Don and Cora's Family Blog

2011-12-09T10:50:00.001-07:00

Last year, I learned about a new singer who was performing with Yanni as part of Yanni Voices. Nathan Pacheco has a magnificent voice that touches me to the core every time I hear it.

Here he is singing O Holy Night with Katherine Jenkins. A beautiful rendition.

GREAT TRIALS LIE AHEAD: BE PREPARED FOR TRIBULATIONS AND DESTRUCTION THA...

2011-03-19T11:44:00.000-06:00

Something to be thinking about and preparing for. My cousin sent this to me this morning.

Tonight - West Side Story

2011-03-18T11:58:00.002-06:00

On February 14, 2011, the Wasatch Chorale, a community choir that I sing with held a fund raiser. I had the opportunity to perform a duet with Thalia Taylor singing "Tonight" from West Side Story. I hope you enjoy.

Di Provenza Il Mar

2010-06-09T00:03:00.003-06:00

Last night, again I was able to perform for a group of seniors. The music was all classical, and I was asked to sing Di Provenza Il Mar.

Savannah recorded it for us, so hold on and (hopefully) enjoy the ride.

O Divine Redeemer

2010-04-01T16:02:00.005-06:00

Last week, I was invited to perform as part of a Pre-Easter celebration at the assisted living residence here in Provo. It think it went well. Amanda video taped it with her flip video. Here is what she recorded.

Something to think about...

2010-03-23T09:53:00.002-06:00

It seems that our freedoms as a people are being craftily eroded. The time will come when we look back and ask, "how did we get here?" By then it will be very difficult to restore the freedoms we once enjoyed. Here is a video recently sent to me. It gives us something to think about...

The Last Run

2010-02-01T22:26:00.003-07:00

During the Christmas week, we went out for a bit to e njoy the snow and do some tobogganing. Here is our last run. We had a good time, even though it was n't for very long.

Pictures from our Christmas

2010-01-11T12:19:00.003-07:00

We had a fun Christmas! One of the most enjoyable Christmases in recent memory. Feel free to take a look at our gallery...

The Christmas Spirit

2009-12-16T22:42:00.001-07:00

Check out the true meaning of Christmas...

The Christmas Spirit

Annie Jr.

2009-11-23T12:49:00.002-07:00

Our daughters recently performed in their school's production of Annie Jr. Savannah played the role of Grace (Mr. Warbuck's scretary) and Amanda was in the chorus (three different roles altogether).

We had a lot of fun watching it. Cora helped out in the back with make-up etc. I was very impressed with the performances. Here are a few picture from the first night's performance.

A New World Order?

2009-11-12T12:25:00.003-07:00

I don't want to turn this blog into a political soapbox, but I am seeing things that I can't just ignore.

I don't know how much truth is in this documentary, but if it's more true that false, there is much to be concerned about. Take a look here.

Shocking News!

2009-10-29T11:11:00.007-06:00

Check this out. I can't believe it's true. Get more information at GlobalClimateScam.com.

Part 2, Lola's 80th Birthday

2009-09-29T15:47:00.001-06:00

And now for the rest of the story...

Part 1, Lola's 80th Birthday

2009-09-29T15:39:00.011-06:00

At long last, I have the video prepared from Mama's 80th birthday party when we were in the Philippines last spring. I've uploaded it to my You Tube account here, but you can see it here. I had to break it into two parts due to the length of it. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it too.

Brandon & Rachel's Wedding in Oakland

2009-08-31T17:03:00.000-06:00

Here are more pictures from Brandon's Wedding.

Our Summer 2009

2009-08-31T09:20:00.002-06:00

It's always hard to accept that the summer months are winding down. In a way, it feels like we really haven't experienced much Summer yet. The spring was a lot cooler than usual, and so it took a while to warm up. We did however have some very enjoyable times during this summer.

We took a two week vacation and went to Vancouver, Canada for four days to visit with good friends there. We were happy to have Bill & Vivian Zabriskie, our neighbors in Provo come with us so we could show them some of the places that hold special memories for us.

