A day to Memorialize

I thought I'd take advantage of the fact that I live in DC and hit up some of the Memorial Day activities around town. Last night I went down to the National Memorial Day concert. I sat on the steps of the Capitol while we listened to music, heard from vets and watched some video montages. Admiral Mike Mullen (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) and Colin Powell were two of the speakers.

One of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Notice how the path they've worn on the ground isn't just a stripe, it's a series of footprints because they all step in the exact same place. These guys have the precision down.

President Obama placing the wreath at the Tomb. There was an honor guard from each branch of the military and a drum major with a really big, black fuzzy hat on. We all got baked in the sun while we stood on white marble steps, next to a white marble building and waited for the Pres. to show up. The 21 gun salute wasn't just 7 rifles fired 3 times, it was 1 cannon fired 21 times and it echoed all around the cemetery.

The view back towards DC from Robert E. Lee's old house in Arlington Cemetery. Gotta love that humidity in the air.

Steptoe Butte

Steptoe Butte as we approach it
East and west twin and Moscow Mountain in the distance

Me, on highest rock on top of Steptoe Butte

The town of Steptoe in the distance

Several of the many towers and dishes on top

Mom and I took off on a Sunday afternoon drive to visit Steptoe Butte (I have wanted to visit there since we moved to Moscow in 1986). After enjoying the view we descended and headed for Palouse, we encountered a major downpour complete with hail, turned left at Palouse and went to Potlatch, proceeded through Potlatch and ended up at Laird Park. There were lots of campsites still open (must be too cold and rainy for the masses). On the way home we turned left at Harvard, almost hit two deer (Mom yelled and headed for the floorboard). All in all it was a nice ride. We had extra gas in the tank anyway and wanted to get rid of some of it.

The Saga Continues

For Matt, these are the plantings on the mound by the street
My new "natural" stones to access the hose bib by the front door

Our latest acquisition

Mom and I had a creative day yesterday. We went to Farmers Market yesterday morning for our usual cinnamon roll/raspberry cheese pocket, listened to some good music, then a little shopping, then to Moscow Building Supply for a look at "stepping stones" and then home. As we walked in to Moscow Builders we passed the light post/planter and bought it on the spot. I had been wanting something to put in the corner of the deck. When we got home, Mom mowed the lawn (she has done it for the last couple of weeks as I nursed a sore back), thanks, Martha. I put down the stepping stones, filled the planter, and planted petunias. Mom measured, cut and sewed a new top for the swing. At the end of the day Mom said, "that's enough for the outside now we need to work on the inside" (carpet, window sills, and bathroom remodel). I guess time will tell. The weather is slowly getting better - I am headed camping next weekend with the ward fathers and sons. Hope we have good weather. Enjoy your Memorial Day if you get a day off.

Cub Scout Birthday

Kanyon requested a "Cub Scout" themed birthday party. We looked in the Wolf Book for these ideas. One boy carved his Ivory soap into a bar of Philadelphia cream cheese. We made these stilts out of some old tubafores.

The birthday boy.

The birthday cake.

Our Little Runner

I know we are not suppose to be "proud," but I am "greatly pleased" with Ty. We were just reviewing the results from the 5K run and discovered that Ty came in second in the youth- ages 0-14. Not bad at all for his first time running a 5K. Here is the link, just type in Zirker in the last name slot to see the herd.

Brant

I May Lose My Man-Card

The lawn is filling in nicely
It helps if you buy the flowers already planted

My "still life" addition (It works too)

It has been a good week but I am a little worried about becoming too feminine. Yesterday Mom and I went shopping as usual and we ended up at Applebees for lunch. I ordered a Ceasar salad and French Onion soup instead of the usual Cowboy Burger. I have also been looking for something to add pizazz to the front flower beds. I was looking for the right watering can and finally found this one at Spence Hardware here in Moscow.

Spring (nearing Summer) is finally starting to peek through. It still rains about 3 days a week but it is getting warmer and my thoughts are turning to camping. Two weeks till Fathers and Sons Outing. The neighbors are all out working in their yards and I have been enjoying visiting with the old ones and the new ones.

