I have tried multiple times to post but every time it has failed. So, I am trying again. We are in Idaho! I'm glad Elise has been posting a few of things we have done. It has been fun and very challenging. Transition is not an easy thing. Addy had a really bad earache and we took her to instacare. Henry has been sick forever it seems like but with improving weather we can take him outside and that cheers him up. The Hart's have been so fun to hang out with! Elise and I have had some great Fixer Upper viewings and are coming up with a plethora of ideas for our house. We just hope the right house comes along for them as well. We close on Thursday and move in on Friday!!!! We are so very excited. Garrett and the kids went to our new ward today and were very warmly welcomed. I was home with Henry but plan on being there next week. I hope to post pictures of everything soon!
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Hart Hapenings
Such a fun week! We got to hang out with the Nilssons some. Ruth and Garrett took the kids while Alex and I went to celebrate our anniversary, which was really fun! We're looking forward to more of those kinds of swaps in the future!
Ian performed with his choir at a local elementary school. They were great!
We tackled the attic this weekend and got it all cleaned out which is an excellent feeling!
We planted some more seeds in the garden. So far there are sightings of red orach, lettuce, peas, carrots, garlic, leeks, and amaranth (thanks, mom). So exciting to see things coming up!
We had quite the rainstorm last night and this morning. It has left everything so fresh and sweet-smelling.
Our best neighbors/friends are leaving tomorrow to serve their mission at a church camp in Washington state. We are going to miss them terribly.
Other than all that, life is about the same here. Just another week in paradise!
Flake Fun
24 April 2016 - I spent this entire week in Dallas, TX at a preparedness conference. It was an interesting experience to say the least and I am very glad to be home.
Because of the trip, there isn't much to report for this week. Our plants seem to be doing well and we hope to get them planted outside in the next couple of weeks. We discovered a new tool that makes life so much easier; quick release hose connect! For anyone that has used an air hose, it is the same idea. You attach one piece to your faucet and the other to your hose. Then you just have to push and it connects! When you want to take it off, you just pull up on the plastic ring and out it pops! Highly recommended if you are constantly taking the hose off to prevent freezing or something like that!
We found renters for our Sunset house. They are hoping to move in this coming weekend. We haven't done anything else on the Lovelake house but hope to get back there soon.
Hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy birthday to Emma! Good luck on the recital to Nick. Good luck to all who are taking finals and the like!
Because of the trip, there isn't much to report for this week. Our plants seem to be doing well and we hope to get them planted outside in the next couple of weeks. We discovered a new tool that makes life so much easier; quick release hose connect! For anyone that has used an air hose, it is the same idea. You attach one piece to your faucet and the other to your hose. Then you just have to push and it connects! When you want to take it off, you just pull up on the plastic ring and out it pops! Highly recommended if you are constantly taking the hose off to prevent freezing or something like that!
We found renters for our Sunset house. They are hoping to move in this coming weekend. We haven't done anything else on the Lovelake house but hope to get back there soon.
Hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy birthday to Emma! Good luck on the recital to Nick. Good luck to all who are taking finals and the like!
Monday, April 18, 2016
Hyde Park Happiness
Well, Dad is happy to have his Stake Conference over so he will have less pressure. I'm glad to have the stake conference over so that Dad can get to bed earlier and find the 5+ pounds he lost worrying about the conference! It was a great experience all in all. Elder Wilson was delightful and gave some wonderful messages at all the meetings. Dad spoke very well and the YSA members were all inspired and uplifted. The Stake Presidency was re-organized since Dad's counselor, Brother McKenna is leaving for New York City in a couple of weeks. Brother Evans is now the first counselor and the Cache County district judge, Brother Willmore, is now the second counselor.
Since last posting, I've attended one birth, traveled to Idaho to take some important items to the Nilssons, gone on a date with Dad to Ogden where we had dinner and saw a documentary about birth (it was done by medical professionals who birth out of the hospital), and attended stake conferences - Hyde Park and YSA. It was a nice week, even though I didn't get any yard work or housework done. Lauren's baby is the next one due in the valley. It's fun to now get to turn all my attention to her. She doesn't say much, but has been miserable for a while. Something has completely taken over her body! She's quite a trooper and keeps pressing forward. I guess there's not much else she can do. We're getting very excited for this baby Manning to make his appearance!
