Okay, so I wrote this lovely long post on my phone with pictures and everything and then when I tried to publish it, everything failed. So, this is going to be a slightly less detailed version of my previously attempted post.
We have really been enjoying this fallish time of year. We've gone to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, carved said pumpkins, played in the leaves since we actually have leaves to play in for the first time ever! Soup is part of our menu each week which I thoroughly enjoy, but some of the kids not so much. It's a great time of year!
This past Monday, we went with the Harts on a little field trip to watch a falconer work with his bird. She is still in training but we got to watch her swoop and catch her lunch. Then we got to watch as she devoured it. I don't know whether it was this last part that maybe made Addy a little woozy, but as we were walking back to the car, she collapsed, passed out. I wish I could say I remained calm and collected but no, I pretty much freaked out. Alex ran over and Addy came to but was still a bit delirious. Alex carried her to the car and we gave her some food and water. It took her awhile to get back to normal and she still doesn't recall what happened. Crazy.
Yesterday, we went to a neighborhood Halloween party. I ended up running into an old LD's friend that I haven't seen for ten years. She didn't recognize me at all with my hair cut and once she realized who I was, asked where all my hair was. It was fun visiting and catching up.
Our goal for this week is to begin work on finishing our basement. We got all our stuff cleared out of it, measured the walls and made a supplies list. We opted not to go forward with the outrageous $45,000 quote that a contractor gave us. We may not be able to do it quite as timely as someone who knows what they are doing but we know we can do it for a fraction of the price. If anyone is looking for something to do, feel free to come and join in on the fun!
Happy Fall!
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Flake Fun
23 Oct 2016 - It has been quite a week in the Flake household. Scott, his director and another coworker spent 2 days in Phoenix meeting with auditors. I spent my week in meetings and working on an active shooter compilation video. On Friday and Saturday we held to drive through flu shot clinics at local fire stations. So, we are both exhausted from work.
The weather has been very warm recently which is strange for October. It did freeze a couple of nights so all of our tomato plants died, except for the one that Scott hung on our back porch. The flowers are still in bloom though and look beautiful. The basil, carrots and onions in the greenhouse are doing really well.
Sorry to hear about Emerson's recent mishap and hope he is recovering. The picture looked like he would have a pretty nice black eye. Glad to hear that Thomas' test was helpful. Now he just has to suffer until December! Hope that everything goes well with the Hart move. Wish we could be there to help but we are excited to see pictures and hopefully the real thing in the not too distant future.
Last Friday we cut another load of firewood so we should be good for the winter. Now we just have to split that last load and we'll be done with that.
As for the house, it is coming along. We spent quite a bit of time there yesterday and got the texturing done. Scott also put down the backer board in the mud room so it is almost ready to tile. Now the big projects will be painting and tiling...
The mud room progress...
The weather has been very warm recently which is strange for October. It did freeze a couple of nights so all of our tomato plants died, except for the one that Scott hung on our back porch. The flowers are still in bloom though and look beautiful. The basil, carrots and onions in the greenhouse are doing really well.
Sorry to hear about Emerson's recent mishap and hope he is recovering. The picture looked like he would have a pretty nice black eye. Glad to hear that Thomas' test was helpful. Now he just has to suffer until December! Hope that everything goes well with the Hart move. Wish we could be there to help but we are excited to see pictures and hopefully the real thing in the not too distant future.
Last Friday we cut another load of firewood so we should be good for the winter. Now we just have to split that last load and we'll be done with that.
As for the house, it is coming along. We spent quite a bit of time there yesterday and got the texturing done. Scott also put down the backer board in the mud room so it is almost ready to tile. Now the big projects will be painting and tiling...
The mud room progress...
The laundry room progress
Quiet in Hyde Park
I really never planned for this stage of life. As a young person I looked forward to going to college, getting married and having a family. The end. I never really thought of life beyond that. So, when I am home alone during the day, especially on the weekends, it's a bit disconcerting. I'm learning some new things about how to feel needed or useful at this time in my life. It's not bad, just different. I'm sure I'll get a handle on it one of these days.
