A Very Fun Weekend

Nate and I enjoyed another fun weekend in Rigby. It was, however, too short. Have I ever mentioned how much I like the Ribgy area. I guess it is because I enjoyed my two years at Ricks so much. Yes, it was cold most of the time I was there and yes the wind blows all the time, but I love the sunshine and the quiet, peaceful, small town feel.
Nate and I traveled up this weekend to just get away from home for a while. It has been a very long winter and with the snow storms last week, a trip to visit Ben, Cheryl, and Jason seemed like the thing to do. (Nate had to work on Sunday morning, so the weekend was short.)
We arrived Friday night and Ben wasn't too happy to see Grandma. He did warm up and felt better about our visit before too long. Ben always seems happy to play with Uncle Nate, though.
On Saturday, both Ben and Nate needed to sleep for most of the morning, so I quickly visited Carma and took a look at her bamboo floor that she is putting down. Her's is a darker version of our living room. She has put it down in her living room and is now completing putting it down in her sunroom. It looks very nice and she has been doing it all on her own. Good Job Carma.
When we finally got the boys up, (Jason was at work), we headed to downtown Rigby. They have a wonderful hardware store, kinda like the Tru-Value store at Exit one in Shrewbury. Then we went to the "Ben Franklin" store. what a neat store. You can buy fabric and camping gear--all at the same place.
Then for the highlight of the morning--a trip to "Big Jud", the happenin' place in Archer. The main item on the menu is their one pound hamburger; Nate was positive he could eat the whole thing. Well, he ate half of it. Ben spilled only one glass of ice water while we were there. Cheryl was holding him, not grandma.
Then it was back to Cheryl's to "watch" them begin their landscaping.
Jason and Nate had a blast with the tractor. They do have their work cut out for them and Nate would love to come up and help. School and work seem to get in the way, though.
Grandma would love to come up and watch Ben while Cheryl is out planting her garden. Here are some fun pictures of Ben.

Enough Already

I have had enough. As I look at the calendar, it tells me it is April 24. Yesterday I was taking Copper for a walk in spring like weather and then this morning I wake up to 3 new inches of snow. It is baseball season; time to think about camping in that favorite spot. I have never battled depression, but I could start now.
Yesterday I cleaned out the closet that houses all the camping and sporting goods. Do you think that has anything to do with the present weather? Did I curse the spring camping season?
Oh well. Maybe a quick trip to see Ben, Cheryl, and Jason will lift my spirits. We might run up quickly on Friday when Nate gets out of school and return home Sat. night or Early Sunday morning. (Pa comes home in a week. I can't wait.)

Almost Gone

Here is a picture of the last of the snow in our yard. We are glad to see it go. The weather has warmed up enough for me to go out and do some raking. Copper is happy, too, because we go for walks again.
Today while out walking at the park, Copper spotted a moose--it appears to be a very small one, maybe last years yearling. The garter snakes are out and they have Copper stymied.

Spring Skiing

Dad is home for General Conference Weekend; he got in Thursday night. We decided to check out the snow in the Uintas for the first time this winter. There is lots of it left. The skiing was great. We had lots of fun.
Things around here have gotten really weird. I have been doing a little extra work at Uinta Meadows, where I taught for 2 years. I have interviewed there for an aide job, also. When I went into work on Tues., the new principal asked me if I would be interested in interviewing for a position for next year. I really thought it was a joke. On Thurs. I talked to him again and said I was interested and today (Friday) I made an appointment for an interview with 3 principals on Wed. All I can say is: Life is strange. I'll keep you updated on the happenings.
Cheryl, Jason, and Ben are coming for the night and then they will travel to Orem to see Carolyn & Stew and Michelle and Jon and their new home. Everyone have a fun weekend.

More Pictures

GREAT Weekend

There is no better way to say it. It was a great weekend. We enjoyed everyone's company. I hope everyone felt comfortable. I felt like the remodel projects we have done were successful just from the standpoint of having plenty of room.
I wanted to share some of the pictures that Dad took over this weekend, too. There were some pretty special ones.
Thanks to everyone for making the time to come to Evanston. I'm sure it meant alot to Nate.
Now, we are enjoying some nice spring weather. Yesterday in the SLC valley it was 68and here it was 45 for the high. Still alot of snow melted. Today I got up and took Copper for a walk at the ice ponds. The walk way is dry and it was great fun.
I bought some material for baby jammies so now I have something when it snow again.
Everyone have a wonderful week.

Spring???

What better way to celebrate the first day of spring than having a snow storm. That's what it is like in Evanston. Only and inch or so fell and it should melt by the end of the day. Easter weekend looks very nice. Bring a jacket just in case. Yesterday was very Spring like and we had a lot of snow melt away, but there is still a lot on the ground. No drought this year. I could be late before we can get up into the campgrounds for camping.
As Michelle mentioned in her recent blog, Nate and I traveled to Orem to see their new home. I am impressed. It is very nice--laid out niceley. I might copy her kitchen when I do my new kitchen.
I learned how to replace door knobs and we went to Home Depot twice on Saturday. We even tried Cafe Rio for lunch.
Monday I tried another new skill. Knowing we would need more than one useable bathroom for this upcoming weekend, I replaced the toliet seat on the main floor bathroom. For those of you coming to visit, I'm sure you will appreciate the upgrade.
Nate started working at Walmart last night. He is a cart gatherer. He will like having extra spending money.

