Busy Week

Quent and I helped his mom and Kerry move a over the weekend instead of going to the family reunion in South Dakota. Quent went back to work on Tuesday and I've been busy with the Summer League. Not much new to report other than Quent is working all weekend and we'll be staying close to home for the 4th.

Back in the Saddle

So I've been a total blog slacker this month, but as you will see I've caught everyone up with what we've been up too the past couple of weeks. (I've updated everything after June 4)

This weekend will be fairly busy helping Joyce and Kerry move and then next week is the fourth of July. Seriously it's the fourth of July. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by and it seems we have just sat still while the world carries on.

I am officially back in the saddle working for the NBA Summer League and with the Draft last night my life just got a bit more busy. I'll be heading to Vegas from the 7th of July through the 20th. I'm excited that Quent is going to fly down and visit me for the last three days of summer league and then drive home with me. (Don't worry, I've got a rental car all lined up, I'm not trusting the Jeep(see earlier post) -- and it's all covered with my expenses). I resume school again on August 1.

Crazy Jeep!

Twice in the past week I've had to drive to Salt Lake and twice my Jeep has decided not to continue on to the destination. Both times I was driving down Legacy highway, once to take my grandparents to the airport and the other to go to Joe and Joy's as I was going to tend the kids.

The first time it happened it wasn't in the best location and of course it was in the middle of the afternoon so everyone I would call to come help was working. Luckily as of June 3 I am a member of AAA so I had a free tow -- so I had them tow it to Nicole's office which was just a few miles away. Joe came out and diagnosed the problem with Quent and we replaced the alternator. (And we had an unplanned pizza party at Nicole's that night with Joe, Joy, Morgan, TJ, Patrick, Alyssa, Nicole, Steve and Quent. Who knew Domino's does buy one get one free on Tuesday nigths? Four large pizzas for just $30. YEA for me!)

It's good I have a brand new alternator but on Friday afternoon as I was driving back to Salt Lake it did it again, this time in rush hour traffic. My dad and Rick came to my rescue and ended up towing me to my dad's house where we cursed the Jeep and decided we'd take it to the dealership the next morning.

Saturday morning the car ran fine as my dad drove it to the dealership and I have to admit, I HATE dealing with car dealerships especially service departments. But what I will say is that the Larry H. Miller Dodge/Jeep dealership in the Southtown Automall was EXCELLENT. And I'm not just saying that because I used to work for the man, I'm saying it because their service department was awesome and very friendly from the minute I called to inquire about bringing it in to the phone call I received after I picked up the Jeep. It wasn't a cheap fix, and I'm still a bit skiddish when I drive more than 5 miles from home.

I was able to drive home to Mantua Saturday night after the Jeep was fixed and honestly haven't ventured out much since then. I am not so sure I'll be driving to Salt Lake anytime soon and when I do I'm not sure I'll be driving down legacy. As one of my friends said the other day, remember these things always happen in 3's. (Thanks Steve for pointing that out!)

Our Town

Quent and I live in one of the most beautiful areas of Utah. I forget just how beautiful it is sometimes and honestly take it for granted. We were out and about the other night and I snapped a few pictures. Unfortunately my pictures don't do it justice. You'll just have to come see it for yourself.

There are a few pictures of our neighbor's horse and a couple angles from around the valley that you can see the hatchery. I hope you enjoy. *double click on each picture to see a larger view*

Spending Time with Grandma and Grandpa

While my grandparents were in town for my grandma's last doctor's appointment for her neck (she has healed 100% and was given a clean bill of health) we had the chance to have them stay at our house for a few days.

Grandpa was feeling a bit under the weather but he did get to go fishing and it was fun to be able to sit and visit with them. Of course grandma and I played cards and of course I lost, some things will never change.

Grandpa had sent a couple of his fly fishing rods to Quent last year, ones that he had used as a kid. Quent was able to get one of them repaired and grandpa used it while fishing the pond. The rod was manufactured in the late 1930's and given to grandpa as a gift. He's got story after story about the pole and where it's been and the fish he's caught.

Fishing with Grandpa

As Ashley said..."Grandpa is my good luck charm!" It was a successful day down on the pond, Rick, Ashley, Quent and Grandpa all went fishing and all caught a fish (except grandpa). It was fun to have Rick and Ashley spend the night and hang out with us old folk for the day. I'm glad that the weather was a bit warmer and that everyone got to go fishing.

