It's time for the annual Shoemaker family Jack-O-Lantern contest. Yes, we're sad there are only 4 pumpkins to choose from, that should improve your odds of matching the right one to the right family member.
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Thursday, October 29, 2009
Happy Halloween Quiz!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Justin Runs Too!
You probably all knew Nate loves to run. Well, Justin is following in his footsteps as a member of the 8th grade cross-country team at Carmichael Middle School. Justin has made some great strides improving his finishes each meet he runs.
The last meet was at Horse Heaven Middle School in Kennewick. Justin finished in 14:59, beating his previous best time by almost a minute. Here's a quick video of Justin at the finish lines and a couple of pictures.
Stake Standards Night
A couple of weeks ago, we helped with a youth event in our stake. It was a stake standards night modeled after the T.V. show, American Idol. Complete with our own "Ryan Seacrest", Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. It was a lot of fun as youth acted out good and bad choices based on principles outlined in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet (see more about the "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet here). Nate was on the committee that helped organize the show. He volunteered dad to help with some "commercials" that played during breaks in the evening's performances.
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The first video was a promotion that played at mutual in the wards in the weeks before the event and the other videos are the "commercials". The youth came up with some fun ideas, hope you enjoy!
What's in Your Wallet?
Dirty Mouth?
Can You Hear Me Now?
McMutual
McMissionary
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The first video was a promotion that played at mutual in the wards in the weeks before the event and the other videos are the "commercials". The youth came up with some fun ideas, hope you enjoy!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Nate's Homecoming
Nate had a great time at homecoming on his first date! He went with Mindy Strong and 3 other couples. Here's a bit of Nate's account of the night:
So, we started at Conner Robertson's house and went to pick up our dates. We took several pictures at each house and then went to Zach's house for dinner. We had salad and lasagna and had to say crazy catch phrases during the meal that triggered other people to say or do crazy things. It was quite embarrassing but funny. I had to say to my date "would you like some more bread" everytime someone else said "I love this meal". My date's catch phrase was "I love this meal" which was triggered by other people's phrases! and so on. It was fun! Then, we left for the dance and waited in line FOREVER to get pictures. Then we went into the dance room, or whatever you call it, and "danced the night away" (another catch phrase from dinner). We had a fun time, but there weren't enough slow songs and the music was way too loud! We couldn't even hear what each other was saying. So, we went to the parking lot at Columbia Point and danced to slow songs on the car radio for a while. Then, we came to our house and had desert (mom's famous pretzel jello, a big hit!)
and played games until we dropped! Then, dad took me and my date home and the others took their dates home. I think we all had a fantastic time, even me on my first date! Don't ask about the homecoming football game (a wipeout).
Monday, September 21, 2009
We made a nice trip to Silverwood our last adventure of the summer. We headed out on a Wednesday morning pulling the tent trailer bound for northern Idaho. We first headed for Pullman to stop at the hospital and see Grandpa Charlie at the hospital as he was there recovering from knee replacement surgery. We had a nice visit at the hospital and then headed toward Moscow and up Highway 95. Somewhere on the pass near Potlatch, I noticed the truck was working a bit harder than usual to pull the trailer up a hill, I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see blue smoke billowing out of the left trailer tire well! We pulled off to a logging road and quickly had a logging semi come barrelling by! Fortunately, we had a spare on the back of the trailer and it still had air in it. We got out the jack and started working. A nice logging maintenance guy (he called himself Elmo) stopped and offered to help, which we gladly accepted as he was a little dirtier than we were. I thought we were on NASCAR pit stop pace when we went to start the truck and it wouldn't cooperate. Vapor lock I thought in my novice mechanical mind "if we just wait awhile, it will start". Plenty of prayers were said by all. The battery seemed to be getting tired of cranking. Then, I walked over and asked Elmo if he would give us a jump. Voila! the T100 cranked back to life and we were on our way. We wandered our way to our campground and got all set up for a good nights sleep. We got up the next morning and went to play at Silverwood. We rode the rides. The video shows us on Panic Plunge. Denise, Nate and Justin braved the Super Round-up (you won't get me on that!) We also rode the hot new roller-coaster called Aftershock and many more rides. We enjoyed the magic show in the theater, then we headed for the waterpark in the afternoon. Of course, my favorite place was Polliwog Park kiddie area where I manned the sprayer hoses and soaked many unsuspecting people (I do have a devious side!).
