Sunday, December 28, 2008

After Christmas

Well the Christmas weekend is coming to a close ( I know it was on thurs. this year but it still feels like the Christmas weekend). We've enjoyed a quiet, snowy, family holiday time. Rick took Christmas off f or the first time in years. The mining industry doesn't stop they run 24-7 year round and the over time is normaly to hard to resist but Rick wanted to be home to watch Zac get his new bike and all the rest and who am I to deny him? He works so hard, putting in long hardworking hours. We as many Americans scaled down a LOT this year but you know what? Zac wasn't disappointed. He got the nintendo DS he really, really wanted. Man was it expensive! And the games are as much as a standard size system... what is wrong with that? The games are tiny even if they have as much info I think they should be less price cause of the size :) Anyhow a Happy Holiday was had by all and now it's on to New Years which we hope is safe and happy for all!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Tis the season

I know I haven't been posting lately like I used to but I wanted to take a moment and wish all a very Merry Christmas. I hope all is well with the ones we love and you enjoy the holiday season.

Rick, Annie, Zac
Chance, Seven & Bullet the newest feline addition

Friday, November 28, 2008

Happy Day

Well Thanksgiving is over.... the leftovers are in the fridge and we had a nice family dinner. I got out the china, which had still been in the boxes from retrieving them from Margaret. Put the white table cloth on the table, that mom had given us years ago and had never been used since when we were in SLC we normaly went to others for turkey dinner. It was really nice to see grandmas china on the table.... so pretty on the white table cloth. It was just the three of us and Zac refused to eat anything! And he announced that he doesn't like pie. So Rick and I had a nice dinner together and after being uncoperative Zac went in and got his jammies on. How was your turkey day?

Thursday, November 20, 2008

I did it again

growing up I was the child who came home with dog, cat etc. in tow...... 'It followed me home can I keep it?' As an adult I've tried very hard to curb that inclination. Most days it works. I can go to Walmart on any given sat. and look at the cute puppies & kitties that various well meaning people are looking for homes for. Today my resolve & self control crumbled. There sitting on the bench in front of Walmart was a very nice lady with a box full of aussie puppies. I love my aussie's and just couldn't resist this cute little girl with blue eyes. Maggie is a tiny little girl.... the owner told me she is about 6 weeks old but the more I look at her and interact I think she's younger. The regular person has no clue that a dog should stay with the momma dog till at least 10 weeks and preferably 12 weeks. It's a crime that people are out there giving these dogs to people that are barely weaned just because as they get older they become inconvenient. Well I saved one today and hopefully it'll all work out. Should have pic's soon now that we found the camera. And pic's of the new house!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

settling in..........

I know it's been forever since I posted anything meaningful and when you let something slide you have the urge to catch up on everything and then it gets overwhelming and so you put it off and put it off................

So I'm not going to try and catch up on everything I'll just start from here and see how things go.

This is a portrait of Red that a gentleman named Richard Reece drew for us. He is a co-worker of Rick's and about a year ago Rick approached him to draw this for me for my B-day. It took a year but was well worth the wait. When I texted it to my children it inspired John to volunteer to draw one of Katie for me. I'm really tickled! John is such an accomplished artist. So life goes on and for those of you who check in on us here I will try and be better (once again) at keeping up to date.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Slacker

Once again it seems I have let much too much time go by since I have posted about anything significant. I promise to get back to it!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Home Sweet Home

It's so nice to be home! Overnight field trips are long and tiring. I enjoy doing them but it sure is nice to be home with my husband and son. Of course there's lots to do now but that's alright. I don't mind!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Craziness

We're finally moved in and moved out. Moved into the new house and moved out of the old. I did the walk through with the realtor wed. morning and she told me she 'didn't think there would be any problem' getting our deposit back. I'm sure hoping that means we get it back! Hopefully now I'll get back to blogging and life!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Time to move

we are finally buying a house here in Spring Creek, Nevada and the time has come to pack it all up and move. The house we are buying is only about 4 blocks from where we are now but it's much bigger and has a beautiful yard with lots of trees! If you've ever been to northern Nevada you would know that trees are far and few between. We also have a lawn at the new place! We are so excited to finally be getting our own place again. If you've ever owned then gone back to renting you understand. Unfortunately Rick packed my camera without my knowing it and couldn't remember what box it is in so pictures will be forthcoming! The new house has a full basement which is almost unheard of in a modular home. I had sworn not to buy a modular home but the majority of homes here are just that. Spring Creek has a rule ( not the word I wanted but I'm brain dead lately and can't think of the one I really want) that all properties have to be at least an acre so our new home is on a 1.5 acre lot which is just fantastic also. There are many things that attracted us to this house, the ones I mentioned being just a few. I'm excited for spring so I can see what all is planted in the yard and start making it my own. I have really missed gardening and having a vegetable garden and even though I know gardening in northern Nevada is quite challenging I am looking forward to it. The tree's on the lot are mature and will provide nice shade and wind block during the different seasons here. Zac has been counting the days and bedtimes till the move. He's excited that he will have hills to ride his bike down and sled down in the winter. Rick has room for a workshop in the basement and there are 2 sheds in the yard... one for storage and the other for the motorcycle. oh yea and a nice dog run for Chance and Seven. They will have a nice place to play while I'm on long field trips. So the new place has something for everyone!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Wow

