Happy Earth Day!

As I have written about previously, Mike and Megan went on a camping trip a couple of weeks ago. It was a retreat that Mike's company sponsored in which they talked about "sustainablility" and what type of carbon footprint we are leaving. I have to say that Mike has never been into the whole ecological thing, especially where the global warming stuff is concerned. But the things that they talked about that weekend made an impact on him, and as a family we are trying to do a few things to be more ecological friendly. And so in honor of Earth Day, I am going to share a list of easy things everyone can do that will have a significant impact on the environment.

1. Skip a car trip each week.
Skipping a weekly 20 mile trip represents less that a 10% decrease in the average American's driving and can reduce your weekly carbon dioxide emissions by more that 18 pounds.

2. Eat one less beef meal each week.
Livestock currently consume 70% of America's grain production. Grazing accounts for 800 million acres of U.S. land, and 18% of all water consumption is devoted to producing feed for livestock. If only 1,000 people take this action, we will save over 70,000 pounds of grain, 70,000 pounds of topsoil and 40 million gallons of water each year.

3. Don't eat shrimp.
For every pound of shrimp caught, over five pounds of marine life is killed, including endangered sea turtles. If only 1,000 people stopped eating shrimp, 12,000 pounds of sea life would be saved each year.

4. Declare your independence from junk mail.
Catalogs and other direct mailing account for 5.2 million tons of waste each year, and only 19% are recycled, leaving over 4 million tons to clog landfills. Call unwanted catalogs and asked to be taken off their mailing lists. To be taken off pre-approved credit card offers, call 1-800-353-0809.

5. Replace four standard light bulbs with energy-efficient compact flourescent lights (CFLs).
Not only will this reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, it will also reduce your electricity bill!

6. Move the thermostat 3 degrees.
Heating and cooling represents the biggest chunk of our home energy consumption.

7. Eliminate lawn and garden pesticides.

8. Install an efficient showerhead and low flow faucet aerators.

Even Megan is a believer, and this is how she looked when she left for school today (look at her shirt and bag)!

Moab

Mike went on his annual trip to Moab this past weekend. Like always, he had a great time getting away with some old friends. This is one of those things that helps him feel like he is maintaining his youthfulness. I wouldn't be suprised to still see him doing this at 65!

ONSC

I wanted to post Mike and Megan's pictures from their trip last weekend. They had a really great time, and it was a good father/daughter bonding opportunity. It was fun for Megan because there was another girl there about her age that she became fast friends with. Megan is so adventurous, and loves doing these types of outdoor activities. Obviously she gets that from Mike, which is good because it gives him someone to do all of this stuff with (it takes the pressure off me!).

The Missing Links

Things have been really different around here this weekend. Over the years we have become accustomed to having Mike out of town periodically. It took us a little while, but we've learned how to function while he was away. But even still, things don't feel complete when he is gone. As Megan gets older it seems as though she is gone away more often to sleepovers, late night babysitting, etc. I also notice that when she is gone that I get that same incomplete feeling. This weekend they are both gone at the same time! They went to a company retreat at ONSC (Ozark Natural Science Center), which is the same place that Megan went in 5th grade, and also last summer for her "Shiner" camp. We bribed Megan that if she got all A's for the 3rd quarter, that she could go with him on this retreat. She did it (yeah Megan!) and off they went Friday afternoon, not to return until Sunday. To make things even worse, they can't even call because there is no cell phone service where they are at. Everything has gone fine while they have been gone. Sammy and Noah have been great. Our ward had a fund raising dinner and auction last night, so we went to that. Today we ran some errands, watched conference, went to Walmart, got dinner at Sonic (their choice), and then had a movie night watching Alvin and the Chipmunks (again, their choice). And I have even been more productive than usual. I've kept the house pretty clean, I cleaned the office and my bedroom, and have even kept the dishes washed. Plus I even got to have a friend over after the kids went to bed to chat and watch a movie! But even still, a big part of our family is missing, and things are just not the same. I'm so grateful for each member of my little family, and for what they each contribute to make our family complete. It's so nice to know that everyone brings something unique and special into a family. I'm looking forward to having them come back so that we can be whole again!

Our Missing Links!

A Welcomed Sight

My friend Amy tagged me to post a picture of a welcome sight at our house. Last night the kids and I were just finishing dinner, and Mike was gone on a bike ride. All of a sudden the storm sirens started going off outside. I thought it was unusual because there wasn't any threatening weather expected. But I turned on the t.v. and sure enough we were under a tornado warning because of a tornadic thunderstorm that was moving through our area. Fortunately, Mike got home right about that same time. We went out in the back and watched the storm move through. The line in sky above the doghouse is called a "wall cloud". When those clouds form, there is usually rotation behind it. This picture is a welcomed sight because that storm was moving in a direction other than towards us! I don't think there was any tornado that actually formed with the storm, but living in this part of the country is sure an adventure!

Easter

Easter kind of snuck up on us this year. It was weird having it so early. The kids were excited to wake up and find that the Easter Bunny had visited. They all had to find their hidden baskets, and were excited to find in them candy and a fun surprise. Megan and Sammy each got a new Webkin, and Noah got a Lego garbage truck. They all had a new Easter outfit to wear to church, and they all looked so cute.

Spring Break

After looking forward to Spring Break, it got off to a crummy start with Sammy being sick with a cough and fever on Monday. A trip to the doctor and an antibiotic took care of that. Then Tuesday comes along with a rain storm that I swear was never going to end. I think it rained for over 12 hours straight, and left us with 4-6 inches of rain, which made things pretty soggy outside. Thankfully my friend Amy invited us over for an inside Easter Egg hunt on Wednesday. The kids had a lot of fun, and got plenty of candy (I think we hid 190 eggs).