We had lunch at Seth and Lacey's. They wanted to break in their new barbecue. The weather cooperated and we had a nice lunch.

I feel even older as I see all you young people running races, but, I don't envy you one little bit. Good job and keep up the good work.

Mom only has 12 more days of school and then look out "Summer Vacation Begins".

I heard an add on the radio for a free airshow out at Andrew's Air Force Base, so yesterday Kelly and I went out to take a look. Along with the flying, they had a bunch of airplanes and helicopters sitting around that you could walk through and look at. An F-18 did a fly-by and a bunch of tricks right in front of the crowd (remember in Top Gun when Maverick says, "I'll hit the brakes and he'll fly right by?" He did that). One of the coolest parts of the day was when they brought out these little single engine prop planes that left a trail of smoke as they flew. They pilots were crazy and did 15-20 spins in a corkscrew and ran the planes straight up until they stalled out and fell back to earth (you always wondered if they were going to control it again as it fell backwards towards the ground).

The Thunderbirds, unfortunately we had to leave before they flew.

An old Korean War era plane - F4U?

The Osprey - the props rotate and it flies like a helicopter or an airplane

5K Run

Les and Ty also joined in the fun. This was Ty's first 5K and he managed to run most of it. He was pretty tired by the end. It sounds like everyone had fun.

Brant

RACE DAY

Today was my first 5K. It was a free one, so Kevin decided to take the kids for a "walk" while I jogged it. I was pretty slow, but at least I could say I jogged the entire thing. But I still don't love running. Braxton got tired of walking so slow, so he ran ahead of Kevin and the kids and only came in 2 minutes behind me. OH, to have young legs again. It was good to be able to check that off the goal list for this year.
We finished the day with Kanyon's Bday party. 8 energetic little boys joined us this afternoon for a Cub Scout Birthday party. We'll post more pics tomorrow. But for now, I'm exhausted.

Lets play guess which baby this is!

sleepy baby!

1 day old baby!

i'll give you a clue, it's a baby!

does anybody know?

can anyone guess?

Rain, Rain, Go Away

While scooping rocks out of the gutter some of the water got in the wheelbarrow.It has rained for the last 2 or 3 days. I would have called today off but our project was up in Boulder and I did not want to end early and return another day. We also had to finish it in order to move on to other projects. My guys were good to work while soaking wet.

I've been published...kind of...

A little while ago, I designed a logo for a hair salon in Moscow.

The top logo is similar to one they showed me, that they had designed on a build your own logo website.

I wanted to play around with it a little and this is how it evolved.

Today, we received a little flyer of coupons in the mail and I almost threw it away.

But, I decided to thumb through it just for fun.

And, I found this!!!

Tyler's Run

For several weeks, Ty has been running at school. His goal was to complete 25.2 miles before the Colfax Marathon held today in downtown Denver. He would usually run 3 to 4 miles at a time. (Definitely not his father's son.) Yesterday, he ran the final mile of his "marathon." He did it in a little over 6 minutes, not too shabby. He plans to run other events this summer with Les.

Brant

Week in review

Here's some highlights from the week:

1. Had a meeting with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. It was just him and about 30 interns from Utah schools. He was quite the character. He told funny stories, used the phrase "Joe Sixpack" and accused one kid of trying to get him recused from an upcoming case. We toured the Supreme Court chambers after the meeting.

2. Got a letter from a lady who is concerned that she is hooked up to a contraption that is causing a lot of "chitter-chatter" in her head. The best part? When I showed it to another guy in the office and he said, "Oh, is that the lady from Pleasant Grove again?"

3. Ate a Prez. Obama burger (follow the link to the menu, it was one good burger) at Good Stuff Eatery. As my friend said, "the burger is so good it will melt your face off."

4. Met someone from Wenatchee, WA on the Metro. They were on their way back to Spokane after a vacation in NC.

My Grand Parents

My Grandma and Grandpa Zirker

I was looking through some old pictures and found this one. It is a little "closer up" of my G&G Zirker.

