Getting Started

 Kyle got his "telehandler" delivered Wed. morning.

They gave him a free upgrade to a larger machine.

He'd be able to build a 4-storey house if he wanted!

He got it all unloaded and staged for building the house.

Those are the trees along the road.

It's mid-September, so the field isn't as green

as Google thinks it is. (hahahaha)

(that's actually from when it was planted in milo, 

also known as sorghum, broomcorn, guinea corn,

durra or great millet...)

He went into Hill City and got his tractor

from the storage building.

Then he got the house section all prepped.

Next he went into Hays and got all the 

wood and concrete for the pilings.

This morning he got the pilings set.

I had to drive to Tampa, so I haven't

spoken to him since.

But I'll update again when I do.

Meanwhile,

they "upgraded" me again at the car rental place.

Fancy Shmancy.

It's a convertible, but I won't be lowering the roof.

It has a tiny trunk.

But it's kind of fun to drive.

Traveling

 Wow.

I forget sometimes that when I text or I

write in my journal,

I STILL need to do a blog.

I feel like I've already "told the story"...

So.

He got all loaded up.

It's a BIG pile!

Then they built some wood sides for the flatbed

on the truck so he could load up MORE stuff.

There's lots of stuff.

The inside of the truck is pretty full as well.

I made him up 24 freeze-dried meals to eat.

So that's 12 days of food.

Plus, of course, he's not going to the moon.

There ARE stores there.

He will need to go into Hays for wood, etc.

so he'll be able to pick up groceries

He has a really large Yetti cooler,

so he can get things that need to stay cold.

And he took a butane one-burner stove and a

cast iron pan, so he can cook stuff besides what

he brought with him.

(24 meals, but not a TON of variety and 

NO fresh veggies - so he'll need to get some...)

He left around 7:30 Monday morning.

Drove and drove and drove and drove.

Found a rest area to pull into about 11, and 

it had a 2-hour limit! WHAT?

So he got back on the road and went to the

next truck stop, but didn't get there until 1:00.

Got up again this morning about 7:30 and got

back on the road again.

He's getting closer.

Hayes is our "big city".

And then the ranch is an hour from there.

But at least I can get them both on the

same screen now!

Probably about 2 more hours.

He must have stopped for fuel and

a bite to eat.

They are delivering his equipment tomorrow

morning at 9:00. He will

use it to unload the trailer and then to build

the house. He has it for a week.

They called him today and gave him a

free upgrade to a larger machine, so that's 

excellent news!

The one he ordered was plenty,

but boys and their toys.

Bigger is always better!

Thank you to everybody for keeping him in

your prayers. 

It has been a good, uneventful, safe trip

(so far, don't want to jinx the last 100 miles...)

I'll keep you posted as he send me pictures!

Hurricane Lee is a DOOZY!!!

 The hurricane centers and all the storm chasers

are LOSING. THEIR. MINDS. over this

Hurricane Lee.

Granted, it is breaking records all over the place.

It went from a tropical storm to a Cat 5

in 24 hours.

Of course it's still WAAAAAAAAAY too early

to know where its headed.

Most forecasters are predicting it will make a swing

to the north, skirt Virginia Beach and then do

a pretty direct (and likely devastating) hit 

to Nova Scotia.

Regardless, we will get some big waves

and a lot of beach erosion.

Which isn't good news for places like

Daytona that still hasn't replaced the sand and

sea walls from the last couple of storms.

There are homes that are in serious danger

of being washed away.

(Hello... don't build your house upon the sand?????

Every Primary kid knows THAT!)

Anyhow.

I'll keep you updated.

I'm off to Tampa next weekend.

But by then we will know what's happening.

And I'll keep you posted throughout the week.

(Not like EVERY forecaster on EVERY news

channel isn't already harping on it...)

But you can trust me to take away the hype.

Be prepared.

Not scared.

Meanwhile, we are staying healthy, happy,

and busy as usual.

Rod did his last day of "light duty" at work,

so it will be back to normal for him next week.

He'll be glad to be back to doing his 

regular job and not trying to look busy

with log books and computer stuff.

Have a great weekend!!!

Beautiful Beach Skies

 We went to the beach and enjoyed a

beautiful evening yesterday.

(And again this afternoon...)

The sky was GORGEOUS!

High, wispy clouds.

The ocean was really rolling!

And there was NOBODY there.

(Eventually there were some surfers,

but for the most part we were alone...)

We went for a walk and encountered

a couple of BIG jellies.

That's Kyle's big ol' size 9.5 foot.

This one had pretty pink "innards".

They aren't as pretty (or deadly) as 

Man 'O Wars.

But still fascinating.

We did the Bishop's Storehouse this morning.

Very busy - there were several people missing.

And then the Employment Specialist that shares

the building invited us all over for chicken

salad sandwiches, watermelon and chips.

That was fun.

And then we drove home, changed, headed to the beach,

and then back home so I could teach.

And now?

BED!

Happy Labor Day!

 We had a nice day!

Started with a run to Tractor Supply to get

a bag of chicken feed.

Then to Home Depot to look at windows

and doors.

(They only have Home Depot in Hays,

there is no Lowes! TRAVESTY!)

But we found some stuff we like.

Then to Publix (grocery store) for some

cut up watermelon and some chips and

then to a friend's house for a last-minute lunch.

It was fun!

It's the EQ Pres and his wife Beth,

(we are becoming good friends)

and my 1st counselor Val (who is married

to Travis, the 1st C in the Stake Pres, but

also Beth's brother....)

and the Bishop and his wife.

All really fun people.

It was a nice lunch - the kids played in the pool.

The men (and children) sat at a table in the

family room, and the women (and Ethan

who is leaving on Wed to go back to BYU Idaho

and wanted to spend time with his Mom)

sat in the dining room.

We talked and talked and talked and talked.

And then we moved to the family room

to be with everybody else and we

talked and talked and talked and talked.

It was fun.

But I was TIRED.

Home to try to nap (but it didn't work...)

and then into the zoom room to teach.

I was surprised to have 12 students!

Possible choices for sink, stove and floor.....

We'll see.

New Topper

 With the potential of a hurricane

we decided it was time to get the

topper on the new F250.

Rod called in some favors from his 

brother, his sons and a co-worker

and the bunch of them got it all installed.

(He is still not allowed to lift anything for

another week...)

It looks great!

Makes the truck look HUGE!

(But it kind of is... it has a full 4-door

cab and also a long bed.)

It will be good for putting the dog crates

in for the move and then going

forward when we need to go into the

"big city" to do our monthly grocery haul.

And, of course, it helps that it was FREE!

Good find Rod!

*Bonus - it freed up a little bit of the patio!

Wheeeeeeeee!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

 I've been thinking about my Dad

all day long and wondering how

his birthday is going.

He got to have lunch with family

and then dinner with other family

and then a party tomorrow!

Darn this 3-hour difference!

Every time I had a moment to call,

it wasn't a good time for them.

And vice-versa.

But he has been in my thoughts all day long.

He is so loved by all of us!

I hope he had a wonderful day!

I LOVE YOU DAD!