Slumber Party

When Liz and I got home from the Temple tonight we asked the babysitter, "did you have any problems with the boys?" She said, "no, they were really good." We asked, "really, Joey didn't get out of bed?" (he always gets out of bed when there is a babysitter). She said, "well, only once."

Then we went upstairs and this is what we found. Yep, looks like he got out of bed once--to go into Charles room and stay there. At least it looks like they had a good time reading books.

Father and Sons

This is a bit out of sequence, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Over the Memorial Day weekend I took the boys to the annual Father/Sons campout. Like last year, we went to the Hill Country State Natural Area just outside Bandera, the "Cowboy Capital of the World."

We somehow survived a very uncomfortable night with it around ninety degrees at bedtime and us sleeping on the hard limestone ground after Joey popped our air mattress by jumping on it. Nevertheless, the boys had a great time. We threw a bunch of rocks, went on a hike, went scorpion hunting, and even watched the Hubble Telescope glide overhead. Here are some pictures.

The boys in front of the creek. They actually wanted to swim, but I vetoed that idea. Maybe next year...

The boys in a gully. They giggled like maniacs when I first taught them this word. I had to convince them that I was not making it up.
The boys from the top of our hike, overlooking the Hill Country.
Charles holding on for dear life

Hike Baby!

I just had to share this picture from one of my favorite websites, Sailing Anarchy. What do you think is happening here?



This is a Volvo Open 70 class racing yacht--specifically, the Russian entry in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race. Contrary to what it might look like, this boat is not about to flip. Rather, it is heeled over with its crew on the rail and its 5-ton lead keel bulb canted 40 degrees off center, which as you can see, brings it entirely out of the water.

Created specifically for this race, these boats are technological marvels that stress the limits of engineering. The class was brand new during the last iteration of the race (2005-2006), which made for exciting racing, nerve-wracking breakages, and a few offshore speed records. Having a second generation this time around will surely lead to more records being broken. Check out this link from Popular Mechanics about the boats.

Beside the boats, the race is a fascinating even in and of itself. Formerly known as the Whitbread 'Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race starts in October and will consist of 10 different legs to race around the world. Here is the route map:



I will probably be rooting for the Puma Ocean Racing team, with Kenny Read as the skipper. I've followed the last three races very closely and my pre-race pick has won twice (EF Language in '97-'98 and Illbruck in '01-'02) and finished second the last time around (Pirates of the Caribbean in '05-'06). Hopefully this bodes well for the Puma guys.

But really, the race is astounding. These guys race full-on for weeks at a time between port cities, including through the Southern Ocean at night dodging icebergs at 30 knots. The risk involved is staggering. It definitely takes a certain type of person to be an ocean racer.

Here is a short video promo for the VOR. If this doesn't get you excited to follow the race, I don't think anything will.

Smelly Situation

o·pos·sum [uh-pos-uhm, pos-uhm]

1. a prehensile-tailed marsupial, Didelphis virginiana, of the eastern U.S., the female having an abdominal pouch in which its young are carried: noted for the habit of feigning death when in danger.

2. any of various animals of related genera.

So, the other day I walked outside to our backyard to take some pictures of our newly finished deck for my mom and noticed a very strange smell. I just assumed that it was coming from somewhere in the neighborhood but as I walked further out into our yard it faded. When I went back towards our house and stood on the deck the smell was strong and clearly coming from somewhere close by. After doing some investigating I saw some animal fur strands stuck on the lattice that we had just recently had installed around the bottom of the deck. I also noticed that there were flies flying out from under the deck. It was clear that something had crawled under our deck and died. Poor Joe had to come home from a long day at work and take care of the smelly problem. It was harder then you would think since the lattice had to be pried off in order to reach a rake under the deck to get to it, and not to mention it was 100+ degrees outside. Let me just say, all I was doing was shining the flashlight under the deck so he could see and I almost barfed and fell over from the smell. When I looked over at Joe he had his shirt pulled up over his nose. I know the odor was much stronger for him. I am so lucky to have a husband that is willing to take care of unfortunate mishaps like that and he didn't even complain about having to do it.

Here is the deck that we had the dead opossum under.

Memorial Day in the Hill Country

This year on Memorial Day we decided to venture a little deeper into the Hill Country than we usually do on any given weekend. After weighing a few options, we decided to visit one of the most popular Hill Country destinations--Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg is out in the middle of the Hill Country, in the Pedernales River Valley. As you might guess from the name, it is one of the cities settled by the waves of German immigrants who made their way to south Texas in the mid-1800's and, along with New Braunfels, is one of the places where the German influence is most obvious.

