From Kentucky

I finished work in Memphis on Friday and yesterday I drove to Cincinnati, where I'll be working for about a month before I head back to Utah. I don't have to start work again until Tuesday so I drove down to Cousin Shawn's house this afternoon. Lexington, KY is only about 90 miles from Cincinnati so it wasn't too bad of a drive. They fed me dinner and Shawn and I watched He-Man while we talked about the old days. I'll head back in the morning. I'll post pictures of Cincinnati as soon as I have some. It already looks like a more exciting city than Memphis was.

Gordon Woods

Any word about his funeral? Was it held on Wednesday? What was the cause of the accident/death?

Katie's Turn

This week it was Katie's turn to have a birthday. Now she is the big number 4. Thanks for the purse Mom, she sure enjoys it.

Brant

Top a Story

Wow, how can we top a story to the top of a mountain, to New Orleans, or in a trench along side of a basement foundation???

It was another basic week. Mom officially starts back to school tomorrow. She has enjoyed the summer and got lots of things done. My work is fairly mild this summer. They cancelled all our capital projects due to money conservation so we are just doing lots of little things.

I have visited several doctors lately. Several weeks ago I have a "panic attack" and it kind of scared me. They have me on some medication and life seems good. I don't quite float through life like in the 60's but things are much better. In a couple of weeks I go to Gritman for a sleep study to see if I have Sleep Apnea. They said I can bring my favorite blanket and teddy bear. Hopefully this will all work out and help to resolve my anxiety. Grandma and Grandpa both seem to have the same thing so it must run in the family. Look out when you get in your 50's and 60's. Thank heavens there are medications that can help.

We hope school is going good. Let us know what you are doing.

Love,

Dad and Mom.

New Orleans

My New Orleans post from my blog:

Last weekend Trav and I went on a journey. We began with a stop to my favorite childhood road-trip restaurant: Shoney's. They only exist in the south, and I had been dying to go since I first arrived in Memphis. They offer a great greasy, southern, sugar-filled breakfast buffet. I would definitely recommend the french toast sticks, but would encourage you to stay far far away from their dinner menu. We tried it once many years ago on the way to/from somewhere southern and it was terrifying.

Our destination was New Orleans, a mere 6 hours from Memphis. Knowing that we don't often have reason to head south, we couldn't resist. We had also heard that since Katrina, the tourism industry has been seriously hurting, causing the price of lodging to drop significantly. It was true- we booked a good (as in not the Ritz, but clean and simple) and very cute bed and breakfast right in the French Quarter for less than $60/night (on the weekend during the second busiest season).

If you're looking for an "exotic" feeling vacation, but don't have the money, time, or adventurous spirit to venture outside of the US, New Orleans is a great option. The architecture makes you feel as though you're walking down a street in Italy...or maybe France. The food is unlike any you'll find in other parts of the US (including the biegnets- I think I ate 6 or so in 1 day. Call me a glutton, it's true). There are plenty of historical things to see if you're in to that sort of thing- you can take a walking tour of the city during the day or a haunted tour of the spookier parts during the evening. You're also very close to plantations and swamps, which both offer guided tours for a price. Being the cheapos that we are, we opted out of any official paying tour (however we swiped an itinerary for one of the walking tours and did it on our own). But had we stayed longer and had a bit more money to spend, we probably would have indulged in something touristy.

New Orleans felt so festive. There was a ton of live music playing in restaurants or on the streets (we even heard a homeless woman busting out some impressive opera for spare change). You can find all kinds of souvenirs, from street art to voodoo dolls to overly offensive t-shirts (watch out for those) and spices.

And, of course, there's Bourbon Street. If you're a drinker, Bourbon Street = heaven. Even being non-drinkers, we still had plenty of fun peering into the bars, laughing at the drunk people stumbling about, and watching the men-folk taunt the girls with beads (a few boys desperately shook their beads at me in hopes of seeing some...skin. They were disappointed).

We also drove around the 9th Ward, which is the area that suffered the most damage from Katrina. It was interesting and depressing at the same time. On one hand, we were in awe of the destruction. In an area where houses used to be packed in so tightly you could shake hands through the windows, there are now chest high weeds and broken sidewalks. The houses still standing are either recently repaired or newly built. The city removed most of the houses that were past hope, but a few still remain (notice the slant on the house below).


Other lots are meticulously maintained-the owners obviously intend to return and rebuild one day.

