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.