing me to publish.  So, I submitted a report and I am finally back online with blogging.  So, there is a lot to catch up on! 

We did a few Easter egg hunts this year.  I hosted a party for the MOMS Club and we had an egg hunt.  We also had our friends, the Denhams, here for Easter dinner and had an egg hunt with our kids.  Below is a picture of an Easter egg hunt that our town puts on every year.  Brad is in the center, if you can see him.  That was a hot day so there was lots of melted chocolate but everyone had fun. 

The best part of this Easter, however, was watching Sky and Brad understand the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection more fully.  It is so wonderful to see it all through a child's eyes again. 

Ken's Birthday

Ken and the kids with the birthday cupcakes (made by the kids). 

The Ruined Sheep

Ok, so this picture is really funny to me and captures fully the story of the ruined sheep.  A  few years ago, my dear friend Joyce Sallquist, gave me this adorable little sheep.  Every year around Easter I put him up on the mantle over the fireplace (a no touch zone for the kids).  Well, apparently, the kids couldn't resist the little sheep and he ended up outside with them.  He fell in the mud and I found Brad with the hose trying to clean him off.  Needless to say, he was ruined and had to be thrown out.  The guilty look on Brad's face is priceless and Sky had a very hard time saying good-bye.  Everyone was very sorry.  RIP little sheep!

Strawberry Monster!

 This boy seriously loves his berries!

Our Boy Needs Glasses

We've known for a while that Brad might need glasses and today, a visit to the optometrist confirmed that.  He is far sighted with astigmatism. 
We have also thought for a while that he may be colorblind (my dad is color blind and it is a gene that is carried by the mom).  Today the optometrist also confirmed that.  Red/green and yellow/blue were difficult/impossible for him during the test.  The doctor was reluctant to label him with total colorblindness because he is still young and his eyes are still developing, but she said that it is a possibility. 
So now we shop for glasses for sweet Brad and hope, that somehow, he will not lose or break them.