Photo Shoot!

Here is the results of a daddy run photo shoot! Maybe not completely artistic (although you can tell my wife did help), I think you will be able to see our little one and big he really is! What a cutie!
Enjoy!











Later...

Our Baby Boy is Here!

On July 20th, @ 4:22pm our little bundle of joy arrived. E.J. (not putting his full name on-line- sorry). He weighs 10lbs 4 oz and was 21 inches long. He is a big boy and we love every square inch of him. He is quite the little chunk and usually content. But, he does fuss when hungry (etc. etc.) What I love about him is while he is sleeping he coos and whines. It is very cute. (These aren't my favorite pictures, but we can't get any of the others off my camera tonight).

We made it home around 7pm today. My adventure at the hospital included laying on the couch in the hospital room and wishing to die (had the 24 hour flu?!?!?) I didn't even know if I was going to be able to drive my wife and newborn home. I slept for almost 12 hours straight. I feel so bad that I wasn't able to help my wife when she really needed it. I did get us home safely, and I am almost feeling like a real person again. Still a little dizzy, but no nausea (YEA!). I have only got to hold our baby once since I haven't felt well, and I am really ready to love him, but I will wait.

It's funny (almost) how my life always has to have an adventure attached to every event that happens. When we left, our daughter was sick. While we were gone, our oldest got it and then our baby (at the time) boy got it. I have had it. Our middle child informed us "I am not getting sick!", and I hope that that is true. Thankfully we have some wonderful grandparents that have really earned the title this week. My wife's mother is staying until Thursday. I am so thankful. My mom watched the kids on Monday, bless her heart. What wonderful people. Love both you ladies!

It strange to hear the infant cries in our home again, especially knowing that this will be our last child. That is a whole other post on its own. I think that due to tired children that have missed their mommy and daddy I will sign off for the night and give them my attention. I am sure there will be many, many posts to come in coming weeks!

Later...

It Wasn't Bad

So, after having watched the movie, I can say that it wasn't too bad. I felt they truly only showed the very bear minimum of details from the book. I would recommend to anyone that it is worth watching (entertainment wise, not really in the cost department what with tickets being over $10 each).

My wife and I really enjoyed spending time with my brother and his wife. We had a great lunch at Boston's. I had never eaten there and the food was fantastic. After lunch we went to the movie. It lasted about 3 hours (I think).

Shopping came next. It was nice to just wander around the stores where my brother and his wife needed to go. We spent very little (YEA US!) but had a great time visiting without all the kids screaming and running around.

We headed home after shopping and picked up the kiddos. They actually did really well. I am very proud of them.

Last night was a very long night. The temperature never dropped below 75 degrees making it almost unbearably hot in the house. We had all the windows open hoping that the temp. would drop. Then my daughter woke me up to tell me she had thrown up in her bed. That was all sorts of fun at 2:30am. NOT! Then about an hour later, she woke me up to tell me she had lost it again all over my bathroom floor. Got that cleaned up. Finally got her settled down and she was fine for the rest of the night. Today, she seems a little warm, but feels much better. I wonder if she had a touch of heat strokeFor some reason (we think it might be the heat) our little boy keeps waking up around 1am crying. As soon as he is in our bed he is out again. Little stinker! Makes it hard to sleep well. I guess sleep isn't something I will be enjoying for a while anyways! TOMORROW (Monday) is the day.

I am still a little shocked at how fast it is all happening. We will have been at the hospital for over an hour by this time tomorrow. Crazy.My mother and father -in law are coming down to see the baby, and her mom will stay until Thursday- I think. That will be nice to have some extra help around the house and for my wife. My mom has volunteered to come and watch the kids from the time we leave until my wife's parents get here. What a trooper she is. :) Thanks Mom!

Well, I am trying to keep my daughter happy. She and I stayed home from church. We hope to get her better before our new little one comes home. That wouldn't be very good to have the flu in our home when a newborn comes here.

