Tribute to good ole worf

It all started when Jeff always wanted a dog and his mom always told him, when you grow up and get your own place you can do whatever you want. Well don't ever challenge Jeff with that because that is exactly what he did. He got himself a chocolate Labrador 12 years ago. He named the dog Worf, for Jeff's love of Star Trek(scary I know). When we got married 9 years ago, I became an instant stepmom but he was such a good dog, I didn't mind. When we started having children we were worried the kids would be scared of Worf but luckily our first two boys just absolutely loved him. He was the most gentle and kind dog you could ever see. He would let the kids lay by him, pull his tail (gently of course) and just play all around him. I really couldn't believe how good Worf was with kids. Well when the twins got big enough to care, they were a bit nervous about Worf. Alex was beginning to warm up to him but Ryan was very nervous around him. By now Worf was getting very old. He had bad arthritis, he was beginning to bark all the time at nothing, and he was deaf. We weren't sure if the barking was pain or something else and the vet said there was no way of knowing. We were getting concerned about putting Worf through another cold Utah winter. After much sadness and thought we decided it was time to let go. We are very sad but we know it was the right thing to do for Worf. He was an amazing pet and I know it won't be the same around here without him. These are some older pix of Worf. Oh the memories.

Farewell to Chief Whitney

There was a sad loss in Springville last week. Fire Chief, Phil Whitney passed away last Wednesday unexpectedly. Jeff was very shocked by it as was everyone else. He was a good man. Jeff really enjoyed working with him on the fire department. He will always be remembered as a man of service, and honor. He was a big jokester too. Not everyone saw that side of him, but Jeff sure has some great stories, and memories. His funeral was an amazing site to see. A true military and fireman's tradional funeral. The procession of fire trucks that came to honor him was 2 miles long. They had a flag archway for the trucks to pass under, thanks to Spanish Fork Dept. ladder trucks. During the cemetary service they had many traditional elements. They had a gun salute, TAPS was played beautifully and they had an amazing bagpiper. They had a lifelight helicopter fly over. There was the flag folding from the top of the casket and the presenting of the fireman's helmet to the family. The most touching parts were the mist scene. This is when 3 fireman in full gear head into the water mist as one goes by himself to signify the loss. Then they had the last page for the chief. All the pagers went off and that was very emotional. He will truly be missed. The following are some pictures of the viewing at the fire station on Sunday night and then the others are of the funeral this past Monday.

Halloween

I am a little behind but we had a great Halloween. We had a weeks worth of activities so the boys got a lot of use out of their costumes. The family trick or treat night was on Monday. We met at the shop and passed out candy to all the kids. It is nice to do it this way because the kids get to see all the cousins costumes. Sometimes Halloween gets so crazy and we don't get around to everyone so it works great to do it this way with the family. Then we had school activities on Wednesday with Zach and Jake. Zach had a program and Jake had the annual school costume parade. Alex and Ryan had their little school party on Thursday. Halloween was spent in Salt Lake because the Utes were playing Wyoming. It was so much fun. The school had an activity planned where the kids could wear their costumes to the game and trick or treat there. They had tents set up and all the other Utah teams passed out candy to the kids. I think the boys had a lot of fun. Then we won the game so it was a perfect ending to a fun day. Now, on to the costumes. Jake really wanted to be Mario from Mario Brothers. I thought about it for a while and figured I could come up with something. I had the red hat and Jake had the red shirt. I sewed the M patch on the hat and then found some cheap material and made the overalls. We added a mustache andgloves, then voila.........Mario. I must say, he really looked good.

Then Zach wanted to be a vampire so bad. I found a costume at Walmart and he just loved it. I couldn't get him to wear the vampire teeth or put any makeup on so he was just a nice, cute little vampire. He is right in the middle of the picture with some of the kids from his class.

The twins obviously don't really care. For one party they wore a chicken costume and a Pablo(Backyardigans) costume. These were Zachs from a while ago. For the game they were Utah football players.

They really were cute and they had fun. What a great Halloween. Can't wait until next year. I wonder what they will want to be. Hopefully something easy.

Jeff's Big hunt

Well he finally did it. Jeff drew out for the big elk bull hunt this year. He has been getting ready for it for a long time and has been up hunting since last Wednesday. Finally this morning about noon he got his big prize. They came up on the elk and they called him in. He approached quickly and Jeff was able to shoot him from about 13 yards away. It took off up the mountain but they found him in the meadow. He was a 6x7 and scored a 310. Big enough to make Jeff happy. It took about 5 1/2 hours to cut him apart and haul him out in pieces, besides the head of course which will be mounted and put on the wall for all to stare at. Come see us and our new addition to the family in about a year. Here are some of the wonderful pictures.

First Utes game

We had our first Utah game last week. We still sit with the family and we have so much fun. There is about 20 of us that have season tickets together. The twins were so small last year we weren't sure how they would do this year having to sit and stay in one place for so long but they did really good. They were so interested in everything going on around them. Alex kept pointing down to the field. He was very intrigued by the game going on. It was a great game and we had a blast. Also, we won so that doesn't hurt either. Hopefully we will have a great season. Here are some pictures from the game. I didn't have any of Zach. He really doesn't like his picture to be taken very much. He was there though. Just no record of it. Maybe next time.

Zach growing up

Zach started kindergarten a little over a week ago. He is loving it and not nervous at all. He is already learning sight words and starting to sound things out to read. He is great at Math, hopefully he gets those skills from me. He was excited to go. Jeff was going to walk with Zach and Jake on that first day but Jake said he would get him there so Jeff just stayed home. They want to be so independent. Happy he is getting so big. This is our annual picture outside the front door. I can't believe how big he is getting.

Whew

Finally I am caught up with all of the happenings in our lives. Of course there are several other things going on but who needs to know everything right? I am happy to be updated ...... at least for today.

Last one I promise

We had a family firemans party the other day. It was a blast. It was a very warm day and fireman and a hot day require the same thing to make it a better day. Water and lots of it. We got together and had a barBQ then had a few pools set up for the small kids. Then they used the fire pool and set it up as a pool for the bigger kids to swim in. After lunch they broke out the trucks and hoses. It was so much fun. Jake got to use the hose for a few minutes. They had the cannon going on top of the truck. I couldn't believe all the water. Everyone had such a blast and I can't wait to do it again.

Rhino trip up Camelsback

Jeff and his sister Adrienne took Jake and Zach a few weeks ago on an early morning trip up Camelsback. It is the mountain above Springville. They left around 5a.m. They stopped to get doughnuts and milk, their favorite breakfast, and headed up to see the sunrise. Jeff took his scope so the boys could look for familiar things while they were up there. They saw our house, Jake's school, and they called Jeff's mom and dad and had them come in the backyard and wave to them. They thought that was so cool. Here are a few pictures of their fun morning.