Shaw Family Update

Well, it has only been 3 months since we broke the news on the move.  Blame it on the price of gas in the US; the price of grain in China, the fact that the Cats are still undefeated!  No excuses.

So, Dad is living the bachelor life in Portland, Oregon as Mom and the rest of us slave on the farm in Idaho. Dad says that given the terrible market for home sales in the US, this could be a long haul. Dad flys home every other weekend to help Mom and us; we hope we can be together soon!  Dad, your turn.

Thanks Mad.  So yes a bit of a fractionated family but keeping the eye on the bigger prize.  So the following photos should catch you up, but quickly:

Heather was an assistant coach on Cameron's baseball team and according to him, they were "undefeatable" (no scores kept so we can't show indisputable proof, but.....). I was the head coach on Brendan's team (Skyhawks) and started the season on fire (won our first six games) and finished 3rd in the league, but Brenny did win the league home run derby (photos below).  Maddy's team (Kuna Krush) ended up winning the Treasure Valley league championship where Maddy went to bat four times and had 3 hits with 3 runs batted in (runs crossing the plate to score) in the championship game.  We were so proud of all for their fantastic seasons. 

The competition between the kids did not end on the field....at least in the US.  Every weekend we log onto afl.com.au and check on our respective footy teams.  Cam, as a bomber, started well but has been dissapointed as of late.  Brenny has been quite satisfied with the Blues and cannot wait to meet the Cats in the final(?).  Maddy has been jabbing with Captain Bill over the Cats/Hawks...but the Hawks show promise if they can get healthy.  Bill may be wearing brown and yellow by seasons end (according to Mad).

In the photos, you will also see Brendan won a local art contest in which he pocketed quite a few pesos (went to legos) and made it in the local newspaper.  Got the fields planted this spring to oats and lucerne....farming never ends........until we sell!

Hope all are well and it has been good keeping in touch with most of you.  We are tentatively planning on a possible Oz visit in 2012.  It has been too long!

Love, the Shaws!

Birthdays, Spring Break, Baseball.....and prepare for a move!

Spring is upon us and baseball and softball are in full swing........6 days a week.  Bodie is head coach for Brendan's AA Sky Hawk team (8-10 year old) and Heather is assistant coach for Cameron's Rookie Hornet team (6-7 year old).  And Maddy is doing her own thing on the 12 and under traveling softball team (Kuna Krush).  Now that we are at full throttle, Monday thru Saturday baseball/softball is the norm!

On top of that, Bodie has accepted a new job in Portland, Oregon! So the good news is that we will be closer to our friends in Australia (13,000 km as opposed to 14,000 km), but it will be very tough to leave Idaho after being here 6 years.


We will keep all posted as things progress.  Cheers and Love.........the Shaws!

Chillin' with the Snow and Santa!

Hi All!
On December 1st we set a new record for snow: 21 cm which for us is pretty good. In fact, led to the the first snow day (no school) in nearly 6 years (only 3 in the last 20 years).  Dad was a bit crook, so he took the day off to make sure the kids weren't subjected to Mum's Thanksgiving Day leftovers all by themselves.  It was all too good!

Dad's work also hosted their annual Children's Christmas Party today.  Kris Kringle did a marvelous job and made us proud.  Mom and Dad thought we might be on the Naughty list and not too expect too much (if anything).  We proved them wrong!

Talk to you guys soon......Love Maddy!

Where have we been? We will catch you up fast!

Apologies all; Heather restricted Bodie's Internet access and the Blog suffered!  We left you last with our good mates the Warnes visiting us from Axedale.  Since then we've all aged: Brendan turned 8, Madison 11, Cameron 5, Heather 37 and Bodie 33!  Actually, Heather has been recovering from back surgery and Bodie had a cavity filled, but he is doing much better now.

To our repertoire, we added goats, chooks and sheep to our farm this year....as well as the annual sacrificial hogs (as opposed to Hawthorn and Carlton, this year they were aptly named Bacon and Sausage). So, we butchered sheep and pigs this year.  Quite a bountiful harvest (over 300 kilos for the lot)

Hopefully the next few pix will bring you up to speed with what we have been doing, rightly and wrongly! Talk to all soon.......the Shaws! We also had a very fresh -22 last week......wish all were here!