I don't know how I always get so behind on writing on the blog. I recall the song we used to sing "My mommy said not to put beans in my ears..." and I definitely haven't put any in my ears but they are coming out of my ears like crazy! This past week I bottled 51 pints of beans, gave a sackful to Elise and Mom and still have plenty to spare. Tomorrow it will be the peaches turn.
A couple weeks ago, our neighbor and another ward member came over with a backhoe to remove our nine huge lilac shrubs that divided the backyard from the garden. It only took about a half hour for them to do that and then they asked if there was anything else and we happened to mention our big elm trees, the ones that were going to be the family gathering service project. Well, that only took them another half hour and they were done. It was amazing! I think we need to invest in a backhoe for all our project needs. Things are slowly transforming around here.
We are hoping soon to start work in the basement on the master bedroom and bathroom. Garrett said that since our family will be welcoming another little person the beginning of March, we would need to have a bigger bedroom. We are still waiting on an estimate from the contractor but hope to get that this week.
The family gathering is just around the corner for which we are VERY excited. We hope that the big fire up here will be out by then so the air can be more clear. We look forward to seeing you all!
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Hectic in Hyde Park
Well, we had a delightful trip to Alaska with Grandpa and all of Dad's siblings. We saw some beautiful territory (including some amazing glaciers that breeched just for us), a few animals of interest (including one sweet beaver that I named Bravo), visited with Rhonda and Eric and their family, attended the farmer's market in Anchorage, went on a riverboat excursion in Fairbanks, and learned a lot about the history and culture of that area. But it was a little long to be away and we are happy to be back. Things survived here, thanks to Elise, Ruth and Lauren who came to keep Emma company, care for the yard and garden and re-do Emma's room. Many heartfelt thanks to all of you!!! Thanks, too, for entertaining Becca and keeping her company and getting her to the airport. Uncle Burl's passing was really hard for her and she was very grateful to spend time with so many of you while she was in Utah.
We hit the ground running when we got home from our trip... answering a bunch of texts that we didn't get until coming home, a large pile of mail, long list of emails, and phone messages, attending a very long (38 hour) birth, mowing the lawn and harvesting peaches, etc. It's been great to eat regular food again!! Like the Flakes, we've enjoyed some luscious garden dinners. The favorite dish has been our very delicious home-grown watermelons. We've had several large and medium ones that are very juicy and sweet. We keep hoping the cantaloupes will begin to ripen soon, since there are too many to eat in one sitting! The potatoes and tomatoes are very yummy, as are the cucumbers, berries and beans. It is certainly a yummy time of year!
Emma survived a week of band camp then another three days of drill camp. She finally got her schedule arranged and has an AP government class and some concurrent enrollment classes, as well as trying to finish up a few American School courses. Still can't believe she's a senior...
Thomas and Victoria got moved to another house close to her family. It is a home Victoria's parents intend to "flip" but the newlyweds get to live there in the meantime. They will be very busy again starting tomorrow... classes, work, Big Blue, etc., etc. We won't see much of them for a few months.
It was fun to have Ruth and the children come this week. They weren't here long, but we did have fun while it lasted! Henry has really grown up and is talking up a storm! They brought peaches and pears, so we have our work cut out for us this week.
We are so excited to see all of you in a few days we can hardly stand it! Please travel safely everyone, and be prepared for a great time! The Harts have a wonderful gathering planned....
We hit the ground running when we got home from our trip... answering a bunch of texts that we didn't get until coming home, a large pile of mail, long list of emails, and phone messages, attending a very long (38 hour) birth, mowing the lawn and harvesting peaches, etc. It's been great to eat regular food again!! Like the Flakes, we've enjoyed some luscious garden dinners. The favorite dish has been our very delicious home-grown watermelons. We've had several large and medium ones that are very juicy and sweet. We keep hoping the cantaloupes will begin to ripen soon, since there are too many to eat in one sitting! The potatoes and tomatoes are very yummy, as are the cucumbers, berries and beans. It is certainly a yummy time of year!
