Not to be left out!

I guess it's safe to say that we're getting snow down here! It was expected but the amount was kinda iffy...the iffy part has been answered! There are sooo many people who don't know what to do in snow conditions, consequently, the traffic is absolutely snarled and jacked to where nobody can move without getting too close to one another!! The school district closed down all after school activities, all parent teacher conferences and anything else that would keep people at the schools any longer than is necessary. There are no snow plows in the valley because Las Vegas is a sunny climate....so who needs any such equipment?? It will be interesting to see the morning news and how they treat this storm which, by the way, is supposed to last well into tomorrow morning!!! I guess the next big piece of news is that I am officially legit with the business. We obtained our business license Monday afternoon...the business name is titled, JADE Services...JADE is an acronym for my partner's and my name....Jon And Dennis Exclusive Services. We are excited to get going and hope to be able to lauch officially by the last week of December! It has been a pretty long haul just getting going because of the tight budget that we have been operating on. We're keeping our fingers crossed and our knees constantly on the floor. We'll keep everybody posted as the days and the next few weeks go by. I guess the worst that could happen is that we could show up at one of your doorsteps with sleeping bags and suitcases looking for a place to stay!!! Then we'll really see how thick blood is!!!!!!!

Post Thanksgiving notes

Well, just had to chime in on what went on for Turkey day. As you can see, we're all smiles before dinner (actually this was a post dinner, dinner...) and then after dinner, as you can imagine, the smiles disappeared and were followed by looks of pain! I was actually proud of myself for only being able to eat one plate but the plate was the size of a pizza dish! I complained to Maureen that I could only eat one helping! Pie was a different story! Because everybody doesn't like pumpkin pie, Maureen decided to take orders so that everybody would have a pie that they liked. So we ended up having, pumpkin, apple, banana, pecan and cherry!!! Mmmmm!

The women really didn't like this picture butt the cameraman couldn't resist! Grandma and Grandpa came down to join us for dinner, which we really loved them coming down. Because of Grandma's sore leg she wasn't as mobile as she would have liked but each day she seemed to be getting more mobility in her leg. Grandpa would accompany me on my morning walks with Orland out in the desert and he would help me find golfballs that had been left from my previous days of walking the dog and practicing my drives.

Of course, during the weekend you had to play

games and one of those games has to be a rousing

one. Here they are playing "pit".

Kalie really getting into the lolipop action and watching the rousing game. She found a bff in Shaun.

All in all it was, as always, a good weekend to have family around and to just chill in Htown. We particularly love being surrounded by the sound of our grown children enjoying each other's company and the little voice running all over the house calling for Shaun. We appreciate that Grandma and Grandpa are such that they can truly have joy in their posterity be it here or in Utah or the news from the mission field. We believe that the magical moments of familial bonding which happen to our extended family are not by accident or happenstance but through faith and prayers of grandparents, parents and children. We look forward to repeating the same during the Christmas holidays! Hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Well I am officially depressed to wake up to the new President of the U.S. speaking. As I told Dennis, our country is now going to H E double toothpicks. I can't believe people in this country can be so gullible and taken in by the "movie star" power etc. If they think Bush was bad ....just wait!! I guess we all know it is even closer to the second coming of the Lord.

ooops!

I thought I was posting this on my "family's" blog and not on the HTown blog. Oh well, we'll call that early onset of senility!

Maiden voyage!

So here we go....this is our first time on the family blog. We've been following, with interest, all the other entries and I've got to say...that first of all, I am not nor will I ever be a follower of that vampire thing. However, all of the girls in our family have been pretty much Twilight to the nth degree! Give me a Clive Cussler novel any day, every day and I will read just as avidely as the next guy or girl. I will admit, that I will probably see the movie when it comes out but that's about the extent of it. Marchelle and her kids came out the other week and then we drove down to San Diego to meet her husband, Rahul who flew in and we spent the weekend with them. We had a great time with them, they stayed on for the rest of the week but here are some pics. The condo we stayed in was 2 blocks from the beach. We were 5 min. from the church, we attended Sacrament meeting and 10 min. from the Temple which we went to after sacrament. Rahul and I caught a few waves Mon. morning before going to Sea World. It was coooolddddd!!!!! I think I could be really happy being a reverse "Snow Bird" spending the summer down in San Diego and then going back to Las Vegas for the rest of the year! Oh well, nice to dream and mostly nice to see everybody and catch up with you all!

Three's not only a crowd but trouble!