One of our reasons for visiting was to attend the Memorial Day ceremony at the National Museum of the Pacific War. You might be puzzled as to why such a museum exists in a small Hill Country town in South Texas. You'd be puzzled, that is, until you realize that the building which houses it was once a hotel owned by the grandfather of Admiral Chester Nimitz, who was born in Fredericksburg and became the Allied Pacific Commander in World War II. The boys enjoyed the museum very much, especially the outside displays of artillery and anti-aircraft guns, and even met some servicemen, both old and new.

After the ceremony, we had lunch at the Auslander, which is probably the most popular traditional German biergarten/restaurant in town. We had all kinds of wurst and schnitzel and mustard and sauerkraut and the kids liked all of it--even the sauerkraut (it must be due to their rich German heritage from the Schneider and Shurtz lines in our family). We topped it off with a visit to the German Bakery down the street for some authentic German pastries and struck out to explore the surrounding countryside.

After lunch, we headed east to Wildseed Farms, which we both quickly decided was where Grandpa Kewish would spend all his time if he lived anywhere nearby. The butterfly enclosure was the best we had ever seen, and we were largely alone and undisturbed by anyone else. There are acres and acres of fields of flowers, and a seemingly unending variety of seeds—even some varieties that they have created themselves. Except for Tori doing a faceplant on the rocky trail and bleeding profusely from her lip for a few minutes, it was a great time.

After the farm, we explored up and down the valley, stopping at the fruit stands, throwing rocks in the Pedernales River, and even picking a few pounds of blackberries and delicious Stonewall peaches on a whim.

As the sun got low in the western sky we turned south and worked our way home through the celebrated town of Luckenbach, the German town of Boerne, and of course, the obligatory stop at Bass Pro Shops.

It was a long but fulfilling day and we were glad to have been able to spend it together as family, see so many interesting things, get in touch with our German roots, and remember the sacrifice made by those who fought for our freedom.


Here are a bunch of pictures:

The boys in front of an artillery piece at the museum in Fredericksburg
Charles on an anti-aircraft gun (and Joey and Tori in the background)
Charles looking through the sight on the right side of the 40mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft Gun
And Joey looking through the sight on the left side
The boys with a few current Navy Seamen (Apprentice) who were there for the ceremony
The boys on a much larger battleship gun
On the same gun, with the Bush Gallery behind them
Looking down the barrel, with both boys on the gun
Taking a picture with a WWII Veteran who was there for the ceremony. Prior to that he was telling the boys a pretty moving version of the "boys who planted that flag at Iwo Jima" in the statue next to them.
A picture of the Marienkirche in Fredericksburg built by the Germans in 1860
The family outside the restaurant
The boys amongst a few rows of bachelors buttons
And the family in front of a large field of purple verbena (pre-faceplant by only a few minutes)

A few minutes later, post-faceplant, but back to her happy self
Joey hanging out with a few rock tortoises
The kids on the bank of the Pedernales river--notice the boys' intense concentration on keeping their sister in the picture. They are used to this by now

The Visitors

We have been lucky to have Uncle Jon and Aunt Ashley here for almost a whole week. Jon came in last Saturday and Ashley a few days later. The kids have had a lot of fun playing and visiting with them. We have been all over the place and the days have flown by. Here is what we've been up to with the Provo Kewishes:

At the San Antonio Zoo with the Black Rhino

Tori chillaxin' in the stroller

The boys riding the lions

Jon and the boys at the Alamo

The boys on the cannon at the Alamo

Relaxing by the Riverwalk

After lunch at one of the best barbecue places around

Sitting on the cypress knees along the Guadalupe in the Hill Country

Let's just say the boys missed their naps, but found time to make up for it

The gang in front of our favorite oak tree at Landa Park in New Braunfels

I am not sure what is going on with Joey here, and I'm not sure I want to know

We were surprised to see a nutria at the park in New Braunfels

At Sea World, Charles trying hard to enjoy the lorikeets on his arm

Joey was not as stressed, probably because the bird was dug into Liz's arm and not his

But he definitely wanted to feed them

Anywhere he could reach them

Joey simultaneously feeding and petting one of the juvenile dolphins

Jon feeding the dolphin--you'll just have to trust that it's him

The boys could stay all day at the dolphin tank


Yes, it's been lots of fun with them here and we'll miss them for sure. Hopefully we will live close by sometime in the future.

Random Tori

While Liz was at Enrichment tonight I caught a rare moment of Tori where she would actually sit and interact (instead of her normal Tasmanian Devil imitation). Here is some video:

Celestial Bodies

Friday night we had a bunch of people over to our house for the Elder's Quorum social. Chris Venegas brought his gigantic telescope and we trained it on Saturn for a while. The view was amazing with us being able to see Saturn so closely that we could see the Cassini Division in the rings and several of its 60 moons. The view was perfect from our backyard and everyone seemed to enjoy the show. It was so large and clear in the viewfinder that I was able to hold my digital camera up to the eyepiece and snap this picture.