Spring Training 2016 - April 13-20

For the last 10+ years, my sisters and I meet in Phoenix for spring training and sister time.  The weather was outstanding, 85-95 all week.  No rain, no clouds, just blue skies.

We went to five different Cubs games.  They went 1-4, which was not real good, but it was fun to go to five different ball parks and be out in the sunshine.

First stop after we arrive in Phoenix, pick up the rental car, check in to hotel, is dinner at Bandera's.  We share a main course so we can each get our own Oreo ice cream sandwich desert.  Outstanding!!!

 The new Cubs stadium in Mesa.

 The first few years we went to Phoenix, some of the stadiums had Dippin Dots.  Now the only place that has them is a mall, so we hit that mall a few times.

So some stadiums parking is a long way from the stadium.  Some creative individuals have bikes with carts to assist the patrons.  We take advantage of that service and help the local economy.

There is an outstanding quilt store in Tuscon, so we go down there one day.  Driving along a highway against the foothills, we drive by this construction site.  We were not looking for it.  Tuscon Temple.  Looking on the web site, the architects designed a spire on top of the building.  They could not get the plans approved with a spire, so it was changed to a dome.  There is another church down the road a ways that had a dome on top too.  

And what would the trip be without a few "selfies" with the sisters?  

Idaho Falls February 26, 2016

Kyra was testing for her Black Belt this weekend and Mike had a piece of equipment he bought from a shop in Orem that he needed in Idaho Falls.

We rented a U-Haul trailer and loaded up the screen press.

The thing is like a big octopus with arms that extend out in all directions. We got it loaded and secured and then headed to Idaho Falls.

Got a couple pic's of Myka and Myles while Kyra was testing.  Cristal was intently watching Kyra as she tested.  Ken went to a scout camp Friday night and then boarding on Saturday, so we did not see much of him this weekend.

Kyra and her Black Belt!!!

Kyra has been taking Taekwondo classes for 3+ years.  She has progressed through the different belts with alot of hard work.  On February 26, 2016 she tested for her Black Belt.  She tested with 3 other guys.  The testing lasted about 90 minutes and they had to do all of their forms, sparring with people a whole lot bigger than her and then a fitness test.  She passed with flying colors.  She was the highest point getter of the four that tested.

Kyra's best friend Hanna came to the testing.  Her birthday was that night, but she moved her party to Saturday night so she could attend Kyra's Black Belt testing and so Kyra could come to her party on Saturday.  Awesome friend.

Update on bathroom remodel

Things have grinded to a half on the bathroom remodel.  I got the hole cut in the countertop for the sink and the faucet.  Ordered the faucet but it has taken forever and it is still not in.

The sink will be recessed in to the counter top.  The faucet will be towards the back at the sight side of the sink.  The countertop has about 6 coats of danish oil on it and 3 coats of a marine grade polyurethane to protect it from the water.

Did some dry fitting of the sink on the vanity.  Had to make sure it was all going to fit together and look o.k.

Still need to do the doors, but the rails and stiles are cut.  Need to do some shaping on those and then put them together.

New Beginnings

Last night had New Beginnings for the Young Women.  Had a Chinese New Year theme and decorations all around.  What an awesome opportunity to work with the youth in our ward.

Bathroom Remodel

This past weekend, got two more coats of oil on the vanity and got it installed in the bathroom.  Leaving some of the pink paint on the wall for posterity.

Then we got to the point of having to figure out where and how to cut the hole for the sink bowl to be recessed in to the counter top.  Oh man!!  So hard to think about cutting in to the countertop.

I got my trusty tramel points out and cut some holes in practise material to see how the cutting would go and to see how low the sink would be into the countertop.

I made circles of 10, 12 and 14 inches.  I cut a hole in cardboard....  foam....

And MDF.

Worked on cutting on the right angle on the wood so it would cradle the sink bowl, and played with that for quite a while.

Ran to Woodcraft, bought a new router bit to help with the angle on the hole to help the bowl set in the counter top.  Played with the jig saw to see what angle would work best to cut the hole. 

The counter top is almost 1 1/2 inches thick, so the jig saw can only do so much.

After playing most of the afternoon with it, I chickened out and thought I would ponder a few more days. 

Half bath remodel

Ever since we moved in to this house 6+ years ago, the half bathroom by the garage door has bugged me.  There was a tiny bathroom vanity that you had to go in and close the door to use the faucet to wash hands, etc.  Also the baseboard was 3-4 inches tall and it was sculpted.  Who ever put the baseboard in did not do mitre cuts on the corners, just blunt 90 degree cuts and then filled the cracks with a ton of caulk.  So between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we tore out the stuff in the half bathroom and the remodel was on.

A few years ago I bought some 2" thick oak to use for the counter top in this bathroom.  I ripped it in to 2 1/4" thick strips and starting gluing 3 strips together at a time, clamped them, and then sanded them after they were all dry.

Then I glued up 2 of the 3 strip sections and kept building until I got the counter top wide enough for the vanity.

The counter top is 39 inches long and about 25 inches wide at this point.

After we got the vanity out of the bathroom, I needed to scrap all the caulk they had used on the baseboards and around the cabinet.  Had a minor injury that included a trip to the clinic on New Year's Day, but that story is for another day.

Found a sink we wanted to go in the bathroom.  I had found several vessel sinks on line that I liked, but Scott needed to see it in person.  Found this gem at Standard Supply.  It is sandstone, but it looks like wood.  You just have to touch it to realize it is not wood, but it sure looks like it.

The bathroom with the vanity out and new paint on the wall.  Left some of the old pink showing just for posterity.  The whole house used to be this color, at one point.  The builder of the house had everything pink.  The previous owner to us had painted the brown over the pink, but every once in a while, we still find pink.  Our bathtub, toilet and sink were this color when we moved in!!!

I worked really hard to keep the oak strips all even during the glue up process, but there were still some ridges in the wood.  Took the countertop to a cabinet shop in Provo to run over their big bed sander.  After about 15 runs through the sander, it was smooth and even on both sides.

Counter top trimmed, sanded and a few coats of oil. 

This past Saturday worked on getting the vanity together.  The water pipes come up from the floor in the bathroom, so I had to build the vanity to go around the pipes.

 That old story of measure twice, cut once.  I should have paid attention!!!  I had to cut out the bottom for the pipes, then I worked on some support for the bottom as it goes around the pipe, so I did these nice wood pieces.  Finally took it in to the house to dry fit and BOOM!!  I had put the vanity together with the bottom backwards.  The bottom should have been flipped over.

So I had to take everything apart, cut a new bottom, chip out the old bottom and redo it.  Got it put bath together and dry fit again and now it fits.  Ran out of time on Saturday to do any more, but we are well on our way with the vanity.