Busy weekend

Friday and Saturday were very busy, and very fun. Our Stake had our Father & Son/Priesthood commemoration camp out at Camp Cumorah. I took the boys and we camped in the bus. It was pretty sweet. Saturday morning we walked around a little, watched boys swing on the rope and Topher even swung (a lot) on the rope swing, he didn't even fall into the lake.

On the way home we drove up an old farm road up to the new windmills near Bone. Topher shot his new BB gun at some paper cups and I photographed this old windmill that had fallen down. I thought it was quite interesting. It looks like it was used to pump water from the well. I also shot some with the Holga and 35-year-expired film...I will be surprised if anything comes from those shots, but they could be fun.

Saturday night was the Dance Tech recital at the Colonial Theatre. TJ and Creedance both performed. I was quite impressed with how well they both did. This year has been very good for TJ, I think he had a lot of fun doing it too. I have also noticed an improvement in Creedance.

Having the performance at the Colonial Theatre was a change after years of having it at the Civic Auditorium. I was a bit nervous on it running smoothly. But it seemed to go very well, and Jess said that it went great backstage too. The dancers at the studio seem to get better and better every year. I really enjoyed a lot of the dance numbers...go figure.

Sheetrock!

Closing off the wall really makes the family room take shape.

We have been going pretty strong with the Sheetrock the last week or so. It is nearly done, just a few little pieces left (for the bathroom and one bedroom), and then the fun of perfataping starts. I haven't really done that before, it should be interesting to see how I do at that. I just hope I can get the joints somewhat smooth. As you can see we are still using the rest of the basement to play and watch TV. The kids are great at wreaking havoc downstairs.


The nice little hallway, this would be a great place for elegant sconces and a hall table...but it will most likely be a dumping place for some of the kids' toys.

The bathroom with mold resistant Sheetrock on most of the walls.

Little Bathroom closet...both are very little.

We are insulating the ceiling in hopes to cut down on noise transfer from floor to floor. If it doesn't it will help the heat from dissipating, and keep the boys room (upstairs) warmer. Doubling up the R-13 is just a little more expensive than R-19, and it gives an R-26! I am going to look into sound-blanket R-11 for the rest of the basement...I understand that it is supposed to work better. The family room is where I really want the sound to be cut down.

Topher & TJ's room with walls and a ceiling!

It has been a challenge building these rooms, but a fun challenge. I am really excited to have a bathroom downstairs, and to get the basement moving closer to done. I plan on having the bathroom and this one bedroom done (less carpet I think) by July when family is coming to visit.

Moab: Midlife Crisis Tour!

All of us on Porcupine Rim. Castle Valley behind us.

Last weekend I was able to go to Moab, UT with some friends I grew up with (Thank you Jess, Tammie, Michelle, Suzanne, Brandi and Kathy!). It was Such a great time. Not just the riding, but the time with them.

Tyson looking out over Slickrock.

We left home Thursday morning; Rusty from Mt. Home, Tyson from Houston, Kevin from Fredonia, and Kyle (he flew in from Eugene Wednesday), Dave & I from Idaho Falls. We met up in Provo and headed for Moab. The first, and only, time I had been to there was 8 1/2 years ago. This was the last time we all went down there. Tyson and Rusty have been there several times, but not the rest of us.

Rusty on the Slickrock Practice Loop (Can you see him?).

Kyle climbing slickrock...tires just grab on to it like no other!

Kevin on Porcupine (he was fearless on the full suspension!)

We were all quite a bit out of shape. When we got there Thursday night we wanted to get a quick ride of the Slickrock practice loop in just for a warm-up. That really opened our eyes as to just how out of shape we were! We hurt a lot! That ride is only 2 miles, and we still had 14 miles for Friday and about 10 slated for Saturday!

Me, Kevin and Tyson on the edge of Porcupine Rim, looking at Castle Valley below.

We rode Porcupine Rim Friday. It was an adventure getting to the trail head (we missed it, but that took off 3 miles of rough climbing. I really liked most of Porcupine Rim. Fast, technical, and great views of Castle Valley. It was really cool riding along the rim of a 2000+ foot drop! There were some really fast stretches and some really technical areas that were fun negotiating. The last 2 miles however were very difficult and I ended up walking the bulk of that.