I found this both sad and hopeful. Katrina happened four years ago and people are still displaced, still hoping to go back to their "homes" and start over. Four years! How much longer will they have to wait before they either give up or finally have enough saved to return? Maybe they never will. Maybe they shouldn't. Maybe it would be better to give up and start a new life somewhere else, somewhere they can have a fresh start with none of the bitter memories that life in the 9th Ward might dredge up. But the fact that these people still care enough about their homes to mow and edge their vacant lot means they're trying. Maybe these are the people who will actually succeed in life, the ones who will go back to New Orleans and make it a better city than it used to be.

Either way, New Orleans was great fun. You should go visit.

Devil's Head Rocks

Watch out, Indiana Jones!
Fist Punching a Rock, Rock

Watch Out Below!

24 Hour Camping

Some of you might recognize the location, minus the snow.

Our latest craziness...

He are some shots of our latest project. A lady had water flooding into her basement. We excavated a trench along her house and will fill it with gravel. The water will then drain towards a sump pump that we will install where Jared (our one employee) is standing. Remember Kevin is over 6 feet tall and the window well is still 2 feet above him!

Good Times!

Brant

A Visit From the Meyers Family

Kimbre and I spent a four day weekend with her family in town. Everyone arrived Wednesday afternoon evening and spent the night at our place. There were several comments about the completed backyard. The hydroseed is starting to come in and it almost looks like a real yard.

On Thursday we loaded everyone up and drove to Lookout Pass to bike the Route of the Hiawatha. For those not familiar, it is a 15 mile rails-to-trails bike ride. It starts off with a 1.6 mile long tunnel that crosses the Montana/Idaho border. The trail has 10 tunnels and crosses seven trestles. It was a lot of fun and the only casualties were two flat tires. Kimbre got to ride solo, and I had Jett behind me in a tag along hooked to my seat post.

http://www.skilookout.com/hiawatha/

After the trail ride we moved the whole crew to the Richards' cabin. We had a great time relaxing, swimming, boating, tubing, and making the mandatory trip to Harrison for ice cream and jumping off the diving board.

They said I was dumped from the tube. I say I wasn't trying that hard to begin with and tubing is more fun when you hold on loosely take a few spills. We were also a little lopsided due to some weight discrepancies.

We had a great visit with everyone and it was our second time playing host this summer in the new house. After surviving both sides and not losing any valued possessions to curious nieces and nephews we feel we can handle just about anything.

Another Cute One

We'll save this for when she starts to date.

A cute one...

I found this little treasure in my trove of pictures. I thought it was adorable. Little Koper guy.

Remember that song...

We just got back from Von Forell's. Michael returned from his mission to Belo Horizonte, Brazil on Thursday. We spent the weekend getting caught up and enjoying his stories and pictures. Brazil still looks the same!

While we were there, we played find that song. We would think of an old song and then Greg would hurry and find it on his laptop. We would then listen to it over their surround sound system. We had some good laughs. Among the favorites were "Have Gun will Travel," "Mississippi Squirrel Revival" by Ray Stevens and this beauty....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4fJVqWmWd0

Brant

The Big Easy

Kelly and I spent a few days in New Orleans this week. We had a good time seeing the tourist sites like the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, the above ground cemetaries and all of the local flavor (mostly dirty hippies and wannabe artists, palm readers and street performers). Kelly has the camera and our computer so you'll have to wait for her to post some pictures. She is currently somewhere between New Orleans and Salt Lake (by way of Atlanta, Kansas City and Phoenix. She told me to buy the cheapest flight so she got the one that takes you on a tour of the US and has three layovers).

One of my favorite parts of the trip was taking a drive through the parts of town that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I looked on a map to find where the Lower 9th Ward was located because I remembered hearing about it on the news and we took off in search of some hurricane evidence. We found whole neighborhoods where about 1 family per block has rebuilt their house and the rest of the street is just grass lots. Some of the lots are well maintained and I think the owners plan on eventually moving back and some of them are completely overgrown. We saw lot after lot that has a front walkway leading to a concrete slab and mabye part of a front porch. The rest of the house has been demolished and is waiting to be rebuilt. The few people who have rebuilt have put their houses on pilings ranging from 3 to 15 feet high. We also saw several people living in RV's that are parked in their driveway, there's just no house next to the driveway. Every telephone pole in town has signs advertising things like home demolition, home leveling, roofing, lot clearing and other renovation services. It looks like the water reached about 15-20 ft deep in the neighborhood we were in. You could see damage well past the first story on the houses that haven't been fixed yet.

