November 19th through November 25th

November 19^th through November 25^th:  Monday I went to the hearing with Jill about our application for a conditional use permit to have an accessory dwelling unit (our apartment).  It was approved and they said we could pick up the building permit as soon as John and Jill signed and had the deed restriction notarized. Tuesday morning I met John and Jill at the planning and zoning office and they got the deed restriction notarized and we immediately went to the building department and got our building permit.  We are back in construction mode. In the afternoon, we went and picked up Charlotte and Alex from the airport.  Wednesday I got to work on the framing.  In the afternoon, we got family pictures taken at the amphitheater in American Fork right by James’ house.  We think we got some good ones.   

We still hold hands.

How did the 7 of us turn into 28.  Multiply and replenish.

This is the whole gang, all 28 of us.

Our 16 grand children.

We then drove back to the airport in Salt Lake and picked up Scott, Chris’ brother, from Houston who flew in for Thanksgiving.  We drove back to American Fork because Scott is going to spend a few nights at James’ house.  Thursday we headed to James’ house early to help with the preparation of all the food.  We had 29 people, our 5 children and their spouses, 16 grandchildren, Scott, and the two of us, for Thanksgiving dinner.  James cooked 6 racks of ribs and two turkeys.  He smoked one and infe-red one.  Everything was delicious.  We played a huge game of Mafia and just enjoyed the day.  

James smocked 6 racks of ribs as an appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner.  They were amazing. 

He also cooked two turkeys. One in his smoker and the other in an oil less deep fryer that cooks with inferred.

We had to have two kid tables.

All the adults sat together.

Friday I got up early and did some framing.  Sam and John B. helped me.  We had to stop at 9:00am in order to get ready to go to the Natural History Museum in Salt Lake to see an exhibit on the Mayan.  We enjoyed the museum.  It is in a beautiful new building overlooking the valley.  

The Natural History Museum.

View looking west from the museum.

The Mayan exhibit was great.

The had replicas of steli from Quirigua and Copan.

Badger and Evan enjoying the museum.

They had huipilies.

They had guides to explain things.

Building Mayan arches was a hit.

James, Charlotte and Campbell.

Mom and her brother, Scott.

They had lots

and lots

and lots

and lots

 of dinosaur bones.

Jake, Rigby, Luke and Stan playing in the water and sand.

Campbell laid down in the foot print of a dinosaur.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the museum.

We then had lunch at John and Jill’s house.  I got to work for a couple of hours and then we took everybody to a movie.  Some saw Crimes of Grindelwald, some saw Ralph Breaks the Internet and others saw Bohemian Rhapsody.  We finished up at Kate’s house eating turkey soup that she had made from some of the leftover turkey.  Saturday John B. helped me all morning finish up the framing on the duct work.  Mom took Scott to lunch and then went to a baby shower for a niece.  I spent the afternoon finishing the framing.  We then took the adults to dinner at a Thai restaurant.  

It snowed Saturday morning.

The duct work is ready for sheet-rock.

His and Her closets in our bedroom.

The framing is done.

Sunday we spoke in church and had the pleasure of seeing some old friends and former missionaries.  The Mays came down from Idaho, the Winkfields from Layton, the Calls from Cedar City, Linda Dibb came up from Utah County and then a number of local friends.  We had an open house at Charlotte’s after the sacrament meeting.  

The food for the open house.

Both mom and I have colds and didn’t feel like doing much the rest of the day.  We did visit Charlotte’s family and watched her kids decorate their Christmas tree.   What a great week we had with our family.  We are truly thankful for all our many blessings.

Ho Ho Ho

  

November 12th through November 18th

November 12^th through November 18^th:  Monday morning we moved two truckloads of boxes and stuff from the old storage unit to the new one.  In the afternoon, I took Alex and Charlotte to the airport.  They are going to Paris for 8 days and Nana and Poppa are going to be on duty at their house.  I say “on duty” because it is a lot more than just babysitting.  It is making sure they get where they need to be each day and feeding them and the dog.  Their lives are very complicated.  Tuesday I drove John’s 3 oldest kids to school and then went and got a load from the old unit.  As I was unloading it, I got a call that our shipment from Guatemala was in route to the new storage unit.  As I was finishing unloading they arrived.  We got our 37 pieces (boxes, furniture, etc) unloaded.  I then went into Salt Lake and rented a 20 lbs electric jackhammer.  Then I went  and got my eyes checked and ordered new glasses.  I spent the afternoon holding the jackhammer sideways chipping the stone off the fireplace.  I had to take a break to divide and conquer the driving of Charlotte’s 4 kids to swim lessons, practices and basketball games.  I finished up about 8:00 pm.  My arms ached from holding the jackhammer and leaning against it to chip off all the stone.  

