Marriage Meme

Montserrat has a meme on her blog and has kindly given me the option to participate. Montse has been a valuable help to me as an amateur blogger. So here goes!

Eight facts about our marriage:

1 - We both lived in Ruth Nevada as small children and new each other. Angela moved away when she was 6 years old and I was 8 years old. That was 1971! (That sure dates me)!

2 - 21 years later we were introduce to each other through a mutual friend, in Fallon Nevada. After some conversation we realized that we knew each other as kids.

3 - We were married February 4, 1994 in Virginia City Nevada.

4 - 30 minutes after saying 'I do', we were in a car wreck in Reno Nevada. I was turning into a 7-11 on Virginia street when a car speeding up the 'parking lane' hit the side of my car, in the passenger door, where Angela was sitting. Luckily neither of use was hurt. A Washoe County Sheriff Officer was in the parking lot and witnessed the accident. The driver of the other car was cited. Later we found out he had no insurance, and then he fought the findings of the police in court. He lost. It took us nearly two years to recover the cost of repairs to the car. To this day we still comment about 'Oregon drivers', when we see Oregon plates on a car.

5 - February 4, 1998 we were sealed in the Oakland Temple. The weather over Donner Summit, on I-80 was nearly impassable. The freeway was shut down soon after we made it through. There was heavy rain in the Bay area and many of the highways were flooded and closed. There was real concern that we were not going to make it. We did!

6 - When we were married I believed that we would never have kids. Angela's tubes had been tied. Through the help of artificial insemination we now have 3 kids together. An 8 year old girl and twin boys who are 5.

7 - We lived in Fallon Nevada until October of 2004. We then moved to Star Valley Wyoming and have been here since then.

8 - It would be wonderful if we could make it through an entire night without one of the kids climbing in bed with us!

I am suppose to tag someone else at this point. Problem is I don't know many blogger's, and the few I do know have been tagged! But hey, if you read this and feel like participating, be my guest!

Afternoon Hail

We have had a lot of weather the past couple of days. A lot of thunder and lightening. A lot of rain, and even some hail! It rained 2" in about 15 minutes at work on Wednesday. I was in Pocatello at meetings, but the blackberries were full of images from the mine. The haulage routes were running like rivers.

Photo Taken: July 27, 2007

The Largest Spider Ever

Captured

You may remember my post Chasing Spiders? Since that time Ruby has, several times, come running in the house and asked me to grab the camera! "The giant spider is out Dad"! I would grab the camera and head out to the window well to try a get a picture. Every time the spider was gone, hiding under the siding. Ruby has been persistent. She has learned to trick the spider to come out of hiding by vibrating the web. So today she asked to use the camera, went to the window well and threw a piece of grass onto the web, and right on cue the spider scampered to the center of the web. Ruby snapped this picture of the 'Largest Spider Ever'.

I am impressed with her photo! It certainly deserves a place in the blog.

Photo Taken: July 27, 2007 - By: Ruby

Rubys Choice

Ruby and Savanah

For her choice Ruby chose this picture of her and friend Savanah. It is probably not the picture she would have chosen if not for this evenings events. Ruby invited Savanah to stay the night for a sleep over. Savanah went to jump up on our fire place and caught her leg on a corner of the rocks that make the base. She ended up with a very bad cut below her right knee. I called her mother then took Savanah and Ruby to her house. Her mother took her to the emergency room where she recieved ten stitches. Ruby went along for morale support. After the stitches Savanah came back for the sleep over! She was quite the trooper, she hardly even cried.

Photo Taken: July 24, 2007

Prestons Choice

Preston

Tonight I gave Preston the opportunity to pick a picture for my post. All his favorites were of him! He finally settled on this one. It was taken during our recent fireworks show. The picture was taken from the back deck, and he is standing below on the concrete patio.

Photo Taken: July 20, 2007

Spencers Choice

This picture of Christ is in our living room. Spencer asked me tonight if he could choose a picture to put on my blog. I said sure, and immediately he said the Jesus picture. I can't say that he made a bad choice at all.

spencer

(spencer had to type his name above, since this is his post).

