Test from Work

I gave a short presentation on blogging at work. The group enjoyed the French Military video.

Man Zone Arts and Crafts

Lately I've been assembling some camping gear into a 72 Hour kit. One of the items I am lacking is a small portable stove. Well, after a little Google searching I came across a bunch of granolas who use aluminum cans and make alcohol stoves that are good for boiling water and doing simple re-heating/simmering.

After searching all over town for the right cans (if you want to know the brand, just call and I'll tell you) I found them. I cut up three cans for the four parts I needed to assemble the complete stove. With a little twisting and persuasion I got it together on the first try. I had 6 cans in case the first prototype didn't make it.

Here is the finished product. It runs off those yellow bottles of HEET that you use to remove water from fuel lines. Start to finish it took me about an hour to complete it.

Gotta Love French-Canadians!

I usually don't get too excited about forwarded e-mails, but this one just cracked me up!

Brant

Darwin in Action

KREM 2 had a little blurb on a Post Falls knucklehead who decided to get up close and personal with a moose. Here is the link to the story. They must not have too many moose in Cali.

The Circle of Life

Well, we're still alive. A couple of weeks ago, Weston's nursery teacher brought in live fish for the kids because the lesson was about fish. After church she asked if we wanted some fish to take home, I said sure, thinking she was talking about fish crackers. We ended up with George and Nemo. George is still swimming strong. Nemo's life was cut short and he was given a proper flushing just three days after he arrived. Seth sang Amazing Grace and he and Weston watched as he swam away. Nemo left us shortly after we watched President Hinckley's funeral, so I've often wondered how the two events meshed together in Weston's head. Whenever he sees that George isn't moving in his tank, Weston says, "Let's flush him!"
Other than fish, Weston is also working on potty training. He is doing really well. He loves to show off his undies. Last night at the ward chili feed, he dropped his pants so that Dad could see his new Shrek undies that Grandma Jones sent him. I didn't see what was going on until his pants were around his ankles. Dad mentioned we received honorable mention for our chili, not bad for a recipe we printed off the internet the morning of the chili feed. It was Sweet Italian Chili and it was divine.
I finished my class except for the final. Once my midterm has been graded (it has taken two weeks already...), they will send the test. BYU cashed my graduation application fee check, so if all goes as planned, I will be graduating on April 24th (also our anniversary and the day I bought the Rodeo.) Koper is trying to sit up and loves to jabber. Seth is also sitting up and loving to jabber. Just kidding, I understand most of what he says as he explains Biomechanics and Physiology. I also recently found a fabulous contact for Vinyl Lettering. There's a girl in the Quail Run Ward who has her own business and is willing to share her knowledge. I am hoping to get in touch with her this week. So, hopefully, strawberrypearl designs will be up and running in a couple of months.

CDA Airport, Foot Pursuit, a K9, and one Taser

Well the world just seemed to fall apart last night. One of our deputies was doing a DUI stop near the airport, when the female driver decided she did not agree with his decision to arrest her. She bolted and ran across a field to the CDA (Coeur d' Alene) Airport. Well we all descend on the airport and were driving up and down the runways with spotlights trying to find her. Our K9 guy starts tracking her and got her cornered in the area of a few buildings. At one point he released the dog and he thought he had a good bite. Well she grabbed the dog by the collar and tried to choke him out. I ended up finding her inside a 15 person Ford van hunkered down under the seats. We surrounded the van and ordered her out. She didn't think we were too serious, so she got on her cell phone (not sure the reason why) and wouldn't come out. One Mag-Lite later, the passenger door window was gone. She still wouldn't come out, so the Taser then was deployed (first time I've seen it used in the field). Another deputy and I put the Habeas Grabus (Google that) on her and extricated her from the van.

Sorry if all my stories seem to involve drunks and the bad decisions that follow, but that's what the graveyard guys do. Did you know batterty on a police dog is a crime??

