Hey guys. How are ya? I'm doin' great. So it's been a pretty eventful Summer. Busy busy busy. We haven't been up to the lot for a few weeks because every night of the week and two hours on Saturday are devoted to football for Josh. Lexi's doing a childrens' Broadway production of, "Mary Poppins." She's playing the part of, "Bert" or, "Bertie" as it is in this case. Lexi and Isabelle are both in clogging and Olivia is potty training. Sam's doing great. He's had an ear infection and working on his top two teeth now. He's started biting people that make him mad (namely Olivia) and we've had to put the gate back up on the stairs because he's highly mobile. Stacey and I are really enjoying these kids. We wake up early, and fall asleep exhausted, but satisfied that we're doing everything we can. Of course we've started working on Lexi's pre-tween attitudinal swings wherein she expects mom and dad to rationalize our every decision. Josh is really doing well, but still leaves his football clothes in the bathroom after he showers. We're really working on picking up after ourselves lately. Well, mom and dad are. Continually we remind people where their bikes go, reminding them to put their bowls in the sink, etc etc. In fact, Stacey finally listened to my pleadings and threw away all but about ten cups and glasses. Personally, I think we should throw away all but a dozen forks and spoons and cut down to the same number of plates. Just to avoid doing dishes forteen times a day.
Wow, I just heard my mom in my voice there. My mom used to say that, "I tell you that fourteen times a day!" Maybe that's where I learned to speak in hyperbole. You know, I'm really trying to work on being more patient with the kids. Josh for example. He tries to out-dumb me all the time. But I'm certain I'm dumber than he is. Yesterday I was teaching him how to use the weed whacker, which, you would think would be part of his genetic makeup as a 1/4 Mexican. But alas, it may have skipped a generation. But anyhow, I felt myself getting really frustrated that he couldnt walk backwards and keep from breaking the line off every time he put it down. I found myself genuinely irritated that he wasn't moving more than at a snail's pace. Then I realized of course I may have been making him nervous so I sent him in the back yard so I didnt have to watch him anymore.
So anyhow, full day today. I went to Lowe's and picked up a toilet flapper device replacement thing, and a wax ring. Turns out the toiled upstairs is leaking at the base, and the toilet downstairs fails to fill up about every five flushes because it sticks. I've still not cleaned my guns from three weeks ago, and now we've got Josh's game at Bingham today, and Lexi's performance at Riverton City tonight. I really dont want to work on any of that stuff though. I just want to enjoy my family. This morning I woke up early to get the Bountiful Basket. Wouldnt you know it though, a dozen more brussel sprouts. I friggin' hate brussel sprouts. I think the best recipe for brussel sprouts is to bake them wrapped in bacon, and when they hit your plate, you eat the bacon and throw away the sprout. Then after I got the basket I picked up a couple of drinks and then headed over to get some breakfast burritos for Stacey and I. It's an off day today. Neither of us worked out, so I figured the Diet Coke I was withholding all week could be enjoyed once this week.
Oh yeah, so this last week I've tried to get down to one 12 oz soda per dia. But before I drink it in the morning, (and following my workout) I have to drink 52oz of water. It's disgusting I tell ya. Then I sit at my desk while I start my day and eat my breakfast. Usually a couple hard boiled eggs and a banana or some other fruit and some carrot sticks. It's icky stuff. Then at lunch I try to eat somethign a little more healthy, and for dinner I either skip dinner in favor of a doctored protein shake, or just break down and eat whatever sinfully delicious Stacey has Pinterested. But I try to stay away from seconds. Key word, "TRY." Damn that woman's a great cook too. I'd be twenty lbs lighter if she weren't. I'm a sucker for carbohydrates and sauces and stuff. She's tried to get me to eat a simple salad for dinner, but I'd rather eat cardboard. I'm a man dammit and I need meat and potatoes so I can clear the North Forty in the morning. Or, so I tell myself. Anyhow, so, let me back up. I closed my Facebook account the other day. No particular reason. Just getting tired of complaining I dont have enough time. Always rushing from one thing to another, and I've finally admitted it has so much to do with my constantly checking for funny updates or for the next opportunity to post something hillarious. I guess I realized that fact when Isabelle was trying to talk to me the other day in the kitchen and I kept putting her off that my priorities were all out of whack. Anyhow, I guess keeping track of old highschool friends and Navy buddies and work mates really just can't trump the time I should be spending with my little ones. Especially when a great number of hours at home are spent changing disk brakes and fixing toilets. No rest for the wicked and the righteous dont need it.
Hey, speaking of which, my little boy Sam is here at the foot of the couch looking up at me. Smiling in his heart warming big boy way. I gotta cut this short. More important things to do that waste the day away talking about how busy I am.
Anyhow, ya'll have a great day and a fantastic until we meet.
