Christmas 2009

So how many months do we plan and prepare for Christmas? How many times do we tell the Christmas story to the children and grandchildren so they know the true meaning of Christmas? How many times do we shake our heads saddened by the news of constant attacks by those who do not want to celebrate Christmas and feel neither should we! Yet with all of this activity and hustle and bustle we find ourselves finally sitting around the Christmas tree, some of us are tired from putting the last presents out after the children fall asleep. Others are just tired from playing games with family late into the night. Perhaps a few just can't believe we are getting up before 8am to open presents. No matter how we come to this moment, here we are, sitting waiting for the Mom or Grammy to say "This is how we are doing it this year!" Amazingly the children who have been looking at the ever growing presents that seem to show up day after day under the tree, sit still! Even the littlest child is watching and learning from the older children on how this process works. Then suddenly an adult grabs the first present and says who it is for. Excitement fills the childrens faces as they finally get one of the presents they have been looking and poking at for at least a week! Parents and others sit and warmly smile as they watch the children excitedly rip into each present! They giggle or laugh as they see a child do a funny war like dance as they get some expected or unexpected toy or gift! What seems like a slow process each present is passed out and opened. The excitement slowly ebbs and the cleanup continues from ripped open packages and boxes. Then as the children run off to thier rooms to put new toys away someone looks at their watch or the clock on the wall and they realize all of these presents were opened and touched within an hour or so. All of that planning and purchasing is over in a few shourt minutes! Yet we will do it again, next year! Now comes the decision which parent can sneek back into bed for a few more hours of sleep. While the other "Dads!" lay on the floor and play with the child and thier new toy or video game. Amazingly most Moms are okay with Dads playing video games on Christmas day, as long as they get to go back to bed! Later the Christmas dinner is prepared and we over eat for the second time in two months and tell ourselves we will do better next year!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, Mamaw came for Christmas! She visited Ricky and Bart during the first part of the month and really enjoyed herself. We also had a huge suprise when Roger Jr, Alyssa and Madison and Little Roger showed up on Wednesday night from Texas! What a wonderful surprise! We sorely missed Micah who had to stay in Wyoming to keep working on the railroad and Leo wh was visiting his dad in Kansas City. Maybe one day we will have them all for Christmas!

Mamaw and Lil' Roger

Grammy and her Lil' Rog

Lee Phillip or "Philly" as Grammy calls him.

Maddie isn't she beautiful!

Taylor James "TJ" and his 1st present.

Triniti and her new Christmas dress!

Chance and his new comforter for his bed!

Lil' Roger

Like Father like Son!

I'm sure I saw this is in the movie "Forrest Gump"!

Just a great picture of Roger Jr! The women folk never like thier pictures on Christmas morning!

Dec 09 and I'm Late!

Okay, okay! I know several of you have checked this blog and wonder why I don't update it with something new! All I can say is I'm sorry and I'll try to do better. It was a crazy few month leading up to today. While I had the chance to get the last few "Outdoor Projects" done before the weather turned cold I had to do that. First was the Storage shed! It's 95 % done. The outside is all complete but I have the inside shelves and perhaps a window for Grammy to look out at her yard to finish it off. The shelves will be so she can do early plantings with a grow light. Of course that takes electricity which I haven't run yet. One thing at a time.

Next is a last minute sidewalk. Grammy has wanted a way for the family to use the garage in the winter to take off boots and coats instead of the front door. Last year the front door was always a mess. So I quickly dug out the sidewalk layout and formed it up and them put the entire family to work. Nathan was a HUGE help! The sidewalk looks pretty good for an amateur! It looks like we have pretty much train everyone to use the side door.

Then there was the shelves in the garage by the kitchen door for Grammy to put her extra kitchen things on. Again Nathan was a big help! Following that I started the repair of the kitchen light area after the kitchen fire. That is not done yet but I have time.

Work has been very busy and I'm quite tired when I get home. Ten hour days followed by a 30 to 45 minute car drive home doesn't leave much room for much except dinner and get ready for bed. 4am comes awfully early!

Of course we have Heather and Nathan living with us now, which makes for a very busy house. It gets mostly quiet around 9:30 pm. They close on thier house in SD this week and if all goes well they will buy the new one before the end of the year. Matha and Leo will move in with them which will leave Sara and the kids here.

Of course there is the issue of San Diego. I still haven't heard anything at this point. I will call my friend there after the New Year if I haven't heard anything by then. Again, if I don't get the position that is okay, but it would be nice to get the pay raise. We will see! If it's meant to be then it will happen!

Christmas is fast approaching and we will have Mamaw stay with us thru the holidays. We flew her out here on Dec. 4th. Due to some rearranging with my brothers in Wyoming, I took her to Rock Springs on the 6th and she stayed a week with Ricky and now she is with Bart and his family. I'm really glad she has had the opportunity to go there and see everyone. It's hard to be with everyone all the time but this is the best we can do. I just hope she is happy!