I went with Dad to the area conference we had this morning. It originated in the Spectrum, but only certain stakes were invited there. The rest of us had to watch the broadcast at various meeting locations. It was interesting to me that our area goes from Preston and Malad to Layton, east to Morgan and west along the Great Salt Lake and includes 119 stakes! Elder Stevenson spoke, as well as Elder Wilson who was at Dad's last stake conference, Sister Jones (Primary General President) and Elder Christensen of the presidency of the Seventy. It was a wonderful, spirit-filled meeting with many take home messages for me to implement in my life.
Emma survived taking the ACT again. She didn't enjoy it any more the second time, but hopes she did a little better on it. I drove with Sister Bennett to Provo to watch the marching band compete at BYU. I took a few minutes to go to Springville to hang out with my favorite family down there. It was delightful, as always! What a great, happy crew! Thomas had a CT scan and will be having surgery on his sinuses during Christmas break. Nick can empathize with him, but says he will feel like a new person when it's all healed. Emerson seems to be healing from his run in with the fireplace. Wesley seemed to enjoy going to the pumpkin walk yesterday. He's on the verge of being introduced to real food. Lauren hopes that feeding him a little more bulk before bed may help him sleep a bit longer at a time. Let's all pray that it works!
Just a thought from our conference today: Sister Jones spoke about raising sin-resistant children. She said that one of the most important ways to accomplish that is to teach them about making and keeping covenants or promises. She said that children are great imitators and that we need to give them something great to imitate! We need to keep our promises so that they can follow that example. She told about a young boy who was in a habit of teasing his younger sister. He promised to not tease her for one full day. That night he reported that he had succeeded in his keeping his promise. Then he did it for another day. When his dad asked how he was able to keep his promise, he said, "I kept my promise because I said I would." Sister Jones said that there is great power in keeping promises. She reminded us that the Savior kept His promise to provide the atonement, because He said He would. It was very profound for me.
Have a great week, one and all! Some of our family will head to California this week (Emma) and some to Idaho (Joe's family). Safe travels to all! And happy moving to the Hart family (if it really happens :)
I went with Dad to the area conference we had this morning. It originated in the Spectrum, but only certain stakes were invited there. The rest of us had to watch the broadcast at various meeting locations. It was interesting to me that our area goes from Preston and Malad to Layton, east to Morgan and west along the Great Salt Lake and includes 119 stakes! Elder Stevenson spoke, as well as Elder Wilson who was at Dad's last stake conference, Sister Jones (Primary General President) and Elder Christensen of the presidency of the Seventy. It was a wonderful, spirit-filled meeting with many take home messages for me to implement in my life.
Emma survived taking the ACT again. She didn't enjoy it any more the second time, but hopes she did a little better on it. I drove with Sister Bennett to Provo to watch the marching band compete at BYU. I took a few minutes to go to Springville to hang out with my favorite family down there. It was delightful, as always! What a great, happy crew! Thomas had a CT scan and will be having surgery on his sinuses during Christmas break. Nick can empathize with him, but says he will feel like a new person when it's all healed. Emerson seems to be healing from his run in with the fireplace. Wesley seemed to enjoy going to the pumpkin walk yesterday. He's on the verge of being introduced to real food. Lauren hopes that feeding him a little more bulk before bed may help him sleep a bit longer at a time. Let's all pray that it works!
Just a thought from our conference today: Sister Jones spoke about raising sin-resistant children. She said that one of the most important ways to accomplish that is to teach them about making and keeping covenants or promises. She said that children are great imitators and that we need to give them something great to imitate! We need to keep our promises so that they can follow that example. She told about a young boy who was in a habit of teasing his younger sister. He promised to not tease her for one full day. That night he reported that he had succeeded in his keeping his promise. Then he did it for another day. When his dad asked how he was able to keep his promise, he said, "I kept my promise because I said I would." Sister Jones said that there is great power in keeping promises. She reminded us that the Savior kept His promise to provide the atonement, because He said He would. It was very profound for me.