We have new bees that have been in the garage since Saturday morning that we hope to put in their permanent home this afternoon. Dad was just too busy to do it on the weekend. We have been spraying them with sugar water several times a day to keep them happy until they can get settled in their new place. Hey! Maybe that would help the Nilssons! I can make some sugar water for you, Ruth, and you can spray your children with it whenever they are feeling a little agitated about not being in their own home... It couldn't hurt! :)
Emma attended a Lauren retreat at Bear Lake where she enjoyed workshops that were designed to help the girls prepare for life away from home, whether they are heading to college or on a mission. Emma chuckled when they had a cooking workshop about preparing healthy food for yourself, then they had the girls make pudding and pour it into store-bought graham cracker crusts to make cream pies! She learned some self-defense, too, so don't come up behind her to surprise her or you might be the one to get a surprise! I am posting some more photos of prom, but can't figure out how to move the pictures from Dad's part of this computer to mine, so I'll send those from his account in a moment.
Thomas called the other day to see if I'd open the garage so he could drive in. I did, and out jumped Big Blue! He couldn't change at his apartment because no one is supposed to see him in his suit and he couldn't go to the locker room at USU because there was a class going on there. It was fun to see him since it is a rare occurrence. He and Victoria are very busy, so we're always glad when we get a glimpse of them. They still look happy!
One thought from Stake Conference: "I had a question. I asked. God answered. That settled it." I hope we're all feeling "settled" in the gospel! Grounded, rooted, settled, that's what it's going to take to see us through.
Since last posting, I've attended one birth, traveled to Idaho to take some important items to the Nilssons, gone on a date with Dad to Ogden where we had dinner and saw a documentary about birth (it was done by medical professionals who birth out of the hospital), and attended stake conferences - Hyde Park and YSA. It was a nice week, even though I didn't get any yard work or housework done. Lauren's baby is the next one due in the valley. It's fun to now get to turn all my attention to her. She doesn't say much, but has been miserable for a while. Something has completely taken over her body! She's quite a trooper and keeps pressing forward. I guess there's not much else she can do. We're getting very excited for this baby Manning to make his appearance!
We have new bees that have been in the garage since Saturday morning that we hope to put in their permanent home this afternoon. Dad was just too busy to do it on the weekend. We have been spraying them with sugar water several times a day to keep them happy until they can get settled in their new place. Hey! Maybe that would help the Nilssons! I can make some sugar water for you, Ruth, and you can spray your children with it whenever they are feeling a little agitated about not being in their own home... It couldn't hurt! :)
Emma attended a Lauren retreat at Bear Lake where she enjoyed workshops that were designed to help the girls prepare for life away from home, whether they are heading to college or on a mission. Emma chuckled when they had a cooking workshop about preparing healthy food for yourself, then they had the girls make pudding and pour it into store-bought graham cracker crusts to make cream pies! She learned some self-defense, too, so don't come up behind her to surprise her or you might be the one to get a surprise! I am posting some more photos of prom, but can't figure out how to move the pictures from Dad's part of this computer to mine, so I'll send those from his account in a moment.
Thomas called the other day to see if I'd open the garage so he could drive in. I did, and out jumped Big Blue! He couldn't change at his apartment because no one is supposed to see him in his suit and he couldn't go to the locker room at USU because there was a class going on there. It was fun to see him since it is a rare occurrence. He and Victoria are very busy, so we're always glad when we get a glimpse of them. They still look happy!
One thought from Stake Conference: "I had a question. I asked. God answered. That settled it." I hope we're all feeling "settled" in the gospel! Grounded, rooted, settled, that's what it's going to take to see us through.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Belliston...things
All of you have clever alliterations for your headings but I couldn't think of one. So...
It's been a while since we have come to the blog and a lot has happened since our last post. Like Christmas and a new year! Happy New Year everyone!!!