Emma survived a week of band camp then another three days of drill camp. She finally got her schedule arranged and has an AP government class and some concurrent enrollment classes, as well as trying to finish up a few American School courses. Still can't believe she's a senior...
Thomas and Victoria got moved to another house close to her family. It is a home Victoria's parents intend to "flip" but the newlyweds get to live there in the meantime. They will be very busy again starting tomorrow... classes, work, Big Blue, etc., etc. We won't see much of them for a few months.
It was fun to have Ruth and the children come this week. They weren't here long, but we did have fun while it lasted! Henry has really grown up and is talking up a storm! They brought peaches and pears, so we have our work cut out for us this week.
We are so excited to see all of you in a few days we can hardly stand it! Please travel safely everyone, and be prepared for a great time! The Harts have a wonderful gathering planned....
Hart Happenings
Here are some pics from this week:
Ian's genie outfit
Raspberry/huckleberry jam
Trying to hike with some friends (we ended up having to turn around)
Making flatbreads at garden class
Our new yard care crew
Flake Fun
28 August 2016 - It has been a typical week with the exception of some rain. It has kept things a bit cooler which is really nice.
Our garden is doing really well. Last night we had a meal which included potatoes, broccoli and corn from our garden! Yum!!! We are almost finished eating our corn and were able to freeze a little bit. The zucchini seem to be slowing down a little and the tomatoes are just getting ready to pink up. Hopefully we'll have a bunch of them to can when we get back from the gathering.
I attended a 2 day training on medical countermeasure distribution which was very interesting. Basically it is the process of mass prophylaxis and how to get medicine to an entire community in the case of a pandemic or chemical release. The training was in Show Low so I got to come home every night which was very nice.
We are still working on the house. The wires are all run for the basement, the dryer plug is in a new location (on the same wall as the gas and washer drain instead of all the way across the room), and most of the drywall patches have been cut. The laundry room is nearly ready for drywall which should be the start of the big push to get things back together.
Our primary program was today and it was great, as you can imagine. One little girl, on the very front row, knew some of the words and would sing them as loudly as she could. The little sunbeams said their parts perfectly, much to my delight. "Who am I?", "Why am I here?", "Where am I going?"
There was only one small altercation in front of the microphone ("It's MY turn next") and the rest went off without a hitch.
We are getting very excited to see all of you this weekend. We are planning to leave on Friday and get up there as fast as we can. Yay for Family Gatherings!!!
Our garden is doing really well. Last night we had a meal which included potatoes, broccoli and corn from our garden! Yum!!! We are almost finished eating our corn and were able to freeze a little bit. The zucchini seem to be slowing down a little and the tomatoes are just getting ready to pink up. Hopefully we'll have a bunch of them to can when we get back from the gathering.
I attended a 2 day training on medical countermeasure distribution which was very interesting. Basically it is the process of mass prophylaxis and how to get medicine to an entire community in the case of a pandemic or chemical release. The training was in Show Low so I got to come home every night which was very nice.
We are still working on the house. The wires are all run for the basement, the dryer plug is in a new location (on the same wall as the gas and washer drain instead of all the way across the room), and most of the drywall patches have been cut. The laundry room is nearly ready for drywall which should be the start of the big push to get things back together.
Our primary program was today and it was great, as you can imagine. One little girl, on the very front row, knew some of the words and would sing them as loudly as she could. The little sunbeams said their parts perfectly, much to my delight. "Who am I?", "Why am I here?", "Where am I going?"
There was only one small altercation in front of the microphone ("It's MY turn next") and the rest went off without a hitch.
We are getting very excited to see all of you this weekend. We are planning to leave on Friday and get up there as fast as we can. Yay for Family Gatherings!!!
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Hart Happenings
Well, Education Week was wonderful. The classes were fantastic and it was fun to go with Lori to a few of those. Eating lunch with Joe was a highlight as well as hanging out at the Belliston house in Springville with that fun family and Becca who was staying the night before she flew back to Arizona.
