Sweet Rejoicing

Had a great day. It was a full day that included time at both shops, a Brick House shopping excursion, taking in a basketball game at SUU, talking to pops, working on the last part of my task, running over to see Dave and fam at the Brick House, making a temple trip, testing some of the lobster goodness at the Depot and then getting my task submitted.  Wonderful.  It was a time for sweet rejoicing. I am hopeful that it will pass the first time around. Just wanting to get another one down. Need to get through this schooling. It is hard at times to keep things moving forward expeditiously.  I will do my best to stay focused.  It always feel good to get through a class and it will certainly be a day for celebration when I get through all of this. 

Getting There

Today I made some additional progress on my task.  I have three essays to write where I will justify various parts of my lesson plan.  I hope it will come together fairly easily tomorrow as I just want to get it done.  If there is something I can do to distract myself from sitting and writing this stuff and working through this task, I do it.  I went out late this morning and took a break from the books by spraying down the truck engine with degreaser and then shooting it down with the pressure washer.  Well, it then became necessary to take it for a little drive.  It was squealing like crazy with the moisture that got on the belt and so a nice little drive was needed to help eliminate that.  I got back and sat down to get all serious when I received a message that the internet was down at work and I needed to run in and fix it.  I ran in and then spent a couple hours there working on various projects. I left there and had to run to the store to pick up new sink drains as our triple sink is leaking all over the place.  Turns out the sink drains have rusted out and water just dumps right out onto the floor in a couple of the basins.  Not good.  I also found a 5 gallon bucket of semi-gloss paint for $30.  That is great.  I need to paint the kitchen so this was a fabulous find. Lots to do.  I am going to finish this assignment tomorrow and get it submitted before the end of the year. I wanted also to get one more class done by the end of the year but that just didn't happen.  We will push to get it done in the next couple of weeks. 

Our hopes yesterday of pops being transferred to a long term care facility in Cedar came crashing down today.  The antibiotic that he is on is very rare and very expensive apparently.  So expensive in fact that the facility hear doesn't carry it and can't afford the dosage needed as it costs them $500 per day for the products.  That is pretty hefty especially with the idea that pops will be on it for 6 weeks.  There is a chance for a St. George miracle and maybe we will get lucky there.  It isn't a lot of fun.   

Tasking

I am here trying to get through the task for my current PE/Health methods class for elementary ed. I need to get this done so I can knock out another three credits and keep moving towards student teaching.  I don't quite know what to think about this anymore.  So much of it feels like busywork that it becomes less than desirable to do  I can't let that get me down and really just need to keep pressing forward.  It does get a bit old and I would rather just be done but must needs complete the tasks at hand  I made it half way through my current task today and am trying to identify what lesson to focus on in my lesson plan.  Oh boy, never ends.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get through another hefty chunk of the task.  

Truckin

Tonight I took a box over to the dumpster at the Brick House and took over the latest load of pig buckets. I drove the truck. Afterwards I decided to go for a bit of a drive. I took the truck south of town on the frontage road that runs down past Hamilton Fort. I got on the 15 heading North and drove out to the Summit exit about 8 miles North of Cedar.  It ran pretty well and handled 80 MPH well enough. I came back in to town and then took it up the Canyon to where the Kolob Reservoir turnoff is, just before Milts. It ran fine. By fine I don't mean perfect. It was a little rough and had random vibrations coming through the cab. Anyway, it was a good drive and not bad for this truck. It could be smoother and maybe one day it will be... Or it won't because really it isn't that vital or that bad. It was just a good old time this evening. 

Catering

We had a family come in for a meal today that we catered for them. It was the Hawaiian meal and I have decided that I do way too much food for this meal. It was supposed to be for 20 people. They had plenty of food. Would have probably fed 35 or 40 without a problem.  Anyway, that was pretty much my day. Took care of some pig buckets and then feeding the pigs with Dan. Went over and played a new game called Bears and Babies or something like that. It was pretty amusing. Gotta get on the school stuff tomorrow. Want to knock out these classes.

Christmas Day 2017

Had Christmas morning and afternoon with Jim and Clo and fam.  It was a nice morning and I was surprised by a few gifts.  Very thoughtful and very much appreciated. I was thinking that I would be spending the day alone and am glad that I decided to go down to Vegas.  Had a good time.

Went over to the hospital this afternoon to visit with pops.  He is waiting for an echo-cardiogram. It was supposed to happen yesterday but his blood pressure was low so they cancelled.  He is scheduled for it tomorrow and we are hopeful that can happen.  He still seems to be in a lot of pain when it comes to his back. A lot of wincing when the nurse was in moving him around. He wants to be home, with the amount of pain he looks to be in I am a bit nervous about his ability to move when he does get home. I do think he will be in a much better mood when he is home and will have the ability to rest more fully. Hoping he can get this cardiogram done, the MRSA can clear up, and he gain regain his strength.

The drive home tonight was good.  The roads were not busy which was nice. Just got on the highway and drove. I opened the sun roof and sang along to some great music. Twas a fine strategy for keeping myself alert and attentive.

Good to be home. Have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow with some catering. Also have to get through a task and move on to my next course.  

Christmas Evening 2017

Had a wonderful sacrament meeting today. The Corey's spoke and did a great job. Meagan shared something they did this year called the 25 days of Christ. At the beginning of December they started out reading about the birth of the Savior and then every day after that they studied other parts of his life and ministry. I really liked that. I had some pies I needed to make this afternoon and put on Luke 2 and then listened to the rest of the book of Luke as I made pies and then cleaned up. It was pretty neat to listen to the experiences and the parables of Jesus. I enjoyed that very much as it gave me the opportunity to listen and reflect on the Savior as well as my own life. I am so grateful for the Savior and his example. I am grateful for his patience with me, grateful for his love for me, grateful that he was willing to take upon him my sins and transgressions. I love Him.

I drove down to Vegas this afternoon and early evening. Much thanks to Jim and Clo for having me. Enjoyed some dinner and was treated to a Gatrell family Christmas tradition as we watched Ben Hur. It was pretty fantastic. 

Grateful now to rest and look forward to another wonderful day tomorrow.

Work

Made a run up to the temple tonight. It was a great time. I was just so
Thankful for those who serve there. I really was filled with gratitude .

Cold Repair

This evening Dan and I went back to work on the truck. We were reinstalling the new water pump that we put in a couple weeks ago. The job went pretty well. It looks good right now. Hopefully we've got it dialed in.  It was cold as we worked and by the time we got through it we were hurting. My feet were pretty well freezing. It sounded good when I fired it up and drove it home. Granted that was only two houses down the street. Tomorrow I will look at it a bit closer.

The kids made it to Bethel. Their flight was cancelled this morning because of weather. Tonight they were able to go and have made it safely.

The Kids

The kids have arrived in Alaska. They did not make it all the way to Bethel today as their flight out of Vegas was delayed. This caused them to miss their connecting flight in Seattle. Well, after a long day I am wiped out.  .Must rest.

Unhappy Phone

I don't know why. It for some reason my phone has issues at Jim and Clorinda's house. It just doesn't want to charge. A few days ago when we were here I couldn't get it to charge and now today the struggle continues.

The kids are flying out in the morning. Staying the night here so we don't have the long drive in the morning. Cedar is also getting snow right now which is one more thing we would have to fight.

Speaking of one more thing to fight. There has been a storm blowing in. It was a battle on the road the entire drive. Had a bit of a surprise when a tumbleweed the size of a vw bug slammed right into us. That made things exciting. Happy to be here. Need rest. Long day tomorrow.

Temple Cleaning

Signed up for our wards Temple cleaning assignment tonight. Went in a little before 10 and worked for a couple hours dusting and vacuuming. It was fantastic. I love that place and having any opportunity to be there is an excellent opportunity.

Did a little Christmas with the kids tonight before we leave tomorrow. They were pretty thrilled with their gifts. It was a good night. We read a story from Elder Holland that is quite powerful about a Christmas in his past when his father passed away. It hit pretty hard as we thought about our current situation with pops. Fortunately pops is improving and getting stronger. There is still a long way to go. We have hope.  In any case, that is the message from Elder Holland. We have hope through the ups and downs of life because of Christ and all he makes possible. I am so very grateful for my Savior and all that is possible because of him.

No News

Still waiting for an update on dad in regards to treatment. That is a little discouraging. Would like to know what kind of treatment and what we are looking at for recovery. Mom did report that he was more alert today and even smiled at one of her jokes. That is good news.

Keeping busy. Trying to get the kids ready to go. Lots of laundry to be done. Pretty much through the laundry. I want to be packed and ready to go by tomorrow night. 

The Call

Sometime around 1 AM Jim got the call from mom. Pops needed to go to the bathroom but lacked the strength to get up from the bed and go. He got down to Lad Vegas yesterday and found himself in incredible pain in his back. The slightest move had him wincing in pain. Jim had given him a blessing earlier and they had purchased a heating pad for him. He was still in severe pain.

