Merry Christmas

Wow how time flies. Mom has been keeping everyone up to date on our snow events which is about all that is going on here -- work and snow. For Thanksgiving we made it down to Michael's and had a nice time there. It was good to get out of the cold weather for a bit and we enjoyed our stay there. December has flown by, perhaps because literally all I have done is go to work and blow snow. We have had record breaking snow amounts for December, already receiving more than 2/3'rds of our normal annual snow fall. We were able to tend Spencer and Parker for a week whilst Matthew and Diana basked in the Hawaiian sun. The boys kept us busy for the week. It was my job to do baths and jammies, and it reminded me a lot of times past. They liked to read a story just before bed time (actually a diversionary tactic known by all kids to stay up a little later), but we never read Fred and Ted. I guess that was only my favorite. One night Grandma promised to lay with them for 5 minutes so I told the boys t0 have Grandma tell them a story about when she was a little girl. I'm not sure what the story was, but she came out after talking for an hour rather than just 5 minutes.

We have had a wonderful Christmas time. I was able to take a few days off work which is always a good thing. Benjamin came a spent a few days with us so there was a little extra conversation around, and we just generally had a nice relaxing time. Mom and I gave each other mostly warm clothes which will be appreciated and much used during the upcoming weeks. Mom bought me a pair of insulated boots to use while doing the snow plowing. It is amazing how insulation technology has improved over time. These are toasty warm and very light weight and totally waterproof.


Well that is a brief update from me. I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and continue to have a Happy New Year. Sorry no pictures this post -- it is just my boring ramblings.

Happy Halloween

We have had a beautiful fall, so I should not be complaining to see it end, but end it has. This last week we had 3 days of raging wind that wasn't too cold, but now it has turned cold. Every night we are getting a hard freeze, and the daytime highs only get into the mid-40's maybe 50 maximum. So, I've put my bike on the trainer and about given up on out door stuff for the next little bit.

Mom continues to stay busy with all her activities. She works at the Bishops' Storehouse once a week and goes to the Temple once a week. She sews this and that, and still manages to pick up after her messy husband. I work and eat and read and sleep, and that seems about it. Mom set up a puzzle and we are working on that now and again. We splurged last week and got netflix which we can watch through our Wii. It is sort of like being in a chocolate factory -- there is so much to choose from we spend all our time looking for a movie instead of just watching one. Still we have seen a couple of fun ones and it is nice as compared to having to go find a video place. We don't have a Redbox very close at all, which seems sort of weird. There are a couple I want to see that aren't on line, so we will see how the mail-a-dvd thing goes.

As usual, I'm enjoying the college football season. Each year seems to bring some unusual games and stats that are just hard to figure out. In some cases it seems like a single star player makes all the difference. Some teams do so very well with little exceptional talent. Some teams seem to fail or excel as a result of coaching abilities. It is all fun to watch from week to week.

We are glad to hear from each of you via the blog, facebook, or phone each week. Our contacts with you mean a lot to us. I know I don't reciprocate as well as I should.

Have a good week!

I'm Still Here

Well it isn't an excuse, but things for me have been very busy/stressful for the last few weeks. We have been in Turnaround at work since labor day, and it is about killing me. We are supposed to be done this week, so maybe it will calm down. In addition to Turnaround I have hired a replacement for a lady that is retiring this December, and also trying to get my feet on the ground with the new organization. Right after the reunion Mom and I got a couple of hybrid bikes that we have been trying to ride a few times each week after work to burn a little stress off. It is now getting too dark too early, so I will have to move to the trainer. In addition we have tried to get progressively longer rides on Saturday morning. This last Saturday we did 25 miles, and I was a bit sore when we finished. I think of the rides we used to do way back then, and wonder if I will ever be able to do 50 again. Anyway we have had a lot of fun and it has been good to get back in the saddle.

It has been really fun to watch the fall season come on, especially fun to watch the harvest going on around us. They are harvesting soy beans right now -- they use a combine with a header like for grain. There are acres of corn still to come down -- they don't seem to be in too much of a hurry but that will be fun to watch too. One thing we have liked a lot is the apple orchards selling their apples and other wares. For some reason antique tractors are a big thing -- the state fair was just full of them, but at one orchard they had 3 antiques out and allowed kids to climb on them and take pictures.

