Woo-hoo!!!!!

I've already told my kids and you are about the only ones that read this but... dad/hubby/grandpa/Richard got a job!!!! It's with the state fire marshalls office and he will be training fire/police/etc. around the state. The soon to be boss is already talking about sending dad out to Duchesne a lot and dad was like, 'dude, they're going to pay me to go out to my property? Cool.' Government pay isn't that good but government benefits are. I'm so glad that we will have health/dental insurance for James when he gets back from Basic cuz the army wants his wisdom teeth out. I just hope some doctor trainee doesn't do the job at Basic! Anyway, yay! A job! And dad says it's his dream job. What could be better than that? Dad probably won't start for a couple weeks because they have to do a complete background check on him and getting that paperwork filled out, mailed and returned takes at least a week and a half. Plus, dad and almost boss are at a conference until Friday evening. Yay again! (Think I'm excited?)

Proud Land Owner

Last Thursday we closed on the land. 40 acres in the middle of nowhere now belongs to us. We had planned to camp there Friday to Saturday but because of the stupid rain (for full disgust of the rain on Memorial Weekend, see Sonia's blog) we chose to just go up for the day. We headed out sorta early (8am) and got there around 10. Russ and Sandy arrived about 11 and I've not seen Russ this happy and excited about anything in a long time. Dad had taken a couple guns to plink with so dad, Russ and James shot off a few rounds into a stump. They were having so much fun. While Russ and dad explored the boundries, James explored the ravine which is quite deep but has several areas that are an easy walk right down into it. I mean, I can even make it! It was chilly tho... probably didn't get out of the 50s all day.

So we were talking to Russ and Sandy about our short and long term plans... short term includes raking out cactus around the best camp areas, toilet needs and possibly water. Long term includes things like a trailer, shed, well, a large water tank and maybe even a 4-wheeler. Sandy brought up the idea of getting a picnic table and I think that is a fabulous idea. When we got home, dad got on the internet and was looking at trailers and found one that is a 26 footer, looks fabulous, is only 12 years old (most for sale were made in the 70s) and they are selling it for just $3500. I'm thinking maybe I can wait on curtains for the livingroom!! I can't wait to stay over night and see all the critters wandering through in the evening and early morning. Oh... and Sandy's dog didn't have any trouble at all picking his way around the cactus. It was interesting to watch.

1SG (Ret) Jack Heinkel

When James came home today, he told us that they had been told today at JROTC class, that Sgt. Heinkel had resigned for personal reasons and would no longer be there. One of the ladies from the office is going to help out till the end of the year as much as she is able.

Sgt. Heinkel was loved by everyone. He helped the cadets run all their teams and was there way before school began to well after it let out every day. He really kept things in the JROTC running smooth. He will be missed and we wish him well.

2008 JROTC Awards Ceremony

It's an evening to remember and goes pretty long, broken up only by the dinner of sandwiches and pop. This is definitely not an evening you go to for the food but there are a lot of awards given out for the cadets of the JROTC. In the first picture James is receiving a national award... the Trea Award of Merit awarded by the Retired Enlisted Association. This award is for outstanding leadership and being "an invaluable asset to the Junior ROTC Program, the United States Armed Services and The Retired Enlisted Association." Woo-hoo!

James also received awards for Pentathlon, Color Guard, Armed Drill, Orienteering, Rifle Marksmanship, and Raiders. In addition, he received a certificate of participation in the NRA National JROTC Postal Match. A postal match is where you do your target shooting at the range and then mail in your completed target. Each is compared with hundreds of others so it's kind of rare to actually win, especially when you don't practice.

James lettered again this year in 4 different areas. He received letterman pins for Raiders, Orienteering, Drill and Pentathlon. There was also an award given to James for being the person who did the best and brought in the most money during the annual fund raiser. Great job James!! That award is celebrated by the purple ribbon in the second picture. The last picture is of the boys of the Pentathlon team with all their awards. You may recognize them from an earlier post. They are a neat team of young men... especially mine!

Arch View

Yesterday dad and I spent a marathon day looking at this property.  We're considering an offer we want to make and exactly how to tweak the contract just right.  In these pictures, you can see some of just about all of the land.  We think that the road to the property goes through the property.  We're asking for a survey of the land in our contract so we can know just where the boundaries are. 

One draw back to the land is little cactus everywhere (shown in one of the shots) but it only grows about 5 inches high.  Dad assures me that it will be easy to clear from the areas we want to place tents in but for general walking around, good shoes that repel pokies are needed. He also found a place that will help us plant more trees and will even pay 75% of the cost... woohoo! The picture of the arch is not on this property but is right off the road on the way to it.  

I also had to take a picture of a friend for James.  It's the picture that looks like nothing but in the middle, right below the bottom larger stick is a little lizard.  :)