We also enjoyed a little over a week of relaxation at Christina Lake, B.C., Canada. What a beautiful p lace this is. I have been going to Christina Lake for years, having grown up in the area. It holds a lot of memories. Our family loves this place, and I think this years was probably one of the most enjoyable I've had there for a long time.

Christina lake is a beautiful lake, located right on the edge of the West Kootenays and the Okanagan. It is surrounded by evergreens and mountains.

Earlier in the summer, we had the pleasure of traveling to San Jose California for my nephew's wedding in the Oakland Temple. It was a delightful but fast trip for us. Cora was able to reunite with a couple of her very good friends. It was great to meet them. They were very kind and let us stay with them in their home while we were there. We hope to be able to have them come and stay with us some time too.

While we were at Christina Lake, we had the pleasure of attending my niece's wedding. It was held on the lawn of my dad's place on the water front. It was a very nice ceremony, and a very pleasant day. Our only regret is that we were not able to stay for the reception afterward, as we needed to get on the road. I had to be back to work the following Monday, and there wasn't enough time for us to stay.

So I guess, we had a fun time. When I returned from our trip, I felt like it had not been long enough. I think I could have handled about another 3 months or so...

Hope of America

2009-07-23T17:06:00.001-06:00

Last April, Amanda's school was asked to participate in an annual program called Hope of America. Here is a video of the final number. It was electrifying to be in the audience!

Winter in April

2009-04-21T14:16:00.003-06:00

Well, it's been Spring "officially" for about a month now, so it's been quite an interesting springtime so far. We've had almost a non-stop stream of winter like weather, mixed with a hint of spring like weather. Take a look at this picture. This was taken just last Thursday morning. Ugh!

Powerful Easter Video

2009-04-19T09:37:00.007-06:00

Last April conference, Elder Jeffery R. Holland gave a talk about the Savior that is probably one of the most powerful addresses I've ever heard. It was very moving. The Church placed a video of h is talk on their web site with permission to share it, so here it is. Please view as often as possible. It is a powerful reminder of what the Savior has done for us, and how very little we have done for him.

I can't get the video to fit within the display frame om this blog, so please click the link below to see it.

"Easter Message—None Were with Him"

The Interview With God

2009-04-06T22:12:00.001-06:00

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Our trip pictures

2009-04-06T14:24:00.001-06:00

Well, I finally finished processing all of our trip pictures, at least the ones I wanted to process. I have uploaded them to my gallery for all to enjoy.

Click here to open the gallery for a look-see.

I'm now working on the videos. They are likely going to be too large for me to upload here, but if I can I will share as much as it is possible to share.

I've toyed with opening a You Tube account for sharing, but I'm leary of doing that. Not sure why, it just doesn't "feel" right at this point in time.

Our Trip Was Great

2009-03-09T14:17:00.013-06:00

Well, it seems hard to believe, but our trip to the Philippines and Hong Kong has come to a close already.

We had an amazing time. Much has changed in Bacolod since our last visit 10 years ago. I won't elaborate here. I'm currently working on preparing our pictures and video so that I can present a better view of our experience.

In summary though, we spent time in Bacolod (Philippines) where we put on a big party to celebrate Cora's mother's 80th birthday.

It was the first time in 24 years that all of Cora's siblings were together. An awesome moment to be sure. I captured as much of it as I could on film too. Following our time in Bacolod, we spent one night in Manila at the Edsa Shangrila hotel. That's another story...

Then we went to Hong Kong where we spent 4 days (3 nights). Sadly, the weather was not very favorable, however we still had a great time. What an amazing place. I've never seen anything like it. An ultra-modern city adjacent to relatively primitive settings. Definitely there is a lot more there than we could experience in a few days.

I'll post more as I get the pictures ready. The kids kept fairly good journals, so I may draw upon their entries to make sure we cover as much detail as possible.

Stay tuned...

On Our Way

2009-02-10T20:41:00.004-07:00

Well, the time has finally come. Last evening, I took Cora and the girls to the SLC airport to begin their trip to the Philippines. It is Cora's mother's 80th birthday in a few weeks, and we are hoping for a full family reunion to celebrate with her.

