Cousin Darrick visits...

We had a fun filled evening being entertained by cousin Darrick. He had quite a few magic tricks to entice the little ones, including: pulling off his finger, removing his eye ball and washing it in his mouth, and making legos disappear. We had a great visit and hopefully they will be fellow Coloradans by the end of the summer.

Other than that life is pretty hum drum. The house will be ready for market by the end of the week, we'll post a link when it's up so you can see the transformation. It's amazing how much stuff you really can do without. Congrats Dad on the award-hang the shiny plaque in the man cave right next to the guns. Spring was here for the moment. Sorry you didn't receive too much sunshine your way. Maybe it's here to stay?

My Girls

I've already posted a bunch this week, so I'll keep it simple. This is a picture I shot last Sunday just before nap time.

Congratulations everyone on their good news. Lacey, we look forward to covering our house in quotes. Dad, glad to see you got another knot for your shirt. We made it through another Sunday without everyone killing each other, so I guess we are doing okay.

Have a great week!

Brant

It's here, it's really, really here!!!

Well, the moment we've (I've) been waiting for...my vinyl cutter and vinyl supplies have arrived. After draining our rent account, I am the proud owner of a vinyl cutter and several rolls of vinyl. I ordered the cutter from a company online that does not originate from the U.S. As a result, the instructions I received on how to set the thing up were not written by someone who speaks english on a regular basis. For instructions, I received a picture of what it was supposed to look like. While Dad and Seth tackled the Rodeo (it was a bad battery connector this time...) Mom occupied the children and I attempted to put everything together with a screw driver. Once Seth was done with the car, he got his cordless drill and put everything together so that it was actually tight and didn't wabble... I've spent the last week figuring out my software via the help button and have learned a lot about designing things. I've also worked on setting my prices and finding the right web hosting services. Yesterday, I received my DBA(doing business as) paperwork and strawberrypearl studios is all mine. I also filed for and received my Employer Identification Number and will receive my seller's permit in about a week. If all goes as planned, May 1, 2008 will be my first day of business. This next week I hope to get my website up and running. If any of you need vinyl, I can cut it for you! I'm hoping to get some examples up on the website, so if you're in for doing a project, I'll send you some vinyl if you'll send me a picture for my website. There's also a business plan seminar this week that I want to attend.
Oh yeah, the rest of the family is doing well. Seth recently joined a new summer softball team that a friend found on Craig's List. We think that he might have a job for the summer, doing basically what he did for Creekside but for a different rental company here in Moscow. Weston plays baseball, golf, basketball and soccer all day long. And Koper is learning to roll over. Last night I put him down in the hall during Weston's bath and by the time it was his turn, he had made his way to the doorjamb and was sucking on it...

Pardon My Bragging

We had a busy week. I had several Eagle Scout Boards of Review and then on Friday I had a Facilities Manager's meeting in Spokane in the morning and in the afternoon we had a retirement party for Dick Waide (the church project manager that hired me 14 years ago and that I have worked with on all the remodels and new buildings in my area). I hurried home from that and Mom and I went to the Chief Kamiakin District Scouter Awards Dinner here in Moscow. The guy that I took over from doing these boards of review had called me a week or so ago and told me I would be getting a "nice" award and that he needed a little background info on me for the presentation. So, Mom and I paid $17.00 a plate to attend. It was a nice meeting and dinner and then they started with the awards. There were 7 categories and I sat there patiently waiting my name to be called at any minute. Finally we were to the 7th and final category and they announced that there were three recipients, I wasn't the first or second and I'm thinking to myself, "I've got one more shot or they forgot all about me". Ta Da!!. They called my name. They read a brief bio and gave me the award. Needless to say, I'm very proud of it. Today after dinner we were reading the little blurb in the program and it was pointed out to me that, "This is the highest official Boy Scouts of America award available for a district to use to recognize an outstanding Scouter (sorry, I'll come back to earth now). I even get another "knot" for Mom to sew on my uniform.

We had a great ward social last night. It was originally scheduled for Gormely Park as a BBQ but with snow threatening, we moved it to the Mountainview Building. We had a great turnout and lots of good food. I think everyone just needed a get-to-gather before they head into finals. After dinner one of the members had brought a 24' multi-colored parachute and they pulled it out. The adults got around the outside and started billowing it up and down. Then they threw a 3' blow-up soccer ball on top of it. The little kids got under it and everyone was entertained for the next 1/2 hour. I talked to my counselors today and we plan to buy one for the ward for future activities.

I've gone on long enough. We were supposed to get snow last night, now they are predicting it for tonight. If anyone sees spring - please point it in our direction.

Don't blame me for changing the home page of the blog. Mom is the one that messed it up.

Have a good week.

Dad

The Tribes

Today at church, we were discussing the 12 tribes and lineage and such. Everyone had lots of opinions, but few facts to back it up. By the end of the conversation, both Trav and I were wondering exactly what is the purpose of knowing our lineage. Any thoughts?