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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Spring brings 2 new babies

Baby #1
Dylan Lamar Pay was born on February 16th - 1 month early and he ended up spending about 3 weeks in the hospital before he was strong enough to come home.  Melanie has her hands full with 4 young children and I enjoyed spending two weeks caring for 3 of them.  Bryton became my buddy and Aaryn decided I was tolerable.  Jayden, well he is growing so fast and thinks he knows alot.  One day I was going to give him a ride to school, but didn't want to dress for the day until I took a shower, so I was going to do what I often do - drive him to school with my robe on.  (Nick saved the day and decided to drop him off.)  I went to pick him up at noon and overheard him telling his teacher - "My grandma was going to drive me to school this morning in her towel."  I was horrified - she said don't worry I don't believe most of what kindergarteners say.  Apparently his mom never wears a robe.

5 lb 3 oz   17.25 inches
Mommy and baby - Gives you an idea of how tiny he was.




Jayden reading us a book online.




Baby #2
Wesley Russell Barrus was born on April 9th.  He weighed in at a meager 6 lb 11 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.  Chelsea was grateful for a smaller baby and a fairly easy delivery.  The Barrus' journeyed to Denver the first week and I had to wait until I wrapped up some things at home, so Wesley was 2 weeks old when I got to hold him and love on him.  He is a good baby who enjoys sleeping (Gavin is still struggling to figure that part out).  I spent lots of time with Gavin - he preferred we spend all the time ("in my room" with the door closed).  Gavin really loves the Avenger characters as well as Green Lantern.  He has many of the toys and even an avenger mask.  He talks really well and is alot of fun to be with.  We had a great time playing, shopping, and taking care of baby Wesley. 



Found a hat to match his shirt while we were at Walmart
Taking picture with Hulk


Playing with Grandma's phone - Gavin wanted to play all the time.





Saturday, May 12, 2012

I have fallen Facebook Victim.  It's so easy to check in on what's going on with others and I have not been following the Blog world very well or keeping up with my own posts (which are my journal - by the way.  So it's time to play a little catch up.  Journaling twice a year is not the best way to go.

SENIOR NEWS

Trevor is a Senior and his life is changing quickly, so here's an update.  He has had a busy year playing Soccer, Basketball, and Track!  Track of course is his love as he aspires to be State Champ in not just one event, but several this year.  The team has struggled with a strange schedule, bad weather, and personal frustrations.  The weather this year has been very off season, so we were really hoping for great weather for division - and that is what we got.  A scorching 96 degrees, but no wind.  Trevor's biggest competition attends The Meadows High School in Las Vegas and unfortunately our schedule did not allow them to race before divisions, but their times were very close going in.
In both the 300 hurdles and the 110 hurdles Trevor led until the last hurdle where The Meadows guy was able to over take him and win by a foot or two.  So it's anybody's win at State!  The best part is his time was great and he was pushed to his very best.
White Pine Boys Track & Field 1st Place Division Champs

April took some pictures for us for his Senior announcements and graduation is just around the corner.


We have also been working on his missionary papers and they should be in this week sometime, so we should have his call by the end of the month.  Trevor has decided to go to BYU for the summer term and will leave 2 weeks after school gets out, so his life is changing quickly.  Graduation - College - then Mission all in the next few months!

Trevor has worked very hard in school and ended up 5th in his class.  He applied for lots of scholarships and received a total of 8 scholarships for $7000 - that is fabulous and will really help him get started. One of the scholarships Trevor received was Elks Most Valuable Student for White Pine and received a $1000 scholarship and was sent on to the State Level.  He won another $1000 scholarship at the State Level.  This is the essay he wrote that allowed him to win these two scholarships.

My future has been changed by the fact that I am a part of the Boy Scouts of America.  Scouting gives opportunities to learn all different sorts of skills.  As a young scout I learned how to be a follower in listening to the leader.  Later I learned to be the leader as I served in leadership positions such as senior patrol leader.  On top of leadership, scouting helped me develop skills in other fields of study such as citizenship, physical health, and financial planning.  All of these skills are used in the adult world and I will be better prepared to perform my civic duties, keep myself healthy, and maintain a budget to support my family because of the activities I participated in during scouting.
            Scouting has helped me gain confidence.  I have always been a shy person.  No matter how hard I try I have problems talking or asking questions.  Being shy can be crippling in situations such as finding a job.  Scouting helped me to overcome my shyness through my eagle project.  The responsibility to plan, organize, and see that the project was carried out became mine and I had to step up.  First, I needed to talk to the city manager about fixing up a city park.  This involved talking to someone I had never met and explaining an entire project that I had envisioned.  Together we were able to come up with a project that would benefit the community and I could oversee.  My second task was to get all of the required materials and manpower at the park.  This required phone calls and preparation which took me out of my comfort zone.  Lastly, I had to oversee the project and assign people tasks.  I was able to work on every aspect of the project but I also delegated different sections of the project such as cleaning, building, or cement mixing to others.  Even though these tasks were out of my comfort zone I was able to enjoy my project and learn to be a better leader.  Now I find it much less difficult to meet new people, share my ideas, plan ahead, and even take charge when necessary. 
            Being an eagle scout will affect me the rest of my life in a positive way.  An eagle scout is nationally recognized by businesses, schools, and even the government.  However, the main focus of scouting is service.  I have learned the value of serving others and know that it will help me in my home and my community. Understanding the value of hard work will help me be a better husband, father, and employee.  Lastly I have learned the value of being a better and kinder citizen.  Scouting has truly impacted my life, and armed with the skills I learned as a member of the Boy Scouts of America, I will have a brighter future.