Kevin after another jump on Porcupine.

After finishing Porcupine, Kevin realized that the keys to his car (the only one at the bottom) were in Rusty's van (at the trail head). We ended up hitching rides back to the trail head in order to get enough drivers to recover the cars and get us back to town. It was an adventure that will not soon be forgotten.

Tyson on Sovereign Single Track

Saturday, we rode Sovereign Single Track. It was very technical, but not as difficult as some of the stuff on Porcupine. After we got out on the trail a way, we noticed the storm clouds rolling in (the weather report called for thunder storms) and made the decision that we needed to find our way back to the parking lot and off the plateau! The return route was not the best way as there were a lot of sand traps, but we were not familiar with the trail and did not want to get struck. We did get a few drops, but nothing major. Definitely a trail to ride again!

After our first trip to Moab, we all thought that we would make it an annual trip together. However shortly after that first trip (14 days for Tyson!), we all got married, and it became more difficult to make the time to go. An annual trip is not realistic at this point, as well as all of us going, but I surly hope that it is not another 8 years before I can make it to Moab for riding again.

Yes...this is me...don't laugh too hard!

Moments of our children

Our kids are so funny. This morning, Creedance was upset because Topher was sitting on the heat vent by the table, she didn't realize that there was more than one that she could sit on and be warm. So she went and sat on one for a few minutes, I thought that the morning light coming through the patio door created great leading lines to her tiny body sitting in the corner of the large space (not to say that our living room is a large space, but to our little girl, it is HUGE).

She just sat there for probably 5 minutes before she realized I was photographing her. She looked up once and smiled and then just kept sitting there doing her own thing; looking at her hands in the lights and shadows, playing with the door hinge, admiring her new Easter pajamas, just being a child.

Today was haircut day for the boys. Topher wanted a shaved head for summer, and as a tribute to Kyle, we started off with the horse-shoe. What a great sport. I think I will bic his head for Church tomorrow!

TJ has been improving with his balance and agility. Dance class and gymnastics have been a big part of that. He also just started seeing a new physical therapist. This guy has experience with pediatric amputees, and has been a big help and has given great advice. It is still funny to see how people react when his foot falls off, or when we are swimming and they can't figure out if his leg is broken and it's a cast...or what it is. They are curious, but don't want to seem rude and ask...for our family: Ask, we are not bothered by his foot, we are not afraid of it, we try to make it fun, and just normal life.

TJ's friend, Ted is also in the dance class...he likes to do his own thing a lot of the time. The beat of a different drummer!

Finishing the unfinished basement

So we have started to make a bathroom in our basement. It was roughed in (mostly) for a bathroom, we just had to make it so we could hook the sink, tub and toilet to it, now we are building the walls and running electricity to it. While we were at it (and with lumber so cheep) we figured that we would build the remaining walls too (add a little hallway) and wire the two bedrooms for light and power. We will finish them eventually too. I would like to have the rest of the basement all done within a year or so, but we will see how the cash flow looks for that.

Jess gave me a budget of $600 for the bathroom, which wasn't too bad. We have nearly met that amount and only have the bathroom roughed in, but have the bulk of the things purchased (the only larger item we have left is the toilet now). However I am trying to convince her that we need to heat the tile floor of the bathroom as it will be tile, and such a small space would be (relatively) cheep to add the heating element before the tile ($260 with a programmable thermostat!) She has yet to budge as we will not be the ones using the bathroom in the mornings, just the kids...how mean. Ha Ha!

The kids have had a fun time "helping" me work on the walls and everything. They pick up a hammer and bang on the stud walls and act like they are working hard, then ride scooters around and around the basement. Jess even made a little ramp so they could go through one of the walls.

The first wall I built was a bit tight (only a 1/2 inch!), and I really had to beat it to get it upright and plumb...what a royal pain!

It is moving along really swiftly and I hope to have it nearly done (the bathroom anyway) before I go to Moab (hopefully I can go) near the end of April. I really want to have it done before July, and I mean the bathroom completely done and maybe one of the bedrooms.

