The Cleanup

After the windstorm, most of the neighborhood was able to get roads and driveways cleared enough for life to function. There was still a ton of work left to do, though. Huge piles of branches and trees lined the streets to (hopefully) be taken by the city to the landfills. Who knew how long that would take to clear, though...

Fast forward to Sunday. I was sitting in Sunday School when my phone started blowing up with texts and calls from Rob and Jeff saying that their church wards had cancelled meetings and were out cleaning up the neighborhoods because another storm was on its way! Seeing as Rob was in our stake, I went to the bishop's office and shared the news with him. Within minutes, he had called the Stake President and we were all leaving classes to fill the chapel for instructions. Everyone was to go home, change their clothes, and come back with trucks, trailers, chainsaws, or whatever would help to clean up the neighborhood. Numerous dumping sites had been established around the area in open fields to accommodate all the branches and debris, we just had to get them there. Everyone left the building somewhat stunned-- this had never happened before. We went home, changed our clothes, and went to work...

As amazing as the effects of that storm were, they were nothing compared to the overwhelming site of so many people working together to get the neighborhood clean. Young and old, members and nonmembers were out moving branches, driving trucks, filling trailers, and wielding chainsaws. I can't even begin to describe how moving it was to see.

We all worked really hard that day. Numberless trips to the dump sites, hours and hours of cleaning, countless amounts of debris removed... and nobody complained. In fact, all I could see were smiles. Everyone worked together to help each other out. We were united in a goal, a purpose, a cause. Nobody started on their own homes either. Everyone moved to help their neighbors first. When everything was cleaned up in other yards, I went to my house to take the remains from my despised tree that I had cut down. When I pulled in front of my house, however, it had already been cleaned and hauled away. Absolutely amazing.

You'd like to hope that nothing like this ever happens again. You never want to see destruction like that to your home, and I'm not talking about your house either. This area, this neighborhood is our home now. Our neighbors are our family. And I never want anything to happen to my family. But if something does happen again, which inevitably it will, I know that we'll band together and everything will be alright. It's good to be home.

The Windstorm

For those of you who didn't already know, I was born in Oklahoma. We moved to Montana when Dad was finished with Dental School, so I was too young to remember anything besides having a pet turtle and our house was white. I always kind of wondered what it was like to live in Tornado Alley and see those powerful storms blow through. Not that I ever wanted to experience it, just more of a curious interest seeing as I was born there. Well, I got close enough after this major windstorm that hit the neighborhood and I'm just fine not experiencing that again!

I've just never seen anything like this at all. Fences, shingles, garbage cans... gone. Bare roofs with exposed plywood... Siding completely torn off the sides of houses... And the trees... The trees were the worst. There were trees down everywhere. It looked like a disaster zone. Mom's dog got away with the fences down and we tried to look for him, but it just got too dangerous with all the debris flying around. (Don't worry, she eventually found him.)

On my way home from looking for the dog, I was just around the corner from our house when a large piece of metal gutter came flying straight for my truck! It was funny because I looked over, saw it heading straight for me, and yelled: "NO! Don't hit my truck!!!" Right then, the gutter stopped dead in the road less than a foot away from me. Yeah. Lucky.

As for our house, we weren't bad at all. Another branch on the tree (that I hate) in front of the house fell down... so I helped it the rest of the way. Yeah, I finally cut it down! :) I noticed that the pergola was blowing around a bit and I thought I should go tie it down. I went to the garage, grabbed some rope, and by the time I had opened the door it was on the ground. Just in that short time it got blown over. I think I can fix it though.

We lost power for only a few hours. Honestly, I was loving it. We had a fire going in the stove downstairs, cooked eggs and sausage for breakfast on the stove top, and we were crispy! I was kind of disappointed when it came back on. More than anything else, though, we were just thankful to have not been hit with more damage. Crazy, crazy day...

Peep My Crew: Sam

So I've decided to do a little spotlight on some of my nearest and dearest, my Crew. I've asked each of them to tell a little about how they met me, some funny experiences, and I'll give a little insight on them as well. I've been really blessed in my life to be surrounded by great people who have helped me more than I could ever express, and they make it amazing to be me! So they deserve a shout out. Peep my Crew!