Last night was a strange one! Mondays are normally hard on me as it's the first day back to work and I normally don't get alot of sleep the night before. Makes for a long day! Well due to some extra work taskings I was going to go into work this morning at 8am instead of 6am. That allowed me to stay up with Grammy as she wanted to do some shoppig last night. Well needless to say we got home around 10pm and I saw the heavy snow on the bushes on the side of the house that were possibly damaging the bushes so as we walked in i stopped to clean off as much as I could really quickly. I was close to being done when I started feeling really tired and just generally didn't feel well. I came in and told Grammy and Heather I wasn't feeling well and my heart felt like it was racing! Grammy touched my nech and said it feels alright to me, I think yor just tired! Go to bed and get some sleep! So I started to do just that. However by the ime I rawled into bed I was not feeling good at all. My chest felt like I had one of the grnadkids on my chest! I knew something wasn't right! So I went down stairs and found the little blood pressure machine we have and strapped it on. My BP was like 130 over 83 and my heart rate was around 120 bpm. Martha insisted I they call 911 or take to the hospital but I didn't want to go just yet!. Basically it stayed like that until almost 11pm when I bored down and got it to stop or slow down finally! I know many of you will tell me I should have gone in or called 911. I just felt it wasn't time to do that. However in hindsight, if it happens again I will do just that. This has scared me a bit! I need to stay off the chocolate and stop eating the kid friendly food that we seem to eat around here! I take my vitamins and I need to go see a family doctor for a check up anyway for some regular tests. So I will get things looked at!

Okay, I will do better at updating this thing and I want to say Merry Christmas!

Crazy-Busy-Happy-Life

Okay here is an update so that my two boys will know what is going on, sorry guys I've been a bit busy.

The 1st picture below is of Grammy's last harvest of carrots from her garden. She had Zuccini, cucumber, pole beans, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes etc. plus the back fence is covered in two types of grapes. Needles to say she has been busy freezing, canning and drying all that she can. The picture below only shows what was left of the carrot harvest. I wonder what it will be like when the fruit trees start producing in two years.

What's up Doc! Thanks Grammy!

The next picture is of Leo helping Grammy nail the bottom panels on the new 10x10 shed I built. I had some great helpers, Chance, Triniti, Leo, Sara, Martha and Grammy assisted at various times but in the end it was about 80% me and 20% a great family supporting an old guy. Truth be told the ladies were worried I'd kill myself or something. Leo loved to hammer and hammer and hammer.

Leo the Tool Guy!

The shed still needs a coat of paint and trim done but it will survive the weather now.

Now, I also started a shed (Covering) for the meat factory. Yep, Grammy wanted me to protect the Rabbits so I'm enclosing the existing framework and extending the roof. It will be painted a light blue/green (per Grammy) and have white plastic lattice for a fashion touch. I've been delayed on this project due to weather, a 10x10 shed, the demo of a garage and house painting in Casper and oh yes - "Work". Luckily I'm not on a time schedule here or else I'd get fired. The picture below shows what I've done and how much I have to go.



Now that Heather, Nathan and kiddo's are here let's say it's BUSY around here. I told her and everyone else it's like having 5 kids again but this time they are my grandkids and Grammy and I have 4 other adults to help us out. Oh I almost forgot the three dogs!

I love these two boys expressions. Heather and the boys were making family home evening treats and what do we get? Two totally opposite expressions! If only adults were like this at work I'd know from a distance who I would want to work with today. Gotta love kids! Expecially when they are your grandkids.

Then suddenly the curious one shows up! "Hey when do I get to try this?"

Utah to Texas to see Little Roger and family!

Ok, I know I could bore you with stories and little tidbits about our trip to Texas, suffice it to say that we really enjoyed ourselves. Being a part of Little Roger's blessing was very special for me. He has a great Mom and Dad and Madison will make a amazing big sister!

Enjoy the photo's and the video's at the end!

Well one of us isn't happy! Where is MOM!

Little Roger is in good hands! Very happy Grammy!

Who is that handsome boy with those men! Wow, three Roger's!

Amazing!

Sleeping boy! Remember the days when you could sleep all day and still have someone feed you and change your diaper!

Little Rogers impression of "Dr. Evil". Too funny!

Can't resist this photo of Maddie!

Caption: "Yes, I'm cute so get over it folks!"

Little Roger upset! I think he is hungry!

Just so you know, he is a really good baby! This is the way he is most of the time!

Texas Trip

Ok, lots of pictures and captions!

Grammie and Little Roger

Sparks Family

Great Family picture!

" Papa let's go for a walk!" Look at those shoes!


Maddie's Butterfly and Winnie the Pooh!

1st week of Sept

Chance "Arrow of Light"

On Wednesday September 2nd Chance and two other boys were awarded their Webelos Badges and their Arrow of Light awards. These are the highest award each young man can earn in Cub Scouts. We are very proud of him especially his mom. Scouting is never easy, if it was everyone would get their Eagle Scout Award! Now he has started on the path to earn his Eagle! Chance loves camping and being in the woods! Amazing how they grow up so fast! Of course he is a "Good Looking kid!" Girls better watch out when he gets older.

