Lessons Learned

Back in November, we began a project that we thought would only take a few weeks to complete. Many months later, here we are finally at the end of a long road. When Jake went to law school he bought a table set from the illustrious K-mart for $30. The table and chairs were a gorgeous orange stain color which though we loved, didn't quite match the rest of our kitchen. Rather than buy a new set at K-mart, we thought we'd refinish the old orange one. We ended up saving money, so long as our labor was worth only a penny an hour. We did learn many valuable lessons from this experience though. Lesson #1 Choose the colors you want BEFORE you start painting. Lesson #2 Cheaper paint from Wal-Mart is not always better. Lesson #3 Sanding inside the house makes a little bit of a mess! Lesson #4 Winter time is not ideal for refinishing furniture, most of which needs to be done outside. Lesson #5 That old orange color wasn't so bad. Lesson #6 Paint fumes will fill the entire house and give you a buzz for a week. Lesson #7 Don't plan a get-together at your home to force youselves to complete the project (our guests are still coming down from the buzz they got). Lesson #8 Ask for advice before starting, not once you've alread screwed-up. Lesson #9 When painting indoors use a drop cloth or a lot of newspaper. Lesson #10 Refinishing furniture is an adventure and was a lot of fun doing together. Having learned all of these vital lessons we would definitely do it again.

Grand Canyon Adventure

We decided to get out of the cold weather for President's Day weekend and go to the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately the Grand Canyon didn't get the memo that it was supposed to be warm. We headed out Friday morning and made the drive though southern Utah and stayed that night just over the Arizona border in Page, AZ (near Lake Powell). Just seeing Lake Powell made us wish we had a boat. Saturday morning we awoke early and made the two hour drive to the Grand Canyon. There was snow on the ground, the wind was blowing, but the view was spectacular. We spent the day driving along the south rim, braving the cold at each of the look-outs or vistas along the way. Some of the stops were a little precarious with icy trails, severely lacking guard rails, and 5,000 ft drop-offs. We enjoyed the day there and have vowed that we will never take our kids there until they are grown.

We drove back to Page that night, and at some point picked-up another passenger, a broken tire chain. After arising early and getting ready for church we were surprised to find we had a flat tire thanks to the broken tire chain. How grateful we were that we weren't in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road, and that Bev had the impression to fill-up the spare. We spent the next hour changing the tire. It was an adventure to say the least, as the jack didn't lift the car high enough to change the tire. With some help from a kind stranger we were able to make it work.

We then decided to head to Zions National Park where we hoped the weather would be warmer and the spare would not fail us. We were blessed on both accounts. Zions was gorgeous, and most importantly warm and sunny. We spent the rest of Sunday looking at some of God's amazing creations. Monday moring we decided to hike the Emerald Pools and had a wonderful time looking at waterfalls, and the beautiful red rock canyons. We made the trip home that night and thankfully the spare tire held-up. We had a wonderful trip and were glad for the vacation. We're looking forward to warm weather and many more adventures.

Goodbye to a Prophet

We have been wanting to write this entry for a while and are finally getting around to it. We had the special opportunity to attend the viewing of our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. We both left work a little early in hopes of beating the crowd, unbeknownst to us everyone else had the same idea. The line stretched around the conference center in both directions (a testament to how much President Hinckley was adored). It was cold but the sun was still shining and we thought it would be an hour wait outside . . . little did we know our adventure had just begun. Three and half hours later we were finally rescued from the freezing wind and cold temperatures. We literally could not feel our fingers and toes by the time we made it in. Then we began the hour and half wait inside dethawing and watching the recording of President Hinckely's birthday celebration. Finally it was our turn. We had the opportunity to walk beside his casket and see the prophet one last time. The five hour wait was well worth the experience. It was a solemn moment to see the mortal tabernacle of one who embodied a life of service, a moment we will not soon forget. We're grateful for his wisdom and service and now look forward as President Monson assumes his new calling.