Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Ice Days
We've been having some pretty exciting weather out here in Kansas City. We had about 4 days of freezing rain. Everything is coated in ice. The rain started on Saturday evening. Nate and I were supposed to go to Lawrence to hang out with our friends, Abby and Mark, but that plan was thwarted by the weather. Then church was canceled the next morning. All week long I've been getting emails from KU and the community college telling everyone what to do in case school and finals have to be canceled because of the weather. School at JCCC was canceled yesterday. Luckily, that didn't affect me or my class because the plans for rescheduling finals sound like a real pain. Nate and a bunch of other Hallmark employees worked from home yesterday. I think most of these cancellations were slight overreactions, but there have been some upsides to all of this as well. For example, Nate and I went to the mall on Monday evening to do some Christmas shopping, and the place was blissfully empty.
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Hallmark Band
If you weren't familiar with the Hallmark company culture, you might be surprised to find out that we have a company sanctioned band. We perform at least 4 times a year. Our biggest concerts include the fourth of July concert and the two Christmas concerts. Hallmark holds a family night every year where employees can bring there families in to eat, shop, and listen to the band. Oh yeah, Santa comes to visit the children.
As you might imagine, Hallmark is very good about decorating the premises for the holidays. This tree, one of many, stands in the cafeteria where we hold most of our concerts.
Kansas city is all about crowns. The KC Royals use a crown, the KC Kings used a crown (before moving to Sacramento), and Hallmark uses a crown (e.g. Hallmark Gold Crown Stores). This a picture of the light fixtures in the cafeteria (officially known as the crown room).
Our band conductor comes in once a week to lead our group. He does a great job. We've had several conductors over the years. The founder of the band (pictured here with a Dr Seuss Santa hat) doubled as Santa this year.
I played trumpet for several years as a kid before I got braces. Here I am with the rest of the awesome trumpet section playing a Christmas jingle. To my left is my fellow friend and coworker, Bruce. He used to play in the BYU marching band. We're distantly related, by the way--his niece married my cousin. That makes us...?
The band is fun, and that's why I play. I have to work it into my weekly work routine, but it's definitely worth it. Several band members are excellent musicians, so I count myself lucky to be a part of this group.
As you might imagine, Hallmark is very good about decorating the premises for the holidays. This tree, one of many, stands in the cafeteria where we hold most of our concerts.
Kansas city is all about crowns. The KC Royals use a crown, the KC Kings used a crown (before moving to Sacramento), and Hallmark uses a crown (e.g. Hallmark Gold Crown Stores). This a picture of the light fixtures in the cafeteria (officially known as the crown room).
Our band conductor comes in once a week to lead our group. He does a great job. We've had several conductors over the years. The founder of the band (pictured here with a Dr Seuss Santa hat) doubled as Santa this year.
I played trumpet for several years as a kid before I got braces. Here I am with the rest of the awesome trumpet section playing a Christmas jingle. To my left is my fellow friend and coworker, Bruce. He used to play in the BYU marching band. We're distantly related, by the way--his niece married my cousin. That makes us...?
The band is fun, and that's why I play. I have to work it into my weekly work routine, but it's definitely worth it. Several band members are excellent musicians, so I count myself lucky to be a part of this group.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Thanksgiving in Dallas
Nate and I had a great time in Dallas for Thanksgiving with Jen, Rod, Savannah, and Will. On Thanksgiving day we had an awesome meal at the Hinze home. We had a full house - lots of friends, all of their kids, and tons of good food.
Here are the cute, Hinze kids. Savannah was always ready for a ride in the car. We listened to some of her fun music, and she sang along for us.
We learned that Will loves technology. When Will would cry (something he did quite a lot because he thinks I'm scary) Nate would take him to play on the computer or teach him how to turn the lights on and off. This picture was taken with Jen's Mac. Will loves playing with the telephone, and that was lucky for us because he brought him a toy telephone from Kansas City.
Jen, Savannah, and Will took us to see some of the cool museums in Ft. Worth. They have a great American art museum. Savannah had a fun time telling us about all the different colors in the paintings, and Will loved the horse sculptures. He pointed at every horse sculpture we saw. Below the four of us pose in front of a Frederic Remington painting.
The next day we went to Fossil Rim. Going to Fossil Rim is kind of like going on a safari. The animals roam through the park, and you can feed them from your car. The European Red Deer were particularly friendly. They stuck their heads all the way into the car and ate from our hands. We also had a really good time feeding the zebras. But we didn't feed the zebras from our hands because Savannah kept reminding us that "zebras bite." Unfortunately we don't have very many pictures of the park because our camera broke halfway through the experience. We had to buy a new camera battery.
