Rick, Annie & Zac Clarke

Loss......

2012-01-08T10:46:00.001-08:00

Last week a former co-worker; Paul Downs was killed in an ATV accident. He was one of the really good, decent men in this world. I was saddened to learn of his death. He was only 39 yrs young and left behind a family, how sad. Death comes to us all but it is harder when it is unexpected and so young, so rest in peace Paul till we meet again in the afterlife.......

2012.....

2012-01-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

Zac decided he wanted to stay up and welcome in the New Year so we all played couch potatoes until midnight. It was kinda fun snuggling with Zac and Rick. Of course I got a New Years kiss from my favorite man! And then I woke up to a migraine in the early morning hours. Seems like I've been on a bad migraine cycle the last year, getting them about every two weeks if not more. It really bites since most of the meds out there don't work for me and the state of Utah does not stock demerol at the ER's anymore. I tried to explain to a Doc a few months ago that I've been getting demerol shots for years and that it works just fine for me but he told me that too many patients have reactions to it that they deem it not good to keep around..... sigh......

Christmas time.......

2011-12-25T19:06:00.000-08:00

there was alot of moaning.... groaning & general whining from students & employees at Jordan District this week because we had to go to work & school until friday the 23rd. Keep in mind that every other district in the state of Utah were done by wednesday...... I would have liked to be done by wed. but hey..... if I'm scheduled to work I go to work! Friday going home my elementary students were so cute...... I had a whole bus full of kids singing Christmas carols the whole ride home! I have really great kids from all three schools!

Santa.... real or not?

2011-12-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

One of the advantages of Rick being unemployed is the time he gets to spend with Zac....... the other morning they were having a discussion about whether Santa is real or not. Zac still believes in Santa and one of his friends keeps telling him that Santa is make believe..... so.......
Zac; Dad is Santa real?
Rick; what do you think?
Zac; Dakota says he's fake and your parents buy the gifts from Santa with money from your bank. Zac told Dakota that his parents are broke.....

Rick tried to explain the 'spirit' of Santa to Zac and his response.......
So you've been lying to me for 10 yrs? Rick said no he hadn't and then Zac said.....

So Santa is a ghost?

Out of the mouths of babes!

I heard it on the school bus........

2011-12-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

The Principal at Zac's school suggested this title for a blog so I'm going to try incorporating it with this blog....... I hear & see so much entertaining stuff everyday there must be a few good stories out there....... so stayed tuned!

Fake it till you make it........

2011-11-19T08:33:00.001-08:00

I had to borrow this from my nephews wife, it goes along with How do you Handle plan B? I really like both those ideas! Thanks Melissa!

2011-11-19T07:32:00.001-08:00

I was just reading a bit from my cousins blog..... Anna... she was younger than I growing up but as adults and definetely with the advent of Facebook I have reconnected with many peolple from the first part of my life..... but by spending time on FB I have neglected my blog. I had wanted to turn it into more of a personal type journal but I'm not sure if that's possible..... when you write in a journal you can let out all the things you feel & think, good, bad & ugly and I don't believe it's necessary to broadcast all of that. I've made it a point in my life nto not broadcast alot of the negative things that I have experienced but it's also part of making me who I am.... the good, bad & ugly.

We are now living in West Valley City, Utah. After 5 years in Nevada. It's good to be home & close to our family again but also on the flipside I miss alot of things about Spring Creek. It was quiet & peaceful and living on 2 acres was really nice. I also really liked my jobs ther4 nit that I made more money than I do here but it was interesting & entertaining & challenging too......

It's been a tough year since we've been back. We moved to American Fork in Michael & Lonaka's basement but that didn't last..... don't know if I want to go into the details about that just yet. Then my wonderful mother took us in..... that was good except all three of us where sharing a room, a big room but one room none the less. In June I sold my Harley and we rented this 2 bedroom duplex in WVC. It is in the ghetto but we're in our own place again and can start rebuilding our life.

wow...

2011-03-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted anything here. It's been a long and trying year for us. We are back in the SLC area and staying with my mother until we can get back on our collective feet. It's been a real blessing staying with mom, she is truly a representative of christ on the earth and we love her tons. I am back with Jordan School District driving as a sub and Rick is looking for a job that will allow him to mtake care of us as he has in the past. Our Bishop in Spring Creek told us we would need to humble ourselves in making the move here but I don't think Rick or I really knew what that was going to entail. we are still learning how much we are going to have to give up to start over and sometimes it is really, really hard. When I get sad or down I tryb to think about how much I love my family and I grateful I am to be close to where they are.

doing my civil duty......

2010-03-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

Three weeks later we were a hung jury.... did I mention I did jury duty? I always thought to myself if I ever was called for jury duty I wanted it to be something important, well be careful what you ask for! Lets just say I'm glad it's over and even though it was a learning experience I don't ever want to have to decide something that important again! We spent 3 days going over and over and over the evidence and still couldn't come to an agreement of innocence or guilt...... it was long it, was incredibly stressful, it was eye opening, I learned more about the way our justice system works than I wanted to and 12 people couldn't come to a decision. That was the hardest part of it all, we had to go in that courtroom and tell the Judge, Sorry, we couldn't agree. Of course afterwards we got the rest of the story......
It's been kinda rough around here since Christmas time.... did I mention 3 days before Christmas Rick got layed off of work? His (now former) boss has had it in for him for a year and a half...... and finally got Rick on the late policy, so there he was looking for a job again. Along with all the emotions and feelings and doubts and insecurities that go along with it...... it took 2 months but he got on at Queenstakes, it's a smaller mine but so far so good..... during that time I worked all I could and I think it's turned me into a workaholic! After jury duty I took FCCLA to Las Vegas for a week which was really nice, not only did I get to spend time with Margaret but it was a welcome break form the real world..... then I came hoe for 4 days and took Spring Creek softball & baseball to Needles, CA which is 90 miles south of Vegas. It's been a lot of long driving. We got back from Needles at 5:00 AM Sunday morning and I had the bright idea to stay up and go to church. Normally when I drive like that it takes me at least a few hours to wind down and relax so I thought why not do it at church? I did alright for awhile, then I started nodding off in Sunday school and then I nodded off during the rest hymn in sacrament meeting! I was ready to hit my pillow by time we got home...... WEW!

wow...