The weather has been warming up recently which means that Lori has been digging in the dirt a lot and planting a lot of flowers and other things. I'm not sure what they are but hopefully they live...because they usually don't;) Warm weather also means that the kids are riding bikes and scooters non stop and maxing out our bandaid budget. A few weeks ago Grant fell on his scooter and his face met the edge of the scooter and gave him a nice black eye and cut on his cheek that's finally getting back to normal. Here are a couple pictures a few days after the mishap.
Grace loves school and was definitely ready to go back after spring break. I don't know what she's going to do when summer rolls around.
There is a guy in our ward who works for Questar Gas and LOVES his job. Well he came by about a week ago just to make a friendly call and check our furnace to make sure everything was good. Well the furnace was fine but he said if you got too close to the water heater and took three deep breaths, then you would never wake up. He then went on to explain how everything in the water heater worked, how the chemistry of carbon monoxide mixing with your blood will kill you etc. We had a plumber come look at it and he added a few things to the list of what poor shape our water heater was in. Well now we have a new water heater and all is well.
We are pretty flexible as far as the family gathering goes. As long as it's fun we will be there. We will really try to remember our own pillows this time!
It's been a while since we have come to the blog and a lot has happened since our last post. Like Christmas and a new year! Happy New Year everyone!!!
The weather has been warming up recently which means that Lori has been digging in the dirt a lot and planting a lot of flowers and other things. I'm not sure what they are but hopefully they live...because they usually don't;) Warm weather also means that the kids are riding bikes and scooters non stop and maxing out our bandaid budget. A few weeks ago Grant fell on his scooter and his face met the edge of the scooter and gave him a nice black eye and cut on his cheek that's finally getting back to normal. Here are a couple pictures a few days after the mishap.
Grace loves school and was definitely ready to go back after spring break. I don't know what she's going to do when summer rolls around.
There is a guy in our ward who works for Questar Gas and LOVES his job. Well he came by about a week ago just to make a friendly call and check our furnace to make sure everything was good. Well the furnace was fine but he said if you got too close to the water heater and took three deep breaths, then you would never wake up. He then went on to explain how everything in the water heater worked, how the chemistry of carbon monoxide mixing with your blood will kill you etc. We had a plumber come look at it and he added a few things to the list of what poor shape our water heater was in. Well now we have a new water heater and all is well.
We are pretty flexible as far as the family gathering goes. As long as it's fun we will be there. We will really try to remember our own pillows this time!
Flake Fun
17 April 2016 - Looks like everyone is staying super busy and productive! Way to go Nick on the award and good luck on your recital!
This week has been pretty typical. We went to work for 40 hours and then we both had Friday off! We spent the day in the Valley (Mesa/Phoenix) and found a backpack for me to take to Peru. As we were walking out of the hiking store the cashier said, "Have a good time in Peru" and another employee perked up. "You're going to Peru? Want to see a Peruvian bug bite?" (For future reference, if someone says that, don't say yes) It sounds like he does deep jungle tours and is down in Peru quite a bit. It was good to chat with him for a while.
After doing some shopping we took Flake family pictures which should turn out really cute as long as the photographer caught us between wind gusts.
We drove back to Snowflake that night in a snow storm and came home to find the power out in Taylor (but it was on in Snowflake.)
We spent Saturday at the Lovelake rental assessing what needs to be done. As you can imagine, it will be a bigger project than we anticipated. We started taking up the floor...I will send pictures soon!
Last night as I was saying my prayers I felt something fly into my hair. When I felt to figure out what it was, I was stung by a wasp. It was excruciatingly painful. My arm was still a little sore this morning when I woke up. Scott found the nasty bugger and smashed him with a shoe.
This week has been pretty typical. We went to work for 40 hours and then we both had Friday off! We spent the day in the Valley (Mesa/Phoenix) and found a backpack for me to take to Peru. As we were walking out of the hiking store the cashier said, "Have a good time in Peru" and another employee perked up. "You're going to Peru? Want to see a Peruvian bug bite?" (For future reference, if someone says that, don't say yes) It sounds like he does deep jungle tours and is down in Peru quite a bit. It was good to chat with him for a while.
