New Tires:)

The car Leah is driving needed new tires.  Dave had talked to her about coming down and switching cars so he could do some maintenance and it turned into a fun family weekend.  I love it!  But first a few things. 

The water in our well has to much alkali and we can't use it to water our grass or garden.  We haul water biweekly or more every spring and summer, and it is a pain.  Dave started designing a tool to make it easier to put a water line in, rather than hand digging the whole way.  He spent quite a few days after work welding this piece up.  It worked very slick.  Still lots of work left to do.  Lots of the pipe was back ordered and we are waiting on that as well, but it is going to be super handy when finished. 

Blake took a group of friends to do baptisms.  A stop at DQ was made after per tradition.  He finally got to do the baptizing and said it was a cool experience. 

We also got to go out and listen to Levi's homecoming talk.  It was excellent. I always enjoy talking to return missionaries and hearing the stories they don't share in their letters. :) 

And now....

Leah was scheduled to come down on Saturday and Friday Cora said hey we are coming too.  I was glad they could come also.  I had thought they had to work Saturday and so hadn't asked. They decided not to drive together because they didn't have to return at the same time.  Leah ended up getting here just after lunch.  They had stopped for something to eat on the way.  We had a few snacks out and then just hung out, did some dinner prep, and chatted.  Dave had a few chores for the boys as we waited for Cora and Ammon.  I let all the boys know that Levi was coming to surprise Leah and Cora.  Blake was to take them into town and so Levi could show up and be waiting in the front room.  Cora arrived about 4.  We said hello and rushed them back out the door.  I had so many doubters about this video I wanted, but it turned out exactly as I had thought.  The girls were so surprised.  It was awesome. 

We then had dinner and went to feed and check cows.  It is an event that all the kids' friends like to get involved in.  In fact side note: Dave and I were dejunking some thing and as we went through old shoes and farm jackets we made sure we had lots of sizes for a variety of friends.  Well prepared. 

The boys had all brought their guns and Dave had got lots of ammo.  Ammon had been wanting to shot a gopher for years, they don't have any where he is from, and he got 3 this weekend.  He was much pleased. 

Levi had to leave aroung 8. We all said goodbye and then continued shooting for a while.  Ate some snacks and had some good chats then off to bed.  It was kind of funny cause Leah was the original reason for the trip home and because of all that came she ended up the only one that didn't have a bed and had to sleep on the floor. 

Sunday was church.  Both Dave and I were teaching.  It happened to be the same lesson, so he decided to combine RS an EQ.  We team taught and it was fun.  We haven't done that for years.  After there were the brick pics.

Ammon was teasing Cora that they have been married almost a year and these are still the pictures he get from her. 

I sure love this crew.  They are a pretty awesome bunch and all love being together.  Leah had to leave right after dinner.  Cora and Ammon ended up staying until later Monday afternoon.  They helped sort some cows and haul water and a few other chores. So new tires ended up being a fabulous time had by all. 

Random Things I Missed

A few days before Easter, I was in town getting groceries when my mom text me.  My parents were also in town and wanted to take me for lunch.  It was an great hour that we just sat and talked.  I loved spending the time with them.  I love hanging out with my whole family, but sometimes it is nice to still have that one on one time with my parents.  I used to go out and spend an afternoon with them while my kids were in school.  I haven't done that for a few years and it was really fun. 

That same weekend we also started calving.  I have a love/hate relationship with calving.  I stress about something going wrong on my watch and I don't like the catching process to tag them.  But I don't mind the actual tagging and they are so cute running around out there together.  Leah gets so excited every year when the first little calf gets some friends. We desperately need rain.  It is so dry and our bales are dwindling fast. 

Blake went down to a multi-stake fireside with Elder Corbitt.  He really enjoyed it. Said he was very personable and interactive. He was glad he had gone. So many great messages. The one that stuck out to me as Blake was telling us all about it was that we had won the battle in heaven, we knew we did because we are here.  That it continues to be the same war we are still fighting here on earth today.  But we did it once so we know we can, we can win each battle, we know how to defeat him.  I had never thought of it that way and thought it was really good.  Blake said he took just a couple scriptures and spent almost 2 hours breaking them down and asking the youth lots of questions.  Sounds like a wonderful testimony boosting experience. 