I was catching up on everyone's blogs and looked at mine and couldn't believe it's been 10 days since I posted. But (there's always a but) it's been so crazy around here that it doesn't surprise me. Thurs. I took Zac's class up Laimolle Canyon on a field trip, it was a bunch of fun. The whole second grade from Sage Elem. went. The other driver was Mathew's mom Lori. Mathew & Zac are in the same class. It kind of sucked that the teacher wouldn't let Mathew ride Lori's bus since I was driving the one with their class. I didn't understand it but I'm not the teacher. We still had a lot of fun. The kids had a list of leaves and wilderness stuff to collect. So you have 60 some odd 2nd graders stripping the forest for their project....... hmmmmm. Still it was a beautiful fall day in the canyon and a good time was had by all.
It's been so crazy with field trips this week I am now officially sleep deprived and I told the dispatcher not to call me monday morning even if they do need me. Friday I took Elko football to Sparks. We left Elko 8:00 fri. morning and I got back to the bus yard at 3:00 sat. morning. In fact when I walked in my door sat. morning I had been up for 25 hrs. And I turned around and headed back to Fernley (which is 30 miles from Reno/Sparks) for a relief drive. The nice part was I got to be the chauffeur, meaning I drove the 2 drivers that were relieving the original drivers and I drove back to Elko by myself. I still didn't get home till almost 3:00 AM however. So needless to say I'm pretty tired. Zac has a buddy over and they're playing Wii games so I'm having just a restful afternoon.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Here's to you

Yesterday was Dad's birthday. We sure miss him. So here's to you Pop...................

Next stop

It's hard to believe it's friday already. It's been a hard week. Stupid me took a KT run yesterday morning. Even though I got back form Fallon by about 9:00 PM wed. night I though I should work as much as I can so I took a 10 hr. Barrick run. My alarm went off at 2:30 yesterday morning and I did not want to get up. So I reset it for 3:30 AM and did the quick get ready. Consisting of brushing my teeth getting dressed and just a quick makeup thing so I wouldn't look too horrible. The nice part was since it was a 10 hr. run they leave the buses at the mine sight and just drive one back so I got to rest on the drive home. Then I did a few things around the house before going to the vet in the afternoon. Seven needed his next shots and Chance has broke out with a rash. Hopefully it's just a skin infection. The vet told me the other option is that it could be an auto immune disease. I think it's an infection but boy is he sure miserable. He itches everywhere! I have to run to the store and get him some benedryl for the itching. By the way the pic is of Zac and Seven sleeping on the way back last week...... cute huh?

Sunday, September 14, 2008

around & around we go

I started this post on Sunday I think and here I am on Tues. night sitting in a Choice Hotel, hotel room in Fallon, NV. Why am I sitting in a Choice Hotel room you ask? I brought Spring Creek High School FFA (Future Farmers of America) here for a freshman green conference. So what's happened in the last 5 days? Friday afternoon we headed to SLC to add the latest addition to our family. May I welcome 'Prestige Seven of Eight? AKA Seven. We spent Fri. night with Courtney and Alexis and Conner. Conner is really starting to come out of his shell. He spent a lot of time sitting in my lap and talking to me! It was great. Poor Lexi has had a tummy ache most of the week so she was pretty tired but she did tell me all about not feeling good. Sat. morning we went down to Lehi so Michael could change the oil in Rick's truck.... oh yea we took Rick's truck this trip. Sat. afternoon was spent with Mom & Eric. Eric ended up giving us the idea for Seven's name which was a really good thing cause I kept telling Rick that his name was NOT going to be 'puppy'. We had decided that we really needed to go home sat. night as there was lots that needed to be caught up with at home. Then we headed to John & Ashleigh's to visit with Greyson. I can't believe how big he's getting, oh and we wanted to spend time with John & Ashleigh also! Lonaka had gone to see her sister so we missed seeing her and Brianna and Skyler and Jordan.............. sure missed getting to see them. We got back to Spring Creek at about 1:00 AM, up again at 7:00 AM, funny how a puppy will get you up in the morning. He did really well during the ride home. His breeder was a bit concerned since he hadn't liked the car ride to meet us and make the change but he curled up on the back seat with Zac and Chance and had a good ride home. SO Sunday was catch up day. We got most of what we'd planned done, in between playing with Seven of course. Chance is thrilled to have a puppy friend to play with and Seven is holding his own. We're still working on the potty training issue but if I keep a close eye on him he does alright. You notice I said 'I'? Hmmmmmm anyway after Sunday comes Monday. I drove for KT in the morning and the Schools for the afternoon. And now here I am sitting in a Choice Hotel room. My original post was way cooler than this and a bit more weird and scatter brained but the computer had a 'glitch' saving it and there it went into cyber space so I tried to recreate it at least in spirit.
So? how was your week?

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Waiting

So here I am sitting in West Wendover, NV waiting for the Carlin volleyball team. Yes a lot of my job is hurry up & wait. Hurry up and pick them up.... hurry up and get to the game and hurry up and wait for them to be finished. Then hurry up and get them fed and home. Tough job huh? Now I have a myspace and a facebook and this blog. Can you believe that? I did the myspace so I could see the pic's Ashleigh put there of Greyson and found a few people I know and a friend of mine has facebook and she told me that it's the best way to stay in touch with her! Is there any other one I can join? Oh brother!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Home again, home again, jiggidy jigg.....