After doing some shopping we took Flake family pictures which should turn out really cute as long as the photographer caught us between wind gusts.
We drove back to Snowflake that night in a snow storm and came home to find the power out in Taylor (but it was on in Snowflake.)
We spent Saturday at the Lovelake rental assessing what needs to be done. As you can imagine, it will be a bigger project than we anticipated. We started taking up the floor...I will send pictures soon!
Last night as I was saying my prayers I felt something fly into my hair. When I felt to figure out what it was, I was stung by a wasp. It was excruciatingly painful. My arm was still a little sore this morning when I woke up. Scott found the nasty bugger and smashed him with a shoe.
Hart Happenings
We keep planting seeds with determined optimism that someday soon the nighttime temps will get above freezing! My friend came by on Saturday bringing fresh lettuce and kale from her greenhouse. Delicious! Ruth was chomping at the bit to try her hand at the greenhouse thing!
Ian has been working hard to get ready for his spring concert which is May 4th at 6:30, if anyone is interested in coming to that.
Our wonderful neighbors of 10+ years are leaving tomorrow morning for a mission. We will miss them!!! I can't imagine better neighbor's and mentors for the young married couple we were when we moved in. They have been wonderful. Our only consolation is that their kids will be living in their house while they are gone. And we love them too!
Hope to see you guys soon!
Mannin Musings
Well the last couple weeks have been filled with school stuff. We are getting down to the last couple weeks of the semester which is hard to believe. I have had a lot of accompanying to do as well as my Music 1010 class. Nick has been teaching and working really hard on his recital which is coming up on the 26th. He has composed and arranged several songs that have been played by different jazz bands and combos at Utah State and I have to say that he is very talented. He was also a nominee finalist for the USU Robins Award which is the highest awards that are given to students at USU. I just have to brag for him a little bit!
Some of the highlights have been the baby showers with the Bellistons and the Mannings. It is always so fun to be with family and everyone has been so kind and generous.
We are enjoying the sunny days and are excited for more of them! As far as the family reunion, we are totally up in the air about where we are going. The end of June would work and so would any other time I think!
Some of the highlights have been the baby showers with the Bellistons and the Mannings. It is always so fun to be with family and everyone has been so kind and generous.
We are enjoying the sunny days and are excited for more of them! As far as the family reunion, we are totally up in the air about where we are going. The end of June would work and so would any other time I think!
Monday, April 11, 2016
P. S. from Hyde Park
I forgot that I was going to put some ideas up for consideration concerning the family gathering. Emma will be riding on the Hyde Park City float in a variety of parades this summer, as you all know, so we'll have to work around the parade schedule (which actually starts in May!). She also has youth conference, girl's camp and marching band... July is a very crazy month for babies being due for me.... Then we are headed to Alaska in August for 2 weeks... Jenn and Scott are gone for two weeks to Peru in May/June...
I don't know what everyone else's schedule is, so here's our input:
Our best options for the Gathering are the end of June, like the 24th to the 30th (we could have a birthday party for Joy and Jake...) OR
how about Labor Day weekend, since it may be a 3 day weekend for most everyone already?....
I like the Pinewood Derby idea - do we get the real kits or just make our own?
I don't know what everyone else's schedule is, so here's our input:
Our best options for the Gathering are the end of June, like the 24th to the 30th (we could have a birthday party for Joy and Jake...) OR
how about Labor Day weekend, since it may be a 3 day weekend for most everyone already?....
I like the Pinewood Derby idea - do we get the real kits or just make our own?
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Hart Happenings
Good times at the Hart house the past couple of weeks. A major highlight was Alex and Jack's trip to Salt Lake to see the Jazz take on the Warriors (the favorite team). Have you ever seen Jack look so delighted?
We had to take a friend to Blackfoot for a doctor appointment and while we were there we visited the Potato Museum which was really fun. The boys especially liked the gigantic Pringle chip.
Of course, Conference was fantastic! We enjoyed a nice, quiet family weekend and topped it off with a book club discussion with Joe and Lori. We are currently reading Are You Ready to Succeed and it has been fun to FaceTime them every other weekend to talk about what we're learning. It's a very interesting book, highly recommended.