Later...

A Week From Today...

OK, so I am freaking out a little bit. A week from today (almost exactly) my wife and I will make the hour journey to the hospital to have our 5 and final child. I am excited, but it all seems surreal. We are still up in the air on the name. We like Eli, but my wife isn't 100% sold in it. We are also discussing Jeffery. I don't know. Guess we better work that out soon!

This week is my first "real" week of summer as both of my classes are over, and I am almost a little lost. I can't work in my classroom because the district still has not laid down my new carpet. I can't really plan anything until that gets done. I hate the feeling of knowing I need to get things done, but can't do them.

We have ourselves a busy week planned out. We are hoping to head to my sisters on Wed. and go swimming in the new aquatic center's outdoor area (like a mini-water park). I am not a fan of swimming, so it doesn't do much to excite me, but it WILL be nice to see my sister. My brother is also talking about going to Junction this weekend, just the adults, and seeing Harry Potter. It will great to take time to go and spend an evening with my brother and his wife. We don't do much with them and it will be fun. Friday is a church social that I am responsible for. Thank heavens for some good counselors that help out a bunch. I think that it will be a great event.

We had a major rain storm on Saturday night here. I was a little nervous wondering if the shed would leak. Well, it didn't as far as I could see. So yea! I still have some touch-ups that need to be done (caulking the trim and vents, etc.) and I will do them eventually, but I am done working on outdoor projects for a while. However, Saturday morning, I spent my 20+ minutes (more like 2 hours) cleaning out my tin storage shed. Since we were able to move a majority of items out of my shed that we had been storing there, I was able to clean out the area and de-junk it. Now when I go in the shed, I don't have to trip over bikes, scooters, and other "treasures" from our house. I can walk in, go right to what I need, and leave. The only down side to that shed being my shed, is that being tin, it gets a mite toasty during the summer and arctic in the winter. But, it is MY space! :)

We made a horrific discovery last night too! Something is killing one of my squash plants. I have checked it carefully for bugs and I water it frequently, so I am a little miffed that it is croaking. My grass is having issues again. I don't understand what is happening. Guess you just keep working and doing your best.

---update now complete---

Later...

The Shed Saga and other Stuff

Wow! Can I just say that it is good to be back on the blogging circuit! I have so much to share that it may take a couple of posts- or this might just be one really BIG post! :)

First our new deck. We bought the materials at the same time we bought the shed materials. Thankfully I have a very compassionate father who took pity on me and helped me build it.

Here is the finished product:



I think that it turned out really well. It is nice to have a larger space near the door and wider, safer stairs that even my baby can make it down safely. You may also notice the patio that we finished around the edges of the deck. We have finally completed our patio as well. Later, when we were able to make it out of town again, we purchased edging for the base of the deck and added more gravel. It now looks like this:

We are very please with the finished product.
We finished the deck completely on a Thursday, and the following Monday I started my shed.

The SHED SAGA

Monday, Day 1:

I was able to secure the help of my father and my friend Keith. We got the floor joists laid out and the flooring on. It wasn't too bad, although hammering takes a lot more muscles that I thought and I felt it the next morning!

It was a huge victory to get the floor completed. I was very happy.



Tuesday, Day 2

Not a lot was done on day 2. Due to me having class and my father having to work we met in the late afternoon and he cut all the wood so we could get the walls started. We also built the rear wall before I had to shower and get ready for class. I had spent almost 3 hours before he arrived measuring out and marking the wood so it was ready to cut. After my son's little league game and my class (last one for Tuesday- YIPEE!), I came home and built one of the side walls. Again, hammering can make you very sore.



Wednesday, Day 3With no class to worry about, I made used my 20+ minutes of exercise that morning to complete the second side wall. It was exciting to see it starting to come together. My father came later in the afternoon and we were able to complete the front wall and get the walls in a standing position as well. It seemed that things were really moving along now. Little did I know what was coming my way.

