Concert, Tux, and Basketball - Week 68-69

Underfoot and Hurricane were lucky to have the scripture and talk in Primary on the same Sunday. The theme for the month is Jesus Christ the Son of God. Hurricane decided to read the definition in the Bible Dictionary on the Son of God. Underfoot prepared a talk about how Jesus Christ was born and how Mary was his mother and Joseph was his guardian and the choices Joseph made by trusting God.


Underfoot had his violin concert. He wanted to continue to play the violin this year, but his school didn't offer an after school program at the beginning of the year because they got a new music teacher.

He continued with the same school program he started with next year. He did a great job at the concert. He brought 3 different shirts to pick between to have the most appropriate shirt.

The same night as the concert we had Pack Meeting. We made it to the beginning to have our responsibilities. Underfoot was in a skit, and I had to pass out the awards for the Bear den. The Bear den also was in charge of the flag ceremony.

Underfoot finished his basketball season without getting hurt!

We are so happy that he tired the sport. He is going to play again the spring with his brother on the same team.

He and his brother will be attending a basketball camp over Christmas per suggestion of a good friend.

Sweetheart's company had their Holiday Party.

A coworker suggested that they have an ugly sweater contest. As we looked for one, he found one called Tux the mascot for a computing language called Linux.

He ordered a sweater that didn't come in time. We spent the Saturday before making a Tux with felt and LED lights. His sweater was recognized immediately.

At the party, we had a chance to catch up with friends that moved to Denver.

The boys joined a club at school called Battle of the Books. The club has students read books and come together usually in groups to demonstrate their abilities and to test their knowledge of the books they have read. There are 2 different teams for their grades. They each have to read 10 books for their clubs. We learned last week that they made the teams. They will start to compete in February.

I am the room mother for both boys' classrooms. The classrooms do a combined party with the other classrooms. We planned a craft, snacks, and games for each classroom. The classes will be doing Minute-to-Win-It games, String Yarn Star, Gumdrop Toothpick Stars, Marshmallow Tower Building, Snowman Ornament with a clear ball, and popcorn trail mix. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun this coming Thursday.

Be Well!

*****

Butter Cookies with an old Cookie Press

We got really tired on a Friday night.

The boys cuddled with me, and we all fell asleep.

Basketball Game

Basketball Game

 Mexican Nativity from my Parents

 Four Nights of Hanukkah

 Telling Goof Stories while Wearing Funny Glasses

Settlers of Catan

Two Days Worth of Advent Candy

Random Picture on my Phone

Thanksgiving and Other Happenings - Week 66-67

Sweetheart writes:

For Thanksgiving we met Wendy's parents in Steamboat Springs. (Thank you Mom and Dad Locey for making that possible!) Wendy did some research on the town and learned that the United Way every year hosts a community Thanksgiving feast. The community donates cooked turkeys, potatoes, rolls, salads, and desserts.

We decided it would be fun to participate. We showed up about an hour before the food was served and stayed for about 4 hours. We did everything from wrap plastic utensils to serve food. Wendy and the boys helped cut and plate desserts. The table holding the pie was filled to capacity.

It was so warm that we ate our Thanksgiving dinner outside. In the end, 800 people came through the line for Thanksgiving dinner. For a community of 12000 residents, that's a significant number. It was great to be a part of it.

We had a great time visiting with Wendy's parents. Jill brought her recorder and the boys joined her in a concert.

Kirky brought his trumpet as well. Hurricane has had quite a bit of interest in learning how to play the trumpet, and it was a perfect time to try out the trumpet. Hurricane has taken to playing the recorder.

It is a requirement for his music class. He has passed off 10 songs already through at program called Recorder Karate. He loves to play.

He plays in the morning, after school, in the car when he can, and in the evening.

A few weeks ago Wendy and I saw the doctor for our annual visits. We are both deficient in Vitamin D. Every day I now spend 10 minutes in the sunshine. I've also started exercising with Wendy in the mornings at the Gym. We leave before the boys wake up and are back about the time for them to wake up. I hate to swim, but it is good exercise and Wendy loves it. When we're not swimming, we do the elliptical machines. I like the rowing machine. Wendy likes the bicycle machine and tries other machines.

At work I've been learning a new programing language called JavaScript. It has nothing to do with another programming language named Java. JavaScript is the most despicable programming language ever. It does not have clearly defined rules. It is used a lot on web pages.

Wendy and I have been singing in the Choir at church. One of my biggest regrets from High School is not having the courage to learn how to sing. I wish I knew how to read music and hold a tune. I think I'm a baritone, which means I can't always follow the tenor line or the bass line.

On the home front we are finally feeling settled in Parker. Our house still has lots of things we'd like to change, but it is beginning to feel like our home. On Friday evening I spent several hours rewiring the whole house humidifier from 110v to 220v. It works a lot better now. The next task is to install spring loaded dampers on all the bathroom vents to keep the cold air out and the humidity in.