As you can see..they are together and they are smiling! Unbelievably, they have been actually pretty good with each other. They all kinda just blend together, each personality giving and making up when needed. Needless to say, both grandma and grandpa are eating up every moment and wearing out at the end of the night. We've forgotten about constant tripping hazards, ie; toys, books, shoes, and little people all over the floor! We've forgotten how every room in the house can look like a tornado just blew through.! We've forgotten about food mostly on the floor and not on the table! Do we care?? To be honest...maybe for about 3 sec. and then we realize that we don't have these moments very often and so we treasure them and savor the moments.

You've also been able to see that we are very close to being finished in the front yard. I was so tickled to see the kids playing again in the yard that it brought back sweet memories of 'back in the day' when they were "all soooo small....." The plants have matured a little more and there is actually color in them. In fact, just today I saw some butterflies on the flowers which means there will be some other flowers cross pollenated in the future. By spring of next year, the ground where Marchelle is standing should be entirely covered by plant growth and color.

I was going to put our house number that Maya is sitting on but it may be covered by the plant come spring or else I will have to trim that part of it. They do make for some interesting sitting and posing rocks for the kids. Oh well, just had a few moments to put this in, will continue to update in the future, within the next couple of days.

I'm tired!

I just wanted to sound off about something that has been on my mind for the last few weeks. I'm tired.....I'm tired of politics!!!! I'm tired of the spins that are made from one candidate to the other!!! I'm tired of the validity that the media gives to celebrities who's agenda is about self promotion, who's bleeding heart want's to "give" everybody the farm without having to earn any part of it and who talk about infringing and being invasive on "personal rights". I'm tired of music, tv, movie, spin doctors and everybody else who think that through their enlightening engagements, we should likewise be so enthralled with their rapture. I'm just tired!!!! Dare I say, I could give a rats@!*!!!! about anything they say and to back that up I quote Korihor's arguement..."but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius...these people are idiots!! That is their game plan, that is their agenda and that is how the master deceiver has twisted and enveloped their once noble ideas!! On the other hand......

Beginning this weekend, we will be able to listen to men and women whose sole intent is to bring all people to Christ. They will teach us how to be better people, better husbands and wives, better parents and better children. They will teach how to lift others up and how to serve others without the blinding glare of recognition or approval ratings. The things the Prophet will promise to us will always come true. Those principles will not always be popular and in a lot of cases, to the common man, appear to be foolish. But I would bank everything on the words of the Prophet, he is the one that we should look to, he is our captain leader and he will guide our ship through the storm. I am ever thankful that we have always had sound leadership "for the past 178 years!"

So if you're like me, tired of all that's has been happening...have hope for a brighter tomorrow as we look to the Christ and live! Be energized in the thought that we have a living prophet to guide us during these tumultuous times.

Conversation with a 2 yr. old

After reading Marchelle's latest regarding her conversation with Maya I thought I would share my conversation with Kalie from the other night when we babysat her as Megan and Charlie went bowling with some friends in their ward. This is from a grandfather's perspective, mind you, so now I know what G/G Richins were going through with our kids, Marchelle, Nathan, Derek, Shaun and Megan and they always did it so willingly as if they really enjoyed it!!!!

Kalie, "C'mon paka" as she grabs my fingers pulling me back towards the game room. (If you haven't figured out what 'paka' means, it means Grandpa)
GPa, "Okay". (here's where it gets interesting...)
Kalie, "bele, bele, bele, happy..."
GPa, "Oh, you want to see happy?" (that's her cue to watch Happy Feet)
Kalie, "Happy, happy, bele, bele, here, bele, bele, bele, sit here, umalimyma..."
GPa, "Huh....!"
Kalie, She is grabbing a puzzle and wants to go back to the kitchen to do it on the table, "Puzzle, bele shuma mima treats paka." Back to the kitchen we go.
As we're going I'm saying, "Don't you want to watch Happy?"
Kalie, "Treat"
GPa, "Oh how 'bout this puzzle first!"
Kalie, "Paka, treat".
GPa, (Why am I such a sucker!!) "Okay...", "Ready to do this puzzle??" We open the hyper-bag and then it's back to the game room!!
Kalie, "bele, bele, bele, shhmashhma". She grabs another puzzle and I'm thinking, what about that other puzzle back in the kitchen! Back and forth we go for the next 20 minutes. Each time I'm looking at Maureen with those 'Rescue me' look in my eyes.
GPa, "Phew, grandpa needs to sit down."
Kalie, "C'mon, paka...." back we go to the game room. Happy Feet is well into midway point,, we've watched maybe 3 min. total and I'm thinking, wait a minute!!!!....this the good part!!! Now I'm chasing her back into the living room, because I'm now the monster! We run around the couch a couple of times, she stops and gets a drink of milk and then we start again! Kaile, then chases the dog all the while grabbing his toy and throwing it so he can fetch it.
Kalie, "Ohhhh noooooo! bele, bele, bele, c'mon paka, paka, paka.....paka"
GPa, "What does she want?" as I look at Maureen. Grabbing my fingers again, we go back to the game room. My mind is saying, "noooo not again!", My body is saying, "you're not gonna last much longer buddy!" However, because I would do anything and everything possible for these little ones,...I go.
Kalie, "Chanted?...Chanted?" (That's another movie, "Enchanted".)
GPa, "What about Happy?", "Don't you want to finish 'Happy'?"
Kalie, "No!", "Chanted"
GPa, "Hey....Babes!!!! it's your turn!!!!!!"
GPa, "Grandma is gonna watch 'Chanted' with you, okay?!?!?" Maureen rescues me, I go back and turn on the Olympics, they don't look nearly as tired as I feel!! Bless your hearts, G/G Richins! *footnote - Kalie is getting much better at putting words together that are increasingly becoming more understandable and maybe grandma and grandpa are in training and just gearing up for Christmas when all 4 grandkids will be together! Hopefully, we'll have this toddler grammer down by then!!!!

