AIMS Awards Assembly

Ben and his friends after the Awards Assembly and before the refreshments.

Ben and Leia the Snake

Ben and I went to Pack Meeting last Thursday night at the Blakes. Sue Blake asked a family who has a whole bunch of reptiles to come and show the boys. The boys enjoyed it. They taught the boys about each snake then let the boys hold or touch the snakes. It was great! I stood at the doorway and watched from a distance.

Lazy Sunday

Chris and Ben have been ill today. We all stayed home from church because H1N1 is going around and we didn't want to contaminate anyone, just in case. I thought I should finally update our family blog since it's been so long.

We pulled these butternut squash and spicy yellow peppers from our garden this afternoon. I love that you can have a good winter garden in Arizona. It's fantastic. Great vegetables with great weather, finally. At the rate our pumpkins are coming in we will probably be eating a lot of baked pumpkin and pumpkin pie. Awesome!

Star

Ben had his board of review for scouts tonight. He will be getting his Star on May 27. We are excited. He is MORE excited. He would really like to finish his Eagle before he turns 14. He is so motivated. I don't know where he gets it from. He is my favorite. The ward is planning on going to Camp Geronimo this summer, and he can't wait to pass off more badges. I think he will have a great time. I don't know if Chris is going with him, but I know he'd like to.

Trishie

The Temple

Today Ben went to the temple for the first time. I think he had a great experience. It was with the whole stake, so it was a large group. I'm so glad that he had a chance to go and serve there at the temple.
He's lounging on the couch right now with his left hand playing with his hair. He will probably start snoring in a moment. They left this morning at seven, so I think he's tired.

The Bunny

This was published last week in Ben's core newsletter.

Which Came First, the Easter Bunny or the Easter Egg?
By: Ben Murphy
The Easter bunny originated in Alsace and southwestern Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1600s. During the 1700s, German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country introduced the bunny to America. According to tradition, children would bring brightly colored nests, often out of caps and bonnets, in selected areas of their homes. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany in the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar. Clearly, the bunny came first.
The bunny may be credited for leaving and laying the eggs today, but originally the eggs came from a strange bird. The Oschter Haws (means ostrich chase) would, if the children had been good, lay brightly colored eggs in their nests or baskets. So, instead of looking for the Easter bunny, look for the Easter ostrich.
The Easter bunny is depicted as an anthropomorphic (has human characteristics) rabbit. In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy, and toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter. The Easter bunny will either put baskets in a specific place or hide them somewhere to find when they wake up in the morning.
In conclusion, remember to be good this Easter, but don’t try to catch the bunny or the ostrich because then you would be considered really, really bad.