I'm back home again after a very short trip to Las Vegas. I got to be a passenger there and back and spent most of the day friday shuttling the teams to the various places they needed to be. It was really hot there and every time I saw a Clark county school bus I was very envious of their AC! Luckily after I was finished my sister Margaret picked me up and we went to her Condo and I took a shower to wash off all the sweat. We spent the evening visiting and having Chinese for dinner which was wonderful. That's why I took the trip so I could see my sister. Mean while Rick and Zac had fun at home. Rick fell back to sleep after getting Zac ready for school so Zac got to play hooky friday and hang out with Dad! They were both happy to see me when I finally got home early sat. morning. Man is that a long ride! I was happy to be off the bus and home as well.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

2:45 AM

So what am I doing up at this early hour? I just got back form Reno where the Elko High boys Soccer played at Diamonte Ranch High... they won! Yeah. And now I have to get some sleep so I can go to Las Vegas with Spring Creek High Football. It won't be bad cause I don't have to drive down there. I get to be Chauffeur when we get there. They are sending 4 drivers and 2 buses but because of DOT regulations we can't drive that many hours. Did I mention it's an 8 hr. driver from here? Am I making any sense? Good night all..................................

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

New puppy name pool!

Here's a pic of the new puppy we're going to be adding to the family. His breeder, Prestige Aussie's, is in Riverton (Utah) and it looks like we're going either the weekend of the 13-14 or 20-21 to get him. His breeder has shows both weekends and we're going to have to work it in around her schedule. Hmmm it will be interesting. I have to go to Reno on Wed. with Soccer and to Las Vegas with football for thurs. & fri. so I don't know if going this weekend will be an option. Hmmm again..... now the important next step is picking a name. What do you think? I do like meeting a dog first and getting to know the personality but what do you think for a name just on his looks? Keep in mind that most breeder's require their kennel name to be part of the registered name. Also you have the registered name and the call name. The call name being the one you actually use. So Chance's name is...... Megabucks Chance of a Lifetime..... and Chance is his call name. Katie was...... Barking Frogs Buddha Belly...... when we got her her name was Buddhee. I quickly changed it to Katie. Red was.... Annie's Red Merlin Mountain...... Red. So help me pick a name and you get bragging rights!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Living in rural Nevada

Now that school has started, so has my travel to rural areas of Nevada. Football (of course) Cross Country, Soccer, Volleyball, Forensics and I'm sure more that I haven't been asked to transport yet. This week I went to Winnemucca twice and took Jackpot to Twin Falls, Id. Next week I get to go to Reno and Las Vegas. Sound like fun? I've driven about 900 miles this week on trips. OK now that we got that over with............... Rick rode the motorcycle to Winnemucca to meet me. I took Spring Creek High School volleyball there for a 2 day tournament and since Rick has friday off and Zac was spending the night with a friend.............. it was fun. Volleyball didn't need much transporting since it was a tournament I took them there in the morning and picked them up later that night and took them to the Motel. And by the way don't stay at the
Motel 6. They have small rooms, terrible beds and the AC in our room was terrible! But we did go to a nice small town restaurant for breakfast. We had just met the Elko driver ..... Pam when the coach called me to tell me they had forgotten their practice balls on the bus. So Rick had to take me back to the motel (we had ridden the motorcycle) so I could take the bus and take the team their balls (no jokes! They're girls!) and I went back to The Griddle where we all had a fantastic breakfast. If you're ever in Winnemucca order the eggs florentine. It was wonderful. Rick had to leave after breakfast to go home and get Zac and Chance who had spent the night at the kennel. The owner of the kennel is the trainer we've been taking doggy classes from. Sharon is very knowledgeable trainer and we've been learning a lot. Sharon also breeds Aussie's and is helping us look for a puppy. I've talked to a number of breeder's this last week. We may have found one. A breeder in Riverton has a 12 week old red merle boy that ended up not going to Oregon to be a service dog so he may end up coming to Spring Creek to be our new family member. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We should know in the next few weeks if it's going to happen. I also found a blue merle girl in Richfield that needs a home. She is quite a beauty. I wish I could talk Rick into 2 new dogs but I know that's not going to happen. -long sigh- I'll be posting puppy search updates so stay tuned!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Summer

I haven't had much to say lately. Couldn't think of anything cute or intersting so..........
Zac started school last monday and is tickled to be back. He likes his teacher.... they have a program here where the teacher moves up with the class. Good if you like the teacher, bad if you don't. You can however get your child moved if you put up enough of a stink. I know a couple of parents who did, glad I didn't have to. So life goes on and summer is pretty much over. We do get a 4 day weekend here for labor day, something about being Nevada day. I never quite followed it, just another day off. I actually get to work fri-sat. Volleyball to Winnemucca for 2 days. Not sure why they're staying over night since it's only 125 miles away but hey I'll take the work! So keep posted and maybe I'll find something to write about..............................................................

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Six year old's view........



This was sent to me in an email but I thought the advice after the story is so appropriate! So enjoy...........................
and yes the story made me cry and think of the companions we have lost and what an impact they were in our lives.