Wendy and Scott were originally planning on joining us, however when Tiffany announced that she was expecting their second child, Wendy and Scott had to cancel those plans. Well believe it or not, Tiffany went into labor yesterday. Wendy was going to come to the airport to see Cora & te girls off, but as she was on her way to the Airport, she got word that the baby was almost born and she had to turn around and head for the hospital instead. It seems little Sloan was determined to interrupt Wendy's plans at every turn. Well, we welcome little Sloan Kennedy Young into the world. We're happy to have you here.

For my part it was an emotional moment to see my family off. It was not any easier this time than it was ten years ago, which happened to be the last time we'd been back to the Philippines. Their flight left Salt Lake at 5:00 PM to L.A. where they boarded a 747-400 to Hong Kong. They left L.A. about 11:30 P.M. This flight was going to be 15 hours long! That's the part that is so hard to take.

As I write this entry, I believe they are now in Manila waiting for their flight to Bacolod. They will arrive there at about 2:00 AM Mountain Standard Time (my time).

I can't wait to hear from them. I pray that they have not had any troubles along the way. It is very hard to sit here so helpless for so long waiting to hear from them.

The house is terribly quiet and lonely without them here. I love them all so much!

Stay tuned for more updates. I'll post pictures soon.

Christmas Reminiscing

2009-01-28T11:50:00.003-07:00

I'm feeling a bit blue at the moment. Life seems to be flying by at a pace never before experienced. Christmas came and went so fast that I hardly even had time to enjoy it. Now we are staring down at our up-coming trip to the Philippines and before you know it, that will be over too.

So I'm just reflecting on Christmases past. We've had some great times to be sure. I prefer not to think of the occasional stressful time, but we've had some of those too. I guess any holiday that holds as much sentiment as Christmas is bound to generate some extra stress that we really don't need. Regardless, I still continue to seek for that somewhat elusive feeling from my childhood. That feeling of awe and wonder.

I guess as I watch my own children grow up, I'm seeing in them the same things that I experienced. Eventually they will find they have somehow lost some of the magic, and will spend the rest of their lives trying to find it again. In part, they will find it when they have children of their own. As long as there are children, Christmas will have magic.

Anyway, as always, I've posted our Christmas pictures on my photo gallery. We had a fun time, and I think you can see that in the pictures.

Enjoy.

Yanni Voices

2008-12-14T10:17:00.004-07:00

I have enjoyed Yanni's music for quite some time. I generally enjoy most any music in the New Age style. Well last week I heard something that totally blew me away. I heard for the first time Yanni Voices. Yanni has invited four singers to put words to some of his music. The kids happened upon the PBS special about Yanni Voices. They called me and I came in to see and hear. Wow! I heard a segment of music sung by Nathan Pacheco called Adagio. I can be a bit emotional when it comes to quality music anyway, but this just totally overcame me. You've got to listen to this music. I can't wait to obtain a copy of it.

Here is a link to a short clip about Nathan and Yanni Voices. You may not find it as overpowering as I did, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it just the same. Listen especially to the brief segment from Adagio.

Enjoy!

A Christmas Pageant to Remember

2008-12-03T11:02:00.005-07:00

Last week, Wendy invited us to attend a Christmas pageant that her special primary class was presenting. This primary class is the only one like it in the valley. It is held during the week and is held for children of all ages with special needs. These children were born with Down Syndrome or some other similar condition.

Wendy is serving as the music director for the class and so was responsible for preparing the children for the music.

I was asked to take pictures along with Michelle. I was not sure if my pictures would turn out. It would not be possible to take them again for another year.

I asked Savannah & Amanda if they would like to attend as well, and they were excited to go, so we all went to see this pageant.

I have to say that I think I have never witnessed a more beautiful program in my life. I didn't understand hardly a word that was sung, but I felt such a beautiful spirit. The purity of these children was very evident. I felt like I was taking pictures of Angels on stage and considered myself greatly blessed.

The rest of the family felt very much the same way too.

I've included just a few pictures that I took. I was pleased that they turned out pretty good after all.