I finally got the stone off the fireplace with the help of that 20 lb jackhammer.

Wednesday I took the rental back after dropping off John’s kids at school.  We then got ready and dropped Tilda,  Charlotte’s youngest, at preschool and drove to Draper where we met Lee and Connie Crayk.  Lee then drove the 4 of us to the viewing and funeral service for Dale Dibb.   He passed away on the 8^th from brain cancer.  Dale and his wife, Linda, served as temple missionaries with us in Cochabamba and Guatemala.  They are dear friends and we wanted to share our love with Linda and her family.  It was a very nice service.  We hurried home and got Tilda from the home of one of her preschool classmates and then started an afternoon and evening of being a taxi service.  We both had to go in different directions to cover all the bases.  

We often get the most beautiful sunsets.

Thursday after dropping John’s 3 oldest at their school, I got another load of stuff from the old storage unit.  I did not have time to unload it so I left the truck loaded at John’s and hurried to Charlotte’s house to get changed to go to our doctor appointments.  It has been 5 years since we have had a physical.  We were able to find a young doctor who was taking old people on Medicare and we think we like him.  We each got 3 shots, flu, shingles vaccine, and pneumonia vaccine.  I then went to James’ house and cut back his carpet and added 3 rows of flooring between his dining room and family room.  I think it looks pretty good.  He and Kirstin will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner next week and he wanted this project done before we all descended on his place.  

The new vinyl flooring is down and we just have to cut the carpet and reinstall it. 

Friday morning after dropping off John’s older kids, mom and I got the truck unloaded.  Our good friends Paul and Liz Belnap called and offered us 6 tickets to the BYU football game on Saturday.  We met Liz at Home Depot and she gave us the tickets.   We took the opportunity to buy all the appliances for the apartment.  They are having some great Black Friday sales the whole month.  Chris then took me to the airport and I flew to Burbank to drive with Ginny and her two daughters back to Utah on Saturday.  No one could pick me up so I took my first Uber ride.  It was so slick.  

Headed to California.

Saturday I got Ginny and the girls up at 2:00 am to get an early start so we could get back in time for the BYU football game.  I drove the first 4 hours and then we stopped for breakfast just into Nevada.  Ginny then drove for a few hours and then I finished up.  We made it in just under 12 hours.  We had a great time at the game even though it was cold.  

Southern Utah is beautiful in it's own way.

John B and his two boys and Luke and Miles, who we are tending, at the BYU game. 

6 seconds to go in the first half and the score is BYU 28 and New Mexico 7.

Half time and the marching band.

Thanks Badger and John B for cleaning up and taking everything to the dump.

Sunday I got up and made Swedish pancakes for everyone and then we went to church.  After church I made dinner and then later in the evening we went over to John and Jill’s house for dessert.   

Pile every blanket and pillow you can find on the stairs and then take turns sliding down them.

It was a crazy busy week with being on grandparent duty.  This next week we will have all our kids and grandkids here with us.  It will truly be a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We are so blessed and thankful for all our blessings and the tender mercies we receive.

The roads are long straight stretches that go on for miles.

November 5th through November 11th

November 5^th through November 11^th: Monday, I tore down all the sheet-rock on the drop-downs that covered the duct work for the heating and air-conditioning system.  Mom and I then loaded up the truck for another trip to the dump.  

The drop downs before tearing down the sheet-rock.

Drop-downs demoed in order to make both rooms the same height and to raise the height 3 inches.

Demo in our bedroom.

Demoed the window over the sink in the kitchen.

New window, 1 foot shorter to allow for the counter-top height.

Mom helped clean up all the sheet-rock that I pulled down from the duct work.

