November 18th through November 24th

November 18^th through November 24^th:  Monday while mom was at work I installed laminate flooring in the new workout room at Kory and Amy’s home.  

Workout room ready for a new floor.

New laminate floor installed.

Tuesday I finished installing the plastic laminate top and putting molding up as backsplash.  I spent the rest of the day doing the punch list.  Mom spent the afternoon and evening at work.  In the evening I was able to go to Ellie’s play.  She was great and carried the scene.  

Counter top installed.

Ellie after her play.

Wednesday we went to our temple shift and then I spent the afternoon installing Charlotte’s new door handle and moldings on the inside of her new door.  

Charlotte's new door handle.

Moldings installed, check.

Thursday I reinstalled all the doors and bifolds at Kory and Amy’s home.  Mom worked till noon.  We then went to Tilly's school and had Thanksgiving lunch with her.  She is such a sweetie.  We went and got some of the boxes of Christmas decorations out of the storage unit.  Mom started going through them deciding which decorations we wanted to keep, which ones we would offer to the kids and then take the ones no one wants to DI.  It is a big job, we have over 15 boxes of Christmas decorations.  

Tilda and me at her school.

We sure enjoyed lunch with Tilly.

Friday I met with Shawn Brock.  Shawn went to work for me when he got back from his mission in 1985.  He worked for me for about 10 years and then started his own cabinet company.  His cabinet business is in the building that I rented for my company before we purchased our building in West Valley.  He offered me a job as Marketing Director and I accepted.  It will only be part time, but will give me the flexibility to work when I want.  I bought a new back window and tailgate at a salvage yard for my truck.  A few months ago, I put a 2 x 4 through one of the back windows and also ruined the tailgate.  In the afternoon, I also started driving Uber.  I drove for 4 hours and earned $77.00.  This is also something I can do or not do when I want.  Flexibility is very important to me.  I don’t want a job I have to go to every day and it will be a lot easier on my body to not be doing the physical work that remodeling takes.  Saturday I substituted at the temple and did the early morning shift as a sealer.  Chris came up about 9:30 and joined my last session of sealings.  It was fun to have her with me.  In the afternoon, I went out and drove Uber again for 4 hours with about the same results.  Sunday we went to church and then made mashed potatoes and pumpkin pies and drove to James and Kirstin’s home for our monthly family dinner.  We had a traditional turkey dinner with a beef brisket added that James smoked for 15 hours.  Everything was delicious.  

The grandkids at Sunday dinner.

I left my truck with the new back window and tailgate with James.  He gave us a loner car from his dealership and will get my truck fixed this next week.  Thanks James and Kirstin for hosting Thanksgiving dinner again and James for getting my truck fixed.  Life is good and we are so very thankful for our many blessings. 

November 11th through November 17th

November 11^th through November 17^th: Monday while Chris was at work I wired and installed 19 can lights. 

Can lights in the new work out room.  The access panel is to the low voltage wiring for the bathroom.

Tuesday I finished installing the last room of the can lights and the closet and under cabinet lights and when I got done with all the electrical, we realized that there was a problem with two of the circuit breakers.  Both breakers were controlling the same lights.  I can’t figure out what is going on and I will have to have an electrician come and help me fix the problem.  Chris worked her afternoon / evening shift.  

More can lights installed.

Wednesday we did our temple shift and then I got ready to play Bob the Builder for the Webelo scouts in our ward.  It was an activity where I taught about how to use carpentry tools safely.  It was fun and the two boys seemed to enjoy it.  

Bob the Builder, aka me, and Miles and Jake.

Thursday mom went to work and then she drove to James and Kirstin’s home in American Fork to tend their 3 children for the weekend.  They drove to Las Vegas to join Kirstin’s parents for the second to last show by Donny and Marie Osmond.  I worked on finishing up my punch list at Kory and Amy’s.  

Reinstalled the closet shelving.

More closet shelving.

Friday I went to Jake’s school and gave a short lesson on China.  I showed some of the things we got while we lived in China.  I then went to Kory’s and Amy helped me cut the quartz countertop for the upstairs laundry.  We got it installed and then it was time for me to pick up Katie’s, son, Stanford from school and then we drove to James’ house so I could take over tending duties.  Mom took Emme and drove back to Bountiful and picked up Abby and took both of them to see Ellie’s play “Frozen” at her school.  She played the shop keeper.  Mom had both girls sleep over at our apartment, so I was alone for the afternoon and night with James’ sons, Campbell (4) and Rigby (8) and their cousin, Stanford (8).   By this time, Campbell was missing his mom and dad and he had a few melt downs.  But all in all it went fine.  

Ellie as Oaken and mom.

Ellie with her two younger cousins Abby on the left and Emme on the right.

Quartz top for the upstairs laundry room.