As a side note. Today is our second anniversary. We celebrated with some microwave chimichangas, homemade guacamole, and a Twix for dessert. Now that's living. Ladies, don't kill me yet... tomorrow we're going out for a nice dinner. I may even wear a clean shirt.

Stayin' Alive!

"Moose, Mingo and Sam"

The big news of this week is that we are all still alive!!! Les just finished what in theater lingo is known as "_ell Week!" Basically, the kids go to school all day and then rehearsals all night. They go home, sleep and do it over again the next day. Homework and a social life are optional. Needless to say we don't see much of Les as she tries to tie up loose ends during the day. I even got into the act. They were behind on set construction so I went in two mornings during school, strapped on my bags and built some doors and shutters. This week they have the final two dress rehearsals and then the show starts Wednesday and finishes on Saturday. We'll get our life back!

Kori's big news this week is that she took her first step towards eating solid foods- her first tooth! This is the earliest one of our kids has ever gotten a tooth. Aimee didn't get her first one until she was 18 months old. I'm just glad all the drooling and sickness associated with cutting a tooth is done.

See ya' 'round partner!

Brant

Quote of the Week

"Jun Gum But Pa Hong Lo Faw, Sek Si But Pa Yu Loi Lum"

It's My Fault

Elder Pierce is on the left (this was taken at a Buddhist temple). He is the one I reconnected with this week after 37 years. He had spent two years at Berkley in California, the bastion of liberalism in the 60's, before he came on a mission. I thoroughly enjoyed him as a companion. One evening he and I were walking along a street in an area where we had just set up a new apartment (ours) when I heard a splash followed by some muttering. I turned to look at him and saw water and soap suds slowly dripping down the sides of this face. I was farther under the overhang of the building and it missed me. When I mentioned it in my email he remembered it very well and retold the story even better than I could.

It is raining today in Moscow and it's my fault. It was so nice yesterday that I washed both cars.

Well, another Jazz Festival has come and gone. We don't get too involved in them anymore but there were lots of kids and buses in town this week and everyone seemed to have a good time. The weather was great for a change and the rain held off until this morning. There are still large piles of snow in the parking lots but they are fading fast. I saw something yesterday that I hadn't seen for a long time - our driveway!!!!!

Last night was our ward social. Last year we had a chili cook-off and enjoyed it so last night we had our second annual chili cook-off. I begged off as a judge because the old digestive system ain't what she used to be. Seth and Lacey's entry came in as Honorable Mention. I did taste that one and it was great.

I bought a new laptop computer on Friday (actually the church bought a new laptop). I need it when I go to meetings and presentations with stake presidents and have to use a PowerPoint presentation. I got the cheapest one I could find and have had a lot of fun playing with it. By the time I got the computer, software, case, and laser pointer/mouse it was $691.00. Then I got over $100.00 in discounts and rebates. I didn't feel too bad about the price. Now I have to get used to Microsoft Vista.

Mom is upstairs watching The Nativity (Yea, I know, it's only February).

This week I made contact with another missionary companion. I hadn't heard from him for 37 years (see the picture at the top of this blog). He was in Mom's stake in California and she knew him from stake activities. When I told him who I had married he remembered her too. Actually, his dad worked for Grandpa Backlund at the Post Office. We have exchanged several very enjoyable emails. He married a girl from Hong Kong and they live in San Francisco. He is serving his third term in the Chinese Branch, branch presidency.

Keep the blogs coming. Sunday evening is a real treat. I never know what to expect. From creative dancing by Adria to concert pieces from Kelly. Who needs TV?

Have a good week.