The fish were all over 20 inches long and Ashley's mega fish was 26 inches and just over 6 pounds. Needless to say Rick and Ashley will be having one big fish fry!

Father's Day (A Week Early)

Quent and I had everyone up to celebrate Father's Day a week early as my grandparents were in town from Wyoming. Quent had to work all weekend so it made sense that we'd have a bbq at our house to kick off summer. Unfortunately spring stuck around longer than we'd hoped (it even snowed the week of the 12th) so we were confined to the space of our house.

We decorated frames with the kids and had dinner with the family. All-in-all it was a great weekend.

Humingbirds Galore

We have our hummingbird feeders up in both the front yard and the back yard and it's fun to watch them fly in and out of the feeders. They don't get along and we have almost been attacked a couple times just walking by the feeders. I'm glad Summer is finally here so we can enjoy the birds.

(As always, click on the picture to see a larger view)

All in a day's work

Quent had to go to Rich County today to stock fish in Laketown Reservoir and asked if I wanted to ride along. So I grabbed my camera, prepared to get car sick and off we went.

The most exciting part of the drive to and from the Bear Lake Valley? We finally saw a moose. Yes you heard me right, WE SAW A MOOSE, and I got a picture (in focus). But I jump ahead of myself...

We drove up to Bear Lake and then on to Laketown to stock the reservoir, a very small reservoir, about the size of two Olympic sized swimming pools really.

I took some pictures of Quent in action and then on the way back to Bear Lake we passed a cute one-room school house and other random buildings. I was just glad I grabbed the camera.

Before heading back up Logan Canyon we stopped at Le Beau's and had a raspberry shake, you didn't think we'd drive to Bear Lake without getting a famous Raspberry shake did you?

On the way back down is when I spotted the moose. I actually thought it was a horse, I said to Quent -- "there's a horse" and he said nope, I think it's a moose. Of course by then he was stopping because he knows how long I've been looking for a moose. Way too long to mention.

After we saw the moose we took a side trip and went to check out the snow levels up at Tony Grove, needless to say, we didn't make it up to the top before we were on icy, snow-packed roads. after spinning the tires and putting it four-wheel drive we decided that we didn't need to get clear to the lake and turned around and headed for home.

All-in-all a great drive up to Bear Lake and back and I didn't even get car sick!

It's a moose, it's really a moose!

On the drive back to Bear Lake

Laketown Reservoir

Random Views of Bear Lake

Laketown Reservoir (small but I hear there's great fishing)

Quent in Action

Mantua Rainbow trout stocked in Bear Lake

The hatchery made the paper! Ok so no one was directly quoted but the fish that Quent raises were stocked up in Bear Lake last week and the Tribune ran an article about it...

The Division of Wildlife Resources has restocked rainbow trout in Bear Lake for the first time in about 25 years.

Wildlife officials released about 5,000 of the fish into the lake last week near the Bear Lake State Park marina. They hope to create fishing opportunities for people who plan to fish from the shore this summer.

It's hard to catch fish from the shore at Bear Lake during summers because the lake's native cutthroat trout population moves to deeper waters as it warms up, said DWR fisheries biologist Scott Tolentino.

But he said rainbow trout will stay close to shore. "It's a good spot for the public to come out here and fish," Tolentino said. "We were lucky to get the fish this year."

Wildlife officials had stopped stocking rainbow trout, which are non-native to Utah, in the 1980s because they were concerned that the fish were crossbreeding with Bear Lake Bonneville cutthroat trout, Tolentino said. The Bonneville cutthroat are a subspecies that's unique to the lake.

But hatchery scientists have learned how to hatch and raise sterile rainbow trout. The trout stocked in Bear Lake this year cannot reproduce, Tolentino said.

Three tanks full of fish were transported May 24 in a tanker truck from a hatchery in Mantua and were deposited in the lake via a long white tube.

DWR plans to release another 5,000 on June 30.

"These fish are put here to catch and keep," Tolentino said.

Click here to see the story in the Salt Lake Tribune

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Sunday was my grandfather's 90th birthday and to celebrate we all went to Cody, Wyoming to spend the weekend with him. We had a party/open house for him on Saturday and I think the entire town showed up to see him. We had a great weekend visiting with family and friends and I am glad we were able to be part of the celebration!