It is sometimes hard to believe that my baby boy is now 10 years old. Where does the time go? Mr. Andy is now 10. He is becoming a little more independent every day. There are still a lot of things I do for him or with him. It will be interesting to watch as he grows.
I only visited 3 stores today to try and get this new go cart on the move. The third store was the most effective and I only had to visit it 3 times. I have a new belt on order and that will hopefully make a big difference. In the meantime I made a few adjustments to the engine and we got this thing moving. It is a pretty cool ride and the kids are loving it. It is not a machine that will require no maintenance or tinkering. On the last run of the day the chain came off because the bolts used to mount the engine came loose and the engine slid and tension was lost. So it will be a toy to tinker with. Maybe some kids will have to learn some tinkering ways.
The kids got to drive go carts before they came home from Alaska. Upon arriving home the only thing I have heard out of Jack is that he wants a go cart. I have looked online for one and have seen a few but they were a little pricey. In a chance encounter on the blog shop today I found one in Cedar for a great price. I took the boys out to see it and there was no stopping it at that point. I had to get the trailer and a put a hitch on the car. Well, we now have a go cart in the garage. There will be some cosmetic and clean up work to do that should be fun. Everyone is pretty excited.
Had a home teaching visit today with the Arnold family. They are good people and I truly enjoy visiting with them. They have great insight and a great love for the gospel.
In reading through the First Presidency message by President Eyring titled The Hope of Eternal Family Love my thoughts turned to Grandma Vi and Grandpa Al. I thought about their lives together or the time that I saw them together. I thought about the missions I watched them serve and the great love they had serving together in Switzerland, Australia and again in New Zealand. They were great examples to me.
In the message President Eyring referenced Doctrine and Covenants 14:7 which says that eternal life is the greatest of all the gifts of God. This gift in relation to the plan of salvation gives us hope, it provides peace to our souls and fills us with comfort and gratitude in times of loss and mourning. It was in this light that I thought about Grandma Vi passing. Grandpa had dies several years prior. Thoughts of her being reunited with him and being freed from the pains of life she had been enduring in her later years filled me with gratitude at the time of her passing. I miss my time visiting her, sharing laughs, having her breakfast casserole and washing dishes together afterwards. I found great comfort, peace and joy at the time of her passing because of the peace that the gospel brings and because of that greatest gift, even eternal life.
Today Makayla got married to Zach Adams. They have been dating longer than I have known Makayla and she has worked for us for 4 years. Wonderful day for them. I stopped over at the reception with mom, Amy and Sam. Good times.
Dan was changing the clutch on his truck today and needed some help. I went over and helped a few different times. He was having some challenges and had to run to St. George to pick up some tools. After the reception I changed and returned to help drop the transmission. It was a fun job that we used floor jacks for and managed to work it out nicely. There was definitely a lot of work taking things apart to get to the clutch. It was good stuff and I saw the inner workings of the clutch for the first time.
I am actually writing this on Sunday morning because I slept through what I wrote last night and it made no sense at all. Disastrous but it did give me a laugh this morning.
Tonight I was working as we didn't have one of our leads available and considering how busy it was last Friday it seemed like a good idea for me to be there. Though we had a couple little spurts it wasn't ever crazy for hours on end. Anyway, nice day. At one point I cooked up a patty and tested a muffalatta burger. I think it actually tasted pretty fantastic. Must sleep.
The air conditioner in the car went out yesterday so I took the car to the dealership and they are going to get it squared away. In the meantime I am driving a loaner. It isn't anything special, a little Toyota Corolla. Jack really wanted to go for a drive tonight so after scripture and prayer tonight we went out for a little spin. It had been raining so the streets were a little wet. I pulled on the e brake a little and it started beeping. I pulled again and the wheels locked up for a second and it squealed the tires. Jack was laughing hysterically and really wanted me to write about it on the blog tonight. So, there we have it Jack.