*****

This would be Sam, a.k.a. "Samwise Gamgee", a.k.a. "Samuel L. Blotter", a.k.a. "Raccoon". Sam was hired on at work to help out for a few months before going on his mission and he's just one of those straight-up good guys. What started out as hired help turned into quite the roller coaster of near-death experiences, knife fights, inside jokes, and a Yellowcard concert. Oh, and every once and a while we got some work done too. I probably subjected Sam to more of my "life lessons" than he ever cared to know about and I'm pretty sure he didn't believe half the things I said to him... (Probably a good idea.) Despite all that, we had many a great chat about life, girls, Church, and more. Also, this guy is a movie junkie and might be the only person who knows more movie lines than me. We crawled through attics, learned never to trust anyone named "Chuck", ate at about every Costa Vida along the Wasatch Front, and survived the infamous Beto's Breakfast Burrito! I watched him give his farewell talk and I gotta say, I'm gonna miss this guy. Ended up getting pretty attached to him after all... Nothing but love and respect for you, homie. You take care out there and enjoy your time in the Philippines. And don't make me come all the way out there to bury you in satin! Sharp knife, short life. Peace and love.

How long have you known me?
About 8 months all together I'd say.

How did we meet?
Work. I believe our first conversation was with Jeff. I said something offensive about how he wasn't married yet. :)

What's something funny that has happened between us?
Funny experience, eh? Hmm... "I've got a jar of dirt! I've got a jar of dirt!" or... "Didn't smell that one coming!" (alternate ending to Harry Potter we made up referencing Voldemort's nose, or lack thereof) or... "Occlumency. Look it up." or... the creepy 17 year old from Costa Vida in Pleasant Grove. (Good save, Arturo!) or... the Pizza Hut in Brigham City! or... killing the killer wasps at the storage units! or... "Give 'em the salt n' peppa!" or... "I feel... I feel... I feel happy of myself! I feel happy of yourself too!" :D I think that about does it.

What's your favorite memory we share?
Sharp knife = short life. After all, you know what they say...

Any words of wisdom?
If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river, at dawn, and send me away with the words of a love song. :D Be Strong, BELIEVE.

Best Day Of Work EVER 2!

So I have to preface this post with the following: Jeff and I once got paid for an entire day's worth of "work" to simply drive to Evenston, WY and buy illegal fireworks for our boss in the work van. He handed us his credit card with direct instructions to spend $350.00 at least. We just happened to find a fireworks stand that was "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" and so we ended of with over $350.00 worth of illegal fireworks ourselves as well... Thus, I call this "The Best Day of Work EVER 2!"

*****

I got a call at work one day from the VP of one of our suppliers. He asked me if I would be interested in taking his place at a "meeting" with one of their product partners. I said that I would, not really knowing what that would entail. He said: "Okay, cool. I'll send over the details to them and they'll contact you by email. Oh, you snowboard, right?" "Yeah, I do..." "Okay, great. Well, have a good time. I can't go and you're the first person I thought should go in my place." **CLICK** I received this email later that day:

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked. I forwarded the email to my boss to ask him if it was cool for me to basically have a day off. His response: "Yes, that's fine. That would be a great chance to talk to them about their products." Me: "You realize I'm SNOWBOARDING, right?" Boss: "Well, I'll pay you 8 hours, but I won't pay you to go to dinner." With that, I shut my mouth and left the room. :)

Yep, I had an awesome day! I was was paid to go snowboarding, eat lunch, and eat dinner for FREE. The slopes were awesome too. Most of the mountain was already open and it was such a beautiful day! It was seriously like riding in the spring. The guys at Prodata were way chill too, so we got along great. Such a blast. Like I said, best day of work EVER!!! (Well, best day of work EVER 2)

Knife Making

So while we were up in Montana for Thanksgiving, Dad and I ended up down in the shop together... (always a dangerous mix and a great opportunity!) I started asking Dad about a knife he was making and the next thing I knew, we were making a knife of my own! We found a blade that had gone through the house fire, pollished it up, found some sweet wood for a handle, and off we went. I think I've found a new favorite hobby...

Montana Thanksgiving 2011

We spend our Thanksgiving holiday up in Montana with Tim, Tay, Mom, and Dad and it was awesome! 5 days with no cell phones, no work to do, and nobody for miles around? Ahh, yeah! Here's a breakdown of what went down, in pictures. Enjoy!



The Oculatorinator

The other night, Jeremy came to me wanting to build an Oculatorinator. You know, an OCULATORINATOR. Yeah... So we went around the house collecting parts and went to the garage to find tools and get to work...


Step 1: collect parts

Step 2: hammer nails into blocks of wood

Step 3: Screw blocks of wood and foam sides together

Step 4: Get some electrical wire

Step 5: Attach wire and find barrel

Step 6: Attach barrel

Step 7: Install firing button

Don't forget safety glasses!

Step 8: Check the barrel

Step 9: Install firing mechanism and test

Step 10: Display on mantel to show off your work and intimidate anyone who enters