2010-02-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

I keep avoiding putting up a post because I've gotten behind and then I feel like I need to catch up and then I avoid it since there's so much I could catch up on..... do you see the vicious circle? OK..... 2 weeks ago I got a jury notice and I dutifully showed up and said yes your Honor I can be fair and impartial and WAM! here I am doing jury duty.... so once it's all over I'll tell you all about it. Until then I'm going really nuts because I'm one of those who has to 'talk' stuff to death and I can't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am living up to the oath I took not to discuss the case w/ anyone and not form any decisions until all the evidence has been presented. nough said (for now). Rick started working at Queenstakes mine yesterday. His boss at Newmont finally got him laid off (3 days before Christmas) this guy had it in for Rick for a year and a half and finally got him on the late policy........ what a shame that Newmont doesn't care that this guy had treated Rick badly for all that time..... lied about grabbing hold of Rick one day and generally created a hostile work environment.............. it really messed up Rick's head for awhile but I'm hoping that being back to work will put that sparkle back in his eyes and the bounce in his walk again...... change is always hard but they keep saying it's a good thing.............. really?

Once again

2009-12-11T14:50:00.000-08:00

It seems that I update my blog while sitting in a hotel room on trips but not at home where the action really is. So once again I'm in Reno, this time Spring Creek girls basketball has a tournament. It's been very cold in Spring Creek this week...... we've been building up to the cold for the last few weeks. Wed. morning it was -26 at 6 AM when I went to work and half of our busses gelled up (that's when the diesel is so cold it gels instead of being liquid) between all of the drivers we got everyone to school..... one of my elem. kids got on and asked me if his tongue was bleeding, I told him yes it was and he told me he had stuck it on a rock. I told him it was NOT a good idea! Silly boy! There were three kids who did that in the last week. So now I'm home, got back fairly early, I was home by 8:30 last night (sat the 12th) I started this & didn't get it finished before I left Reno. I got to dead-head home since all the girls parents had come to watch thier games. I made good time considering the weather. Rick and Zac had the tree all set up when I got home and we got most of the decorations put out. It is beginning to look like Christmas at our house. The tree smelt wonderful when I walked in the door. Later while Rick and I were laying in bed watching TV we heard this loud noise...... it was the sun cover on the front porch being crushed by the snow. We have about 18 in. total from the storms this week and this last one was very wet snow, it broke one of the poles. Rick did get it back up today (sunday) but we'll have to beware through the rest of the winter! It is so nice to be home........

$25 in the hole..........

2009-11-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd let you know how Friday went for Rick & Zac. Rick tells me he's $25 in the hole as he had to buy Zac a new game and I was the one who made the promise to Zac but do you think he'd wait till I got home? Of course not and quite frankly Rick says it was more than that after a trip to the grocery store where Zac talked him into choc milk and a lunchable and crushable yogurt..... the container crushes so you don't have to use a spoon, neat marketing technic huh?Oh yea and $20 to the babysitter, so Rick figures HE'S out about $70 bucks, talk about inflation! A couple of weeks ago Zac's best friend Kaylee got a diary from her school book order and ever sine then Zac has asked for one for him too so when we were at Walmart Rick & I found him a really nice 400 page journal and Zac had a good time writing his first story tonight and then making Rick and I rating it between 1-100, of course we both gave him 100 and he told us if he added it together he'd get 200........ hmmmmm I think that has something to do with school grades? You think? Yes definitely!

No babysitter friday

2009-11-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

Most Fridays Rick doesn't work & Zac gets to come home from school instead of going to the babysitters. Lately Rick has been able to pick up overtime on Fridays which is very helpful to us in the budget department right now. Last night my work called and asked if I could do a last minute overnight trip....... Spring Creek girls soccer to Fallon for regional tournament. Of course I said yes after calling Shari our babysitter since her husband doesn't normally work Fridays either so she isn't available then but Brooks (her husband) is/was working also (am I rambling?) OK so after all that rambling I'm in Fallon with soccer, Rick is working and Zac unhappily is at the babysitter. Oh he'll be fine and he has a new book he's been reading non-stop for 2 days and he can play with Drew, Shari's son and I even tried to bribe him with a new game if he'd have a good attitude about it all. We'll see what the results are when I talk to Rick later.

Halloween & the rest................

2009-11-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

Last week was crazy at work...... lots of driving, lots of miles and I missed Halloween, which I didn't mind too much as it's not my favorite holiday but Zac gets so excited. I have a rule about Halloween costumes, I never buy (or make) one till the last minute because invariably Zac changes his mind at the last minute and true to form he did. He had talked about a number of different costumes and even wanted to split his face so he could be 2. So Thurs he decided to be the grim reaper and wanted Rick to run right down to Walmart and buy the scythe that goes with the costume. Rick talked him out of it and sat. morning the made one. It turned out really, really good. Rick did a great job with Zac's makeup, when he sent me a text sat. afternoon I couldn't tell if it was a mask or makeup. So off they went first hitting the trunk or treat at the church then on to the convention center where local merchants had set up and last but not least trick or treat alley (as we call it) Zac decided to change the time honored phrase from trick or treat to trick or die in keeping with his costume. One goody giver told him it should be treat or die but Zac was steadfast in his change. They left me voice mails detailing their excursions with Zac adding sound affects for background ambiance! At the convention center Zac tapped his scythe on the wooden floor with each step and when they got to the last 'booth' the lady told Zac she had been waiting for his arrival. So another Halloween successfully put behind us!

Hmmmmm............

