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....

shooting

Keith's family loved to shoot and we had a few fun moments eradicating some pests. Colton and Austin did well shooting shots under 100 yds. They learned the "thump" and the "thaaawk" sounds and what they mean. Whacking prairie dogs now will have a new meaning for them. Racoons now a have a different memory, as well.

Susan inherited a Glock pistol and wanted to learn how to shoot. The pile in the back yard was a great backstop for all the shots. At first the pile was good to stop all the shots and after a while she hit the plates and bottles. They shot my 2 Brownings well, but did not like my 357. They loved Mikie's 45 long Colt. Austin and Colton saw my can dance when I used Ranell's .22, but had a hard time copying it. If I had the nylon that I let my nephew, Andrew, borrow, they would have had a real lesson on can dancing.

Horse

Sometimes the outside of a horse is the best thing for the inside of Man! If you are a horse person this makes perfect sense. If you are not, you can only wonder and try to understand. When the family came to Uncle Mike's, of course they wanted to be on horses. So we brought a few over and had some great rides. Roux rode Hook-up while Pappa led him and then he wanted another ride bareback between kids.

This is Emmi's first ride on a horse. Tessi is a good mare to have novices riders on if you are trail riding. She takes care of the rider very well. Ranell and Hook are slowly reaching an understanding. Hook is learning that Ranell will get her way! So he is doing it more often on the first request. Ranell loves her Aussie saddle. The fit makes her secure and it does not hurt her knees. This is the second ride of the year for Appointment. We still do not have 25 rides on her yet, but she is coming along great!

David, Susan and Emmi going for a short ride in the front yard.

Emmi is on Appointment and doing well.

Nicole wanted to ride the pretty yellow horse so we tried and put her on bareback. She did very well. MacKenzie rode Hook bareback. She is a natural rider and has a good seat. She and Austin rode double on Hook and did well, until one got off balance and in slow motion pulled the other off. They landed in a heap and were laughing all the way down. As they were going over Hook just put his head down to eat!

Appointment getting another good lesson from MacKenzie.

Rachel is teaching Hook a thing or two and having fun. If these two nieces lived with me they would be training and working lots of horses. They have good seats and soft hands.