Where in the World is SK & Cy

Well I just read a message from Natalie that she keeps checking my blog to see if I've updated. Thanks Nat for giving me the little nudge.

Here is a list of the things that have happened since I last posted.

1. March 26 Thursday~ Good News ~We had an incredible offer to help us take our possessions to Logan. Bad news ~ We had to be ready Friday afternoon to load.

2. March 27 Friday ~ Bad News ~ Instead of Friday afternoon ~ movers came @ 8:30 am. Good News ~ Somehow we packed our boxes and threw them all in Kevin and Ashley's horse trailer. Sad News ~ Just as we were heading to bed, the call came that Grandpa Dick had passed away. Very emotional although we expected it. We were just so happy for him to be out of confusion and with his eternal partner, family and friends. I miss him so much. I still think it will probably be them when the phone rings. He and Grandma were so amazing about calling and checking up on us all. They have left a big hole in our lives. Thanks to all the family for the wonderful care he received!

3. Saturday March 28 ~ Landing in Logan ~ Unloading in lightening speed. Beat the horrible snow storm. Spent a couple days unpacking and then went to the funeral in Orem. We had everyone there. It was quite a sight to see as I lead the music for all the grandchildren, their spouses, and great grandchildren. Such a legacy. It was wonderful to spend time with our cousins that we don't see very often. We're spread around the country pretty good now. It was so much easier when we all lived on the ranch and were just a few doors down from one another.

4. Spent some time with our only Grandparent left ~ Grandpa Reese, Uncle Dick & Aunt Colleen.

5. Left for Montana to go to my doctor's appointment in Bozeman and help Mom and Dad move out of the house and into their new 5th Wheel trailer that they are setting up in White Sulphur Springs. My sister Keri and her family are there so it will be a fun summer for them and Mike & company are just across the valley in Helena.

6. Spent a few days working @ the Insurance company ~ Judy's Dad passed away. My mom and I both commented that we are losing quite a few to the other side lately . . .

7. Came back to Logan and my good friends, Nadine and John Stosich came and spent the night with us. Loved having them here. Now if we can just get them to move here . . . They really like our ice cream place "Charlies" so hopefully that will pull them here :-).

8. Unpacked most of our things and then took off for Montana again. Had to fill in again at the insurance office for 3 days. Cy & I stayed with Bob and Sue. What a wonderful ~ relaxing experience. We had such a good time. Learned how to play a new game called Ticket to Ride. Cy absolutely loved it.

9. Came back to Logan Wednesday night ~ found the Richmond house dark and locked up. I think that's the first time in my life that that has happened. After a quick phone call to Col ~ we found out that Grandpa Reese had gone to the hospital while we were gone and was now in Sunshine Terrace rehabilitating. We went to see him yesterday for lunch and then took him some ice cream later in the evening. He seems pretty weak now and he's getting slower and slower. He told me after Grandpa Dick's funeral that, "They have all left me behind". He's very grateful for all the good care he's been given. Uncle Dick and Aunt Colleen are with him 24/7 at the house and visit him often at Sunshine.

10. Today ~ I am trying to get caught up on work, unpacking more boxes that we brought back from Montana and squeezing in school when we can. Thank goodness Cy's school is on the Internet now and I don't have to do much prep. It has made a world of difference in our lives. Mom and Dad are coming tonight from their trip to the Grand Canyon. I guess it goes without saying ~ I'll be cleaning this afternoon! I also just received a call and Bill and his family are in town. It will be great to have them come. Big party at the Briggs home. It's about time we broke our neighbors in!