To see the rest of these pictures, click here.

Interesting Video on our Current Economic Situation

2008-10-21T08:50:00.004-06:00

Last night I came across this video that was being shown on my nephew's blog. I know that I said this blog would not be a place for political dialogue (or monologue as the case may be), but this one struck a chord and I decided to post it here too in case any visitors care to watch it.

Here it is.

Fireproof

2008-10-17T11:26:00.011-06:00

On Wednesday night, Cora and I went to see the film "Fireproof -

Never Leave Your Partner Behind". What a great story. We

loved it! Sherwood Pictures is a motion picture company

created by the Sherwood Baptist Church.

This film is a very powerful story about saving a marriage that is

in serious trouble. It has a very strong message about including

God in your marriage and life, which I think is essential.

I don't want to give away the whole story. Instead, I recommend

everyone go and see it. We plan to see it again this evening, then

buy the DVD when it becomes available.

You can link to the official site here.

Time Flies on the Wings of Lightning

2008-09-15T15:47:00.004-06:00

Boy, it seems impossible to believe that we are already back into September. The days are growing noticeably shorter now, and much cooler. The girls are back in school, and each night is filled with checking homework assignments and making sure we've signed the latest note from the teacher.

It's not that I mind the autumn weather, but what ever happened to the summer? I was just getting used to the idea of enjoying the summer, when it up and left. Bummer! Now we're into the beautiful fall weather, with its awesome colors and comfortable temperatures.

So, to update everyone on what's the latest with the family...

Amanda started 5th grade this year. She is loving it. She really is a good student and takes her schooling very seriously. We look forward to another stellar school year with straight A's.

Savannah started 7th grade this year, and she changed school to attend the public middle school in our neighborhood. This is the first time since we've lived here that she has attended school with any of the kids that live around here. She is also enjoying school, especially since she says it is very easy this year after transferring from a charter school to a public school. Let's hope she continues to do well and doesn't sit back and coast.

Cora has been suffering from a lot of pain and numbness in her arms for quite a few years now, and the doctors have finally diagnosed her with carpal tunnel syndrome as well as a bulging disc in her neck. They plan to operate on her right hand on Monday, Sept. 22nd. We hope that this will relieve much of the suffering on her right side, then she will have her left hand operated on about 6 weeks later.

As for the bulging disc, she has an appointment on the 24th to see about that. We're hoping for the best.

I continue to plug along from one project to another. There never seems to be an end to those projects. Perhaps some day, I'll actually be able to say, I've completed my last one, but then I think I'll be dead..

All in all, life is good, but I hear the good life is better...

Cheers!

Happy Birthday Sister 'Z'

2008-08-17T17:26:00.018-06:00

We moved into our current home in September, 2002. We didn't know anybody in the neighborhood at the time. Before too long, we had met many of the friendly neighbors though, and were pleased at the warm welcome we received. The house just across that street from us though held some interest for us. We had not yet met the people who lived there, and assumed that they we just not very friendly folks.

How wrong we were! It turns out that they were out of town at the time. When they returned, we gradually got to know them as well. Little did we realize the wonderful friendship that would develop over the ensuing years. Bill and Vivian Zabriskie have become the dearest of friends to us. They are literally our childrens closest "Grandparents". We have grown to love them like they are part of our own family. We're not the only one's either. These two wonderful people are well loved by many in our neighborhood.

We are missing them a lot right now though, as they are currently in Forida, serving a full time mission (see Bill and Vivian's Blog) for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On August 26th, it will be "Sister Z's" birthday (as we affectionately call her), and Cora wanted to do something for her to let her know just how much she is loved. So, she invited a few friends over for lunch, and while they were enjoying a delicious lunch, they sang "Happy Birthday" to Sister 'Z'. Savannah video taped it, and here it is:

2008 Girls Camp

2008-07-03T17:14:00.003-06:00

On June 17, Savannah went to her first Girl's Camp! She was excited to go, but perhaps just a little apprehensive. As luck would have it, the Sunday before camp, her front tooth started to hurt. We didn't think too much of it at the time, so didn't do anything about it. By Monday evening though, it became clear that she was going to be in trouble if we couldn't get her to the dentist right away.