2009-10-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm really tired today. Took Elko High School Soccer to Reno yesterday. While we didn't leave too early I got up at 3:30 AM to spend some time with Rick & not have to hurry to get ready for work. I got Zac off to school and headed to work. Did I mention we had our first winter storm yesterday also? I didn't think it was that much of a storm but it made a lot of people uncomfortable about traveling. My theory is you have to respect the weather be it snow sleet or hale or heat of summer, not be afraid of it.................
anyhow we made good time & the roads weren't really that bad. But the Lady you was driving the relief car to pick me up later was not comfortable driving in the bad weather and she ended up dropping the relief driver & heading back to Elko instead of waiting for me which meant I had to ride the bus home which really, really sucked. I got home around 3 AM which also meant I'd been up for almost 24 hours with only a couple short cat-naps. I almost didn't get Zac off to school this morning but his friend Kaylee called to give him a ride to the bus stop and he had just enough time to get dressed & have breakfast & go. Then I had a safety meeting in town so I brushed my teeth & hair and went. Does all this tell you I'm really, really tired? No I haven't had a nap yet but I can more or less sleep in tomorrow or go back to bed after getting Zac off to school cause I don't have to work till tomorrow night when I will be the relief driver for Spring Creek cross country.

Blogging

2009-10-27T04:47:00.000-07:00

So Zac had fun last week while he was home sick (he NEVER gets sick) watching me play on facebook and adding a blog entry.... he was really intrigued and excited to see some of the stuff you can do on the internet................
I have to add that I really enjoy reading the family member blogs and keeping up with what is happening in other families lives................. I am not as creative in my entries as I read in others blogs but I really am doing this for me mostly....................
we have a family newsletter that my sis in law has devoted many years to that I also really enjoy getting every month.................... (do you read our blogs Betty?)
It amazes me the communication that is available now that wasn't in years past..................
I always laugh when I tell people we got our first computer just so I cold email my sister at work all those years ago.............................
Now look at me..................
blog, facebook, myspace (although I don't really use myspace)............................
I am truly grateful for my internet connections..................

comments............

2009-10-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

So Zac is excited to see who & what comments are made about our blog posts so don't be shy, leave us a comment!

Sage School Carnival

2009-10-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

Friday night was Zac's school carnival.................. needless to say it say it was both successful & fun. We (Rick & Zac) made brownies for the cake walk. One of Zac's friends ended up with them which was also pretty cool. Zac's friend Kaylee went with us and the two of them ran all over the school playing the different games. Their favorite game was the bowling game, Zac said the bowling balls felt real. Zac tells me the teacher had a disco ball on her desk that was really cool when it reflected the light all over them room, she had both a plain and colored disco ball. While Kaylee & Zac were enjoying all the activities Rick & I entered the drawing fundraiser, it raises money for a schloraship in memory of one of the kindergarten teachers daughter (Zac's k-teacher as it turns out). I ended up with a Spring Creek high school goodie bag. I split it with Rick...... he got the t-shirt, I got the hoodie, he got the spirit towel & baseball hat & I got the scarf & pom poms & seat cushion........ it ended up being a pretty fair trade off except Rick thought he was going to steal the hoodie until I explained to him it was too small for him but just right for me! Zac came home on a huge sugar high that I thought was going to keep him up all night but when he crashed he crashed hard.

So Zac has been snuggling in bed with me this morning as Rick went in to work for some overtime (which we badly need right now) and he's been watching me play on facebook, he really likes my 101 collection, which is a funny collectors application. I think it really shows how much of a collector I've morphed into when I get satisfaction and joy from sending images back & forth between friends just to get all of them................... oh my.

Yesterday was a beautiful Northern Nevada fall day and the three of us went for a ride on the motorcycles. Zac had decided to grow his hair long so he could 'flip' his bangs but in the last few weeks has changed his mind again and declared it was time for a haircut. So one of our stops was the hair salon in Walmart.............. I wouldn't let them cut my hair but it's hard to screw up a little boy cut and the wait wasn't too long which was/is amazing so haircut he got................ gee a picture would probably be perfect inserted here, I guess we'll have to take one to post! He aslo added some new pokemon cards to his collection, can you believe they're popular again? I remember my nephew Ryan collecting them 10 yrs ago............... wow, the power of good marketing. It amazes me sometimes. Zac would like me to announce that he is up to 173 cards, a tin to store them in, a game mat and other assorted pokemon paraphernalia. He and his friends have fun at school playing pokemon.............. I have no idea how it's played except that the cards each have different powers & talents &................. well you know (maybe!)

So anyway Zac & I are enjoying a quiet morning hanging out waiting for football to start and missing Rick while he's at work................ how has your weekend been?

Drive, drive, drive

2009-09-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Fall keeps trying to come to town, it's beautiful out today 70 degrees outside and has the 'fall' feel to the air. I'm sitting here in bed trying to wake up after getting home at 2:00 AM, went to Lovelock last night to pick up the Elko HS Soccer team. They played at Reed HS which is in Sparks, which is adjacent to Reno (they're right next to each other). Zac is settling into 3rd grade, Rick & I are fighting to the fight to get him back into a school routine. He seems to think that he ought to be able to run & play everyday after school instead of reading or doing school work, it's our own fault, we let him slide during the summer and now he just doesn't understand why he shouldn't be able to still go run & play! (big sigh) He's definetely got the Clarke genes............. stubborn as the day is long. So here I sit finally waking up, but what do you expect getting home at 2 asleep around 4:30, I managed to wake up to get Zac out the door for school, although he did most of the getting ready himself which is good that he's getting better on that score. So life is getting back to the school type routine for the Clarke family.

Let the games begin!

2009-09-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

No it's not an Olympic year but with the amount of traveling the kids do here it might as well be. It's the end of the second week of school & so far I've taken volleyball to Winnemucca for a tournament, cross country to Fernley and now football to Reno to play Wooster High School. We left yesterday at noon. There were three major road construction areas and it was HOT! I think I lost about ten lbs. in sweat............. when we stopped in Winnemucca for lunch I got a Mountain Dew slurpy and I almost couldn't drink it fast enough before it melted, but it sure was satisfying! We arrived in Reno at 6:45 PM and went straight to Meadowood Mall for dinner then it was off to Galena High School so the varsity team could watch Galena and North Valley HS play..... didn't get to the hotel till 11:00 PM. We left the Hotel at 9:00 AM for breakfast and then to WOoster HS so they could prep for their game................. WEW! did you get all that? Me too. Now I'm gonna take a nap (they're not just for 4 yr olds you know) so I won't be too tired to drive home tonight..................... 300 miles and i'm sure it will be hot again. Meanwhile Rick & Zac are doing guy stuff together, Rick started getting the pool taken down for winter (can you believe it's on the way?) and Zac has a b-day party for one of his school buddies this afternoon. Hopefully my blog doesn't sound too much like a travel log but that's what our life is like someitmes, oh well, enjoy.

