Tennis Lessons

The first day of tennis lessons was quite enjoyable, of course the beautiful weather helped. The session started with a warm up of the kids hitting bubbles with their rackets. I was one of the designated bubble blowers and had to make sure that the kids didn't swing their rackets at a bubble that veered towards another's head. They then were instructed to line up and do some exercises such as arms circles and stretches for the hamstrings. They were then instructed to do hopscotch, to help them further loosen up and so they could get used to jumping. This was followed by a follow-the-leader game of jogging and jumping while weaving in and out of cones. They also "walked the dog" using their rackets to direct a rolling ball through the cones and finally into the net. Another activity was to balance a ball on their rackets while walking to a basket to deposit the ball. The most popular activity by far was "Popcorn," where the tennis coach put lots of balls on her racket and tossed them into the air for the kids to catch. Another popular activity was making "ice cream cones," where parents tossed balls for the kids to catch in cones. Finally at the end, the parents got to toss balls to the children to try and hit. I'll have fun practicing these activities with my son during the week before next Saturday's lesson.

Visiting the Estates of U.S. Presidents

My family and I enjoy taking tours of historical homes, which for me was fostered by mother, who always liked to take us to places like Shaker Village in Kentucky, etc. My wife and I have discovered that visiting the homes of our former Presidents is especially enjoyable.

While visiting Lancaster County, PA this past week, we took some time to take a tour of Wheatland, the estate of former President James Buchanon. The guide was very knowledgeable and friendly, and was quick to rememeber the names of our boys. It was a beautiful home and the surrounding neigborhood was an architectural treat. I would love to live in one of any number of homes surrounding Wheatland.

So far, we have also visited Mount Vernon, and Monticello. We can take advantage of living in Virgina and visiting Ohio, to get in several more homes of Presidents.

Amish Country

At least once a year, we make a pilgrimage to Amish Country in Lancaster County, PA. It some magical force that draws us there. We still get excited to see the Amish riding in their horse drawn buggys, their traditional "plain" clothing, and to hear their German accents when they speak. I think I feel a strong connection with them partly from knowing that my grandmother's ancestry where Amish who settled in the same county over 200 years ago. Of course, I must admit I love their pretzels, my favorite being Immergut Pretzels. We went back this year on Easter weekend. I made sure to get some birch beer (a type of root beer) and delicious cheeses. We enjoyed driving around the back roads around the many farms and along the Susquehana River, the same river that the Prophet Joseph Smith was baptized, but we were much further down stream from that area.

Easter Eggs

I always enjoyed making Easter eggs as a kid, and I still do. I remember making fancy Russian eggs with bees wax in high school, which were cool, but for a kid how can you beat Star Wars Easter eggs, especially since they were already boiled! Of course, even the happiness from making Star Wars Easter eggs would be meaningless if it were not for the true meaning of Easter. I am so thankful to our Lord and Savior, who suffered to atone for our sins, and died that they we might live. I know that as we keep the Lord's commandments, following His example, we will live again with our Father in Heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, and all of our loved ones.

Hanami

One practice that I adopted from Japan, where I served my LDS mission, is that of hanami. If you didn't just click through to the Wikipedia link, hanami is the viewing flower blossoms (the Japanese preference is the cherry blossoms) in early spring time. To get the most out of a hanami you must pack up a picnic and enjoy it with family and friends. This year it was a little chilly when we did our hanami, but it was enjoyable all the same. I made some traditional hanami treats, yakitori and onigiri and added some watermelon cubes, orange slices, and my wife made cookies. As you can see in the picture, my youngest thought that the blossoms could possibly be more of a treat than just for the eyes.