Movin' Up ~ Movin' Out

Never a dull moment around here. Life constantly changes and that is a good thing. Last week we found out that Mom and Dad had an unexpected Buy/Sell on their home. It wasn't even listed but a realtor friend knew they were thinking about it and drove some clients by the house. They loved it and so we were on a mad dash to find a new place to live. I had been thinking that we would probably move to Townsend, MT but was really unsure as to what I would do for a living there. The day that I received the news, my Aunt Colleen called to visit with us and after telling her what had transpired ~ she had some great suggestions about coming down to Logan, UT. Realizing that my time was short and that my work schedule would be a little crazy the last two weeks of this month, I jumped in the car and went in search of a "new life". I was able to talk to several people about my business and then we found a great little home in Mendon. It was truly an answer to prayers! It's amazing what mountains can be moved when the Lord is behind them.
Cy has had a little bit of a set back this last month medically and when we took him to the doctor we realized that it's still going to be a while before he is going to be able to be out in the public much. He's a trooper though and seems to take it all in stride. He's wonderful about taking his medicine and is very good about his diet.
Knowing what was ahead of me when I left to go down to Utah has been a little nerve racking. I will have to continue homeschooling for a while so that means I have to work from home still. I am hoping to continue to do virtual business solutions and break into the Art world in Cache Valley. I also visited with LDS Employment Services and they were a great help as is/was Aunt Colleen.
We were so relieved to find a home that is affordable and would work for Cy. Heavenly Father and our support from the other side of the veil were working overtime on that little project. It looked pretty bleak and I had to leave on Thursday to come back to Montana before anything was settled. On Friday, I received a call from the landlord that he was going to let us have the house even though there were some applications in before ours. My references really had to talk and I'm grateful to them.
With the good news comes the reality news ~ now we have to pack! Yikes, what to do with everything?? I guess a garage sale is the first order of business.

Grateful for my Support LINE!

Our lives are so full of support from family and friends and I just wanted to take a moment and say thanks! We all just put in a full week and I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of so many. Thanks Cy for being the great little man that you are and for doing so well while I was gone. I'm glad you were here to keep Grandma company. Thanks Mom and Dad for keeping Cy and for all the phone calls! I appreciate your support even though we didn't get the "perfect" place. Borrowing the car was a nice bonus and made the trip very comfortable. Aunt Colleen ~THANKS THANKS for all the trips to Logan, the mental fence you provided and for the laughs. You're amazing. I forgot to ask if you liked Mama Mia?!? Uncle Dick - you are the best care giver! You're the rock that holds us all together. Thanks for all you do and for the great cookie to eat on the way home! Hope you get some sleep. I love you all!

Happy 10th Birthday Cyren!

I guess it's time to get this blog caught up. We have been busy trying to get back into the swing of school and work. I have been researching some new teaching methods online and just picked up a book @ the library that teaches kids about Artificial Intelligence ~ aka AI. We are very excited to learn that there is a computer programing language designed for kids called Logo and I think we'll both love learning it. I think it's going to start opening a lot of doors for Cy. He eats this stuff up. Recently he's been designing his own Legos. I ordered a few of them for his birthday present. It's pretty cool and they were very inexpensive which as such a nice bonus. We were very lucky to celebrate Cy's birthday @ the Wendt house in White Sulphur Springs. Cy just wanted to be with his cousins and loved spending time with them. He really loved seeing their new dog Mini and I'm surprised we didn't end up with her in his suite case coming home. Thanks Aunt Keri for the wonderful cake and the fun evening. The Stuff Pizza Crust was a big hit!

We can't wait for summer to get here so we can spend some time on the lake with the new boat!

Missing my Gram tonight

Tonight I am so mixed with emotions for my dear Grandma Pope ~ she is now with her dear ones on the other side of the veil and especially with her cherished Steven. In my heart I know he came to get her. Last night as Cy and I were saying prayers I asked that she could go be with him. They have so much catching up to do. So @ 1:30 this afternoon she passed through and left a weary physical body to be with her dear family and friends. It's sad for us and even though I thought I would be so prepared because it has been such a long time coming ~ I still felt my heart tear in my chest. I will miss my friend. The one who:

taught me to fish
made me fruit leather (that dried in the hot car no less)
sewed for me and taught me to sew
watched Love Boat and Fantasy Island ever Saturday night with me
showed me how to find the really good stuff in the old dump
taught me how important the Gospel was to her
never passed up an opportunity to play solitaire with me
made me laugh with all her poems and folk songs


I will sure miss the phone calls
Hello Sam ~ This is Gram

Thanks Gram for all the early years ~ they were the best a child could ask for ~ Sorry these last few years haven't been the best. See you on the other side ~ have a can of worms waiting and we'll meet at the bridge and walk down the creek.