Pops was transferred down to Dixie Regional in St. George and was scheduled to have his gallbladder removed today. I was planning on a temple trip this week so I decided today would be a good day for it. I ended up leaving town later than I originally thought I would but then had a great experience in the temple. I was in initiatories and after the first name there was a shift with ordinance workers. On the new crew was my dear friend Guy Gilespie. We had a little moment there in the last part of the ordinance where guy got pretty emotional and my eyes were a bit wet as well. It was great to see him there and we had a chance to talk afterwards. He really enjoys serving in the temple. It is good for him as he misses his wife terribly. The temple helps him keep everything in perspective and that is a great blessing for him. I realize Guy is just a name on this paper to you but to me he is a great friend that started out as a customer that was skeptical of our sandwich, the Ruby. I remember his first visit and how he gave me a hard time for having marble rye instead of Russian rye. He decided to give it a try and he loved it. It was also his birthday that day and so we gave him a cookie Sunday and sang. He loved it and we have been friends ever since. Happy to see him doing well today.
After the temple I went over and saw pops. He hadn't been in for surgery yet. Mom was there and I sat and visited with them for awhile. Nothing was happening and I needed to get back to Cedar to get Andy to his martial arts class. Finally a few hours later ma reported they got him in and then a few hours later he was back in the room. All appears to be well.
From the title you might gather that the picture is of Andy hunting Pokemon at the hospital. You would be partially correct. The picture features Andy on the hunt but the location is not the hospital. Anyway, we walked all over campus and Andy caught some things.
While out with Andy on our hunt I got a text from mom saying pops was in the ER. I went over to check on him and his gallbladder has some issues. Looks like a serious enough problem that there will be some work Done. I gave him a blessing.
I can no longer keep my eyes open so I'm calling it
It was time. The boys were a bit on the shaggy side and looking a bit scraggly so tonight the clippers unleashed a torrent of hair trimming madness. First we put Jack on top of the foot stool that sits on top of a chair and puts him at nearly the perfect height. Andy followed shortly thereafter and wasn't drastically different. I think they are looking good. Jack has pictures tomorrow so that was a good enough reason to get the hair cutting going. Good and hairy times.
After dinner was done and dinner jobs completed the boys and I were set to walk up to the high school and go around the track a few times. When we got outside we discovered that it was raining so we had to make different plans and ended up going on a drive. We drove up the hill and by the temple. I love to see the progress being made there. We then headed out Lund Highway and turned at the road that goes to Three Peaks. We came up to old Minersville road and took that up to the highway and then over to Providence center. It was a good little drive. We listened to a Hank Smith talk that I think was called real life. I could be mistaken but I think that is right. It is a great talk and certainly provided an uplifting message for our drive. We'll have to put in another Hank Smith talk and drive.
For some odd reason I agreed to putting Pokemon go on our family phone. Really it came to Andy being relentless in asking for it and me being caught in a moment of weakness. Dang I am tired right now. Anyway there were a lot of people walking around SUU staring at their mobile phones. It was crazy.
Stopped in to the store tonight to drop off some supplies from two stores and then discovered some additional things that were needed so I went back to the store. I got back and helped make muffalatta mix then ended up on the line for a while. It stayed pretty busy. It was fun to make some sandwiches and to be back in the kitchen. It was also a little frustrating because it is friday, a delivery day, and we were out already. Argh! Well tomorrow is another day.
Since I could not add Mr. Andy to the first day of school post I decided I better give him his own post. He is in a great class this year. I'm hopeful that he will have a great year. Love this boy and his siblings as well.
Somehow I manage to find myself walking around Wal-Mart pretty much everyday. Not on Sunday because I don't shop on Sunday. Once a day or close to it, I can be found at the local store. When I started this post I had a cool message to share. That thought has gone. I fell asleep and just woke up and can't remember what I had in mind. Well, don't have anything right now.