We were able to spend a few hours with the Puzey's.  Cadence was baptized and we all headed up for that.  Lalainia did an excellent meal after.  It was nice to see everyone.  We were not able to stay long as Blake needed to work that afternoon. 

We frequently get calves stuck in the feeder.  Dave has drawn up some plans to weld it a little different so it will stop happening. The other day Dave and I were out checking and of course we had a couple stuck.  We opened the side door and 3 ran out, but one was super stuck.  I was in the tractor as Dave moved the chains to different spots and directed me to lift up/down/left/right etc.  He walked in and out and carefully pushed and pulled.  We seriously worked at it for over 20 mins.  I had lost all hope and was sure we needed to get the saw to cut the bars.  But Dave patiently worked on and on and I was amazed when that calf jumped out and calmly walked away with no injuries.  Dave has got skill. 

The clinic has been training me to do the referrals the last few weeks.  I was nervous to take this on as it is not anything I have done before.  I think I have most of it down.  It is a bit unnerving when I have an urgent one to do.  There are certain procedures and reports to include or it gets rejected and I sure don't want that to be my fault.  As there are not many urgent, I haven't had a lot of chances to do it.  But it is fun.  The hospital still requires screening and masks.  One day a week it is the clinics turn to spell off the screener for their lunch break.  I got to do it the other day.  Got my gown on and was set to go.

We went down to my parents for Easter Sunday dinner.  Got to spend some time with them and Cannon and Nicole.  Poor Blake is the only grandkid most of the time when we get together now.  I am sure he loves it. 

The other day while Blake was working he looked over and saw this owl staring at him about 5 feet away.  He said it gave him a bit of a surprise.

Blake also had his first date last week.  He and Avery wanted to do a double date with bowling and pizza.  They each asked the girls and were much relieved and happy when the girls said yes.  They had so much fun.  He drove all over town and only took one missed turn, but he found his way out quick and none were the wiser.  Blake said his goal was to go on more dates then Dave did in high school, so now that he has been on one he is all done. He did have  great time and says he needs to work more so he can afford to go on a few more.  We have given him some cheaper to free ideas.

There was another stake dance last weekend.  Usually Blake just drives down himself or with friends, but I decided I wanted to do an actual date. The only thing open that time of night besides movies was bowling.  Nothing looked interesting to watch.  Bowling it was.  During our second game the disco lights came on.  Guess it was party time on a Friday night.

Easter 2022

For Easter we travelled up to see the girls.  We had decided to make a weekend of it, but then remember that Blake and Dave needed to be back to sing in the choir Sunday.  At least we had two days, better than our usual day trips.  Ammon and Cora are doing some repairs for Ammon's parents in the upstairs part of the house and looking for renters.  As it was empty at the moment, Cora said we could stay there.  We greatly appreciated this.  It was nice to not have to get a hotel and be close to them.  We got up early Friday so we could be there in time for lunch.  The girls had some restaurants they wanted us to try.  We stopped in at Leah's first.  Blake had not seen her place yet.  We met her new fish and saw her place.  I still haven't met one of her room mates, which I was hoping to, but they were all still sleeping when we arrived.  We then headed to Cora's and waited for Leah to meet us there.  She was going to come with us but went and picked up her friend first. Next was off to stEATS.  It was very good.  An excellent recommendation. 

It was not a far drive to the Aviation Museum after lunch. We parked by the grocery store and walked the rest of the way.

Many cool planes and we had a tour with some good information.  Blake had fun trying the flight simulator.

With the tour guide we were able to go into the restoration area and outside to see a lot more things.  It was pretty neat. 

After, Ammon and Cora were very excited to take us up the old airport tower.  It was only a block or so and so we walked over.  It was a bit chilly, I should have brought a coat, but a nice walk.  Sadly when we got there it was all fenced off and locked up with trespassing signs.  Hahah so I guess they were not supposed to there the first time. 

After that we walked to the store and got a few things Cora needed to make us curry for dinner.

