It's my turn.

It's my turn now. I have been so neglectful of my opportunity to update this blog. Fortunately for you I have a few tidbits to share.

Of course this could turn into a huge story about how much work has consumed me and devoured my ability to think about or do anything other than work related stuff... However I am just going to relay a short story...

Our team at Blair's Market was full of new hires and team members who lacked training and discipline. You see, disipline is a key ingredient to sucess, whatever your view of sucess is. If you are disciplined (even if you are doing something wrong) you will be successful. Successful at finding a solution to your opportunity or finding an ani-solution; a way (or multitude of ways) that didn't produce the desired results.

A training session was in order. Perhaps you could have called this a mini seminar. An hour spent very wisely with a great message and a captive audience. We used a few lessons and examples to deliver the message of unity, discipline and example. And the results were fantastic! I delivered a challenge and a score card with opportunity to win and we have seen a change of attitude and an elevation of the status quo.

So enough about work...

We have a very special dog (two of them actually!) at our house. I am starting to see the age in him, and I get very worried about him. I am sure that you dog lovers know what I mean. Well, he loves to go for rides in the truck and since we had to get a new truck he doesn't know how to ride in it. In the old truck he could put his rump on the back seat and lean forward resting his front legs and chest on the center console. Since we bought a crew cab he has a ton more room... and his rump doesn't quite make it to the back seat. Since he went for a ton of rides in the old truck he was trained, how to sit and ride in the truck. In the new truck he forgets, that the back seat area is bigger and on every ride he goes on he tries to sit on the back seat and rest on the center console as before... and when he does he almost falls to the floor... because he doesn't quite reach! Even though he is a big dog! We have had many laughs about it, yet what makes it even funnier is the look he gives you when it happens! It almost breaks my heart as well when I have to help him in. Sometimes he feels really spry and can get in himself, other times he looks at me like "hey dad... a little help please."

Anyway, he is my Big Dog and he'll always be riding shotgun for me.

Just a note

So I had to speak in church last week with Mindy. We got selected not just because we are the new people in the ward, but also because our next door neighbor is in the bishopric and helped us move in (part of the payback) and also because John Winter is in the bishopric as well. I was very impressed with Mindy's talk. She always says that she is not a public speaker, yet her message was clear and her points were backed by thought, principle, and scriptures. Mine, however, was not quite as interesting, I could see many people nodding their heads and even a few of the old guys were drooling! ha ha

The topic was quite interesting for a sacrament meeting. We were to speak on family relationships. I was a little intimidated by the topic so I started to prepare my talk 20 minutes before we left for church. I kept asking Mindy to prepare a talk for me, but she just wouldn't. Darn the luck. Luckily Mindy saved the day and prepared such a wonderful talk that all I had to do was mumble a few words and fake a few people out for a minute and it was over!

Thermopolis is such a beautiful town. The other day Mindy was gone to SLC with her parents and there was a dash of sunlight left before darkness encroached on the high rise skyline. So I took Brio and Sassy out for a ride in the truck. We first headed out to the Buffalo pasture. We didn't see the Buffalo out on the pasture, they were all corralled up and feasting on some really green hay. But the pasture provides some really great views of the city. You see the town much differently from up there. From the Buffalo pasture we went out the county road (headed towards Worland) that is on the opposite side of the river. It's a dirt road and that's why you take them... just to see where they go. Lots of hay fields and micro ranches. As I passed by all these house I noticed they all had one thing in common. A big truck or trailer out front with huge water tanks on them. What a pain that would be to haul water every day.

We took a day to go back to Powell and Cody for pleasure and house business. I decided that since we had the whole day we might as well take the scenic route. We went to Anchor Reservoir and then out another dirt road 37 miles to the high way. That's why I love trucks! We had terrible traffic at one point... a herd of cows jamming up the road... no point in getting your road rage hemmoroid all fired up... they hear those cuss words all the time and they never catch on! It was a beautiful trip and I really found some nice places to explore on the wheeler.