Thursday, Day 4This was the day that we made a terrible discovery. Keith was able to come over and my wife's brother-in-law was here (my wife finally got the chance to do "pregnant pictures" and her sister was able come and do them for her). The three of us, Justin, Keith, and myself, were following the pattern for the trusses. We built the first of nine trusses and held it up to see if it would work. Well, it wasn't a pretty experience. Come to find out the pattern and directions were wrong. The trusses were 6 inches short on both sides (hence one of the many, many, many, many reasons Sutherland's and landed on the "companies I don't recommend" list).
So the three of us our heads together and after some serious calculating and testing, we finally came up with a pattern. Because I had class, we were only able to make three of the nine. Keith was the one doing all the measuring so I knew he would have to come back and help finish. At least I hoped he would come back and help. That was the end of the day for the shed. Class was class. I was a slacker this week and had to do more skimming than actual reading, but I was able to participate in class and felt like I understood what was being discussed.

Friday, Day 5
Friday morning, I set up the work area, the shade canopy (since it was going to be a long, long day of work) and moved the wood from the pile to the area. My father showed up (what a trooper and a lifesaver) and we started on finishing the trusses. The problem was the Keith was the mastermind behind the design. I marked out what I felt was right and had Keith come and check it to make sure it was right. The good news, I was right. The bad news, the first three trusses we had built were not the same. They were close, but not the same. My father solved the problem by laying this fourth pattern on the shed floor and drawing out a pattern for the rest of them to be laid on. In the middle of the truss building experience, my sister called and asked what I was doing. I told her and she asked why she wasn't invited. I quickly invited her (and her husband) to come and help. They arrived about 2 hours later (they had to make a trip into Price to get more nails so we would run out). I had a huge agenda for the day. I wanted the trusses up, the siding on, and the OSB on the roof. My helpers were doubtful, but worked hard. My mother, bless her heart, supplied us with Gatorade and water. She even paid for the pizza to feed us all.
At the day's end, we had accomplished almost all of the details on my list, including framing out the window I decided to add to the building. It was a great day. Keith and his brother left after we ate (still they put in a 7 hour day- THANKS SO MUCH!!!) and Wayne (my brother-in-law), my father, and myself worked until it was dark finishing the siding. What a blessing good friends and amazing family members are.




Saturday, Day 6
My trooper of a dad returned early Saturday morning to finish the siding. We had the triangles on both ends left to cover and the roof flashing to install. It took almost 5 hours to complete the ends and add the trim. When we finished, we were looking at the trim wood for the corners and doors and noticed that we wouldn't have enough of the wood we wanted to trim the shed. So my father and I made the hour trip to the nearest home improvement store to get the trim and a roll of tar paper for the roof since it didn't come with any. That ended day 6. Of note, it was also the 4th of July. We attended the city celebration and fireworks. It was very nice.



Sunday, Day 7

Sunday is the day of rest, and rest I did. It was nice to be out of the sun for the first time in 6 days straight.


Monday, Day 8

The day dawned bright and early. A good friend, Dale, showed up to help roof the shed. With only the roof, doors, and trim left, I was on the home stretch and SO, SO, SO ready for the project to be done. I had spent a good deal of time on the internet looking for information on how to roof a shed. I wasn't really wanting to ask anyone else to help as I felt I had exhausted my pool of willing helpers. But after seeing so many conflicting ways to shingle a roof, I knew it was time to call someone who had experience- enter Dale. He willingly came and helped complete the project. Two other friends ended up helping (Jimmy and Burke) before it was all done. What a job. It was SO HOT on the roof by 10am I thought we were all going to pass out. By 1pm we had the entire roof completed and the spinning vent in place. YEA! As Dale was leaving, he mentioned that if I needed help hanging the doors to let him know. Silly man, what was he thinking? Of course I am going to need help! :) My father showed up to help hang the doors, but we hit a snag very quickly. He had heat stroke and was shaking so bad he was scaring me. I called Dale and sent my father home. As Dale and I made the doors and went to hang them we made a very unhappy discovery. The building was far from square. The door opening was way off. Dale, being the amazing carpenter is is, knew how to fix it. It only took cutting the nails in the studs and moving them a little ways to fix it. By the time he completed that not-so-little project it was late and time for him to leave. I knew that meant I would be hanging the doors and doing the trim myself. Scary!



