Category: Stephen

I had to smile last night as I turned the thermostat down to 65 in JT’s room. I remember growing up dad always making sure we never went above 65. I thought that was crazy at the time and now I find myself doing the same exact thing. Time changes us all.

Comments:

Susan said…

just be glad it wasn’t grandma. She turned the heat down to 55 :)Dale just turns it off overnight-cours it’s warmer here at night!
Thursday, January 29, 2009 12:39:59 PM

Dad and Mom Parker said…

No problem with turning the heat down here. It’s always about 55 in the house, unless you turn on a heater, and we do in the one room we choose to heat.
Thursday, January 29, 2009 2:53:31 PM

Jana said…

65…you trying to toughen that kid up or what? Hace mucho frio!!
Friday, January 30, 2009 8:46:02 AM

We had our Pinewood Derby tonight and it turned out great. We had a great turn out and all the boys had fun. I was given the task to build the ward a new track, so I took things up a notch and made a 5 lane track and made it 50% longer than last years. 48′ of speed for the boys to enjoy. Mason chose to make an iCar this year modeled after the iPhone it was the talk of the night.

Comments:

Mom and Dad said…

That there is a Cadillac of a track. It made me think of some happy memories past. Keep track of the track and we’ll have to have a family pine-wood derby.
Friday, January 23, 2009 10:06:08 AM

John said…

She’s a beauty! I love the height and paint job. That must have taken some work. I am excited to build a car with Zach someday. I like the idea of a Family Pine wood derby. Zach wants me to build him a track and an I-car. You have inspired him. We had some great times. I will never forget the “beater”. That little car was a piece of work.

Friday, January 23, 2009 9:32:20 PM

I was very touched by the kindness of Alexis tonight. I went to pick her up from a reception for one of her friends older sisters, they were having a little dance after the reception and I noticed Alexis out on the floor having a great time. I thought I would let her enjoy herself for a minute before I broke the news to her that it was time to go home.

I noticed that she was quite the dancer on the floor doing the macarana and such with her friends. Then it all changed, when a slow song came on. I thought to myself it would be fun to dance with my daughter, but I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of her friends. Then she surprised me, she came over to me on the chair and asked me, “Will you dance with me Dad?” I was so touched that she would do that, we danced and talked. It hit me as we were dancing, this is not my little toddler anymore, she was becoming a young women. Sad and happy inside I enjoyed the time with her, thinking to myself she will be the one getting married before I know it. The time passes too quickly, thanks Alexis for making my week.

I love you.

Dad

Ok with all the crazy schedules we are working with this summer here is a new thought. What if we all got together at the cabin on the hill the same weekend as the Fred and Elaine Parker Reunion? We could come a couple days before and camp out on the hill play at Henry’s lake during the days, go on some fun little hikes, treasure hunts, etc. I am just thinking this may solve two problems and save some sheckles for camping permits. Let me know what you all think. I just want to make it fun for everyone and the more people we have there then the funner it is.

Comments:

Mom and Dad said…

We are probably the most flexible of all of us after Mid-July. Just let us know what you want to do. We heard that there is a rope swing at Cliff or Wade Lake which would be closer than Bloomington Lake, but Ive never been there. There are lots of places to canoe and fish and frolic everywhere. We’re in, no matter where.
Sunday, January 04, 2009 3:56:49 PM

John said…

That works for us. We could do some canoeing in the rivers and lakes. Lots of fun.
Sunday, January 04, 2009 9:52:19 PM

Jana said…

Sounds good to us as well we just love to be together when and where we can!! Keep us posted!
Monday, January 05, 2009 9:22:36 AM

Steph said…

You can’t go wrong with I.P. I am with Jana, I just love to be together with everyone. Maybe us Idaho folk could foot the bill for food since we wouldn’t be driving as far. Just a thought. We should definitely see a show at the Playmill.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 9:45:35 PM

I have been wanting to run the Teton Dam Marathon for the past couple of years, but just couldn’t commit to it. That is the reason I am setting a goal to run it this year, and this year I may even train for it. Come join me I could use the company and support. Problem is once you get in shape to run a marathon you want to run more. Here is a little sample of some of my favorite running songs.

Comments:

Mom and Dad said…

Good luck. If we’re home, we’lll drive along side and cheer
Thursday, January 01, 2009 11:27:31 AM

Riley said…

You’re awesome Uncle Stev!!!
Thursday, January 01, 2009 2:21:50 PM

Magan said…

Tempting! I could maybe commit to a 1/2, and if I am really lucky Eric would do it also.
Friday, January 02, 2009 7:38:58 PM

Jodi said…

I’m with Magan and sticking to a half – you do realize that its 26.2 miles, right??!!! WOW – can’t wait to cheer you on!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 3:34:00 PM

Here ya go Paul…

Comments:

Mom and Dad Parker said…

We don’t even remember seeing these pictures. They are fun to see. Looks like I have a hat like grandpa had when he was in Ireland
Sunday, December 21, 2008 1:04:37 AM

Jana said…

Makes me think of how much fun it was to have grandparents on a mission, Our kids are lucky to have that same blessing and fun memories. They look like they were in their element serving others!
Sunday, December 21, 2008 3:34:00 PM

Jodi said…

I am excited to hear the report Paul…how did it go?
Monday, December 22, 2008 8:05:50 AM

Paul said…

I do recognise the Dunne’s, and the Clark’s. That is grand!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 11:20:33 AM

We had a good time yesterday, we started the day off by helping Trevin finish setting his trusses and sheating the first row all the way around. Then we did some rock climbing at Dad’s house, then it was off to Green Canyon for some swim time. We had sloppy joes and nachos after the swim. Good fun for all.