We went back to their house and got settled in.  I had brought everyone their Easter baskets and Leah's birthday presents.  I thought it would be really fun for Blake to walk in the house when we got home and see his basket.  To pretend the Easter Bunny had come while we were away, even though he helped me buy the treats.  But as I gave the other kids their basket, Blake was disappointed to not have his.  In hindsight I should have brought his up, but I obviously didn't think it through.  He was very excited to get his when he got home.  Leah opened her presents and we just hung out for a while and then helped Cora cook dinner. 

It was so very good.  Cora takes a long time to cook, but she sure a can cook.  I had gotten a surprise DQ cake for Leah.  Cora picked it up and hid it for me.  Ammon did an excellent job of sneaking it into the house with out Leah seeing anything.  After dinner we were all tired, we made a plan for the next day and went to bed. 

Saturday Dave had asked the girls to help him get some shirts for his business trip. Off to the mall we went. We were successful in finding two.  Which is great for us. :)

Then Galaxyland.  I figured it would be packed since it was Easter, but holy man! I was glad I had bought tickets online ahead of time.  Saved us an hour in the ticket line at least.  Most rides had an hour wait line for more. Blake said we always had to start with Space Shot, so off they went. 

Usually they get in line and I wait at the bottom then meet up with them after.  But the boys were insistent I go through the line with them, then just walk down before getting on.  I was glad I did.  Lines were so long, I would have barely seen them.  It was fun to chat in line. 

Much fun was had.  Ammon and Cora had their adult session of stake conference Saturday night and we still had to drive home.  We left Galaxyland at 5 and drove to South Commons to try Jerusalem Shawarma. Another excellent recommendation from Cora. We had great food and put off leaving, but we did all have things we needed to attend. 

These two are so cute.  They are like little kids and have so much fun.  Yet can be serious when needed.  I am so happy Cora found someone so great.  Ammon likes to tease us all, but it is fun.  We were sad to leave.  It was so great to spend time together and get all the kids in the same place.  I sure love my family.  As they grow older and on with their own lives, these moments are more precious, and I am thankful for every second of it. 

Clinton RIP

Fun weekend had by all.  Blake had an FSY Pep Rally Stake activity Friday night.  He was asked to give a 30 min talk on his sisters' experience at EFY and how it has made him excited to attend FSY this summer.  He was not thrilled about the 30 min talk time and really tried to make it a long talk.  I think he ended up with 12 mins.  But he did a great job.  It was funny and serious and had good points about how FSY literally stood for Strengthening the Youth.  They had lots of games and activities.  The YM made a picnic basket and the YW bid on it.  Then they had a dance.  It was fun for him but he was very ready for bed that night. 

Also Friday Cora text us in the morning and said they might be stopping by on the way to pick up a table saw. They ended up staying all weekend and it was awesome.  We enjoyed conference together. Which was amazing again.  Man I love General Conference.  All the messages were so good.  During the Women's Session Saturday night, the boys went to pick up the saw and eat at DQ.  I loved being with just Cora and talking with her.  We did a bit of a work out.  She went hard core, I did a little and got tips from her.  Cora felt bad that they always just randomly show up, but I said I love it.  She will be gone soon for a few months and who knows how long till they are back.  I will take all the drop ins I can. And she always brings the best fruit when she comes. So bonus.

Look at these two cute kids and their curly hair.  I love having them come.

Blake loves challenging Cora to an arm wrestling every time she comes. 

Leah turned 20 yesterday. She said it was a great day. Work was great, she had institute last night and watched a movie and had pizza with friends. We are going to celebrate a bit more when we go up for Easter.  She is such a fun person to be around.  Her smile and joy is contagious.  I miss having her around, but she has adulted well and is making great choices. 

Leah got a fish a few weeks ago.  She named him Clinton.  She was so excited about this fish.  Leah would randomly give us updates on his swimming and enjoyment in his fishbowl.  It was actually pretty funny, but we loved how much she was enjoying this fish. Sadly Clinton died last week.  Cora wrote the funnies eulogy ever. 

Fish don't ride bicycles, they don't climb trees.  

But Clinton didn't need legs to be special to me.

There his house sat on the table of blue, and by adding that extra house.

My own became a home. 

His favorite pastime was swimming, not surprising for a fish,

but he was a natural! 