good intentions

2009-09-01T10:26:00.001-07:00

So every year, every month, every week I vow to be better at getting my paperwork done for work, on time and turned in when it should be................... so this morning I'm doing my paperwork and turning it in. I get burnt out fast when it comes to paperwork! Sometimes I get to where I'm going so much that it gets piled up & when I get back so late and am so tired I tell myself I'll do it in the morning............... oh well another school year is here and I vow to be better at getting my paperwork turned in on time! Last weekend I took SCHS & EHS volleyball to Winnemucca for their tournament............... last year I took SCHS and they were so excited to see me, that's one of the things that makes my job fun, when the kids are happy to have me take them where they're going. This friday it's Elko football to Reno for 2 days. The nice thing is because there is no school friday they are leaving at 1 PM so I won't have to drive all night and we'll get there at a decent time. I'm also going with one of the newer drivers and she's never done an overnighter. She wants to go with someone else her first trip so I can teach her the ropes.............. so it might be fun and or interesting. I guess I'll find out this weekend!

Dad the early years..........

2009-08-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

Aunt Janet emailed me this pic of dad. My nephew Trent (Michael) started a Howard Glad Clan page on facebook, he then asked me to help administer it since I showed an interest in keeping it active. So I requested stories from family members about dad and she also sent me this pic...... cool huh? I asked her when & where it was taken & now I'm waiting ot hear back from her so I'll let you all know when I do. I'm really hoping that family memebers will make the time to visit the family page & make it a place where we can keep in touch with each other.

Summertime Blues

2009-08-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe school starts monday. It's been a hard summer. Working for KT is hard. It's the hours more than anything............. typicaly I get up between 1:30 & 2:20 AM then I'm home around 8:00 or so and back to work in the afternoon depending on if I'm picking up a 10 or 12 hr shift, meaning the 10 hr miners get done at 4:00 PM and we have to leave to pick them up by 1:30 or 2:30 PM and the 12 hour shifts are later........ totaly confused? It's not hard to do but I've always worked split shifts, KT's is just extreme split shifts. I don't think you ever get used to sleeping 4 hrs. at a time so I'm always sleeping it seems. I keep vowing to be better at this blog and I keep neglecting it. I'm doing it more for myself than anything else as I'm not really sure it's getting read and that makes it easier to ignore or put on the back burner............... so once again I'm going to try and be better....................................
WEW did you get all that?

Summertime

2009-07-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

It has finaly begun to feel like summer in Spring Creek. It's been in the 80's for the last few weeks and the rain is dried out & gone. But that's OK Zac has been enjoyiing his swimming pool..... did I mention we got him a pool for his birthday? He's had most of his friends over to swim and his friend Kaylee (who lives right down the street) has been here almost everyday. I don't mind though, it gets him outside doing something other than playing the video games that he so loves.

I also now am legal to ride my motorcycle on the road, I passed my written test, I was nervous after missing the first question but all turned out well, I missed 2 out of 25 (you're allowed to miss 5) and am happy that I don't have to be worried while riding about getting stopped.................. next will be the road test but I'm still hoping to get into one of the new rider classes since you get your license at the end of it. I have to thank my Aunt Mavis for showing me all those years ago that girls can ride too! And Rick is just tickeled that his wife rides, he likes to show me off.

So, so far we're having a fairly quiet pleasant summer.................... how's yours?

Love to hate them...... computers

2009-07-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

During my May trip to Vegas with Carlin track my computer started acting weird..... the power plug died again! So for the last about 6 weeks we have been computerless since the desktop was and still is having issues. Go figure. Last weekend Rick in all his inventive smartness he fixed my laptop woes with a $5 part. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband that can do just about anything he sets his mind to. THANKS HONEY! so we've been cleaning and organizing and starting to get rid of the junk that accumulates in life. the rain has dwindled in the last week and a half and the skies are sunny once again in Northern Nevada. I've been busy with hazard certifications for KT and driving again to the different mines, getting up at around 1:30 AM most mornings. Today I did a Cortez run then had a class for the new motor coaches that will be arriving in the next month. It was actually interesting and informative even though I've been driving school busses with the regeneration systems for the last year. I told the MCI rep that they should do a similar class for the schools. probably won't happen, oh well. So hopefully I'll get back to some regular posts.... I really would like to.......................

Rick's Rocker

2009-05-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

Last year the hunt began for a new motorcycle for Rick. He has always been a biker guy and a few years ago he sold his to put hardwood floors in our West Jordan home. I thought it was a great sacrifice and one he chose to make but he missed riding his motorcycle. So we went looking. If you haven't heard the story go back and look at my post from last summer to get the 411 (as they say) Anyhow Rick has been looking and found a Harley Rocker that he decided was his dream bike. Low and behold (like the catch phrases?) he saw one at our local GMC dealer if you can believe that. He also played hooky today after working 30, 12 hour days. He decided he deserved a day off. To make this long rambling story a bit shorter we came home with his burgundy with black flames 2009 Harley Softail Rocker. He is thrilled and I don't have to worry about birthday, fathers day, christmas, anniversary, valentines and any other holiday gift for the rest of his life! The pic's where mostly taken by Zac to keep him occupied while we did paperwork and all that other fun stuff that comes with this kind of purchase. Hey we're trying to do our part for the economy! how about you? Oh yeah and by the way the Sportster is now officially mine!