Have a great week, one and all! Some of our family will head to California this week (Emma) and some to Idaho (Joe's family). Safe travels to all! And happy moving to the Hart family (if it really happens :)
Monday, October 17, 2016
More From Hyde Park
Well, there's certainly not anything as interesting or exciting to report from our neck of the woods - thankfully! The Nilsson report this morning is that Emerson is doing fine and was quite intrigued by all that went on at the hospital. He said he didn't even feel a thing! Thankfully, again!
We are loving the beautiful fall leaves, even those that have fallen all over our yard. That is going to be my exercise effort for the next many weeks, I'm sure - raking all those leaves off the grass and getting them into the compost...
I've been trying to become better friends with Wesley lately so that he won't have such a hard time when his mom is occupied for a few moments. The Mannings were generous and invited us to dinner one night. Then they went to the temple with the intent to do baptisms. I finished the dishes before Wesley began to miss his mom and dad, which was about 10 minutes after they left. Nothing I did calmed him, so I wrapped him in a blanket and went outside. I was surprised to realize it was sprinkling, but Wesley didn't care about the rain or anything else. He just wanted his mom and dad, who actually pulled into the parking lot not long after we went outside. The baptistry was too full, so they came home - much to Wesley's relief and delight. We are going to have to keep working at it, but one of these days he's going to like me! He rolls over now, and gets up on his hands like he might think about crawling soon. He's a strong little guy!
Emma is nearly finished with band. I went to their competition in Centerville last week (at Nick's alma mater, Davis High School) with Sister Bennett. They did well and we enjoyed cheering and waving our flags! Only one more performance before heading to Southern Utah and on to California. Then she'll be done with marching band, for good. She has so much else going on that it will be good to get one big time-consumer out of the way, though I know she will miss it when all is said and done.
Dad had two ward conferences yesterday, which went well. After speaking in Sacrament Meeting in our ward, I attended those conferences with him. There are a lot of great young adults there, but many with such heavy burdens and difficulties. Dad is learning much, even things he never, ever wanted to learn! I'm sure it will come in handy in the future.
Thomas is having a CT scan on his face today. Dr. Blotter is trying to discover why he is having such severe sinus issues so constantly. The medications seem to be helping a bit, but he wants to see if there is some kind of structural reason for the problem. It will be nice to get to the bottom of it!
Most all else is the same. Here is a great quote, even a possible motto for life, that Kate printed in the Banner: "If it isn't good, don't think it. If it isn't true, don't say it. If it isn't right, don't do it." (Carlos Asay) Easy to remember, easy to live by. Have a great week, you great family, you!
We are loving the beautiful fall leaves, even those that have fallen all over our yard. That is going to be my exercise effort for the next many weeks, I'm sure - raking all those leaves off the grass and getting them into the compost...
I've been trying to become better friends with Wesley lately so that he won't have such a hard time when his mom is occupied for a few moments. The Mannings were generous and invited us to dinner one night. Then they went to the temple with the intent to do baptisms. I finished the dishes before Wesley began to miss his mom and dad, which was about 10 minutes after they left. Nothing I did calmed him, so I wrapped him in a blanket and went outside. I was surprised to realize it was sprinkling, but Wesley didn't care about the rain or anything else. He just wanted his mom and dad, who actually pulled into the parking lot not long after we went outside. The baptistry was too full, so they came home - much to Wesley's relief and delight. We are going to have to keep working at it, but one of these days he's going to like me! He rolls over now, and gets up on his hands like he might think about crawling soon. He's a strong little guy!
Emma is nearly finished with band. I went to their competition in Centerville last week (at Nick's alma mater, Davis High School) with Sister Bennett. They did well and we enjoyed cheering and waving our flags! Only one more performance before heading to Southern Utah and on to California. Then she'll be done with marching band, for good. She has so much else going on that it will be good to get one big time-consumer out of the way, though I know she will miss it when all is said and done.