His quick splashes to welcome me home, his slow wonderings watching 

over me in the late of night

So small he was indeed, but so colorful as to make a scene.

His heart was small in size but large in depth.

I could tell him about my life in the air as he swam in the sea.

Our lives so different but connected by fate.

I told him my hopes, my dreams.  He was always there for me.

For two weeks of wonder.

Fish is as fish does.  Water to water.  Flush to flush.

Godspeed old boy.  Rest well Clinton.

Till we meet again.

Well It's Been a Moment :)

 Gosh it's been a while.  I have no pictures this time, just some memories to document. 

Blake's ball team had a fun wrap up party.  They all went out for dinner and then played some scrimmages together. They had a gift for the coaches and just hung out.  They timed it to have wrap up go right into drop in.  Dave and Blake have enjoyed going to drop in together and playing ball.

One of Dave's aunts past away.  We took Blake out of school and went up to her funeral.  We sure love hanging out with Blake.  He really is a spectacular kid.  It was a very nice funeral.  Lots of great stories.  I never really knew her, but after listening to all the stories, I would love to get her biography and read it.  She seemed like a nice lady.  The first talk was given by one of her sons.  He started out by saying he needed to thank someone in the audience.  He went on to say some very nice things about Dave, he talked about how at his Uncle Dave's funeral his son Dave spoke.  And how it was uplifting and made him laugh, great memories but he could feel the peace. How it was a turning point for him in his life.  Later he found Dave and they talked about it more.  He thanked Dave again, Dave said he thought he was giving him way to much credit.  This guy said, no that talk had truly turned his life around and changed him for the better.  It was very humbling and kind of him and it was interesting to learn the impact Dave had had. We got to see most of Dave's side of the family which I haven't seen for years.  It was a nice day. 

We had a really great stake conference a few weeks ago. Our stake presidency was changed.  I think our old presidency did a great job and they will be missed.  Very excited for our new presidency, they are going to be amazing.  We were able to have Elder Hamilton and Elder Griffin come visit for our conference.  They were excellent.  I loved their talks and stories.  Very personable and funny.  Dave had to go early for leadership Saturday night.  I decided to just watch online since gas prices are insane now.  We all went down Sunday and got there very early to get a seat.  After the great messages and conference was over, Blake had Stake Youth Committee Meetings. We planned ahead with dinner in the crock pot, knowing we were going to be right ready to eat when we got home. 

There was one last basketball game.  The All-Star game was hosted in our high school this year.  We went up to support the two from Blake's team that had been chosen and just to get to watch one more game.  I have always loved the All-Star game.  Cora played twice and Leah was picked to play her last year, then everything went down with her team and she wasn't able to.  Still sad about that.  But it is fun to watch those that have played against each other all season, come together and be united.  It is just a fun game.  We got there part way through the girls game.  Dave and Blake needed to feed cows first and got it done in record time. When we walked in it was PACKED. More people then I have every seen at one of our games.  We were standing along the edges.  Blake got asked to run the camera for the boys game.  He wasn't super excited.  We took a few extra chairs into the crows nest and squished in. It was pretty fun. 

Stake dances have opened back up again.  Just turned out that there were two last weekend.  Blake has hated dances, he didn't have a great experience the first and only time he went.  But some friends convinced him to go.  I thought he was going to back out right up until he walked out the door.  Came home super excited.  He had loved it.  Had a blast, meet new people and is ready to go next time. I was glad he had such a good time.

We won't be preg testing cows this time around.  Didn't get it booked in time.  So I guess we are going on a wing and a prayer :) Last week we got together with Jared and Emry and got them all sprayed and into the pasture where we calf.  We had invited the girls and their friends down, but they were not able to make it.  Ended up being a good thing since it only took us just over an hour.  Would have been a long drive for that short amount of time of work.  But we are really hoping they can all come when we move cows.  We can use the extra hands then and it is a fun activity to do.  Growing up we always had friends and family come along.  Dad would plan the cattle drives so when we came back from school etc we could be involved.  It was a big fun family activity that ended with mom's amazing sloppy joes. Good memories. Ones I hope to build with our growing family and that it will be an activity they look forward to being involved in with spouses and kids on day. 