Adria's Happy Dance

All parts in motion.
(Let's see if this works. )

A Tribute to Edvard Grieg

Last night, T-rav and I had the pleasure of attending a concert with the Utah Symphony (for free, even better). They performed the poem Peer Gynt, by two Norwegian guys, Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Grieg (pictured on the left- there was a guy in the choir who looked JUST like him!). In this "play" of sorts, there is a narrator, about 5 lines from other characters, a few songs by the choir and few solos. You may be familiar with the piece "In the Hall of the Mountain King," which you can hear (and watch) by clicking here (you really should go listen to it. If nothing else, your children might enjoy dancing to it. It's a song about trolls who are trying to drive Peer Gynt crazy with their dance). It was during this piece in the concert when our nearly front row seats made things a bit more interesting...for the narrator, at least. You see, I have a very hard time sitting still during In the Hall of the Mountain King (I'm telling you- go listen to it!) and so in my attempt to stay still, I was grinning ridiculously. The narrator just happened to be starting right at me as I squirmed and smiled, which in turn caused him to start to laugh, which he diligently tried to hide, seeing as he was up on stage in front of everyone. Anyway, it was really fantastic. The concert, I mean.

But this was not the end of our adventures. Since our truck is a gas hog, we decided to take the bus up to Salt Lake...but someone (who shall remain nameless) forgot to look and see what time the last return bus to Provo was. So here we are at 10:10 on a Saturday night, with the last bus coming at 11:36, with no where to wait inside away from the cold and wind, and I (who was not anticipating over an hour wait in the cold) am wearing a skirt with no stockings. Enter the heroic T-rav, who saved the day by begging a ride back to Provo with a nice old couple who also happened to be coming home from the symphony. They were from Wisconsin and we learned all about their family...and got a free ride home! So the moral of the story is: go to the symphony and don't worry about getting home- you'll find a way. And listen to the song. It may start out a little slow, but it gets exciting, I promise.

One last thing- the word of the week is:

Quamish

10 points to anyone who can tell me WHERE this word is spoken and WHAT it means.

Good luck, you google fiends.

Life Mottos

If any of you mess around with MSN's Instant Messenger you'll notice that Travis and Kelly's always has the lyrics to some crazy Italian Song behind their name. I used to put some cute sayings behind mine. I just found the best one of all time-

QUANDO OMNI FLUNKUS MORITATI

I'll let you figure out what it means.

Brant

Old or New?

Old?Or New?


I don't know about you guys but I'll take the new Knight Rider car. We watched the new Knight Rider show tonight, I'll give it an OK and that's about it. The car made it worth watching, especially since Val Kilmer is KITT's voice. Interesting that Ford got the new contract and almost every car in the show was a Ford.

My Favorite Part of Sunday Night

Like the title says, this is my favorite part of Sunday evening. The air-waves get "hummin" and the news start flying. It's great to hear (and see) what your families are up to. Not much new here. Mom and I both have tomorrow off. We talked about a road trip, museum, historical sight, ballet (oops), but alas we will probably stay home so she can work on her Masters class and I need to take one of the Ranger tires in to repair a slow leak (I hope there is enough tread left that they will fix it).
Friday night I saw the first two Bourne movies on sale so we bought them and watched them. Then Saturday we went back to Wal-Mart and bought the third one. We watched it Saturday afternoon, Saturday night and just finished it again tonight. These have taken the place of Hunt for Red October.
We are looking forward to spring. I can see small patches of grass and the street is mostly visable.
Mom just pointed out that Shane and Tracey traded in their camp trailer (19 feet) and got a new (27 foot - two slide out sections) camp trailer. Nothing like hard core camping.
Matt and Kimbre came down Tuesday and Wednesday. We worked on their taxes, Mom helped Kimbre on some sewing and Kimbre gave me hair cut. I think she wants to do it like Matts and I'm not quite ready for that type of cut yet. Thanks for the hair cut Kimbre - it's a lot nicer to do it at home that in the beauty "saloon".
Have a good week.
Dad

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Katie decided to play kitty the other day. She and Aimee crawled around the house chasing each other. Today at church, I caught Aimee licking her hand and wiping her hair. I had to tell her no kitty baths for humans.

