One Thirty-One Seventeen

Keeping busy. The day was full, running around for work. Some things got missed on the order so I had to make a trip to the store. I also picked up supplies to make carrot cake and then I'm going to try a pineapple cake as well.  Tomorrow may be a fun day. Got a lot of schooling to do as well.  No time to rest. Well, time to rest but no time to relax. Gotta keep moving.

One Thirty Seventeen

Gotta get focussed. Had a fine day and did some running around for work as well as a meeting at the school for Jack. Also worked on a lot of homework with both of the boys. I did manage to get through a little bit of the SPED class but have a lot more to do there. Hope to get a bigger jump on that tomorrow.

Remembering Pain

One of my friends was back in our ward today. He and his wife are getting a divorce and he will be moving back into his rental home. I have known since before Christmas when I ran into him at the store so I was glad to see him there today. I know how much life hurts at this stage of the game. It is so hard. I was so sad when I knew it was over and when Rachel was gone. I was depressed, overwhelmed and lonely. That was hard. Church was hard because I felt like a failure and that I didn't belong. Family was difficult because I felt like I was a huge disappointment. Those were not easy thoughts to push through and there were times when I thought it would be so much easier to stop attending church.  Ultimately, I pressed forward and pushed through and am so grateful that I never forgot. There is definitely so much to be grateful for.

Choppin Wood

We heat the home with a little gas heater and then a wood burning stove. I get to do some wood chopping. It is fun stuff and I have a good time doing it. It is a good work out besides. I plowed through several logs this afternoon. I have several logs to work through which is great. It may last me another season easily. This is a fine post I know, very interesting. In other news Jack went up to build snow forts with the scouts for next weeks Klondike derby. He had a great time and is feeling confident about being able to go without me. That is great. I love to see him growing and developing socially.

One Twenty-seven Seventeen

So I did not pass my last task so today I got to redo a few different parts of the paper.  I think I managed to make the changes and adjustments needed. I have submitted the paper again and hopefully I've covered it. My goodness, I've got to call it a night.

One Twenty-six Seventeen

I've had a full day. Lots to do with school. I have been working tonight on a to do list needed to get into preclinical and direct teaching experiences.  It is crazy because it seems like it is so far away but it will come quickly.  I am also starting a new class on special education. I am hoping it is similar to my intro to special ed class that I had a year and a half ago.  Should be a good class. I want to try and press through it. Lots of other things happening and just trying to stay above water at the moment. 

Mile Swim

Great day in that everyone was back in school and doing well. I was back to feeling good also and that was certainly welcome. I spent much of the day working through my final task for classroom management. It has been submitted and I am hoping I will pass that off as well. 

Jack said he wanted to go to the pool tonight and I needed to get some exercise anyway so the boys and I went over after dinner.  The boys played around in The main pool and I headed to the lap pool. I was doing pretty well and decided to shoot for a mile. I managed to get through it. It felt good. The lap pool was busy tonight and it has been busy the last two times we've gone. I'm thinking it might be part of some new years resolutions or something so people are coming to the pool. The last few month of last year were a much different story.  Anyway, it was a good swim.

Well, time for sleep.

Repeat

Pete and Repeat are sitting on a fence. Pete falls off. Whose left? 
Repeat.
Pete and Repeat are sitting on a fence. Pete falls off. Whose left?
Repeat.
Pete and Repeat...

Here we have had another day of sickly kids.  There was a little bit of a shift from yesterday.  Today Andy went to school and gave no argument for being sick as he clearly was not sick.  Jack remained home today still stuffed up and I am not sure he was doing any better.  He does not look well.  Natalie came home yesterday feeling miserable and did not make it out this morning.  Hoping that tomorrow we do not have a repeat of today. These kids really need to be in school, as do I. 

Sickly Kids

It is that time of year when colds and the flu are in full swing. Jack has been down for a couple of days with a cold. He tends to get a little miserable when he gets stuffed up. Andy was determined to be sick today though I don't think he really was. He was complaining of pain whilst breathing but then was miraculously fine after I let him stay home from school. Natty went to school but tonight was looking ill and was complaining of not being well. I have a little something tickling my throat but I am battling.

We had a nice snow storm this evening and so I spent some quality time shoveling at the shop and also here at the house. It was my exercise for today and I enjoyed it. Hit both neighbors sidewalks and the sidewalk around the corner of the street and shoveled the driveway. My favorite snow shovel is officially dead. The handle started to bend slightly a couple weeks ago and tonight while shoveling the neighbors driveway I got caught up on something and it went. I will have to look into a replacement handle.