Dad had two ward conferences yesterday, which went well. After speaking in Sacrament Meeting in our ward, I attended those conferences with him. There are a lot of great young adults there, but many with such heavy burdens and difficulties. Dad is learning much, even things he never, ever wanted to learn! I'm sure it will come in handy in the future.
Thomas is having a CT scan on his face today. Dr. Blotter is trying to discover why he is having such severe sinus issues so constantly. The medications seem to be helping a bit, but he wants to see if there is some kind of structural reason for the problem. It will be nice to get to the bottom of it!
Most all else is the same. Here is a great quote, even a possible motto for life, that Kate printed in the Banner: "If it isn't good, don't think it. If it isn't true, don't say it. If it isn't right, don't do it." (Carlos Asay) Easy to remember, easy to live by. Have a great week, you great family, you!
Nilsso News...again
After posting earlier, we had quite the mishap. Emerson was being a cowboy and riding on the back of Addy, when somehow he flew off and face planted against our sharp, stone hearth. Blood immediately started to flow down the side of his face and it was mayhem for a moment. It was an impressive inch long gash that ran diagonal through his eyebrow. Our neighbor came over and assessed the situation and recommended stitches. We have never had to take anyone in to have stitches. It was past 9 on a Sunday so the urgent care was closed so Garrett took him to the ER. This was quite an experience and I'm sure the staff thought we were neglectful when Garrett answered all their questions stating that Emerson did not have immunizations, he has never been in a hospital, in fact he wasn't even born in one! Emerson was a good sport and was thrilled when they let him take home the tools they used to stitch him up with. Our fireplace will now be getting a facelift.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Nilsson News
We do have some actual news for this week! We went to Brigham City for our 20 week ultrasound appointment. All is looking good and there appears to be one baby and it looks like it's another sister! We are pretty good at the alternating thing. Addy is very excited and Emerson I think is pretending to be disappointed. Eliza is always excited about babies and Henry hasn't a clue. I wonder if he is curious as to why I don't have much lap room left.
The farm life is going well. Yesterday, Garrett had the privilege of loading and unloading 1 1/2 tons of hay. I was actually quite jealous but I guess I'll have to wait until next year to do it. Our wonderful next door neighbor who is in his 70's came over to help unload all the hay. He picked up the first bale and said "This is nothing!" (He had previously unloaded some bales for us that were 100 lbs each and these were around 50). Garrett, who had just loaded all these bales onto the trailer by himself leaned over and said, "Actually, they are really heavy!" He is getting quite an introduction to farm life! The cuteness factor of the donkeys makes up for all the work. We are eyeing a mini cart on craigslist because it would be a blast to train the donks to pull.
Canning season has come to a close I think, thanks to mom for finishing my last batch of spaghetti sauce. It was a good harvest year and we are now enjoying some beautiful fall weather. Yesterday we went to the farmer's market for the final time this season. We splurged and bought some crepes, which were absolutely incredible! Here is a variation for the next time you make crepes:
feta cheese
sundried tomatoes
spinach leaves
pesto sauce
You will not be disappointed!
The farm life is going well. Yesterday, Garrett had the privilege of loading and unloading 1 1/2 tons of hay. I was actually quite jealous but I guess I'll have to wait until next year to do it. Our wonderful next door neighbor who is in his 70's came over to help unload all the hay. He picked up the first bale and said "This is nothing!" (He had previously unloaded some bales for us that were 100 lbs each and these were around 50). Garrett, who had just loaded all these bales onto the trailer by himself leaned over and said, "Actually, they are really heavy!" He is getting quite an introduction to farm life! The cuteness factor of the donkeys makes up for all the work. We are eyeing a mini cart on craigslist because it would be a blast to train the donks to pull.