Well, we finally got some snow. It snowed Thursday morning and dumped a couple of inches. It was my turn to cover snow removal at the church. I headed over to the church excited to use the snow blower but alas it was no where to be found. An hour and half later, I had finished shoveling and saw the FM mechanic's truck. I asked about the snowblower and he showed me where it was safely stored in their part of the shed. I asked him if it would be okay if we moved it to a part of the shed where the members had access. (To be honest, it wasn't his fault. The members had left it outside parked by the shed and he had simply stored it.) Good to know that the member-FM relationship is still the same no matter where you go.

We woke up this morning to a light skiff of snow. It was just enough that we had to shovel the walks before church. I guess I must have not been watching the weather close enough because this was surprise when I woke up this morning.

Have a great week!

Brant

Huh? That's wierd!

Does Kanyon have propellers on his head?

Tyler

The photos: a lego replica of Dad's (old) landscaping trailer, footie-jammies all around, Braxton on a climbing wall at a birthday party, and Kanyon at work with me on a cold morning.

Despite getting out of the landscape industry, I'm still in it. I had two appointments yesterday, one to measure a property for a design and one to meet at a new house to discuss a design. I think I'll still be busy this spring.

Lisa went in to Braxton's class on Thursday to run the Valentine's Party. She enjoys it.

Welcome to America

As you know, I've started a new job. I thought I would share with you a couple of experiences from the last two weeks that give you an idea of what it's like to have a "first impression" of the US.

The other day I picked up a small family from Burma (west of Thailand) at the airport. I drove them back to the office, and as we got out of the car and walked inside, the woman bent over in the parking lot and touched the snow. She seemed a little hesitant to touch it and looked very pleased once she did. One of the first questions that people ask is "how long does the winter last?" I've had a good time shocking the new arrivals by grabbing a handful of snow and eating it. They always want to know what it tastes like.

The Burmese carry their kids on their back, much like the Guatemalans.

Today I picked up a man from Burundi (south of Rwanda and west of Tanzania in eastern Africa). As we rode the escalator in the airport he said the French word for "technology" and kind of shook his head and smiled. Many new arrivals aren't sure how to navigate an escalator and some are even afraid of it so we often take the stairs in the airport. As we drove back to the airport this man's first question about the US was whether or not people walked anywhere or if they all just drove cars. It was snowing so we only saw two or three people walking the whole way back.

This week we were able to get jobs for 13 men at a Marriott hotel in Park City, which is a big step for them. It is their first job in the US and I think it will give them a sense of accomplishment and self-respect being able to work and support themselves rather than just depending on someone else for everything.

The River's Rising

Corn in Egypt, there really is asphalt on the streets and concrete in our driveway. We haven't seen it for so long we weren't sure it was still there. Saturday was a nice warm day so I worked on the driveway and got rid of all the ice and snow. Lund Lane is a sloppy mess but this too shall pass. It took me five trys to get the Ranger over the berm between the driveway and the street but I made it (I almost ran into Joe's Moscow Fire Department pickup but I got stopped in time).
Mom, Lacey, Koper and I went to 3rd ward today and I helped bless Jessa. True to Zirker form there were lots of men standing in the circle. Mom and I commented about the strength of extended family behind each one of these little babies. They can still go astray but they have lots of great examples to look up to.
Mom, Seth and I attended the World Wide Training Meeting last night. We enjoyed it and I spend half of our bishop's meeting this morning discussing it with my bishopric and high counselor (Doug Schroeder). Lots of good stuff in the broadcast.
Kevin, thanks for the agenda you put together for the reunion. And thanks for the comments of others. It is starting to come together and we are looking forward to seeing everyone. Please, if some of this puts a burden on your family speak up and we can work around it.
There is a warm (40 degrees) wind blowing tonight and the snow is melting like mad. Maybe we'll be sandbagging tomorrow (does that bring back memories to anyone?).
Have a good week.
Dad

I Spy...

three dog bowls in a row!

Going to the temple and we're going to....

