You Can't Take the Wii Too Seriously

No breathing treatment is going to keep this boy from his first love.

Great job, Joseph & Porter

We are all very proud of Porter and Joseph today. Porter started Cub Scouts in December and has already received his Bobcat. He loves scouts! One of the leaders told us today that she has never seen a cub scout as excited as Porter. I said it was the Rytalin wearing off.

Joseph received his Arrow of Light, which is great because I think all his father got was the Barrel of Blight. So this is a big step up for this Gibb family. Joseph is actually an 11 yr. old scout now, but they haven't had Pack Meeting since he finished things up, hence the boy scout uniform he got for Christmas.

Mom receives the traditional pin.

Joseph's cub leaders put all his awards (minus belt loops) on this nice plaque.

Some Random Pictures

Gracie

Gracie again.

Emma and Jarom engaging in a daily ritual: fighting.

Look out fashionistas. Here comes Andrea!

Gracie doing one of her many finger exercises for the left hand and loving it. She's a big Czerny fan.

To Grandmother's House We Go!

I'm trying something new with the blog. This is a test of sorts.

Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona, just of Highway 89A, north of the Grand Canyon.

Just off the highway is this spot I'm sure everyone has seen. It's the old Cliff Dwellers Lodge. We've stopped before but this time we took photos.

There are a few different stone huts or places for storage around.

Marie & Grace in Front of Blanche Russell's Cliff Dwellers Lodge.

If you don't know about this place its kind of interesting. Apparently, during the depression, the husband of Blanche Russell, herself one of the famous Ziegfeld girls, came down with Tuberculosis. As was common in the day, the two headed west from New York for a more suitable climate. While headed down the highway in Arizona, the car broke down and stranded the couple at the foot of the Vermillion Cliffs.

Blanche decided she liked the scenery and thought they'd make a go of it. They set up a crude lean-to of tarpaper and boards and settled down. Blanche would feed passers-by in exchange for labor and built this "lodge". It became somewhat of a restaurant frequented by travelers including Mormons headed north to be sealed in the St. George Temple (part of the famous Honeymoon Trail). They sold water and pigeons and eventually added a gas pump.

After a decade Blanche sold the lodge and left for California. It was transformed into a bar during WWII and was eventually abandoned in the 50's when it was replaced with a new Cliff Dwellings Lodge not far away. (Most of this info came from az.central.com.)

Can you imagine living out there. If you're ever traveling Hwy 89A you'll notice just how desolate the area is.

Andrea & Emma tucked away in stone hovel.

The Lodge

Joseph and Andrea at play.

Porter looking through the roof of the lodge.

From inside the lodge.

Behind the lodge

If You're Interested

I recently tried my hand at writing an op-ed piece and submitted it to several newspapers. Only the local paper picked it up. The Springville Herald put it on pg. 2, and it's parent company The Daily Herald put it on their website. Here's the link:

"Maybe I Can Live with Obama"

I'd love any feedback.

The New Bathroom

Here are some photos from the bathroom remodel - beginning to end.

This is the only photo I can find where you can see the bathroom before construction. Oddly enough we don't take very many photos of our bathrooms. We'll have to work on that. (You'll notice Jarom's handy work.)

This is the old window. If you showered water would get on the outside of the window and drip down the side of the house. It was awesome. So if you couldn't tell someone was showering by the fuzzy, nude silhouette, than you could just look for the watermark spreading beneath the window.

Notice all the insulation in the wall? There it is between the studs. I think it's R-.00001.

Here's the view from the outside. You will just have to imagine the fuzzy, nude silhouette and the dripping water. So sad for you.

This is what the toilet drain used to look like. If you've never worked with cast iron drain pipe than you haven't lived. There is only two ways to cut it: 400 hacksaw blades and 2,000 man hours or a special chain that cinches around the pipe. In the chain are these cutting discs that cut into the pipe as you cinch down the chain. Eventually the pipes just breaks. The chain takes about 15 to 30 min. Here I had just finished installing the moldings and trim.

And here is the finished product.

This linen closet used to be a stack of drawers and cupboards circa 1966.

If you need any work done, I need work. So, give me a call and send me some traveling expenses and I'm there. Oh, and I'll need room and board.

Is it Us or the Public Schools?

You should all get a kick out of this. Recently our daughter Andrea received one of those crackpot emails where someone is unveiling some grand conspiracy. Well, this one related to the new Presidential dollar coins. The email claims that "In God We Trust" has been removed from the coin, and that we all need to band together with torches and pitch forks and head for D.C. and demand the gov fix this injustice immediately (or maybe you're supposed to 'sign' an email petition). Now, I would agree (except for the torches which emit CO2, which would hasten the melting of the ice caps, and the raising of the seas and all manner of hell breaking loose) if only the claim were true. Unfortunately for the claimant "In God We Trust" IS on the coin, just on the edge. I pointed this out to Andrea, which she passed on to her friend(s) in a reply. Keep in mind, I only dealt with the religious issue. There is, however, something else on the edge of the coin. Here is Andrea's reply (pardon the teenage email grammer):

"that coin in God we trust email is a lie it does say in God we trust right here i'm not kidding it does look and see for your self it also even says it in spanish"

Oh boy......