Tuesday, Day 9I knew that this day would be glorious because it was the day the shed would be officially complete. My wife and I got up early and headed out to tackle the doors. After trimming the door frame we were able to get the doors hung. They didn't hang as straight as we had hoped and we had to improvise a little, but it worked out really well. We added the hardware and the doors shut. YEA! Next we trimmed out the edges of the building and the window. It was finally complete. Okay, maybe not COMPLETELY! I still need to caulk the window and a few other places. We had moved in most of what we had in storage on Monday, and had a few more items to move out.

So, in 9 LONG days, we went from this:

to this:

It has been one heck of a ride. I learned a lot and appreciate all the help I received from so many. I hope that you are still awake after reading this incredibly long post.

Now on to other things.

We are going to have our baby on the 20th, well, I guess I should say that that is the day we are heading to the hospital to be induced. I am actually starting to get more and more excited now that the shed is built and out of the way.

I am now a member of the local medical center board of directors. I don't have a lot of say about it right now as I have only attended one meeting. It has the potential to be a good thing. More on this later, I am sure.

Today, July 10th, has been super busy. I had a church meeting this morning at 8am here at the house. From there my entire little family headed to the school to weed the huge flowerbed that for some reason I decided to add. What a job. It took over an hour to complete and we still have several a job to do there as soon as the weeds we missed get big enough to pull.

After pulling weeds, we headed to the city park so the kids could eat their free lunch. Next we came home and relaxed for a moment before heading back to our storage unit to finish cleaning out our remaining items. We gave away our old desk and hutch, a chair, a old rocking chair and our old deck swing chair. Man it feels nice to get rid of "stuff". After bringing the remainder of our items home, we painted the back door and stained the new deck. I also sanded the entire side deck and re-stained and waterproofed it.

With all of that done, we headed to my parents to water their garden and flowers. Next to the store, and the home to clean. I cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed the house while my wife made dinner. After dinner we showered and got the kids in bed. I have spent the last 2 hours typing this post, so I am ready to simply be done and relax.

I look forward to having the time to actually do the things I want to for a while. They added the wall in my classroom to turn the hallway into a closet. Now, if they will just get my carpet done I can start moving my junk back into my room and get it arranged. I can't believe that my summer is half over this week. :(

Check back soon for more exciting adventures of Mr. Hughes and his sidekick family!

Later...

Another Quick Update

Ok, Ok!

I promise that by Sunday I will give the complete low-down from the shed, to my classes, to being on a board of directors.

It has been a busy week. We went to the baby doctor today. We are having our baby on...

oh wait, this is a quick note so I will fill in all the details later. :)

Check Back Soon!

Later...

Celebrating my 200th Post!

Well Readers,
This marks my 200th post. Crazy! If you think about the fact that I haven't even been blogging for a year yet and have 200 posts (max. would be 365) I think that I have done well. But enough of the bragging stuff.

With yesterday being my wife's birthday (and having a baby dr. visit in Price) we headed out of town and enjoyed a very wonderful evening. After the Dr. appointment, we headed to the root of all evil (a.k.a. Wal-Mart) and did our monthly shopping. Then we went to dinner with my sister and her family. We ate at Wendy's (wife's choice) and then visited for about an hour. My sis headed home and we went to see Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian. It had some really great parts, and overall was pretty funny, but it wasn't as good as the first one. Yes we will buy it when it is released on DVD and watch it many times, so don't think it wasn't worth going to. It just lacked the pointedness of the first one. However, when the paintings come to life in the second one, that is just awesome.