Feels like spring

Well, I knew it would happen sometime. The sun is shining and the snow is melting. Yes, you can see grass--although it is certainly not green. Where we had 4 foot drifts next to the garage, you can actually see strawberry plants poking through. Copper can be outside enjoying the warm sunshine.
But, for those of you traveling to visit this weekend, I must warn you--we are expecting 3-6 inches of snow tonight/tomorrow. What better way to welcome in spring. The weekend should be nice and what snow we get should melt rather quickly.
Michelle mentioned in her blog that Nate and I traveled to Provo this past weekend to see the new Ellsworth home. It is beautiful. It is laid out well and should be a very comfortable home. Tinkerbelle will love the backyard. I love the fireplace and I am going to use some of the ideas from her kitchen when I plan my new kitchen.
This week I have learned some new skills in the remodeling area. Michelle and I learned how to change door knobs and it only took me a couple of hours to master. (I do better at tearing things down rather than putting back together.) Also, because we are going to have lots of company this weekend, I decided the down stairs bathroom needed some work. I took off the old gross toliet seat and put on a spankin brand new one. I was proud of myself.
Anyway, can't wait to see everyone this weekend and please DRIVE SAFELY.

It feels like Spring

Spring has come to Evanston. The sun is shining and the snow is melting. I can actually see a piece of the lawn in front. That doesn't mean we won't have more snow, but for today it is spring.
I have had a lot of fun skiing at the state park this winter and it was great exercise. I can't wait until it is dry enough to walk and go biking.
Here are some before pictures of the current project.

It's finished

Dad was home this weekend to celebrate Nathan's sixteenth birthday. He spent a lot of his time doing the finish work on the spare bedroom. This project was started after Labor Day by Mom and Nathan doing the demo work and then Dad took over. He did almost everything with Mom doing a little painting.
As you can see from the picture, the room is beautiful. Only a little touch up paint for Mom to do and a new closet door to be put on and another room done.
The computer has been moved downstairs and the computer room is ready for demo. That will probably start on March 4 (Tuesday.)

Trip to Idaho

Nate and I traveled to Rigby/Sugar City this past weekend to help Cheryl and Jason move to their new home. It will be so fun for me to see the changes that Cheryl and Jason will make on the yard in the coming months and years. Their home is beautiful and the colors make it warm and homey. Of course I should have taken pictures, but I was anxious about coming home in the snow, I forgot. I guess I will have to visit again and this time take some pictures of the house. They have a huge yard that I will be more than happy to help them with during the WARM summer months.
I did of course take some pictures of Ben. He and Nathan had such a good time together. Ben thought Nate was pretty funny and giggled at him all the time. He is such a good natured guy (Ben that is) and most of all he lets grandma hold me without fussing. I love it.

Snow Day

It does happen. Uinta County School District #1 called the second snow day of the year. I don't know how much snow we got because it blowing like crazy. The interstate is closed, again. So Evanston has become a big rig parking lot. It is too cold and windy to go skiing.
I have been going out to the state park daily and doing some skiing. I feel great and I love to go out into the peace and quiet.
Here is a picture of this morning's snowy chaos.

What a Surprise

This morning as I was backing out of the driveway, guess what Nate spotted? A MOOSE in our yard. We had just put Copper out and he must have spooked the moose so she headed across the street toward downtown.
After further investigation, it almost looks like she had been bedded down in our side yard.
As you can see from the pictures, we have plenty of snow. It does look pretty, but there is alot of the white stuff.
Here are the tracks the moose left as she walked through our yard.

More pictures from the Weekend

Here are some more pictures of the cute bunch in Albuquerque. Dave and Summer look as much in love as ever, Allyson is becoming quite the lovely lady, Ryan spent the time reading Calvin and Hobbes to Grandpa, Isaac has more energy that ever imagined, and Evan is a cute little thing and hopefully by the time he is 3, he like Isaac will be my friend.
A couple of fun stories from our trip. Ryan really did read alot of Calvin and Hobbes to Grandpa. Everytime Grandpa would sit down, Ryan would climb up on his lap and begin to read.
Sunday after dinner, just before we left for the airport, Dave put in a video. We all sat down to watch, except Ryan who was reading to Grandpa. Then Dave began to look for Isaac who had disappeared. He looked everywhere--the bedrooms, bathroom, etc. Now of course, Dave's house isn't huge and doesn't have as many hiding places as the farm house, so where could Isaac be. Finally Summer suggested the garage and sure enough Isaac was in there riding a bike. What a character.
Dave and Summer: have fun with this bunch. They will give you a lot of joy. Thanks for inviting us down.