Here is a recent picture of Kori. I still call her Katie half the time, but that is my own fault for naming two kids with names that start with "K."

I just got done reading Michelle's post on the cousins' blog. She is a great blogger! I laugh when I read her funny blogs and think when I read one of her serious blogs. I liked the kids' thoughts on the temple. Les and I just did sealings this week. We hadn't done them since Les was pregnant with Aimee. (I'm hoping Aimee is only three months old so we don't seem like big slackers.) We did them with a couple from our ward and a newly married couple from Fort Collins. It was fun to watch the "newly-weds." While the rest of us were staring off into space, they still looked lovingly into each others' eyes.

Our sealer was a old friend from the Dartmouth Ward. Everytime he sees me, he asks about my brother he met at Aspen Grove. While on a family trip to Aspen Grove, they came upon Kevin and Lisa __________ . (You fill in the blank.) Les and I always get a good laugh at that one.

See ya' in the temple.

Brant

Effectiveness of Pursuit Spikes

Well it statred out like any old Saturday until we had a Deputy call out on a vehicle check on a minivan parked along Lake Coeur d' Alene. The guy was in his van drinking (most of the way through 2- 24 packs), so the deputy asked him to step out. The guy became belligerant and eventually got back in his car and drove away, at the posted speed of 35-40 mph. Well the deputy calls out pursuit and I drive at 120 mph on I-90 from Post Falls to assist him on the far side of Coeur d' Alene. I arrive in time to pinch off the road and set up my spikes. The sargeant was 1/4 mile ahead of me and he also had spikes set up. This knuklehead ran over the Sgt's spikes, then hit mine with his tires already flat at about 10-15 mph. They followed him down some side streets until he got stuck with four flats in the six inches of slush on the unplowed roads. He was then ordered out of the vehicle felony style with the guns out and the K9 ready. He got out then tried to walk away again. Well, a Coeur d' Alene Sgt. tried to Taser him but he had on a thick jacket and the probes didn't sink in. So the K9 was sent in, that worked rather nicely. The sad part is that I was picking up my spikes and showed up to the stop just after the dog was pulled off him and he was in cuffs.

All in all it wasn't a bad way to start the night, and it was my first time spiking a car (even though he was spiked once already).

A Tribute to Bacon

When Erik and Jaime were here a couple of weeks ago, they gave us 72 slices of pre-cooked bacon from Sam's club. For those of you who don't know, bacon is one of nature's delights. In the past 3 weeks, we've found many ways to use this bacon. Including the following:

in tacos
in grilled cheese sandwiches
in any other type of sandwich
BLTs
all alone
fettuccine, tomato and bacon with ricotta cheese
spaghetti, bacon, onions and peppers with ricotta cheese
in scrambled eggs
in soup

So thank you Erik and Jaime, for feeding us for the past 3 weeks. We're down to the last layer in our package, and we're considering stealing our friend's Sam's card so we can buy some more.

That's What I call an Icicle!

Check this bad boy out! Our neighbor pointed this out to us the other day. Apparently it's been growing on our house for quite some time and at one point it was about 6" from the ground.

Cauci or Caucuses?

Last night was Colorado's caucuses. They have gone away from primaries in an effort to be more "grassroots." Les and I decided to get involved so we found our location for our neighborhood. Les couldn't go, so I went solo. Our caucus' captain did not show up, so we called into GOP headquarters and got out instructions over the phone. (Turns out it was the bishop's wife who works for the Republican party.)

We went around the room and everyone got to put in their two cents. A couple of times, I was worried it might get ugly, but everyone was very civil. It was neat to hear the direction each person wanted the party to take. We then had people volunteer to represent our group to county, congressional, and state conventions. I wanted to make sure my guy got a vote so I volunteered to be one of the four delegates. We held an election and I'm going to the county and congressional conventions as a delegate.

Pretty cool stuff!

Brant

What we've been up to...