Stepping stones

We are getting closer to getting finished. The stepping stones have been set and the crushed

gravel around the plants and stones. We have to be completely done with the desert landscape portion by Sept. 2nd so that we can be inspected by the water authority verifying the conversion to desert landscaping. I'm hoping that when people walk on the stones they won't be confused as to which foot they need to lead with in order to hit the stones properly, can you figure out which foot is the lead?
So after Bear Lake, it is usually tradition to go fishing at "our spot". This time we decided that we would first start out at a "different spot", which we did and were able to catch a couple of nice ones. Shaun wasn't able to go because of school and work. He and Jamie had already missed some school going to Bear Lake, so it was just Derek and I. We ended up having a pretty good day, noting that if we had originally gone to "our spot" we would have been home with our feet up drinking lemonade 3 hrs. earlier. Ohhhhh, but we wouldn't have had "the experience!!!" Most of the fish were in this range.

Next up will be Shaun's graduation ceremonies, we'll see you this weekend!

humility

I was reading in Alma 32 and came across some scriptures that really hit me in regards to Dennis and I's work situation. Alma is talking to the poor, whose afflictions had humbled them. He tells them that those that are compelled to be humble are blessed, but those that are humble without circumstances that compell them to be humble will be more blessed. I was humbled again as I realized we were some of those that were compelled to be humble, but I know that we will be blessed in some form anyway. So, for all you who are reading this, be humble without being compelled to do so and you will be blessed even more.
Reading the scriptures has brought me peace and hope the last few weeks. It is interesting because we were asked to speak in church 3 weeks ago and they asked us to speak on Alma 22:18 but I just couldn't get very much out of that particular scripture. So I read previous verses hoping to get what I should and I came across verse 16 which talks about hope. It then references to Ether 12:4 which talks about hope being the anchor of the soul and I just felt like I should talk about Hope. So I called the Bishopric member and ask him if that would be OK. As it turned out I had a lot of people come and tell me how much that talk had helped them and for 2 weeks after people were referring to it in lessons, etc. Little did I know that 2 weeks after I would really need my own talk on Hope. It has helped-- as has all your prayers and thoughts for us. If you have a chance read Alma 22:16 and Ether 12:4. They are some of my favorites now.
Love you all, Maureen

et al...

Recently I have been preoccupied with other matters that have required my, almost total, attention. The most important matter being, without a job after a number of years, not totally blissful, but nonetheless gainful. Maureen confessed that she had been praying that I would find another avenue to get me out of the sun and physical labor but not to this extreme. As with a lot of prayers, the answer may not be to our liking but in the grander scheme of the plan it is what the master will is and not our will. And so I have to trust in "his will"and know that "he is." That is a truth, that is a constant and that will never change.... One other thing that I know will never change is the support, the faith and the prayers of family members both immediate and extended! It is not only humbling but it is love beyond measure and a uniting bond that cannot be broken. Now all the things that we "talk" about in priesthood, relief society, sunday school and sacrament about being true followers of Christ are being witnessed first hand by myself and Maureen. I have been the recipient of your faith and prayers. It is not a position that I am comfortable being in and the opposite end of the spectrum that I would prefer but I have felt the influence of all of your heartfelt prayers!! Maureen and I know that we will come out of this perhaps not "smelling like a rose" but more importantly with a knowledge that through the exercise of faith and prayers we've gained something even greater, a testimony of "family" and maybe.............. just maybe.................. a glimps of the eternities. We..........I............thank you all!!

