Picking a spot to drill the well

We have long dreamed of building and are just so slow to make any decisions! Today we are going to steak out the place to drill a well. Water is the key to everything, including having animals up here. Once we have access to water, we can start on the other projects.

So, the boys will be boys and Barry and I will do the fun work of making long held dreams come true.

Bryce's Big Day

Bryce has been counting down the days for months. He wanted to be a Deacon, hold the priesthood and pass the sacrament. He was also the last one in his primary class to turn 12 by a few months so that also had him wishing his birthday had come sooner. Nevertheless , he patiently prepared and today he was introduced as the ward's final addition to the quorum for 2012. Bishop said he was impressed with his preparation and that he had not seen another deacon so excited and well prepared as Bryce was. We love our kids, and joy in their goodness.

Bryce had a solo in the primary program

Dear Family
The primary had their program yesterday and both boys did fantastic in it. Jeff has a strong voice and sang out on every song. Bryce was the narrator and also had a short solo. We were very proud of our little guys that are not so little any more! We enjoyed so many years of firsts and now are experiencing many lasts. Next year will be our last year of having kids in Primary and I love what it has taught our children.
Love
Mom

A Birthday Tribute to my Mom

I notice things
the sunset
a flower
unique pottery shapes and glazes
remembering images from my youth.

You filled our home
with beauty
learning
smells of baking bread and dinner
homemaking skills are mine now

life is hard
but joy
radiates
it comes from deep inside and shows
that peace and love will overcome

I see you
in me
inheritance
is not something with price,
I see it's what I have become

My job now
as mother
teacher
is to give to my children
what you have given to me. Jewels.

Happy Birthday Mom

Love

Mechel

A visit from the fire department

Rogers fire department just got a new ladder fire truck and it is every boys dream to play with all of the levers and dials if a fire truck. We had time to wait around for the carbon monoxide to clear out of the house so they lay the boys work the ladder, went for a ride around the neighborhood and chatted in the front yard for an hour or two.
It all started with the cold snap. With a flip of a switch we went from cloudy and cool to sleet and cold. We turned the furnace on after we got back from the property where we had spent the night and had worked since dawn. We were chilled to the bone.

The usual burning dust smell was there but shortly after that burned off the carbon monoxide sensors began buzzing. We took batteries out so we could enjoy conference. The alarms continued. We replaced batteries and they kept buzzing. Annoying, because we were really trying to focus on the talks. Everyone was tired and naps would be great if the darn alarms would just stop!

I began to smell gas so we opened the doors and turned off the furnace and called a repair man. That was finally the right move.

I called a firefighter friend and asked if he has a sensor to see of there really was CO in the house... Since we could not smell it. Duh. That is what the alarm was for. He said to call the fire department and that is how we ended up outside hanging with the firemen. There was a LOT of CO gas inside and they smelled a gas leak just standing by the front door. The readings just inside the front door were so high that they had to get out too and no one was allowed back in until the gas company came and shut everything down.
We were all affected by the exposure and had headaches and were sleepy. We will get a new furnace next week.

Now to get rested up for another great day of conference!

Field Trip Thursday: Bug Festival at the UofA In spite of the long lines of school children snaking through the Equestrian Arena, where the UofA had set up tables covered with creepy crawlies, we managed to see and touch some very unusual creatures on our field trip today.

Bryce was brave and held a walking stick that had body parts that looked like leaves layered down the middle of him.

The hissing cockroaches were a huge hit and they used them for races which were quite entertaining.

The spiders were not my favorite because I really have seen some like this around - which freaks me out. Killing 6 huge black momma widows last week and a very large wolf spider had me shivering - but seeing this very large tarantula crawling all over this guy, not wanting to get back in its box, up and down his back, on his neck, down his arm - it made me scream (yes the boys thought my startled scream was funny) - I just did not expect to turn around and see a large spider on this guy's back!

We had a great time and enjoyed seeing so many of God's wonderful creatures and appreciated that they were in boxes or in display cases and not hiding in our closets!

Run for a child

The ward has been practicing for several weeks to do a flash mob dance at the Run for a Child. We got there at the appointed time and there were not very many people around. You have to have more than the flash mob people to pull it off so we decided to wait until the races were over.

Meanwhile Bryce and Jeff decided that they really did want to run and headed off to the starting line. Jeff ran the mile and Bryce ran the 5k.

When it was determined that the time was right to dance, the music started and we did our thing. People got a kick out of it and we got on the news so I guess the goal was met.