The kids are back in school today. Seems to me that it is going to be a busy year for everyone. I don't know what to expect and am not sure how Jack is going to do with the load that he has. There seems to be a lot that hits in seventh grade. Maybe it really isn't that much but it feels like it is heavy right now. It is going to take some discipline to keep everybody on task. Here is a pic of Natty and Jack from this morning. I've tried to add a pic of Andy but the blogger keeps crashing. I will try to add it later. I have stayed up way to late tonight which will make tomorrow fun. Time to shut it down.
Tomorrow the kids are headed back to school. The summer went fast, way fast. It can kind of get long at times and then things speed up. Tonight I did something - ok so I have no idea what I did. That thought was happening a few hours ago. I fell asleep and just woke up. Well, in a few hours the kids will be getting up for the first day of school. Very exciting time of year. We will let this suffice for today.
I am currently serving as the Sunday School President in our ward. It is a wonderful calling and I quite enjoy it. I work with some tremendous brethren in the presidency and with some excellent teachers. A couple of things to note today. Jake Whetman, who has served as my first counselor, was released today. They have sold their home and will be moving. That is a big loss for me as Jake has been a great counselor. Sad to see him go. They did call my new counselor and sustained him today. Blake Clark is joining the presidency and we are excited to have him with us. Funny thing is that Jake's wife was a counselor in the primary and was released. Blake's wife was called to be a counselor in the primary. Funny how that worked out.
We had our first teacher training council meetings today. I thought they went rather well and I am looking forward to next month. Today we talked about teaching in the saviors way, teacher training councils and a few other things. We had some excellent comments in both meetings and I walked away feeling very positive about everything. Most were unfamiliar with the new program so the intro was intended to introduce everyone with the program. We had Brother Thorley from the Bishopric there and he shared some welcoming thoughts. We watched Elder Holland introduce teacher training councils. We shared some impressions,talked about some things to study for next month and I think just got more comfortable with the program. I left excited about what we have happening. Truly the leaders of the church are inspired and this program has great potential to help everyone draw nearer to Christ.
Andy loves walkie talkies though he refers to them as talkie walkies. He loves to communicate using the device even when he is only a few feet away. It is really pretty funny. Yesterday while we were hanging out at the campsite waiting for the other scouts to arrive the boys had a great conversation on talkie walkie as shown in the attached picture. We had a good time camping and enjoying the out of doors. I think I am well spent .must retire.
I am up at Navajo Lake with Jack and the scouts. Andy is with us because if I was coming he was coming too. This is my first time to Navajo Lake and it appears to be quite a nice area. We are not actually near the lake but at a camp ground west of it. It is cooler and I am suddenly regretting not having pants. Everything but my legs are warm now so come 2 am I am going to be freezing. At least I didn't forget my sleeping bag this time. I think everyone is having a good time though Jack is not a camping fan. He said he will only go in a camper. Guess I'll need To start looking but not seriously. I've had a good time hanging out with Andy Nelson today. He has some great stories. Well we've had scriptures And prayers and even a blessing. I think it is time to call it a night.
We took a trip down south today and explored a cool camping area called Oak Grove. The campground was actually closed for a forest service thing but we were able to park and hike around on a trail that is just north to the campground. It was pretty sweet and there were some great views. After the hike we headed further south and had a little dinner at Costco. The boys had some pizza and that brought smiles all around. We love us a little Costco snack bar. It was a fun trip that we'll have to do again.
Though his birthdAy isn't until the last day in August we picked him up an early birthday surprise. It was awesome to have Andy excited and ready to go. and go he did. I would say more but I cant stay awake. Must sleep in.
I went about doing some trim work on the shed today. I then came back and installed a drip edge which probably should have installed before doing the shingles. No worries we made it work. I did buy a gutter to go on the roof where it hits the edge and drains. That is just about the last thing I need to do on this. I still have some painting of the trim but that will be before I install the gutters. I guess I still have quite the amount of concrete to do as well. It is coming along though.