Northern Nevada & Gardening

2009-05-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Since we've been renting the last 3 yrs (can you believe we've been here 3 years?) I haven't had a garden and my attempts to grow tomatoes in pots was dismal to say the least. I was so excited that our yard has stuff planted and I've been enjoying walking the yard to see what is coming up in our new yard. So far I've found numerous clumps of bulbs. Pink hyacinths and various tulips. Zac spotted yellow & red tulips at the property line by the road. The rest aren't blooming yet but it's fun to see what was planted by others. At the fence line between us & the neighbors to the north (which I refer to as up because they really are up from us) there are numerous bushes that I haven't identified yet and some of them are very, very prickly. Maybe I should say thorns because they really are sharp thorns. I've been lazy of late but I really need to get out there and start some pruning and taking out the volunteer tree's which is kind of hard to do since there are so few tree's in this area. I also have the task of identifying them! Oh yea and the pine tree's lining the driveway have bird nest's in them! Haven't heard any chirps yet but I'm keeping an eye (or ear) on them. I sure hope we have baby birds in them............... what fun that'll be!

time passes

2009-04-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast time goees by. It's been a crazy year and a hectic spring, with the weather go back & forth so much it's hard to tell if it's spring or still winter. But we're hanging in there and trying to do all the things that need to get done!

View from the drivers seat............

2009-04-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

After having a really nice visit with Courtney and the kids last wed it was time to head back to Spring Creek. I had taken the Elko HS band to the airport for their trip to DC for the Cherry Blossom festival. And since I was dead-heading home I took the opportunity to go visit Courtney & kids. Mom also stopped by for a bit and I took as many pics as I could. Finaly it was time to head home and I was getting abit tired so I came up with an idea to show whomever what it looks like form the drivers seat when traveling, so i poiited my phone in different directions and snapped! It was kind of fun and helped to keep me awake................... so here's my abstract version of the view from the drivers seat......................

I went back Sunday to pick them up but because there were 3 busses it just wasn't feasable to go early and visit, but I take it where I can get it! The kids are getting So BIG! It was also nice to see mom who we don't get to visit with nearly enough (wel that goes for all the family) I'll get the pics I took of me, mom, Courtney & the kids up soon!

Dogs & chickens

2009-03-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

So far this Reno trip has been fun..... until I got the phone call from Rick this morning. Once again Chance & Seven had managed to escape & run the nieghborhood, infortunately Seven cmae home with a chicken in his mouth! Rick got the chicken away from him & got both the dogs in the house. Shortly a local deputy sheriff showed up at the door. The fine for two unlicensed dogs running loose is $268! And that doesn't count what the owners of the chickens will want for reimbursment...... or vet bills. Rick was going to go talk ot the owners. I am so angry that I might just go home & shoot the dogs myself. We knew it was only a mater of time when the dogs would run into some kind of trouble when they escaped. I really thought however that they would get run over and killed by soemone. This is just unbelievable, I am so angry and upset that they did this! I had such a nice day in Virginia City yesterday. It's a quaint historical town. They've turned the historical buildings into lovely shops with all kinds of stuff. They're a number of 'rock' shops, Virginia City being the first mining town in Nevada. It was very interesting to learn about Boulder Tourquoise, it was originaly found in Elko. No 2 pieces are exactly alike. Unfortunately I didn't purchase a piece of it, but I did find a number pf pieces that are very lovely. I bought a beautiful necklace & earring set and 10 rock 'marbles'. I picked ones that I found interesting.

One of the leather stores was having a winter clearance sale (maybe it was 2 shops) I found Rick a new mototrcycle jacket for only $45! he was thrilled that I got it for him. I also got myself 2 leather bomber jackets they were buy one get one free, who could pass that up? SO yes I spent way too much money but I felt like I was thoughtful in my purchases and looked for things that I really liked and fairly priced, now does that sound like good justification?

Whining

2009-03-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

Needles was certainely a long trip. I missed Zac's Dr. Suess program thurs. night but Rick videotaped it for me and it was fun to watch. Zac was so cute!
It's been a hard spring traveling. I haven't been home when Rick's been off for weeks. And I have to go to Reno fri. to pick up the FFA group that I took there tues. night. It was an out & back and we left Spring Creek 2:00 PM tues. so by time we got to Reno & I dropped them off I didn't get home till 4:00 AM. By then I was wired so I just stayed up to get Zac to school and then I went to sleep. I woke up at 1:00 PM and couldn't believe that 5 hrs had passed, it felt like I had just went to sleep 5 min. earlier. I rolled over & went back to sleep till Zac got home from school.................... what a day. And to top it off I have to go back to Reno next week for 3 days! I'm almost tired of traveling. Actualy I'm tired of missing my husband & son. And to top it off we haven't been to SLC to see the kids & grandkids since Jan. OK so I'm whining! and rambling! I haven't got to enjoy the nice weather yet either! I want to get out in my yard & garden! I want to walk my dogs, I want to go for a ride on the bike with Rick! He's had it out the last 2 weekends and I haven't got to ride!
Alright enough whining for now.

traveling

2009-03-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here I sit in a motel 6.............. well it doesn't quite rhyme but I'm in Needles Calif. for the Colorado River Softball tournament with Spring Creek High School. OK so the girls are here to play, I'm here to drive them around! Needles is approx. 2 hrs south of Vegas and 550 miles from Spring Creek and it looks like we won't be going home till sunday instead of sat. night which is what I had been told. I'm a bit ticked off that I wasn't told in advance. Seems like I've been on the road a lot lately, Vegas last weekend, Vegas the weekend before that and Sun Valley, Idaho with Jackpot the week before that! So now I think I'll take a nap before I have to go take them to lunch between games!

Wow.......

2009-02-25T08:38:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted anything. It's just been crazy all winter! I went to Vegas last week with the Elko HS DECA group, it was only 6 kids can you believe that? But there were 600 kids at the casino/hotel we stayed at for the competition. Since the kids were staying where the event was I didn't have to do anything till it was time to go home. Margaret & I had a really nice visit, we really didn't do anything but she took wed. off so we could just hang out together. I was really exhausted by time we got home thurs. morning at 4:30 AM, drove all night to get home but we actualy made really good time since we were traveling at night. I slept most of the day and when I woke up thurs. afternoon low & behold I was SICK! I spent the rest of the weekend in bed with Rick taking good care of me..... and he & Zac made me a really great choc. cake friday for my birthday! So now I'm off to run errands so I can go back to Vegas tomorrow with the Spring Creek HS cheerleaders for their competition.

