Grandma Erikson

Today I helped the twins enter names in a family history book that they will use to find the names of temple ready ancestors. I'm excited for them to get involved with genealogy. One of the names we entered was of my Grandma Erikson. Just he name triggered a flood of wonderfully warm emotions and memories. She died just over thirty years ago. That is a long time to miss someone and I do very much and often.i wish she had been here as I accomplished things as a teenager. I wish my she had been here when I got married and as my children were born. I wish she had been here to hold them. I wish they could have tasted her orange rolls, chocolate chip cookies, and maybe, even, her ketchup-flavored gravy. She would have loved them and they would have loved her too. In honor of her we had twice-baked potatoes because that is one thing I remember about her and could share with them.

Exercise

It's January - the time to feel ambitious. The time to jump into exercise. I loath the thought of exercise and dread the deed. But, once it is over, it feels good and I'm ALWAYS grateful that I put in the time. You know, if exercise could elicit the enjoyment I feel while eating strawberries dipped in whipped cream I'd stick to it longer and probably never complain about it. 

McKenna's Birthday

Today is the birthday of McKenna Carol Grant. She is nineteen years old. She is also away at college and spent her first birthday away from family. I assume this was much harder on me than on her. My class and I facetimed her and sang our class birthday song. It was the highlight of the students' day. I sure hope she had a great day. I sure love her! I want this to be the best year of her life so far.

Vacation is Over

Tomorrow I go back to these people. I really like them and am actually quite excited to see them. I'm so lucky to love what I do.

A Reason to Cheer

Sometimes there are reasons to cheer. The kind of cheer that makes you want to pump your fist high in the air or chest bump your fellow team player after an amazing win. It is probably the type of cheer I would give if I had won the lottery (don't play the lottery so I won't ever win). We are cheering because we just "won" and extra $30. At least we saved that much when we gassed up the van at $1.92 per gallon. Can I get a WOOT WOOT? Go gas prices! Go gas prices! Go gas prices! GO! That's right folks, $1.92!!!!!!

Beginning the New Year

Began this New Year with freezing temperatures. I hate freezing temperatures but because of them I realize how wonderful and cozy a nice day of 50 degrees can be. There must be negatives to appreciate the positives. I scheduled family pictures today, too. So, we gathered together, with the photographer, in bitter cold temps, to smile and make permanent the start of this year. No family has ever taken pictures that quickly. I'll just say, "BURR!" Because of the extreme chill we sure acknowledged our deep gratitude for the tepid temps in the car. Can hardly wait to see them. Until then, I'll enjoy my cozy blanket while the temperatures hover in the subzero range. 

   

Our First summer DIY Project

For several years I have wanted to get a fire pit in the backyard. I have looked for a lark old tire rim to use and haven't found one. We dug a small hole in the ground once. That worked for about a day. But I wanted this to be a permanent pit that we could enjoy for years to come. Then along came Pinterest. I love Pinterest. I found many ideas on there. They ranged from very simple to extremely elaborate. I pinned many determining that I would definitely get it done this Summer. 

Then, I was called to be the ward camp director. I have no idea how to camp. Even more frightening to me is that I don't know a lick about cooking while camping. The poor girls of our ward may starve unless I learned how. This seemed like the perfect time to get a firepit so that I could practice my campfire cooking skills. So today I woke up and said, "Let's build a firepit!" And my family said, "Yes!" (But I know deep down they were saying, "Ugh!!"

Supplies needed:

36 - 12 inch retaining wall bricks

5 - 0.5 cubic feet bags of river rock

4 tubes of concrete adhesive

We headed to Home Depot where we bought some of the supplies we needed. We also had to go to Walmart because once we put all the bricks in our van, we didn't dare add the weight of gravel. The poor van was a low-rider. 

While Trent and Adri picked up the gravel and adhesive, Kenna and Katy and I did some digging.

 

I should have taken a pic of the pre-digging step. We laid the bricks out in a circle, two deep. Then we used a shovel to Mark where our outline was. The inside ring would be the pit and the outside ring was for the gravel. Then we moved all the bricks and started removing the grass. Once it was all out then a little raking got it all leveled out.

Next we filled the dirt area with the river rock. All the gravel had been sold. The small river rock actually looks better and probably will work better. Then we began placing the bricks. The bricks we bought had a lip on it for a retaining wall. So with each layer, the wall tapered in and got smaller. This was going to force us to cut a brick, without any tools, and our pit was going to have a slimmer opening than I was wanting. Solution? Knock off the lips with a mallet, hammer, and screwdriver. Those are the tools of real DIYers.

Each brick was leveled on the bottom layer. (As I am not much of an exact science type, it was Trent who helped make it near perfect.) for the second layer, we added concrete adhesive to each brick and placed it on top. Then the third layer was made the same way. Then we covered the bottom of the pit with a couple more bags of rock. Within an hour or so, the whole thing was quite sturdy and ready for a fire.

Tonight We enjoyed hot dogs, bratwurst, s'mores, and lots of smoke. I think this was the easiest DIY project we have ever attempted and it turned out well. We had some great laughs and made good memories. Now the memories will continue as we build fires and enjoy outdoor cooking for years to come! And be ready family. You are about to become the guinea pigs for my camp cooking.