...And Then Some...

I hadn't had a chance to take some pics of the front yard with the shrubs and plants in but I finished that part of it this morning. So here are some pics...

It was fairly cool this morning, 89 degrees so I thought I'd go out and get a good like in before it got too hot!!! Anyway, in between the plants and shrubs will be finely crushed rock almost resembling a course sand type material and then grass underneath the tree. There will be some large flat rocks on the left of the driveway creating a walkway to the sidewalk approach to the house. Finally, a paved sitting area between the tree and the house. And then....

Progress

The project is coming along and the picture is getting clearer on what I want to do. The focal point obviously is the tree. The garden area surrounding the tree will draw attention to the grass and the sitting area behind the grass when it's completed. The problem is that it is now July 8th, the temperature is over 110 degrees and so working out in the heat is getting really difficult...at best! Thankfully, Derek and Shaun came down over the last weekend and they provided some much needed help but our work day consisted of starting at 5 am and quitting at 9 am. Then we would go into the house to get out of the sun. We did this on Thur. night, Fri. morning and then on Sat. morning, also squeezing in a piano move over to Megan's house. There are new plants and shrubs planted around the brick wall and along the side with rocks placed within the planting areas. I haven't taken pics of what's been done but it is starting to come together...slowly!! One other obstacle to overcome besides the extreme heat is the fact that we are even trying to plant in the middle of a fiery furnace season and keep them all alive!!!

This weekend we also celebrated Shaun's and Kaile's birthdays. Kaile really likes her backpack!!
What a character!! Megan might be concerned about perhaps buckling when trying to govern Kaile's growing fascination with certain "movies" , ha! When it comes to grandpa, I just sit there and laugh because it is soooo funny watching her walk right in, open the ottoman, grab the 'Enchanted' dvd,(even when we try to hide its location in the movie line-up), open the case, take the dvd out (properly,... I might add), turn on the player and insert the dvd and then sit on the couch saying in her little voice, cmon, cmon! as she looks at you expecting you to sit right next to her! I'm really no help at all...I am an absolute push over!!!, plain and simple...a toasted marshmellow....not silly putty in her hands but mostly silly!!! I love our grandchildren, don't look to me for any disciplining...I did that a generation ago!! Nope...I'm the spoiler, the button that busted on the shirt from being proud (are we allowed to use that word???) I'm slipping the candy underneath the table when mom and dad aren't looking and I'm winking when their backs are turned!!! Can't wait to see our other grandchildren in the upcoming months. But until then, we are looking forward to Bear Lake to be with family and to enjoy memorable times together, whether it be late at night in a tent with the airmattress flatter than a pancack, slapping yourself silly around the campfire because of the mosquitoes or getting into the water in the early morning to get the boat fired-up! The memory is to be able to sit back and enjoy each and every moment, savor the quality time with each other as those times seem to be getting scarcer and scarcer as family dynamics change each year!!! To be able to catch up with all the new additions to the extended family will be a truly joyous occassion! Until next time....D!

Brother's unite!

It was a special occassion to be able to be with my brothers, John, Kendall, & Mike to support Autumn and her husband, who is also named Kendall, in their adoption of Alema. We hadn't been together for a couple of years and so this was special. I flew up on Thurs. night, stayed with Derek and then went fishing with Shaun and Derek at our "spot" on Friday. Of course, had a great time down on the stream and then Friday night we went to Salt Lake Temple to attend Alema's sealing to Autumn and Kendall Croft. What a special night it was!!! Then saturday, we decided to go to Thanksgiving Point to hit a few balls!!! That was plan 'B'. Plan 'A' was to go fishing after my brothers John and Kendall heard how we did on Friday. When the inquiry was made about the possibilities Derek and I just looked at each other reading each others' mind thinking that...."not going to be a very fun day, if we do indeed go fishing." The only thing that I kept going through my mind was figuring out how John was going to climb over barbed wire fences, climbing through them, wading through the stream and climbing through thistle and willows and then getting back to the car at the end of the day!!!! I had to quickly come up with an alternate plan, one that would be 'less stressful'. And so, you see everybody having fun hitting a bucket of balls. We had a great time!!!!!....and then we went to breakfast at, "One Man Band" restaurant in Lehi. Sunday, was the blessing and during that time everybody got together for pics on the steps of the chapel.