The week before that the boys and I were down at Mom's house redoing Emma's room which turned out lovely! 
It was fun to hear her and the marching band and hang out with Lauren, Nick, and Wesley. Wesley and I were going out for a walk in the backyard where the boys were jumping on the new trampoline. So fun! Peter and the boys are constantly on the lookout for things we will be taking to "the farm" when we finally find one and so Peter looks at me holding Wesley and says: "Mom, are we taking that baby to the farm with us?" He makes me laugh!
We got to go to the fair which was also fun. Jack and Ian rode on an elephant they had there which was unexpected and very cool!
Now for some information about the Family Gathering 2016:
We will gather on Friday night at the new vacation house. Dinner will be served at 6:00 but come when you can! It will be gathering night and I imagine people will just trickle in as able. We were going to be doing a service project at the Nilsson house but they live in the best ward in the world who took care of it for them already. So for a service opportunity you guys get to help us put the vacation house together! 
Yay! It's all ready to rock and roll we just need to assemble some beds in order for you guys to have a place to sleep! Saturday will be a zoo and park day with the Olympics, food, and kids' stage production thrown in there. Sunday will be church and down time with a Storytime with Grandma and a slide show from their Alaska trip. Monday morning is a pancake breakfast and hanging out playing games and such until people need to take off. Guys bring your fishing licenses and gear if you want to get some fishing in on an early morning or Monday. More specific itinerary to come....We are so excited and looking forward to seeing everyone and just basking in your company. Send me t-shirt sizes please so we can get the shirts ordered this week!
Flake Fun
21 August 2016 - There isn't a whole lot for us to report this week. The house is still coming along. Scott put the gas line back in (this time in the wall instead of outside the wall!) and I did some painting. We got a fuel wood permit so we'll start cutting firewood as soon as things dry out up in the hills. Our tomatoes are starting to ripen which is a wonderful thing. The zucchini plant is still going strong. The rest of the garden is doing well.
Our primary program is next week so we have been spending our primary time practicing for that.
Primary quote of the day: (A little 5 year old boy singing 'Praise to the man') "Hail to the prophet, let's send him to heaven..."
Can't wait to hear about Dad & Mom's recent adventures and to see all of you in a couple of weeks!
A few months ago Dona, my mother-in-law, shared this story with me and I thought you guys would enjoy it! It is a story told by a school teacher:
When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students.. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.
She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'
'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'
She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh. The kids are watching her in amazement.
'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)
'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)
'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)
'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten.
Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there.'
Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.
Our primary program is next week so we have been spending our primary time practicing for that.
Primary quote of the day: (A little 5 year old boy singing 'Praise to the man') "Hail to the prophet, let's send him to heaven..."
Can't wait to hear about Dad & Mom's recent adventures and to see all of you in a couple of weeks!
A few months ago Dona, my mother-in-law, shared this story with me and I thought you guys would enjoy it! It is a story told by a school teacher:
When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students.. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.
She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'
'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'
She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh. The kids are watching her in amazement.
'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)
'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)
'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)
'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten.
Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there.'
Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
News from Springville
Well it's been a while but we are still here. We have really been enjoying the summer and haven't been able to get the kids to come inside before 9:30. As long as it's light outside they don't want to come in. And even then they would rather stay out and play night games.
Grace and Grant had three weeks of swim lessons and they really enjoyed that. They wouldn't even put their heads under the water the first day and now they are jumping off diving boards!
Lori has been working hard in the garden and we are seeing the fruits of her labors. We have a dozen or more cantaloupe that decided to take over everything, and we have a big Watermelon that Jake can't wait to pick. We put a couple hummingbird feeders under the grape arbor and my favorite thing is to sit in the hammock and watch the birds.