A part of me felt a little bad driving up and down the streets gawking and taking pictures, but we at least tried to be descrete and our tourism dollars will probably help the city in some way. In my uneducated opinion, the reason these neighborhoods haven't been rebuilt is a combination of poverty and years of government dependence, probably caused by both parties involved. It's interesting that 4 years later people on the streets still talk about Katrina and it's mark on New Orleans is still very obvious.

Overall I would recommend a trip to New Orleans. You may not need to stay there for a week, but a couple of days would be fun.

Pretty Averge Week

It was a pretty average week. I went to work and Mom did stuff at home. Seth, Lacey and family were in Seattle so no little grand kids around the house.
This morning, my first councilor was in charge of speakers so he asked the bishopric to speak. Not my favorite thing to do but with new students (new ward members) and old ones back for school to start tomorrow it was a good time to hear from the bishopric. My councilors did a great job and I finished up (a little short of time) but that's OK.
We are now napping. I had to get up to get ready for a boy scout to come over to get his eagle project approved. Some of you might remember him, Sam Mallor from Colfax.
We hope everyone has returned home safely, jobs are going well, and life is good.
Love,
Mom and Dad

Open Invitation

Travis, Matt and I have discussed going on a backpacking trip this fall. We'd like to extend the invitation to other family members: Brant, Leslie, Erik, Jaime, Kelly, Kimbre, Lacey and Seth.
I know that we recently took vacations, but I'm thinking of a 3-5 day outing. Late October or early November seem to be the next available opportunities. Just don't tell Grandpa if we encounter snow.
Location? I was thinking of somewhere in the middle of Idaho/Utah/Colorado. Perhaps the Uintahs or NW Wyoming (Yellowstone or Wind River Range).
Feel free to offer your preferences and suggestions.

Slow Week

It's obvious that summer is drawing to a close. We have had unseasonably cool weather 60's and 70's (where was this weather when everyone was working on Matt and Kimbre's yard)? It is supposed to get up to the 90's this week but I think (and hope) the extremes are over.

Mom can count the days until she goes back to school (about two weeks). I am counting the days until I don't have 200 phone calls at the office Monday morning telling me which air conditioning units didn't work for church.

The couples in our ward are starting to return from summer jobs to get ready for school. It looks like our ward will be quite small again this year. The stake has considered combining the three married wards and making two but each time have decided against it.

Mom made chocolate chip cookies for me to take to my office this morning. Just imagine trying to give a priesthood blessing and all you can smell is fresh baked cookies.

We hope you have all enjoyed your summer. Some are back in school and others are getting close. We love you all and are proud of what you are and what you are striving to be (boy, I sound like Grandma and Grandpa. They used to bug me when they talked like that).

Have a good week.

home at last

Three weeks ago I left Memphis (and T-rav) to embark on a trip around the east/mid west. I flew 760 miles, drove a total of 1510 miles (205 from Richmond to the Outer Banks; 697 from the Outer Banks to Palmyra; 610 from Palmyra to South Bend, IN), and after realizing I somehow needed to get myself back to Memphis, took the train 549 miles from Chicago.

Total miles traveled: 2819

Aside from the guilt I felt for ditching Trav, it was a great trip. I was able to relax at the beach, spend some time with my family, buy lots of books, and visit my dear friend.

And I took a train! I really, really heart trains. And train stations. And train platforms (which should always be called platforms, not "tracks" like they apparently call them in the Amtrak system). And the tracks. And really everything about them. But I had never ridden a train in the US before. I went expecting all sorts of unsavory folks, kind of like the ones you find on the Greyhound bus. But I stand corrected; there was a lovely assortment of people aboard Amtrak, most of them very run-of-the-mill.

Anyway. It's good to be home, although Memphis will only be home for 1 more week. Then I'm back to Utah by way of New Orleans.

Oriental Institute, Chicago, IL

I sold our car today. It was a good car and I'll miss it, but it is nice to have something a little newer. I kind of like statistical lists so here's one for our old pride and joy.