As part of our Family Home Evening that Monday, I gave Savannah a Father's blessing, to prepare her for camp. It was a power spiritual experience for sure. I knew that every word came from our Father in Heaven.

The next morning, I took her to the dentist. He said that her front tooth had died. It had been broken a few years ago, and finally gave up the ghost. Since there was not enough time to do a root canal, he wrote her a prescription and sent her to camp. We were very concerned. She had been in a lot of pain the night before and were afraid that this would ruin her experience at camp. We gave her leaders the medications and told them what the dentist had said to do and prayed that she would be alright.

Well, we didn't hear anything from her for the rest of the week. When we went to the church to pick her up, we were told by her leaders that Savannah had done very well! They were all so deeply impressed with her rich spirit and faith. Apparently, the night before she had given a most beautiful testimony. She had everyone in tears.

As for her tooth, she had one bad night where she needed a priesthood blessing. Shortly after the blessing, the pain eased up enough for her to continue enjoying the campfire.

We were thrilled to see her and to hear how well she had done.

The next week, we took her to the dentist again, but he said that there was so much infection in the tooth still that all he could do was drill it to release the pressure. She would have to wait another week for the root canal. He was surprised that she wasn't keeled over in agony. I guess her blessings really paid off.

Now she's in Canada with her sister. they're having the time of their lives! I'll post more on that later.

In the mean time, here are a few shots we took before and after camp.

Getting ready for camp

Waiting for the bus to pick them all up

Mom and Savannah walking to the car after being dropped off at the church.

Welcome Home Savannah, we missed you!

Bryce Canyon

2008-06-13T15:31:00.009-06:00

Back in April, we decided to take a weekend and go to Bryce Canyon. We needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of the "big" city, so we thought a trip to a place not too far away would do us good.

We had never been to Bryce Canyon before, so weren't too sure just what to expect. On Saturday morning (our first full day), I had reserved a horse back riding expedition into Red Canyon. Pictured here is a shot of Cora and Amanda on their mounts as we all get ready to head out.

What a beautiful scene lay before us as we made our way up the canyon. I brought my SLR with me and took tons of pictures. I almost wished I hadn't brought it though since it got so dusty riding that horse.

Later, we headed out to Bryce Canyon to see what interesting formations were there to be enjoyed and photographed.

Boy, what a beautiful site to see. We enjoyed everything we saw. There were so many fascinating vistas laid before our eyes. In all, I ended up with well over 350 pictures. No wonder it took so long to process them all, never mind trying to decide which ones to put up in my gallery (click here).

Ah Springtime, I mean Winter, I mean Springtime...

2008-04-11T10:13:00.002-06:00

So it's April 11th and we are normally enjoying the beginning of warmer weather. But just last week, we awoke to 3-4 inches of snow and freezing temperatures. The weather finally warmed up a bit (just a tiny bit), then we awoke again this morning and it was snowing again!

This weekend it is supposed to climb into 70 degree weather. From 30 to 70 overnight! The weather just can't make up its mind!

Hopefully this is the last of the nasty weather patterns we have been enduring for the last 4 months. So much for being in a drought.

On a lighter note, the kids start spring break this afternoon. They get a full week this year. Unfortunately, I don't have any vacation time that I can take off to spend with them. Instead, we will take Friday night and Saturday to go to Bryce Canyon National Park next weekend.

I'll post a few pictures when we get back, but we're all very excited to "get away" for a few days. This winter has been very hard on us collectively, and we need to have a break, if even for just a couple of days.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

2008-01-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

We were all saddened last night when we learned of the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley. We felt a close endearment to him, even though none of us has actually met him. When the news came over the T.V., the girls were deeply and visibly moved, even to tears. Interesting how you can love someone so much, even though you have never really met him in person.

We all have very fond memories of him and how his ministry has affected our lives. We will all miss him. We know this is all part of the plan for everyone's life, but we still mourn his passing. At the same time, we rejoice in our hearts at the loving reunion that must have taken place beyond the veil. Life does not end with the death of the body. Our spirit is eternal and cannot die. Of this fact I am certain.