Jim came and woke me up. I had gone to bed about an hour prior and was sleeping pretty well. He told me the situation. I started getting dressed and started wondering if it was a dream, then Jim same back to the room and we left. It was not a dream.

We got to the hotel and found pops looking way out of it on the bed. We tried to get him up but he was in a lot of pain. We readjusted and tried again. We managed to get him up and in a rolling desk chair. Once in the bathroom, we got lucky because there was a lot of room. Anyhow, we finally got him up. I basically bear hugged him and stood him up whilst Jim took down his pants. We sat him down.

He was very non responsive on the toilet. Just sat there. We tried to help but not much happening. He was out of it. We talked about getting him to the ER and decided that based on the fact that he was so weak and in so much pain, He would need an ambulance.

I decided to give pops a toilet test whilst waiting for the ambulance. I asked if he wanted me to get him his phone so he could post something on facebook. He actually perked up a smidgen and asked what was on Facebook?  I don't know if he truly knew what was happening. 

They came and got him and off to UMC he went. We met them over there. The waiting room at the ER was a pretty scary place. It was like a homeless shelter. We all survived.

It took a couple of hours just to get mom back in the area they put him.  Around 4:30 in the AM we were on our way back to Jim's house. Slept until 10 minutes after 8 and then got up and went to church. Mariens homecoming talk was excellent. Loved it and am so grateful for her example.

Anyway, the news came. He has fluid in the lungs and around the heart. The cardiologist team is assessing the situation and are going to do an angiogram. There is a good possibility of heart surgery. The heart is struggling to keep up.

I went in and saw him before we headed back to Cedar. He was completely out of it still. Last I saw him not that way was Friday night. Scary. Talked to mom a bit and she is feeling good about the doctors and the nurse she met. I am grateful for that.

We had to get home for the kids to finish out the semester, get packed, and then head back down to Vegas to fly out to Alaska. Hopefully we will have some improvements over the next couple days and he is looking better when I see him next.

It has been a long and beautiful day. Grateful for the hand of the Lord in our lives. I know he knows and is aware of each of us. So grateful for that. So grateful for the wonderful Spirit at church today and for the impact it had on Natalie. I am grateful that pops is in capable hands.

11/16/17

I just finished typing this and then managed to erase it all.

Jack and I went and participated in a church cleaning assignment. It was a great time. After that I played Santa at the brick house. Rough day, not a lot of excitement.

We are in Vegas. Came in for Mariens homecoming report. Looking forward to it.  Now, I must sleep

Fudge

I made fudge today for Christmas gifts. Knocked out a few batches. Had a lot of running around earlier. Eventually took the boys to dinner. Received a couple of tickets to star wars from chef and his wife. It was great. Must sleep.

Caught Up

I have been working hard with the boys on their homework and getting all missing assignments in.  I probably need to make an adjustment to our daily homework routine because they seem to be forgetting certain assignments and then we have to spend time making them up later.  I ask what they have for homework everyday and they usually forget all about anything besides reading, trombone practice, and math.  Science tends to be forgotten, which is weird because both of the boys really enjoy science.  Well anyway, we have worked hard and I think the boys are now officially caught up on everything.  I hope they are.

The Natty has been hard at work trying to get all of her stuff in and her grade in math up. She had one of her best tests today in math and is feeling positive. That is good.  I am trying to teach her that late assignments are not accepted at the next level and she really needs to learn how to discipline herself so that she can stay caught up.  It just makes life so much easier when you're out in front of it rather than lagging behind.

Well, time for me to go and get caught up on some sleep.  

Passed

Took a test today and wasn't feeling all that confident as I went through it.  I mean, I felt okay about some of it and then I had to use my best reasoning skills on a lot of the questions.  I did pretty well with that as I passed with exemplary marks.  Pretty cool.  I had passed the pre-assessment with an okay score but was low in a few areas. I reviewed some of the material and decided I knew enough to take the final. I guess I was right. That is nice.  Now I have to knock out the task portion of the class and then will move on to the next one.  Have to keep things moving.  Have to speed them up. 

Andy had a band concert tonight.  I would say it was his first band concert but he had one for summer band back in June.  He did pretty well.  It is pretty amazing what the band teachers accomplish at Cedar Middle School.  They have a great system and I am excited for Andy and what he is learning. Wonderful. 

Well, I have to go and move some laundry. It is one of those things I do at midnight sometimes.  Then I am off to bed and ready to start it all again tomorrow. 

Pigs

I am not a pig farmer but have truly enjoyed learning more about these animals.  I'm not saying I really know much about these animals but they sure are fun.  We go out to feed them and they get excited to see us. They jump up and hustle over to the front of the pen. The pigs get eager for the food.  They jump into the trough at times, they don't really move out of the way when I am dumping in the food.  They just let it fall on their heads and then go about eating it.  Interesting.  Sometimes we hang out and give them a bit of a back scratch. They seem to quite enjoy it and push for some attention.  Good times. I take seriously my need to provide them with food.  You will often find me pulling food out of the trash can and putting it in the pig bucket when someone forgets.  I am constantly looking out for the pigs.  We enjoy those pigs. 

BHS

BHS does not stand for some high school somewhere. Well, I know a few high schools with those initials, but tonight it is all about Brick House Santa. We had a special guest tonight, it was fantastic.  The Brick House Santa is likely to return for a few hours on Saturday. Should be a good time. We certainly had a good time tonight. And now, I must pass out.

Dedication

What a glorious day! I was so excited when the announcement was made that Cedar City would have a temple. Today we participated in the dedication of that temple. I don't know how to adequately express the joy I feel for this beautiful house of God.

There were excellent messages shared. One by President Johnson, 1st Counselor in the Cedar Temple Presidency, talked about the writing of the hymn High on The Mountain Top. This hymn was written by one of his relatives in 1853 in Enoch, just north of Cedar City. He talked about how when he wrote that hymn while living in Enoch, there was a very good possibility that he was looking at the very location upon which it now stands. I love that hymn and love it even more knowing the history.

It was a wonderful dedication. I am so very grateful for this temple and look forward to going and providing dedicated service.

Sad

One of the things I have been most excited about in recent years has been the Cedar City Temple.  Tomorrow it will be dedicated.  I am looking forward to taking my kids and participating in that great event.  How wonderful it will be to have a temple right here, a few short minutes from the house.  I am thrilled. 

With Temple dedications come the cultural celebrations that go with it. Natty and Jack both would have the opportunity to participate in that great event for the youth. Today was that celebration.  At 3 in the morning Natty began throwing up. It just kept coming.  She was in bed all day and continued to have the pukes.  I was sad that she would not be able to participate. I really hoped she would be there.

There were activities all day and we knew Jack was not going to do well with the sitting around and waiting so he stayed at home today and then I took him over to join the festivities at 5 PM when they gathered in the old 7th ward building to have dinner. It was not a good start as we walked in and there was a lot of noise and commotion in the cultural hall.  Though this is perfectly normal and expected with a large group of youth, especially after a long day, it is very much over-stimulating for Jack.  He did get himself something to eat and then he wanted to get out of the cultural hall.  I finally located the ward and then found Jack again.  We walked over to where the Ward was in the Relief Society room and Jack was done.  He wanted to be at home.  Nothing I could say would change his mind.

I went through a few different emotions as I left the church and thought about my kids not participating.  There was some anger, there was disappointment, and finally there was sadness.  I am sad that they were not there.  I understand it was great inside the arena. Andy and I watched some of the broadcast and it was quite good.

Well, that is my sad tale.  Nothing more to add tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a much greater day and we will all enjoy participating in the dedication.   

Tough

Andy was bullied at school today and had a rough go. A student told him he should go kill himself.  Andy shared the info with the teacher but the boy and his friends denied it.  The boy is off the hook and Andy is left feeling terrible. He was puzzled by that as was I. Sent a message to the principal and she wrote back and said she would dig into it on Monday and wanted Andy to come see her first thing. I appreciate the speedy response and the goodness of Mrs. Murray.  Now, must sleep.

Passed

Received word back today that I passed my performance assessment.  One more class down and still too many left. I've got to keep the ball rolling forward. The next class I am working on is a phys ed and nutrition class. I passed the pre-assessment for the class a couple of weeks ago.  Now it is time to get the assessment done. Feels good to have one more down. It took me too long to get through that class. I've got to make up some ground on this one and hopefully in the next few days I can get through it. 

In

Got my task turned in. Hope that it passes so I can complete this course. Tomorrow I am going to look at the test for my next class. I passed the pre-assessment and did fine.  I want to crank through and get things done.  My goodness. Passing out...Got to sleep.