Canning season has come to a close I think, thanks to mom for finishing my last batch of spaghetti sauce. It was a good harvest year and we are now enjoying some beautiful fall weather. Yesterday we went to the farmer's market for the final time this season. We splurged and bought some crepes, which were absolutely incredible! Here is a variation for the next time you make crepes:
feta cheese
sundried tomatoes
spinach leaves
pesto sauce
You will not be disappointed!
.....And Loving It.
This is ya'lls little sister. I haven't posted for awhile mostly because my life is exactly the same as it has been for the past six months and because I don't have time to post. School is tough, the teachers are crazy, homework is insanity, and band is trying to kill me, but it's a good time.
Speaking of band, this is my funny story of the past six months: we have an awesome ballad in our show. A few days ago, Mr. Beach (bless his soul) switched my solo with someone else's, so they were playing mine, and I was playing theirs (so I guess it's a duet, not a solo). Anyway, we had a few minutes to memorize a different part and play it at the competition the next day. Not too stressful since you can just ear it and it's fine. Well, Beach decided that he didn't like the range I was playing in, so he kindly told me that he was rewriting my part completely, and instead of going ninety beats a minute, we were going to make it more of a waltz at one twelve. Good times. #stressing. So I got the part at band practice (again, a day before a competition), and I spent about twenty minutes memorizing this completely different part. Once again, bless his soul. I was feeling pretty good about it, because I didn't have long and I memorized it and played it fairly well. I was watching the staffs faces so I could see what their reaction was... If they liked it, what I'd need to change etc. Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but I played it pretty much perfectly and I was feeling pretty great about the smiles on the staffs faces. Ms. Nelson was grinning ear to ear when she called up to Mr. Beach on the tower "Randall! Nice job writing that solo! It totally changes the whole feel!" ............well, yes, indeed, good job Randall. Thank you for writing such a great solo.
Long story short, I felt a bit like Eliza Dolittle - Ms Nelson "Tonight old man you did it, you did it, you did it"... Mr Beach "but wait, but wait, give credit where it's due. Most of the credit goes to you." It was pretty funny. I was standing on the solo box, laughing to myself because nobody else noticed. To be fair, they did compliment me the next day.
Speaking of band, this is my funny story of the past six months: we have an awesome ballad in our show. A few days ago, Mr. Beach (bless his soul) switched my solo with someone else's, so they were playing mine, and I was playing theirs (so I guess it's a duet, not a solo). Anyway, we had a few minutes to memorize a different part and play it at the competition the next day. Not too stressful since you can just ear it and it's fine. Well, Beach decided that he didn't like the range I was playing in, so he kindly told me that he was rewriting my part completely, and instead of going ninety beats a minute, we were going to make it more of a waltz at one twelve. Good times. #stressing. So I got the part at band practice (again, a day before a competition), and I spent about twenty minutes memorizing this completely different part. Once again, bless his soul. I was feeling pretty good about it, because I didn't have long and I memorized it and played it fairly well. I was watching the staffs faces so I could see what their reaction was... If they liked it, what I'd need to change etc. Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but I played it pretty much perfectly and I was feeling pretty great about the smiles on the staffs faces. Ms. Nelson was grinning ear to ear when she called up to Mr. Beach on the tower "Randall! Nice job writing that solo! It totally changes the whole feel!" ............well, yes, indeed, good job Randall. Thank you for writing such a great solo.
Long story short, I felt a bit like Eliza Dolittle - Ms Nelson "Tonight old man you did it, you did it, you did it"... Mr Beach "but wait, but wait, give credit where it's due. Most of the credit goes to you." It was pretty funny. I was standing on the solo box, laughing to myself because nobody else noticed. To be fair, they did compliment me the next day.
.....And Loving It.
This is ya'lls little sister. I haven't posted for awhile mostly because my life is exactly the same as it has been for the past six months and because I don't have time to post. School is tough, the teachers are crazy, homework is insanity, and band is trying to kill me, but it's a good time.