After the waterpark area closed, we ventured back out to the rides. Nate and Justin rode Aftershock several more times (if you turn your head right, you can see them in the front seats in the picture below)
We finally called it quits when the park closed and we were plenty tired out. We headed back for the trailer for a good night's sleep. We wandered our way home Saturday with plans to get back for the ward dutch oven potluck at Sacajawea Park. We were 10 minutes away when we all heard a loud explosion from behind us. The other tire on the trailer blew out (and our spare was already used)! We pulled off to a corn field along the road and unhitched the trailer. I knew we needed to find a tire and couldn't leave the trailer there or it might disappear. We left Nate and Denise with the trailer and Justin and I went on our search. We went into town, all the tire stores are closed an Saturday evening! I thought, truck stops are open 24-hours! I never knew how seedy truck stops are! Their tire stores are closed on Saturday night too! Then, I remembered a couple of trailer tire/wheel combos we had on the tire rack at Yamaha Country! I called Curt and went and checked, Wrong Size! Curt suggested I try Wal*Mart and we found one! Two hours later, we were back on the road, as we headed home, we were passed by a few ward members heading home from the potluck, oh well. Denise and Nate had a little scare while waiting. They were on the edge of a corn field with circle irrigation. The circle line came around and started heading for the trailer. They said some prayers and the line went by safely (the trailer got soaked) but all were okay. Just a few hiccups along the way but a great trip otherwise!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Surfing Moses Lake
Maybe you never knew you could hang ten in Moses Lake! Yes, there are waves to be caught in this desert town. We decided to take some free time before summer was over to go play at the waterpark in Moses Lake. There's a large pool with diving boards, some small water slides, a few other water attractions, a lazy river to relax in and the Flowrider!
Flowrider is an artificial surfing machine. Justin spent most of his day on the Flowrider, trying to learn to stand up on a board. Paul tried to stand but quickly found that would likely have to be saved for another life and he stuck with the body boarding. Nate wowed everyone with his diving skills. Denise cheered everyone on while taking pictures, video and relaxing. The boys liked it so much, they talked Denise into taking them again the next week!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Oregon Butte
As if the Priest Lake summer trip wasn't enough, we decided to head for the mountains on a small backpacking trip when we got back. We headed out on August 3rd from the Teepee Trailhead in the Blue Mountains south of Dayton. We loaded our packs on our backs and started up the trail. We got to the primitive campsite within an hour and a half. (with a lesson learned by Justin to wear at least ankle socks, not foot socks so as to prevent blisters!) There is a spring just a quarter mile from the campsite for our water needs. There was another hiker at the trailhead so we tried to keep a steady pace to get to the campsite and stake our claim. We've been there twice before and it is a nice setup among the trees with a great view out our backdoor over the Blue Mountains.
Oregon Butte is the highest point in the Blues. At the top is a fire lookout that is staffed during the summer. We went to the lookout and met the lady who lives there for 3 months, alone, during fire season. I think it takes a different personality to live in that kind of situation. She was very nice to have us inside to see the firewatch equipment and the boys even helped with some meteorological measurements. The sunset from the lookout was beautiful. We also went on a day hike on Tuesday. We had tried to find another spring on a previous trip but were unsuccessful. We got better directions from the lookout lady. We headed out, through some thick brush that was fed by springs. We even found huckleberries along the trail (Nate spotted those). The boys favorite pasttime on the trip was rolling rocks down the hill. They would really gather a lot of speed! We hiked along the trail and got to an area where the skeleton of an elk camp was located.
On our way back from the day hike, we heard some loud rustling just down the hill from the trail. I figured the boys had just rolled another rock but, when I turned and looked, I saw a large bear high-tailing it away from us. It was a big, golden-brown colored bear. Nate saw it too but Justin and Cade had to take our word for it. We decided to take a bit tougher route on the way back to camp.