Chance with his "Arrow of Light" plaque

Golden Spike

Ok, remember where the first two major Railroads met in Utah! History folks, History! It's where they drove the Golden and Silver Spikes to join the first ever continental railroad. It's about 50 minutes away and it's historical! So I decided to take the kids there on Labor Day! The name is Promontory Summit not Point. Promontory Point has been used in history books for years but they were wrong. The point is south of the summit which is way out in the boonies! Of course back then it was all out in the boonies! Apparently the surveyors of the two railroads actually passed each other by many miles before they figures out where each one was. All in all it was a bit of history that the Grandkids can now say they has seen with their own eyes.

Promontory Summit

Sara and Kids at Golden Spike!

At the Lake!

Sara and I discovered that just 20 minutes north of us is a reservoir/lake that is huge! On Google Earth it looks like part of the great Salt Lake until you zoom in. It's called Willard Bay and it's fed by water from the mountains or so I've been told. There were alot of boats and Wave Runner of all types. 3 beaches with lots of picnic areas. Granted the sand wasn't the finest (a bit rocky) but nice place to take the family and it's close by!

Posing? Now I know where the kids get it!

Interesting! Triniti says the cold water didn't bother her!

Triniti pictures

Here is a picture and video of Triniti at the Gateway Mall fountain the kids had a blast.

I tried different settings on the camera but this one was interesting! I think you can tell she was having fun!

It wasn't as dark as the video shows. Hard to take pictures or video at night without an expensive camera.

Grandson Chance

Well today is Chance's Birthday! We celebrated with him getting his Webelos Rank in Cub Scouts and his Arrow of Light this week. This makes him an Eleven year old scout. We want him to do well in scouts, (perhaps he can get his eagle faster than his Uncles) he loves to camp out. Or maybe I should say he likes to play out in the woods! So I thought I would show two videos of him. One he is playing in Logan with his Football team. This is his first year playing full contact football so he is learning a lot. I've seen a lot of progress in his motivation and willingness to push himself instead of being worried about what the other boys are doing. He is the wide receiver closest to the camera. He doesn't play alot as most of the other boys have been doing this for three years! That's okay he is in 6th grade this year and in Jr. High he will get the chance to do better than this year.

Then last Saturday night Grammy and I were downtown on a date when we went to the Gateway mall for a walk after dinner. We saw a lot of kids running through the fountain and so we called Sara and found out they were just south of downtown. We told her about the fountain and so she brought the kids. The fountain is fun to watch but with kids it was a lot better. I never had such a thing when I was growing up. The best I could hope for was a drive out to the river and swimming with the turtles and snakes.

Time

I find that between my busy schedule at work and the things that must be done at home I forget a lot of the time what I should be doing next. I had a Pres. meeting scheduled last night and I remembered yesterday at work that I had the meeting but by the time I got home and I got busy taking care of taking the pool down I forgot my meeting. How can I keep doing this, I don't know. Thank heaven for MS Outlook at work or else I'd be a real mess. I've taken to using my cell phones (Yes both of them) to put calendar items on them to remind me that I have things to do. Sad! One day I may forget how to get home sometime soon, sure that there is something else I was supposed to do and I'll drive around trying to find out where I'm supposed to be. Scary? I've already caught myself walking into a room knowing I'm supposed to do something but forgetting and them turn around confused wondering "What was I about to do!" or "Why did I come in here!"

Waiting!

Well, waiting for what? Roger Jr. is waiting for the birth of his Son, Little Roger! Alyssa was supposed to go in on Tuesday to be induced but they postponed it until Wednesday last week. Then after they arrived on Wednesday morning they were told that they had no "Beds at the Inn!" The hospital has so only so many beds for this kind of thing so now they are to go in tomorrow! Interestingly, he will be born on August 24th, I was born on June 24th! I'm getting all emotional already! Really! Whew! I can't wait to see that little boy! Sept 10th Gammy and I fly to Texas. Can't wait! Apparently neither can Maddie!

As for Heather and Nate! They are headed here for sure but they are WAITING for the details of the position, like how much will they will pay him etc! Hopefully next week they may hear something. It will be awesome to have them close to us. TJ and Lee are such fun little men! Mom and Dad are pretty cool too!

Grammy has to move to another Walmart store since with Martha as an AP person they finally figured out it could be a conflict of interest for both of them to be at the same store. So Grammy will transfer to another store, hopefully closer. Should know something soon! Yep - Waiting!

I still don't know if the San Diego job will happen or not. The HR system is so buggered up I can't tell if they ever received my application and all my supporting documents. I've talked to the HR Help desk but all they can tell me is "Yes, I believe we have all of your application", however the online dashboard I'm supposed to be able to see any progress is blank! I now have 4 work order #'s trying to get some resolution. Yes I'm waiting!

We are trying to sell one of the rentals, yep! Waiting! Not sure if congress will approve HB 2200 that effects my job in a direct way, did I say I'm waiting for that to happen? Oh they may even approve HB 1881 some day in the future as well. Okay, okay I won't say it!

All in all other than feeling sick for the last three days I'm fine! I am waiting to get over this cold, chest congestion or whatever you want to call it! Can I just say I am grateful I woke up this morning to see my beautiful wife asleep beside me! At least I'm not waiting for her!

I'm such a Lucky man!