Quotes of the Week

"With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose." 

-- Wayne W. Dyer 

"Your time is valuable. Make the most of it by streamlining your life to include only the people who really matter to you, and those who show you really matter to them."  

-- Gabbie Chase 

"Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can't be done." 

 -- Bo Bennett 

Jacob, IPad, Dinner, Mailbox

Jacob is now a traveling man with his new job assignment in Texas. Lucky us when he scheduled a work trip to Salt Lake City last month. He rounded up the siblings with a Cafe Rio dinner bribe.

And lucky us again when he returned for another work trip here the following week. Yes, it was another Cafe Rio sibling dinner night--just minus the photo.

Good news for Glen when Delta found his lost iPad.

We had a fun dinner date night with Glen's sister Barbara and Rich with Abraham Lincoln hanging above our table.

Our mailbox has been causing us grief. It was rusting and rotting and getting huge holes in it and more often than not the mail would get wet. I was sick of it.

Glen researched on the internet how in the world we would go about changing out a mailbox that is encased in a brick pillar. Looked like it was going to be a big project that would require special tools and expertise to get the job done. Glen put requests out for handymen to do the project and no one responded back. We were frustrated.

One morning when I saw our neighbor Lee outside, I had him come over to get his opinion of how he would go about putting in a new mailbox. After a minute's inspection of the bricked in mailbox, he said he knew how he would do it and started for his garage to grab some tools.

I quickly urged him to come back and that I hadn't meant for him to have to deal with it--I just wanted his input on how Glen might go about it. He refused to turn around, kept marching over to his house and returned in a short time with a screwdriver and a mallet in hand.

He used the screwdriver to chip out all the mortar around the mailbox and then took the mallet and beat the heck out of that thing.

Pretty soon Grant came over to see what was going on and gave his words of wisdom and encouragement.

It was much harder than it might look and Lee really worked up a sweat getting that thing almost all the way out. Then it got stuck because the back lip of the mailbox was too big to fit through the hole. This is where Grant helped out...

He got a crowbar from his garage and handed it to Lee to finish the job. SUCCESS!!! Look how happy these men were as they were serving their neighbor--us. I appreciated their efforts so much!!

That is until I looked at that hole in the brick and hoped the mailman would just hold our mail for a few days until Glen got back in town and could finish up the job Lee started.

Ta da!!!! I had a new mailbox waiting for Glen upon his return. He had to take a mallet and beat in the back of the mailbox so it would fit in the hole, but doesn't it look great from the front??

It's nice to have a handyman husband...and handyman neighbors.

Quote of the Week

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."  

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

"Self-confidence is the surest way of obtaining what you want. If you know in your own heart you are going to be something, you will be it. Do not permit your mind to think otherwise." 

 -- General George S. Patton 

"Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome." 

 -- Author Unknown 

Mark and Michelle Back in Town and Glen Shares a Funny Story

Mark and Michelle brought their family here for a family vacation during the summer. This month they left their children home and came by themselves. They wanted to participate in the Ogden Temple Rededication weekend. They ended up getting in the Dee Events Center to see the youth cultural celebration and were so excited about that.

They didn't score tickets inside the temple for the rededication, but they dealt with that just fine by going to the middle session with Dad and Mom. They sat on the front row at the church, so I'm sure it felt just like they were actually there in the temple.

Mark wanted to learn how to play Blokus and what better teacher than Brooke.

Mark and Michelle were good sports when I was making my first attempt at a panorama picture. Sorry, Michelle, that it happened to be right when you were in the middle of eating breakfast.

Was it just a coincidence the family dinner for the month was the weekend they were here or was it planned that way? Either way, we were glad they were there.

Rachel was so happy to see Madison.

Amanda had a birthday.

Speaking of Amanda...she just ran a marathon. What a crazy girl!! Good for her!!

And still speaking of Amanda...she made this beautiful chocolate cake (with the help of Maggie). Just look at the detailing of the frosting roses.

 I believe it was Mike's turn to blow out the candles and he opted to let the children do it instead.

Next came birthday girl Kaelyn.

The day Mark and Michelle came to town was a BYU football game day. Glen went off to spend most of the day in Provo and when he returned, he had a funny story to tell.

As he was parking, he noticed a car a couple of stalls over from him start rolling out of its parking spot (with no driver inside) and hit a car. Then the car was just sitting there in the middle of the lane where the cars drive and it was blocking traffic.

Glen made Kenny help him push the car back into its stall. He remembered he had a wheel chock in the back of his car because of all the time he spent at Kennecott where it is a requirement for every vehicle to have one.

Glen left the following note for the driver under the windshield wiper (translation below photo if needed).

Here's the translation: "You left your car in neutral. It rolled and hit the car in front of you license # ___. We pushed your car back and I used my wheel chock under your driver rear tire. If you see this put the wheel chock on my car. Facing west 2 cars to your right."

After the game, Glen was happy to see the wheel chock on top of his car with the following message:

Translation: "Thanks so much! I feel like an idiot."

Hilarious!! Glen had signed his name and left his contact info. This person didn't leave any identifying information. Thankfully the roaming car did not do any damage to the car it hit.