Christensen update 2012

Dear Family,I've been thinking about all of you and decided to write to update you on our activities instead of a lot of phone calls. 
Bruce and I got to go to Moscow, Idaho last week for his annual meeting of the NIATT advisory board (I think it stands for the National Istitute for the Advancement of Transportation Technology).  Pat came to take care of the kids while we were gone.  The kids had a great time with Nana and kept her busy running around.  We stayed in Riggins in our favorite motel on the river, right where the Little Salmon joins the Salmon River.  We ate at a new place this year and got to sit outside.  It was beautiful weather.  The next morning, we didn't go on our regular hike along the Rapid River, but just drove North to Lewiston.  We stopped at Hell's Gate State Park alongside the Snake River.  (There sure are a lot of rivers, aren't there!)   We wandered around an interesting Lewis and Clark museum, and then drove up the hill to the Jack O'Connor museum.  He was a famous big game hunter and outdoor writer years ago.  He was from Arizona originally, but raised his family in Lewiston.  He did a lot to bring notice to Lewiston and helped the economy by writing about the ammunition made there.  The museum had many, many mounts of the animals he and his wife shot on their hunting trips around the West and in Canada, Iran, India, and Africa.  His and his wife's guns were there.   I had no idea how many different kinds of antelope live in Africa, from the tiny Dik Dik to the huge ones like Oryx and Sable.  I kept wishing Erik and Danni were there.  I think they really would have enjoyed it.  I'll include a few pictures.
When we got to Moscow, we went to the dinner for the NIATT board and heard two student presentations.  One was about a new hybrid race car that the students built from the ground up.  They made pretty much everything except the tires, including the hybrid motor.  The other was about hands-on learning techniques in the classroom, teaching traffic studies.  I even piped up and asked a question!  Bruce went to his meetings the next day and I stayed inside and enjoyed the exercise room, the pool, and the TV while it rained outside.  On Friday we attended the Engineering Expo in the Student Union building.  The projects are really cool, and we enjoyed looking at all of them.  It was over too soon, but we had a book on CD to make the drive home go by quickly.  We didn't mind the long drive too much, and we wanted to get home, so we skipped a motel that night and drove all the way back to Twin Falls.  It was a nice break for both of us.

Joel is in track and enjoying his track meets.  He is in the Teacher's quorum now.  Todd is the first counselor in the Deacon's quorum.  Kurtis is playing Soccer and continuing violin lessons.  He performed in our ward talent show.  Will is enjoying preschool, and getting more and more ready for kindergarten in the fall.  I am planning to go to Wood Badge scout training for a week in June.  Mom gets to come stay with the kids then.  Bruce is the assistant scoutmaster.  We are staying really busy with scouts, sports, and school.  I love you all and wish I could have some time to talk to you on the phone or see you individually.
Love,
Becky