Well, we're still here after a day of gusty winds yesterday. It was UofI graduation and since the Dome is under construction they had graduation outside on the football practice field. The weather report called for rain, wind, hail, and a possible tornado. Alas, we just had the wind. Now this morning the wind has died down and it is 20 degrees cooler.

Yesterday Mom, Matt, Lacey and I went to the funeral for Devin Ossinger and his wife's baby daughter. They think she died just before time to be born. We went to the cemetery too, kind of sad.

We are still hoping for summer one of these days. Fathers and Sons outing is coming up in about three weeks so summer must be just around the corner.

My Latest Project

It is raining and snowing today, so I have a minute to catch up on some stuff around the house. Here are some shots of my latest project. We did the new paver patio, the fire place and the outdoor kitchen. It was a fun project.

Brant



Waiting for customers



Koper's outfit of the day.

It has been a fun, busy, crazy week.  Cousin Michelle has been hanging out with us in the afternoons and we have loved it!  The boys love to play with Teagan and I love to visit with Michelle.  We have actually had some sun this week, so the boys decided to create a lemonade stand and people actually stopped!!!  Last time we tried a lemonade stand, Weston got embarrassed because I called Mom and Dad and had them stop by.  This time, he and Koper did the whole thing by themselves.  They were very patient waiting for customers but eventually gave up and drank the rest of the lemonade.  They have also been building wooden ramps in the driveway with all my scrap wood.  The ramps have escalated and now they use the bark pile to create the incline.  No broken bones yet, just skinned knees.
I have been working on opening another Bountiful Baskets site in Moscow.  My goal was to open a site on the east side of town.  A guy in our ward works at Eastside Marketplace, so while Weston was at preschool, I took Koper and Ivan to his office.  He didn't really know me so I had to introduce myself, sell him on Bountiful Baskets and then ask him to introduce me to the owners of Eastside.  I then had to sell them on the idea of allowing us to use their facility for free.  They were very kind and have given us a space to use.  I signed a lease for Bountiful Baskets to use one of their vacant shops.  We'll start over there at the end of the month.
Seth finishes his last final tomorrow and then we'll officially start summer!!!  He will work with the football team during the summer and then start school again in the fall.

I introduced the boys to a new movie tonight that Mom and Dad found in the $5 bin.  I'll give you a hint:

"I don't want character.  I want dogs."

It was actually full of life and death, talk of God and a few motherly moments.  So, it was perfect for the sabbath and Mother's Day.  We even talked about resurrection at the end.

Kanyon's 8

The baptism went well Friday evening. Thanks to the brothers and families for coming to support us. I know it was at a miserable time. Kanyon was so excited, he wishes he could do it again! His teachers from school both came, so that was an exciting thing also.

Cub Scout Kanyon, stayed home long enough on Tues to have some 4 Layer dessert before heading off to scouts for the first time. Thanks for the uniform!

Kanyon's BDAY present. It was much needed. Now all he wants to do is ride, ride, ride!

(I've been attempting to publish for the last hour. Thank heavens for Google. )

Driving adventures

Driving adventures in DC

Click the link above to read Kelly's write up about driving in the neighborhoods near our house.

Hoping for Warmer Weather!!!!

Greetings from Moscow. We had a nice day yesterday so Mom and I planted all the flowers we have been buying. The two beds in front are planted as well as several pots and the two rectangle ones we had hanging off the old deck in back. They are just sitting on the concrete at the bottom of the stairs. Now I need to talk Seth into digging the hole so we can "plant" the fire hydrant at the base of the stairs too.

Seth is finished with school tomorrow. WSU graduation was yesterday and UofI is next week. This years has just flown by.

Yesterday I got the great idea of getting a large pot and tree of some type to sit on the deck. We looked around and most everyone told us it wasn't such a good idea. Maybe we'll get some type of artwork instead.