Coming down to Logan for the baby shower was super fun! I felt so fancy having a tea party with sugar cubes and beautiful China, not to mention the best peppermint tea I've ever had! I love Lauren's little house! She and Nick have made it so sweet and homey. They are going to make brilliant parents!
Having Ruth and Garrett here is so fun! We can't seem to get enough of them. The weather has been really funny today. Rain and then gorgeous sunshine then rain the gorgeous warmth and sunshine. Garrett was on the couch looking out our window and giving us a play by play. "Oh, it's raining again, oh, now here's the sun, oh and here comes the rain again". Can't wait to see them more settled and permanent. It is no fun to feel like wanderers in a strange land.....
We have such a great family! Can't wait for the next reason someone comes up with to get together! Speaking of which, we'd love to hear dates for a family gathering. What works for y'all? Jack and Ian are wanting to do a family Pinewood Derby. Thoughts?
Flake Fun
10 April 2016 - It is a rainy day in Snowflake. It has bee sprinkling off and on all weekend which is a blessing. We don't have much to report. We planted some potatoes in the garden yesterday which was fun. Hopefully we'll get a good crop this year. We also did a walk through for our Lovelake rental. Now that TJ and Kim have moved into their new home, the real work can begin!
Today in primary I asked the kids if they had watched general conference and they were pretty excited to say yes. Noah, a little sunbeam informed me that he had watched a movie. When I asked if he had watched General Conference his face scrunched up in thought. "No, I don't have that movie." Classic! Then an adorable little girl got up and gave the opening prayer. She finished by pausing and saying, "The end!" Have to love primary!
Today in primary I asked the kids if they had watched general conference and they were pretty excited to say yes. Noah, a little sunbeam informed me that he had watched a movie. When I asked if he had watched General Conference his face scrunched up in thought. "No, I don't have that movie." Classic! Then an adorable little girl got up and gave the opening prayer. She finished by pausing and saying, "The end!" Have to love primary!
Hyde Park Happiness
Many apologies for not posting last week. Conference was such a treat and I'd love to know everyone's insights and impressions....
What a great week this was with lots of family coming and going! Ruth's family arrived after conference on Saturday, officially homeless. Garrett left early Monday morning to go back to work in Idaho and Eliza woke up that morning with a scowl and said, "Where's my dad?" She is feeling a little displaced, I think - no stuff ("It's all on that big twuck."), no house ("I just want to go home."), no dad. Poor, sad Eliza! But we tried to make the best of it! She was much happier when cousins arrived and the sun came out. Thanks for coming and entertaining Eliza and the rest of the Nilssons. It was truly a blessing to have all the cousins here. I'm especially grateful to Jack for arranging the stick moving contest! It's very nice to have the sticks out in front, ready to be ground into chips for the yard - even if the adults lost the contest. I really think I came out the winner!
I thoroughly enjoyed the quick, almost spontaneous, baby shower for Lauren. Since Ruth was here and Joe's family was coming for eye exams, it seemed logical to see if Harts could rush down and the gals could meet between Lauren's accompanying obligations and Victoria's and Emma's school schedules for a little tea party at Lauren's. It was absolutely delightful! Elise and I are going to England so we can figure out the fine details of tea parties (and to get some more of that luscious peppermint tea)! The only trick now is for Lauren to find a place for the fun things she got for the baby! One of my favorite things of the day was when Joe thought the outfits Lori purchased for the new baby would be way too big for the itsy, bitsy baby Lauren is going to have! :) He obviously hadn't seen her for a while...
Well, I feel quite pleased with myself. Dad is still at church meetings, Emma is asleep, and I really wanted to include some photos in my post. So, I got out the camera, figured out how to get the little thingy out and put it in the computer and find the pictures I wanted. I even figured out how to download them here! I must be very amazing. I even figured out how to make them larger, like the ones Elise sends. Who would have guessed I could do that all by myself?
Emma had a fun time at junior prom last night. It was nice that her friend Emilee was willing to come do her hair and help her get ready, since Dad and I were trying to squeeze that in between attending two wedding receptions. She looked lovely, as evidenced below, and had a very fun date. It's such a blessing to know your children have good friends with high values who take delight in truly good things. I'll see if Em will send more photos when she gets them from her date.
