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!
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
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!!!!
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Hart Happenings
**BREAKING NEWS!!!**
The Harts have purchased a house. To live in. Themselves.
Yippee!!! More details to follow. But let the celebrations begin!
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Hyde Park Happiness
Well, I had intended to post on the blog last week, but ended up at an all day, into the night, birth. I got home at 1:30 a.m. and got up early to get breakfast ready before Emma left for school, which left me sleep deprived for a few days, so I forgot to get on the blog.
Anyway, we've had a couple of good weeks. I've canned lots of spaghetti sauce and some tomato soup - thanks to Scott's Aunt Karen for the delicious recipe! I'm still hoping for enough tomatoes to make a batch or two of salsa, but we'll see how they hold out. The rain has been wonderful and we're glad the tornadoes didn't come this far north! Hopefully it will dry out enough this week for us to dig up all the potatoes we have left in the garden.
Emma attended the homecoming dance last night and had a lovely time. She went with a very nice boy who asked her to Junior Prom last year after she'd been asked by someone else, so she promised him another dance date and finally made good on it! They had a ping pong day date the day before, which was a lot of fun. She has started the marching band competition season and have a very fun show this year. I hope some of you get to see them march. It's weird to think it's her last year.
Lauren has come a time or two to help with the canning. It's nice for us to keep each other company while everyone else is gone. It's especially nice to play with baby Wesley, who is learning to roll over, spit, play with toys and laugh. He's so cute and fun to have close by. I'm glad to get to stay with him while Lauren goes to the temple now and then.
Dad and I are officially a year older now. Surprising how birthdays are not very important when you get our age, except that we are now being bombarded with invitations to learn about social security, hearing aids, AARP, funeral plans, and assisted living centers. We're not really interested in those things yet, so we'd rather not have any more birthdays for a while :) We are planning to serve a mission or two before investing in those other things...
We are delighted with happy news from Idaho and hope to get up there soon to see all of the new acquirements! Hope all is well with our wonderful family in all different places! We can't wait for General Conference next weekend!!!!
Anyway, we've had a couple of good weeks. I've canned lots of spaghetti sauce and some tomato soup - thanks to Scott's Aunt Karen for the delicious recipe! I'm still hoping for enough tomatoes to make a batch or two of salsa, but we'll see how they hold out. The rain has been wonderful and we're glad the tornadoes didn't come this far north! Hopefully it will dry out enough this week for us to dig up all the potatoes we have left in the garden.
Emma attended the homecoming dance last night and had a lovely time. She went with a very nice boy who asked her to Junior Prom last year after she'd been asked by someone else, so she promised him another dance date and finally made good on it! They had a ping pong day date the day before, which was a lot of fun. She has started the marching band competition season and have a very fun show this year. I hope some of you get to see them march. It's weird to think it's her last year.
Lauren has come a time or two to help with the canning. It's nice for us to keep each other company while everyone else is gone. It's especially nice to play with baby Wesley, who is learning to roll over, spit, play with toys and laugh. He's so cute and fun to have close by. I'm glad to get to stay with him while Lauren goes to the temple now and then.
Dad and I are officially a year older now. Surprising how birthdays are not very important when you get our age, except that we are now being bombarded with invitations to learn about social security, hearing aids, AARP, funeral plans, and assisted living centers. We're not really interested in those things yet, so we'd rather not have any more birthdays for a while :) We are planning to serve a mission or two before investing in those other things...
We are delighted with happy news from Idaho and hope to get up there soon to see all of the new acquirements! Hope all is well with our wonderful family in all different places! We can't wait for General Conference next weekend!!!!
Flake Fun
25 September 2016 - Sorry we didn't write late week. It was fair week and both of us were basically comatose by the time the week was over! There is A LOT of behind the scenes things at the fair that I never knew about.
This week was a fairly blustery one. (No tornadoes though!) I spent the first half of the week in Phoenix at a couple of conferences with my coworkers. The second one was more interesting to me than the first one. One of the speakers was talking about getting through to people in messaging. He went through each generation and talked about why they do what they do. For example: the baby boomers showed affection by working to provide. Their children, generation X show their love by experiences and time. Baby boomers are annoyed that Gen X won't stay late and be "dedicated to the job" but would rather go to soccer practice or football practice with their children. Very interesting. That might be something for Garrett to look into when thinking about his young men and their technology. Speaking of generations, do you know what they are considering calling the new generation? The snowflake generation because they are all so delicate and unique!
I canned a batch and a half of tomatoes on Friday to add to the batch we did last week. Scott split and I stacked nearly 2 cords of wood on Friday night (until about 11:00PM) which was exhausting but nice to have checked off the to do list.
The house is coming along. We made our last big purchase for the house (tile and accoutrements) and we'll hopefully be back to normal enough schedule wise to really get on the stick.
Last week's Primary funny:
I was sitting with the sunbeam class until their teacher arrived.
Sunbeam one: My birthday is in 2 minutes
Sunbeam two: (with a VERY concerned look on his face) I don't have a birthday...