Exciting Weekend

Nate and I flew to Albuqueque on Saturday to meet up with Dad and spent a whirlwind weekend with Dave and his family. Dad flew in Friday night and had the honor of being Grandpa babysitter on Sat. He was surprised at the energy the three older Turner grandchildren exhibited.
Nate and I arrived in ALB about 1 o'clock on Sat. and was met by Dad and Isaac. We proceeded to the NMU vs. BYU "Women's" b-ball game. (The men were playing in Provo, where UNM was trounced by BYU 82-65 or something like that.) Now, the boys weren't that excited about watching the women, but me, having spent much of my younger year dreaming of such an experience, enjoyed the game.
Dave then gave Nate a tour of UNM.
We enjoyed an evening of pizza and games at Dave's and then headed to our hotel room for some shut-eye.
On Sunday we traveled to the Los Lunus Stake Center for stake conference where Dave was sustained as a High Priest and a High Councilor. Yes, Dave, you are really old when your son is a high councilor.
After the afternoon of eating, (Thanks Summer for the delicious dinner--it was just right for traveling), napping (Mom), and hiking, the boys, Nate and I began our interesting journey home.
We boarded our plane to Phoenix where we would change plane and travel on to SLC. They came through the cabin and took our drink orders, but then the cockpit announced that because of turbulence there would be no service. It was a very bouncy ride. We landed in Phoenix and looked for our flight info to SLC. Everything was delayed especially if it was coming from the west coast, which our plane was.
To make a long story short, we finally took off from Phoenix at 2 AM. (We were hoping to be in Evanston by 1:30 AM.) We landed in SLC at 3 and the temp was 40. The roads were wet until we got to the top of Parleys, where everything became snow packed.
We arrived in Evanston at 5:30 with Nate saying "good I can get an hour of sleep before I head to school." I tried to get him up at 7:30, but he said he would make up strength building at a later date.
It was a great weekend and we won't have missed it for the world. Next time we will stay longer and go on some of those wonderful hikes you are always talking about.

Little Bro

I just checked Nate's final grades for this semester. Welding 90% A-; Gym 88 B+; Algebra, 91% A-; English, 93, A-. Way to go Nathan. His grade point average is 3.6429. He has worked extremely hard this semester and he has a pretty difficult second semester. Also, having Jeff living with us this semester, I think, has been a distraction, as well.
Just for your info, too. We are planning on having Nathan ordained a priest on the weekend of March 23.

It is winter in Evanston. While Dad has been enjoying unusually warm weather, Nate and I are "enjoying" winter here. It seems we have been stuck in a deep freeze for a long time.
I finally got my skis out this past week and tried the snow at the State Park. It was great. The first day I went out, I didn't ski very far, but at the end I spotted 2 bald eagles sitting in a tree by the river. On Sat. I skied from one parking lot to the far parking lot. It was so much fun. I will try to get out every day, when the temp is 20 degrees or warmer.
I have been busy doing lots of different things. Just before Thanksgiving I started helping out at the County Museum. There was an exhibit from the Smithsonian coming to town, and they wanted retired school teachers to help guide school groups through. I did that about 4 times from the first part of December until this past week. As I was saying my goodbyes to the museum director, she told me that the museum was going to get more exhibits and would I like to volunteer to do those as well. I told her I was very excited to do that. It will most likely start in the spring--whenever that is here.
The new principal at UME, where I taught before, called me just before Christmas and asked if I would be interested in teaching an after school math class for kids who needed extra help. I started doing that right after Nate and I got back from DC. I go in one hour after school Monday-Thurs. I also go in for about 45 min. on Tues and Thurs before school, too. I love the hours, I can do 6 hours a week, and i love working with kids who are struggling.
Of course, I have plenty to do in the house, so I am keeping real busy.
The first semester has ended and we think Nate DID pull all "A"'s like he wanted too. He worked real hard and we are proud of him.

Winter in Wyoming

No doubt about it, winter has come and by the looks of things, it will stay for a while. The snow has quit falling--for a day or two, so I took the opportunity to test the snow with my skis. I ventured out Friday morning and skied to the red bridge over the river and took a couple of photos.
As I was skiing back to the car, I noticed a couple of birds hopping along the ground, but as I looked to the trees along the river, I noticed 2 bald eagles sitting in one of the trees. They both took off and soared around the park for a few minutes before heading to the nearby hills. I'll try to get pictures next time.
After doing some painting in the spare room on Saturday, I headed out to the State Park again. I skied a little farther and I am surprised at how good I feel. Maybe I'm not as old as I thought. Ha Ha.
Enjoy the pictures.

Dad's Vacation

Thought I would show you how Dad has been spending his vacations. This project started just prior to Thanksgiving. Nate and I demoed the wall around the window and then when Dad came home, he started putting it back together.
He finished the drywall and then started painting. Today (28) he is finishing putting the Laminate flooring down. Then we have just the base to get and a little touch up painting and the room is ready for use.

Next project: the computer room.

Thanks for a Lovely Christmas

We sure had a great Christmas at our house. It started with a nice walk, Copper, Dad and me. Evanston is a little chilly. It was 3 degrees when we started out The sun started to shine and we kept warm by walking briskly.
All the presents were perfect. Thanks so much for everything.
Tinkerbelle continues to be delightful. She loves to hang out with Copper in the back porch. She is not too happy to be there when Copper is outside.
Here are some more pictures of the dogs and even one of the "head" elf.