Whew, what a week. Fun, but what a week. Cheryl even went with me to Cokeville, WY and she seemed to enjoy herself. Mercy, some of those volleyball players are tall for high school. However, the ones that caught my eye were the short ones who were so full of energy they could run circles around the taller girls. Coming back the bus was soooooo quiet cause the girls were plumb wore out.

Not much to say since I spent the time off doing a lot of sleeping and going to church. Even did a little sleeping in church. I think I was tired also.

Well, today is another beginning of another week. Lots of exciting things will be happening. I already got up and fixed the car that has been broken down for about three weeks. Mercy, I am on a roll.

Have a nice day everyone. Chery just called for breakfast and I must keep my priorities straight.:)

WOMEN!!! It used to be that I would say, "If it weren't for sex I would hate women." Now, I have to say, "If they didn't turn out to be such good cooks I would hate women." (Just kidding gals)

It doesn't matter the age, they don't listen. Take yesterday for example. Part of my pre-trip instructions, which come from the school district, is to make all passengers aware of safety issues such as remaining in your seat when the vehicle is in motion. Do not open safety hatches unless it is an emergency. On my particular bus it is, don't open the windows, they are all emergency exits. Did they comprehend? No!! Did they listen? No!! Did I repeat myself several times? Yes!!

This is the girls soccor team that I am talking about. Soccor. It is a game that makes paint drying look exciting. (Just kidding again) Back to my issues. I no sooner got the words out of my mouth about the windows when almost every window in that bus was opened. The coach and I just shook our heads in disbelief. Remain seated... oh how I wish. There must have been a large pile of ants in one section of the bus cause that particular group could not stay seated if their lives depended on it.

I worry about it somewhat. All it takes is one quick stomp on the brakes and someone could be seriously injured.

All in all though, they were a good bunch of kids. Wound up tighter than most clocks, but a good bunch.

I didn't get home until 0130 and so I am going to go and take a little nappy pooh since I got to leave again at 1500 this afternoon. (That is 3:00pm for those from Germany and England)

Have a nice day everyone.

No pictures today. Looks like I need to replenish my supply of pictures when I get the chance.

How did my first trip go? Well, it went very nicely. I felt sorry for the kids though. It was one very hot day and they played their hearts out (won both games) but I kept expecting someone to drop from heat exhaustion. One girl got kicked so hard in the knee that I didn't think she would be able to walk but she just smiled and said it hurts a little. Me, I would have been yelping all over the place.

I don't know if Saturday was an exception but they were some of the nicest and most courteous kids I have been around. Maybe it was because I threatened to turn off the air conditioning if they mis-behaved.:)

Today I go in for some more training and a dinner. Tomorrow I drive to Rupert, Id, Wednesday I drive to Pocatello, ID, Thursday I drive to Burley, ID and Friday and Saturday I got to Cokeville, WY for an overnight trip. Yep, they are keeping me busy right now. I love it.

If my blog does not produce much this week it is because I am a little busy. My niece stopped by yesterday and surprised me by saying she reads my blogs quite often. It would be interesting to know who all reads them and why they don't comment. I have to be careful what I say about my relatives because several of them read the blog.:)

My brother in law is not doing good. What should have been a fairly routine operation has turned into a full fledged life and death movement. I highly doubt he knew I was in his room but I whispered in his ear that someone needs to get better so the snow can be shoveled this winter. I don't think he appreciated that kind of encouragement.

Good to see some of you are back blogging. We all have our dry and busy spells don't we. Since I don't have any pictures I will leave this thought....

Butt Surgery
A married couple was in a terrible accident where the
woman's face was severely burned. The doctor told the husband that
they couldn't graft any skin from her body because she was too skinny.
So the husband offered to donate some of his own skin.

However, the only skin on his body that the doctor felt was
suitable would have to come from his buttocks.

The husband and wife agreed that they would tell no one
about where the skin came from, and requested that the doctor also
honor their secret. After all, this was a very delicate matter.

After the surgery was completed, everyone was astounded
at the woman's new beauty. She looked more beautiful than she ever
had before! All her friends and relatives just went on and on about her
youthful beauty!

One day, she was alone with her husband, and she was
overcome with emotion at his sacrifice. She said, "Dear, I just
want to thank you for everything you did for me. How can I possibly
repay you?"