Today was the last day for our junior primary chorister. Their family moved across town to another ward. She was telling the kids that she wasn't going to be in the ward but they were still in town so we'd still see them at school.
Sunbeam one (same one from last week): Um, I'm too young for school so I won't see her.
Hope that everyone has a great week!
This week was a fairly blustery one. (No tornadoes though!) I spent the first half of the week in Phoenix at a couple of conferences with my coworkers. The second one was more interesting to me than the first one. One of the speakers was talking about getting through to people in messaging. He went through each generation and talked about why they do what they do. For example: the baby boomers showed affection by working to provide. Their children, generation X show their love by experiences and time. Baby boomers are annoyed that Gen X won't stay late and be "dedicated to the job" but would rather go to soccer practice or football practice with their children. Very interesting. That might be something for Garrett to look into when thinking about his young men and their technology. Speaking of generations, do you know what they are considering calling the new generation? The snowflake generation because they are all so delicate and unique!
I canned a batch and a half of tomatoes on Friday to add to the batch we did last week. Scott split and I stacked nearly 2 cords of wood on Friday night (until about 11:00PM) which was exhausting but nice to have checked off the to do list.
The house is coming along. We made our last big purchase for the house (tile and accoutrements) and we'll hopefully be back to normal enough schedule wise to really get on the stick.
Last week's Primary funny:
I was sitting with the sunbeam class until their teacher arrived.
Sunbeam one: My birthday is in 2 minutes
Sunbeam two: (with a VERY concerned look on his face) I don't have a birthday...
Today was the last day for our junior primary chorister. Their family moved across town to another ward. She was telling the kids that she wasn't going to be in the ward but they were still in town so we'd still see them at school.
Sunbeam one (same one from last week): Um, I'm too young for school so I won't see her.
Hope that everyone has a great week!
Nilsson News
My mind has been every which way it seems and I'm trying to figure out what I've told you already and what may be new. We have had a couple of encounters with skunks in our garden. Luckily they weren't close encounters and nobody came back smelling real smelly. We think this skunk lives in our neighbor's yard and efforts are going to be made to trap him. I saw what happened when you trap raccoons but I don't want to think of what a skunk could do if it got trapped.
Our family enjoyed a quick mini vacation down to Layton this past weekend. We went to our former ward's harvest dinner and it was so fun to visit with friends and neighbors. It was a little saddening when we drove past our house and noticed that trees and flower beds had been removed. I guess there aren't very many people who enjoy yard work like I do. Well, we miss our friends but we do not miss the crazy-busy, traffic filled madness of that Wasatch Front location. I don't know if you heard about the tornado that went through there just a few days ago? We only saw a few areas that were affected with trees that were completed uprooted but I guess the golf course lost around 100 trees and Gentile street was out of power for three days because all the phone poles toppled over. And people told us that Idaho was a windy place. We haven't seen wind here like we saw while living in Layton!
Garrett was recently called as the new Young Men's president for our ward. So far he is enjoying the calling but he is struggling to find the answer to approaching the technology issue (cell phone use) effectively. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
The biggest news for the week is that we are getting five new little additions to the family! Okay, I am not have quintuplets (phew!) and I hope I didn't give you a heart attack by saying that. Tomorrow we are getting five miniature donkeys to add to our mini farm. Three of them are pregnant and our plan is to start a breeding business with them. There is not a single mini donkey breeder in Idaho or Utah so we are treading new ground. They are mostly pets but have proven to be extremely friendly, lovable and good with kids. They can be trained to pull a cart or carry a pack and are often times used as therapy animals. We are excited about it. If you are intrigued you should come visit or at least look them up online. Hopefully will have some pictures next week!
Our family enjoyed a quick mini vacation down to Layton this past weekend. We went to our former ward's harvest dinner and it was so fun to visit with friends and neighbors. It was a little saddening when we drove past our house and noticed that trees and flower beds had been removed. I guess there aren't very many people who enjoy yard work like I do. Well, we miss our friends but we do not miss the crazy-busy, traffic filled madness of that Wasatch Front location. I don't know if you heard about the tornado that went through there just a few days ago? We only saw a few areas that were affected with trees that were completed uprooted but I guess the golf course lost around 100 trees and Gentile street was out of power for three days because all the phone poles toppled over. And people told us that Idaho was a windy place. We haven't seen wind here like we saw while living in Layton!
Garrett was recently called as the new Young Men's president for our ward. So far he is enjoying the calling but he is struggling to find the answer to approaching the technology issue (cell phone use) effectively. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
The biggest news for the week is that we are getting five new little additions to the family! Okay, I am not have quintuplets (phew!) and I hope I didn't give you a heart attack by saying that. Tomorrow we are getting five miniature donkeys to add to our mini farm. Three of them are pregnant and our plan is to start a breeding business with them. There is not a single mini donkey breeder in Idaho or Utah so we are treading new ground. They are mostly pets but have proven to be extremely friendly, lovable and good with kids. They can be trained to pull a cart or carry a pack and are often times used as therapy animals. We are excited about it. If you are intrigued you should come visit or at least look them up online. Hopefully will have some pictures next week!
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