Sickly

Today I had Andy home from school. We are both a bit under the weather. He was down and out until around 11. He needed that rest. I had some household things to take care of and did some laundry and cleaning. I did run in to both Brick House and Depot for a bit and then took Natty to the doctor this afternoon. It is hard to not feel well as life doesn't exactly slow down. Oh well, we survived and will continue to do so, gratefully. I certainly am strengthened by the Lord to carry the load. Without his hand in my life I would not be able to do so

Healthy

Sometimes all it takes to make one truly appreciate good health is being sick for a couple of days.  I have cold that I am battling and these kind of battles make me tired.  I think I am doing a pretty good job as I try to beat this thing and certainly didn't let it slow me down today but definitely appreciate being healthy a whole lot more.  To make things better we have dropped from the mid 60's on Saturday down to the mid 30's today.  That is a pretty dramatic jump in two days.  Yesterday was somewhere in between and wasn't too bad but it has been really noticeable today.  Of course I am still out there in shorts and a hoodie.  Maybe that has something to do with my not feeling well.  Jack was actually sick for the latter half of the week, Andy has been hacking a little and so it has been going around the house. Lots of running around today as I went to two stores two different times for the Brick House.  That is always fun. Hopefully the morning will find me well or at least on the mend.  I certainly don't want to get any worse than I am right now. I've had a cough that has gotten worse through the day - it has nothing to do with my shorts and the cold temps.  Anyway, certainly don't want what is in my throat to make its way down into my lungs.  Hoping for the best. 

Playing Santa

Yesterday was a very busy day. By the time I was sitting down to write the blog I was spent.  I had fallen asleep in my chair right after I sat down and began checking messages. I woke up and took care of a few more pressing things and then we did scripture and prayer and went to bed.  Actually, Andy fell asleep on the other chair at the same time I dozed off, we were all a little tired. Must have been the early start to the day as we went over and helped clean the church and helped get a few things set up for the Ward Christmas Party that was scheduled for later in the day.  

I was asked last Sunday if I would play Santa for the Christmas party.  I had mentioned a couple years ago that we had a suit in the family and would let someone borrow it if we couldn't make other arrangements for a Santa. The idea was that someone else could borrow it not that I would play Santa.  Well, the kids are older now and don't require my constant supervision so it really wasn't a big deal for me to put on the suit of red.  As I mentioned, it was a new experience for me and the suit was definitely hot.  

During the week I pondered the idea of playing Santa and gave some thought as to what I might say to the kids that came to see me, well, Santa.  It was a big task. I was representing someone else or some other idea.  Santa means a lot of things to a lot of different people and I didn't want to let any one down.  There were three things that came to my mind and included joy, love, and encouragement. 

Joy was really the tone setter.  These kids were usually pretty excited to see Santa. I wanted them to feel how excited Santa was to see them. It was joyous to see the light in their eyes and the smiles on their faces.  I did my best to show them my excitement and love for them individually.  This was awesome, it was indeed joyous.

Love. These were great kids and I wanted them to know that they were loved. I talked to them about the love that their families had for them and how good it was to visit with them.  Is their really a greater gift than love?  I hope each of the children walked away knowing that they were loved. 

Encouragement was giving them a call to action, an invitation to do good, to be good.  Shortly after beginning to bring the line of kids I received a package from Dan Dotson with wrapped pieces of coal to give out to teenagers and those that might be deserving of it. This was more of a joke for some of the older youth. It was fun and I talked to them about how good they each were. I would give them the lump of coal and then talked about it serving as a reminder to always do good, to do their very best. I talked to each child that visited Santa about showing love for their families and being helpful, especially during the holiday season.  

I asked them what they wanted for Christmas.  Some knew it exactly and spit it right out.  Some took some time to think about it. Some didn't care.  One girl asked me about a unicorn.  I told her they were beautiful animals but hard to come by.  I would have to see what I could do.  One little girl came up to me multiple times to excitedly tell me something knew she had forgotten.  It was great. I really enjoyed the excitement and wonder of the children.  

It came time for Santa to go.  I made my way out to my car and as I pulled away I spotted three little children out on the sidewalk staring and waiving at Santa.  I slowed down and waived back to them. I wished I would have had a few more of those treat baggies so that I could take it to them. Maybe I should have stopped to say hello. Three little ones, out on the sidewalk, thrilled to see Santa and hopefully thrilled that Santa saw them and waived to them.  

I played a part yesterday. I took it seriously and tried to live up to the idea of Santa. Not so much the commercial side of Santa but a Santa that loved and encouraged goodness.  It was a good experience and it sparked in me the thought that everyday I go out and I should be an example of the Savior.  I should treat others as he would treat them.  I should look past their faults and show them love for who they can become.  I should see them as a child of God and love them as such.  

I am grateful for Jesus Christ.  I know that he lives and that he loves each of us.  I am grateful for the things this experience taught me. I hope to do better at remembering Him and striving to be an example of him in all that I do. 

       

the

New Experience

I was Santa at the ward Christmas party this afternoon.  It was cool. Not something I had ever done before. The kids seemed to have a good time and I did my best to try and make their day.  One thing is for certain, that is one very hot suit.

Progress

Today I made some great progress on the lesson plan.  I had an idea yesterday and it came together this afternoon.  There are three parts remaining where I have to write essays about different parts of the lesson plan.  I hope to knock those out quickly but need to make sure I have logical explanations and support to back them up.  Tomorrow is going to be a pretty full day.  Have church cleaning assignment then I have a Santa engagement at the ward party, and have the SUU playoff game to work in the evening.  We want to put up Christmas lights as well and I am going to try and get that going after the cleaning assignment.  I don't know that I will squeeze in the essays and may have to wait on those until Monday.  I've got to keep pushing.  Happy to be making progress. It will be nice to finish.

Non Stop

Had one of those days that just didn't stop moving.  So much to do and I just kept going.  It was totally fine especially after the last two days were spent at the computer trying to do a lesson plan and to complete other task requirements.  That was not fun and though I still am not finished and must continue those labors, I had other things take priority today.  Tomorrow I will likely be back at the table working on this lesson plan and hopefully submitting it.  Tired of it.  It looks as if Saturday will be another one like today with a church cleaning assignment, a ward Christmas party, and the SUU playoff football game.  It should be a good one, like today. 

Tired of the Plan

I am trying to put together a lesson plan for the task I have to submit for my Mathematics methods course.  I am not doing very well as I struggle to put together this lesson plan.  I am not a big fan of lesson planning in these tasks as I really find them to be a pain.  I have grown tired of the lesson plans and would really like to not have to do them.  There is no way out of it so I will press forward and try to get this done.  I just don't have a lot of confidence and that bothers me.  Have to keep moving forward. 

Manipulatives

Working on a task for one of my classes and have to write a lesson plan based on mathematical manipulatives. I am not a math guy and am not very familiar with manipulatives so I found this project somewhat interesting as I got to explore both physical manipulatives and virtual manipulatives.  There are lots of cool things out there that I never had seen before in my life.  I have seen some things in picture form in a math book but never knew about actual products that could be handled and worked with.  That is pretty cool stuff.  I think there are a lot of things that would really be beneficial for students and would love to see my kids using some of these tools to help them better grasp a concept.

Things have been a bit on the challenging side for me this semester.  I need to knock out some credits and need to get this task submitted so I can keep moving forward.  I have things moving a long pretty well and know what direction I am heading with the lesson plan so that should help things progress.  I want to have the lesson plan finished and submitted by tomorrow and then take the final assessment for my phys ed and health concepts class.  Just trying to keep on track.  

Doctors and Meetings

It was a full and busy day for me today. Started out by taking Natty to the doctor. Well, technically it began with getting everyone up for prayer, getting Natty off to seminary, getting to boys to school also. Following that Natty and I drove to the doctors. It went well.

Later in the afternoon I ran up to the middle school and sat in an meeting for Andy.  That went well. Got some work to do.

Grateful for all I am blessed with and for my wonderful children.

Jack Spoke

Jack spoke in church today and did a pretty good job. He had the topic of gratitude. Dan and Amy spoke in church as well and both did a great job. I do want to note that reference was made to our feast and thankstimony on Thanksgiving day and how all of us Fontanos are big cry babies. It is important to note that the man who likes to tease us because of our emotions actually got a bit teary eyed in his talk. He tried to say something must have gotten in his eye but we all knew better. 

The messages shared were great and I enjoyed them. Grateful for family and for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So Tired

Is holiday lag a thing?  It's kind of like jet lag but doesn't involve air travel... I don't know what the deal is but I am feeling it, am ready to go to bed. So I will

Back Home

We had a little outing with Jay and his boys today. Went to the nickel arcade. It was a good time. Played a variety of games and won some tickets. The boys had a good time.

Natty was out shopping with her aunts and cousins. They seemed to have a good time.

We got on the road sometime around 3 and got home between 5:30 and 6. Got pig buckets collected and taken out. Collected empties and brought them home and washed them. Good to be home.

Thanksgiving 2017

Had a wonderful day with the fam. Really enjoyed it and managed to take the votes for first place in our appetizer competition. I did mozzarella bricks with marinara. I actually really enjoyed the other appetizers and fully expected to lose because the others were really good. It was a fun part of the day. Well done all.