Our prayers join with the rest of the church and much of the world in extending our hear felt condolences to President Hinckley's family. May God bless you all and bestow His peace upon you at this time of sadness.

Our Christmas Celebration

2008-01-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Christmas came rather fast this year. I think I was still back in September when I suddenly realized that it was December 20th. Yikes! I totally missed Thanksgiving! We barely had time to get our decorations out and buy a few gifts.

Well, fortunately, we were able to get things together in time for the 25th. We had a lot of fun too. We had our annual "Open House - Invitational". We like to invite friends and neighbors to our home for an Open House at Christmastime. This year, everyone came all at the same time. It was a bit crowded for a while, but everyone still had a good time.

So this year, we finally bit the bullet and bought cellphones for each of the kids. We hope this doesn't turn out to be a bad decision. So far, the girls have been very good. Savannah was totally blown away when she opened it.

For some time we had been looking for a Wii system that we could give as a family gift. Everywhere we had looked, they were all out. So we decided to wrap an empty box with an I.O.U. in it.

So a few days before Christmas, I received an email from a colleague at work. He said that the other day he was walking past Wall Mart and found a Wii system. He decided to buy it for no real reason. He was wondering if anybody would be interested in buying it from him. So within a few minutes of seeing the email, I had purchased it. I decided not to tell Cora about it though so it would be a surprise for her too, and yes she was very surprised. When the kids opened the box, she couldn't believe that it was a real Wii system. She kept saying, "It's just a box isn't it?", until they opened the box. Then she realized I had gotten one and had managed to keep it a secret from her too. We all had a good laugh.

So here are a few pictures from our Christmas morning.

We hope you enjoy.

Christmas Blooper

2007-12-29T15:32:00.000-07:00

This Christmas, among other things, I bought a bath robe for Cora from Lands End. I shared this information with the kids before Christmas, knowing that they would be able to keep my little secret for me. So when Cora was opening a different gift from me, Amanda forgot that Cora had not yet opened the bath robe. Watch the clip that follows and see how Amanda reacts when she realizes she has nearly blown the secret. It's really priceless as far as I'm concerned. Enjoy.

Family Learn Video

2007-12-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

A while back, we were invited to share our story about the experience we had when we put together the memory book about my mom who passed away in 1997. Here is the final copy of the interviews. Let us know what you think.

Thanksgiving - 2007

2007-11-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

Since Wendy was unable to host a Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family this year, we decided to spend the holiday at home and invite someone who we knew did not have any family in the area to spend it with us. We invited a family who used to live in our ward that we had come to know and they were excited to accept our offer.

We kept the meal simple, opting to have ham instead of turkey. That made a huge difference! The food was terrific!

After dinner, we played scrabble. Now if any of you know Cora, she is a ruthless scrabble player. Yes, she really knows how to rack up those points. We divided into three teams and started to play. My team did pretty good, but still, Cora's team won hands down. She is very good. And English is not even her native tongue. Sort of puts the rest of us to shame don't you think?

We hope that Wendy recovers very quickly from her surgery. We missed getting together this year. As fun as it was to spend the time with friends, we really do enjoy being with our family.

Hannah Montana Concert

2007-11-06T10:31:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, October 26th, Cora and the girls went to the Miley Cyrus / Hannah Montana concert up in Salt Lake City. By all reports, they had a great time. Their seats were way up high in the sky (really!) and being afraid o f heights didn't help as they were "crawling" to their seats.

They eventually got over that feeling of falling though and were able to enjoy the concert. They were dancing in the aisles - so to speak.

The Jonas Brothers were performing with Miley Cyrus. Savannah and Amanda really enjoyed that part!!

Jyza's visit to Utah

2007-10-22T18:19:00.001-06:00

Last week, we were pleased to have Cora's niece, Jyza Chang from Hawaii come to visit us. We haven't seen her since our visit to the Philippines in 1999. Since that time, Jyza has married and moved to Hawaii. She has been there for about a year now. What a joy it was to have her here. Cora has never before had anyone from her family come to stay with us here in Utah.