All the best,
J
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Cottonwoods and 3 Gallon Jacquizi's
Are you ok? I stopped because you looked like you were getting worried. We can stop here if you're getting scared? Ok, if you're ok, we'll go on then. Where were we? Ah yes...
Wow. So, let's see here...hmm...ok, so you may or may not have known I have been stacking up the leave for a while. Three years of working your guts out has a way of making your leave stack up. I was up to 74 days of leave at one point. Then I got down to 69 (no pun intended), and after taking four days, and being off work for about ten days straight (I work four tens, you doyour own math), I now have plenty of leave to get me under the mandatory sixty days maximum I'm alotted to carry over fiscal years. So, come 22 September, I'm going to take off until the 4th of October to hunt elk.
So, that's the other thing. I drew out for a mature bull tag on the Wasatch. Took me ten years of trying, so I'm going to take the entire time off to do my worst. It's for a muzzle loader season and it's smack-dab in the middle of the rut. It's gonna be awesome, and to be honest I can't wait. Josh has football of course, oh, that's the other thing, Josh is hunting this year too. Dad, Josh, and I all drew out for deer tags in the latter part of Octubre as well. Josh got his 30.06 for his 12th birthday from my dad, and he's quite a shot. I fully believe if we see a little buck that Josh will be able to put him down.
So, over the week that I took off, we went up to our lot. I purchased about 250.00 worth of sprinklers and timers and the like, and connected it up to my new water source that we just installed. It's pretty sweet to have all the water you can drink at the simple lift of a handle. I'm giddy I tell you. I am not sure if you're keeping up, but originally we couldnt buy the water share, because they were all taken. But someone sold me their share, and we got it for about 3K, plus the installation of the line for another 1K. Money well spent however, as we shower till we run out of water and then fill up the hot water tank and go again. It's like having a three gallon jacquizi. How do you spell, "Jacquizi" anyhow? That looks like it's a spanish word to me. Anyhow, so then Stacey and the girls and Sam went home, and Josh and I stayed the middle of the week until they came up again. We fished in the boat on Starvation (caught nothing, so it's an apt name for the lake), Strawberry (caught nothing), Red Creek (slow but caught two) and Currant Creek. Currant Creek was the best fishing we have had in a long time.
So, I had a lot of problems with the boat. The connections between the hose line and the motor were sun-rotted and we had to drive into Duchesne to chase them down. Got all the way to Duchesne and realized I left my wallet, and had to pull into the Zion's bank there and dazzle the lady behind the counter with my personal knowledge of my address, phone number and SSN. But we pulled out 100.00 bucks and then bought some bacon and and biscuits and of course our boat part and headed back. Oh, about the time we were doing that, I noticed at their IFA that they had some 8 foot tall cottonless cottonwood (huh?) trees. They were $20 bucks each, so I filled up as many as I could in the back of Big Green the next time we came into town with seven of them. Oh, so I talked the neighbor into using his backhoe to dig the holes for me, and his rear tire just fell off! Broke the welds and dropped him right on the axle right there in my dirt patch! But, he dug the rest of the holes, so Josh and I helped him pour his concrete footings for his house the next day out of pioneer spirit and a tad bit of guilt.
OK, so that was a few weeks ago, and since then I had some Korean officers come visit us. I deployed with the colonel (light colonel), to Iraq, and haven't seen him for six years. He's stationed in Texas right now attending a course, and wanted to fly out here with his school mate (a major) and see some of the old gang from the mobilization. Well I took him and the major up over night to the lot, and turned them into 48 hour cowboys. Took them shooting the .44 magnum and my .45 Long Colt, as well as riding the four wheelers up over the top of Trout Creek and down to the Currant Creek store for some ice creams and back. Then my mom made us all some soft shell tacos and we came back here to the ranch on Saturday night. Sunday night they got up, and went to Sacrament Meeting with us, then we all shuttled on up to Temple Square and gave them the grand tour. I really had a great time with them here. It only solidified for me how much I'd like to build a few small cabins (maybe not on our lot, but who knows?) and start up a business in the Summer guiding foreigners and Easter Folk alike into the back country just like we did this weekend. I have to be a school teacher to accomplish this, as I still need a job of some variety after I finish my military career here in about seven years. I plan on retiring as a lieutenant colonel, perhaps even a full-bird colonel, and then taking my pension and adding to it the money we've saved in our 401k and my 21K/year I make teaching snot-nosed high school kids how to drive cars and play football. I suppose I could teach shop, as one of my thumbs is a skosh shorter than the other'en due to an accident in a Dodge Gremlin during my formatives, but I'll not bank on that till they offer me the position. Hopefully by that time I have a pot-gut and am balding an have a big floor broom mustache to really pull it off.
Well, I guess you're now up to speed. So I'll close for now and go get my dishes done and clean 2 out of the five guns I should have cleaned on Saturday. Stacey is off to the Rec Center getting lovely, and Josh is at football, and I have about an hour left before we start the process all over again. So, I guess keep your head down and your powder dry, and I'll see you when I see you.