Speaking of band, this is my funny story of the past six months: we have an awesome ballad in our show. A few days ago, Mr. Beach (bless his soul) switched my solo with someone else's, so they were playing mine, and I was playing theirs (so I guess it's a duet, not a solo). Anyway, we had a few minutes to memorize a different part and play it at the competition the next day. Not too stressful since you can just ear it and it's fine. Well, Beach decided that he didn't like the range I was playing in, so he kindly told me that he was rewriting my part completely, and instead of going ninety beats a minute, we were going to make it more of a waltz at one twelve. Good times. #stressing. So I got the part at band practice (again, a day before a competition), and I spent about twenty minutes memorizing this completely different part. Once again, bless his soul. I was feeling pretty good about it, because I didn't have long and I memorized it and played it fairly well. I was watching the staffs faces so I could see what their reaction was... If they liked it, what I'd need to change etc. Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but I played it pretty much perfectly and I was feeling pretty great about the smiles on the staffs faces. Ms. Nelson was grinning ear to ear when she called up to Mr. Beach on the tower "Randall! Nice job writing that solo! It totally changes the whole feel!" ............well, yes, indeed, good job Randall. Thank you for writing such a great solo.
Long story short, I felt a bit like Eliza Dolittle - Ms Nelson "Tonight old man you did it, you did it, you did it"... Mr Beach "but wait, but wait, give credit where it's due. Most of the credit goes to you." It was pretty funny. I was standing on the solo box, laughing to myself because nobody else noticed. To be fair, they did compliment me the next day.
Speaking of band, this is my funny story of the past six months: we have an awesome ballad in our show. A few days ago, Mr. Beach (bless his soul) switched my solo with someone else's, so they were playing mine, and I was playing theirs (so I guess it's a duet, not a solo). Anyway, we had a few minutes to memorize a different part and play it at the competition the next day. Not too stressful since you can just ear it and it's fine. Well, Beach decided that he didn't like the range I was playing in, so he kindly told me that he was rewriting my part completely, and instead of going ninety beats a minute, we were going to make it more of a waltz at one twelve. Good times. #stressing. So I got the part at band practice (again, a day before a competition), and I spent about twenty minutes memorizing this completely different part. Once again, bless his soul. I was feeling pretty good about it, because I didn't have long and I memorized it and played it fairly well. I was watching the staffs faces so I could see what their reaction was... If they liked it, what I'd need to change etc. Not to toot my own horn (pun intended), but I played it pretty much perfectly and I was feeling pretty great about the smiles on the staffs faces. Ms. Nelson was grinning ear to ear when she called up to Mr. Beach on the tower "Randall! Nice job writing that solo! It totally changes the whole feel!" ............well, yes, indeed, good job Randall. Thank you for writing such a great solo.
Long story short, I felt a bit like Eliza Dolittle - Ms Nelson "Tonight old man you did it, you did it, you did it"... Mr Beach "but wait, but wait, give credit where it's due. Most of the credit goes to you." It was pretty funny. I was standing on the solo box, laughing to myself because nobody else noticed. To be fair, they did compliment me the next day.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Flake Fun
12 Oct 2016 - Last week was fairly normal. We had to cover the tomatoes a few times due to forecasts of frost (which were accurate). Despite our tender, loving care, I think the tomatoes are about done. We might get another small batch but not much more than that. Our carrots are huge (about 1 pound each) and our potatoes are still doing very well.
We have been working hard on the house and are making progress. All of the taping is done so now we need to sand and texture the new walls. I left the camera at the house though so pictures will have to wait until next time.
We were sad that we couldn't make it to Jack's baptism but we know that it was a wonderful experience for everyone that was able to attend. Nephews getting baptized makes me feel old!
The primary presidency was released on Sunday which was bittersweet. We'll see what the next adventure is!
Love you all!
We have been working hard on the house and are making progress. All of the taping is done so now we need to sand and texture the new walls. I left the camera at the house though so pictures will have to wait until next time.
We were sad that we couldn't make it to Jack's baptism but we know that it was a wonderful experience for everyone that was able to attend. Nephews getting baptized makes me feel old!