It took us up this jagged, rocky ridgetop that put us back at the fire lookout. From there, it was about a half mile back to camp. We had a good time enjoying the great outdoors. On our drive out of the mountains, a large deer bounded across the road in front of us. It was about a 5 point with velvet antlers! Hope you enjoy the pictures and video!
Untitled from Paul Shoemaker on Vimeo.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Priest Lake Summer Vacation
Time for another late posting but better late than never! We enjoyed our summer family vacation at Priest Lake in northern Idaho. We had the wonderful opportunity to stay there from July 25-August 1. We stayed at a friend's cabin and had a glorious time.
We took the opportunity for a family outing to the huckleberry patch as we heard it was a good year for picking! We found an abundant supply and spent an hour and ended up with about a gallon of the luscious fruit! We also had purple hands but the it was all worth it for the yummy treat. We enjoyed some as we picked, when we got back to the cabin and then we froze most of them. We're still enjoying them more than a month later in our morning cereal and in huckleberry milkshakes
!
We also had fun on the lake thanks to some other friends. When we went to church on Sunday, we saw my boss from the hospital and his family come in to sacrament meeting. We came to find out they have a cabin in the same development as the place we were staying! He invited us to come out on their boat and do some wakeboarding. Well, the boys (including dad) were all over that idea. We caught up with them one day and had a blast on the board. We also did some knee boarding. Another neat experience was running into an old friend from the Sunnyside area at church. We were just getting done with sacrament meeting and I told Denise that Brother Bailey was sitting right in front of us. I spoke his name and there was no response. I was sure it was him so I went up to him and said hello again and introduced myself whereupon I was greeted with a big bear hug! We renewed acquaintances and had a nice visit.
What a wonderful place to celebrate and anniversary! Denise and I are blessed to have spent 25 years together. We went to dinner July 28 at Hill's Resort. I don't usually get to fancy with eating out but I think this was an occasion worth celebrating so I enjoyed a filet mignon wrapped in bacon and Denise had the stuffed top sirloin. We had a great table looking out on the lake and we sat there and made googley eyes at each other.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Elder Shoemaker is in Mexico!
He made it! Elder Shoemaker is now in Mexico on his mission. He was ready to get going and on to the field from the MTC. He was scheduled to leave July 6. He was delayed a little with visa processing. He got to travel on July 17. First to Dallas, then to Mexico City, then to Tampico, Mexico. He was planning on calling us in Mexico City during a layover but the calling card wouldn't work! Mom was getting a little nervous so she called church offices and then called the mission home in Tampico. She had to leave a message, the recording was in Spanish so she just waited for the beep. Sister Call called back a little later and confirmed Spencer got there okay. He was sleeping the night in the mission home and Denise asked to talk with him. We had a brief conversation as he was awoken from sleep and sounded tired.
Elder Shoemaker reports he is doing great and loving the people he is serving. He is teaching the gospel and has a companion from Mexico.
He says it is HOT there.
He is in the town of Gutierrez de Zamorra, Veracruz. He got to hold a live armadillo. He got to eat chicken feet with the locals. He had to wash his laundry by hand and said he never had so much fun doing laundry. He also has only cold showers but he says it is a relief when he's drenched in sweat. Elder Shoemaker is a great example to us with his diligence and service to the people in Mexico. His positive attitude is so wonderful and he says he is loving his time in Mexico. These are some of the pictures he sent.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Summer Camps
Nate and Justin each had fun weeks at summer camps. Nate went to cross-country camp up at White Pass. Here are his remarks:
XC Camp
Cross County camp was awesome, I got about 46 miles in at camp! We were at White Pass ski Resort up in the mountains which made it a whole lot harder to run. We were split into groups with random kids at camp and had counselers for each group.
As groups we played camp games every night, and my group got first in Jenga Championships. We also had lectures twice a day that we learned lots of things that you can learn no where else. We still did lots of running, the hardest run for me was running up the black diamond trails on white pass to the top and back, but the view was worth it.