We also had a great time sharing thoughts on what we are grateful for. It was a great meeting and it was a bit emotional as we Fontanos seem to be.

I have not played volleyball for years and years. Tonight we had some fun with a volleyball game. It was a blast. Need to do that again soon. Each of the kids participated and they did pretty well for first timers.

It was a great day and I have much to be thankful for. Most especially grateful for Jesus Christ and all he makes possible for me and my family.

North to Springville

Today we got up, got the house cleaned, got some things taken care of for work, helped Dan with a roof, got things loaded up and then we hit the road heading North to Springville. The fam got together for a soup and pie night. It was a good time. We had some good pies and soup. I made a couple of cheesecakes which were ok. I thought they would be a little better than they were. Pretty heavy and not as flavorful as I had hoped.  Anyway, looking forward to thanksgiving tomorrow and more quality time with the fam

Sad Move

The deacons got together tonight to help the Vissers pack up their belongings to move. Kade has been a great friend and leader for Jack and he was determined to be there. A while later when he came home he was in tears. He was sobbing pretty hard. It was a tough moment for him. He was pretty emotional for the next two hours. I don't know who will be called to replace brother Visser but I certainly hope they will be the same kind of leader and friend for Jack.

Sleep Testing

Do not be confused by the title of this post.  Sleep testing is not a method whereby one tests a variety of sleeping patterns to determine what is best.  Not at all.  Sleep testing is what I was doing in the middle of trying to take a test beginning around 11 PM.  My body was done as I sat down to take this assessment and I could not keep my eyes open.  63 questions becomes a very long test when you are staring at a question for who knows how long because you are in sleep mode.  Brutal.  I had no confidence in my answers and just tried my best to come up with the most logical choice.  I kept having to read, and read, and read because I was seeing words but not understanding.  Well, I managed somehow to survive the sleep testing experiment and passed the exam. I've got some things to review but this was good.  Just trying to keep things moving in the right direction even if I am half asleep while doing it. 

Prime Time

Prime Rib is a delightsome meal. I have never personally made it until today. Pete and his fam came up today and are here for a few days. We had a meal at the Brick House and the prime rib was pretty dang good.  Had a great time with the fam. Glad for my kids to have time with their cousins. It definitely made for prime time.

Champions

For the second time in three years SUU sits on top of the Big Sky Conference. They have had an excellent season and it has been fun to be on the field for their games. Today's game was excellent. It started out pretty tight and Northern Arizona looked way tough. After a tough first quarter SUU took control and dominated. I might have quietly cheered on a couple of those and did my best to keep it quiet.  Well, fabulous win SUU.

Sit Ups

Tonight Andy started doing some sit ups. He managed to knock out 30 of them. It was a bit of a struggle towards the end but he got it done. I was impressed. Jack decided he wanted to go and compete.
Oh my goodness I am wiped out. Jack wanted a try and he got 40.  Andy was having none of that. He went again and knocked down 70.  It was cool. I like the way they they did it.   Jack did go again but stopped after 7.  Love to see them pushing each other to do better.

Must sleep

Can't even do this. Body is hurting. Need to sleep.

Off My Feet

Today was a very full day for me. I was on my feet for the majority of the day only sitting to drive between locations I needed to be at. Had catering this morning and then had a busy day at Brick House that didn't stop. There was picking up tje catering, cleaning up equipment, running to the store and things just kept going. It felt so good to finally sit down. Tomorrow may not be as busy for me which is completely okay with me. 

Sleep

Oh my I need to go to sleep. I am drifting pretty quick.  It has been a fine day. I can't stay awake. Must rest.

Sister Fontano

My niece has been out serving an LDS mission in North Carolina for the last year and almost a half.  She will be returning home in some 24 days if I remember the detail correctly from my brothers commentary on her weekly letter today.  It is amazing to think that she will be home in such a short amount of time.  Her weekly letters have been a major part of our weekly family home evenings.  I usually read her letters while the kids listen.  Sometimes they have to endure an emotional moment or two as I often find myself choked up.  What a wonderful gift it has been for us to partake in this correspondence and to feel the testimony and love of Sister Fontano.  Jim pointed out that there will only be three more letters before she is back home.  I am sad that this part of our weekly family gatherings will end. 

As we read through the letters I ask the kids to share something that stood out to them.  They all have something that they enjoyed or that made an impression.  That has always been fun and a highlight to see what impresses them the most.  Natalie has always made a comment about how she see's the tremendous growth in her testimony and in her love for the Lord.  I am grateful for the example Sister Fontano has set for her cousins.  I hope that those spiritual promptings inspire each of my children to do better, to be better.  Thank you Mernal! You are wonderful. 

Make A Plan

Today was our Teacher Council Meetings during the 2nd and 3rd hours of church. It was my month to lead the discussion and I quite enjoyed this one. It was simple but there was so much to learn about preparing and planning. Both hours went well. I feel very fortunate to be serving in the Sunday School at this time in my life. I am so grateful to have such a hands on experience. 

Football

Today I worked on the chain crew for two playoff games for the high school state championship. It was good. My body was a bit sore and stiff, had to have been the temple tours yesterday. Well, it was a good time. I enjoy that. Next Saturday will be our last game of the season. Sad but true. Well, I am wiped out. Must rest.

Tours

Worked up at the temple today as a tour guide. Managed to take four groups through. I an pretty tired tonight. Must sleep. Will right more

Don't Hand it to Me

Played racquetball tonight with Kaden. I have yet to beat him in a full match. I beat him once in a game to 7. Anyway, I thought I had him beat today. I had him point to 7 and then he staged a remarkable comeback. I tried and tried to close him out but he just kept chipping away. There was no handing me the victory and I respect that. When I do beat him I will have earned it. I was so close today. Tough loss. Two days in a row with tough losses in my life.

Lost to Nally

I was the reigning chili cook off champion for the last two years and tonight I put my title on the line once again. I put my heart and soul into this chili. It is a great recipe, made from scratch, full of flavor and high quality ingredients. In years past the competition hasn't been real close so I had some confidence going in that my chili would hold its own.  My friend said he would be bringing a chili to the competition but didn't really have high expectations as it was Nally chili out of a can. Another friend brought a fantastic chili that was easily one of the best ones in the competition.  Then another friend brought a Philly cheese steak chili that was also quite good and one of my top ranked. When the announcements were made I was announced first as the second place chili. My friend Gary took third with the Philly cheese steak chili. At this point I fully expected Mike to win with his excellent chili that pretty much had it all. Not so. Tyler was announced the winner with his canned chili. I may have thrown up a bit in my mouth. That made the loss kind of hard. I don't know that I will continue to take the competition seriously if canned chili takes the cake. It was a tough loss but that is okay. In the end, my crock pot that was full of chili was empty, just about scraped clean. Somebody must have liked it.

Student Aid

Feeling much better today. Made a run to the store to look atvlightinv options. Ran into Craig Cardon and his wife. When I saw her I asked if she knew who I was and she put it together. Mrs. Cardon is an aid at Cedar Middle School and has worked with Jack since he came up in 6th grade. We had a chat there at the store and she told me how much she loves Jack. She shared some things about her dog and how that is something that helps to calm Jack down. She showed me a picture Jack drew of her dog. We had a great conversation that got a bit emotional. I am so very grateful for wonderful people in my life and in the lives of my children. I am grateful that Jack has someone like Mrs. Cardon who loves him and makes a difference in his life.

Got Worse

Today I woke up with a headache once again.  It was not bad but got progressively worse.  I don't know if it was connected but I ended up sick to my stomach.  I ate some food and tried to take some ibuprofen for the headache. After a bit I began throwing up.  It was a very pleasant day.  I laid down and slept for a while and then got up with a headache still. I had a lot I had to do so I had to buckle down and just suck it up. The headache finally faded. I still felt sick to my stomach but managed to get some liquid down. I was able to get through most of the crap I had to get done and then had to run to the store to look for a light bulb for the Depot and then ran and got some pizza for the kids.  I came home and my friend Greg was over with a picture he is donating to the open house along with some gift certificates.  We visited for awhile and I was finally starting to feel better.  It was not my funnest day and I am hoping that whatever this has been will be gone.  Headaches that lead to puking are not my favorite kind of headaches.   

Hurting

Had a fine start to the day but had a small headache. It turned into a much bigger headache as time went on. By the time church was over I couldn't stand to have my eyes open. I don't enjoy this kind of a headache. When we got home I had to eat something so I could take some medicine and then I laid down for a while and slept. I am afraid I might be trying to get sick. After a nap I felt a lot better. Hopefully I am not coming down with something.