New Year

2009-01-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

So I know I haven't been really good at keeping my blog up to date the last few months. I had a hard time emotionaly at Christmas time this year. We didn't get to go back to SLC for the family party. It's the first time in 17 years that we missed it and it really had me bummed out. It's funny cuz Rick is usualy the one to get emotionaly wierd at that time but this year it was me. Go figure. I know the New Year is a time for setting goals & resolutions but I haven't been one to do it. This year I decided that I'd set one goal. Get back to walking the dogs on a regular basis. I figure it's an easy one to keep up on and maybe I won't fail. What is it about failure that keeps someone from doing something?

I got a phone call at 4:00 fri. morning. Could I take Elko HS girls basketball to Reno for 2 days? Hmmmmmm let me talk to Rick & call my babysitter, she isn't normaly available on fridays but she said yes she could watch Zac. rick was working overtime you see. So here I am at h=the Airport Holiday Inn, hanging out watching a movie thinking about a nap before I have to drive all night. Well almost all night. we should be home by about 1 or 2 AM. That's better than football when you don't get home till 5 AM.

After Christmas

2008-12-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

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!

Tis the season

2008-12-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

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

Happy Day

2008-11-28T09:37:00.001-08:00

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?

I did it again

2008-11-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

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!

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

2008-11-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Slacker

2008-11-05T04:45:00.001-08:00

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!

Home Sweet Home

2008-10-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

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!

Craziness

2008-10-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

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!

Time to move

2008-10-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

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!

Wow

2008-09-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

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.

Here's to you

2008-09-19T08:33:00.001-07:00

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

Next stop

2008-09-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

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?

around & around we go

2008-09-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

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?

Waiting

2008-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2008-09-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

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.

2:45 AM

2008-09-04T02:45:00.000-07:00

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..................................

New puppy name pool!

2008-09-02T08:01:00.001-07:00

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!

Living in rural Nevada

2008-08-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

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!

Summer

2008-08-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

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..............................................................

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

2008-08-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

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!

Got the call.....

2008-08-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

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?

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

2008-08-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2008-08-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

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.

Missing her

2008-08-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

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.

Intermediately obedient

2008-07-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

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.

In memory

2008-07-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2008-07-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

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.

Haul truck vs. Bus

2008-07-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2008-07-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

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.

Still here and still driving

2008-07-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

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.

Wasted

2008-06-25T17:54:00.001-07:00

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........................

Template......

2008-06-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

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!

Water, water everywhere

2008-06-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

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?

Happy Birthday Zac

2008-06-13T22:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Fate steps in

2008-06-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

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.

Spring Creek or Bust

2008-06-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

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?

Motorcycle road trip!

2008-06-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

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!

Spring Creek Marina

2008-06-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-03T06:06:00.000-07:00

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

Blogger frustration

2008-06-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

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

Life is simple

2008-05-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-05-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Beauty of the Desert

2008-05-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

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.

House cleaning

2008-05-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

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?

Nice quiet saturday

2008-05-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

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.

Home Movies

2008-05-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

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?

An extra day

2008-05-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

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?

You Tube video........

2008-05-08T07:43:00.001-07:00

OK! This is a test! I took Suzy's instructions and I'm giving it a try. Here is a claymation video that John & Courtney made about 10 yrs. ago. I have such creative kids! I can't imagine the patience it took to make these. It's actualy a take off of some movies my brothers made with dad's super-8 camera any, many, many years aog. They did stop-acation races. If I can find that video I'm going to put it here also. That may take soem time however. We'll see what happens. So enjoy!

Wednesday, hump day

2008-05-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well the week is half way over.... is the glass half empty or half full?

Chance and I are 2 weeks (this makes 3) into obedience class. Now for anyone who's gone to doggy classes before you will know that the one who learns to be obedient is really the owner not the dog. I love watching 'Dog Whisperer' on National Geographic channel. It really can help in training your dog. We've had dogs as part of our family for about 14 yrs. now and if I'd known then what I know now (I love cliches')....... anyway Chance and I are learning to be obedient. I keep saying that once he gets to be a dog he'll be a very nice dog..... now if we can just get through puppyhood! Australian Shepherds are very smart dogs, they were bred to be herding dogs but also make very nice companion and pet dogs. I've thought about showing him but getting into the show ring click can be very tough. People aren't always as welcoming as you would think they are, I showed Katie (our 9 yr. old) limitedly when she was about 2 yrs. old Unfortunately the show season conflicts with fishing season and at that time of our life it was just too much. Rick however is encouraging me to show Chance as he is a very nice example of the breed. His breeder is in the top 20 Aussie kennels in the nation and he was one of 2 pups not spoken for in the litter. We were so tickled to get him, after loosing Red last year we were heartbroken. I didn't want to rush into adding another dog to the family but when the opportunity came to acquire Chance we went on a marathon road trip to Reno. It was quite fun and 'Megabucks Chance of a Lifetime' became a Clarke. So now it's time to learn to be obedient and he's doing very well so far. It's an 8 week course through the kennel in Elko. The owner of the kennel who also happens to be the trainer is an Aussie breeder and she thinks Chance is a very nice dog... not only in looks but temperament and personality. I've actually thought of doing obedience with Chance. He's very smart (all Aussie's are smart) and I think might have the temperament for it, we'll see. So I'm off to learn to be obedient!

Do you have pets? Do you like dogs? Are you obedient?

Playing Catch Up

2008-05-05T18:09:00.001-07:00

I spent the better part of today playing catch up. With mine and Rick's schedule of late our home has been seriously neglected. For someone who used to be such a neat freak (my home was ALWAYS clean) it has looked like a tornado hit our house these past few weeks. In fact Rick used to tell me that the only thing that scared him about being with me was how clean I kept my house. Living in Nevada has presented some unique challenges in housekeeping, not only has our schedules provided hindrances but the Nevada winds provide endless dust! In fact last year when I was driving for KT I had one of the young woman from the ward come once a week and clean the bathrooms and dust for me. I'm seriously considering going that road again. But today I spent a few hours making our home look fit to live in again! Yea! My husband will be so happy when he comes home tonight. Working these long hours has made him something of a grump so anything I can do to help him feel less stressed when he comes home is a big step in the right direction. So how do you feel about housework? DO you ever get so behind you don't think you'll ever catch up?