It is quite different now for us... we just found out that on holidays we will have to speak, fight, or swindle our way for a room at my mom and dad's for holidays when everyone comes over. I guess now all my brothers and sisters can't call me a momma's boy anymore cause I moved so far away... wait a tick... I still live the closest!

Enough rambling. I have chores to do.

A Long Time...

These last few months have been very, very busy. We moved to Thermopolis. Looked forever for a place to live and settled on a little house to rent for now. I think that we looked at every house for sale here in Thermop!

When the 16th of November came I don't know that I was ready for what was about to happen. I was scared to death, thrilled, and nearly pee'ed down both legs a time or two! The condition of the store was a little worse than you could see from the outside looking in. We bought a semi truck of groceries and that was only a small improvement... 4 trucks later the store finally felt like it had product on the shelves even with the massive holes from where the previous owners had pulled the ordering information from items that sold out.

For the first few weeks Mindy stayed in Powell and I lived at the Super 8. Let me tell you, if you have the opportuninty to do that... or get kicked in the teeth with steel toed boots... take the steel toed boots! I lived there for almost a month with no fridge, no microwave, not hot water on some days and rusty orange-ish black-ish water on most days. Lucky for me I didn't have to be there all that much because the store required a lot of time. I was spending a 120 hours a week at the store trying to clean things up and make them presentable. Fortunately I am now able to only spend around 75-80 hours a week... maybe I'll get a part time job with all the free time I have! Ha ha

The work has been really rewarding. The people of Thermopolis have almost declared the store sacred ground. They were hungry for a store that treated them as a guest, and gave them a choice. The comments we still recieve are tear jerkers, and literally people still come up and introduce themselves, saying how appreciative they are we came to town. It really gives the 20 years of work prior to this a lot of validity. For 20 years I helped build the name Blair's Market, the brand, the end product... and for those who experienced it they loved it! It's also been a testament to Kent and his hard work. EVERYONE in Thermop has been to the Worland store, and they compare our little store to the Worland store. I have some pretty big shoes to fill. But I know that the hard work will be very rewarding to the guest. It won't be long and we will bust the seams on this little store and be begging the corporation for a store stretcher!

I do have to say that it is wonderful to be able to have Mindy at the store. Some days I know she questioned why I was so tired... now she knows that I don't sit in the office all day and point fingers and shout orders! She works really hard to help us be the best and she is a very valuable asset... and she lets me do what I love, serve the guest.

So for now, we survived the Holidays... and are looking forward to pushing the limits of this little store while we learn, grown, teach and have fun!

Here's the story...

I've been working for Blair's Market for the last 20 years. That's not really a secret to anyone. And recently our lives have changed significantly. And really the only reason why some of you are wondering "Why didn't you say anything?"... is because of confidentiality. We are moving to Thermopolis, Wyoming. The Blair's Market group has now expanded to 3 stores and we have been asked to operate the Thermopolis store. It is quite an opportunity that we are very grateful for. We are excited and scared all rolled into one. The biggest cause for concern though is timing. We start on Sunday Nov. 16th, 2008.

Here is how the story goes... This store was owned by a man who worked really hard and stuck it out through some really hard times. He eventually got his store to be a good producing store and also got to the age of retirement. He looked for buyers (we looked at this opportunity then, but passed) and found a married couple who wanted a business of their own. Lots of unfortunate events began to come to the new owners, to put it mildly and they got in a pickle. Contact was made about a sale to the Blair's Market group... and the answer was a surprising "no sale". A few weeks later around the first few days of October, an actual offer was made. This time circumstances had progressed/deteriorated (depending on your point of view) to the point of addressing the cold hard facts. Fact of the matter was the new owners were in need of a big bucket to bail them out of their situation.