11/3/2017

Busy day. I managed to stay busy all day with a variety of things. I had a catering job that should have been easy but ended up being a bit of a struggle. I got it done but it should have been much more efficient. That ended up delaying other things like making fudge. In the middle of fudge I had my dear friends come to the shop and I had to visit with them. That was a great time. I then finished up the fudge. I got through that and made it home to visit with John Schatz, Nick and Vonnie Schatz, and Julia. They were in town and we enjoyed a nice visit at the restaurant and then they came over to the house later to see the kids. Oh my, good times. Ready for another busy day tomorrow.

11/2/2017

Wonderful day.  It was a full one, lots going on.  The week started a bit slow for the business but today has been pretty busy. Nice.  I've got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow and still have to try and get through my test for my math class. I can't procrastinate the school much longer and have to speed things up.  No more time to waste there so finding the time to do it needs to happen. 

Had a good conversation with one of our loyal customers today.  He is a great guy with a level head. In the course of our conversation we talked about the culture we enjoy at the Brick House and how we associate with our employees.  It has been something that we have always been grateful for and something that we value deeply.  I would love to say that everyone has been the model employee but we have had our share of struggles and people that just didn't work out. We work through those situations and try to foster a positive atmosphere.  We learn a lot as we go and certainly don't have all of the answers and have most definitely made some mistakes and still do.  We are trying.

Tomorrow is another day.  I will go forth and try to do my best to accomplish the tasks that are in front of me.  

Tired

I am tired.  By tired I don't mean I need a nap I just mean I am tired. Sometimes life can be exhausting. Things never end and when you do think things are getting easier and there is less to deal with, a new problem always seems to arise.  My life isn't a grand tale of hardship and struggle.  I think the Lord has been very kind and has seen fit to bless my family in a number of ways.  I am grateful for that and I will continue to press forward and do my best. Sometimes I get tired.  Life takes a lot of work, a lot of effort.  That can become tiresome.  Well, I will continue to press forward and do the very best that I can do, even when I am feeling a bit on the tired side of things. 

Halloween 2017

What to say? It was a fine day. The kids had a good time. They went out on their own and I managed the candy bowl at home. It wasn't that busy of a night. Our neighborhood just isn't a big draw. It was okay and the kids that came by I had take a few pieces and we still had a lot left over. The boys had a descent haul and seem pleased with their evening.  It was nice to let them roam on their own and they enjoyed themselves. They made a few different runs. Natty hung out with her friends and had a good time.  Well, fun times.

Leaves

Today I battled the leaves. Ultimately it was a losing battle today but I managed to take down a large pile and several small like a I raked up as leaves kept falling throughout the day. In the front yard I ran the lawnmower over the lawn and cleaned up several that way. Then I went on to roll my ankle pretty severely as I was finishing up. Oh my goodness it was painful. I roll my ankles a lot but this was one of those bad ones. I danced around on it a bit when it happened and tried to walk it off but it is pretty sore. I hobbled around on it for the rest of the day. Not fun. Tomorrow I will look at the leaf situation again. I may or may not go for another round... tomorrow anyway.

10/29/17

What a day. We had Stake Conference today and it was great. Loved it.  President Heap shared a powerful message about change. In it he talked about the Book of Mormon and the power it has to help lift us. I am grateful for that lifting power found in studying the Book of Mormon. I enjoyed his remarks. 

There were great testimonies that were shared. The mission presidents wife spoke and was amazing, he was amazing too.

I am grateful for our savior, grateful for his love and patience with me.

10/28/2017

Today was a fantastic day. I had some things to take care of at the shop this morning. Jack came over with me and was excited to help wash some dishes. I like to see him excited to work. We took a time out for the parade. It was the livestock festival parade filled with tractors, horses, campers, and sheep. We enjoyed it.

The real highlight of the day was our visit to the Cedar City Temple open house. What a beautiful building. I am looking forward to its dedication. 

10/27/17

It has been a day. I woke up after 4 hours of sleep to get the kids up and moving for school. I did not feel well and went back to bed an hour later after I got the boys off to the bus stop. I managed a couple more hours of sleep which was nice. I had some things to clean in the house in preparation for the fam coming in to town. I had an opportunity to visit with Natty a bit about relationships. I was able to take care of some banking things as well as make some runs to both stores. We are suffering at the new place. It just isn't taking off and that is making for a struggle. We really need a shot in the arm and hopefully we will get something from the temple open house.

I had a friend of mine, Lacie, send me a message that she was headed to the Brick House and she hoped to see me. I stopped in and visited with her and her family for a bit. It was great to see her. She is a wonderful gal. She moved from Cedar to Nephi a while back.

Jim, Mike, Dan, Andy and I enjoyed going to the Civil Air Patrols haunted hanger. Jack was there participating and had a great time. It is a fun event as we walked through the haunted hanger and shot nerd guns at the zombies. It was good. Andy talked about it for a while after we left. He loved it.

Fun times today.

10/26/2017

Sometimes we have to do things that drive us nuts.  I had to spend time on a report tonight that simply wasn't much fun. Hey a couple hours later and it is done.  I also had the pleasure of drawing a picture for Natty.  She wanted a zombie skeleton mermaid playing a guitar. That is a very normal request for a picture.  Not sure that I captured exactly what she wanted but hopefully it will do the trick for her. 

We had dinner at the Brick House tonight with the folks, Dan & Amy and then we had Mike and Liana in town.  They are here for the weekend with the family gathering, girls night, and the temple tour.  It is great to have them here.  Jack had a good time visiting with Mike and had great conversations about Star Wars and several other things. It was funny to watch them communicate. 

Well, grateful for family, grateful for the day, grateful to head to bed now. 

25 October,2017

Today I got things started with making a white bean chicken chili. It was something I wanted to try and it turned out pretty well. I want to put together a new chili for an up coming ward chili cook off. I don't know if this is the chili I will use for it but it did turn out well.

Saw the folks again today after they have been gone for a couple of weeks. The boys and I went up and visited for a while. It was a good visit.

Natty had work and the boys were both out. Jack had CAP and Andy went to scouts. So it was a busy night. Good to be busy.

She's Cute

At church on Sunday William Bagnall told me a story about something that happened at school last week. In one of his classes Jack and other students were invited to move up from the back row and closer to the front. Jack was a little frustrated by this but Mrs. Cardon talked to him about an open seat by a girl up front and how he could go and sit by her. Jack looked and saw who the girl was and said "Ok, I'll go sit by her. She is cute and she is awesome". Mrs. Cardon loved it and told Will. They shared one of those proud moments that just created good feelings. The girl was quite touched and mentioned how she had never been told that she was cute by anyone at school before. One of those moments that just makes me feel good as a dad.

My Weekend Job

Sometimes I have the pleasure of working on the weekend. This particular job is not one that I receive compensation for, it is one where I get to assist in marking first downs or moving chains, it may involve running the clips. Whatever they ask me to do as a member of the chain gang for either Cedar High School or Southern Utah University football games, I am happy to do it. It allows me to enjoy a football game from the best seats in the house. Sometimes the seat is so good that the action comes right at me and I have to jump out of the way. Well, take a look at the following picture, in the background you see two guys with red shirts on under blue and white vests. One of those guys is me and the other is Dean, a fellow chain crew member. Photo credit to Taylor, great shot and not just because I'm in it. This is what I mean by beat seat in the house. On occasion I will have a coach step out in front of me, or I might have to look over the shoulder of the official. For the most part I have a front row seat and direct line of sight. It is a lot of fun. I also work on the opposing teams sideline and that can sometimes be wildly entertaining. It is a lot of fun and one of those rare things I get to do for myself. I enjoy being able to participate and to associate with a great group of men. We have a lot of fun.

Natty Got to Talk

Natty was called by the bishop early last week and was asked to speak in church. Last night she remembered she had the assignment and this morning I double checked with her to make sure she was prepared. She was working on it. She came into my room a little later and shared what she had written. She also asked for some help on other parts of it. I shared a couple of thoughts but she pretty well had it under control and did a great job with it.  Way to go Nat Sue!

Great Win for SUU

Worked on the chain crew tonight as SUU took on Eastern Washington. I was a bit nervous in the first quarter as Eastern Washington was killing the Thirds.  I am way tired and ready to go to bed.  The chain crew is fantastic.

Climbing Wall

We had a good time tonight. Andy has been wanting to go for over a week. Tonight we made it happen. The kids all seemed to have a good time. They got on that wall and just had fun. I enjoyed watching them get up there and try new things. They conquered fears and pushed themselves. We will do this again. It is going to take some budgeting because at 6 bones a pop I am not going to be able to afford it very often.

One More Down

My task came back and I have officially passed the math methods couare. Nice to get another one done. I am tired. Wow! Great day.

Submitted and Passed

Though I was hoping to have my task completed and submitted yesterday I was not able to get it done until today.  This morning I had a goal to have it done before noon but didn't get it finished and submitted until around 1. Oh well, it is done and it has been submitted.  I really hope it passes.  I don't enjoy the task portions of these classes and would rather not have to spend more time on it.  The challenge is that I look at all the miner flaws in the lesson plan and analyze things too much then I keep rethinking and re-doing several parts of the task.  It is a nightmare.  I just want to get them in and be done. Hopefully that will be the case with this class. 