Underfoot has been playing basketball on a league at the local Rec Center. We are very proud of him. He is playing with other boys who have been playing for years and this is his first time. He scored his first basket during his first game. He works hard and we are please to see his enthusiasm.

I've been reading a book about John Browning. He invented a lot of different types of guns in the 1800s and early 1900s. It has been interesting to learn about his life and his experiences.

*****

 This was our supper before Thanksgiving.

French Toast, Blueberries, Caramel Syrup, and Hot Chocolate

 Rabbit Ears Pass Sunset

Pie Delivery - 

He was very concerned about the pie not being out to the public. 

He asked the organizer if another table could be set up. 

She told him no. He then went to the other organizer and asked her for a table. 

Again he was told no.

The table was never empty.

 He helped.

 A bigger portion of the pie table.

Hurricane is trying out the trumpet.

A horse in downtown Steamboat Springs

 A horse in downtown Steamboat Springs

 Hanging out with Ben Franklin downtown.

Underfoot had been wiggling a tooth for about a week.

I finally took Mommy Privledge and asked to wiggle it.

I gave it a shove and out came the tooth.

He has completed all the belt and is working on 1st degree black belt.

 The curly vines on top of the pumpkin were amazing.

City Council, Peaches, and A Splint - Week 55

For Labor Day, we headed to the DeMonbrun home for a meal. We did the Diet Coke and Mentos rockets. The boys really enjoyed it. We really like to be with them.

Underfoot started orchestra. An orchestra isn't currently available at the charter school so after school we take Underfoot to a different elementary school. He is getting to know the student at 2 new schools.

I canned peaches. They were yummy fresh. They are pretty in the jars.

We had one of the tiles pop up from the floor the man who installed the floor took 3 weeks tot get to our house. The repair took him 45 minutes. 
The mom who made the treats for soccer made a real cute. It was worth passing along.

The boys won their game by the way. Underfoot was also playing goalie. He got hit by the ball and kicked in the hand in the same movement. We watched the hand and took him to Urgent Care on Sunday.

He will be splinted for 2 weeks. It doesn't look like it was broken.

The boys beds were finally assembled. They made it in to the room.

The beds were ready for story time.

Sweetheart writes:

On Monday we labored. We cleaned house, organized the garage, and

On Tuesday I attended a town council meeting. I've been working with a group of neighbors to defeat a proposed zoning change on a vacant piece of land 500 feet from our house. It is currently zoned commercial.

The town council meeting started at 7 and ended at 11:30. The public comment session lasted just shy of two hours. In the end, the town council voted unanimously to deny the rezone request.

On Saturday I worked on Wendy's car. It has made an intermittent rattling noise when the air conditioner is running. I took everything apart and removed a couple of twigs that were making the noise.

Late Friday night Wendy put on one more coat of paint on the boys' beds. On Saturday afternoon we assembled their beds. The beds look good. We now have 6 beds in the house. Hotel Locey is open for business.

The Pie Party is 11 November. We hope to see you this year!

Be Well!

*****

 Harvest Moon

Clean Garage and Jilli Visits - Week 54

I was asked to help with Singing Time for Primary. The Primary Program is in 3 weeks. There was a change and instead of leading the music in the Primary room we practiced in the chapel. The children did remarkable for a 2 hour practice. On Wednesday night, I go to go and be the Webelos substitute. This was just the weeks where I got to substitute a lot.

Sweetheart held a community meeting at our home to talk with neighbors about the how to present and pass the word to our community. He and I have talked extensively about this issue. It has kept Lance up at night because he is concerned. His concern is that the developer changes their information each time he looks for information.

Back to School Night was good. We got to meet the teachers for our boys. One of their specials teachers is speaks Spanish. Sweetheart spoke with her. She learned her Spanish and lived in Spain. He came away saying he felt rusty with his language.

 Instead of Scouts this week, the youth had a Temple Trip. Sweetheart went to the temple to help. He enjoyed being in the temple.

The next morning Sweetheart had his silver fillings replaced. Our dentist recommending removing the silver fillings because the fillings expand and contract. This will damage the teeth further unless changed to a newer filling. He called after his appointment and talked funny complaining that his mouth was numb. It was funny for both of us.

Underfoot needed to complete a requirement for Webelos as a service to the community. He went to  trash pick up. Two Webelos showed up and picked up in what Underfoot called the Glass Graveyard. He had so much fun doing it.

The Eckert family helped us so much one year ago we decided to have a celebratory dinner. The house looks so different than a year ago. We were very grateful for their help. We've a few things left to do in the house like put a floor in the Master bedroom and closet, paint the doors upstairs, get a new dishwasher, and then there are big projects to do in a few years.


Jilli returned to visit Missouri again. She did a few home improvement projects there. She had a long layover in Denver. She came and helped us on a project as well - organizing the garage. This was a huge blessing! She coached, directed, and helped work through the the different areas. The work table shrank by 3 1/2 inches. This made such a difference and allowed for us use the table.