Last night after dinner Mason and I decided it would be fun to create a little house out of wheat thin crackers…here is the final product. It was made with Peanut butter for the construction adhesive.

Comments:

Dad said…

Nice work. Mason is already a house builder. Those would be fun to make as a family contest. I especially liked the detail.
Friday, November 28, 2008 7:52:22 AM

Stephen B. said…

The wheat thin house was awesome, as was the cherry pie.
Monday, December 08, 2008 9:43:09 AM

Alexis came out to help me finish assembling a tractor last night and I was impressed by her can do attitude. It was not easy to tighten all the bolts and lift the heavy pieces of steel. What impressed me even more was when it was getting frustrating because the loader was stuck on the tires and we just couldn’t lift it into place. It was getting late so I told her she could go in the house but she quickly replied, “I am not leaving until the job is done. I am not a quitter.” Then she smiled her cute little smirk with her dimple showing. That makes it all worth it, the crazy times when we want to ring her neck. It shows that maybe she is paying attention to what we are trying to teach her. Good job Lex.

Sometimes things just fall right into place, like this last week. We have been talking about how we would like to replace our van with a less “broken in model” for almost a year now. This week we had a little more incentive. Our van started to shift real hard and is misfiring for some odd reason. It still runs but I don’t trust it for a long trip.

Jodi sent me a link to a 2005 Honda Odyssey on eBay, it immediately looked too good to be true, but I bid on it anyway to see what it would do. I then noticed the auction closed it 23 minutes! This made things a little more interesting and exciting, I watched it closely as it drew closer to closing. in the last 4 seconds I up my bid just to make sure I would get a good chance as well as set the max I would pay. To my surprise I won the auction, over 30 bidders and I took the cake, so to speak :-), I was pretty excited and immediately started looking at my options for getting it home.

I decided to catch a flight out there and just drive it home as it was much less expensive. I tried to get a ticket for Paul too but they wouldn’t let me using mile companion ticket and skymiles together. I ended up taking a red eye flight to Atlanta on Thursday night, where I tried to get some sleep before my early morning flight to Little Rock. What a long night, not very easy to sleep on a hard chair. I didn’t get much sleep in but I did get caught up on the NFL and NBA games. The dealer in Little Rock met me at the airport and gave me a ride to his dealership. He pointed out that gas was down to $1.81 a gallon! We finished up the paperwork and off I went.

You know they say that the journey of 1000 miles starts with one step. Well I had to travel over 1600 miles so I was anxious to get rolling. I passed some real pretty places along this journey. I had my iPhone set to send my GPS coordinates as I drove so that Jodi and others could keep an eye on me. I first traveled through beautiful Arkansas into Oklahoma, it was so pretty so see the fall colors in full swing down there. I had a little fun as I traveled through Muskogee OK, “Merle Haggard – Okie From Muskogee”. North to Kansas, Mom and Dad skyped or chatted with me (maybe both, it was a long day) just before the Kansas border and that was great. I headed west at Salina, KS straight for the Colorado border. In Denver was where I had to make the decision, do I stop here and spend the night or keep on moving. I had to stop for fuel anyhow so I grabbed some energy drinks and some corn nuts to chew on. Seems like everyone wanted to talk to me at once, Andy my boss was giving me some good advice on the route and telling me to be careful. BTW 287 is a great short cut to Laramie, it is newly paved and smooth sailing. Jodi’s Dad was chatting with me to keep me alert, and Mom and Dad Skyped me to make sure I was good as well. They were just heading our for their morning walk. After all the excitement I decided to keep on rolling. From there it was north again to Laramie, WY then west to Rock Springs, WY and north to Jackson Hole. The sun came up around the Hoback junction. I was sure surprised to find a nice thick layer of snow and ice on the Jackson pass.

It was strange to travel from nice fall weather to winter in such a short period of time. It was sure great to see the Idaho state line. Almost home now! Jodi called me about Driggs to see how it was going, she had thought that I spent the night in Rock Springs because I lost coverage once I left there, and forgot to turn my Phone back on. I just had to see if I could do it, I left Little Rock, AR at 10 AM Friday and returned home at 8 AM on Saturday morning. With the time changes that was 24 hours of driving straight. I would not recommend that again, it was surely a marathon of driving. But it was all worth it to see my family run out to meet me as I drove down the lane. They all love the new ride. It’s great to be home again.

	Nuclear Power Plant?
	Where’s Dad?
	There he is!

Comments:

Paul said…

What about the new car? no tienes fotos?
Sunday, November 09, 2008 12:07:47 PM

Mom and Dad P said…

We enjoyed talking with you in the morning when you guys are usually sleeping. We liked the new technology of following your journey on the computer. Happy trails. Glad you’re home safe.
Sunday, November 09, 2008 3:04:03 PM

Paul said…

Nice set of wheels! I expect a ride in it.
Sunday, November 09, 2008 5:57:42 PM

michelle p said…

crazy story-you guys know how to find the deals! Can’t wait to see it!
Sunday, November 09, 2008 9:14:00 PM

Lance said…

It seems like not so long ago we drove to Denver for the last Van. That was a long day and a night! Sounds like you had a good adventure.
Monday, November 10, 2008 1:32:24 PM