Here are the cute, Hinze kids. Savannah was always ready for a ride in the car. We listened to some of her fun music, and she sang along for us.
Jen, Savannah, and Will took us to see some of the cool museums in Ft. Worth. They have a great American art museum. Savannah had a fun time telling us about all the different colors in the paintings, and Will loved the horse sculptures. He pointed at every horse sculpture we saw. Below the four of us pose in front of a Frederic Remington painting.
Luckily we did get a shot of the ostrich that stuck it's head all the way into our car and tried to steal our food bag. We grabbed it away from her, but not before she ripped a hole in the bag.
Thanks for showing us such a fun time, Jen, Rod, Savannah and Will. We are looking forward to seeing you in January.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
The Steamboat Arabia
Mom came for another visit in the month of November. Among other things, we visited the Steamboat Arabia museum, which has preserved thousands of artifacts from an 1856 wreckage on the Missouri River. You can learn all about it at www.1856.com.
The Arabia sank just a few miles upstream from Kaw Point, where the Kansas and Missouri river come together.
The Arabia sank in very shallow water. It turns out that hundreds of steamboats sank during the 1800's due to the shallow water and snags in the river. All passengers safely escaped the wreck, but all the cargo was lost and buried in mud for over 100 years.
The boat was dug out of this old corn field along the Missouri in the winter of 1987. The river had long since changed its course by then. Digging in the cold gave the artifacts a greater likelihood of staying preserved. The dig required several pumps to keep water out of the hole. After salvaging the cargo, the pumps were turned off and the hole quickly filled up with water and mud.
The boat was excavated by a private party of treasure hunters. After uncovering thousands of artifacts, the group decided to preserve the collection in a museum in downtown Kansas City. We got a chance to meet the head of the excavation, Dave Hawley, who is still hunting for another boat to dig up along the Missouri river.
Everything in the boat was perfectly preserved due to the mud and the cold. Even cloth was preserved. What remains fills a display that is somewhat of a 1850's WalMart.
The museum boasts that it holds the largest collection of artifacts from the 1800's. Every piece, including individual nails have to be hand cleaned and preserved. Only half of the cargo has been cleaned so far. The other half awaits in a freezer. They estimate it will take another 20 years before they are finished.
The number of artifacts truly was overwhelming, and it was fun to gain insights into what things these pioneers owned and how they lived.
Every single button found on the Arabia has been preserved. They found liquor and pickles that still hold their taste. There was reports of gold being transported on the Arabia, but despite diligent efforts, they only dug up a total of 23 cents.
Tragically, the Arabia was headed for Council Bluffs, Iowa (across the river from Winter Quarters). A large percentage of the passengers was a group of Mormons heading west. They, along with everyone else, lost everything in the shipwreck. This wall in the museum was dedicated to them and their trek westward.
The Arabia sank just a few miles upstream from Kaw Point, where the Kansas and Missouri river come together. 
The Arabia sank in very shallow water. It turns out that hundreds of steamboats sank during the 1800's due to the shallow water and snags in the river. All passengers safely escaped the wreck, but all the cargo was lost and buried in mud for over 100 years.
The boat was dug out of this old corn field along the Missouri in the winter of 1987. The river had long since changed its course by then. Digging in the cold gave the artifacts a greater likelihood of staying preserved. The dig required several pumps to keep water out of the hole. After salvaging the cargo, the pumps were turned off and the hole quickly filled up with water and mud. 
The boat was excavated by a private party of treasure hunters. After uncovering thousands of artifacts, the group decided to preserve the collection in a museum in downtown Kansas City. We got a chance to meet the head of the excavation, Dave Hawley, who is still hunting for another boat to dig up along the Missouri river.
Everything in the boat was perfectly preserved due to the mud and the cold. Even cloth was preserved. What remains fills a display that is somewhat of a 1850's WalMart.
The museum boasts that it holds the largest collection of artifacts from the 1800's. Every piece, including individual nails have to be hand cleaned and preserved. Only half of the cargo has been cleaned so far. The other half awaits in a freezer. They estimate it will take another 20 years before they are finished.
The number of artifacts truly was overwhelming, and it was fun to gain insights into what things these pioneers owned and how they lived.
Every single button found on the Arabia has been preserved. They found liquor and pickles that still hold their taste. There was reports of gold being transported on the Arabia, but despite diligent efforts, they only dug up a total of 23 cents.
Tragically, the Arabia was headed for Council Bluffs, Iowa (across the river from Winter Quarters). A large percentage of the passengers was a group of Mormons heading west. They, along with everyone else, lost everything in the shipwreck. This wall in the museum was dedicated to them and their trek westward.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)