Very small bathroom, yes, but it does have it's own linen closet.

I like this little hallway we added, it is actually a bit wider than normal, and also gives us a great place to mount a flat screen TV and creates a place to the side to have a cabinet for DVD, surround sound, satellite...whatever some FUTURE owner may want to have their TV hooked up to. We are too cheep to have any of that fancy stuff, our flat screen tube TV and digital antenna is just fine, I am thinking RESALE.

Here's the wide-ish hallway, room for the kids to stash a few toys and not be in the way (too much).

New carpet for the Bus!

Lately I have been wanting to do some improvements to the bus, however there are no funds to allocate for such projects. I have been doing little things here and there, installing parts that I bought a year ago and have yet had the time to install ) spedo cable, radio antenna, lights in the dash. I also have made a few custom things that I can salvage at work, and fix little things here and there that have simply been neglected (I think that a lot of this car's life it has been neglected...poor thing!). So any expenses have been very minimal. This latest project represents about $16 out of pocket, for floor mats in the front and rear to protect the coolness!

When I worked on the Rexburg temple I was able to salvage a few pieces cut-off of carpet big enough to re carpet my Bus. I have had it kicking around the house for quite a while now. I thought I would just do the front seat area but got on a roll and did the whole bus today. I really didn't think that I would have it all completed today, I thought I would be driving around for a week or so with a bare bones cargo area. It looks really good...the carpet does the bus still looks like crap. I really dig the vine design in the carpet (maybe I'll use it as inspiration for the outside painting of the bus! Those of you who have been through the Rexburg Temple will recognize the design...that is if you ever look down while you are there.

It is obvious that I need to replace the kick panels (beneath the dash), simple masonite or thin wood paneling will be what I use, I also plan on doing the door panels and headliner with the same. I think the blue Vanagon seats need to be recovered in a green pallet, but they are much better than the original seats that were in the bus when I got it.

To get the carpet out of the back I had to remove the rear bench/bed and all the cabinets. You can see how nasty the original carpet was (30 years of neglect). It is very obvious where the cabinet was, and what the carpet once looked like.

Here's the "Kitchen" with the new carpet. I bought a nice, clear, plastic cargo mat to lay down to protect it for the winter. I want to keep the nastiness off it for as long as possible. Note the "Mr. Heater," it is really great for camping!

When I started tearing out the rear seat, I thought that was all I would have to take out, and that the carpet could be just pulled out from under the ice-box and cabinets...

...nope! I was sorely mistaken (very sore! Try working for 3 hours bent over lifting and moving cabinets...I even had the pop-top up!). I really liked the space inside without the sink! I am thinking of building a custom bench that is the width of the bus and eliminating the ice-box, sink, and cabinets (closet is questionable). I could easily use the existing hardware and just build it out of plywood like Westfalia-Werks did. The cabinets just eat up the space.

Here it is all done! I really like the look, and it feels great on the toes! I can't wait to camp in it...I just worry about the dirt. This carpet is really thick and has pad too, better insulation and much softer. I will mull over the idea of a wider bench and less cabinets, but that means more carpet, this carpet just barley goes under the cabinet now, and a farther departure from an original westy (not that the Temple carpet is OE!). All in all I am very happy with it.

Christmas & New Years

This holiday has been great! We spent Christmas at Island Park with Jessica's family. That was a lot of fun. I really do enjoy spending time with them. My kids really like spending time with them too, they really look up to them.

Christmas day we got more than 30 inches of snow! It came down all day! You can see how we had to dig out the cars the day after. We went into West Yellowstone to swim at the Days Inn (they have a pool with a slide that the kids LOVE!) on Friday, then after we got back we were socked in for another 2 days...it was a lot of snow in just a few days!

Christmas morning was a lot of fun for the kids. They got way too many presents...I think so anyway (we had to bring it all back home from Island Park).

Jessica's little brother, Jake, is leaving for his mission this month so this week (while his brothers and a sister were in town) he went through the Temple too. That was a really great experience to be there with Jessica's family in the Temple. I was very touched! It has been a great vacation!