What a great week this was with lots of family coming and going! Ruth's family arrived after conference on Saturday, officially homeless. Garrett left early Monday morning to go back to work in Idaho and Eliza woke up that morning with a scowl and said, "Where's my dad?" She is feeling a little displaced, I think - no stuff ("It's all on that big twuck."), no house ("I just want to go home."), no dad. Poor, sad Eliza! But we tried to make the best of it! She was much happier when cousins arrived and the sun came out. Thanks for coming and entertaining Eliza and the rest of the Nilssons. It was truly a blessing to have all the cousins here. I'm especially grateful to Jack for arranging the stick moving contest! It's very nice to have the sticks out in front, ready to be ground into chips for the yard - even if the adults lost the contest. I really think I came out the winner!
I thoroughly enjoyed the quick, almost spontaneous, baby shower for Lauren. Since Ruth was here and Joe's family was coming for eye exams, it seemed logical to see if Harts could rush down and the gals could meet between Lauren's accompanying obligations and Victoria's and Emma's school schedules for a little tea party at Lauren's. It was absolutely delightful! Elise and I are going to England so we can figure out the fine details of tea parties (and to get some more of that luscious peppermint tea)! The only trick now is for Lauren to find a place for the fun things she got for the baby! One of my favorite things of the day was when Joe thought the outfits Lori purchased for the new baby would be way too big for the itsy, bitsy baby Lauren is going to have! :) He obviously hadn't seen her for a while...
Well, I feel quite pleased with myself. Dad is still at church meetings, Emma is asleep, and I really wanted to include some photos in my post. So, I got out the camera, figured out how to get the little thingy out and put it in the computer and find the pictures I wanted. I even figured out how to download them here! I must be very amazing. I even figured out how to make them larger, like the ones Elise sends. Who would have guessed I could do that all by myself?
Emma had a fun time at junior prom last night. It was nice that her friend Emilee was willing to come do her hair and help her get ready, since Dad and I were trying to squeeze that in between attending two wedding receptions. She looked lovely, as evidenced below, and had a very fun date. It's such a blessing to know your children have good friends with high values who take delight in truly good things. I'll see if Em will send more photos when she gets them from her date.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Flake Fun
3 April 2016 - Happy April everyone! Hope that everyone enjoyed conference. We had a pretty decent week. I was finally able to get my stuff into my new office on Thursday. It is still a mess but hopefully it will get more organized in the next week or so. My boss' last day was Thursday which was quite sad but it will be a good move for his family.
Scott had Friday off so we spent the day doing garden stuff. We spread out our compost piles and Scott tilled them into the garden. We also got our seeds started in the greenhouse. We are waiting for fennel and dill seeds to come. We are hoping that they will be natural pest control. Anyone know if it actually works?
Saturday we spent with Dad & Mom Flake making sausage. We processed 150+ pounds of ground beef and it took all day. We were exhausted but satisfied at the end of the day.
TJ and Kim have moved into their new home! Yay! Now our weekends will be taken up working on our new rental that TJ and Kim were living in!
I think that is about all that we have to report. Hope that you were all able to get together for conference. Hope that the new house works out for the Nilsson's. Can't wait to hear about everyone's adventures!!!
Love you all! Have a great week!
Scott had Friday off so we spent the day doing garden stuff. We spread out our compost piles and Scott tilled them into the garden. We also got our seeds started in the greenhouse. We are waiting for fennel and dill seeds to come. We are hoping that they will be natural pest control. Anyone know if it actually works?
Saturday we spent with Dad & Mom Flake making sausage. We processed 150+ pounds of ground beef and it took all day. We were exhausted but satisfied at the end of the day.
TJ and Kim have moved into their new home! Yay! Now our weekends will be taken up working on our new rental that TJ and Kim were living in!
I think that is about all that we have to report. Hope that you were all able to get together for conference. Hope that the new house works out for the Nilsson's. Can't wait to hear about everyone's adventures!!!
Love you all! Have a great week!
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