Our longest run was called Yellowjacket it was a 7.5 mile loop uphill half the way. One night we had pool games and one thing we did was fit a person from camp in a swim cap!
It really works. For awards are richland guys team got the outstanding team award. Anways I enjoyed camp alot and had lots of fun.
Camp Grizzly
Justin spent a week at Camp Grizzly for scout camp. Camp Grizzly is the same place Grandpa Charlie attended when he was a boy scout. Here are Justin's thoughts on scout camp.
We left at Monday morning about 6:00am and got there at about 10:30. After that we got to take our swim tests. That first days schedule was all mixed up so we went to the classes we wanted.
After a couple days I started to go mountain biking and had a blast. Two other friends did it with me.
The first ride I went on was a couple miles up a dirt road then we turned around. On that ride i got in one wreck and someone else got a concussion.
The next day two friends and i went on an over night bike ride that was about 13 miles on the way up and the same amount back. On the way up about 7.5 of the 13 miles was up hill. i also got in a wreck on that bike ride. I was the third one up to the top behind the leader and someone many years older than me. Me and my two friends slept under a huge lookout tower. The merit badges that I got were canoeing, rowing and rifle shooting. I had a blast at all of these. In canoeing and rowing we got to flip our boats in the middle of the lake. Another merit badge i already had but did it again was wilderness survival. We got to build a shelter and sleep in it over night. Any ways thats all i have to say.
Cross County camp was awesome, I got about 46 miles in at camp! We were at White Pass ski Resort up in the mountains which made it a whole lot harder to run. We were split into groups with random kids at camp and had counselers for each group.
As groups we played camp games every night, and my group got first in Jenga Championships. We also had lectures twice a day that we learned lots of things that you can learn no where else. We still did lots of running, the hardest run for me was running up the black diamond trails on white pass to the top and back, but the view was worth it.
Our longest run was called Yellowjacket it was a 7.5 mile loop uphill half the way. One night we had pool games and one thing we did was fit a person from camp in a swim cap!
It really works. For awards are richland guys team got the outstanding team award. Anways I enjoyed camp alot and had lots of fun.
Justin spent a week at Camp Grizzly for scout camp. Camp Grizzly is the same place Grandpa Charlie attended when he was a boy scout. Here are Justin's thoughts on scout camp.
We left at Monday morning about 6:00am and got there at about 10:30. After that we got to take our swim tests. That first days schedule was all mixed up so we went to the classes we wanted.
After a couple days I started to go mountain biking and had a blast. Two other friends did it with me.
The first ride I went on was a couple miles up a dirt road then we turned around. On that ride i got in one wreck and someone else got a concussion.
The next day two friends and i went on an over night bike ride that was about 13 miles on the way up and the same amount back. On the way up about 7.5 of the 13 miles was up hill. i also got in a wreck on that bike ride. I was the third one up to the top behind the leader and someone many years older than me. Me and my two friends slept under a huge lookout tower. The merit badges that I got were canoeing, rowing and rifle shooting. I had a blast at all of these. In canoeing and rowing we got to flip our boats in the middle of the lake. Another merit badge i already had but did it again was wilderness survival. We got to build a shelter and sleep in it over night. Any ways thats all i have to say.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Fishing Success
On July 13 and 14 we had a fun fishing outing near Dayton with grandma and grandpa. We stayed the night at a couple of nice cabins at the Last Resort up the Tucannon River Valley. Nate and Justin got to get up close and personal with a gigantic wind turbine that is on the highlands above the Tucannon.
The cabins were nice and clean with kitchenettes and amenities. We had a family dinner and then got in some good Zs. The next morning we headed for the Tucannon Lakes. 
We ended up at Rainbow Lake. We tried to figure out the best bait, fishing tackle setup.
Turns out good old worms were a good formula for getting some action. Nate was excited to be able to catch 4 fish, Justin caught 2, all trout.
There was enough action going on that it kept everyone interested for most of the day!
Nate and Justin ended up taking a quick dip in the water.
Denise was a stalwart fisherwoman and we finally had to pull her away from the bank without hooking the elusive big one. It was a lot of fun.Thanks grandma and grandpa for a great time!
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