Jyza is the daughter of Cora's oldest brother Albert. She is the only other close relative that Cora has that has left the Philippines. It was great to have her here. Thanks for coming to see us Jyza. We enjoyed having you here and look forward to your next visit.

Amanda's Birthday Pictures

2007-10-20T20:11:00.002-06:00

Amanda's birthday was in September, but it takes me a while to get things updated on this blog at times. I think our renovations kept me too busy to think about anything else. Anyway, Amanda was such a sweetheart. Cora offered to give her $100.00 if she would forgo having a birthday party this year. We just couldn't face it. She was awe struck, and with big wide eyes said, "But mommy, that's too much!" How priceless! She accepted the offer with excitement, trying to think of something to buy with all that money. Anyway, here are some pictures from the gift opening.

Apple Picking

2007-10-18T16:41:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week, Cora and the girls (and Jyza - Cora's niece) went over to the neighbor's to pick some of their apples before it was too late. The tree is rather large and so they had to improvize a way to get to the apples up high.

I didn't know that they had captured their idea on video. Here are a few short clips showing how they used the tree pruner to knock the apples down, then catch them in a blanket.

Looked like a lot of fun!

Update on the Basement Renovations

2007-10-10T16:01:00.000-06:00

Well it only took a week or so for the contractors to frame and drywall the basement rooms, but boy is the painting ever taking a while. We've been at it for I think two weeks now and we finally finished painting the ceiling and walls of all three rooms yesterday. We've almost finished putting in the baseboards and chair rails (which also needed painting).

I sure do appreciate now having a compressor and nail gun. That makes attaching them to the wall so much easier!

The late nights though are really taking their toll. The mornings are coming far too fast. I think when we finally have all of this work complete I'm going to take a week to go to bed a 10:00 PM every night (ha ha ha) just to try to catch up on so many lost hours.

The results though are pleasing. The rooms look so clean and up-to-date. Bright colors make them a cheery place to be in the house. I'll post a few pictures when completed. I'll have to scour my photo database to see if I have any "before" pictures for comparison.

Cora's niece from Hawaii is coming Sunday to visit, so we are trying to get eveything put back together before she arrives - and I will be in California on Friday. I hope we can get as much as possible done tomorrow (Thursday).

FamilyLearn.com

2007-09-28T14:24:00.000-06:00

Last year I learned about a company that produces memory books over the web called FamilyLearn. They have a web service that allows you to create your book and to invite others to collaborate with you on the effort. The name of the service was iMemoryBook.com. Since that time, it has changed to MemoryPress.com.

Upon hearing about it,I immediately went out to the internet to look for it. I found it to be a terrific site that offered everything I was looking for. I had wanted to put together a book documenting memories of my mother who had passed away a few years earlier.

I inquired with the family to see if anyone would be interested in collaborating on this project with me. I got an overwhelming affirmative response, so I purchased the service and went ahead and started the book project. I scanned pictures and typed in memories to get things started.

As time went by, the stories started to come in. As we neared the deadline, the project took on a life of it's own and everyone got very excited about it.

The project finally came together and I was able to order about 29 copies of the book.

It was a great success! The service offered by FamilyLearn was very good and the quality of the book was excellent and everyone who received it loved it.

Recently, I was approached by FamilyLearn to see if we would be willing to tell our story for them on a promotional film they were putting together. We agreed wholeheartedly! Last week, Neal Harmon came to our home to interview us and film our responses. It was very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing the final product.

I heartily recommend this service to anyone who wants to publish a family/personal history or a memoir / memorial book. It was a most rewarding experience.

Here is a link to their web site: FamilyLearn

Good luck.

Renovations

2007-09-24T15:20:00.000-06:00

Last week, we finally had some renovations done in our basement. We've been planning to do it for five years now. What we did was convert one very large room with an alcove into three separate rooms. This will make our home a five (possibly 6) bedroom home. It also gives me an office that I can use when I am working from home.