A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old).


Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.'Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The Six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Got the call.....

I've still been running Queenstakes the last few days waiting for the final run. I took the 10 hr. truckshop guys in this AM and was planning on going to pick them up tonight. I only had 10 passengers from a high count of 30. Just a few minutes ago I got a call from dispatch telling me they had got the call that we are done at Queenstakes. Don't know how the 10 guys I took in this morning are getting home..... it's about 75 miles one way.... I'm guessing most of them have tools & stuff they need to get off property and I'm sure none of it will fit in the bus. I know how many tools these guys have........ lots....... a whole lots........! So life does go on... tommorrow is inservice training for the school district. I can't believe that school starts monday! Zac is so excited! He will also be happy that Mommy is sleeping at night and can do stuff with him during the day instead of sleeping all the time! So will Rick. We hated the KT schedule but hey what ya gonna do?

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

So for my 100th post I wanted to come up with soemthing neat or unique or I don't know special. So here it is......
The other day I told about getting the Queenstakes contract and driving to this neat mine. Today I had the 12 hr. underground miners. We got to the portal about 6:00 AM and the guys got off the bus. Then this big wig guy came out and asked me if I could wait as he needed to have a meeting with all of the miners. Sure I said, that's my job.... transporting the miners. So half an hour or so later the guys start coming out. Queenstakes is shutting down. Apparently investors totaling around $110 million.... yes million backed out. Which means no $ to run the mine. Most of the miners didn't seem to be surprised and all of them were on their cell phones making calls. And about half of them went home instead of working they were taking vacation or personal days that would be lost otherwise. KT only loses 3 runs so it's not a big issue for them. It's shaping up to be an interesting week!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Oh yea...........

And I forgot to add that my last post made # 98 so I guess this is #99. Ok I cheated a bit (do I use the term 'a bit' too much? picked it up from Eric whom I believe picked it up in Australia). See you for #100 next time.

Queenstakes

This is the Murray portal to the Jerritt Canyon Mine owned by Queenstakes. KT Services picked up the transportation contract 2 weeks ago and we started running up there last week. I say 'up' because it is about 60 or 70 or 80 miles North of Elko. Last week I ran the 10 hr. bus which meant getting up @ 1:30 Am to get ready and be to work at 3:00AM. The nice thing about that run was

A- the miners were pleasant.
B- I was done for the morning by 6:45 AM
C- I was done for the night by about 6:45 PM

This week I started the 12 hr. underground. This also meant getting up around 1:30 AM but I didn't get back to the KT lot till around 8:30 Am and I had to be back to work at 3:30 PM to do it all over again. Now figure in commuting back and forth to work and meals and...... you do the math. I've been sleeping at around 4 hr. shifts.... are the numbers starting to hurt your head too? After last nights shift and getting back a bit late I told the dispatcher that I would be happy to run it in the AM but it was too much for me to run it twice a day. That doesn't even count not getting to see my son or husband almost at all. Rick let Zac stay up just to say goodnight. So this morning after getting back just a bit later than later I had the rest of the day off! Yippee! And I was even a bit constructive too. Zac mopped his bathroom floor like his grandma taught his mom to do it (which means hands & knees and a rag). All in all it turned out to be not so bad a day.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Missing her

Barking Frogs Budha Belly
aka
Katie
1999-2008

Since I was missing Katie I thought I'd share some of her with everyone. It's been a week since she passed. It's still hard to believe she's gone. Katie waas an amazing sog. Her job was to round up all the dirty socks in the house. She wouldn't touch the clean ones and she never chewed them up. It was kind of funny when Chance thought they were toys. He wanted to play tug of war with Katie and Katie would proceed to let him know that they were not tug of war toys they were her job. You see Aussies need a job. They were bred to be herding dogs so they are very smart and are also active dogs. Their good with kids although they have a tendency to want to herd the little ones. So if you want a great all around dog get yourself an Aussie! And yes I am using this venue to help get through the feelings I have so I hope you will be patient with me.


Thursday, July 31, 2008

Intermediately obedient

Today was the first day of mine and Chance's intermediate obedience class. It was a lot of fun and it felt good to be there. The trainer holds it at a park which is nice and it helps with the training by adding in distractions. Why do distractions help you ask? It is good to work with the dog in that kind of enviroment so when you get out in the real world you know that your dog will respond to your commands no matter what else is going on. The trainer also happens to be the owner of the local kennel/ groomer and she also happens to breed Aussie's. I told her about Katie and we talked about it. I asked her to keep her eyes open for either a blu merle or a red merle girl puppy. We don't want to rush into another dog but I do want another girl like Katie. I know, I know I can't replace her but one of the things that attracted me to her was her coloring. I love the merle color in Aussie's and it's also unique to their breed. I just think it's so beautiful! So I'm feeling better although I'll always miss Katie and no one will ever replace her or Red for that matter. They will forever be in my heart.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

In memory


If you live long enough you wil indoubedly loose a beloved pet. If you are fortunate enough to share your lives and heart. Today we lost Katie, named for the little girl that I never got to name Katie. It was kind of an unspoken irony tha I named my dog Katie instead of a little girl. But she shared my heart and life for nine years and never a more loving animal did I know. She was my 'velcro' dog. For those of you who have shared life with a special animla you will understand the term. She was always by my side, wiggling her butt like only an Aussie can. She grinned like only an Aussie can. My heart is a bit more empty and lonely without her already. It sounds cliche but no one will ever replace her and I will truly miss her. So................. to you Katie waiting now at the Rainbow Bridge. With Red and all the others who have left this life. Be well my friend.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Awwwww............

