Going Forth With Faith!

Recently we posted about Amanda so that means it’s time to post about Sid.

Sid is currently serving a 2-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Rapid City South Dakota Mission. He entered the Missionary Training Center (or MTC) on January 13, 2010. On February 1, 2010 he flew to Rapid City, South Dakota all trained and ready to work with his companion teaching those they come in contact with in his first area.

When we moved into our new place (a week after Sid entered the MTC) we found a great way to keep track of Sid's mission boundaries and areas:

A WONDERFUL reminder every time we are coming or going.

The boundaries of his WHOLE mission; some part of 7 different states!

Keeping track of his area, dates, addresses, and companions.
Area #1 -  Brandon, SD

Area #2 - McLaughlin, SD

Yes, Sid's had his first transfer. He spent 4 transfers (transfers are every 6 weeks in his mission) in Brandon. Now we are waiting for his first letter from McLaughlin so we'll have his new address and learn about his next companion.

Since a few pictures of our door don't sufficiently update you on Sid, this should do a better job detailing life for Elder Horrocks!

We are very proud of our amazing, dedicated, and faithful missionary!

Summertime Fun 2010 (Part 3)

...The last few moments....

Day 5:
(July 6, 2010)

It was a gorgeous day. Mt. St. Helens was visible from the deck of the house. What a view!

Aunt Renee came over for a little while this morning and we had an enjoyable visit with her before she needed to head off to accomplish her day's tasks.

After she left we watched the last two episodes of “Horacio Hornblower,” well tried to anyway. The sound for the last two was very difficult to hear (they are on a VHS tape and either the machine needs a good cleaning or the tape needs replacing). We left the last few minutes of the final episode unwatched because it was time to leave and head into downtown Portland again this time to go to...

Buying tickets for this show is what sparked the idea for our whole trip!

Across the street from the theater was a fountain with signs that clearly stated no wading or swimming.

Those in the fountain must not be able to read.

The show was amazing! The way the animals are done and the scenery....so fascinating. An extremely creative team working on Disney's stage productions!

Day 5:
(July 6, 2010)

Our last day. :( The morning was filled with packing things and more visiting. Uncle Harold took us to lunch at Taco Bell. At Amanda's suggestion we tasted Baja Blast (or whatever it is) Mountain Dew in Sid's honor (his pre-mission favorite). Off to the airport to get Amanda onto her plane then we drove home.
 
Another very clear day. Mt. Hood was visible for the first part of our drive.
 

Both trips were successful-we all arrived safely.

It was a great trip and we didn't want it to end. Vacationland is much better than realityland any day. Oh well, I suppose all good things must come to an end eventually and that was the case with this trip. Back to home and work responsibilities for all of us...yuck!

In The Fake Leafy Treetops...

I was going to do the last part of our trip but when I arrived home from a couple late afternoon errands I found this waiting for me by the door....

A real bird in my decorative and completely fake tree! :)

I saw a little bird in the rocky area of landscaping right outside our door earlier today. I bet this is the same one. Maybe throwing some bread into the bushes and grass this afternoon wasn't such a great idea, we might be held hostages in our home. Luckily I have 2 doors into our place so I didn't need to scare this little friend away and could get some pictures. When I got inside I made sure to call Dan to let him know so he doesn't frighten my new friend.

Now to figure out a name for our new addition...any ideas?

Summertime Fun 2010 (Part 2B)

Here's one more video from our time at the beach, Amanda and Dan's perspective on the wave "avoidance...."

This was such a highlight of our trip that I couldn't resist making the addition. (And plus I had to show off the new editing technique I learned today [rotating the video]....Thanks again Annie B!)

Summertime Fun 2010 (Part 2)

...The highlights continue...

Day 4:
(July 5, 2010)

Off to the ocean for us today. We took a detour (missed the highway we needed) so added an hour to our trip. We stopped for directions and received three options to take; back tracking the way we came, 70+ miles out of the way (already about 40 out of the way), or heading along a different highway a couple miles ahead. We'll take curtain #3 please.

Saw beautiful landscapes along the way and sang along to John Denver songs. Amanda even tried feeding broccoli to a duck but the duck wasn't interested. Hmmmmm......

 

 

We arrived in Seaside, Oregon and the first thing on the agenda was lunch.

After our bellies were full we headed to the beach. Odd to have bare feet in the ocean with rolled up jeans and jackets on.

Then  we strolled the boardwalk and went in & out of the shops. We went into the Salt Water Taffy Outlet more than once. They have 170+ flavors of taffy so it took more than one look to decide which flavors to take home. We each spun the "Wheel of Fortune" to see if we'd win a prize. This trip I was the only winner in the group!

Next door to the taffy store was an ice cream store with $.75 cones! Amanda and I each had a double for only $1.25.

A fantastic vacation spot!  All three of us fell in love with Seaside and I suspect we'll be returning in the future, hope so anyway...

...The final scenes in the next post... 

Summertime Fun 2010 (Part 1)

Highlights from our vacation to Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. We stayed with Uncle Harold & Aunt Marilyn Horrocks in Vancouver and had the chance to visit with Leann and Aunt Renee Horrocks in addition to the others mentioned. Uncle Harold and Aunt Marilyn kept us well rested, fed, and entertained the whole time we where there.

DAY 1:
(July 2, 2010)

The drive was pretty right along the Columbia River and the Lewis & Clark trail majority of the way. Great weather till rain in Portland.

Stopped here on our way to Portland to get Amanda. Had some time to kill since her flight was delayed. See the bridge? We “hiked” to that to stretch our legs. Saw a family from our ward here too!

Despite the delay we picked up Amanda then headed to Uncle Harold and Aunt Marilyn's home. After some dinner we learned how to play the card game "Garbage."

And also learned how to play "Five Crowns." Both were very fun and I suspect we'll be playing them again in the future.

DAY 2:
(July 3, 2010)

Took the train into downtown Portland to go to the Saturday Market.

We were lucky enough to transfer trains in a different part of Downtown Portland. Good thing the train came when it did or some serious cash might have been spent!

Uncle Harold’s parting words to us were, “Don’t buy a pot pipe.” (We thought about looking and purchasing one since Sid purchased a ceremonial, Native American pipe on his mission but we refrained.) A clue as to what to expect at the Saturday Market and a true one at that; lots of art, hippie, & random craft vendors. There were street musicians, break dancers, and even a man spouting about souls that need saving. Lots of interesting people to watch and things to see.

DAY 3:

(July 4, 2010)

Happy B-day America! We attended Uncle Harold and Aunt Marilyn's ward with them at 1:00 pm. When we came home Randy, Susan, Kayla, Carly, and Kade Plessinger were there (as well as Kayla's roommate Amber) and dinner was almost ready. Teresa and Justin Green came too (Ed had Bishop duties and wasn't feeling well so he couldn't make it). We ate, visited, laughed. Around 9:30 Kade put on a fireworks show. When we got outside there were fireworks going on all around the house. Amanda got on the roof & said it she didn't know where to look to view them. No need to go down & pay to see a fireworks show (as Vancouver was doing this year) the show was great where we were!

"More to come, more to come"....