We have chased fall colors all over and they haven't been too vibrant, but they are still pretty sort of earth tones. We have driven a couple of times to places where they were supposed to be really pretty only to find them sort brown and a bit dismal. Actually we have seen the most color close to home.

Another thing that seems to be different is they grow pumpkins by the acre. They are all over the place at the orchards and farms just stacked here and there. They do sell them but you can get pretty big ones for cheap.

This was just a quick pic that Mom snapped on the way to church this morning. The ground brush turns color too and actually has some of the best colors. I now know more about a Red Fern because they have these Ferns that are green all summer long, but go fire red in the fall. They are really pretty when they get mixed up with some of the yellow fall flowers.

I was called to be Asst. Ward Clerk (Finances) today, which I am very happy and excited about. When I got the call from the High Councelor to meet him this morning before meetings, I tossed and turned all night wondering about what the calling was to be. When he told me, I was so happy I about gave him a big hug. He probably thought I was a bit loopy by my reaction, but we have a ton of folks moving from the ward right now and there are some pretty heavy callings to be filled.

I look at the various pictures we now have around from the reunion and they always make me very happy. They offer me a bit of escape to think about all the fun we had when other things are stacking up a bit too deep. Thanks to each of you for making that a special time for Mom and I. It really means a lot to us that we were able to do it.

I don't know how well known it is, but Aunt Linda is having a George Melvin Glade Reunion at the ranch on July 4th. We are all invited. They will make as much room available in the houses which will probably to to Loertschers first, but tent space and the accomodations in Ammon will also be available. I don't know how it will fit your schedules -- I haven't been able to think that far ahead, but I wanted to make sure you were all aware.

TTFN Dad

See Ya Soon at Fun MN

For those driving, if you have room and if you have an adult fold-up camp chair(s) and want to bring it, it may be nice. We probably have enough chairs for the kids, but may be short on some for adults for outside lounging around. Also if you have a blow up mattress for kids to sleep on and have room, that might be handy. In any case don't go buy anything and don't tie one of the kids on top to make room for stuff -- this is only if it is convienient and if you have stuff already.

Remember swim suits and allergy meds! We are excited for a week of fun and stuff.

The Royality Takes Shape

Well I need to apply the finish to the Bishops and do the Rooks and I can play a one sided chess match. The knights were pretty hard to get that horse shape done while they were spinning around in the lathe, but perseverance paid off. All the pawns are done too, I just didn't have room on the table for all of them

Up close to the King and Queen and Knight. I think the knight should have an eye. but I'd probably not get it in the right place, or make them different on each side, so the knight will have to remain blind.

Just a couple of weeks to go and we will all be together for family fun and frolic. It is pretty green up here -- lots of trees and flowers and all the corn is just going into tassel, so it might be wise if you suffer with the problem to bring your allergy medicines along. We will have Alavert around, but that is about all we use. Also bring your swim suits, sunscreen, and maybe a hat. I think mom has mentioned all this, but it won't hurt to say it twice. I'm in charge of the cooking, so if there is something you can't go the week with or without make sure you let me know. Teryaki burgers are on the list. I hope the expectations haven't been set too high -- mostly we are doing regular stuff that should be some fun for everyone. We are excited to have everyone here regardless of the activities and promise we will probably say the words "What do you want to do now" at least on one occasion.

Take care and see you soon

Small Shop Small Projects

The shop in MN is pretty compact and it takes a bit of moving around just to cut a 6' board, so the answer to that is to make small projects. Ever since I had a mini lathe, I've always wanted to turn a chess set. Sort of wierd considering I don't play the game and barely know how the pieces move, but it is still something I thought would be cool to do, but never had the time or patience.

So for Father's day, mom got me a template duplicater for the lathe, and a template set for a chess set, so I have begun at last to fullfill my quest. Above are my first 2 pawns turned out of maple. The other side will be out of walnut -- sort of traditional, but a good start. I know you are thinking the pawns aren't the same size, but actually they cut off at the round base and the square block goes in the trash. After that, they will be the same size. It was really fun to do, and good for me, it doesn't require too much talent. I suppose you are wondering how I will turn a horses head on a lathe for the Knight. You will just have to stay tuned for that part -- I don't want to give everything away in one posting. So get your chess for dummies books out and learn the game and get your orders in for your custom chess sets.