With the feet of snow we have been receiving, I have not had much contact with the outside world. Seth continues to go to school and I stay home with the boys. The most exciting thing I have been working on is finishing my last class of my college career!!! I have been busy, busy reading and typing. I have had to analyze our family and our different ideologies and what not. Don't worry I painted all ya'lls in the best light. It's actually been kind of fun to put my thoughts together. I just finished my last paper! Now, I have to complete a study guide for the second midterm that I will take next week. Once the midterm is graded I can take the final! Hopefully, I will be a college grad by the end of the month!

Weston never stops making us laugh. He enjoyed watching President Hinckley's funeral. As we were discussing the events and what happens when we die, Weston kept saying, "President Hinckley died. Running. Jesus." I couldn't figure out what he was trying to say and it finally evolved into, "President Hinckly died. Run to Jesus." He did the appriopriate hand gestures to go along with it. Showing that we run to Jesus for a big hug. How precious is that?

Koper is also fun. He loves to laugh and looks much older than he really is. I can't wait for him to start talking to see what he and Weston can come up with together.

Take care sweet thangs. Peace out.

What Did I Do Wrong?

My "Spell Check" doesn't work any more. What did I do wrong?

Dad

Family Reunion

There have been requests to tie down the date of the reunion so families can make vacation and other family plans as needed. We have taken suggestions and replys to the previous questionaire and this is what we have come up with:

• Date - August 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, (maybe not all these days but within this general time frame)
• Place - Provo, Utah (we all met our spouses there and have lots of memories of the area)
• Housing - this is the big one. Here is the general idea: most everyone has a friend, relative, etc., who lives in the area. We thought that it might be better to have each family arrange their own lodging and then get together each day for activities. You can either stay with friends or family or at a motel if so desired. Travis and Kelly have again offered their living room floor to those who would like it. This way you will have access to bathroom and shower facilities and a chance to rest as needed. Remember, in August it will probably be pretty hot.
• Activities:
• Rent or just go to a swimming pool for the afternoon
• Timp Cave
• Trifalgar Square - miniture golf
• Heber Creeper
• Picnic up the canyon
• Picnic at Cascade Springs
• BASE jumping off Bridal Veil Falls Restaurant
• Auto tours
• Sit and visit and let the kids run
• Temple
• Campus tour (the whole nerd herd)
• Suggestions??????

Food - be responsible for your own family except at designated picnics and gatherings (this will have to be worked out to meet all needs, budgets, etc.)

What do you think?

Add suggestions and lets us know.

This started out as an email but I put in on the blog so we can add comments and eveyone can be involved.

Dad and Mom

Stiffnecked people

Has no one else besides dad watched the "Front Fell Off" video? It's hilarious.

Anyone seen my "mancard" ???

I'm a little later tonight, but here is our post. Tonight was our radio check-in with the regional storehouse. I checked in and then got chatting with some guys from our stake and now it is 10:00 and several hours have passed away.

As with most of you, we watched Pres. Hinckley's funeral yesterday. I was doing pretty well until they started showing pictures of him during the last hymn and then I lost it. The kids were looking at Les and I strangely as we sat there crying. What a great, yet humble man he was! My favorite part was the graveside service and the bagpipes. I love how he started from nowhere, walked in, played a few hymns and then dissappeared "off into the sunset." I made sure Tyler understood I wanted the same thing at my funeral.

Life around here is not too exciting. I've pretty much turned into "Little Miss Homebody." I even make cookies almost daily as an after school treat. So far the menu includes, peanut butter, no-bakes, chocolate chip and of course "Flecia's Friends." (For some strange reason- 2 cups of shortening??-Les isn't into Felcia'a Friends.) Lisa, I don't know how you do it, you always have freshly baked cookies.

Les and I went to Wal-Mart the other day to do our monthly shopping and came out with three carts full of stuff. I like only having to go once a month for groceries, but trying to feed six mouths is a lot of work!

Time to go get my Testosterone shot.