Well this has been a comparatively boring post. We aren't buying a new house, moving, traveling, or delivering babies but we are happy and we do have some funny kids. Lori was making dinner the other night and dropped some of it on the ground. She was a little upset when Grace said "It's not the end of the world, but it is the end of our dinner." We all had a good laugh and then made some eggs.
We are excited to see you all in a couple weeks!!
Grace and Grant had three weeks of swim lessons and they really enjoyed that. They wouldn't even put their heads under the water the first day and now they are jumping off diving boards!
Lori has been working hard in the garden and we are seeing the fruits of her labors. We have a dozen or more cantaloupe that decided to take over everything, and we have a big Watermelon that Jake can't wait to pick. We put a couple hummingbird feeders under the grape arbor and my favorite thing is to sit in the hammock and watch the birds.
Well this has been a comparatively boring post. We aren't buying a new house, moving, traveling, or delivering babies but we are happy and we do have some funny kids. Lori was making dinner the other night and dropped some of it on the ground. She was a little upset when Grace said "It's not the end of the world, but it is the end of our dinner." We all had a good laugh and then made some eggs.
We are excited to see you all in a couple weeks!!
Flake Fun
14 August 2016 - What a crazy couple of weeks it has been! Scott attended an accounting conference in Tucson 2 weeks ago which was a good opportunity to rub shoulders with people from around the state. My program purchased a storage container so we should begin to consolidate all of our stuff in the next couple of weeks which will be nice.
We were supposed to be hit with some big rains last week but only got a few sprinklings. But we'll take whatever we can get. The weather still is hot but our garden is doing well and we have given away quite a few zucchini. Speaking of zucchini....
We are starting to put the house back together as you can see from the pictures below. We got a carpet estimate on Friday but installing is still weeks away. We have to do the tile first. Painting has gotten under way and the sheetrock is going up.
That's about all that we have to report! Can't wait to see you all in a few weeks!
We were supposed to be hit with some big rains last week but only got a few sprinklings. But we'll take whatever we can get. The weather still is hot but our garden is doing well and we have given away quite a few zucchini. Speaking of zucchini....
We are starting to put the house back together as you can see from the pictures below. We got a carpet estimate on Friday but installing is still weeks away. We have to do the tile first. Painting has gotten under way and the sheetrock is going up.
That's about all that we have to report! Can't wait to see you all in a few weeks!
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Manning Musings
This past week we have been focusing on moving. Thanks to Emma, Mom and Dad the move went pretty smooth. We didn't end up moving to Preston because we didn't hear anything from the apartments we contacted there...at least not until we moved to this place! I think we are supposed to be here for some reason. But we are happy to stay in Logan and our apartment has a little more sunlight, breathing room and a washer and dryer.
Nick is very busy with seminary training and guitar teaching and playing. He has had a good summer but has been busy which isn't as fun for his wife. He loves the Preston faculty and they will be a good group to work with this year.
Wesley is the cutest baby on the planet! It is amazing how he changes every day. Some of his favorite things lately are spitting and blowing bubbles, kicking almost all the time, and reading books. We sometimes are lucky to get a laugh out of him.
That's about it. So excited to see you in a few weeks!
Nick is very busy with seminary training and guitar teaching and playing. He has had a good summer but has been busy which isn't as fun for his wife. He loves the Preston faculty and they will be a good group to work with this year.
Wesley is the cutest baby on the planet! It is amazing how he changes every day. Some of his favorite things lately are spitting and blowing bubbles, kicking almost all the time, and reading books. We sometimes are lucky to get a laugh out of him.
That's about it. So excited to see you in a few weeks!
Hart Happenings
The summer is racing right on by! Since we last posted we have been on a ward camp out, acquired yet another vacation rental property, got some good gardening done, played with friends and cousins at the park, picked huckleberries in the mountains, learned how to make mozzarella with Ruthie, and gardened like crazy!
It's a good summer time!
Huckleberry-ing
Dinner with the missionaries
At the local baseball game. Go Chukkars!
Lady bug lesson at gardening class.
The latest addition to Stay for a Day Homes.
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