Saturday, Chris came back to American Fork at about noon. I then drove Stanford and Abby to their other grandparent’s home in Kaysville.  They are going to tend Bryce and Kate’s three kids for the rest of the weekend.  They already had Kimball with them.  Sunday I went to the primary program at Bryce and Kate’s ward while Chris took James and Kirstin’s kids to their ward in American Fork.  They had arranged to have a neighbor in the ward take the three kids home from church and tend them for an hour until they got back from their trip to Vegas.  

James and Kirstin's three kids ready for church.  Good job, Nana.

Mom then went to a baby shower in Salt Lake for the daughter of an old friend and coworker from when she was in private practice.  It was a crazy week mixing all our work and grandparenting duties together, but that is what we want to be doing right now.   

November 4th through November 10th

November 4^th through November 10^th:  Monday while mom was at work I assembled and installed cabinets at Kory and Amy’s house.  

Cabinets in the new study room.

Cabinets in the downstairs laundry.

A new counter top in the laundry.

Tuesday Chris and I got up early and went to the Rec. center and rode recumbent bikes.  I then went and assembled and installed all the drawers and doors at Kory and Amy’s house.  Mom went to work at noon for her afternoon and evening shift.  In the evening, while mom was at work I went and saw one of Luke's basketball games.  

Drawers and doors installed.

Luke after their game.

Wednesday we went to our temple shift and then to lunch and did errands.  Thursday Chris went to work and I wired all the plugs and switches and 7 of the 34 can lights at Kory and Amy’s house.  We then drove to American Fork and went to dinner with James and Kirstin’s family.  We don’t see them often enough and we enjoyed being with them, if only for dinner.  Friday we again went to the Rec. center and then I installed a new front door at Alex and Charlotte’s house.  

Alex and Charlotte's old door.

Alex and Charlotte and their new front door.

Saturday I made a trip to the dump with the construction debris from Kate’s kitchen and the two old front doors from Charlotte and John B.’s houses.  John B. and I then installed a new front door at his house and cut some more shelves for all his new cabinets.  When we took his old door to the dump before we had his new one installed, we were committed to get it done.  Now that Jill has had a chance to put things away, she found places where she needed a few more shelves.  I think that that about finishes the punch lists on John B, Kate, and Charlotte’s homes, at least finishes the list of things that I had committed to get done.  I am sure they have more that they want to have done in the future.  

John B. and Jill's new front door.  Does it look like the same door that I installed at Charlotte's house?  They are Krosswood doors from my old door company.

Sunday we went to our sacrament meeting and then went to Charlotte’s ward for their primary program.  They only have two kids left in primary.  It was darling and so fun to see them sing and do their small speaking parts.  We then had dinner with John and Jill’s family.  I got a lot of things finished up this past week and it feels good to have them off the to-do list. 

October 28th through November 3rd

October 28^th through November 3^rd:  Monday mom went to work and because the painter at Kory and Amy’s house would not be done until this Friday, I went to my daughter, Kate’s, home and tore out one side of her kitchen.  She has not had an oven that works for years.  They tried to get their double oven repaired, but the repairman said it would cost more than replacing the ovens.  Kate’s in-laws said that they had a range that Bryce and Kate could have if I could reconfigure the kitchen so that a range would fit where their cook top was. So I tore out the cabinet with the cook top, the cabinet above the cook top and the double oven cabinet.  I then went and bought all the materials I would need to build new cabinets.  

Bryce and Kate's kitchen before I stated the demo.

Cabinets demoed.  I left the cabinet above the fridge.

Tuesday I built the new cabinets, leaving an opening for the range.  I also got the rewiring done.  Mom served in the nursery for the Stake scripture study class and then went to work from noon on.  

Rewired and new cabinets built.

Wednesday we went to our temple shift and then we went into Salt Lake to find a countertop for the new base cabinet next to the range.  I found a place that would build a plastic laminate top to match the top on the other side of the room for $250.00.  I thought that was a lot of money for a 4 foot top, so I went to the place where I had purchased the quartz for our kitchen and for John and Jill’s kitchen.  I found a piece of broken granite that was a close match to the plastic laminate color and that I could cut and make fit for $60.00.  We then went to R C Willey’s furniture store and bought a new couch for our apartment.  We want to have a sofa bed for when Ginny and Sam come to visit.  Thursday mom went to the Halloween parade at the elementary school where 6 of our grandkids go and then drove to American Fork to see James and Kirstin’s kid’s parade.  

Tilda as Cleopatra. 

Kimball the chipmunk.

Miles 

Stanford as T-Rex

Luke as another T-Rex

Abby as a cat.

Rigby missing some of his costume.

Ellie as a scare crow.

Emme on the left as a ring master.

I worked on Kate’s kitchen.  I got the sheet rock patched where I had cut holes to move the electrical and the face frames installed on the cabinets.  I also got a coat of paint on the cabinets.  

Face frimed installed and cabinets painted.

Friday I went and picked up the granite and I got it cut, polished and installed.  I also got the tile backsplash installed.  

