A Christmas Carol

Our joint activity this past weekend was spent attending Theatre Calgary's presentation of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". Tickets usually run about $50 a person, but they always do a "pay by donation" performance each year, so that's the one we hit. The kids were a bit skeptical at first about seeing a play, but the -20C weather and the 2 hour wait in line turned them down right critical. The gamble paid off though, the play was gold. Most of the praise was for the sets and the effects, which were brilliant, but I thought the actors did a great job as well. I even got a bit choked during the part where Scrooge sees the future and Tiny Tim has passed away. I think having a daughter has done that to me. Anyways, I really enjoyed it and I recommend it if you get the chance to see it. I'll probably try and go again with Tammy if we can swing it. I got the book last year for Christmas, so I'm going to read it this season and become an expert.

M.I.III

My Gramma Bourne recently departed to serve her third full-time mission for the Church. She's back down in Salt Lake City at the Family History Center for her second tour of duty there. We had a going away picnic for her down at Riley Park back in August while the weather was still nice. All Alberta-based members of her posterity were in attendance so it made for a nice reunion. It's a great spot, the kids loved the water and the weather was perfect in the shade. We all hope Gramma is doing wonderfully and look forward to chatting with her at Christmas.

Remembrance Day Camp

One of my Counselors and I took our young men out on a camping trip this past Remembrance Day weekend. For a slice of nostalgia, Clint Maucieri, who is in the Stake Young Men's Presidency, came along as well. Originally the plan was to do a two-nighter, but none of us leaders could get the Friday off of work, so we downgraded to a one-nighter. We went out to Maclean Creek out by Bragg Creek, and stayed at a campsite there. We didn't get out there until it was already dark, but camp went up quick and the fire was easily started. We had our dinner and then we had a fireside centered on Remembrance Day that the young men had organized. I spoke a little about both my Grandfathers who were Veterans, one served in the RAF during WW2, and one in the Army during the Korean War. We ended the night with some hot chocolate, one of the boys killed a mouse, and we hit the sack about midnight. It was a cold night, but we had them packed in their tents pretty tight, so nobody froze.

Next morning we had a pancake breakfast that the boys are still sore about. Despite a theme based on remembering, the syrup was forgotten, and peanut butter proved a poor substitute. After breakfast we hiked. One of the boys discovered a beaver skeleton not long after he stepped in it. He was pretty sure the beaver might still have had a bit of life left in him, so he kept the skull as a trophy to his kill. After lunch we spent the rest of the day playing various versions of "Capture the Flag", but the big hit was a game called "Camouflage". In this game, one boy turns his back to the woods and counts to 30 with his eyes closed while everyone else runs and hides. After the count is up, he turns around, and without moving from his station, he tries to spot as many hiders as he can. After he's found as many as he can, he turns around again with his back to the woods, yells "Camouflage!", and counts to 25 with his eyes closed. Everyone who's left hiding has to run up and touch him and then run back and hide again. When the count is done, he turns around and tries to pick out everyone he can again. This process repeats itself, the count getting progressively shorter and thus the hiding spots getting progressively worse, until everyone is found. The boys got really into it and some got pretty good at the hiding bit. We played until it was almost dark and time to go home.

I enjoyed my time out there, it's easy to forget sometimes how beautiful this area of the world can be and how peaceful life can seem in nature. I took a few pictures out there, nothing overly scenic, mostly just the group that went out.