My little imperfection

-Rich

What to do now?  Richard just Deployed to Afghanastan so I'll be trying to keep up with the blog for him.  This past month we have spent a lot of time together as a family.  We headed down to So. Cal. for a trip to none other than Disneyland.  Who would have guessed that we would do that. . .?  On the way home, we took a detour up to Ric and Lucinda's house so that Rich could have a chance to visit with them and Rebecca.  It was a nice visit, but far too short.  We also stoped by Robins house for a quick visit on the way down to Disneyland.  While we were in So. Cal, we also took a day trip out to the beach.  Kaylee and Marcus loved building sand castles with Mom and Dad, but Nicole did NOT like the sand.  Every time we tried to put her feet down she about lost it.  There was a lot of screaming involved until we allowed her to just sit in her stroller. 

When we got home Richard had a week of leave left, which I really enjoyed.  There's nothing I like more than to just spend a lazy day with nothing to do buy enjoy each other.  We would have spent more time out in California, but with Kaylee in school, we didn't want to take her out of class for too long.  We did manage to fit in a couple of bike rides around base with the kids which is always fun.  It's even more fun now that Kaylee can ride her own bike (without training wheels!)  We spent some time at the local parks, going on walks and having picnics.  That is, until we got slammed by that blizzard.  But, we got some fun out of that by having a snowball fight the day before Richards birthday. 

So, Richard left this morning and now I am here in Wyoming with the three kids.  I'm proud of him for his service to our country, but I'll miss him teriably while he's gone.  Saying goodbye is always the hardest thing to do.  I don't expect it to be easy while he's gone but I know that I have all the support I need to make it through.  I know that most of you are already doing this, but every prayer that can be said for him is greatly appreciated by our family.  We look forward to his safe return in November.

This month is always the hardest of the year so much to do, so little time everything always falling apart, there’s no money and to make it worse the AF has taken all my time so far and has promised not to let up until my leave on the 19^th starts which by the way might be canceled now, don’t believe me? Ask Heidi if I’m not sleeping I’m at work…I snuck out early today (AWOL) and I’ve found a moment between bathing the kids to post this. I hope to get some of the 160 picks on the camera off and up on the web tonight; I also have some cool videos to post, so keep watching for them.

 

-Rich

The following quotes are taken from my favorite leaders of history:

 

 “Since man created government to help secure and safeguard [inalienable] rights [from God], it follows that man is superior to government and should remain master over it, not the other way around.”

 

The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”

 

-Ezra Taft Benson

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A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.

 

Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both.

 

Do not [ask] for easy lives. [Ask] to be stronger men.

 

Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.

 

-John F. Kennedy

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A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.

 

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free … shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

 

Every generation needs a new revolution.

 

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.

 

-Thomas Jefferson

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Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth.

 

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

 

It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible.

 

The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon.

 

-George Washington

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 “We cannot be saved until we have risen above all our enemies, not the least of which is ignorance.”

 

“Access to the banking system is a critical piece of [our] ability to save. Giving … that access is a social, political and moral imperative.”

 

Noah came before the flood. I have come before the fire.

 

What is the damnation of hell? To go with that society who have not obeyed His commands.

 

-Joseph Smith

 

 

I would say that these men have summed up exactly how I feel right now.

Yes that wonderful time of the year has come at last, that time when you realize "I wish I didn't live in Cheyenne WYO". I know what your thinking "but why?" you say "Wyoming is so beautiful" well to let you know; remember all those pictures you’ve seen of those Dying pioneers as they froze crossing the icy rocky mountain Dessert, yah that’s the real Wyoming. Only 20% or so of the state is that gorgeous pictograph in your head and I live the farthest that anyone can get from it.

Oh don't get me wrong its great from the end if spring until fall hits with lows around 75˚ and highs that never break 100, but as for the rest of the year...you guest it, frozen Pioneers… I remember thinking as a kid that it couldn’t have been so bad, but having spent just one day out on that frozen flat expanse of land with the cold hard wind relentlessly pounding every ounce of warmth out of you in the mater of seconds, I have come to a all new appreciation of what a trial it must have been for our forefathers. There has been in my mind a great sense of self-effacing continuity in the faith of many LDS.  From the members I see with all this apparent buildup of Faith in god but being completely unfocused and in-deliberate. To overly focused saints who in their smugness make themselves out to be more holy then the next person, they seem so fake to me, I like to call it "the contest of convictions."

Too often, I think, within this community of devotion people feel the need to be as or more spiritual then the sister so-humble or Brother so-righteous, they try so hard to put their faith out on display for all to see that after all the pushing nothing has goten in. I can’t imagine one of our pioneer ancestors looking over the dead body of their fallen friend...brother...sister...son..daughter...mother...or father (you pick it) and thinking “I must be so more faithful then them,” any more then I can imagine it in the grief and pain of the climate they stood in

Well I don’t want to vent so much that is offends any one, just food for thought.

Happy Holidays

-Rich

 

ok so update time:

Right after I got back from FL I was whisked away to CA where Heidi was visiting family. We went to the Silver Dollar Fair,

 

and my nephew (on Heidi's side) James’s Graduation.