Photo taken: July 20, 2007

Multi Colored Noise

Fountain of Sparks

Add some Bang

The last couple of nights we have used up the last of the fireworks we had left. We shot off the 'good stuff' on the 4th, but angela picked up a few more that had gone on sale after the holiday.

In Wyoming most fireworks are legal. You can buy some really awesome fireworks! On holidays there is always fireworks to watch.

Photos Taken: July 20, 2007

Before the Show

Doesn't Alec look happy?

We had a small fireworks show last night. All we did was set off some showers. No rockets or any thing like that. I had Alec light them for the kids.

I took this picture before we began. It doesn't get dark until nearly 10:00 pm in the summer here. So it is hard to get the kids in bed very early.

Maybe tomorrow I will post some photos of the fireworks.

Photo Taken: July 20, 2007

Behind Bars!

Preston, Ruby, and Spencer

Looks as if I built a cage to keep my little monkeys in, but they are just sitting behind the stairwell banister. Some days I wish I had a cage for these three! They can keep you running!

Photo Taken: July 20, 2007

Mosquito Eater

Crane Fly

This flying critter was hanging out on our bathroom wall tonight. Angela has always called them 'Mosquito Eaters'. My curious nature got the better of me, and I had to find out just what the thing really is. Well it is called a Mosquito Eater, as well as a few other names such as 'Daddy Long Legs' in some regions. (Where I come from Daddy Long Legs is a spider). It is more commonly called a Crane Fly, and its scientific name is Tipulidae Oleracea. And just in case you are wondering, they do not eat mosquitos! Dang it!

Photo Taken: June 17, 2007

Evidence of a Dry Year

Pallisades Reservoir

The water line at Pallisades Reservoir is getting lower and lower. I would estimate that it is about 70' below the 'high' mark. Last summer the lake remained mostly full through out the summer. This year, as can be seen in the above photo, is a different story.

Well Below Average

As this graph show, the lake is well below its storage capacity for this time of year. I obtained this graph from the US Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation. Star Valley and the Salt River are part of the Upper Snake River Drainage. Click here to see what water storage capacities and the current levels are for all the reservoirs in the Upper Snake River Basin.

Photo Taken: July 13, 2007

Graph copied form the Bureau of Reclamaion website

New Neighbors

Our New Neighbors

Ruby and Spencer Saying Hello

Dick and Pat Peterson live next door to us. There is a corral between our house and theirs and yesterday they added some horses. The kids are excited about the new neighbors.

Photos Taken: July 13, 2007

Spencer WITHOUT the Trainers!

Spencer

Spencer had Alec take off his training wheels today, to help him learn to ride his bike. First trip down the drive Alec let go about half way to the end and Spencer was off. He went to the end of the drive before he realized that he was riding without any help! And just like Preston, he hasn't stopped since.

Photo Taken: July 13, 2007

Spotted Pair

You can see the fawns much better in the upper photo if you click on it!

These two fawns were playing outside my office window today. They were chasing each other around the red storm water drain. My office is four stories up and above the truck shop. This pair were playing within a couple hundred feet of mechanics changing tires on a haul truck. Their mothers are just out of the picture at the top of these photos.

They are not the best of photos, but they are the best I could do from 40' up!

Photos Taken: July 12, 2007

The Bunny is Safe

Spencer and His Bunny

When I came home from Idaho Falls tonight Spencer was wearing his life jacket and had his bunny safely secured! This bunny has been Spencer's 'teddy bear'. He sleeps with it every night. The bunny is from Easter a few years ago.

Photo Taken: July 11, 2007

Busy at Work

My job has been keeping me extremely busy lately. I have been trying to finish a new mine plan for Smoky Canyon which includes an updated forecast, waste balances, new pit designs, and equipment requirements.

Also we have started a new project that, if goes as planned, we will begin mining in about 15 years. This particular project will take that long to develop, because of various factors. This new project has required some travel as of late. Today was one of those days. I had to go to Idaho Falls to meet with the USFS and the BLM to present a preliminary plan for this project. There will be a significant amount of permitting to do, and that process was kicked off today. The permitting will take years to complete. The amount of work and money spent to permit a project like this one is mind boggling. It will cost millions of dollars just to permit, that is before any mining will even begin.

