Team Natalie

So I need help for Team Natalie. Natalie has been struggling to lose weight. She doesn't feel like she has any support. I have started to get up with her and crack the whip and help her get up in the morning and work out a little bit. I can be the workout Nazi in the mornings. What I need from everyone else is a support team. Someone to check in on her at least a couple of times a week and see how she is doing. She works during the day so texting or an email would work best for her. If it's after 5 you could call her. She just needs to feel some support from friends and family so she doesn't feel like she is alone with this. When you talk to her if you are noticing that she is losing weight tell her that you noticed. Being around her all the time it is hard for me to see if she is or not, but those of you that only see us every so often can see it easier. I'm not trying to make it about her weight, but about her health. I'd like to keep her around for the next 50 years or longer if I can. I want her to have a better quality of life, and the best chance of having kids and being able to run around with them. If anyone has some ideas for healthy meals send them to us. We are trying to eat healthier. If there are any meal ideas that are quicker and healthy we are open to the idea. Cooking until 7 or 8 at night takes it's toll. Your support will greatly help us out!

A New Buddy

So we already had two dogs. A couple of Pomeranian's. I really haven't wanted another dog. My wife likes to look on KSL and send links to me and say "Please?!". My answer has always been no. A couple of weeks ago we have some friends that landed themselves a little wiener dog. They joked that we would end up with him. They have a two year old, and a 3 month old so adding a puppy to the mix was a little much. A couple of days ago my friend told me that they were going to put him on KSL, but would give us first dibs before they did. My wife did her usual "PLEASE?!". I know that she wanted me to have a dog. I asked her if it would end her quest in finding another little fluff ball to add to the pack. She said yes so I consented. She went and picked him up and brought him home.

At first I just said yes because I wanted to stop getting links to other dogs on KSL every so often. I'd met the little tyke a week before and he was groovy but I wasn't fond of the idea of having three dogs. They are kind of like a cell phone plan. The more you add they are only a little more work, but we are pretty good at neglecting the ones we have. The only saving grace is my schedule is about to change as far as work goes so I'll be home every so often. After having him for a couple days now nothing has gone terribly wrong. They have had a couple disagreements but there hasn't been any blood yet. They get along fairly well. Our next order of business is to get him fixed (which our friends so kindly said they'd pay for). He at least understands the concept of fetching (something the other two snub). When we took him on a walk he knew how to walk in a straight line. He is pretty well behaved. I just started calling him Buddy. I can't really say why but he responds to it so it works. He looks like one of the wiener dogs my parents had. He is a ball of energy and won't sit still for anything but when he is asleep. It'll be interesting, but he's here to stay.

Buddy, Mika, and Sophie in their "gated community"

A Poem for Grandma

Merry Christmas!

This is a poem that my wife just wrote for a gift to my grandma:

It was the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

the doggies were sleeping, and so was the mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

And presents galore were piled everywhere.

The adults and children were all warm and tucked in their beds,

as visions of new cars and Ipads danced in their heads.

And Grandma in her curlers and I in my robe,

had just gone to bed after traveling home.

When outside there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from our bed to see what was the matter

Away to the window I flew like a flash

I tore open the shutters and threw up the sash

A star in the sky shined bright on the fresh fallen snow

Gave the earth a new brightness to objects below

When what to my wondering eyes should appear

But an angel in the sky ever drawing near.

She shined like the star that shone so bright in the sky

And as she drew near, I could see tears glistened in her eyes,

She came close to the window, and took my hand

And whispered “Let me show you something that should be special to man”