Brant

Not Much Tonight

I know you shouldn't brag about giving service but it felt good to help someone. Joan (across the street) has been gone all week. Her mom died and she and Steve went to the funeral in the Seattle area. All week Mom and I have commented that her place was all snowed in and that is unusual for her. Well, tonight she and Steve got home and Mom looked out the window and there they were, attacking 1-2 feet of snow in their driveway plus the road grader had plowed a 2 foot berm across the drive way and they couldn't even get in. Mom and I put on the old muckluks, grabbed snow shovels and helped them clear the snow. It was hard work but we felt good.
Mom is waiting to see if she will be teaching school this week. Things have settled down and we assume everything will be back to some sort of order.
We enjoyed President Hinckley's funeral yesterday. I always felt that he was trying to simplify things. He was always trying to take some of the load off bishops and make the gospel easier and simpler. His funeral was an example of that. It was not a "state" production. It was exactly what you would expect of a very humble man. The gospel was preached, thanks was given and a great man was laid to rest.
Have fun this week.

It's been awhile since we played "I Spy."

PROVO UTAH

"Africa Restaurant and Market"

Last night Chavez and I went on our second double date with a couple from our ward. We like them because we have lots of things in common: the boys like guns, us girls like cooking and we all like traveling. These things give us plenty to talk about and avoids those awkward silences so common on first dates. For this second outing we chose to go to a little African restaurant in an industrial section of Salt Lake. Trav discovered it a few weeks ago while at work. Like all good ethnic establishments, the market included 2 shelves of assorted African (and Mexican) goods, and the server told us he'd prefer to make us something other than what we originally wanted to order. It was quite an interesting experience, as there were no plates or silverware allowed. Instead, they give you a thick-crepe/thin pancake about 18 inches in diameter. You tear off small pieces of the crepe and use them to pick up pieces of your meal. We got a "sampler plate" so we could try lots of different things including beets, collared greens, some kind of beef, lentils and cabbage. De-lish!

Afterwards we were craving something sweet, so we headed back down to Provo to Maestro's Gelato Cafe for a bit of gelato, drinking chocolate (similar to a shot of a molten dark chocolate candy bar) and a nutella crepe.

Did anyone else notice that we've been blogging for over a year now, and that last year we averaged more than 1 blog a day? Coolies.

Welcome to Utah

Yesterday we took a group of refugees to tour the Utah Capitol building. It was recently restored and upgraded for earthquake-proof-ness. Our tour guide said the building can sway 24 inches each way and not fall down. It was fun to take the refugees and the idea was to show them the building as well as let them see how open our government is. We got to go through the room where the House of Representatives meets while they were working (sort of) and they gave us a Utah history while lesson while we were at it.

Here's a quick article about it in the Salt Lake Tribune

Here's another good article from the Deseret News that gives a good idea what the first few days are like for a refugee in the US. Life Skills 101.

The Front Fell Off

I'm going to try to attach a video. Let me know if it works, and if it creates a laugh.

Forecast...More Snow

Our plow guy doesn't know how to work around vehicles. He just plows everyone in. If the car doesn't move for a day or two the berm gets a little deep for the Mazda,

We received another 2-3" overnight. Here are some pictures I took when I got home from work. The snow melted off the trees, It used to look a lot better. We have about 12"-18" on the ground right now, depending on which snow drift you stand in. It's stayed about the same for the last few days with it melting and settling between each storm. Apparently Kootenai County is now officialy in a "State of Emergency." I don't know about Latah County. Our plows don't like to work overtime up here, so the roads are quite fun during the wee hours of the morning. Crown Vics just were not made for snow.

We had it pretty bad last Saturday night, Sunday morning. Two of our deputies got stuck and a third couldn't make it up his own driveway. I had to respond to a crash at top speed of 10 mph on a sheet of ice as I rounded some twists and turns. Nothing beats the feeling of driving along as you weigh your options of ditching it into the uphill snow bank of riding it out over the downhill edge of the road.