Tackled more work in my current classroom management class today and hope to wrap that up this week. So much to do, so little time.

One Twenty-two Seventeen

Had a good Sunday. Sacrament meeting was excellent. The Christiansen's spoke. They are new in the ward, they have a little girl, they both work in the area and bought a home in the ward.  They gave fantastic talks. I quite enjoyed it. The rest of the meetings were good as well. Tonight I was at a mission and life prep class with Natalie. Brother and Sister Wilson of our stake spoke. They recently returned as Mission President. I thoroughly enjoyed their messages and was reminded of mission life with all of the hard times, all the struggles, all of the blessings. I am grateful for the impact the mission has been on my life. I would not trade that experience for anything. 

Night Sledding Returns

We had a fine day that concluded with a trip to the hill for some night sledding. The boys had a fine time. I shot videos with my camera. Andy was determined to ride down in a standing position and over and over again I filmed as he crashed. He was going to quit but then was determined to do it. He finally nailed it and I captured it. Right after doing so my phone completely died. Andy came back to where I was and standing in similar location to the attached picture he gave an eloquent speech about determination, bravery and courage.  It was pretty awesome. I did say a little prayer after watching him fall repeatedly that he would make it. I am glad he didn't quit and that he was able to do it.

One Twenty Seventeen

Today was the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. I watched the proceedings and it was pretty cool. It was pointed out several times on social media how wonderful it is that we enjoy a peaceful transition of power. Our 45th President. Amazing. For some in our country this Has been a rough day. As for me I hope for a better tomorrow. I hope that things in our country will improve. I hope President Trump will perform his duties well and will uphold the oath of the office of the President.

One Nineteen Seventeen

I may adopt this way of titling more often.  It is easier.  It has been a bit of a wintry day.  There was a light snow on the ground when I took Natty to seminary and there was a real light snow fall happening as well.  An hour later that had kind of turned to rain but hardly noticeable.  The light snow that was on the ground was gone by the time I had Andy off to school.  Throughout the day we saw the occasional flurry but nothing sticking.  At 5:30 I took Natty into work and whilst checking on things at the shop the snow started coming down.  In fact I was talking to my friend Jake Adams who happens to work for UDOT and drives a snow plow.  He was in for some dinner.  The snow started dropping really heavy and building up quickly on the road.  He was going to be eating in a hurry because he had to go to work.  I have shoveled the drive and the walk down to the corner.  Last shoveling was at 11.  The snow has stopped for now.  If it holds for the remainder of the evening my work tomorrow morning on the walks will have been done.  If it continues to fall then I will obviously be busy.  The forecast is calling for snow everyday for at least the next three days and possibly more. When you live in the desert snow is not something you complain about.  We always need the water.  Well, the reality is that there are those who don't like the snow and will certainly complain. For me, I have lived in the West for much of my life and truly appreciate a good snow storm. We will see if the next few days are in fact filled with snow.  If so, we will take it happily. 

Not a Fun Assignment

I have pretty much spent my entire day working on a project for my current course.  It is the first of three tasks and the direction on this is minimal.  That is fine and I have done my best to figure it out but it was kind of a rough one.  I pretty much have gone in blind and am hoping that I don't end up having to do it all again. The biggest challenges were trying to get through thoughts in writing whilst managing the kids and their homework or whatever at the same time.  Between the homework, the random questions from the boys and by random I mean very random, the need for dinner and whatever else came up, it was a bit rough to stay focused. I read through and made edits prior to submitting my work and I think I am hitting what they want but who really knows.  I am tired, it was a long day and that was not a fun assignment.  I must go to bed. 

One Seventeen Seventeen

I haven't a title coming to mind so I have decided to simply go with the date. I tried to be creative with that but perhaps it is more corny than creative. Regardless, the day is at a close. It has been a fine day. I have worked through the rest of the material for the first task of my new class and I have reviewed the task requirements. It is time to sit and write out the task. I was trying to get some direction from the course mentor but he is apparently out of town. I usually have received a welcome email from the mentor but there is silence on this course. I am a big boy and will do my best to appropriately construct the document but would find it nice to have a little more detail on the matter. Tomorrow I will be working through it. I would like to have it done so I can press forward with the material and get through the class by the end of next week. Lots to do and when it is done I will be rolling into the next one. It is going to be a hectic year

Happy Birthday Padre

The old man is 67 today. It is strange to think how fast time goes. When he was my age he had a return missionary, I was in the mission field and Pete was getting ready to go. I don't feel like I could be at a level at the moment where I could do the same. We all have our own experiences that shape who we are. I am grateful for the times I have shared and continue to share with my father that help to shape my life.  Happy Birthday Padre!