Because of my busy work schedule, I haven't had as much time to devote to my blog lately. But I am still trying to keep up with post of the kids for the Grandpas!

Chasing Spiders

Catch it Dad!

Spencer, Preston, Ruby, and their friend Jayden were playing in the yard. They yelled for me to come outside. They wanted me to catch a spider for them! The critter got away before I could see it, but it was "the largest spider ever! Honest Dad!"

Photo Taken: July 8, 2007

On a 'Clear Day'

Looking Southeast

Looking Northeast

Currently there are no wildfires in the vicinity of Star Valley; however there is plenty of smoke. The mountains on the other side of the valley are very hazey. And it is thick enough that you can actually smell the smoke. There are currently fires in Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, and Utah that maybe contributing to our smokey little valley.

Photos Taken: July 9, 2007

Sunday Afternoon Snooze

I took my shoes off this afternoon, and Lady thought it a nice place to rest her head for a nap.

A few years ago, I came home from work and Ruby and Angela had a new kitten at home. They BOTH promised me that they would take care of it, and keep it bathed. Many cats make my eyes water and my nose run.

Now Lady follows me all around the house. She sleeps on me at night, and when she snoozes during the day, it is usually on something that belongs to me! And I am the one to feed her each night.

Alec is Here!

I went to Jackson Thursday night and picked Alec up from the airport there. He arrived about 10:30 PM.

Airfare from Reno to Jackson Hole cost us a Whopping $65. Thanks to our brother-in-law Jared Smith! He is a pilot for Delta Airlines, and was able to get us a 'buddy pass' for Alec. Thanks again Jared!

The kids have been looking forward to Alec's arrival for the last few weeks. He will be here into August.

Photo Taken: July 7, 2007

Happy Birthday America!

It is Independence Day and we have been celebrating in traditional American style. We had a barbecued hamburgers, Brats, and polish sausages, along with corn on the cob and watermelon.

Tonight we are going to set off a display of fireworks. In Wyoming most all fireworks are legal! They sell them everywhere! Several families in our little sub division have spent a small sum for their pyrotechnics tonight, including us. So we should have quite a show! Maybe if we get some good pictures I will have to do a blog tomorrow!

Photo Taken: July 4, 2007

The Bike Won! But not for Long!

Preston's Wounds

For the past couple of weeks Preston has been bugging me to take the training wheels off of his bike. Yesterday he took matters into his own hands. He grabbed his sisters old bike, (with out the trainers), and began to ride! He is a natural. His first attempt he was off, without any help!

He was riding her bike when Dad came home. He was so excited to show me he could ride on 'two wheels'. He had me stand at the garage to watch. He took off as fast as he could go. Half way down the drive the front tire began to wobble wildly from side to side. The tire caught in the gravel and Preston went over the handle bar, planting his face in the gravel. He ended up with a knot on his noggin, a bloody nose, and a bloody fat lip.

I took him in the house and patched him up, gave him a couple of hugs, took a picture, and then he drug me out the door to get those dang training wheels off of his bike! He hasn't stopped riding since.

Photo Taken: July 2, 2007

A Family Affair

Ruby at The Aspen

Spencer at The Aspen

Mom, Spencer, Ruby, and Lady on the way Home from the Aspen

The entire family made the walk to the aspen today, including lady our cat. This is turning into quite the family event. This weekly habit has to be the most successful of them all.

This week no new habit, but a quick update on how we are doing:

Take the Stairs Haven't missed yet!

Eat My Own Lunch Doing great

A Walk to the Aspen A family Affair!

Finish My Own Dinner Almost there. I have caught myself picking up one of the kids forks a time or two!

Floss the Chops Again almost there. I have been much better, but I have fallen asleep on the couch a couple of times before taking care of bussiness, and then just went to bed.

Photos Taken: July 2, 2007

The Pond

This pond is near the aspen that I walk to. There seems to be a miniature forest growing in the middle of it. Often we have seen Moose, Elk, and Deer near this pond from the back porch or out he kitchen window. Spring and Fall are usually the most active for the larger ungulates in this area.

Photo Taken: June 30, 2007