Sweetheart wrote the weekly email about his experience with our neighbor. We are happy to report that Mr. Wayne has moved from the ICU to a rehabilitation center. He will be there for a few weeks and then return home. The miracle is that only about 5-10% survive.

Be Well.

The Great American Eclipse - Week 53

The Great American Eclipse happened on August 21. Sweetheart found the coordinates for where the center line would be.

We got up early and drove to a field. It rained really hard and then cleared up. We saw the eclipse, and it was awesome! The temperature dropped. We saw fireworks in the middle of the day. The crickets chirruped. The asphalt on the freeway cooled down and gave off an odor.

Sweetheart saw the first part of the eclipse, and we all put our glasses on and watched and watched then the clouds rolled in and covered the sun. We saw the eclipse through the clouds.

Miss Sunshine Rae yelled at one point, "I see the diamond ring." That's very important to a 6 year old.

When the eclipse had finished we jumped in our car and started the trip back. The traffic was smooth sailing until we hit the Kansas border. There was an accident that had a car jackknife with a semi-truck just before the toll booth in Kansas. It stopped all traffic, and we snailed along for about an hour.

We stopped for supper at Wilson, Kansas. It has the Largest Czeck Egg.

We ate at Grandma's Restaurant that serves Czech food. They are also a soda fountain, but no sodas were consumed there. We made it back home around 1 am. The next morning Jilli, Dark Hair, and Blondie Bear boarded a plane and returned to Idaho. The whirlwind trip was so much fun!

Sweetheart organized a group of neighbors to oppose a zoning change for a piece of property in our neighborhood. The zoning meeting happened this last week. The zoning committee recommended that the property zoning changed. Generally in our area when a zoning recommendation is given to the city council follows that recommendation. Sweetheart is hopeful that a neighborhood appeal to the city council will influence them.

I returned to the dermatologist for a follow up on my back. I have a clean bill of health, but I also scar with what's called a keloid scarring which is a raised scar tissue. I have read a bit about this type of scarring that recommends to not get piercings or tattoos.


Soccer has started again. The miracle is that the boys are on the same team, practicing at the same time, and games at the same time. This is such a blessing for our family. The boys are really happy to play on the same team.

*****

 Mr. Tiger at church snacking

 A good Sunday nap does a lot of us good.

Grateful for Dark Hair. She's the best!

 Eclipse Sun

 Wilson, Kansas

Wilson, Kansas

One Year - Missouri - Week 52

The boys started school full day. They were really happy to get out of the car together each day and be picked up each day. We spend less time in the morning and afternoon with carpooling and messing around before and after school like 1.5 hours. The boys started full day school this week.


The library hosts a free art class once a month. We signed up and took 2 friends with us. They made galaxies in a bottle. With the upcoming eclipse, this was a good preparation for them to learn a little more about the eclipse.

Hurricane's front teeth have been touching. After consulting with the dentist, we started with a plastic retainer last fall. It didn't move this teeth enough to make a difference. So we started with the next step, and he was fitted for a pallet expander.

The hope is that it will be 8 weeks with 4 weeks to stabilize his mouth.

The Relief Society hosted a Favorite Things evening. The idea is to bring 1-3 things that are your favorite. I brought Sharpie markers. I love them. They are in my purse. It's a go to for me.

The school takes pictures the first week they are they are back. I got to volunteer. There was a little disorganization, and I got the students to get organized. One of the office ladies asked if I worked with teenagers. It was fun to work at the school. I really like picture day.

I joined a book club and picked the summer book for Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. As the summer went along, the book changed to The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The ladies came and we had a great discussion. We had a rainbow fruit plate and a yellow brick road with crackers (cheese and crackers). We are reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

We celebrated one year in Colorado. We took a family selfie before we left for school and work.

It was a momentous day. We are more settled into our house. We still have to put flooring in our Master bedroom and closet and then the work outside will begin with a garden, trees, and other fun surprises.

We made arrangements to go and visit my sister and her family for the eclipse. As the plan came together, my Mom and nieces came to join us.

We checked the boys out of school early and started the drive to Missouri.

We stopped 1/2 way through Kansas at a soda fountain.

The place was a lot of fun. The fountain was made out of wood and was beautiful. We got to Katie and Shaun's house real late.

The next day we played at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. It was blast.

Later that night we went to a Royals game.

The boys really enjoyed themselves.

*****

This was the art project from the previous month.

It was a diorama that the boys made from a story they had been reading.

We took a picture because it was time to move on to the next thing.

Art Stop Diorama

This was our supper one night.

It was pretty and yummy.

This grasshopper was just hanging out.

It didn't startle but posed for his picture.

One year selfie before school

Sunflower on the border of Colorado and Kansas

Soda Fountain in Kansas

  Soda Fountain in Kansas

 Royals Game

 Worlds of Fun

  Worlds of Fun