And before I could even realise,

I was with the angel soaring through the sky,

As we flew in the darkness, I looked up at the star

And before I knew I was looking at a scene so pure

There below us in the glimmering light

Shone the town of Bethlehem in the late night

The new star rose so high and bright in the sky

And I could see the shepherds on their hill arise

There were multitudes of angels descending from above

Shouting praises to God and his newborn son

But when I looked to the angel I knew that was not all

And before I knew it we were descending to a cattle stall

There lay the Christ child all wrapped in his swaddling clothes

As his mother and Joseph stood very close

Mary gently placed a kiss to the childs cheek

And the baby softly cooed in his sleep

Tears came to my eyes, as I fell on my knees

And I looked at the angel who then started to speak

“Many forget in the joy of the season

That our Saviour's birth is the reason

That we have our families, and joy in our hearts

That we have the greatest gift that only he can impart

The gift that he gave us, he gave with his blood

He shed it all for us because of his love

He gives his love freely to all man

All he asks in return is to remember him

So please don’t forget what happened this night

That your Savior was born in a stable divine

That because of his birth and because of his death

That we have this blessing of

“Peace on Earth and Goodwill to men”

Grandpa's Funeral

While we were on our voyage with my wife's family my Grandpa died. He had been in the hospital for a few weeks after heat surgery. He had gone up and down quite a bit it seems. He was doing better one day and worse the next. We went and visited him twice while he was there. Once when he was asleep and the second time when he was so drugged up that he was pretty delusional. It was hard for me to see him like that. My grandpa has always been a very sharp person. He always made time for his family and made it a point to spend time with each and every one of his family members (and they are not a few in number!). That was about all I could handle. It's not that I didn't want to see him. It just wasn't enjoyable for me to see him like that. We were about to be on our way home and my mom called and told me that they were going to let grandpa go. We all kind of knew this was coming so it wasn't a big shock. In a way we are all happy that he isn't having to struggle to hang on anymore. The sadness comes from grandma being left alone for a time until she can rejoin him when the time comes. Grandpa had been in the Navy in World War II so Grandma got a folded flag and a few of the Navy detail to help with the burial.

This one is a real heart breaker to me.

Grandpa we will all miss you and look forward to seeing you again. We love you.

Bryce Canyon and Zions

About mid August we went with my wife's family in the motor home to Bryce Canyon and Zions. We also crammed four dogs in with us. I had never been to Bryce before. We stayed at Ruby's Inn at the campground. The weather was quite pleasant. I felt like I was in a foreign country most the time because the native language seemed to be French. When hiking around only about 1 in 50 people we passed spoke English and most of them tended to have an accent. It was fun hiking around and exploring a little bit. I took quite a few pictures. We stayed two nights at Bryce.

We saw this furry little critter on the trail.

We all had a grand ol' time at Bryce. Fun was had by all. We packed up and went and stayed a night at Zions National park as well. We then entered a difference foreign country. We were no longer in France, but Korea. I guess a lot of foreigners get the chance to cruise around and tour a lot of the country.

Needless to say we didn't try the soup of the day.

After having a good hike the day before and getting to Zions we were already a bit tired. Add on the fact that it's a burning inferno at Zions and that pretty much kills the rest of the energy that you may have. We just did a short little jaunt up to the lower pools and back. The motor home had A/C so we all crammed snugly into it to squeeze what we could out of the air conditioner. It was fun but it's always good to get home as well.

Emocoaster

So I've been on the emocoaster lately. Not something that I usually ride. My mom is getting remarried to a really great guy. His family is awesome. The wiener dogs that we have had for at least half my life are on the decline. One looks like a skeleton with skin and the other is so fat he can't handle stairs very well. My mom is going to be putting them to sleep pretty soon. I wanted to see if I could take the fat one, but it wound up just being too hard. The poor wiener can't see (or hear) that well. While at our place all he did was whine and follow me around like the lost pup that he is. It was tough to see him that way. He and my wife don't get along very well. He's a knothead and decided long ago that there were a select few people he would listen to. When he decided that my wife wasn't around and therefore not on the approved list of people to listen to. I really thought I was going to be ok with my mom putting them to sleep. Now it just feels like more of my dad is leaving. I know that my dad will take care of them on the other side. It's just an emotional crash course that we've all got to go through. There is a song that I heard the other day that really got me going.

