WANTED: Maintenance Man

Owning your own home is defiantly one of the best Financial Investments an individual(s) can make. Home ownership also has other benefits like the Pride that comes with owning your own home, Mortgage Interest Deductions, Property Tax Deductions, Building Equity, Appreciation in your house value, Stability and Freedom. As always, with every benefit come drawbacks. The most common drawback we hear about is how poor you become when you are a homeowner, while that is extremely true; the drawback for me is the amount of weeds that you consume when you become a home owner.

Everyone knows that I build my home four years ago and for the past two years you have all heard me complain about my so called grass. I refer to my grass as my weeds. Two years ago, I put in a sprinkling system and grass in my back yard. Since then, I have not had any grass all I have had is weeds, dirt and semi-grass. Over the past two summers’ I have re-seeded my back yard twice and have sprayed for weeds…well I’ve stopped counting.

Today a friend and I sprayed once again and in my opinion for the last time. If spraying Weed be Gone, which I’m told is the best thing for weeds does not work; I will not spray again and chances are I will just hire a maintenance man to take care of it. Trust me I have better things to do in the summer than fight with my weeds.

The only other thing that I have heard about from a few friends that is tougher than Weed Be Gone is a product that the Public Health and Environmental Hazards people don’t like very much. So I won’t be using that product, I wouldn’t want all of you to have to come visit me and Bubba!

Oh yeah, weeds they multiply, not just next to each other but 100’s of feet away from each other. I now, for the first time in four years have stupid weeks in my front yard. It is true “Everyone needs a friend or two” or in my case I should say “Everything needs a friend or two or eight!”

Here are some pictures of my BFF’S.

Notice****** Some of the weeds like to tease you by having cute little purple flowery things on them.

Ah, a pretty purple flower....NOT it's a weed!!

The big things and the small things are weeds

Look there are tons of them; did you also notice some dirt by the patio. This is about a weeks worth of growth. At least I know the fertilizer is working!!

So unevan, if you look close you can see some of that semi-grass that I have

Now here we have just dirt and weeds, try mowing that

More dirt and more weeds

BIG, BIG spot of dirt and weeds...it's been seeded several times.

And now the weeds from the back have friends in the front!

So if you know someone who needs a side job as a Maintenance Man...hit me up!!

Scofield Mine Disaster

The Scofield Mine disaster was a mining explosion that occurred at the Winter Quarters mine. At the time, the Winter Quarters Mine explosion was the country's worst mining disaster; it now ranks fifth.

In the early morning of May 1, 1900, several hundred miners of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company of Carbon County left their homes in the town of Scofield to begin another day of work in the mines. Some were looking forward to the evening celebrations at Odd Fellows Hall where festivities would be held in honor of Admiral Dewey's 1898 defeat of the Spanish navy in the battle of Manila. Little did they know that the events of the day would culminate not in lively celebrations but in the death of 200 miners. It was the worst mine disaster in America to that time.

At 10:28 A.M. the No. 4 mine shaft unexpectedly exploded. Though the sound of the blast was heard in the nearby town, many residents thought at first that it came from fireworks set off early in celebration of Dewey Day. Those working closer to the mine were more wary of the noise. Mine superintendent T.J. Parmley quickly organized a rescue team to assess the damage.
What the relief crew saw as they approached the No. 4 mine was horrifying. John Wilson, a miner who had been standing at the opening of the mine at the time of the blast, had been blown 820 feet and was lying against a tree. It took nearly twenty minutes to clear away the debris that blocked the entrance to the mine. Time was crucial for those trapped inside. When the crew was finally able to enter the mine, they found that some men were still alive but quickly suffocating from the deadly gases left by the explosion. Miners in the No. 1 mining shaft, connected through tunnels to the No. 4, were also dying from the toxic fumes.

During the next two days the towns of Clear Creek and Scofield began the sad process of caring for the dead and wounded. Once dragged from the mining shafts, dead bodies were taken to the company boarding house where they were cleaned and dressed for burial. Then they were taken to the Scofield School where mothers and wives anxiously waited to claim them.

The Pleasant Valley Coal Company provided the necessary materials to properly bury the dead. Coffins were shipped in from Salt Lake City and Denver. William Sharp, company manager, came from Salt Lake with several doctors to offer assistance to those who were still alive.