Granite and tile backsplash installed.

Saturday I got the tile grouted, the electrical plugs installed, the linoleum patched under where the stove will be installed, the oak moldings installed at the top of the wall cabinets, the wall and the ceiling patched and painted, and the doors from the old cabinets installed.  I will have to go back and touch up the paint in a couple of places but it is back together to the point that they can use their new range with a working oven.  We still need to install a new microwave oven above the range.  Kate now has some countertop to use next to the range.  Mom went to Kimball's violin recital in the afternoon.

Doors installed and kitchen is back together.

Kimball playing his violin.

Sunday we went to church and we visited Charlotte’s family in the evening.  I felt like it was a good week and I was happy that I was able to get Kate’s kitchen remodeled. 

October 21st through October 27th

October 21^st through October 27^th:  Monday I finished hanging the 5 sets of bi-fold doors and installed the last few pieces of base board.  Chris spent the day at work being a therapist. In the evening, we drove down to American Fork to go to dinner and celebrate Campbell’s birthday a few days early.  We then went to a pumpkin patch/farm with James and Kirstin’s family.  The kids really enjoyed it.  

 Nana helping Campbell ride a horse.

Rigby being cool on the slide.

Emme wasn't sure she wanted to be with the goats.

James even did the slide with his munchkins.

Tuesday Chris went to work and I got a ride up to Deseret Mills in Kaysville with another ward member.  We had volunteered to fill our assignment at the mill.  When we got there, we were told that it was closed for maintenance and that they were sorry that the word did not get to us before we made the drive.   We figured we would be blessed just for showing up.  Wednesday we did our shift at the temple and then packed the car and drove to Kaysville to our good friends, Paul and Liz Belnap’s home.   We put all our bags into their car and we headed to Rawlins, Wyoming.  We have had this little trip to Wyoming and South Dakota planned for a few months.  We got to Rawlins in time to check into our motel and then go to dinner.  Thursday morning we left early so as to arrive at Martin’s Cove when the visitor’s center opens up at 9:00am.  The church owns the property where the Martin Handcart Company was camping when the rescuers arrived to save them from starving and the early winter blizzard.  Between the Willie and Martin handcart companies and two wagon train companies that were with the Martin Company, more than 250 died along the trail.  That is about 20% of the 4 companies.  You really get a sense of the sacrifice that these early saints made to come to Zion, Utah.  The 250 made the ultimate sacrifice, but all of them were willing to sacrifice everything to join the saints in Salt Lake.  

The 4 of us at the visitor's center at Martin's cove.

Martin's cove is up near the base of these hills.

This is Devil's Gate which is really close to the visitor's center.

This was taken from the parking lot at Martin's cove. You can see how close Devil's gate is.

We next drove to Guernsey, Wyoming to see the wagon and handcart wheel tracks that were carved into the stone by so many wheels rolling over the same track.  This was a place where the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Pioneer Trail were the same.  

The wagons were not all that wide

You can see how deep the wagon and handcart wheels cut into the rock.

We next visited “Register Rock”, where many of the early pioneers carved their names and dates into the soft rock.  Then we went to Fort Laramie, where the Willie and Martin companies tried to buy supplies, but it being so late in the season there wasn’t really anything for them to purchase.  We then drove to Casper where we found our motel and went to dinner at a nice steak house.  

Mom points out a name from 1872.

At Fort Laramie in front of the surgeon's home.

Friday we got on the road at 7:00am and drove to the monument of Crazy Horse, one of the Native American chiefs. It is an amazing project that will take another 50 years to complete.  

The Crazy Horse Monument from the visitors center.

This is what the monument will look like when it is finished.

The visitor's center at the Crazy Horse monument is dedicated to telling the story of the Native Americans.

They still have a lot of carving to do.

We then drove to Mount Rushmore.  This was what all four of us wanted to see and the real reason for our trip.  It did not disappoint.  We all thought it was incredible.  

Mount Rushmore from the visitor's center.

Mount Rushmore.

We then took the scenic drive through the Bad Lands National Park.  It was very interesting and impressive.  We ended up at Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota.  It is really famous, but not all that interesting, just a real tourist trap.  We then drove to Spearfish, South Dakota where we had hotel reservations.  

The Bad Lands in South Dakota.

This guy was right next to the road.

Looking down on the Bad Lands from the road above.

It was truly a beautiful day.

This guy was just outside the gate as we left the Bad Lands.

Proof we went to Wall Drug.

Saturday we decided to drive straight home because there was a snow storm on the way and we did not want to be driving across Wyoming in a snow storm.  We made it home after a 9 ½ hour drive.  Thanks, Paul for doing all the driving.  Sunday we had a nice day at church and at home resting up from our trip.  It was a great trip and really nice to be with Paul and Liz who are dear friends. I went to high school with both of them.  We had a great time and saw some amazing, beautiful and sacred places.