Why is it that no matter where you live it always smells wonderful after it rains? Here even the sage brush smells fantastic. One of the things I liked about moving to Spring Creek was/is how fresh the air is. All of us had problems with the inversons and the yucky air in SLC. It only took 2 weeks for Zac's stuffy nose and cough to go away after moving here. Needless to say we got rain yesterday, actualy thunder and lightening and rain. the storm put on quite a show, lighting up the sky with all the crash, boom, bang that goes along with it. And you guessed it when it came to bedtime Zac declared that the storm was 'freaking me out'. This of course came after an evening of watching the storm with Mom & Dad. I finaly got him to stay in bed and got to sleep myself. I had to be up at 2:30 Am for work and Rick started his new earlier schedule yesterday which has him up at 3:30 AM. He grumbled about it last night trying to get to bed an hour earlier. Some bright idiot at the mine decided that everyone should get there at the same time so they set Rick's shedule back an hour. He of course will get used to it but as that stupid 'vonage' commercial goes change is hard.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Haul truck vs. Bus



I thought I'd give you a peak as to what I've been doing the last few weeks. Driving on the mine sites is very interesting. This pic was taken by my general manger to give folks an idea of just how big haul trucks are. If you grew up in Utah and took one of the Kennecott Copper field trips you might remember seeing a haul truck during your tour. But nothing can compare to driving next to or behind one. They are humongous! And you would think that being so large they would have lots of lights on them to light them up when it's dark? Nope. They have four headlights in front and two taillights in back. That's it. And when you come upon one of them in the dark it is very deceptive they look tiny but they are not. They will drive over you and never even feel it. During training we watched videos of haul trucks driving over various other vehicles and it's like watching a pancake flatten. Quite the eye opener. So think of me next time you go out for a drive in your minivan or are running errands!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Just a quick check in........

Hey ho to one and all. Just thought I'd let the masses know that we are still here and kicking ( and screaming) The last week has pretty much been sleeping and driving and sleeping and driving. It's fun going to the different mine sites and experiencing the mining atmosphere. I got a migraine wed. night that lasted all the way till thurs. night and then again yesterday that kept me down and out. Migraines just suck. If you ever had one you would completely understand. So today I feel almost human again and am eager to get on with life. So off we go to tues. and what it holds in store.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Still here and still driving

Ok so it's been a few days again. It seems like all I've been doing is drive and try to catch up on my sleep. I did take the weekend off to spend with Rick and Zac. I figured if Rick was taking his 3 day weekend so was I. That's one of the upsides of substituting. I get to pick when I don't want to work and I was really burned out from the week. So Fri. night after Rick and I were finished we took Zac into Elko to see the fireworks. It was a really great show! Then we slept in sat. Yea! and Sunday we took the boat out on Southfork Reservoir and had a really nice afternoon floating around the lake. It's not really big but it's close to home (only 15 min. away) So it's a good option if you want a 'spur of the moment' trip. Zac took one of his friends with us and they had a fun time playing in the water and floating off the back of the boat. They used ropes to not drift too far. Can you believe I didn't take any pic's? Oh well next time. So now it's off to bed for me so I can get up at 2:15 AM to take the Gold Quarry truck shop guys. At least I'll be done by about 7:30 or 8:00 AM. It's the trade off of driving for KT. I'll try to check in more often but I hate to be redundant.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Wasted

Wow has it been 10 days since I posted? It's been a zoo around here the last week or so. KT Contract Services hired me to drive the motor coaches for the mine shuttles and since then I've been doing nothing but drive..... drive...... drive. I drove for them when we first came out to the Elko area so I didn't have to do the whole training but it's been a long week of 12 hour days, riding, driving, another physical, peeing in a cup for UA's twice(different mines require different stuff) and just a bit of sleeping. I feel like the babysitter has seen Zac more than I. In fact I made him just sit on the couch with me last night for about 10 min. So finally today I was told I had dotted all my i's crossed all the t's jumped through just about every hoop that could be thought of and now I can drive a KT motorcoaches and take miners to work. I got a nice warm fuzzy feeling when numerous people told me they had missed me and welcome back. I really did enjoy the challenge of the driving and I think this time around I'm better prepared mentally and physically. After all the trips I've taken with the school district the runs at KT seem like a Sunday drive. I got to do one last Thurs. morning. I took the guys (and gals) to Bald Mountain mine. It's 156 miles round trip and 80 of that is on dirt-haul roads. It's a really beautiful ride being in the middle of no-where you can have the chance to see any number of wild creatures. Last time I drove it we came across a herd of wild mustangs. Thurs. I got to see a couple of golden eagles. It was truly breathtaking. I get to go thee again Fri. morning. It makes getting up @ 1:45 AM worthwhile. I will keep the masses updated as the summer goes along.

Happy Driving one and all........................

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Template......