So, the framing is all done along with the dry wall. Now the painting. My favorite job (ha ha). Yes, well it will look very nice when it is finished. I just hope to be able to get it done within the next week or so.

Then we can move the girls into their own rooms. Right now they have to share a room. They really need to have their own room.

Mark and Debbie's visit

2007-09-04T15:48:00.000-06:00

Last week we had the pleasure of having Mark and Debbie from Spokane come spend a few days with us. Their daughter Vanessa is attending BYU this year and they were bringing her to school.

While they were here we hosted a Barbecue and invited Wendy and her family and Angie and her family. It turns out Mark had not seen Angie for about 18 years!!

We had a blast!! Everyone had a great time. We laughed so much I can't remember the last time we had such a great time. We really need to get together more often. There seemed to be a lot of interest in getting the whole family together for a family reunion. That would be a lot of fun I'm sure.

Our trip to Disneyland and Sea World

2007-08-17T16:26:00.000-06:00

This year, we decided to break with our traditional vacation routine and take the kids to Disneyland and Sea World for a week. We spent two days at Disneyland and one whole day at Sea World. We had a good time at Disneyland, but I think Sea World was even more enjoyable.

The problem with Disneyland is that it is just too expensive and far too busy at that time of year. We didn't get to accomplish even half of what we would like to have been able to do. There were so many people all crowding around that getting from point A to point B took a lot of effort.

Sea World on the other hand was still very expensive, but we were able to see everything we wanted to see, and enjoyed it very much.

When I get the pictures ready, I'll post a few of them here.

I think the next time we go to Disneyland, we'll go in the off-season in the hopes that there will not be very many people there. Also, I think we'll need a really good plan of what we'd like to do, that way we don't need to stop and plan while we are there.

Our Swimming Pool

2007-07-13T11:27:00.000-06:00

We love to swim, that is our kids love to swim. We've made it a priority to always have some way for them to have access to a pool.

While they were small, we would have the little kiddie pools. When they got a bit better at swimming, we bought one of those Costco pools - you know the round pools with the inflated ring around the top. We enjoyed this for a few years. Now it seems that we have out grown that one and so we decided to get something bigger and better. We have lots of room in our back yard, but couldn't afford an in-ground pool. So we decided to purchase an above ground pool.

We were thinking of building a concrete platform to put the pool on so we asked at the pool store which pool we could get that could be installed on concrete.

They checked with the factory and made a recommendation. So we bought the pool and had a concrete pad poured.

The day to install the pool came and we were all looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, the pool design had changed somewhat and the installer said it could not go on concrete. Ugh! We checked with the store and they said it could. Well, the installer called the factory rep, who suggested a few alterations to the installation process. He followed his instructions and finished installing the pool l;ate in the day.

This pool is 30 feet by 15 feet oval by the way, and about 4.5 feet deep.

We started filling the pool. By the next day, it was full with 11,430 gallons of water.

As my wife and I stood next to the pool, we heard a popping noise and suddenly the pool started to expand, it sprung a few leaks and water started louring out the bottom.

Within 15 - 20 minutes, we had 11,430 gallons of water dumped into our back yard! With the help of some very good neighbors, we were able to keep the water from getting into the house.

Needless to say, the alterations recommended by the factory rep caused the structure to fail. Now we had no pool and no warranty - due to the way the pool was installed.

The pool installer was good enough to take responsibility and replace the pool.

It only took 3 - 4 weeks to get the replacement pool in (that's another story).

We'll see if this one can be installed on concrete.

Click here to see more pictures of the pool after it crashed.

Enjoy.

By way of update - the pool has been replaced, but this time, we bolted it to the concrete pad. Our hope is that it won't be going anywhere soon. We've enjoyed it for several weeks now, and hope to be able to enjoy it for many more years!

Welcome

2007-06-20T19:38:00.002-06:00

This is our first attempt at blogging. Not sure just what we'll say, but we'll see how it goes.

Perhaps we'll just use this as a place to tell our friends and family about some of the more interesting things that happen in the family.

Hopefully, it will not be too boring for our visitors.