Long time, no blog.

Wow. Just 2 days shy of 2 years since I've last posted to this blog. How time flies. It's been a rough couple of years, both with work and financially, but we're still hanging in there. The girls are all growing up so fast, while all I seem to do is grow around the middle. KaraDawn still puts up with me, despite my flaws. We're just hanging in here in Ririe, watching the weather change and trying to keep warm. Time to go out and shovel the driveway.

Cabin Fever

I think I'm getting a touch of cabin fever. I still haven't gotten everything done that I wanted to get done this winter, but I am very ready to go back to work. We had Karly's birthday on Saturday, and it was fun. Karly was sad she didn't get to see her cousins on her birthday due to an outbreak of chicken pox. I've just been killing time on the computer lately, and being way too dang lazy.

Another post....just kidding.

Another post in less than a month? I'm on a roll. Not a whole lot going on, just kids growing, fighting, screaming, and driving their parents nuts. We've really enjoyed spending a lot more time outdoors with our neighbors and their kids this year. Between the little 4-wheeler and the snowmobile, we've about worn out the snow in our yard. Other than passing a cold around our family, we're doing pretty good. Just hoping to get back to work soon.

Wow.....another post after an interesting day.

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. I had an interesting day yesterday. I went to town to finish the commercial ritual of Christmas. I really don't enjoy shopping very much. I was slightly rushed, since we had Keaton and Elli's (my niece and nephew for those who don't know) birthday parties to attend last night. Then, KD calls me to tell me that the police had been to our house to tell us that Jack had been hit by a car, and limped off somewhere, and didn't know how bad he was hurt. KD went to find Jack while I got checked out of the store and headed home. She found him before I got home. When I got home, he was shaking, and wouldn't hardly move. He had hide and fur scraped off of him in about a dozen little places. None were deep or big, but I'm sure they hurt like heck. It also felt like he had a broken rib, especially since he yelped whenever that part of him got moved. I decided to take him to the vet. The doctor was out at the vet, and as I sat there waiting, Jack started moving around and acting better. Meanwhile, since KD still had daycare kids to watch, I had my sister pick up Keaton and Elli's presents to take to the party, and our sis in law Gayle pick up Karly so she could go to the party, since she was dying to go to it. I decided to take Jack home, since he was acting like he was ok. After I got home, I changed clothes, and loaded Sydney in the van to go to the party. While on the way to the party, I had 2 different people call me to tell me that the gas station in Terreton (Ike's) had blown up. The party was fun. It was nice seeing Tom's family again. Elli finally gave me my hugs right before we left. On the way home, every light for miles around went out all at once. I got home, and had KD watch the kids in the van while I got out ye old generator. After struggling for 15 minutes to get it started, I plugged in a lamp, heater, and the entertainment center. I went to put out the oil lamp that KD had lit, and burned the hair off my arm. Then, I drove to Charlie's to load the loot into grandpa santa's pickup to get it up to the cabin. While we were loading it, the power came back on. I went home and put the generator and cords away, and the van in the garage. Of course, with all the goings on, the kids were wide awake, and it was after 10 before they got to bed. I checked the news on the gas station. A tanker had blown up, and a couple of the tanks blew up. No one was hurt, but the damage was extensive. KD had been making Christmas candy and cookies when the power went out, and was up until I don't know when finishing up, after I went to bed. Today, Jack is loath to move, and I had to carry him out and convince him to go potty. I don't think I'd want to go potty either, if that part on me was scraped up like his is. Anyway, that was my day yesterday. Definitely one I'll remember for awhile. The picture of Jack is one from last year sometime.

Wow. Almost a year.

Wow. Almost a year between posts. I guess I'm not much of a blogger, huh? Just the normal going on here. The girls are growing, eating, and testing their boundaries with mom and dad. We're as ready for Christmas as we're going to get. We're going up to the cabin for Christmas again this year. After working all summer in Wyoming, I'm really looking forward to some snowmobiling. It looks like I had better get used to living in my camper, since it appears I'll be even further away next summer. Happy Holidays, everyone.

Another infrequent update.

I'm so busy that I never have time to write on this blog. NOT! Well, I've been laid off since Thanksgiving. I'm slowly going stir-crazy. I do a few things around the house, then play a game on the computer or playstation, then read for hours on end. Financially, I'm going to have to find an interim job for the winter. I'm just waiting till after the new year, since we're going up to the cabin for a week or so for Christmas. I've got to take a test on Monday for a job working for the U.S. Census on a part time basis. Don't know if I'm smart enough to do that, though! I've had a hard time getting in the holiday mood this year. I'm finally there, though, and going to head over to Charlie and Gayle's to wrap presents today so that dad can sneak them up to the cabin for me Saturday night. I recently joined Facebook and and found a lot of old high school and college friends that I've often thought about. It's been great just getting in touch with ones that I haven't talked to for so long. Things are going pretty good. I love spending some time with my girls, and it seems like everyday I'm finding something about KaraDawn that makes me love her just a little bit more. Still trying to kick all my bad habits so that we can get sealed in the temple someday. Maybe I'll try making more New Year's resolutions......again! Anyway, here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a great new year!

Been awhile.

It's been awhile since I posted. With the computer crashing, the car and pickup both breaking down, and everything else that could possibly go wrong going completely awry all in a matter of a few weeks, I've been a bit too busy to post. Let's see, I spent 4 weeks working up in Dubois, where the car lost the fuel pump. I then spent a week or two living in the camper up there. Upon returning home, I spent a relaxing 2 weeks making a run up to Jackson twice a day for work. This allowed me time to get the car put back together. 2 weekend ago, I put the lawnmower on the trailer to go to Charlie and Gayle's to mow their lawn. The pickup died on the way. The poor van has now had to tow both the Toyota and the pickup home. It was the fuel pump, and some wiring issues. The next Monday, I was informed that I would be spending the next 3 or 4 weeks living in my camper in Teton National Park. Imagine my joyous rapture!! I spent 6 hours trying to get the pickup fixed before I threw in the towel and borrowed dad's pickup to tow the camper up to Teton Park. The trip up was pretty uneventful. The worst part about where we're working is that there is NO cell phone service where we're at. If we want to call our wives at night, we have to drive our vehicles ten miles down the mountain to get a signal. It was the second night there that I drove down to call KD, and a monsterous 6x6 bull elk ran out right in front of me. I locked up the brakes and managed to slow to a mere 5-10 mph before the corner of dad's pickup hit the monster in rear leg. The elk got knocked over momentarily, then hopped up and ran away. (I hope he had a limp) The pickup's damage was mostly cosmetic as everything still worked. It was still sickening and annoying as I wondered what the heck else could go wrong. Anyway, I got sent home Thursday, as it dumped 2 or 3 inches of snow on us that morning, and the weather report was ugly for the weekend, yet we're supposed to be back up there Sunday night. I finally got the pickup fixed yesterday, and put new (ouch) tires on it. It's been rough for everyone here with me gone, and not making enough money to cover the daily expenses, plus my trips to Teton. Things could always be worse, though. Anyway, everybody is pretty much healthy here. Just trying to prepare ourselves for the weekend storm, and the upcoming winter.