The Ward

I really enjoy our ward. There are good people here that I love and appreciate. I am grateful for those who have been so kind to me and my children. I often think of where I was emotionally and spiritually when I moved here nearly 7 years and how I struggled for several months.  There have been so many that loved me and lifted me. I am grateful for so many that have lifted me with a kind word or a waive. 

A Day

Had a fine day. Got to jump on a move today. A family in the ward was moving out to Enoch and I was able to help. Always good to go out and serve with members of the quorum/ward. We had a good time.

I had a couple of projects in the kitchen today. I wanted to try my hand at beef jerky again. It turned out rather well. I will make a bit of an adjustment the next time on the thickness of the meat.  I also have a pork roast on. Doing a Kailua pig recipe and have it slow cooking. Made a couple of tweaks to how I normally make it. I am doing a 20 or so hour cook time. I hope it turns out well. I wanted to wrap it in banana leaves but those aren't readily available in Cedar City. They said aluminum foil can be used as a substitute there. Well, hopefully it does the trick. Looking forward to trying it tomorrow.

Managing a Classroom

Started on my new course today, classroom management. It is interesting so far. I think I made some progress today. I've got to really move things along and I've got to figure out pacing on this course. Hopefully I can have it knocked out in a couple weeks.

Slightly Discouraged

Had a meeting this morning that left me slightly discouraged. I apparently must have misunderstood the amount of credits needed by June 1st. Perhaps it was just the date that I misunderstood. Turns out it is 35 credits by April 1st. Well holy hell, I was already stressing about how I would get it done by June 1st.  If I don't have it done it means I won't be student teaching a year from now but will have to push it back another 8 months. It has kind of left me lacking wind in my sails today. I don't know how I can get through 10 upper division classes in 2.5 months.  Well, a bit discouraged to say the least.

Assessed!

It is nearly two in the AM.  I was wanting to be done with this educational assessment class and found myself tied up in other things all day that didn't allow me the time I needed to study.  At 9 PM I was done with my other responsibilities and went through areas I was weak in on the pre-assessment I had taken yesterday.  Shortly after starting I had to run to pick up Natalie and to write a check for a vendor at the shop.  I then drove through a car-wash on the way home, anything to further delay studying this material even more.  Eventually I got back to it and around 12:30 I had been through everything and decided I would just go for it.  I was not supremely confident but went for it anyway.  I didn't fair as well as I did on the pre-assessment, I actually came in one point lower but that was still above the cut score and so I passed the class.  It wasn't my best class that is for sure but I will take it and move on, happily. 

Learning to Live Again

A few months ago I added a Garth Brooks radio station to my Pandora. I really don't consider myself a big country music fan but I enjoy some twang now and again. I have always been a Garth fan and have found that I like a lot more than just Garth. I mean I can do some Boot Scootin, some Watermelon Crawl'n, I can sing along with putting a boot in your..., maybe I should have been a cowboy or at least learned to rope and ride. I don't know how it happened but I can listen to this station for days and be perfectly content.

I was talking to a friend of mine tonight whilst waiting to step into a meeting and we were laughing about my being single and the help so many want to give. I realized that it has nearly been seven years. Wow! It has been awhile. Anyway, Andy asked me to turn on some music while he was trying to fall asleep. I turned on my Garth Pandora station and the song Learning to Live Again was first up. Every time I hear that song I think of it being my current theme song. I don't exactly mean the story portrayed in the song itself though I have been on dates where that has been present. I don't really date all that well and really haven't established any kind of deep relationship with a woman, heck, not even a shallow relationship. Honestly, the dating scene is hard because that is not my priority. Seven years ago Andy was 3 years old, Jack 5 and Natty 10. My priority has been them. Dating is time consuming and when your time is filled with other things, how do you find the time to do it?  I have met and been on dates with some wonderful women. I just haven't been in a position to make that a priority. In that seven years I've held hands with one woman and that was 6 years ago. I really haven't learned how to live again and maybe it is killing me. It certainly hasn't been easy and I do have moments of loneliness. Someday I will be ready and my kids will be ready for a time when I can put more time into dating and eventually introduce someone new into our family. Until that day my learning curve will continue to be long and sometimes lonely. I'm okay with that.

Morning Came Early

The morning started early with Natalie being up and making a bunch of noise at like 5:30. This was clearly a violation of good house etiquette. I'm sure it wasn't that much noise but it certainly sounded quite loud that early ​in the morning and was painful. The break was very much a time that allowed me to catch up, rest up and to not be ready for school starting early in the morning. Guess I've gotta get used to it. Dang it. I need a nap.