"My darling," he replied, "I get all the thanks I need
every time I see your mother kiss you on the cheek."

I can't remember if I included this before or not... oh well, I AM getting old you know.

Have a nice day everyone.

This picture reminds of me of how I feel when Cheryl is driving. hee, hee

What a week this has been. You educators have more meetings than most people. Cheryl interiviewed for a job at the elementary school on Monday morning, received the job on Monday afternoon, attended an all day orientation on Tuesday and then had a picnic on Wednesday. I, on the other hand had a meeting on Tuesday, picnic on Wednesday, training on Wednesday and I forget what else there was.

Yesterday we drove to Provo, UT to see our youngest daughter's new house. Well, new to them but an older home that is soooooooo much better than what they were living in. We had a good time but I sure have gotten away from rush hour traffic. After visiting her we then went to a hospital in SLC where my brother in law had open heart surgery and is not doing well at all. He has been in a medically induced coma for over a week and does not seem to respond to treatment. He sure looked bad when we seen him. We wish him all the best and keep him in our prayers.

Speaking of prayers one of our friends sent this following poem and I thought I should share it with all of you. I sure hope everyone is doing all right. The blogging sure takes a beating when all of us are having so much fun in life.


Jake, the rancher, went one day to fix a distant fence.
The wind was cold and gusty and the clouds rolled gray and dense.

As he pounded the last staples in and gathered tools to go.
The temperature had fallen, the wind and snow began to blow.

When he finally reached his pickup, he felt a heavy heart.
From the sound of that ignition, he knew it wouldn't start.

So Jake did what most of us would do if we had been there.
He humbly bowed his balding head and sent aloft a prayer.

As he turned the key for the last time, he softly cursed his luck.
They found him three days later, frozen stiff in that old truck.

Now Jake had been around in life and done his share of roaming.
But when he saw Heaven, he was shocked -- it looked just like Wyoming!

Of all the saints in Heaven, his favorite was St. Peter.
(Now, this line ain't needed but it helps with rhyme and meter)

So they set and talked a minute or two, or maybe it was three.
Nobody was keeping' score -- in Heaven time is free.

"I've always heard," Jake said to Pete, "that God will answer prayer,
But, one time I asked for help, well, he just plain wasn't there."

"Does God answer prayers of some, and ignore the prayers of others?
That don't seem exactly square -- I know all men are brothers."

"Or does he randomly reply, without good rhyme or reason?
Maybe, it's the time of day, the weather or the season."

"Now I ain't trying to act smart, it's just the way I feel.
And I was wondering', could you tell me -- what the heck's the deal?!"

Peter listened very patiently and when Jake was done.
There were smiles of recognition, and he said, "So, you're the one!!"

"That day your truck, it wouldn't start, and you sent your prayer a flying,
You gave us all a real bad time, with hundreds of us trying."

"A thousand angels rushed, to check the status of your file, But
you know, Jake, we hadn't heard from you in quite a long while."

"And though all prayers are answered, and God ain't got no quota,
He didn't recognize your voice, and started a truck in Minnesota."

BETTER KEEP IN TOUCH


Have a nice day everyone.

This reminds me of Cheryl and her friend Donna. Couple of old farts in a convertible trying to relive their youth. They are trying to start a Red Hat Society chapter here in this area which is not a bad thing. Here it is the church and nothing else and sometimes that is just not enough.

Yesterday our teacher gave us some pointers on the importance of keeping a journal of your life activities. I will admit I am not very good at this but keep trying in my own simple way. So I will share an experience in my life that was humorous and yet serious.

I lived in the town of Driggs, Idaho where most people scratch out a living the best way they can. Of course the place has changed so much now that I don't know what they do. Anyway, I got a job helping my relative in the forest and we were spraying pine trees for beetles that were killing them. Our chemicals consisted of some kind of killing agent mixed with diesel fuel. Nasty job.

As we worked we would notice what we called red-topped trees which are pine trees completely dead but the needles are still there, but very dry. I don't know how the practice got started but it was great fun to light a match to the bottom of one of these red-topped trees just to watch it go up in flames.