I had a nasty headache come on around 8 PM.  That was pretty frustrating as I needed to get the math pre-assessment done tonight.  I didn't feel very good and was going to go to bed and forget this but around 11 PM I decided to go forward with the test.  It was scheduled to be a two and a half hour exam but I went for it anyway.  The really good news is that I managed to pass it.  Oh, I looked at the coaching report and there were some areas where I was pretty bad.  Fortunately I can go in and work on those areas specifically.  I'm going to need it. 

Getting There

Managed to make some progress with my class today. Not quite done yet but should get there in the morning. I've got to knock it out and I need to get my math class moving. Lots to do. I felt good about the day and the progress made.

October 16, 2017

I need to get things moving with school. I find myself busy with several things. I am not managing my time as effectively as I need to. I need to crank things up and get things moving forward.

Good Church

Had a good day today. I enjoyed church services and feel strengthened for attending my meetings today. Colin and Stephanie Shurtliff spoke today and they did a fantastic job. It was a great sacrament meeting and I am quite grateful that Natty has Stephanie as her math teacher. She has a powerful testimony of the Savior and is a great example for Nat. Anyway, they spoke about accountability and a talk by Elder Anderson from April conference. They both were great.

We had our teacher counsel meeting today and that went well.  Sure appreciate the dedicated teacheers in the 8th ward.

Out of Gas

I was settling down to write the blog and go to bed about an hour ago and received a text from Natty saying she was on her way. She didn't show up. The phone rang. She was on the side of the road in a truck that wouldn't go. A policeman was there with her and I was grateful for that. I got dressed again and headed out. Turns out she ran the truck out of gas. Back home we came and retrieved the gas can and then ran to the gas station. Put some gas in it and sure enough it fired up strong and I drove it home. Glad all are safe and that is wasn't something much worse.

Idea

Still working on my class. Actually I finally sat down, looked at it and came up with something to use for the task requirements.  It is not done yet but I will be working on it again tomorrow with a goal of getting it submitted then.  Wow. I am exhausted and hardly feel like I did much.  Must sleep. 

High Dive

Today was racquetball and I brought the boys with me to SUU. They went to the pool while I was easily dismantled on the court. After Kaden left I kept practicing for a bit to give the boys more time in the pool. After a while I went to get them and found them at the only place that really matters at the pool, that's right, the diving boards. Jack got up on the highdive and showed me a sweet move where he jumped off backwards and did some twinkle toes thing. Then Andy got up there and he was afraid to jump. He did the back and forth thing and really wanted to do it. It was a great moment when he conquered his fear and jumped once that happened he couldn't be stopped. That was a good moment as both of my boys were enjoying one of my favorite pastimes.

Sewing

Spent a number of hours sewing patches onto Jacks civil air pattil uniform. This is his camouflage uniform referred to as BDU's. I read earlier what that stood for but can't recollect what that is right now. Stitching on a patches is not one of my strengths. Don't get me wrong, I have them on there and don't expect them to come off without some real effort but hand stitching is not a quick project for me.  There was also a wing patch that I had to sew onto a sleeve. This was not so easy and in the process I managed to bend the needle. It was just not going well and so I ended up cutting out the stitching I had already completed on the wing patch and plugged in the glue gun. A few minutes later I had the patch successfully affixed to the sleeve. It was a thing of beauty. 

Also Dad...

I was having a conversation with Natty about church and testimony related things when Jack got out of the shower and was headed down to his room. He was not engaged in conversation with us, no, he was just heading down to his room.  At the bottom of the stairs he stopped and looked in the workout room and says "also dad, I think you should s go to a gym. Then in a few months you could go from plump dad to ripped dad."  What a guy. I love it when he has random thoughts, especially when they are centered on my plump dad bod.  I just had to laugh and enjoy the fact that Jack operates without a filter. It makes for good times.  Sure love these kids and hope for their futures.

Headache

I spent a restless night with a major headache. It was a rough one. I have had a headache for the last week or so. Not super strong and not constant but a fairly good shot of pain now and again throughout the day. This morning it was bad and after taking some meds I managed to sleep for a couple hours. It was good but the head wasn't exactly clear. I had to keep moving and it eased up throughout the day. I am grateful for my family. Grateful for my sweet children.

Senior Pics

Today after church we went out and took pics for Natty. Our friend Greg had an opening and so we took it and he did a great job. There are a lot of great shots on both the mountain and at the depot grill. Turns out the depot grill is a great spot for pictures. Anyway, this sweet girl of mine is growing up to fast. Glad to spend a few hours with her today trying to capture the perfect picture. This was one of my quick snaps that I thought was quite fun. Love this Natty Sue Bug.

Blah

I feel like carp right at the moment. I had a little under 5 hours sleep last night and was then at the brick house at 7 am. I have been going non stop and my body is done. I must sleep.

Got to go to a birthday party for Sam and Ellie this afternoon. It was a fun. I then had the SUU football game. We won. The boys and I then went and with Dan to feed the new pigs. Cleve and Dan worked something out. I get the food. For one of them.  Should be an adventure.

Busy Day

The Brick House had a significantly busy day for October. Though it wasn't our busiest day ever it was likely our busiest day in October and one of our top days outside of Valentines and SUU graduation. It is SUU homecoming so that is a likely reason for the heavy business. I am very grateful for it as we need a financial boost. The Depot appeared to have a great day as well and it is good to have both places performing well. We look forward to continuing to build our clientele at both locations.  The boys and I enjoyed a visit to the depot for dinner. I think they quite enjoy it.

Fryers

I ran in this morning to help with some pies that we were catering and ended up working the fryers through a majority of lunch. It wasn't bad, had a good time. I do tend to find some things operationally that upset me because they contribute to a lack of efficiency. Simple things that should be decided each day and stocked as necessary. I don't like to be in the middle of a lunch rush and not have what we need to be successful.  Oh well, I get in there and swear a little, and make sarcastic comments and generally try to have a good time. Well, I ended up being there a lot longer than I anticipated. I've got a delivery tomorrow so I will be in but don't know how long. Hoping to make time for school.

Stalled

My school week has stalled. I need to jump start it and get this class done. I've had other things that take my time and it becomes difficult to balance everything that I must. I will press forward and do my best to keep things moving.

Homework

My evenings are spent doing homework with the boys. It is one of those things where I have them doing reading on their own and Andy practicing trombone on his own but then comes math, and then comes spelling, and then there are the other things that come up like book reports and a variety of projects. It is a bit crazy some days and I can spend hours working on things with them. Last night was probably a 4 hour ordeal. Tonight was about three hours. That isn't exactly easy to do all the time. Being motivated to do my own homework after that is tough. Well, I just keep on trying to move forward.

Bad Situation

Woke up this morning and Natty asked me if I knew about Vegas being attacked. I had just gotten out of bed and hadn't immediately checked out the latest stories on my phone and news feed. I would have expected more coverage on the national anthem and the NFL and wasn't really interested to hear more about that. I don't have tv and so I haven't watched the NFL other than streaming the Superbowl. It has all been a bit tiresome to listen to.  Anyway, the stories were not so much about that as they were about an attack on a concert there on the strip.  Gunman in the Mandalay Bay shot and killed over 50 people and injured over 500.  Really just sad. 

Continuing Conference

Today was a wonderful day as conference continued. Between sessions news came that Elder Robert D. Hales of the quorum of the twelve passed away. There were some touching moments in the afternoon session and the brotherhood among the brethren was evident.

We had a family dinner at the folks house. Jim, Clo, and Kathryn came through along with Clo's brother Newel and his wife. Amy, Dan and fam were there. It was a nice get together. 

Grateful for the weekend and look forward to having the opportunity to review the conference talks over the coming days.

October is Hear

It was an excellent day. As October is upon us we enjoyed participating in the General Conference proceedings of the church. Today was the last day of September but as tomorrow is the 1st of October it is conference weekend. Love it. Looking forward to the Sunday sessions tomorrow.

Test Passed

I entered the day with a goal to take my final assessment for my elementary science instruction course. It was a big test and the allotted time was 2 hours. I managed to finish the test with 13 minutes to spare. It was pretty challenging and threw a lot of teaching scenarios my way and I had to determine best strategies to follow. Sometimes that can be a challenge because there are what appear to be multiple right answers. Just give it your best shot.

R ball

Had some fun tonight with My friend Kaden playing racquetball. He is quite experienced and can easily whoop my trash. Tonight he did. It was a good time.  He did whoop up me but I had a good time. I am exhausted and am heading to bed.

Need Test

So tired this evening. Struggling to keep the eyes open.  Man, I just want to sleep and so that is what I am going to do. Good night.

Lights

Today I was able to get the lights installed at the brick house. The lights and ceiling problems have made for a fun project. It was more than I thought it would be but it is done. Tomorrow will be a day without that hanging over my head. Hopefully I can get schooling back on the move.