Pictured on the steps are: (fr) Ashley, Shaun, Krista, Autumn, holding Alema, Kelsi. (br) Kelland, Aubrey, Derek. All the cousins who were there. I really had an enjoyable time being with my bros. I couldn't have asked for a better week-end except having Maureen there also to share in my joy and of course Mom and Dad. I'm sure they were smiling this week-end.

Venting

I decided that I needed to vent because I am ticked off. I volunteered a while ago to teach an Enrichment class on Pizza making--not only traditional pizza but Rocky Road pizza, fruit pizza, peanut butter and honey pizza (for kids) Garden salad pizza, and a couple others. So I prepared for a few days--typed up all the recipes, copied them all, stapled them together, bought all the ingredients that cost me $45 and set up a bunch of chairs, cleaned my house and got my kitchen looking nice, etc. This morning, before I went to school, I made a big Rocky Road pizza and a fruit pizza so they could taste them tonight. After work I took Dennis to the airport and then came home and made a pizza dough (2 pizzas) that needed to set for 30 min. and was prepared to show everyone how to make it up to that point. Then we were going to assemble the pizzas and bake and eat. Well--7:00 came and went and one--yes 0ne--person came! Needlesstosay I canceled and am going to try freezing the pizzas that I made and I gave away the others. I am not happy about the support that I received. As Dennis said--"They stiffed the R.S. President!"
Maureen

Burrr!!!

I know it's the beginning of summer but it is already hot here in Las Vegas! Probably too hot for anything fun outside. So I thought I would go back 2 1/2 years ago when I went up to Idaho on a snowmobiling adventure with some of the guys in the ward. It was indeed an adventure as we were in snow well over our heads and in some areas over 20 ft. deep. We stayed in a cabin near Island Park and snowmobiled all day Friday, Saturday, rested on Sunday, then half day on Monday. Anyway, looking back at these pics kinda gives me the chills....so I know for some of you, you are all ready for the warm weather but for this island boy, I would much rather it be cold!!! Enjoy!

Snowmobiling is sooo much fun. To be able to go 80 mph on the trails with not much to worry about is really cool!! Some of the country we went through was awesome and eeriely quiet and almost like you were on another planet with the way the trees looked all iced up. Even though it was really, really cold, I still couldn't bring myself to wear pants up there. This might be a fun activity for the 'family' to think about as an alternate during another holiday break!!! Hey....I wonder if they snowmobile out at Lake Erie??? Marchelle, Nathan, we might have something to think about this winter!!!

Wow!

We've been reminded of what it is to be an example, knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. When Maureen and I were young and having young children in the home we would try to do our best to teach the right things to do, try to teach the gospel principles and mostly how to be good persons. The other day, unkowingly we were in the living room after having dinner and just relaxing. Grandma rested her legs up on the ottoman and then comes this little person, Kaile, out of nowhere and copies grandma!!! We just laughed our heads off!!!

And then the stark reality hit us like a ton of bricks! We had better watch what we do and what we say because there are little minds that are following us. When we least expect it, when we think there is no audience and when the roar of silence is deafening our example will be what is noticed and copied whether we like it or not. Much like to story that President Hinckley told of when looking for a car to buy he walked up to a car and kicked the tire and noticed that his son did the exact same thing...he walked up to it and kicked the tire. Our best teaching, likewise, will sometimes be the way we do things, the way we say things and the way we live. You can rest assure that little people are watching. Father's, most of all, happy father's day and secondly, be a good father!

WIP - (work in progress)

As you can see the grass is gone and the shrubs have been replaced with different ones. My artistic side has come out with the block wall facing the front sidewalk. Notice the two swells and then the returns towards the house, as they return they curve inward towards each other. Maureens first impression of the curves was that I was trying to symbolize certain female frontal anatomical parts!!! Butt!! on the contrary, if you were to look at the shape from the top you could clearly see that it will take on a "Heart" shape because there is 'a lot of love' in this project!! Within the heart will be grass and in between the grass and the house will be a paved sitting area with approaches from the corner of the sidewalk coming off the driveway and the front porch.

Of course, I had to bust out my Lakers shorts while working in the yard and doing my best impression of an illegal alien. Like the way my outfit is coordinated???? Maureen would definitely not approve...again!.......with the way I dress for this job but you know I'm getting older, perhaps wiser but more importantly a lot more self assured in my feelings of self-worth where I really don't care what other people think!!!! I'm at peace with myself!!!! Ha!!!!!

Anyway, it's hot right now so I thought I'd come in and cool off before going out for another lick. Will keep everybody updated with pics and thoughts as the project moves towards completion...I am excited to finally get a picture in my head about the final look!!