Well, as luck would have it we come across one tree that was all by itself, the safest kind of red-top to burn. Close by were about six to eight green, healthy trees but we just knew they wouldn't be hurt. Mind you this is in the spring and there was still snow everywhere so dryness in the forest was not an issue.

I put the match to the bottom limb of the red-top and "whoosh" flames shot to the top. What my relative and I never took into consideration is the intense heat that comes from these trees. Even though the green ones were supposedly a safe distance away the nearest one caught on fire.

I don't know if you have heard the term of trees exploding but believe me when I say, they do just that. It is a very scary sound. Not only did the nearest one catch on fire and explode but so did about six others all in a row. By the time the sixth one caught and exploded this little boy was on his knees praying to God that He would stop things from going any further. I even promised to be a good boy for a while.

Luckily it stopped but we were both quite shaken by the events of the day. Needless to say I have NEVER performed that stupid trick again.

So there you have it... another tale from the Ramblin Irishman. Hope you enjoyed it.

Have a nice day everyone.

I can sure tell everyone is starting to think very seriously about school starting. Teachers are getting their classrooms ready, college students are already on the road and school districts are getting their transportation vehicles ready. Busy, busy, busy. On top of all that the county fairs are going like crazy. Kids are primping their animals, adults are showing off their creations and here in Idaho the rodeos are a dime a dozen. I still have not gone to one. Cheryl wants to but seems like she always has some other thing going when the rodeo is on. At our county fair they have an "antique" catagory so I thought that next year I would enter Cheryl. Never know she might bring first place.:) They don't have a catagory for me which would be the old, broken down pieces of junk.

Here the farmers are harvesting grain like there is no tomorrow. Each time the sky clouds up and looks like rain you can hear the anti-rain chanting going on.

What do I do when all of this is going on? Well, normally I would go fishing and enjoy myself but this year I lucked out and got a job with the Preston (Napoleon Dynamite) school district. I will be driving the activity bus to ball games, musical thingys, more ball games and etc. Actually I am looking forward to it very much.

Well so much for my boring life. Think I will take Cheryl and go check out a campground that people have been telling us about. Might even try a little fishing.

I cannot close without showing off a picture of my two new granddaughters. Everyone was trying to get Amber to quit putting her hands in front of her face while they photographed her so Rylie took matters into her own hands.




Have a nice day everyone.

I don't know why but this picture just made me think of some of my blogging friends. Hmmmmmmmmm.

Have a nice day everyone.

This is Rylie Ann who is all dressed up for her naming and blessing. We did not realize it at the time of purchase but the dress makes her look like she has angel wings. It was a great event and poor Rylie got passed around to so many relatives that she started becoming quite grumpy.



Who can resist those big blue eyes?



She finally said she had enough and goodnight.



This was her cousin Jeremy who looks like he lost the fight. Apparently he fell asleep on the floor and a spider decided to have lunch and this is the results. We all felt so bad for the little guy.

That is all for today.

Have a nice day everyone.

Okay, okay it is a picture of a fat man fishing, but he is a happy fat man. Last Saturday we were at my daughter and son in law's place for the blessing and naming of Rylie Ann. Mike's Father is a professional guide on the Provo river and he took Mike and I fishing. I have never been fly fishing and it was a blast. Today's blog is all about ME, ME, ME.



Mike and I with the one I caught and finally landed. Man, with the swift water tugging on the line that fish felt like it was a monster. I actually caught three but two of them got off the hook.



It takes lots of serious concentration. Ha,ha.



It is small, about 14 inches, but at least I caught it and it was mine, mine, mine.

Have a nice day everyone.

This is a picture of my brand new granddaughter. She takes after her Grandfather soooo much. I will try and post another picture if blogger will let me.

I am going to try and post some pictures of my new granddaughter. I have tried half a dozen times already but this blogger outfit seems to be having it's usual problems. I might start searching for a new site to blog from if this continues.

Just tried again and it failed. Does anyone have some good suggestions as to a blogging site that has fewer problems?

Oh blessed relief. It rained and the temperature has dropped at least 20 degrees. Even at my daughters place, which is generally cool, it has been very hot.

Spent Sunday holding my new granddaughter and telling her how cute she is. Her name is Amber Nicole in case I forgot to mention it.

I am rambling 'cause the brain is fried.

Have a nice day everyone.