Moving Forward

Still pressing forward. It has been a tough couple of weeks and I've got lots of work to do. I need to get my school moving and I need to crank out some credits. I am trying to knock out some stuff at the restaurant as well and that has occupied my time for the most part. Hoping to have that done tomorrow, well the lights done, I've still got a lot of pricing work to do. I'll just keep moving forward as best I can.

Rest

After a great day at church that included watching Andy and the other children in the primary program I was able to come home and enjoy a Sunday afternoon nap. My goodness that was much needed rest.

Back to the program, thought it was a good program. Andy did well. He was a little short and was behind some tall girls. I thought it was pretty funny. He nailed his part and sang well. Grandma came to watch. It was a good day.

Out.

The day is over. I stayed busy all day. I done. All day is a long  time. I'm asleep.

Busy

Things have just been busy for the last week. I have spent hours at the Brick House this week. All day, every day and I will be back again tomorrow. Hopefully I can finish the ceiling patches in the morning and get things ready to paint and hang up lights again. Working in the shadows. Well, I am beat. Must find me a shadow. 

Storm Coming

Looks like we've got a storm coming in. Winds blowing, rains coming down. Some hail every now and again. It is supposed to get quite cool tomorrow. We will see how things feel in the morning.  In the meantime I am trying to catch up on projects at the brick house. Right now I've got to sleep.

So Tired

Went back in to the brick house this morning to tape and mud my ceiling repair.  It went okay but then I had to start messing around with the back lights and the damage there.  I ended up having to remove the fixtures and then I was trying to cut out rotted drywall so I can replace it.  It was a little work... blah blah blah.  I am exhausted.  I am tired.  I am going to bed. 

Short

This is just a short review for today.  Full day at the Brick House with ceiling repairs and what not.  I am exhausted.  Trying to get the menu updated in the computer and what not.  It was a long day with a lot of stuff to do.  I am ready to crash. 

Let Your Light So Shine

Oh my goodness I am tired and need to get to bed. Tonight after FHE we made a run to the Wal-Mart. Following our trip there Natty asked if we could drive by the temple.

We drove by the temple and enjoyed seeing it all lit up. I am so excited for this building to open. What a blessing it is.

Tired

I am feeling tired tonight. By tired I mean I am feeling run down, low. I think there are moments when I have a lot going on and I get

.. Can't keep my eyes open. Must sleep.
.

Hometown Football Game

After a long day trying to figure out a problem with our POS system and a lot of frustration to with it, I left the Brick House, got home and got dressed in my chain crew uniform. I was off to the hometown football game and worked on the chain crew as SUU beat #18 NIU. It was a good game and SUU almost gave it away put managed to win by a field goal. I enjoy doing this.

The Lights of Friday

Tonight was the homecoming football game for cedar high. I was at my assigned post with the chain crew. I was on the first down marker on the Cedar sideline. It was a good game. I am passing out so I am heading to be.

Beating

Got back out and played some racquetball this evening with my buddy Kaden. He is quite good and I am still in my rookie season. It had been 4 weeks since we last played as I was with Jack at civil air patrol. Anyway, it was great to get back out there and I was actually feeling pretty good. Oh, I lost both games but it wasn't because I didn't put it all on the court. There were dives, there was chasing down the ball,there were some serious rally's. It was great and infect much more competitive. Hopefully I won't be begging for the chiropractor in the morning. My lower back is hurting a bit but that may just need some stretching. Great times.

Lightening Ride

Back out on the bike tonight. Pushed another quick 6 miles at about 14 miles per hour. Probably not a great time but not bad for an old dude on a mountain bike. Just trying to get the weight moving in the right direction again. Had been down to 235 a few months ago and have slowly gone back up to 242. My goal is still 200 so I had to get back to being serious. I have begun counting calories and am paying closer attention to what I'm eating. Crazy how fast eating the wrong things can pack on the calories. The good thing is that I have things I like that aren't bad in calories and still can satisfy.

As I got out on the ride there was suddenly a flash of lightening. It was pretty far out but lit up the sky nicely. I just continued riding as the storm came our way. As the time passed it became apparent that the storm was coming right towards us. I got in my 6 and then headed home. The rain hit right after I got home. Pretty good timing. 

Pedal Pushing

I am trying to mix up my workouts a bit. Last night I walked 4 miles, tonight I biked 6 miles. It was at a pretty good clip. Anyhow, I wasn't going for a leisurely ride around the block. I was pushing it and trying to sweat a bit. Tomorrow I will be back to walking. Fun times.

On the move

I am trying to track calorie intake and burning right now. I got a few miles in on the elliptical this morning and tonight after I got the kids down for bed I went for an hour stroll. I managed 4 miles in just over an hour. It felt really good. Whether any of this is going to amount to much weight loss I have no idea. It was a good walk

Names

I was sitting in the Stake Conference broadcast today and while listening to the talks I was also attaching records in Family Search. Sister Arnold is our ward family history consultant and she encouraged us to do this. It is count in the ancestors with tasks list. Some are fairly easy to do while others may take a little more effort. While I was going through records I was wondering about how effective this record attaching really was. I wasn't exactly lining up people for ordinance work. Anyway I carried on. It kept me alert through the meeting. I stopped after a while and hadn't really thought much more about it. Well, some time this evening I received two emails from family search saying I had ancestors that needed work done. The first email had a name that matched the records I had worked on earlier. That was way cool. Though I didn't see the other name in my efforts today, I do know that these connections are making a difference and that is pretty exciting. 

Fire Cracker Shrimp

In our meeting yesterday as we talked about the bang bang shrimp from bonefish. Chef Tom had never had said he would look into making a firecracker shrimp dish. Got the message earlier today that he had it for us to try, well he had the firecracker and a grilled coconut shrimp as well. The folks were coming at 7 and the boys and I came as well. We got to sample both and both were excellent. Then we got to try the special that chef was running tonight that included the firecracker shrimp in a cream sauce over rice. It was fantastic. So flavorful and nice. I told the folks and chef that I could easily see myself getting that dish 50% of the time if it was on the menu. I loved it. I think it would be one that would end up being a top seller if it were to stay on the menu. Maybe it will or maybe it will end up on the specials rotation. Doo good.

Meeting and Game

Today we had a meeting at the Depot where we went through the menu and several items that we need to look at. We had the powers that be from here; pops, Darin, Chef Tom, Dustyn (cpa), Dan (our head server) and myself. We also had Dan Martinez up from Vegas. We are making some adjustments that are needed and the meeting was productive. We need to be proactive in bringing about these adjustments. It will be good for the business.

Tonight was the football game between Cedar and Canyon View. It was a good game. Canyon View lead at the end of the first half. And into the 4th quarter it was 10 to 0 and then Cedar had a beautiful touchdown throw which started the come back. They ended up winning 19 to 10. Always enjoy a good football game.

Tired Tonight

Full day. Very tired. Ran to St George tonight for Jack and civil air patrol. Ready for bed.

Problems

For some reason the last two nights have not been good for posting.  My millions of peaches post was actually from the day before but failed to post.  I was able to repost it yesterday and then went on to write a post last night. That post however did not post either and the text was completely gone.  I am not sure if I messed something up myself or if I am experiencing some challenges with blogger.  If you read my post from a few days ago you might think that it could very well be user error as I was seriously asleep when I was attempting to write my daily entry.  That, however, posted successfully. So if I can manage to post something when I am pretty much in a comatose state why would I not be able to do so when I am somewhat alert? It could have very well been user error and I just bombed last night.  I had written about the previous nights entry not posting and then discussed a few other items.  Alas, it is lost for the ages and here I am writing once again about my posting failures.

I did visit the folks yesterday and mom shared a story about making oatmeal cookies the day before, setting one on her night stand and thinking it might make a nice snack in the middle of the night.  She did wake up at some point in the night and she remembered the cookie. She picked it up in the dark and had a bite of it.  Something began to flow down her chin and neck but she didn't know what it was. Certainly she didn't have anything in the cookie that would do that.  She then realized it was ants. There was an extreme infestation that came up the night stand and found that cookie.  In the dark she didn't see any ants and had no clue they were there or that anything was wrong.  It is kind of a freaky story. Of course she told me this while I was eating one of the oatmeal cookies she had made.  I didn't go back for more.

As for today, we participated in a job fair at SUU.  This was for both the Depot Grill and the Brick House.  I went in to get a table and get us set up for the event.  In doing so I had a table cloth I had brought that we didn't need so I was returning it to the car and was also bringing in some additional supplies.  I went out a door and had 5 or so stairs to go up. I missed the first step, ended up tripping over it and totally biffed it right there on the stairs. Went down hard and was rolling around all dramatically on the stairs.  I don't know that anyone actually witnessed the spill which is fine with me.  I did laugh at myself though and shared it with some friends so they could enjoy a laugh. I imagine I looked pretty funny there.  Scraped myself up a bit but I lived.  What a dork.