The primary presidency was released on Sunday which was bittersweet. We'll see what the next adventure is!
Love you all!
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Hyde Park in Full Speed
October came in like a bullet train and just keeps going! We had a little reprieve during Conference, but were off at high speed again the next morning. There's nothing like General Conference for a healthy shot in the arm spiritually! It's easy to believe that things are going to be okay if we believe in the Savior and follow the prophets after listening to the brethren. I was very inspired and comforted.
It was delightful to have Harts and Nilssons come last week so the gals could spend time together crafting at our Relief Society activity. Lauren and Emma came, too, which made it doubly fun! The 2nd ward ladies couldn't get enough of darling Wesley! He was definitely a central attraction. The Idahoans didn't stay long, but we sure enjoyed them while it lasted.
One sad experience we had this week was when Lauren was teaching her first piano lesson since she quit when Wesley was born. She came before the lesson to get things ready, then I took Wesley during the first lesson. He did not like it, not one little bit. He fussed, then cried, then sobbed, then threw up, then screamed - through the entire first lesson! I tried going outside, no change. I tried bouncing, rocking, singing, talking - all to no avail. Emma took him downstairs to look at books. No good. It was very, very sad. Lauren rescued the traumatized little guy after the first lesson and, after calming down, he played happily on the floor by the piano during the second lesson. We hope it gets better in coming weeks...
The highlight of the week for me was Jack's baptism. He's a wonderful boy and very ready to be a member of the church and make covenants. Alex conducted the stake baptism and did a great job of rolling with all of the necessary last minute changes. There was a good spirit and lots of support from family and friends.
Dad wasn't able to attend the baptism because he was performing a wedding in Salt Lake at the same time. This was a friend of Alex and Elise who got married up the canyon by Snowbird. It was a beautiful setting, but Dad said there's a reason we get married at the temple! Just as he was about to start the ceremony, a huge, noisy helicopter started flying overhead. It was delivering cement from a nearby parking lot up to a project on the top of the mountain. It took about 7 minutes from the bottom to the top and back and it could be heard the whole time. So, not much counsel or commentary was given. Thankfully, just as they started the most important part of the ceremony, the helicopter landed and turned off the motor, which made it not quite so noisy for the last couple of paragraphs.
Emma is consumed with marching band right now. They started their competition season and have been a bit disappointed so far. But they have a good show and the soloist (Emma B.) is always amazing! They have one or two shows each week for the rest of the month and then head to California. They will be performing in Disneyland on Halloween! She's trying to keep up with classes and homework, and study for the ACT, too!
I also attended a birth in Star Valley to help the midwife who broke her arm. Just before arriving in Afton, I encountered a blizzard and couldn't see a foot in front of the car! Crazy! I was glad for the traffic going to the temple open house so I had tail lights to follow. It was a long, all night birth, but I got a couple of hours' sleep before heading home the next day - in beautiful weather.
It was delightful to have Harts and Nilssons come last week so the gals could spend time together crafting at our Relief Society activity. Lauren and Emma came, too, which made it doubly fun! The 2nd ward ladies couldn't get enough of darling Wesley! He was definitely a central attraction. The Idahoans didn't stay long, but we sure enjoyed them while it lasted.
One sad experience we had this week was when Lauren was teaching her first piano lesson since she quit when Wesley was born. She came before the lesson to get things ready, then I took Wesley during the first lesson. He did not like it, not one little bit. He fussed, then cried, then sobbed, then threw up, then screamed - through the entire first lesson! I tried going outside, no change. I tried bouncing, rocking, singing, talking - all to no avail. Emma took him downstairs to look at books. No good. It was very, very sad. Lauren rescued the traumatized little guy after the first lesson and, after calming down, he played happily on the floor by the piano during the second lesson. We hope it gets better in coming weeks...
The highlight of the week for me was Jack's baptism. He's a wonderful boy and very ready to be a member of the church and make covenants. Alex conducted the stake baptism and did a great job of rolling with all of the necessary last minute changes. There was a good spirit and lots of support from family and friends.