On May 5 two large funerals were held in Scofield, a Lutheran service for the 61 Finns killed in the accident and an LDS service directed by several General Authorities of the church. Services were also held in other towns throughout the state. Crowds of people waited at the Salt Lake train station for the bodies of loved ones to arrive for burial.

The Scofield mine disaster left a deep scar in the community and in Carbon County. Although many felt that the mine operators had failed to implement proper safety procedures, state officials cleared them of blame and the Pleasant Valley Coal Company continued operating until 1923. Several miles from the ruins of the Scofiled town signs of a great explosion can still be found at the opening of the old No. 4 mine.

The Scofiled Cemetery today The Mine Shafts today Scofield Mine at Winter Quarters






Train Station in Schofield, people waiting for the train to send home those who lost their lives in the mine disaster.

Funeral Services held on May 5, 1900 at the Schofield Cemetery

What Is A Dad?

A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.

A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.

A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you, even when you fail...

HAPPY FATHERS DAY, DAD/GRANDPA. WE LOVE YOU!
~ME
~KAMI
~DEVIN

An Update!!!

Here is an update on the surgery and the weight loss. The recovery from my infections has gotten a ton better. Last week, my doctor released me to start exercising again. I can sleep on my sides and on my stomach, best news in the world, I can sleep normal again. I can also get into a regular bra now, of course no underwire of any kind still, getting out of this sports bra thing will be great!! Only limitation that I have now is that I still cannot lift over 10 LBS, hopefully that will be lifted next month when I see my surgeon again.

As of today, I have lost 25 lbs.

Below are some before and after of the BR surgery and weight loss.



February before BR and about 15 LBS lighter.

March after the BR and 20 LBS lighter

April 2009

April 2009, with the glasses

May 2009 after BR and 25 LBS lighter

I Finally put them Up—BOOYAH!!

As most of you know, I received a few Fatheads’ for Christmas. For those of you who do not know what a Fathead is.....well they are life size wall graphics that you can put on your wall. The Fatheads of course started out in Sports. They now have super heroes like Spider-Man, Superman, Batman. Disney Characters like Tinkerbelle, Mickey Mouse. Singers like the Jonas Brothers and wait for it Kelli (Whitney).........HANNAH MONTANA! Girl you can now wake up and see Hannah every morning.

My Dad and I finally got around to putting them up this weekend. They are on the walls in my game room. Who, do I have you ask?........Really, you need to ask......for those of you that have to ask, they are Dallas Cowboy Fatheads. I have Tony Romo and Emmitt Smith. I have included some pictures of them. If you want to visit the website you can find it at http://www.fathead.com/.

Kami gets an early birthday present!

Kami is going to be 16 in November, which means that in May she will be eligible for her learner's permit. So, she got an Pontiac Sunfire.

An update but NOT the best update!!

Word has got around to a lot of friends about the set back from my surgery. So, I though I would update my blog for everyone. As we all know my breast reduction surgery was on March 25th.

Everything was going great until something on my right Breast didn't look right. I called my surgeon’s office, it was after hours so I spoke to an on call Dr. I explained what my concerns were and well.......long story short it wasn't okay because this past Tuesday, I ended up in the ER. I found out that I have a skin and a blood infection, which was caused by an undetected Hematoma. The infections that I have are the MRSA and Streptococcus (Group A) Infections.

Everything is okay now and I am really fine. I have had several IV's of antibiotics. Thursday, IHC Home Care taught me how to give the IV's to myself, so I don't have to be in the Hospital and I don't have to go in everyday to get the IV. Right now I have an IV in my arm and I simply hook the bag up and the medicine runs though the IV into my body.

Thursday, when I saw my surgeon, he said I could continue to work and do everything as I normally would but he did not want me driving my car because it is a stick shift. So, I choose to say home on Thursday and Friday to get some sleep. I will return to work on Monday. Even though I got this crazy infection, I would still recommend this surgery to anyone who is considering it. All Surgery's have their risks and you have to weigh your options. The medical industry is amazing in how quickly they determine what is going on and then how quickly they fix the problem.

There is no need to worry, I am fine and will continue to be perfect…..LOL. Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed or text me. I love you all. And a HUGH thanks to my mom for driving me around town and making me and the kids dinner every night. I will see everyone or talk to everyone soon.