We have been having a wonderful Spring here in MN. The weather has been absolutely beautiful. We open all the windows rather than run an AC unit all the time. Only twice have we had the AC on. The farms around all have their crops up a ways now, and they are even making a 1st cutting on the grass hay. I've had some beautiful motorcycle rides -- starting to figure the territory out a bit. Brigham Young didn't get up here, but all the back country county roads all run pretty much in a grid, so you can't get really lost, lost, although I've been confused once or twice. There are little towns here and there (like Matthew & Diana live in). Thursday Mom and I drove to a little town called Miesville that has a population of 135 (and growing), but they have a Triple A baseball team called the Mud Hens and a hamburger place that has 53 kinds of hamburgers all named after baseball stuff. How about their latest called the Short Stop with pepper jack cheese, grape jelly, and onions. There is the Mud Hen burger with mushrooms, onions, swiss, and sauerkraut. You can find a "normal" burger too. We had one with mushrooms, swiss, and onions that was darn good. Anyway the town gives credence to Alabama's song 'Cheap Seats' as that seems to be the town pass time. We looked to see if they have a game during the reunion, but they don't so we will probably stick to the St. Paul Saints game or Jordan's 3A team which ever is cheaper.

I have the shop up and running after a fashion and it has been good to make a little saw dust. In fact yesterday I made a faux raised panel door out of MDF for Matthew & Diana's guest bedroom down stairs to cover the breaker box. I used a special router bit made for MDF and it made clouds dust. Mom moved the vacuum hose with the router and we still both looked like chocholate kids when we were done.



I have felt bad that Michael's deal fell through on the K5 Blazer, so I've been keeping my eyes open. Finally I think I've found just the one -- a bit of a fixer-uper, but it is a Cherry One Owner with only 25000 miles on it (all end over end). Any we may want to change our thinking on a one way trailer when you come up and bring a low-boy with a wide load sign wired on it.

With all the concern over an obese America, Pillsbury is thinking of changing their image from the Dough boy to the Chocloate boy shown below. The new image shows you can enjoy your chocolate and still be of a proper shape and size. I've recently tried eating Pillsbury chocholate stuff and my shape hasn't seem to change too much, so I think they should be wary of false advertising.

Hope y'all have a great week! We are getting excited to see everyone at the end of July!

Catching up

Well I haven't posted for a coon's age or a Kunz's age which is even longer. Here are some pics of our trip to Utah for Gwendolynn's blessing. This is the Bad Lands South Dakota. It is pretty interesting country. Not a lot to do except drive and look

Mt Rushmore was cool for a quick visit

Me and mom at Mt. Rushmore

Me and Gwendy

Sarah and a not-too-happy Gwendolynn

Brent on Blessing Day

Afton and Carter with Gwendolynn

3 Generations. After 4 or 5 tries this was the best one

Happy Brandon and Landon

3 Cuties on Blessing day. By the way the picture was at our hotel room -- Sarah and Brent don't have a coffee pot.

We had a very nice visit and are grateful we could see the Western part of the family.

And The Winner Is!

I'm slow to get this out but no one else seems to be writing too much these days except Sarah and Brent

Diana won 1st
Brandon won 2nd
Bug & Mom won 3rd
Brent won the booby prize

Like they say -- Checks are in the mail

TTFN

You won't believe this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-tOsM6F4Y&feature=youtube_gdata

Bracket Busters

Well this has been a crazy tournament. By the 3rd round most of us had washed out on the left side of the chart. Only 2 individuals remain in the hunt for the coveted 1st prize. Here are the current results:

Brent 20 Done

Sarah 44 Done

Heather 44 Done

Matthew 49 Done

Bruce 51 Done

Michael 53 Done

Nicole 55 Done

Benjamin 58 Done

Lorraine 58 Done

Brandon 59 Done

Diana 59

Congratulations to Diana, Brandon, Lorraine, Benjamin & Brent on winning something. We will have to sort out 1st and 2nd place after Monday night.

Diana and Brandon -- Tie Breaker -- In the event of a tie, (before Monday night) add a comment to this posting with what you think the total score of the Championship Game will be i.e. Duke's score plus Butler's score = your guess. The closest guess to the sum of the actual scores will win the tie.

Pictures from Albert T.