I survived.......

2008-05-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well I survived another 19 hour trip to Yerington! The Spring Creek Track team left Saturday morning at 2:30 AM, which means I had to be at the bus yard at 1:45 AM to pre trip and get to the school, which means I had to be up at 12:30 AM to get ready to go. Up at 12:30 AM you ask? Yes up at 12:30 AM. I went to bed at 8:30 PM, you do the math. We arrived at 8:00 AM but that wasn't the end of my responsibilities... the team unloaded and I had to fuel both the buses..... the coach had driven one so I fueled both so that our relief drivers wouldn't have to later when we met them. So by 10:00 AM I was done fueling....$250.00 for 70 gallons of diesel! Glad it wasn't on my credit card! Then I could take my nap.... it was more being unconscious than napping. 4 hours later I woke up. Boy was I glad that I got that nap. And low and behold the track meet got over early.... miracles will never cease. So instead of the relief drivers meeting us there in Yerington we drove to Fernley and met them. I had a chauffeur to drive me home which was a good thing. After telling Sonia (the chauffeur) that I really didn't feel tired I proceeded to fall asleep, not waking up till we got to Winnemucca. Can you believe that? Potty break and back on the road. I still dozed some of the rest of the way home, I must have been really tired!

Crazy, busy!

2008-05-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

Elko County School District has been busy this past while, which in turn means I've been busy! Good for the paycheck, bad for sleep and time to do things around the house. I wish I could hire someone to come in and clean for me! I've subbed here in Spring Creek and taken a trip to Eureka with the Carlin softball team. It was like driving in a wind tunnel all day long. And the girls had to play ball in it! They won both games.... walked all over the other team! When it was time to go home the sun was just setting and a misty fog was rolling in. It made driving home like driving on an airport landing strip, it was dark... there were no landmarks because of the fog-mist and the only thing to tell me where the road was were the reflective markers on the side of the highway. I've only driven a team that way once before so with the hurricane force winds and all the rest it was a long ride home. But we made it and I was very happy that I wasn't called the next morning to drive! Rick also started the shutdown at the mine last week. This is the time of year when the miners work 12 hour, 7 day weeks. They shutdown various equipment and do maintenance projects to keep things working top notch, or close to it. Rick's goal at the end of the 4 or 5 weeks of hell is to save enough to buy a motorcycle. He's missed having a bike to ride for the last 4 years, ever since he sold his to pay for the wood floors we put in the living room of our house in West Jordan. It looks like May is shaping up to be a busy month for the Clarke home. It's the last month of school meaning it is going to get really crazy for field trips.... oh joy! What do you look forward to in May?

Hanging out at the Airport....

2008-04-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday was quite the event. I was scheduled to pick up EHS at the SLC airport, quick back and forth trip. Except I forgot to find out which Elko High School group I was picking up or what flight they were on or when the unknown flight was supposed to arrive. So I got to the SLC International Airport around 10:30 AM, which was pretty good time. I pulled into the loading and unloading zone and parked. Now most of you know that that particular lane is not for parking or waiting but as it says..... loading and unloading. So I found a nice security guy (or rather he found me) and asked if I could wait for my group there. He assured me that I could park there, then I asked him if there was anywhere I could go potty! He told me that he would watch the bus while I ran in and used the little girls room. So I waited and waited and waited some more. The next security guy was just as nice as the first.... stood there and chatted with me and asked about driving school bus and working with the kids.... and I waited some more. The second security guy wandered off and I sat in the drivers seat of the bus and kind of snoozed for about a half an hour when the third security guy came wandering through... he proceeded to ask why I didn't know when my group was coming in or what their flight number was..... when low and behold up came the coach! Saved at last! Saved at last! We loaded the bus and I asked the coach if they wanted to feed the kids before heading home. The Coach asked the kids if they wanted to eat or just head straight home....(I got the feeling they were leaning toward just heading home) intereupted the coach 'I don't think you undestood me, the driver WILL stop. It's just a matter of where you would prefer to stop' I had been waiting for them for over an hour and a half. I was stopping for a soda and potty! Needless to say we stopped at the Tooele Flying J for soda and potty and had a rather uneventful trip the rest of the way home!

Work and play.............

2008-04-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

One of the neat benefits of my job is getting to go places. Last weekend the place I got to go was Taylorsville, Utah. And for those of you who know your geography Taylorsville, is located in the Salt Lake Valley...... home or home to our children and family. So... work was more like play. I had a great time visiting. Mom, Margaret and I went to P.F.Changs for dinner, good thing we got a reservation, it was crazy when we got there. Saturday was devoted to the kids. Cortney picked me up in the morning and we headed to John and Ashleigh's around noon. I got to hold and snuggle and feed Greyson a bottle. We had a great time just visiting and hanging out until the Coach called around 3 PM. It was time to collect the track team and head back to Elko. I had such a nice time. Rick and Zac had another bachelors weekend while I was gone. We had a nice Sunday to recuperate although I wasn't nearly as wiped out as some trips, I got home not too late and slept really well sat. night. I also told work not to call me today (monday) so I could have 2 days off in a row. Zac had a friend come over after school and the two of them are having a good time playing and making all kinds of noise in his room. I've spent most of the day catching up on stuff that needs to be done and just generally feeling good. How was your weekend?

Aren't they just the best looking group you've ever seen?

Not the Zoo

2008-04-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

Did your kindergardner or 1st grader ever go to the zoo? Here in Elko County we don't have a zoo but we do have lots of cattle ranches. So the kids get to go the ranches and learn about it. Thursday I got to take the high school FFA kids to one of the ranches in Lamoille. They halped the ranchers teach the 5th graders about ranching. It was beautiful day spent in the fresh air and sunshine. I really enjoyed being outside and watching the kids and the animals. It is really neat how our community reaches out and supports and teaches each other. So get out and learn something new about your community.... what's happening... what makes where you live special?

