Christopher Graduates from Anglo-American School of Moscow

Christopher Goes to Prom

Christopher Plays for the Penguins

Christopher's 17th Birthday

Celebrating Christopher's 17th birthday at the Starlight Diner in Moscow.  American food. American family. Russian weather.

Shadow Valley Fun Run

Christmas Eve 2010

Jambo Brothers

David and Christopher attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A. P. Hill in Virginia. This was David's second Jamboree experience and Christopher's first. They had a blast!

Christopher's Piano Recital

Christopher's piano recital was again held at Church of the Heavenly Rest (a/k/a "Church of the Heavenly Dressed") on Fifth Avenue. His teacher, Rachel Blanchard, does a wonderful job instilling the joy of piano playing in her students.

What a Blast!

Photo of Brent and son Christopher shortly before taking off in a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey. An adventure of a lifetime!

Easter Dinner 2010

Brent conducted a Last Supper Reenactment/Passover Seder in connection with his Insitute class this year on World Religions, so no special guests this year for Easter Sunday. Just us.

Kids Hang Out With Dan Aykroyd

David, Christopher, Spencer, and Brent attended the Explorers Club annual awards and fundraising banquet inside the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, representing the Boy Scouts of America. The kids (in their uniforms; dad was obligated to wear a tux) participated in the awards ceremony and got to meet many interesting people, including the master of ceremonies, Dan Aykroyd. Favorite food of the night: electric eel (which actually left a tingly sensation on the tongue). Here are the boys with the original cast member of "Saturday Night Live" himself:

David and Christopher On The News Again

Christopher's day-before interview appeared on local news again. The online story, below, quotes David:

Doomsday budget resurrects congesting pricing idea
(Thursday, December 17,2009)

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The MTA's Doomsday budget is a grim reality this morning. And that could trigger the return of another controversial transit plan -- congestion pricing for drivers in Manhattan.

There's talk in Albany and City Hall of a bailout for the MTA but there's no money for it.

That's opening the way for a new push to impose congestion pricing.

"There is a frustration that people have that we are paying more and more and getting less and less," said one disgruntled straphanger.

The service slashing approved by the MTA Wednesday included the elimination of the W and Z trains, cuts to 21 bus routes, some to be eliminated all together, severe limits on access a ride passes for senior citizens, and the phase out of student bus passes.

That will force children to pay for their own transportation to school, for some, a thousand dollars a year or more.
"Honestly I couldn't get to school and I also feel a bit angry. There's a few other ways the MTA can tackle this," said student David Belnap.

"The state and city should be funding school transit passes, those obviously cannot go away. It's not a burden that the MTA should be shouldering," explained Neysa Pranger of the Regional Plan Association.

Wednesday the Governor said he would find a way to fund student bus passes, but that doesn't fix the larger problem of funding the MTA.

One idea that is resurfacing is congestion pricing, the concept of making anyone who wants to drive in most of Manhattan, pay big money for the privilege, which would raise more than half a billion dollars a year, much of it for the MTA.

"It's happening other places around the world. People are embracing the technology, it's something that's going to come to New York and we should think about doing it sooner rather than later," said Pranger.

David and Christopher Interviewed About MTA Student Rate Increase

Both David and Christopher were interviewed for a news story that appeared on WABC Channel 7 Eyewitness News. The online story text is reproduced below (which doesn't include Christopher's video comments):

MTA approves 'Doomsday' budget plan
(Jim Dolan, Wednesday, December 16,2009)

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The cuts to the MTA budget are not surgical, they are thermonuclear.

"There is a frustration that people have that we are paying more and more and getting less and less," said one disgruntled straphanger.

The service slashing approved by the MTA Wednesday included the elimination of the W and Z trains, cuts to 21 bus routes, some to be eliminated all together, severe limits on access a ride passes for senior citizens, and the phase out of student bus passes.

That will force children to pay for their own transportation to school, for some, a thousand dollars a year or more.
"Honestly I couldn't get to school and I also feel a bit angry. There's a few other ways the MTA can tackle this," said student David Belnap. "The state and city should be funding school transit passes, those obviously cannot go away. It's not a burden that the MTA should be shouldering," explained Neysa Pranger of the Regional Plan Association.

Wednesday the Governor said he would find a way to fund student bus passes, but that doesn't fix the larger problem of funding the MTA. One idea that is resurfacing is congestion pricing, the concept of making anyone who wants to drive in most of Manhattan, pay big money for the privilege, which would raise more than half a billion dollars a year, much of it for the MTA. "It's happening other places around the world. People are embracing the technology, it's something that's going to come to New York and we should think about doing it sooner rather than later," said Pranger.

WABC TV Channel 7: MTA and Students

Thanksgiving Trip to D.C.

Had a wonderful time with the family in Washington, D.C. over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Saw many of the sites---the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Smithsonian Museums, etc. Even ran into Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke inside the National Arboretum!

Annual Fall Apple Picking

Sky Coaster at Lagoon

The kids decided to ride the "Sky Coaster" at Lagoon (one of Brent's favorite rides).

"A Lost Art"

Family friend and artist Cory Bjarnson painted Christopher's portrait for submission in an art competition at the National Portrait Gallery. The 24"x36" oil-on-linen piece, entitled "A Lost Art," depicts a young boy (Christopher), his back turned to modern distractions symbolized by a violent game on a computer screen, reading Lust for Life, Irving Stone's biography of Vincent Van Gogh. Christopher certainly has a lust for life and for learning!

Special Tabernacle and Welfare Square Tour

While in Utah, the family was treated to a special tour of Welfare Square and the restored Tabernacle on Temple Square. The behind-the-scenes tour also included a lunch with family friend Elder John K. Carmack.