We stopped and talked to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Chuck after church today. This morning they took the breathing tube out of Matt Skinner and he is breathing on this own. They also described how they went into his right lung (the one having the problem) and through a tube used tweezers and peeled the gel-like mucous of the walls. If this "stuff" is allowed to harden it could cause him to lose the use of the lung. The 20 minute surgery took three hours. They left the tube in to drain the area around the lung. This all must have worked because removing the breathing tube was a major step toward recovery. They have been keeping him heavily sedated because of the tube down his throat so now they will lessen his medication and bring him back to reality. Things are looking better but keep him in your prayers.

That's it for this week.

Well, the first week here in DC has come and gone. I have had several requests for pictures, but Kelly took the camera with her on her trip, so they'll have to wait until she gets back. My job is going well so far. I am an expert phone answerer and mail sorter and I've also gotten to do lots of other fun stuff. During the first few days I learned how to give tours of the Capitol. We get to use some of the underground tunnels between buildings and it's fun to figure out how it all connects. I'm scheduled to take a tour of the Capitol dome (all the way to the top, we get to look out just below the statue of Freedom) some time in June.
On a normal day I leave my house around 7:45. I walk about 10 blocks to the Metro, ride for about 10 minutes and then get off and walk the last 10-15 minutes to work. My office building is just across the street, to the south of the Capitol. So far the weather is still nice and the morning walk isn't bad. When I get to work, we sort the mail and newspapers for the day and get the office opened up. After that, we catch up on the day's news, answer the phones, greet people as they come into the office and do whatever we're asked. So far everyone have treated the interns very well. When they ask us to do something like make copies or pick up the congressman's dry cleaning it is usually kind of apologetically, like they know it's not a fun job and feel bad. My congressman has been very nice to us. On the first day he had us into his office, welcomed us and told us to just relax and have a good time. He's very approachable and as long as he's not in a meeting, always allows visitors into his office to chat, take a picture and see the cot he sleeps on every night in his office. We get all kinds of phone calls during the day. Lot's of people call in to register support or opposition for pieces of legislation, one called in to compliment the congressman's hair and we have a few regular crazies who call in with all kinds of theories. After only one week I already have a regular caller who calls in from Shreveport, LA and asks for me by name. He always has a new episode from Current TV that he wants me to watch and he tells me all about it.

This is the building I work in, The Longworth House Office Building.

Recent events over here

Eriks birthday yesterday.

Boys on their way to the Rockies game last friday night. DBC gave us some tickets again this year.

Rett's 3 stitches, fat lip and remnants of a blue popsicle from the Emergency Room. It happened last friday morning. At the ER Rett asks "can I still go to the Rockies game with dad tonight?" No tears, just a laugh along with "mom, it doesn't even hurt, it just feels wierd" while the doctor is stitching him up.

This picture was taken somewhere near Cumberland, Maryland. Not a very good picture, but Maryland was beautiful. Of all the states we crossed, my favorites were Indiana and Maryland. We got to DC last night, got all moved in, got a tour of the neighborhood and found places to tuck everything in our extremely small apartment (no pictures yet). Today we finished unpacking, went to church, figured out how to get to work tomorrow and met up with my friend RyRy. Church was certainly an adventure today. Including all of the following:
-Sacrament blessed in French (the French speakers (from Africa) in the ward take care of the sacrament every fast Sunday).
-A guy let his phone ring four times and then answered it, on speaker phone, during the sacrament (Him: "Hi, yeah, what's up....nothing, I'm just in church").
-A guy walked in all dressed for church, but also wearing an old baseball cap with the word "Police" on the front. He also had handcuffs and a Leatherman hooked to his belt. Oh yeah, and he was wearing one black glove. I went out on a limb and assumed he wasn't actually a cop.
-We were welcomed very warmly along with all of the other interns that showed up for the summer.

Just looking through pictures

All of us kids at the student of the month celebration! We got cookies and punch!

I was giving the BYU cougars some spirit!

I got my teeth pulled! I got $5 for these big things. They put laughing gas on me the whole time!

Aimee