2015 Thus Far

After 10 years of being called to serve in Cub Scouts I have a new calling.  (This actually took place last October, but my new calling has me setting up a new blog so I decided to update this one first.)  It was hard to let go of Cub Scouts. I love the boys, the program, planning/holding camp, and the people I have to work with.  Change is good they say, and there was a lot of it.  Starting in June of this year the Boy Scouts of America changed the Cub Scout program.  It wasn't a little bit of a change, it was a LOT of change.  Planning camp became a lot harder as I tried to incorporate the old skills with the new skills so that no matter which program the cubs were working with they would be passing off some sort of skill.  (Let me point out that I do not like the new program, but that could be because I know the old one so well.)  When the stake called me to be the Vancouver Stake Relief Society Secretary they told me that I would have to give up running camp.  Okay, but I knew this summer's would be my last.  Then shortly after that, Denise, who had been my other half during all the years we have put on our own Cub Scout Day Camp. informed me that she was having to move to Logan Utah.  She said she would stick around until after camp.  It wouldn't be the same without her anyway, so I was okay with giving that up too.

Camp went well.  I've hung up my scout shirt and brushed up on my secretarial skills.  Life moves on.

My last entry told about how Edward had been accepted into the US Naval Academy.  He has been there for two years and this summer he took that leap of faith and resigned from the academy to serve the Lord for the next two years on an LDS mission.  He has been called to serve in the Czech Republic/Slovakia Mission, speaking Slovak.  He entered the Provo MTC on August 26th, and will leave for Slovakia on October 27th.  He is so pumped.  When he gave his farewell talk in church he impressed me with how mature and well spoken he is.  He will be a great missionary. (The girl in the photo is Rachel Kearl, the love of Edward's life.  He met her while she served her mission here in Vancouver and serving in the Evergreen Ward when he was home on leave. She's a doll.)

Since my last entry we also have a new member in our family.  Kevin Roberts joined our happy little band when he married Jennifer on May 29th in the Portland Oregon Temple.  They met during their first year at BYU-I way back in 2010.  He served his mission in Mexico and Jennifer wrote to him faithfully throughout. They are now back down in Florida where Jennifer is once again doing what she loves, working for Disney.  He is hoping to secure an internship with Disney or perhaps Universal as a civil engineering major.  Meanwhile he works at Panda Express and keeping Jennifer happy.  We love him!

Andrew graduated from Union High School and the Clark County Skills Center Fire Cadet Safety Program this June.  He wants to become a fire fighter, but wants to serve his mission before continuing with the schooling needed.  While he waits to complete his paperwork he had gotten a job at the MODA Center in Portland to give him some needed cash.  His girl friend Justice is taking the missionary discussions so he is already practicing his missionary skills.

Aaron - our star!  Aaron is starting his second year at Union High School after being home schooled for most of his education.  At first he was a little reluctant, but now he is glad that he became a Titan.  He played football like his brothers his freshman year, but he found his niche and is really enjoying the theater.  He tried out for One Acts last year and made it.  They took their performance to State and WON!  This summer he has been rehearsing for a part he got in a student adaptation of The Sixth Sense.  If you have ever seen the movie Aaron played the role Bruce Willis played.  Aaron could have won an Emmy/Tony/Oscar/whatever it is for his performance if you ask me, but then I may be considered a bit bias.  This week he is auditioning for One Acts and the fall school production of Almost Maine.

Ed has started his own business.  He decided that it was easier to start his own business than to try to get hired at another company like Wells Fargo/Bantech/NCR.  Mueller Handyman Services keeps him extremely busy, but he is able to set his own hours and can be where he wants to be with his family as he wants.  And he likes what he is doing.

After 23 years of being a stay-at-home mom I decided it was time to get back into the work force.  I can't say that I am loving it, but it does pay for Edward's mission.  Right now I am working as a cashier for Wal-Mart just over by Union High School.  I love the job, people, etc.  just not the hours.  I end up working the afternoon/evening shifts and thus miss out on a lot of family time.  The thought of working the holidays scares me so I have applied with the Evergreen School District.  Hopefully I can get on with them.