I just looked at my previous post and I think I may have to change my template. I had noticed before that because the post area is opaque it makes the pic's look a bit 'ghost' like but after looking at my Father's Day post i saw that Rick's face disappeared. rick told me that it's OK he doesn't mind but I don't know. I may go looking and see what else I can find or maybe I'll try and change the opaque factor. I've started getting a bit courageous since I checked out some of the help sights! I'm no software person by a long shot so stay tuned!

Happy Father's Day




Hey Happy Father's Day to one & all. Rick had a nice Father's Day. He got to sleep in, no breakfast in bed but we took the boat out on South Fork Reservoir and had a great time. Chance got to go swimming for the first time. He didn't like being thrown off the boat but once he was wet he had a great time.










Zac of course had to get in the water also. He is definitely our water child. I don't think I can call him our water baby anymore cause he's 7 now. He had bunches of fun but kept insisting he wasn't cold even though his teeth were chattering up a storm!
Zac also found some new friends to play in the water with. So as I've often said a good time was had by all.
How was your fathers day? Did you get breakfast in bed?
I also have to add that I love my dad a lot. I also miss him a whole lot. These are the times when I think of him and all that he was in my life... being there no matter what, loving me no matter what, offering advise and his infinite wisdom and of course 'the reality is...............'
Miss you Pop!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Water, water everywhere

Yesterday was Zac's b-day and today we had a party for him. He had a water party. Which was great because it is finally warm enough to be considered summer and today was 85 degrees. Perfect temp. for having fun in the water.















So after playing a variety of water games..............











And some trampoline games, everyone went home happy and tired. Now that's what I call a successful birthday party. Don't you?

Friday, June 13, 2008

Happy Birthday Zac



Yes the day has arrived! Zac is 7 today. And what better day than Friday the 13th. We've been counting down the days for months now. Zac is still learning time frames in 'how many bedtimes?' At school they learned the days of the week but for Zac it is still 'how many bedtimes' until the desired event. Zac awoke early and came in happy as could be and announced 'It's my birthday!' He crawled up in bed with me and we chatted for a few minutes and then both went back to sleep for an hour. It was really cute when he woke up because he looked at me like 'is this a dream? Is it really my birthday?' We had a pretty quiet day. Zac went to a friends house to play while I ran some errands and got his b-day stuff. He's having a water games party tomorrow, it's finally hot enough to have one so he's going to really like it, besides the fact that he loves paying in the water. And as you can tell from the pic we got him a trampoline for his present. He loves it! He's got quite a few friends here that have them and he has a blast when he goes to their respective houses to play. By the way that's Zac's Hulk imitation. Yes we got the tramp put together this evening and tested it out before it got too dark.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Fate steps in




So last week was an incredible let down, after driving over 900 miles we returned home with no motorcycle for Rick. We spent a quiet weekend doing what we always do after a long trip....... catching up...... the laundry.....sleep........
luckily the house was clean when we left so there wasn't much of that to do. And then Monday rolled around. We set off to run a few errands and happened to pass Ship Cycles. They had numerous 4-wheelers and such out front but there in the big display window was..........
you guessed it..... a motorcycle. And not just any motorcycle..... A Harley. So we went in to look and dream. Then we got to talking to the owner about our adventure and his reaction was the same as everyone else we'd talked to...... you gotta been kidding! He showed us a Harley Davidson Sportster 883, Rick fell in love. Yes after all that stuff over the week we ended up buying a motorcycle in our own backyard!

So enjoy a few pic's of Rick's new bike sitting in our very own driveway

After it was all over and done with I told Rick he should have taken a hint from the mud flaps on my truck from the very start........ you guessed it, they say........ Harley Davidson.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Spring Creek or Bust

We left here wed. night excited for an adventure of a lifetime (ok, so this year's adventure) Rick had found the motorcycle he wants for the right price so we went on a road trip to Cedar City, Utah,about 400 miles from Spring Creek. I packed everything and Rick took off early from work so we could get there earlier. We had a room reserved at the Cedar City Days Inn. Now Zac has never stayed at a hotel before so he was curious about how that all worked. We stopped in Ely, NV which is the halfway point for a potty break and snacks. Rick called George the owner of his Yamaha 1100 and told him we were on the way, that we were staying in Cedar City and what time could Rick call him in the morning? So the phone rings about 20 min. later... it was George.... he says to Rick 'I have a predicament' the guy had sold the motorcycle after telling Rick he wouldn't show it to anyone else before thurs. afternoon. I can not begin to explain how upset Rick was! Here we were over half way to Cedar City, it was too late to call the hotel and cancel the reservation..... you get the picture? So we went to Cedar City, stayed what was left of the night, had breakfast and headed to SLC. The adventure of the year had turned into a nightmare. We stayed with Courtney. We looked thurs. afternoon and most of Fri. but the bikes we looked at were just that much more $ than we planned on spending. On top of all this Katie went into heat the day before we left............ and Chance discovered he is a male dog. So during all of this I am trying to keep them apart! Needless to say after all the stress.... not sleeping.... not finding a motorcycle.... I told Rick I wanted to just go home. There were a lot of reasons why and I was really tired and the whole reason for going had been busted so lets go home and have the rest of the weekend. So we did and here we are spending a quiet sat. just the 3 of us... and Katie the dog in heat and Chance the boy dog going after her every 'chance' he gets! So how was your week?