I am really enjoying working at the clinic.  They have started training me to do referrals as well.  I am a little intimated by that, but am starting to get the hang of it.  I work with great people and it is so fun for me to be back in the medical environment.  Dave's work is also going well.  We are sure thankful for the job he has.  And for the kid's.  They all have good job's and people they work with.  Cora and Ammon are having fun and Leah is living her best life. She has had a lot of stomach problems the last 6-7 months.  Finally got a recommended Dr in Edmonton she could see.  After some tests they are pretty sure she had an aggressive ulcer, which explains so much about her lack of sleep and nausea and general health.  Hoping when she starts her Rx that it will help and she can finally be pain free. 

Life continues to be great and we feel overwhelmingly blessed.

Basketball Wrap

Basketball season is finished for the year.  It has been a great one.  We really like Blake's coaches this year and really hope they come back for his final year.  By the end we were able to attend in person with out masks and no limit on numbers.  It was great.  By volunteering to score keep, Dave and I were able to attend every game in person, even when things were shut down.  They has some tough games but overall it was good. 

This kid can jump.  It is amazing to see him grab rebounds, especially when he puts it straight back up. It's a sweet shot. 

He has enjoyed most of the boys on the team and with no bus we had lots of time to drive together.  Blake didn't want to have a bus and have to travel with everyone, so it worked out great. There were some good tournaments and some close games.  Some they got beat bad, but still a good season. 

At their League Finals, Blake dunked the ball in warm-up.  He has been able to touch rim for a year and a bit, but kept trying for the dunk. And he got it.  I was glad Emry got a video of it, I kept missing it.  He was pretty proud and it got him pumped up for his game. 

We are so glad he got to play this year.  He was getting a little tired of the constant going out and ball 3-5 times a week.  He was exhausted from late nights and travel.  Monday he was ok that it might be their last game.  Said he would miss it again for sure in a month or two, but was ready to be done.  It was a fantastic game to go out on.  Neck and neck, it could have gone either way. They played as a team, no one was angry, Blake played so good.  A super great game.  They lost by 3 points.  Later that night Blake said nope he wished they were playing the next night, he missed it already. :) Can't wait till next season.  For now Dave and Blake are going to drop in ball together. 

 

Reading Week

The last few month Blake had been meeting with the Stake YM's and a few YM in the stake to plan a winter camp.  Blake was very excited as he has never been on a YM's camp.  They just haven't done them in our ward.  Reading week was when it was planned for.  Leading up to it they got the activities finalized and numbers in. They stayed in heated cabins, which was good since those three days were bitterly cold.  In the end from our ward only Jared, Calum, Armin and Blake attended.  Blake met up with some of his friends from Claresholm and they had a blast together.  They went ice fishing and snow shoeing.  Blake was in charge of teaching them all to build fires.  He had competition set up to make it fun for them all.  He as a little slow getting to the site as they snow shoed in and when he got there, most of the fires were all built.  He thought that was funny.  They ate very good and had lots of snacks.  He told some fun stories about light going on at night and noises, finding a tree house and walking the train tracks.  He enjoyed the firesides and being with so many other YM from the stake.  It was a great experience and he was very pleased to finally have a camp.

I had switched Thursday for Wednesday at work so I could be home when Blake was. (Well originally it was to go to Justin's reception, but yet another wedding event I have missed :( ) Wednesday night Dave announced he had Thursday night and that he was taking Blake to Fernie to ski.  I thought that funny.  I had a lovely day by myself.  It was pretty sketchy skiing.  Mostly icy runs.  Dave said they had to stay on the easier run because you could literally slide ride off the mountain.  They had fun together anyways.  It has been fun for them to try different hills this year.  Even though they haven't skied much.

Dave is thoroughly enjoying all this time with Blake.

On the weekend we got together with other Puzey's to inoculate the calves. They had not been doing well and we had lost quite a few.  Dave and I had been looking up and researching about pneumonia in cows.  Apparently Jared had has well and had also called the vet.  So we ran them all through again to give them meds.  They seem to be doing better.  It was a warmer day and went well. 

We did not sleep in much on our week off.  Dave and I still had to work.  But we had some fun things and Blake got to go camping.