As it turns out at the time of the offer in October there was a 99.9% chance that this deal would go through and we would be moving to Thermopolis, yet at every step of the way from the time of the offer and eventual acceptance of the offer we had to beat the 0.1% monster to the ground. It was quite an emotional, physical and psycotic journey. One day the 99.9% wins and the next three the 0.1%.... back and forth untill Monday the 10th of Nov. That is when the actual agreements to sale were signed. And since the new owner's situation had changed dramatically a final ultimatum was given to be out of the store on the 15th of Nov.

So, here we are. We are so grateful and blessed to have this opportunity. Mindy is looking forward to working directly and closely with her hard headed husband. She told me at one point that she would never work for me. Now I am glad that she said that, because she doesn't have to work FOR me, just has to work WITH me! ha ha We may be living in a van down by the river for a while... but we will make it! We haven't found a place to live, so the search continues.

So, if you are traveling through, stop by and see us. We are right on the main street of town. We'll update more when we get settled.

Little Eric

A couple weeks ago Eric and I got to go to Tooele for a really special weekend. Our friend's Cole and Natalie adopted the cutest little baby boy you've ever seen and were finally able to make the adoption final . It was a long time coming for them with a lot of heart breaks along the way but the outcome was well worth the wait. After one adoption that fell through last November, we were thrilled when Cole called us in April and said that they were proud parents of a new baby boy named Eric. The next weekend we were in Utah to see the little guy for the first time. He was born premature and was so tiny we were afraid to hold him. Now he is the cutest thing ever and has a million dollar smile. It was so special to be able to witness them all being sealed together as an eternal family and bless Eric in church. Thanks Cole and Natalie for letting us be a part of your life--we are so happy for you!

Little Eric was all smiles (and drool) from the minute we got there.

Best buddies -- Eric and Cole

One happy family--little Eric, Natalie & Cole

On our way to Utah we kept hearing of this massive storm that was going to dump several feet of snow on us. Well as it turned out, Wyoming was where it decided to dump and we enjoyed pretty good weather aside from a little bit of rain. It made for some cool pictures though.

Small and Simple things...

Sometimes you have an experience in life that totally changes you. I have been pretty fortunate to have a recurring string of events like that. Good friends are truly something special and I am thankful for my friends Cole and Natalie. In February it will be 15 years ago that Cole accepted an invitation to go to a dance at the institute. And that was the start of the string of sprititual events that I am talking about.

Everyone seems to think that the person you introduce the gospel to changes and becomes better... in a way that is true. Actually what happens is the person who introduces the gospel has just as great a change in their life. Cole was already a great person, he didn't need me to bring him the gospel to validate that. He was already the nicest guy around, and really had the qualities of a great person long before he was a member of the church. He can attribute that to his great parents and their willingness to teach him the principles of being a good person from a young age. So my friend Cole who really had no idea that he was teaching me, quietly taught me ALL of the principles and ordinances of the gospel. My life was the one that changed because he taught me and still teaches me HOW it all works.

Every step of the way to Christ I have been there with Cole and he is such a strong example to me, leading me and teaching me of Christ and His importance in my life. Thank you Cole. God sure knew what he was doing when he lead you to the gospel. It was a 2 for 1 deal, Cole's life and mine, and that has impacted many lives since, making it one of the best choices of my life. I cannot take credit for any of it. I can only express my gratitude to God and Cole for taking my hand and leading me on a spiritual journey that will be even greater I suspect once this mortal life is complete.

You never know when it will happen to you. I know that. Thank you Cole and Natalie for the tribute in your son. He will know all the principles that will bring him happiness by looking at Cole for his example.

My Big Dog

Funny thing about this picture is you know exactly who is in charge. Dad thinks he is, but who actually ends up getting the sandwich? Ha Ha! It's probably happened on many horse rides and some of us actually remember Sam and his sandwich snatching ablities. Brio, the son of Sam, all though much gentler and extremely more subtle still manages to obtain the sandwich, where Sam wouldn't even let dad get a bite on some occasions!

This was just a particularly great ride. I had to capture some pictures of Brio doing what he does because he is 9 and I really want to enjoy every moment with him.