261,345 - Total miles on the odometer
46,000 - Miles I added to the car
17 - Months I owned the car
10 - States we've driven through together
4 - Times the car left me stranded
2- Tow dollies I rented to get the car home
1 - Plastic milk crate that Kelly threw at the car when it stranded us in Cove Fort, UT
3 or 4 - Times I got drenched with water from the sunroof after a rain storm
1 - Time I had to pull it out of a ditch (really a Provo street gutter) in the snow

The guy who bought it was getting it for his daughter who turns 16 today. I wish them many happy more miles...and I met them at a gas station for the transaction so that just in case anything goes wrong he doesn't know where I live (I don't plan on anything going wrong, but just in case).

A Few Updates

Here are a few more recent pictures of Maura. She is doing great and is such a good baby. She is already 7 lb. 14 oz. and has grown 2 inches. Our stake president and his wife gave us this cute little outfit for her. There is a big flower in the middle of her shirt.

Hallee began orchestra this week. She is loving it already and practices every chance she can. It is before school twice a week-but at a different elem. school (her old one) so I have to drop her off at 7:20 and then pick her up at 8:15 on the way to taking them all to school. It makes for a busy morning. Luckily everything is pretty close together.

Trent was elected to student council this week. He had to write an essay and then the class voted. He was really excited. They meet twice a month in the morning. We'll see how that all works out with orchestra etc. I definitely miss having the bus.

Grandpa and Grandma-all the kids say hello and want to know when you are coming back :)

Trip Stats

2,940 miles, 12 days, 7 states, 8 temples, saw 38 state license plates, 0 pukings, 1 family picture, a zillion smiles: Priceless. Thanks one and all for a good trip. We'll post more pictures later.

Train Museum

Saturday, while I was traveling to Idaho, Leslie took the kids to free day at the Train Musuem. The kids had fun posing in front of the trains. Ty wanted to make sure that it looked like he was running to save Aimee from the oncoming train.

It is nice to be home. As Erik noted, it took us an extra day, but we finally made it. I spent about 24 hours with my family and then headed off to our Fathers and Sons' Campout. It was pretty low key this year. Our ward had a great turnout and as always we had fun sitting around the campfire.

Thanks for the good times up in Idaho. I had fun visiting with everyone. It was good to catch up with the fam and get a chance to see Grandpa. Believe it or not, it was even fun slugging it out through the heat. Matt, your yard sure looks nice, send us some shots when the grass fills out.

Brant

Fun Week

She was a good old car!!!

The camp out (before the thunder storm sent them all packing)

Brand new plates

Happy Birthday Kevin

It has been a fun week. First the guys arrived and worked on Matt and Kimbre's yard. Then Kevin, Lisa and family came down and spent the rest of the week. The extreme heat broke after all the hard work in Post Falls and the rest of the week was quite nice. They swam, picnicked, slept out, shopped, visited, and on and on.

Alas we all must return to reality. Back on the road tomorrow.

We hope you are all well and happy. We love you all.

Mom and Dad

Thanks to Everyone

Kimbre and I returned from our Camping trip this evening. It was nice to get out of town, even if just for an over-nighter, and relax with some of my work friends. The weather was nice the first day, but on the second day the hour of rain on our 3+ hr tubing trip on the CDA River was not so pleasant. We survived and managed to build a little character in the process.

Kimbre and I would like to give a big Thank You to everyone who pitched in to help with our yard. We know it wasn't easy and the time away from your families, jobs, and lives was not overlooked. We enjoyed playing host to all and it was nice to see family (Erik) who we haven't seen in 3+ yrs. Sorry every Zirker vacation seems to revolve around work, but the end result couldn't have turned out better.

The Long Journey Home

Brant and I took the long way home thanks to a thunderstorm over Salt Lake. We arrived home Thur. afternoon instead of Wed. evening. But the stay at the Marriott was o so nice!

Before & After

Kevin just came downstairs and had some "before" pictures that Matt had sent him. We paired them up with ones we took yesterday. Pretty cool, huh?

The Transformation

Sorry to make this so long, but there were lots of pictures and it was neat to see the transformation in the yard. There was lots of hard work and the temperature was about 96 degrees both days. Mom and I went to Coeur d'Alene for supplies the second day and it was 101 degrees there.
I wish I could show a time laps movie of the great transformation. It was hard work at it's finest.

There was also lots of good food, good nature, sweat, and more hard work. I have lots of pictures in case anyone wants them or wants to see themselves on the verge of exhaustion.

Now that the project is done, the weather is supposed to cool down tomorrow. Hope Brant and Erik got home safe. We enjoyed the two day work-a-thon.