 

Then we took the long way home visiting some national parks,

 

landmarks,

 

and histories sites.

 

Right after we got back was the Bases “Ft DA Russell Days”

 

followed by the Famous Cheyenne “Frontier Days-the grand-daddy of 'em  all” I got to listen to all the concerts from the comfort of my own living room, weather I wanted to or not…Free country music for a week!!! YE-HAA!!

Next we went camping at Glendo State Park with our friends the Westbo’s. They have a ski boat.

  

We all took turns the first day knee boarding (I was the only one who could get up other then Will) and the second day was wake boarding but half way through the day the engine stopped working properly and I didn’t get a chance.

somewhere in her we went to the Denver Zoo.

 (How many Bars do you have)

Then we got ready and celebrated K’s 5^th B-Day.

It was a Princes Party so Marc dressed up as Captain Hook.

Then we had a week or two to get Kaylee ready for school; though the week before I was TDY to Kirtland AFB, NM; Sandia Labs. Today was K’s first day of school,

she was pretty exited and scared, it would have all gone well except… we received the bus schedules from Freedom Elementary, showing that two busses would be stopping at bus stop #1 (Our Stop).  After speaking to several individuals at the school we were assured that it didn’t matter which bus Kaylee got on.  As Heidi was waiting at the stop to pick her up at the end of the first day of school, the driver of rout 45 told her that rout 45 was the only bus that was to stop on our street.  Being that K is only five years old and obviously on the wrong bus Heidi began to panic.  She had instructed Kaylee to board bus 88 because it had been assured as an acceptable rout.  Fortunately the driver of bus 45 was very kind and concerned so she called the driver of bus 88 asking him to stop and drop off Kaylee.  Well, he did, but that’s when it really got bad.  As soon as he stopped the bus he yelled at K “Okay, girl.  Get off my bus.  I gota go!” he said it 3 times and before she even had her foot off the last step he was already rolling the bus forward.  He then proceeded to reprimand Heidi for having Kaylee on the wrong bus.  Those of you who know Heidi know that the last thing you would ever want to do is to threaten the safety of anyone in our family, I think that she will probably not stop until she knows the man has been reprimanded.  But on a lighter note Kaylee loves her school and her teacher and she gets to be in class with her best friend Taylor.

First I am sorry to all those fine people out there who have been politely waiting for me to update this with some fresh meat and secondly to thank you all for not trying to run me out of town on a rail over it.

So I just returned from training in FL Had alot of fun.  learned about Advanced defuzing/hand intry procedurs i must have died 20 times.  heidi and the kids went to Cali and i'll be joining them in a week.  more pics soon

I don't know if the tree was dying, to old, or the base just wanted it gone but our Historic 80-90 year old tree was ripped out this last week.

 

Timberrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

 

I've been in Washington for a few weeks, it's been fun. People say that this city is a pain and that they hate the traffic but I don't think that working in Washington is so bad (I've seen worse). I still find my self looking forward to being back at home.

 

As time roles by he stops to see, an expletive of blabbering fools

Realizing swiftly, there’s nothing to be heard, he pulls on his wily tools

Out comes the pliers, the shears, the pen; the best equipment of Snodgrass’s

He plies at the word, shears it from its place cautiously penning anew.

Stops to stare, starts to think, wishing he never knew.

This is how you stop time in its place.

Well it has been a long few weeks with much too much stress and no time off (I hate NSI's), but on the brighter side of life we have a new van…yes I said a van…and I though I would never conform. I am going to be in Jackson-hole Wyoming next week working with the secret service and then in Nov I’m going to be working at the white house till right before x-mass, Heidi’s not to thrilled about the Washington trip but at least I’ll be getting paid well. I’m hoping not to deploy to Iraq till spring but they keep moving everyone up I might end up leaving before the winter is out… 

 
Video: K's B-dayWhen we moved in to this new/old house we new that there would be some... hiccups?...first the bath would not drain and wile the (military) plumbers were trying to fix it with a balloon snake the pipe ruptured and flooded the space between the two floors(can any one say electric short). Luckily there was nothing damaged.  It took them four days to fix the mess. We’ve been to Utah almost monthly, from wedding’s to work (TDY’s) we keep finding reasons to go. Heidi and I have decided that we will more that likely move to the “north of Salt Lake city” area when I get out in 3 yrs. We think I’ll try going to Weber State and Heidi will finish getting her Teaching credential. It is hard to plan for this being three years away especially when I could with little effort go back to the middle east, as a civilian, and make $800 an hr not to exceed $180,000 a year doing the same job I’m doing now. It’s heard to imagine that Heidi’s Pregnant again, she is showing now but still not sick, she’s lucky like that, and speaking of sick Kay and Marc have been sick for weeks; they keep on passing of back and forth. Some day they’ll balance it out but for now its a hassle that is hard to deal with, mainly because of all the other stress we have. K’s B-day went off without a hitch it was good to see all our friends at the party; we haven’t been home for weeks.