These are a couple of pictures that I received from Albert in Germany -- the man that toured Michael & Heather around a bit. These are taken in the town of Guerzenich, which I believe is the place or near the place that Grandpa Glade was wounded. Grandpa would say that soldiering was a dirty business and I always assumed that he meant nasty, unpleasent etc, which I'm sure applied, but it was also literally dirty -- crawling around in the mud and dirt and weather without the chance to get cleaned up or change clothes for days on end. These pictures depict the soldiers' main job -- going from house to house and city to city pushing the Germans back and making sure each structure was free of enemy forces, always being ready to be fired upon. And I think my job is stressful!

BORDER PATROL ALERT

The United States Border Patrol is asking citizens to keep on the lookout for a red 1951 Chevy that they suspect is being used to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border of Mexico and into points along the U.S. border. If you see the vehicle pictured below and have reasons to believe that it is the suspect vehicle, you are urged to contact your local police department or federal government authorities.

2nd Round Results

Brent 20
Sarah 32
Heather 34
Matthew 37
Michael 37
Bug 38
Bruce 38
Brandon 40
Diana 40
Lorraine 40
Nicole 43

Tough round for some of us.

1st Round Results

Brent 14
Heather 20
Sarah 20
Michael 21
Benjamin 22
Bruce 22
Diana 22
Matthew 23
Brandon 24
Lorraine 24
Nicole 25
(I thought I'd list them in reverse so Brent could be at the top)

LET THE DANCE BEGIN

Okay the brackets have been picked and a blank is attached. The rules are the same as last year, or as I happen to remember them from last year. You have to pick all the way through. Increasing points will be given for correct pics as the brackets progress. The winner gets $25, 2nd place gets $15, third gets $10, and the boobie prize gets $1.37. (So shine up that good luck quarter Brent.)

Your picks are due to me before the first round begins. Please make sure you fill them out with something dark so I can read them. You can email them to me at my gmail.com address (same as before but @gmail.com). Have fun and may the best picker win.

Love
Dad

MARCH is here

I haven't written anything for a while. I'll try and get something soon. Suffice it to say that March Madness will soon be with us, so let the dance begin. I would propose that we do the same contest as last year. Is it something that we want to do, or is it too boring. Let me know what you think. We could enter predictions on Cristine Elizabeth's birth date, time, weight, and length instead, maybe Brent could do a little better at that :o)

Bye for now! Dad

Ciao from MN

Good evening from a snowy Sunday night in MN. We have had a nice relaxing day after working ourselves to death Friday and Saturday. We have most of the critical boxes un-packed but still have a ways to go to get settled in. We spent about 1-1/2 hours Friday morning just hauling cardboard boxes and packing paper to a recycle cage that is set up not too far from the house. It is good to get all that stuff out of the house and has made things seem less cluttered. The gnomes are all still in their boxes -- I hope they have enough air in there and that they won't be purple when we take them out. Okay get ready to do your best Tool Man Tim grunt as you scan down to the next picture. Mom found this baby on close out sale at Lowes. We haven't put it to a true test as of yet, but it did really well on what has fallen so far and it looks like it will get a bit of a work out tomorrow morning. This weekend we got an inch or two of light powder, which I shoveled by hand. I wouldn't want to do that to much with any considerable amount of snow

I think in general the move has taken more out of us than we would have imagined. We just seem to be go go go working to get things organized and we are really tired. Saturday night after supper we said we weren't going to unpack any more and just sit down and watch TV. So we found DiVinci Code on a station and started to watch it. Within 15 minutes we were both sound asleep on the couch. Mom woke up at 9:30 and went to bed and I finally came to about 11:30 enough to find my way to the bed. I think the worst is behind us, so hopefully we will be able to rest up a bit.

Besides us physically, no matter how careful the movers are it also takes a toll on your stuff. Here is a picture of my poor clock pendulum. It really got skrunched. So far that is the major loss, but just little things show up with signs of wear and tear. I will get a new pendulum ordered and the movers will reimburse us for it. I guess all in all things haven't been too bad

You can see we got thing prioritized properly by getting Mom's sewing room all set up. She has already been to a place quilting the Happy Quilt. It is really cool and she has done a beautiful job. Just a couple more hours on the machine and it will be done. Stay tuned for the photos to come.

