Historic Site: Bullion Beck Mining Headframe

As we were driving through Eureka today we noticed this strange looking wood structure.  Michelle stares at it and asked, "What is that?"  I tried to act intelligent and gave her a quick answer but then I had to admit that I really didn't know what it was.  Since we were going to be passing by this place again Michelle suggested that we stop and investigate.

It turns out that this place was actually quite important at one time.  This wooden structure was the point of entry for a substantial mine.  All the people, donkey and mining carts were hoisted into and out of the mine on this frame.  The mine went down around 3,000 feet.  Today, this is all that is left of the mining operation that lasted from the late 1890's to the early 1960's

Who knew?  Good thing we stopped to check it out.  This stop turned into an educational experience for all of us.

Coolest Mommy / Bum War

David was upset that Quinten had come in and messed up their Uno game by kicking the cards all over the floor.  Since there isn't much that can be done David gave up on the game and went outside to jump on the trampoline.   A few minutes later I notice that Michelle was outside jumping on the trampoline.  I grabbed my camera in time to catch them in a "bum war". 

I was just impressed that she would go outside in the nearly freezing temperatures to jump on the trampoline with David.  In my mind I think Michelle is the "coolest" mommy ever!

Gidean First Foods

Gidean is over 4 months old and the doctor indicated that we could start feeding him other foods.  So when he was hungry so we thought we would try feeding him some alternative foods for the first time.  Since this was the first "solid" food he's ever eaten we thought we'd try some bottled baby food from the store.  Gidean did not appreciate the fine cuisine.  Next we  offered him some of our bottled pears that the boys eat nearly every day for lunch.  Again he balked at the delicacy.  Finally we resorted to the traditional baby cereal that every child has eaten as a staple food in their diet.  Let's just say he didn't like any of the 3 options he was offered.  Not sure where we go from here.

(video)

Thanksgiving at Grandma's

Thanksgiving Day!

I had to work this morning so Michelle and the boys headed up to Grandma Petersen's house yesterday.  After all, why hang out at our house when I can't even be there but the cousins will be at Grandma's house?  So the boys were so excited they helped to pack the suburban and get things ready for the trip.

After work I drove up to Grantsville to join the festivities.  Uncle Dan and Aunt Monica were there along with their daughter Shilo and her boyfriend Andrew.  The feast wasn't quite ready so we had a chance to visit.  

One of the activities that had transpired was the making of Indian headdresses.  Each kid got the headband to decorate.  Then they added an appropriate number of feathers.  And finally, each kid chose their special Indian name.

Once dinner was ready we lined up and went to town.  This dinner was very good; all those who helped prepare the food did an excellent job on the cooking and preparation.

Michelle's candied yams were so good that my boys ate their food and Devon went back for seconds.

Uncle Kyle volunteered for Gidean duty during dinner time.  You can tell that Uncle Kyle is very experienced now that he's had 5 other nephews to practice on.

After dinner Shilo and Andrew curled up for a nap.

And the men gathered to check out hunting pictures on the computer.

It was a very enjoyable trip with incredible food and awesome company.  Unfortunately, I had to return home so that I could be at work bright and early on Friday.

Kaylynn in Town

Aunt Kaylynn was in town today and got to stop by and visit with us.  Although she lives down in Southern California she was able to come up to Utah.  Among her many stops she was able to make a few hours in her schedule before she had to leave on Monday.

Little Brenda is growing fast.  Even though Brenda was born within a week of Gidean, Brenda is growing faster than Gidean.  She's still adorable and I'm sure these cousins will be the best of friends.

Gidean Laughs (when Tickled)

Gidean is developing a contagious laugh and we've been trying to capture that laugh on camera.  Despite our best efforts his laugh has largely escaped digital media.  But today we were able to capture some classic laughing as Michelle tickled him on our bed.  Finally, our diligent efforts have paid off. 

(video)
(You can't tell me his laugh doesn't bring a smile to your face!)

Blacklight Golfing at Trafalga

This afternoon our older boys had the opportunity to go bowling with the after-school program.  They have worked hard during the week and today was an extra special event for the kids.  Aleky was feeling bad that he wasn't going to be able to participate in the games.  It didn't help that Michael was expressing particular enthusiasm at his fortunate opportunity to go with his brothers.

This being the case, I didn't want Aleky to feel completely left out so I promised him the chance to do something fun as well.  I would take him up to Trafalga in Orem to go miniature golfing indoors, on the blacklight course.  That was on my lunch break but he definitely remembered when I got home from work.  So Michelle and I loaded up the younger 3 children and off we went. 

Aleky had a lot of fun and couldn't hardly stand how long it took his parent to get the ball in the hole.  He was done in micro-seconds and wanted to be off to the next hole.  Even in the blacklight, with Aleky heading off two or three holes ahead, we were able to complete the course together.  Quinten is still getting the hang of the game.

The older boys walked home from school because we weren't done with our game.  It probably would have gone faster if we were not keeping score for Michelle and I.  In the end there was only a single stroke difference.

Afterwards, we headed home via Papa Murphy's Pizza and ended up with a nice family size pizza.  We all had a fun afternoon playing games.  As it turns out, the boys didn't get to finish their bowling game; they had 3 frames to go when time ran out and they had to return to the school.  It was probably better that way because they couldn't have any winners or losers, just happy kids.

(video)

Time for a Haircut

Quinten's hair is starting to get pretty long.  I think it is time for a haircut!