Phoenix 2015

So the last two years the sisters have not been able to go to Phoenix because of other family issues.  This year we made it and oh did we have fun.

We had tickets to five different Cubs games, in 3 different stadiums.  The Cubs had a new stadium we had not seen before, so that was fun.  The Cubs are by far the biggest draw in Phoenix, so it was standing room only at all the games.

Jan had a new toy called a "selfie stick" where she put her phone on the end of the stick and all three of us cold get in the picture.  I just realized those pictures are on my phone.  I will have to send them to my computer.

Beautiful weather in Phoenix - 80-85 every day.  It was wonderful!!

The Chicago Blackhawks were in town to play the Phoenix Coyotes.  Went to an NHL game.  The place was probably 80% Blackhawk fans and it was electric.  So much fun!  Blackhawks won 2-1.

 One of the fun things we did was arrange a class for Jan to take at the local Rockler Store to get some training on turning on a lathe.  Jan has been wanting to get a small lathe so she could turn pens and small boxes.  I called the Rockler Store in Phoenix several weeks before we went to see if they would do a private lesson for Jan.  Got it set for Monday night at 6:00.  We were at our first baseball game and around 5:00 we told Jan we had to leave.  She said, "we never leave early, why are we leaving?"  I just told her come on, let's go.

She had a 3 hour, one on one lesson with an old, seasoned turner.  The item above was a practise with all the different tools, gouges, etc.  Then she attempted to make a small rolling pin.

She had lots of fun and said we surprised her!!  Woo hoo!!!!

Had dinner one night with  some of Pat's special friends.  That was totally awesome!!

Phoenix has a new temple north of Phoenix and north of Glendale.  It was beautiful and up on a hill. 

Here is a picture using the "selfie stick".

And of course, this is what I got when I returned to work.  Oh the harassment!!  It was all worth it!!!

New shelves at Cristal's house

Mike and Cristal moved in to their new house this weekend.  Scott and I went up on Friday to help.  They really wanted storage shelves in the garage.

When they bought the house, there were some shelves in the garage but they were flimsy, shaky and pretty ugly.  They built shelves on each side of the window and a makeshift work bench below the window.  Friday afternoon we took out the old shelves, hauled them to the dump and started with a clean slate.

 We used 2x4's and Simpson brackets.  We built around the window so they would still get the day light from outside, but also use the space at the top of the shelves for storage.

 We used 1/2" OSB board to cover the shelves and then secured them to studs in the wall.  Pretty solid shelves.  The garage is 22 feet long and almost 10 feet tall.

The finished shelves with boxes already going on top.  Woo Hoo!!!

Kyra and taekwondo

Kyra has been doing taekwondo for the last 2 years or so.  When I was in Idaho Falls she tested for her brown belt.  If I can do this, I have video of her testing.

Kenyon and Myles

During a recent trip to Idaho Falls, got a chance to cut Ken and Myles hair.  They have had "fro's" going for quite a while.  One of Ken's friends was just diagnosed with cancer and during chemo, he has lost his hair.  As a sign of support for his friend, both the grandson's wanted their hair cut off.

It went in stages because it was so long.  I cut alot off with scissors, then with the clippers with really long attachments and then finally down to real close to the head.

I like the short hair and I love the reason they did the hair cut!!  Awesome young men!!!

Eagle Scout project

One of the Young Men in our ward was trying to get his Eagle Scout.  His project was to make blankets for a hospital to give to youth who come to the hospital.  He collected money from lots of different sources, bought the fabric, then the YM/YW in our ward cut and tied the fabric.

We did about 65 adult sized blankets and had fun doing it.

Just had to do a dry fit!!

This is the base of the lockers.  This is only half of the base, there is another section, just like this one.  It is made out of 2x4's.  By using a base like this, we can level the base with the concrete floor in the garage and get it all level, then all the cases above that should be level and square.  The base cabinets will extend out over the base by 3" to create a "toe kick" area so you can stand in front of the lockers and not stub your toes.

The base will be covered with 3/4" plywood screwed to the base.  Also going to cover the base with heavy duty plastic to create a vapor barrier so if there is any moisture in the garage or on the floor, the water does not wick up to the cabinets.

I only did two lockers in the dry fit, just to see how everything would go together.  There will be a total of seven lockers.  These are the two base cabinets.  They are 26 inches deep.  The lockers are 12 inches deep, so the remaining 14 inches creates a bench so the kids can sit on to put shoes on and off, stand on to hand up coats in the locker, etc.  Still working on the material for the bench.  I bought maple and thought about dying it black for a contrast.  The maple has been hard to dye, so looking at other alternatives like granite or a solid surface. The black stain/dye has only turned the maple a light gray.  May need to go back to alder for the bench surface and stain all the same color.

This is a 2" base for the lockers to sit on.  I needed to do this to create space between the bottom of the lockers and the top of the wide cases for the face frame and for the doors on the lockers to close.

The lockers are 62 1/2 inches tall, 21 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches deep.  All of the lockers are made out of alder MDF plywood.  The face frame and doors will be alder.  

This has the top cases on top of the lockers.  The locker and top case will have doors.  The bottom case will not have doors.  The top case will be really high, but it will be used to store off season items.

The lockers will have crown moulding on top.  As it sits right  now, the assembly is 98.5 inches tall.  The crown moulding will be about 5" tall.  The lockers need to fit under 104" because of a heat duct or return that will run across the top of the lockers.

After much struggling with trying to cut the face frame material, keep it as long as I could to cut down on piecing the face frame, I finally contacted a mill to cut the face frame material for me.  That was a great idea.  They should have it ready for me today.  Woo hoo!

Need to get the face frames sanded and stained so they are ready for install.

Gathering all my materials and tools to have ready so we can make the delivery and install.  Always a fun day!!

YM/YW fix dinner for the Sister missionaries

Last week for a joint activity with the Priests and Laurels, we fixed dinner for the Sister missionaries at our house.

We moved some furniture around and were able to seat 17 youth at the table.  They could visit with the missionaries and ask questions and had a great opportunity to pick their brains and learn from their experiences.

We had 22 youth, six leaders and the Bishop for spaghetti dinner.  It was an excellent activity!!

What are pictures without a photobomb by Matt Boyer!!