It has been a fine day. I need to get buckled down and working on my school stuff.  Don't have time to waste and need to get it done.  We'll get there.  Tomorrow I should have some time to sit down and move on it.  I had two weeks of a break at the end of August and it was very much welcome. I know I need to get cranking this semester but it has been difficult to get jump started again.

Well, life is good. It is not without its challenges. The businesses are doing okay but are also struggling as there are a lot of expenses and keeping up on them is not easy.  I can't believe how much it costs just to operate.  It gets to be a pretty stressful thing.  We continue to press forward and do out best. 

Millions of Peaches

Last night my friend Annie D dropped off a box of peaches from off her tree. It was very nice of her to do. I've looked at a handful of recipes for peach chutney and believe I will give it a shot. I loved the chutney whilst serving in Cape Town. It is so good. I have wanted to make it for some time so this will be exciting. I also decided to make a fresh peach cobbler tonight and that turned out rather well. My kids are very picky sometimes and Jack refused to eat it, and had a bite and was done, Natty had a few bites and then was done.

Oh my

Retire for that

I am asleep. It has been a good day with church and birthday . I am featured at the moment.  I don't know what to ssy. Just exhausted. Had a fine dinner with Andy. I can't keep my eyes open.  Must rest.

Good Times

Had a fine day filled with service and friends and house work and flying drones and playing with battle bots and flying drones again and going shopping at three different stores and checking in on restaurants and mowing the lawn and moving a fridge and flying a drone again and fixing a drone and watering the lawn and reading scriptures with the fam and getting dinner prepped for tomorrow and sitting down to write this. I am ready for bed.

New Semester

Today was the start of a new semester for me at the wgu. I had two weeks of no school and I absolutely loved it. That two weeks came after 50 weeks. The good part is that I earned over 50 credits in that 50 week time period. 

Well my goodness, I am complmerely exhausted. Time to call it a night.

Andyboy is 11

Hard to believe it but it is true. Today Andy turned 11 years old. That is just getting wild and crazy. I think he had a pretty good birthday. He got some battle bots, some strange writing utensils and, he got a new drone. Good times. He wanted to eat at Red Lobster which was ok. If we don't eat there ever again it won't hurt my feelings. Well, grateful for Andyboy. Love my baby boy.

Family History Visit

I arranged for sister Arnold to come over to visit with the fam and teach us about some of the cool things happening with family history. I had met with her in July and learned a lot but the kids were in Alaska. Tonight we saw some fun things happen as Jack was able to reserve a couple of names. The kids were also able to link the Atwood family to their lines and the Griffin line as well. For some strange reason those were not connected. Anyway, we had a great visit, we learned some things, we did some things, and we had a good time doing it.  Just want to keep the kids involved and having fun.

Diet Ginger Beer

It is late and I am tired. Trying to reflect on the day and just done have a lot to say. I am keeping busy and trying to keep up. I just got back from walking a couple miles and sat down with a diet cock and bull ginger beer. I love me some ginger beer and especially love this one as it is free of the sugars. It still has great ginger flavor and a bit of bite. I quite enjoy it and find myself purchasing it on occasion just get my fix.  If you are looking for a diet ginger brew I highly recommend this one.

Nice Visit

I had three ward members contact me recently about the Brick House donating for different things. We try to participate in a number of different things and had participated in all three of these in previous years. Today I made up gift certificates for two of them and tonight I took them around.

The Sons of Utah Pioneers is one of the groups we have donated to as part of an event being held to raise money for scholarships. Brother Morrell asked me about it and so I stopped by their home tonight to drop them off. Sister Morrell invited me in and so I sat down and visited with them for a while. They are awesome folks and I really enjoyed sharing stories and learning from them. They served a mission in Hawaii and taught at BYUH. I thought that was great. We talked bugs and geckos. It was a good time. They also served a mission at the church history museum which I thought was great. Sister Morrell invited me to put a mission on my list of things to do when I get older. I assured her it was on there and talked about the missions my grandparents served and how they influenced me from a young age.

Anyway, it is good to visit with good people. They have so much experience they can share and I can learn from. The Morrells are wonderful people and I admire them greatly.

Fun Times

Tonight we invited some new neighbors over for dinner. Nice young couple. Husband teaches biology at the high school and the wife is at home with two kids. She does some work with a restaurant or two here in town. They've got a little boy named Sam who loved hanging out with Jack and Andy even if Jack got a little snappy about a train track Jack did share the train with him after dinner. The baby girl is such a sweet little thing. It was great to have them over and good to have good neighbors move in. It's even better when they are family. Welcome to the hood Dan, Amy, Sam, and Ellie Bean!

Wasabi Almonds

We just finished scriptures and prayer as well as. Few other things in preparation for bed. I pulled out a bag of bold wasabi flavored almonds and grabbed a small handful. Jack likes to grab almonds when he sees me with the bag and tonight was no different. He longingly looked for some of those and I let him take some. He threw them all in his mouth before I could give him any instruction. It didn't take long for his face to drop to the floor as well, just long enough to taste . we all enjoyed a good time.

Full Day

This was from a few days ago. I want to say it was Wednesday. I just saw that it didn't actually publish and so we will try again.

Started early and went late. Electrical, hvac, temporary cooling, making dinner, chopping wood, homework, scripture time, kids in bed, 5K walk, weird cat followed me home, ready for bed. It has been full. It has been good. Look forward to bed.

Father and Son Outing

Tonight Jack is out camping with the scouts. First time without me. Fantastic. Natalie was hanging with friends. Andy and I were home alone so we made a depot grill run and enjoyed a a fine meal. Later were off to the Wal-Mart and he checked out the drones and other remote control devices while I shopped. I am grateful for my children the blessings they are in my life. Grateful Andy and I could hang out together.

Snoring

I just woke myself up with a mild snore. Wonderful. Must get to sleep.

Clog

I am exhausted. Today was another marathon day. I just got home a few minutes ago. Had issues at the depot with a drain being backed up. It kept flooding the kitchen. I was quite puzzled and it took me a while to figure it out. In that time I made store runs, dinner run for the kids, homework run, scripture prayer run and finally I came home for good. The drain has been cleared and water is flowing once agsin. Wow, ready for be asleep.

Running Round

Had a busy day running around between the two shops and trying to get stuff done. Will have more running around to do tomorrow. Trying to keep things moving on. Holy cow Andy had a ton of homework tonight and my running around for work gave him way to procrastinate certain assignments. Frustrating. Oh well, we got through it. Happy to head to bed now. Need it.

Great Sunday

Enjoyed the Sabbath. It is such a wonderful day. I love the break it is from the daily cares of the world. It is refreshing. Had a priesthood leadership meeting this evening that was great. Really enjoyed a talk by President Bulloch about the oath and covenant of the priesthood. He was fantastic. President Heap also had some excellent comments.

Getting New Neighbors

Today we had the opportunity to help some new neighbors move a few things into their home. My kids got along wonderfully with their two little ones. There was even some hide and seek being played as well as some steamroller being played on the living room floor. It was a good time to be sure. They have more stuff to move and we will help again. Always nice to have family moving across the street. Kids enjoyed their cousins.

Season

With school starting this week it is time for high school football. This means it was time for the chain crew to go to work. That is something I really enjoy.  Holy cow. Falling asleep big time. Calling it a day.

The Doc

For the 6 years plus we have been going to the same doctors office. I was never one tonbe picky about which doctor we saw there and those that we have seen have been great. One that we never had an appointment with is the head honcho. We had to reschedule our visit to this afternoon and they scheduled us with Doctor Dowse, the head honcho. He was extremely good and we all were very comfortable with him. He was kind and observant and took the time individually with each of the kids. I was quite impressed. There are times when you meet someone and you feel they are a good person and then you receive a confirmation from the spirit that they are. That confirmation was very much evident for me today as we visited with Doctor Dowse and felt his love and genuine concern for our family. He most certainly was not going through the motions. Natty felt it and was willing to let her guard down and trust him with some things she is experiencing and he was attentive to her specific needs. Very grateful for that.

Passed

Well i finally passed my last class of the semester. Nice to have it all done. I am starting to look at my first class for next semester. It is going to be a busy semester but I've got to get through it. Good times. I really need to move on these classes. Time disappears all to fast. 

First Day of School 2017

The new school year is upon us. Hard to believe Natty is a senior. How did that happen? Everyone had a great first day. We will hope for an excellent year with many more great days to follow. Have to help the SueBug stay focussed and to go strong all year long. She has some good classes and it could be a challenge but she can do it. 
Jack and Andy are both at the middle school this year with Jack in 8th and Andy in 6th.  They sat together on the bus today and had a good day. Great stuff.
Not sure where yesterdays entry is? Maybe it is just because I used the computer and it isn't showing up on my phone. I don't know. Oh well, great day today.