All the best kids,
J
Wow. So, let's see here...hmm...ok, so you may or may not have known I have been stacking up the leave for a while. Three years of working your guts out has a way of making your leave stack up. I was up to 74 days of leave at one point. Then I got down to 69 (no pun intended), and after taking four days, and being off work for about ten days straight (I work four tens, you doyour own math), I now have plenty of leave to get me under the mandatory sixty days maximum I'm alotted to carry over fiscal years. So, come 22 September, I'm going to take off until the 4th of October to hunt elk.
So, that's the other thing. I drew out for a mature bull tag on the Wasatch. Took me ten years of trying, so I'm going to take the entire time off to do my worst. It's for a muzzle loader season and it's smack-dab in the middle of the rut. It's gonna be awesome, and to be honest I can't wait. Josh has football of course, oh, that's the other thing, Josh is hunting this year too. Dad, Josh, and I all drew out for deer tags in the latter part of Octubre as well. Josh got his 30.06 for his 12th birthday from my dad, and he's quite a shot. I fully believe if we see a little buck that Josh will be able to put him down.
So, over the week that I took off, we went up to our lot. I purchased about 250.00 worth of sprinklers and timers and the like, and connected it up to my new water source that we just installed. It's pretty sweet to have all the water you can drink at the simple lift of a handle. I'm giddy I tell you. I am not sure if you're keeping up, but originally we couldnt buy the water share, because they were all taken. But someone sold me their share, and we got it for about 3K, plus the installation of the line for another 1K. Money well spent however, as we shower till we run out of water and then fill up the hot water tank and go again. It's like having a three gallon jacquizi. How do you spell, "Jacquizi" anyhow? That looks like it's a spanish word to me. Anyhow, so then Stacey and the girls and Sam went home, and Josh and I stayed the middle of the week until they came up again. We fished in the boat on Starvation (caught nothing, so it's an apt name for the lake), Strawberry (caught nothing), Red Creek (slow but caught two) and Currant Creek. Currant Creek was the best fishing we have had in a long time.
So, I had a lot of problems with the boat. The connections between the hose line and the motor were sun-rotted and we had to drive into Duchesne to chase them down. Got all the way to Duchesne and realized I left my wallet, and had to pull into the Zion's bank there and dazzle the lady behind the counter with my personal knowledge of my address, phone number and SSN. But we pulled out 100.00 bucks and then bought some bacon and and biscuits and of course our boat part and headed back. Oh, about the time we were doing that, I noticed at their IFA that they had some 8 foot tall cottonless cottonwood (huh?) trees. They were $20 bucks each, so I filled up as many as I could in the back of Big Green the next time we came into town with seven of them. Oh, so I talked the neighbor into using his backhoe to dig the holes for me, and his rear tire just fell off! Broke the welds and dropped him right on the axle right there in my dirt patch! But, he dug the rest of the holes, so Josh and I helped him pour his concrete footings for his house the next day out of pioneer spirit and a tad bit of guilt.
OK, so that was a few weeks ago, and since then I had some Korean officers come visit us. I deployed with the colonel (light colonel), to Iraq, and haven't seen him for six years. He's stationed in Texas right now attending a course, and wanted to fly out here with his school mate (a major) and see some of the old gang from the mobilization. Well I took him and the major up over night to the lot, and turned them into 48 hour cowboys. Took them shooting the .44 magnum and my .45 Long Colt, as well as riding the four wheelers up over the top of Trout Creek and down to the Currant Creek store for some ice creams and back. Then my mom made us all some soft shell tacos and we came back here to the ranch on Saturday night. Sunday night they got up, and went to Sacrament Meeting with us, then we all shuttled on up to Temple Square and gave them the grand tour. I really had a great time with them here. It only solidified for me how much I'd like to build a few small cabins (maybe not on our lot, but who knows?) and start up a business in the Summer guiding foreigners and Easter Folk alike into the back country just like we did this weekend. I have to be a school teacher to accomplish this, as I still need a job of some variety after I finish my military career here in about seven years. I plan on retiring as a lieutenant colonel, perhaps even a full-bird colonel, and then taking my pension and adding to it the money we've saved in our 401k and my 21K/year I make teaching snot-nosed high school kids how to drive cars and play football. I suppose I could teach shop, as one of my thumbs is a skosh shorter than the other'en due to an accident in a Dodge Gremlin during my formatives, but I'll not bank on that till they offer me the position. Hopefully by that time I have a pot-gut and am balding an have a big floor broom mustache to really pull it off.
Well, I guess you're now up to speed. So I'll close for now and go get my dishes done and clean 2 out of the five guns I should have cleaned on Saturday. Stacey is off to the Rec Center getting lovely, and Josh is at football, and I have about an hour left before we start the process all over again. So, I guess keep your head down and your powder dry, and I'll see you when I see you.
All the best kids,
J
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