I love you~ Sam

Happy New Year

Bring on 2009 and let 2008 RIP! We wish everyone the very best for this new year and hope it brings much laughter and good memories.

I just watching the movie ~ Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Cottage and finished reading ~ The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck ~ Highly recommend them both. Both gave me a great boost to start the year off right. I want to be a better Mom, daughter, sister, family member & Friend. That's what matters most to me and I want to strive to Return with Honor.

Snow Ball ~ Lyss & Mia Style

Hummer of a Christmas!

Cy is one elated kid ~ A remote control Hummer from Uncle Milt, Aunt Stacey, Alyssa & Mia ~ Mixed with a wonderful pile of snow ~ it was a magical Christmas. This is the first Christmas in a while that we had cousins here and we're loving it! Mike, Kadie, KwinLee, Spencer, Hyrum, & last but definitely not least Reed (complete with 6 shooters) came tonight and the house has come alive. We are looking forward to sledding tomorrow @ our cousin's Bob & Sue & Emmy. What a fun time of year.

TWILIGHT

OK ~ I want details from all of you who went to the insane opening of Twilight . . . Loved the books even though I never thought I would.

Missing Everyone in UTAH

We had a fabulous time in Utah this past week and miss everyone. My nephew Reese entered the MTC on Wednesday preparing for a mission in Argentina. We wish him well!!! It was so fun to be with the family and friends and we're so sorry we missed some. Time is always an issue when we go down. Thanks to all who did so much for us while we were there.

My big disappointment of the trip is not seeing Mamma Mia!!! Stacey, Roberta, Kendra and I tried to sneak away and see it but we were sold tickets with no seats!!! After getting our money back we opted to have a pop and visit. It was great to have that time so I guess it all worked out. I'm counting down the days until we can rent it on amazon.com!!!

We did however get to go to Cabela's on Friday ~ How fun that is! I highly recommend it to anyone who has a few hours and you're near one. Cy and I could have stayed there all day. As it was we were probably there for 3 hours. He came away with a Cabela's cap and sunglasses that he hasn't put down yet.

My mom has all the great photos that we took this past week so when she returns from Utah I'll try to get them posted.

Teaching Pappa to use the Internet ~ very entertaining.

This is officially Genius level ~ Grandma Margaret would be so proud :-)! Now he loves to play chess ~ he's getting close to beating me ~

Part of Cy's school day ~ we listen to scriptures and glide

Always be prepared ~ Cracks me up!

This is my nephew Reed ~ He is obviously always prepared for Montana weather. One snowboot ~ One Cowboy boot ~ Water and a bandana ~ what more could a fellow want!
This past weekend we had quite the snow storm that closed the Monida Pass and I-15 at Clark Canyon. This is not unusual for December or January but early October is pushing it!!! We were nice and cozy with 19 people here at the house for Saturday night. We had friends from Mom & Dad's mission that were coming through, a couple from Canada that we had never met, and the majority of Lima's Jr High Volleyball team with Nadine & Dan & Angie and family. A great time was had by all ~ it was pretty quiet when they all left!!!

@ the Shooting Range with Grandpa & Grandma

So proud of their accomplishments

Getting Instructions from Pappa Boyd
Showing off their dead eye status!

Jake take careful Aim

Summers are all about cousins!

Cy had a great summer with cousins ~ He wishes he was closer to all of them. This is a picture with Spencer and a hot game of Fastest Gun of the West.











Spencer ~ aka Bubba & Cy together one last time before school starts


Jake & Cy @ the shooting range

Jake & Cy doing what they love 2nd best ~ bikes & tricks. What they like the very most are LEGOs & Hotwheels. Definately BOYS!

Our Fun Trip to White Sulphur Springs to see Keri ~ David ~ Jake ~ Seth ~ Zane and Baby Luke. Keri & I took the boys up to the Reservoir and had a great afternoon.

We met up with our friends Nadine & John Stosich and Co. for the fair this year. Cy had a blast with Kayla ~ Emily ~ Alyssa ~ JP and Spencer while Nadine and I had a wonderful visit!