Goodbye - Avril Lavigne

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye my love

I can't hide, can't hide, can't hide what has come

I have to go

I have to go

I have to go

And leave you alone

But always know

Always know

Always know that I love you so

I love you so

I love you so, oh

Goodbye brown eyes

Goodbye for now

Goodbye sunshine

Take care of yourself

I have to go

I have to go

I have to go

And leave you alone

But always know

Always know

Always know that I love you so

I love you so, oh

I love you so, oh

La lullaby

Distract me with your rhymes

La lullaby

La lullaby

Help me sleep tonight

La lullaby

(La lullaby, la lullaby)

I have to go (goodbye)

I have to go (lullaby)

I have to go (goodbye)

And leave you alone

But always know (goodbye)

Always know (brown eyes)

Always know (goodbye)

That I love you so

I love you so (goodbye lullaby)

I love you so, oh (goodbye)

I love you so (goodbye brown eyes)

I love you so (goodbye)

I love you so

I love you so

Goodbye brown eyes

Goodbye my love

I know it's just a silly wiener dog. Life will go on and it's not a permanent thing. It's still hard though. I've never been very good at voicing things. I tend to do a little better if I can write (or type) them out most times. 

The Battle of the Furnace

It all began on a Monday night. I'm lying in bed when I notice that the furnace is turning on and off, and on and off. I'm wondering what wrong with the thing now. I know the blower motor is good because I just replaced the thing a few months back. I listened to it try a few more times and then went and turned the heat down so maybe it could rest for a second.

When I woke up the next day I never heard the furnace come on at all. The house was right where I set it at on the thermostat so I figured it may have gotten over whatever ailed it. I doubted it but I hoped. The test would be what the temperature what when we got home from work.

After we got home from work I went straight to the thermostat and confirmed my suspicions as the temperature had dropped to 59 degrees and I didn't hear anything from the furnace. So I tore the thing open again to see what I could find. My father in law was spending the night so he hooked me up with a guy that works for an A/C place in St. George. I talked to him for a bit and toyed with several things. He figured it must have been the control board. So he ordered one for me and had me go pick it up. I brought the thing home the next day thinking that this should fix all our woes. I matched the connections from the old board and had to do a little custom wiring job to get the old connections to fit with the new layout of the board. I snipped a few wires and used a few heat shrink connectors. After everything was hooked back up I tried it again and lo the exhaust fan kicks on. The ignitor kicks on. The flame fires up and then immediately goes out and the process starts over again until after the third time it just gives up. The error code from the light blames it on another part, but I know it's good.....now what. I call the guy back and he's stumped so I'm sent to another tech at the same place. I talked to him for 4 /12 hours testing connections. Plugging and unplugging things.....the works. Finally he has me play with the gas valve. It doesn't show any ohms dancing across that connection. So he figures it's a gas valve. A day or two goes by and he can't find anyone that is open to get me a gas valve so he has me start calling places. No one will sell one to me because I'm not licensed and there are restrictions on such things.

My mom called me and in the process I mentioned I'd like to have the furnace working. I guess I forgot to tell her things weren't being nice to me. Christmas was only a day or two away and we had no furnace. It was a good test of our new windows though! The coolest it got in the house was 50 degrees and after using a little space heater for a little while we were able to average about 65 degrees or so. With several space heaters and heat lamps on we got it back up to 70! I'm sure the electric bill will reflect that. Anyway my mom spread the news and I had family members coming out of the woodwork. My aunt and uncle brought us heaters. My cousins husband came over and helped find a gas valve and someone to pick it up. He then installed the thing and after all that it had the same response. So I talked to his HVAC guy and I replaced the flame rod. After replacing basically every part that can be replaced (with the exception of one) and not having any results I broke down and had the HVAC friend come and look at the thing Christmas eve. He gave me a 50% discount and charge only 50 per hour. Considering it took him probably 10 seconds to find the problem it was an FML moment. Apparently with the new control board there was an extra connector that I was unaware of that plugs into the board and has an extra wire the plugs into another spot on the board. After the connection was made it fired right up.

I don't know everything there is to know about Furnaces but I know more about my furnace now than I did previously. We have basically a brand new furnace so hopefully it lasts at least a year this time before something gives out again on me. I'm just so grateful that my family helped out where they could and that our new windows are as epic as they are!