Her is my poor shop -- just boxes piled everywhere. I will have to figure out some heat for the garage to make progress out there. Even though the garage temperature is 10 to 15 degrees warmer than outside and there is no wind, it has still been pretty cold to be working out there. Little by little we will get it done. I probably sound whiney in all of the above, but we truly feel very blessed in our circumstances here. We are enjoying our new surroundings and adventures. Hope you can all make it up here for the reunion or any other time and enjoy our new homestead with us. Have a wonderful week

Winter Weather

It's late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he never had been taught the secrets. . . when he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared. But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?' 'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meterologist at the Weather Service responded. So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?' 'Yes' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.' The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find. Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?' 'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.' 'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked. 'Because,' the weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy.'

Remember this whenever you get advice from a government official!

Mechanic vs Heart Surgon

A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop. The cardiologist was there waiting for the service manager to come take a look as his bike when the mechanic shouted across the garage 'Hey Doc, want to take a look as this?' The cardiologist a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked, 'So Doc look at this engine. I open it's heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in. When I finish, it works just like new. So how come I make $39,000 a year and you get the big bucks ($1,700,000) when you and I are doing basically the same work?' The cardiologist paused, smiled and leaned over, then whispered to the mechanic: 'Try doing it with the engine running!'

Beaumont In The Rear View Mirror

Well this is a picture of the buggy that hauled all our belongings. Despite our best de-cluttering efforts, we about filled the darn thing up. The shed equipment did take a fair amount of space, so I guess I'm to blame. I think Mom has talked to everyone on the phone, but we feel really fortunate to have driven up the whole way on dry pavement. We had some flurries in MO, but nothing too difficult. When we got to Iowa, they had had a very bad storm prior to our trip and the highway looked like a demolition derby. There were cars and trucks off the road everywhere, some right side up, some on their sides, some upside down. We were really grateful to have such good driving conditions. That being said it was colder than something on a brass monkey. The wind was blowing pretty good in Iowa which took the wind chill way down. First morning back in MN it was -14. It is supposed to warm up this week into the high 20's
I thought I was a pretty good packer, but from the nose of the trailer to the back you could hardly have slipped a sheet of paper in between anything. Only towards the very back when they were working with odd sized things from the shed was there any dead space.

Here goes my baby up the ramp. I couldn't drive it due to liability reasons, and the driver seemed pretty nervous about it. Maybe it was because I was standing there with a camera and watching his every move.

So long Beaumont! We've had a lot of good times times there and will have a lot of memories to store up for future reference.

On the Road Again

We finished the loading and left Bmt about 11:30 yesterday. Made it to Joplin MO last night just across the OK border. Shouldn't have problems getting to MN today, we are more than half way. Some snow flurries expected in Iowa on into MN, but it is so cold, it will just be light powdery stuff.

Loading

The movers loaded the truck today. They have about 2 hours of loading left to go, so we hope to be on the road by mid-day Thursday. We won't fill up the entire trailer, but it is still pretty full. It is good to have most of it on this end behind us. The close in MN seems to be going pretty well also. No show stoppers up to this point. We locked in an interest rate as it had jumped up a bit over the past couple of weeks. If it goes down by .25% or more before we close, we can adjust down one time to 1/8th over the posted rate.

Boxing Day(s)

I always wondered what Boxing Day was on the Calendar after Christmas. I guess our Boxing Day came this year after New Years. Mom and I worked really hard last week going through the house room my room consolidating, tossing, cleaning, etc to get ready for the movers this week. I think our efforts have paid off as the boxing has gone really well. The boxing effort was done today and they started blanket wrapping things. They will start loading the truck tomorrow and expect to be loaded tomorrow or Thursday morning. Then we will be off to MN in Mom's car hoping to beat it up there without snow and through the sub-zero temperatures that seem to have so much of the country frozen up. We still have too much stuff -- they have really got a kick out of our food storage with only two of us in the house. They call us mom and dad and say that they will be showing up at our place for the next disaster knowing at least they wouldn't go hungry. Anyway we have a very good crew that boxes, loads and will drive, which is nice to have one stop shopping. It is good to have the process moving along, and we are looking forward to many new adventures as time goes on.

In the picture above the box with the wooden slats is our Grandfather clock. They had a speciality company come out and prepare special crating for it. Hopefully it will survive the trip okay. I was impressed that they did a pretty good job protecting it.