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Motorcycle road trip!



Well we're off to Cedar City in about 3 hrs. Rick has finally found the motorcycle he wants for the right price. He's been looking for the last month after working all that overtime on the shut down. Did I mention what a 'shut down' is? It's when they do all the work on the gold processing machines that can't be done while the mine is working it's normal processing process. Now is that clear? Anyway the pic I just posted is the one from the KSL.com add. It's a Yamaha V-Star 1100 custom. I googled our trip and it's about 400 miles to Cedar City from here and then we're heading to SLC for the weekend. So I'll keep you all updated!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Spring Creek Marina


Today the Southside Elem. tutor kids went to the Spring Creek Marina to go fishing. Quite a few of them had never been fishing before so Joe the wildlife guy explained the finer points of putting worms on a hook and not eating the powerbait. A great time was had by all and even some fishies got caught!

Even the ducks had fun watching the kids and looking for handouts from the hot dog lunch.

Success.........finaly

Of course after posting about being frustrated I finaly got it to load! Yea!!!!!!!!!!

Blogger frustration

I spent most of the day Thurs. trying to upload a new template for my blog. I had used an outside template for the longest time and wanted to put a new one up. I kept getting an error code....... then I went to the various help places to try and figure it out.................... to no avail! I have been SO frustrated. It was the same site I got a template from back in jan. or feb. but now the program wouldn't let me load it. AARRGGHH! I tried again fri. still no luck. I emailed the error code to blogger like it told me to but they don't give you any help, just report it. So now it's back to the old template till I can hopefully figure it out. Oh well

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Life is simple


Ok this is one must of us have heard before but I like it!


Life is simple.

We HUMANS make it difficult.

THIS IS SOME GOOD ADVICE!

If a dog was the teacher, you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.

Let others know when they've invaded your territory.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout...

run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.

Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day,

be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Working for the summer



Rick finally got to finding out why we've been having problems with the starter on the boat. He finally figured it out. It started with replacing the battery. One possibility ruled out... then the fuel pump... next option ruled out. Then he found a 3 inch piece of wire that had shorted and burned out. Problem solved... which took hours to find.... of course! After he put it all together it started like a champ but kept dieing out like it was starving for fuel... not possible with the new fuel pump. So he started tinkering with stuff and found that when he put it all back together the fuel line had got a kink in it... finally the problem really solved! So now we can enjoy taking the boat out and go fishing and zooming around the lake!
























While Rick was sweating it out in the boat I took the opportunity to get some flowers planted and Zac took the opportunity to call some friends and try to find someone to come play. Summer is right around the corner...even sooner for us than others. My sis-in-law has a last day of school timer on her blog but guess what? Fri. is our last day! Woo Hoo! Now I have to find a job for summer. Being a substitute has it's downside. I don't get payed year round like the contract drivers. So as of Fri. I'm unemployed again.
So what fun plans do you have for summer?

















Tag... your it!

I was tagged by a friend by email and thought I would respond via my blog........
SO!


Two names you go by:
1. Annie
2. Grandma

Two things you are wearing now.
1. Necklace
2. rings, Rick always says I'm easy to shop for

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. work with my dogs
2. be with my husband (and best friend)

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. My own yard & house (I'm way tired of renting)
2. Summer (but not too hot)

Two favorite pets you have had/have
1. Wizzer the wonder dog who introduced us to dogs again
2. Red my heart/velcro dog RIP

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Suzy
2. Christina, if she can get online

Two things you did last night:
1. Sat on the couch, trying to get rid of my headache
2. Had prayers with Zac which is always interesting

Two things you ate/drank today:
1. Choc. muffin
2. that's it :)

Two people you've talked to today (other than the people that live in your home):
1. no-one yet
2. no-one yet

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. getting up in the AM
2. getting up in the AM

Longest Car Rides you've been on:
1. R.I. to SLC
2. SLC to R.I.

Favorite holidays:
1. Memorial Day (the official beginning of summer)
2. Labor day (the official end of summer )
just kidding, I love all the holidays and have a hard time picking one

two favorite Beverages:
1. strawberry lemonaide if it's really good!
2. tropicana lots of pulp OJ... you have to be able to chew your OJ!

Ok, Suzy, Christina, Mellisa you've been officialy tagged.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Beauty of the Desert




Sometimes I get sad looking at the landscape here in Elko county. I miss the beauty of the trees and flowers of Utah. The majestic landscape of the Mountains. We have mountains here, which helps but the greenery of Utah is missing. When people talk about the barren desert I can now fully appreciate what they say.
Who knew that sage brush flowered? These pretty little yellow flowers were showing their all. And even the dead wood was beautiful in it's own way.
This rock formation is probably why they call it Fossil Hill. The School District takes the kids there to go?..........Fossil hunting. The rock looks like lava flow... so the rocks hold lots of fossils of stuff caught in the lava. I took 2 groups there. One from Sage Elem. and then Tues. I went to Wendover and got the 4th graders and took them also.
These red rocks were in the same area. I found that interesting and not being a geologist I couldn't tell you why they are there together. Both days turned out to be warm and sunny which made the trip very pleasant. Tues. trip was a long day for me. I left Elko at 4:30 AM heading to Wendover to pick up the kids and bring them back to Elko. Kind og back and forth and back and forth.