Suicides? I taught Jack a move I used to do on the trampoline. We called them suicides. He has been on the trampoline multiple times today and he loves it. It was fun to see him excited about being out there.
My gosh I am tired right now.it is high time I start getting everyone to bed earlier. We are in for some painfully early mornings next week. Don't know if I am ready for that.
I have a few assessments that I need to do as part of my transferring to WGU. Today I did two of them and tomorrow I will hopefully get through the other two. One of the remaining tests is for math and I am pumped. I can't believe how tired I am . well, I've got to be crashing now.
Sometimes I am so creative. 4t3, I could very easily have just left out the t but that wouldn't have been as fancy. Well the message of the title is that I have reached the ripe old age of 43. Hard to believe I know, but it is true. When I was a wee lad I used to think 40 was so old. Here I am at 43 realizing just how young it really is. It is a wonderful thing. Maybe I am just a kid at heart and mind. It was a great day for a birthday.
I may make reference every year around my birthday to the fact that the best birthday gift I could ask for is the safe return of my children. I have enjoyed that gift this year as well. I did not sit alone today at church. It was wonderful and it was equally wonderful to see big Jack pass the sacrament. I am grateful for family and the time we share together,
Way back in 1995 I was given a very prestigious award by my friend and fellow missionary Elder Woffindon. We were not companions but we did serve in the Bellville ward together. We were helping some members out with a home they were building and by helping we found ourselves moving a bunch of dirt. We were filling wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with dirt and moving it to the back of the house which was a steep decline. That is what we did and it was great fun. I liked to have fun with Service and so I made this game with the wheelbarrows. When we would come back for another load we started jumping the wheelbarrows off a little dirt ramp of sorts and would do weird tricks with our feet whilst in the air. It was nothing serious but we were having a good time with it. For fun Woffindon with the help of the members made a wheelbarrow jumping champion certificate and awarded it to me. I might still have that in my mission box. Those were fun days.
Today I got up close and personal with my wheelbarrow. Last week I went to move a load of shingles in it and one of the handles snapped in half. That barrow was less than two months old. I went to see if they had replacement handles available but they did not. I did the next best thing and picked up a couple of 2 X 2's. Today I tore apart what was left and then rebuilt the wheelbarrow with new handcrafted handles. It turned out really well. If only there was a mound of dirt I could jump it off.
The boys and indent out on a bike ride today. I told Jack about riding the East Bench trail and he wanted to do it. We set off and after an uphill climb to start the ride Andy was done and went Home while Jack and I continued on. It was a good ride. Tonight I am completely wiped out and I must needs sleep.
I don't have shingles. None of my kids have shingles. I am not referring to that type of shingles. I got up this morning and climbed atop the roof and began work . Holy cow I am exhausted. Must sleep, must sleep now.
This morning the kids flew in from Alaska. We have been hard at it with the travel in the last t so days. I am so tired at the moment. ... I just now woke up. Simply passed out. Anyhow, it is good to be home, it is wonderful to have my beautiful children home again.
I am right now sitting on the beach, Huntington Beach to be exact. I am here to pick the kids up. They fly out of Anchorage tonight and arrive in Long Beach at 730 in the morning. My plan was to get into town early and go to the beach. I even pulled out my flipper from my Hawaii days, that's only been 26 years and I borrowed a boogie board from Dave. Unfortunately I was unable to leave as early as I wanted to and traffic pretty much sucked from Stateline all the way in. It was stop and go for several miles through Baker and then after a short reprieve we were back to stop and go through the agriculture checkpoint. After that it flowed fairly well until I got to the 605 which was a parking lot. So my boogie boarding dreams died on the highways today. The beach opens at 5 am and the thought has run through my head to come in the morning. I don't know if ill make it so I'm just sitting here enjoying a salty breeze while waves crash on the shore. The next time we come this way I'm bringing boards and I'm having at least one full beach day. It has been to long.