Dad wasn't able to attend the baptism because he was performing a wedding in Salt Lake at the same time. This was a friend of Alex and Elise who got married up the canyon by Snowbird. It was a beautiful setting, but Dad said there's a reason we get married at the temple! Just as he was about to start the ceremony, a huge, noisy helicopter started flying overhead. It was delivering cement from a nearby parking lot up to a project on the top of the mountain. It took about 7 minutes from the bottom to the top and back and it could be heard the whole time. So, not much counsel or commentary was given. Thankfully, just as they started the most important part of the ceremony, the helicopter landed and turned off the motor, which made it not quite so noisy for the last couple of paragraphs.
Emma is consumed with marching band right now. They started their competition season and have been a bit disappointed so far. But they have a good show and the soloist (Emma B.) is always amazing! They have one or two shows each week for the rest of the month and then head to California. They will be performing in Disneyland on Halloween! She's trying to keep up with classes and homework, and study for the ACT, too!
I also attended a birth in Star Valley to help the midwife who broke her arm. Just before arriving in Afton, I encountered a blizzard and couldn't see a foot in front of the car! Crazy! I was glad for the traffic going to the temple open house so I had tail lights to follow. It was a long, all night birth, but I got a couple of hours' sleep before heading home the next day - in beautiful weather.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Flake Fun
2 October 2016 - First of all, happy birthday to Lauren. Second of all, congratulations to the Hart family on their new purchase. Thirdly, happy October to everyone!
This weekend has been exhausting but very productive with a couple of funny/happy stories mixed in.
As for the week, it was pretty typical. We held 7 active shooter trainings (which I will be turning into a video) and we have 6 more this coming week. Our office has started to do quarterly community trainings and this was the first of those trainings. It is being taught by local law enforcement officers to talk about what happens when they respond and what can the public expect. It has been a very informative and interesting training. I think our next one will be on suspicious packages. Scott is keeping very busy at work as well trying to figure out everyone's budgets. His department just got reorganized and now there are only 3 of them in the department.
Scott had Friday off so we were able to spend quite a bit of time at the house getting things done. On Friday we decided to divide and conquer so, while he started on the house, I headed to Show Low for some supplies that we needed. Long story short I ended up locking the keys in the car. Luckily I was at Home Depot and was able to borrow some supplies. I tied a slip knot in the cord of my jacket and slipped it into the cracked open window. Then I slid a paint stick in the window and secured the cord on the lock and pulled. I highly recommend that if you ever feel the need to lock your keys in your car that you crack the window and make sure you are at Home Depot!
This weekend has been exhausting but very productive with a couple of funny/happy stories mixed in.
As for the week, it was pretty typical. We held 7 active shooter trainings (which I will be turning into a video) and we have 6 more this coming week. Our office has started to do quarterly community trainings and this was the first of those trainings. It is being taught by local law enforcement officers to talk about what happens when they respond and what can the public expect. It has been a very informative and interesting training. I think our next one will be on suspicious packages. Scott is keeping very busy at work as well trying to figure out everyone's budgets. His department just got reorganized and now there are only 3 of them in the department.
Scott had Friday off so we were able to spend quite a bit of time at the house getting things done. On Friday we decided to divide and conquer so, while he started on the house, I headed to Show Low for some supplies that we needed. Long story short I ended up locking the keys in the car. Luckily I was at Home Depot and was able to borrow some supplies. I tied a slip knot in the cord of my jacket and slipped it into the cracked open window. Then I slid a paint stick in the window and secured the cord on the lock and pulled. I highly recommend that if you ever feel the need to lock your keys in your car that you crack the window and make sure you are at Home Depot!
This is the toad that we found.
As you can see we got some drywall done which means that all of the major plumbing and electrical are finished! Now we just have to texture, paint, level, tile and change all of the outlets and switches, along with some light fixtures and we'll be nearly done!!!!
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