Just Thoughts

I don't know what to title this, maybe I should start rolling out the date as the title? It is my journal and that would make sense. Well, I'll just share a few things from the day.  We had teacher council meeting today at church and I loved it. This is one of my favorite meetings and I look forward to going and learning from everyone that participates. I thought today was pretty awesome. The room was full, not enough chairs in the second hour. We had all the auxiliary and priesthood presidencies there and we broke into groups and had teacher orientations. From what I could gather it really went well and gave everyone an opportunity to learn their duty. I hope people went away having been strengthened. I did. I hope we are doing good there and hope we are running these meetings effectively and how the Lord would want us to. I think they are a special meeting in the church. 

We have a lot of work to do in the Sunday School. There are changes happening in the ward that will have minor effects on us but we will feel some of that. We've also had a ton of young married couples move into the ward and need to put them to work. In an effort to do so we are going to add another couple to each of our youth Sunday school classes.  We will be heavily staffed but will have plenty of coverage and will be able to transition when some of our couples graduate and move on.  Fun times.

Food thoughts. I made zucchini casserole for dinner tonight and a second batch for dinner some other night. I thought it turned out well and look forward to leftovers. I also decided to make homemade eggnog. Thought that turned out quite well. It wasn't quite as thick as I would have liked but the flavor was good. I might make that again sometime.

Boys. I've got a couple of boys afraid to sleep in their own beds. They want to sleep in my room but I am not giving up my bed and so they have built pillow nests to rest in. Fun times for sure.

The Struggle

I am continuing to work through my educational assessment course. I had wanted to be done with it already but I'm not quite ready yet.  Come Monday I want to take the pre-assessment and hopefully be in position to take the assessment as well.  Going through the material I'm finding I am making some mistakes on the knowledge checks. I've gotta get a handle on the information. I think I'm getting close.

Cold Day

We hit the road early this morning and made our way back to Cedar City.  The drive was just fine though we hit wind the entire way.  There was snow in the gorge, on the ground that is. The roads were pretty well clear with patches of ice from the gorge all the way to Cedar and beyond I'm sure. The patches became more prevalent as the elevation increased but they had done a good job on the roads. The skies were clear and the temps were low. It was a cold day for sure. No cloud cover to hold in any heat.  Hopefully Tomorrow we will thaw out a bit.  Anyway, wonderful to be home and to have the kids here with me.

Almost Home

The kids flew in tonight and we are almost home. We won't actually get home until tomorrow morning some time. There was a major winter storm that has hit Southern Utah and we are not going to test it. We have stopped at Jim and Clo's house for the night. Last year when we made the trip home there was a major storm and driving through it was terrible so I am quite grateful for Jim and Clo allowing us to stay with them.  Jim just told me that a friend had posted a pic of snow in St. George. Well, I guess we will see how things are in the morning.  Grateful that the kids are almost home.

Fighting It

For the last couple of days I have felt something coming on. I can't afford to get sick so I have been fighting it pretty well. Hoping to be on the mend but it can go either way. I may wake up tomorrow and be worse or I may be completely fine or I may be in this same state of just battling. Whatever the case I will be on the road to Vegas and a sweet reunion with the kids.

Fun Flick

I ran out to a movie tonight, the fantastic beasts and where to find them movie. It was good. I quite enjoyed it as it took me back to the fun that was the Harry Potter stories. I won't get to the movies much when the kids return home and that is just fine. It was nice to go and enjoy this one. 

Lots of Study

There is a lot of work to do in the next 5 months. I am feeling the weight of what I need to do in that time. I got a jump on my current class today. I need to keep moving forward. If I fail I will lose my window for student teaching in Spring 2018 and won't graduate when I want to. That is a bit of pressure. 

Blessings

Baby Ellie was blessed today. Any and Dan gathered with family this afternoon for the blessing. It was a beautiful blessing and a special experience. Glad to have been able to be there. These are wonderful moments in our lives when we catch a glimpse of our Heavenly Fathers love for his children. As we returned to the folks we had occasion to give pops a blessing. Clayton was able to participate in both the baby blessing and then again with pops.  Awesome to see him growing.  It was a good day to be sure.

New Years Evening 2016

As I sit to write this the new year is upon us. It is officially 2017 by roughly 55 minutes.  Pretty dang exciting. Well, for the evening part the party was at my place. We had a slider competition and it was a lot of fun.  We saw Amy take first place with her caprese. It is a tasty sandwich. Well, we all seemed to enjoy it and think we will definitely do it again sometime.. We had a fun night and now I must go to bed.