Well, that's what's up with the Mueller Family in a nut shell.

Another Year another Post

First things first, Edward graduated in June from Union High School in the top 5% of his class.  He had applied to go to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and was accepted.  They take only 1200 students each year so it is very selective.  He had to under go several steps to get in, one of which was to be nominated by either a US Senator, US Congressman, or the Vice President of the United States.  He received his nomination from our local Congresswoman, Jaime Herra-Buetler (she gets only one nomination per military academy each year).  There are only 12 students coming from the state of Washington this year.  He graduated high school on June 11th and 2 weeks later was winging his way across the country to live in Annapolis for the next 2 years (then he'll go on his mission and then report back to Annapolis for another 2 years).  Ed and I couldn't fly back to be with him on his Induction Day, so we flew Jennifer up from Orlando where she was still working so she could be there for him. 

She says that it was the hardest thing she has ever had to do, say good-bye to her brother and try not to cry in front of him.  (She said she bawled non-stop for the entire drive back to her hotel room.)  The next 8 weeks were hell for Edward.  It was what they call "Plebe Summer".  A Plebe is a freshman at the US Naval Academy.  Basically Plebe Summer is boot camp on steroids.  Edward said he had never heard or done as much yelling then as in his entire life.  It was what he expected, and not at all like he expected.  On I-Day, then took away his cell phone and he was only given it back for 3 scheduled calls home (each for 30 minutes) during those 8 weeks.  Thus we communicated via snail-mail.  Wow! that was hard.  I guess it gives me a glimsp of what being a Missionary Mom is all about.

Once Plebe Summer was over, Ed and I flew out to Annapolis to spend Parents' Weekend with Edward.  We planned on leaving on Wednesday afternoon and arriving early Thursday morning.  Unfortunately the airline had other plans for us.  After several late planes and missed connections we finally made it to Annapolis around 6pm on Thursday.  Good thing we hadn't missed out on any time with Edward or I would have been screamming at the poor Customer Service reps.  We first caught sight of Edward during the noon formation.  As soon as they dismissed the company he took off looking for us at the designated meeting spot.  When we caught up to him I will never forget the hug he gave me.  I think he missed me almost as much as I missed him. 

Edward showed us all around the Naval Yard and then we took him out to eat, and to eat, to the movies, and to eat.  You'd think he didn't gt any food at the Academy.  He had to be back on the yard every night, but we enjoyed our time together.

The academic school year started on August 15th for Edward.  He was a little scared after that first day.  He said that his entire AP Calculus class was covered in the first 15 minutes of his new class, and the same was with Chemistry.  I think he was worried he wouldn't be able to keep up.  Rest assured he is doing fine.  At the end of the 6 weeks semester finals he had A's in both classes as well as the others he is taking too.

Life goes on for the rest of us.  Jennifer is home, waiting to go back to Rexburg in January.  Andrew is a junior this year at Union High School, and is a starter on the JV football team.  Aaron is finishing up his last year of home schooling at River Homelink as an 8th grader.  I am still working with Cub Scouts and loving it.  Ed is now running his own Handyman Services business and doing well.

GO NAVY!!  Beat Army!!!

Wow! We've been busy.

And this is just the start of things.  School starts next week, along with seminary (no more sleeping in late - boo hoo), and football started tonight with Union's win over Mt. View 35-7.  Yay!  Edward has been working on getting everything ready for his eagle project (my garage is filling up with lumber and supplies).  We had to find a leak in our water line again this summer, and thus I now have a 50 foot long x 3 foot deep trench spanning my back yard.  The ground was so hard and rocky we had to rent a jack hammer to muscle our way through.  It was worth it though, since we found not just one leak but 3!

Cub Camp is over, but Andrew helped out at 11 Year Old Scout Camp this year also teaching the boys how to tie knots.  We held a den swim for the Bears, and one for the Wolves, along with the Deacons, and a Pack Meeting, so the pool is getting some use which is nice.

If I can ever figure out how to include photos in this new format I will add them, but for now I just can't find the right "button".