In the evening, we went to dinner at “Crown Burger” with Wally and Martha Cooper.  They have been our dear friends since we were both restoring old pioneer homes in Salt Lake City's marmalade district.  Wally is an architect has been working on the plans for the apartment, so we can get a permit.  It was so fun to talk and laugh with them.  Tuesday, we drove the 3 oldest of John and Jill’s kids to school and then spent the day framing and trying to decide on finishes for the floors and bathrooms. Wednesday, I worked on framing the new bath until the delivery from “Home Depot” arrived.  

Can lights for the apartment.

Sheet-rock and studs for the apartment.

Then we went to lunch with my brother Van.  He had picked up the plans from Wally so I could get them into the building department.  In the afternoon, I took the plans in and found out that last month Bountiful city adopted the same statute as Salt Lake City passed allowing Accessory Dwelling Units.  So the long and short of it is we have to apply for a conditional use permit to have an apartment in the basement and there will have to be a hearing before the planning commission.  So I got the application for the conditional use permit.  We went and watched Miles’ basketball game.  His mom, our daughter, Charlotte is the coach.  She played 4 years of college basketball.  

Our daughter Charlotte is our grandson, Miles' basketball coach.  He is holding the Gatorade water bottle.

Thursday we went to the Rec. Center and got free walking passes because we are both old.  Then we went to the elementary school for Charlotte and Kate’s kids because it was grand-parents day.  We had a muffin and read books with them for an hour before school started.  We then went shopping for appliances.  At about 10:30 am we got a call from our son John telling us that the engineering department at the city wanted a site plan and the square footage of each floor of the house.  If they did not get it by 1:00 pm, the application for the conditional use permit would not make the commission meeting on the 19^th and would be bumped to the 26^th.  I immediately went home and started measuring the outside of the house and how it sits on the property.  John came home from work and he and Jill got their signatures notarized on the conditional use permit application. I got the plan done and got two copies made and walked into the building department at 10 minutes to 1:00pm.  Chris met me there with the notarized application.  They then told me they needed measurements of all the walls in the new apartment.  I went home and got what they needed and got the plans back to them by 2:00 pm.  They said they would get it on the agenda for the 19^th.  We rented a storage unit because we learned that our shipment of “stuff” from Guatemala would arrive next Tuesday and we have no room at John’s house.  In the evening we went to the play “Honk” and saw John and Jill’s daughter, Ellie, play the part of Grace.  It was a really fun production and very professional for 5^th and 6^th grade students.  

Our grand-daughter, Ellie, played Grace in the play "Honk" in the 5th and 6th grade class production at her school.

Friday we moved two truckloads of things from our old unit to the new unit.  The new unit is in Bountiful and is big enough for everything we have in the old unit and the shipment coming from Guatemala.  

Our storage unit after moving 2 truck loads to the new storage unit.

We then went to the temple. We met the new temple president and made an appointment to talk with him in a few weeks.  We went and saw the movie, “First Man” in the evening. I fell asleep. 

Posted on the front lawn of our son's home.

Saturday we went to John and Jill’s son, Moose’s cello concert.  

Our grand-son, Moose, playing his cello at his recital.

Click below to listen to Moose                        Moose playing his cello.

I then helped move a chicken coop for our daughter, Kate.   It took most of the afternoon.  

This is the chicken coop that we moved from their neighbor's back yard.

5 new chickens came with the new coop.

In the evening we tore out the hearth of the fireplace in our apartment. 

The fireplace hearth is demoed,

Sunday we drove down and visited our son, James’ kids.  It was fun to spend some time playing games with them. 

It was only a skiff of snow Sunday morning, but it counts as the first snowfall.

James and Kirstin's 3 kidos. L to R Rigby, Campbell and Emme.

We then drove to the primary program for Kate’s ward.  Kimball sang a duet with another boy and did a great job.  It was a very nice program and I felt the spirit.  

Primary program with Bryce and Kate's kids.  L to R Stanford, Kimball and Abby.

We went to tithing settlement and then had dinner with Kate’s family. 

Swedish pancakes are always a hit.

Reentry is a bit strange and a real adjustment but we are enjoying going to all the activities that our grandchildren participate in and supporting them and just being with them.  We are learning quickly how to be grandparents and it is a real joy.  But we miss being in the temple almost every day and we miss our good friends and everyone we worked with in the temple.  Life goes on and our goal is to find joy in the journey.