Monday, May 19, 2008

House cleaning

After working 12 hour days for 4 weeks straight Rick finally is done with the 'shut down'. That is what they call it when they shut down the Mill at the mine and do all the stuff that can't be done when the Mill is running. Now why would any person in their right mind work these kind of hours? He wants a motorcycle. 4 years ago Rick sold his motorcycle so we could put hard wood floors in our house (of course 2 yrs. later we sold it, but that's another story for another day.) It was a sacrifice he was happy to make but ever since then he's wanted a motorcycle. Here in Elko every June they have the Motorcycle Rally. It's a huge 3 day event with Bikers coming from all over the nation. The first year we were here in Elko we weren't able to go. I guess John & Ashleigh's wedding was more important, you think? Last year we had a great time wandering the booths and Rick drooled over the many bikes on display. The Joan Jett concert on the last night was awesome! Ever since then Rick has been planning on buying a bike and now is the time! He's been looking on KSL.com and he thinks he's found one. So we'll keep you updated! Oh ya the title of this post..... so after Rick working all those crazy hours and the trips and so forth I've been taking our home has been sorely neglected so today (and part of the weekend) was spent cleaning! Yeah! I finally feel like the house is clean.... that's what makes me happy today. How about you?

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Nice quiet saturday










These are the Sage Elem. second graders searching for fossils. I took them to a fossil hunting place up Mountain City Highway... you turn off about 3 turns up the canyon. The kids had a ball and the day was just beautiful for it. After we took them to the Elko city park for a picnic lunch.

And now it's sat. and Rick and I are both not working! It's the first time in weeks that we are both home.... we slept in and kind of lazed around. Rick worked on the boat and we ran a few errands. It's been a nice day.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Home Movies

Well folks I've found a new way to torture those I love with home movies!

You Tube!

Isn't modern inventions great? OK so now you all have to watch and then rate this one. Rick this this one is better than the 'It's clay and it's weird'. I think they're both great but I want you the audience to tell us!

Tagged

OK, Suzy tagged me so I guess I'll have to step up!

3 Joys

My kids, they're growing up into neat adults
My grandkids, they're giving their parents a run for their money already
Chance making great progress in obedience class

3 Fears....... hmmmmm

Not accomplishing the things I want to in life
There's not much I'm afraid of anymore...
Not succeeding in my endeavours which is about the same as #1

3 Goals

Finding a job for summer
Getting back to tole painting
Getting Chance to be an obedient dog and quit running off!

3 Current obsessions/collections

I don't have room to collect much right now so NOT collecting would be a obsession
Looking nicer (watch "what not to wear')
Keeping our home cleaner

3 Random facts about me.........

I've been a school bus driver for 19 years now (good grief!)
I've resided in 7 different states during my life
I've always wanted to be a dog trainer

How's that Suzy?

Monday, May 12, 2008

An extra day

Well more of my travel log. At least that's what it seems like some times. I don't mean it to be that but that's where our lives are.... oh well. Hopefully you don't get bored of field trip adventures. I took Carlin softball to their divisional playoffs Thurs. They were playing in (at?) Smith Valley. I've never been to Smith Valley, where the heck is it? No one I talked to could seem to tell me where it was. I figured that the coaches must know where we were going so I didn't worry too much. Our person who assigns the trips mentioned in passing that if the team won the game they were going to stay and if not they were coming home. Hmmm... they're not leaving Carlin till 1:00 PM, must be a very late game.... I thought to myself. So as the song goes... my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..... picked up the team; they're a fun group to take. We stopped in Winnemucca for an afternoon potty, snack break and I got to chatting with the Coach and she tells me that if they win their game Fri. they stay till Sat. for the finals! I had only packed enough clothes etc. for an overnighter, sigh... And the Carlin Railroaders are the top of their division, every game I've taken them to previously they won, so I figures they are staying till sat. and on top of that I don't have a babysitter lined up for sat. Oh joyous day! So after it was all over and done with I arranged for Zac to stay with the Bradbury's again and the Railroaders won the division championship and we got home at 8:00 PM sat. night. Oh and Smith Valley is about an hour south of Carson City. We stayed in Gardenerville which is a quaint little town just far enough from the hustle and bustle of the city and nestled against the Sierra-Nevada mountain range. Actually it's also about half an hour form Lake Tahoe also, very picturesque area with mountains and trees and all manner of green things growing. Not like our barren desert environment of Elko County!
Poor Zac missed Mom so much that Thurs. night he crawled in bed with Dad at about 4:00 AM and Sat. morning about 3:30 AM! He was so happy when I got home! And I was so happy to get home. I miss my guys terribly when I'm gone! Rick keeps telling me that I act like I'm going on vacation when I go on these trips. Let me tell you, it is not a vacation. Friday was a 15 hr. day, taking the team to the game and then to Yerington for lunch in between the games and then dinner after. When we're close enough I go to the hotel and relax or nap or whatever while the group is doing their thing but this trip we were 40 min. from the hotel.... no relaxing for the weary. It was 9:00 PM by time we got back to the hotel. Luckily they didn't have the early game sat. so I could sleep in and getting back at 8:00 PM was early compared to other trips! Now have I rambled on long enough?
How was your weekend?