Winding Down

Summer vacation is winding down, and we are finally getting the hot August nights (and days).  This summer has been BUSY!!! What with the Navy summer session, football camp, Cub Scout camp, Boy Scout Camp, 11 year old Scout Camp, Aaronic Priesthood Encampment, football practice, den meetings, pack meetings, and throw in there our trip to Florida to visit Jennifer, and it is amazing we are all still functioning.  It may have been busy, but it has also been FUN!!  This week, Aaron and Ed took the pop-up tent trailer to the Oregon coast to try it out while they did some crabbing and clamming.  The verdict: it is wonderful!  Thank you Lindsey for giving the trailer to us.

It is hard to believe that school will be starting soon. Edward will be a Senior this year, Andrew a Sophomore, and Aaron will be starting 7th grade. Jennifer will continue with her college education by taking on-line classes through BYU-I.  She will stay in Florida and continue to work for Disney until January 2013.  She is having the time of her life down there.  Mean while, Ed continues to look for employment and I try to get myself better organized.  There are too many projects that need to get done around here.

Cubs in Shining Armor - Day Camp 2012

Well, after months of preparations Cub Camp is fast approaching!  I only have one more day to make sure I haven't forgotten anything (at least for Monday anyway).  This afternoon I loaded up the van with boxes for each of the 15 classes we'll be teaching next week.  Then I spent a couple of hours making up a song book this year of camp songs I want the boys to learn.  (We, as leaders, got tired of "Bazooka Bubblegum".)  As soon as camp is over I will try to post some pictures.  For now, I want to thank my boys and husband for putting up with me and my preoccupation with Cub Camp these past few months.  And to thank them for all their help this week and next.  It's a lot of work, but I love it!!!

Disney World Vacation

Oh what fun we had!  Even though I'm not sure where the money is going to come from to pay for this vacation I took that leap of faith and decided that we couldn't pass up this chance to visit Jennifer down in Florida and Walt Disney World.  She was able to get the 3 boys in to the park for free on the 5 days we visited the parks.  Ed and I had to buy our own tickets, but I think she was able to get us a discount.  She had planned every minute of our adventure from the moment we arrived in the parks to the time we left.  She made sure we saw and did everything!

Youth Conference Trip

This past weekend was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As Bishop, Ed takes the priests and laurels down to experience conference from Salt Lake. As his wife, I get to go along. This year we made the trip with 24 youth and 10 leaders from the Evergreen Ward. We left Friday morning at 5 am and our first stop was Echo, Oregon where Sister Hullinger's parent's house is. She was there waiting for us with breakfast. Then it was on to Mountain Home, Idaho where most of us stopped for lunch. When we arrived down in the Salt Lake area we went to a local school where Brother Hullinger's sister had prepared a dinner for us. The youth enjoyed being able to stretch their legs and play some basketball.

We end up staying the nights at Brother Hullinger's parent's house along with a couple of their neighbors' houses. Saturday we drove to temple square and some were able to get into the conference center to see the prophet, while the rest of us watched from various other venues on temple square. During the men's priesthood session the girls all went shopping. Afterwards we all met up for dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I think they lost money on us.

Sunday was like Saturday with the exception that we ate our sack lunches between sessions and then went to the Hullinger's stake center where we were treated to a wonderful potato bar dinner and a testimony meeting. The Relief Society room in the stake center has a beautiful mural of the Saviour painted on the wall. We of course had to get a group picture in there.

Spring Break is this week, so we didn't head back to Vancouver on Monday, but instead went back down to temple square so we could visit other places that we might not have had time for earlier. The wind was something else, but we managed to not get blown away and get another group shot standing in front of the temple. From there we drove down to Provo to visit the BYU campus. Thanks to Eric Glem, we were able to tour Cougar stadium (press box, booster club, walk on the field, and locker room). We then went to the Marriot Center where Mr. Marriot himself was practicing for a speech he was to give the next day. We also were able to quickly chat with the Cougar basketball coach. Dinner was another all-you-can-eat buffet at the cafeteria. They have some good food there.

Tuesday was the long ride back home. At least this time we had good weather (the trip through the gorge on Friday was horrific! what with all the rain). We got home around 7pm. We had such a good time. I can't wait to do it again in another 2 years.