Wow! Have we done a lot this summer and fall and haven't made time to post any of it, or not enough to speak about.

denver trip

For Ranells birthday we decided to do something special and go on a bike trip. It was kinda spontaneous and very fun! We left the morning of August 12th and just headed out without any plans, timeline or anything. Not the norm for when we go places. We rode to Vernal and filled up.Then on to Craig, Colorado and filled up. My bike needs filling about every 100 miles. Ranell can go a little farther. This pict of a gas station.

Then in Steamboat we had fun just looking around.

The view at Rabbitears Pass was great.

We stopped at a lot of places to just look. Then we took off and ran into road construction. We stopped and were having fun and a sweet guy came up and took out pict. Colorado is awesome!

Then on to Kremmling to fill up and get rehydrated. We were going to spend the night here, but Ranell didn't feel like stopping so we went to Rocky Mountain National Park.We had to have our pict taken by the sign going in, they have a camera post set up just for that.We kept stopping in the Park to see all these incredible vista's. They really have some great ones!

The next stop was in Estes Park where I asked directions to Denver. The gentleman said, "Fast or pretty?" I said, "Pretty," so he sent us to Nederland--not where I served my mission, but Nederland in Colorado.

On to Boulder Canyon, which was awesome, then Denver!

We did not have plans, but we had a blast! On Food Wars we heard that one of the best burger joints in the US was Duffy's Cherry Cricket, so we found it and went in for a burger. This is Ranell with small one. The place was packed! And it was not even lunch time. The burger was one of the best I have ever had!

We went to the National Equestrian Vaulting Competition, and Wow! It was pretty amazing what the contestants could do on the back of a moving horse. Basically, it is gymnastics on the back of a horse.

We had just a fun time strolling up streets and having fun.

We went to a Travis Martinez and Josh Kelly concert at the Grizzly Rose with . Travis reminded Ranell of the easy rock in the 70's, not country music. Josh Kelly was very good!

The ride home was fun. We took Berthoud Pass and when the signs say corners are 25, they mean it!!! In Winter Park they had a craft fair and we stopped to stretch our legs and see the sights.

As soon as we left Winter Park it started drizzling and then raining. We were drenched by the time we got back to Steamboat. Thankfully we had raingear that helped keep out the rain, but there was no way it would keep us entirely dry. We stopped at Wendys to get a bowl of chilli and warm up. I have my leathers on under my rain gear and I am still cold!

My chaps were drenched and dripping. It rained until after Craig. We had to stop at Craig to get dry gloves and warm up! It was a fun trip! Ranell is now looking forward to our next road trip! Will it be Rexburg? or Moab?? or .......

Projects

I didn't get much done on my Saturday list, but I did get plenty of projects started. Most of them are projects that are updating my old stuff so that it fits the house better. Some are just projects that need to be done. All have to be free or very low cost.

The first--paint an old, cheap bookshelf that I had in my Heber office then put it in the hallway. I am not sure what I will have on this shelf--I just knew something needed to be in this spot.

Hang up some of the signs I have. This is by the back door as a reminder to always act honorably in all we do--so as to return to this home, and our heavenly home with heads held high and humble hearts.

I love this quote. Am thinking of having something around it with our family names, but am not sure...A reminder to not only be true to the family names we bear, but also to the name of our Elder Brother that we took upon us at baptism.

Painting frames--this has our black and white Nauvoo pictures in it. I am not sure if they will stay in or not.

I used to think spray paint was for the untalented painters. Not any more! I love using it for tasks like this. Easy, inexpensive, and fast!

Some of the frames I painted over the day. Notice the door???? I can't decide whether to paint it white, red, or black. For now it is in graffiti style while I try out the colors. Any suggestions????

I had this door made while Mom was visiting. Notice anything missing? Yep--we are now the Wak field family instead of the Wakefield family. We lost the 'E' on the drive home. The lady at Country Cottage was worried that the letters weren't sticking very well and told me she would re-do them if I had problems. Monday I think I would like us to become the Wakefield family again, so I will give her a call.

Landscaping is going to include the Ioka rocks that are in abundance here. I laid the pit liner and began hauling rocks in a wheelbarrow. Eventually there will be curved edges, areas of wood chips, and scattered clumps of small, hardy flowers and bushes. Maybe next summer we can put the lawn in.

Friday this was brand new without a scratch or dent. By Saturday afternoon, this is what my new wheelbarrow looked like. It felt like I hauled tons of rocks, yet barely a dent was made in the overall scheme. I have decided this could be a great weight-loss and strengthening plan--haul load after load after load of rocks. Picking, tossing, carrying, wheelbarrowing, dumping, and starting all over again.

Front porch at the end of the day. Time to just sit and relax!!!

It seems that the past six months has been packing, moving, unpacking, moving, packing, unpacking, moving, ...Once most of our stuff was in the house (we still have a small storage unit to sift through) and the front room was clear, it was time to pack my Heber office to move not only office locations, but to also bring my personal items home. Then, all of the "stuff" I will use in my classroom needed to be packed. This week we will move it to my new classroom and I will begin to unpack--again. (Some of the projects of the day are on the floor. They will not be going to school with me.)