There and back again

2008-04-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Yerington Nevada; Kimberely, Idaho; Jackpot, Nevada; Winnemucca, Nevada; Las Vegas, Nevada; Carol's route; Kathy's route; Penny's route...... get the picture? I'm beginning to think I'm touring Nevada one small po-dunk town at a time. February's mileage was 2500 miles just in field trips, that doesn't count the route's I subbed on. Saturdays trip to Yering ton was 600 miles and 21 hrs. Needless to say I was exhausted by time I got home at 11:00 PM. Yesterday I went to Jackpot and brought them to Elko's museum for Gold Fever week. The 2 largest gold mines.... Newmont Gold (Rick works for Newmont) and Barrick Goldstrike put on an educational hands on program for the kids of Elko county. So up and back to Jackpot twice totaled around 500 miles in 12 hours! And I wonder why I'm tired! And on top of that when I got home sat. night I couldn't sleep................. I slept pretty well last night however. So today's trip is not so long, just Southside elem. to the courthouse. I have no idea what they are going to do there. And puppy Chance and I start obedience class this morning, Yes folks I'm going to learn to be obedient again! If I can teach Chance not to be an escape artist we will succeed! Oh and this weekend I get to go to Taylorsville this weekend with Elko High School Track. We go friday night (won't get there till late) they compete on saturday and then home on Sunday. I thought it was interesting that they are traveling on a Sunday. It happens.............. I don't have much more of an itinerary than that although Margaret will be in town so Mom, Maggie and I are going to PF Chengs for a late dinner when I get to town friday. Sat. after I drop the team I'm going to hang out with John, Ashleigh, Greyson, Courtney, Alexis and Conner... and anyone else who wants to come see me as my wheels are a big yellow school bus! So how's that for a travel log?

That's my son

2008-03-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

It's late and time to go to bed but I had to tell everyone what a great kid I have. It was prayer and bedtime. Rick and I said goodnight to Zac and Rick commented on the tornado like condition of his room. I said yes that was one of Zac and my projects this week (did I mention that it is spring break in Spring Creek this week?). On non school nights Zac is allowed to stay up late, watching cartoons or playing his wii game.... you get the picture (did I also mention you're getting the long version?) ....... after getting in bed with cartoons I told hin he could watch until Mom & Dad went to bed but then it would be lights out. About quarter after nine Zac called his dad in his room and turned on the light. Zac decided on his own to clean his room, He put all the toy's away, organized his video games, organized everything. I was so proud and tickeled that he wanted to do it and please his parents. He really did a good job! I wish I had before and after pictures to show what a great job he did. So instead we'll do an 'Ode to Zac'.................

Easter visit

2008-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

We finaly made it SLC Easter weekend to see Greyson and the rest of the family. It was another whirlwind visit getting everything in we could. It was crazy, we shopped, we visited, we shopped some more, we played with Lexi and Conner, we spent time with Mom (not enough as usual) we got to see the family at the Easter gathering. We got to hold Greyson.... I don't want to say that was the best part cause it wouldn't be fair to everyone else..... BUT..... he is the sweetest baby and it was just wonderful to get to hold him and get to know him.

Isn't that an incredible smile? It's one of my favorite pic's of him.......... this one makes it hard to believe he's only 3+ weeks old.

And here's Papa with the kids at the mall indulging in our favorite sport...... shopping!

Ashleigh's parents invited us for Easter dinner. It was a very nice gathering and we all took turns passing Greyson around. Poor kid.... all those people wanting to hold him and make funny faces and noises at him. He was a trooper through it all... snuggling in to each and every circle of arms..........

And can you believe this little girl ate that hotdog? And last but not least.............. Greyson and Grandma.

There's no place like home

2008-03-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

I am SO GLAD to be home! I had SO MUCH FUN visiting Margaret! It was such a LONG DRIVE HOME!

Here is the really cute red leather coat I found and just had to have..... Margaret is wearing the green suede jacket I got in Reno last week. It was good that we had both with us when we went to dinner friday night as it got chilly when the sun went down. Margaret took me to PF Changs and it was wonderful. It's the best chinese I've ever had and was a great end to a fun day running around.... catching up on everything we could... being sisters and friends. We tortured each other with pictures and stories of where our lives are. It was alot of fun and we crammed everything we could think of into it. I got to be the first one of the family to see her condo, which is just beautiful by the way. She gave me my china that she's had (we decided to trade the sets that mom had set aside for us) That was cool also. I haven't figured out where I'm going to display it yet but I'll find somewhere! So now I'm home again and I really, really missed my guys and we spent a happy day yesterday just relaxing (and doing laundry) and spending time with each other.

On the road again......

2008-03-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

It seems like I just got back from Reno and I'm off to Vegas today. Carlin Baseball, 3 days.... I only took this trip so I could go see my most favorite sister.. MARGARET! I am so excited! I am also tired still from the last week, of course when I got home I got a migraine saturday which included a trip to the emergency room for a shot of demerol. That blew the rest of the weekend and then I had a trip to Winnemucca tues. that lasted 16 hrs. Wew! What a week. So so long for now and I'll check in from fabulous Las Vegas later..........................

Baby Greyson!

2008-03-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

So here is baby Greyson, John snapped this pic. So the new family is home and settling into life. I will have updates and new pic's as they come along. We aren't going to get here until next weekend which also happens to be John's birthday as well so it will be fun!

Wrong way.....

2008-03-05T22:19:00.000-08:00

So tuesday morning I headed to Reno with the Elko Family career and community leaders group (FCCLA) I had got a phonecall at 4:15 AM from John telling us that Ahsleigh was in labor. Now this trip to Reno is a 4 day trip and there was no way I could call and cancel at that late a day. So off I went to Reno, the absolute wrong direction. John called with updates throughout the morning and at about 1:30 PM Greyson Merrick Hunter Clarke came into the world......... don't have pic's that I can post yet but Mom & baby and new Dad are doing well at LDS hospital while I'm in Reno for the week..... missing the birth of Greyson is truly disappointing. I told John I know it's not about me but it's the first grandchild I've missed being there for..... dang it! So when I get home friday I will do laundry and saturday we will head to SLC! I'm excited. I really miss Rick and Zac. Zac wanted to know when Mom is coming home when I talk to him so apparently they miss me to!