The day ended with weary muscles, and really not much to show for it--other than a mess. Oh well! It is what it is!!!

Uintah County Fair

Friday I drove the truck to Vernal so I could pick up some things from Lowe's and other places. Heidi was taking the kids to the Uintah County Fair for the Kid's Market and Crafts. I met her there (Mike joined us later). The kid's market is set up like a farmers' coop. Each kid checks in and receives an apron and tiny bushel basket. They go around to different stations. The first station Deegan and Sy picked an (artificial) apple to put in their basket.

Next, they planted a seed token in the ground and "watered" it with a watering can. After planting, they could choose a vegetable to add to their basket.

The next station was the chicken coop where the kids collected an egg for their basket. There was a stuffed chicken on one of the shelves that would cluck when

Sy touched it. She enjoyed

getting that silly chicken

to cluck.

(This coop was nothing

like collecting eggs

from a real chicken coop that has a mean attack rooster waiting at the door for trespassers to his roost.)

Gathering corn to feed the cows came next. Each child was given a little sandwich bag to fill with corn. Sy loved just playing in the corn. She would scoop some up then let it fall through her fingers back into the tub. Over and over and over she did this until we distracted her with something else.

We stopped to see the cute bunnies and the few chickens on display here. The chickens reminded me of Keith, of course, and his entries to the different fairs (and now his judging of chickens at the fairs). There were a few silkies, standard chickens, and a naked neck chicken. These were "leftovers" from the actual judging. One of the bunnies looked exactly like my pet Tawny and almost convinced me that I needed another house bunny.

Next came the hay hauling. The kids rode on "John Deere" tricycles with little wagons attached. They had to "fill" the tractor with diesel, drive to the hay bales (miniature sized), load their wagons, then take the bales to the stack yard. Most of the kids put one bale in their wagon, but not Deegan! He filled his wagon and said that was what Poppa and Grandpa Jimmy did when they hauled hay--and Deegan was right! Hay is never hauled one bale at a time.

After hauling the hay we stopped to "milk the cows." A small feed bucket was placed by each "cow." Deegan and Sy put the corn in the bucket for the cows to "eat" while they were milked. A calf-bottle was rigged behind the cows with the nipple hanging down for the udder. The kids pulled on the nipple until a couple of drops of milk came out. They added a small, empty carton of milk to the basket.

After gathering the harvest they went to the "market" and sold the fruits of their labors. With the "money" they earned, Deegan and Sy went to the store and "bought" a treat. The kids had so much fun, we made the rounds a second time.

There was also a free kids' and adult craft section. Deegan and Sy painted a picture and looked at some of the other options. Fly-tying caught Deegan's interest and he wanted to try--but Poppa was going to help him "because Poppa knows how to do this good!" It was so fun to watch the two create flies together. I was reminded of another little blonde-haired boy (Mikie), just older than Deegan, who used to sit next to Mike and create unique flies.

After the fair, Mike and I stopped at a wholesale electrical supply warehouse and our favorite store--Lowe's to pick up materials for house projects then headed home.

See ya all later!!!!!

Real soccer

Deegan was selling tickets to the Real soccer match as a fundraiser. Ranell and Heidi bought tickets for the July 23rd game. Heidi brought Sy and Deegan to hang out with Aunt Coree and family. They went swimming and had a blast! Ranell and I caught up with them later in the food court at the South Town Mall. They had a merry go round and D and Sy had to ride on it.

We then went to the soccer match. The first half was a defensive battle, but the second half was great!!!! REAl won!

Sy with her pretty pink purse that she had to carry. Her and Nonna were having a blast!

For all four of the goals Deegan and I got up and danced, usually on top of the chairs!

After the game there was a huge fireworks show! Deegan and Sy (and Nonna) oohed and aahed over the pretty colors and designs. We said quick "good-byes" to Coree, Gavin, and Nicole and headed home, even though it was late. Heidi had originally planned to stay the night at Coree's, but decided to caravan with us. Fun day--late night--arrived home around 1:30. (Ranell set the alarm to go off at 7:00 PM instead of AM. We slept late and had to hustle to make it to church on time.)

Thanks Deegan for the opportunity to watch a great game and spend time with family!

Common Core Trainings

The last three weeks have been busy running out to Layton, Jordan, and Park City for Ranell to do Common Core Trainings. It has been very fun just hanging out with her and watching her run.

We now have cement steps front and back! And a four ft. side walk across the front!!!! Pretty. Now some leveling, sloping away from the house with pitliner, and gravel then...... final inspection! We forgot to take a camera with us so no pictures.... sorry.

moon lake

We went up to Moon Lake on Friday. Bill at the lodge is so good to us, he welcomes us as friends. We found a shady spot just above the beach. All the late nights caught up with us and the quiet pace, clean smells and just a pause was enough to put most of us out cold! It was a great recharge so we could stay up late talking and playing cards and putting puzzles together.

We got a couple of kayaks and had fun. Gavin was so great with the little kids. He was patient and took them for rides all over.

Vi and heidi who are both talented, quick learning kids had some issues with the kayaks. I think they laughed and drenched each other more than they did paddling.

Austin took Deegan for a spin and was so awesome....