You will also be proud to know that I am current (almost) on my readings. I have submitted two papers and received an A on both. I am struggling through a third paper and have a fourth due next Thursday.

I also got 3 new pairs of shoes. I haven't bought shoes in almost 2 years, so it was time. The best part was I got an awesome pair of American Eagle shoes for $7.50. Payless(usually a place I refuse to buy shoes- until they started selling American Eagle!) was doing BOGO, so I paid full price for the 1str pair, and 1/2 for the second. So two pair of American Eagle shoes for less than $50- THAT ROCKS! I also got a pair of new walking/running (won't be doing that!) shoes.

We got home after 10pm and unloaded everything. After a shower (to feel human again) I settled in and worked on reading for class. My wife declared bedtime (she didn't say it, but when she was falling asleep on the couch, it was time).

This morning I got up around 6:40am and went walking. I made my 30 minute 3 mile goal again today. That is a quick pace with a couple of smaller hills, so a good cardio-workout. When I got home I went to work fertilizing, bug spraying, weed killing, and sweeping around the house. That was crazy! I even taught a voice lesson in there before settling into my reading again.

We just returned from the city park. The school is doing free lunch M-F for anyone 0-18 years old. So My wife and I take our lunch and go eat with the kids. It has been fun to do that everyday.

Well, I still LOTS of reading and paper writing to do. I best get back to them. Hope you all have a great day too!

Later...

And we have a winner...

Ok, so we leave school early, drive the hour to the doctor's office, and get settled in. Are you picturing this? Good. The doctor comes in, gets the ultrasound ready and starts scanning away. He is pointing out arms and feet, and eyes, and the nose, and femur, and the heart valves, and...well you get the idea. This whole time I am thinking, ok, it HAS to be a girl because we are HAVING a girl. I mean, that is just how it is going to be. Well, he keeps scanning, and finally says, okay, what is it you were hoping to have? A GIRL! Hello, were you not listening (of course I was saying that in my head). Well, I hate to tell you, but this isn't standard equipment on a girl, as he brings up the boy parts on the screen. It was a weird moment for all of us. My daughter (only, daughter apparently) started to cry and my oldest son cheered. (I guess another boy to wrestle with and be crazy with.) I was in shock, this couldn't be right. We were supposed to have a girl. The Chinese baby calendar said so! Dang it! I think my wife thinks/thought I was disappointed. I'm not honey, just still in shock. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A GIRL! Anyways, my daughter informed us last night that we could have a girl with the next baby. We laughed. Sorry sweetheart, this is it. I told my wife that she will get four more daughters when all the boys get married someday, and no one can blame me for not carrying on the Hughes name. So, the long of the short, or the short of the long, or to summarize is to simply say, We are having a boy. YEA! I really am excited about that. And, as a teacher at school pointed out today, I only have to pay for one wedding! See there is a bright spot to all things. So, there you have it! Another exciting day in the Hughes household.

After the doctor, we headed to the dollar store. I have been wanting to do more hands on activities with my students. We are currently studying space and ancient Egypt. I have always wanted to do mummies with the kids and this is the year. You should have seen the looks I got as I chucked 23 baby dolls into my shopping cart. That was great. At Wal-Mart (the store of the Devil!) I found some cheap cloth and asked them to cut it in to 23 half yards. The lady asked me if I was joking. That was great. Oh, sweet revenge. I also bought materials to mummify apples (so they can feel what mummy skin would feel like) and sugar cubes for each student to make a pyramid. On the space side, I bought beads and string to make a model of the constellation Orion (which I am sure the kids will confuse with Orion's arm, of which we are a part). I am very excited to get "messy" with the kids and do all these hands-on activities. The best part is the kids don't know they are getting to do them. They think they have lost the opportunity. But never fear, they shall have "fun". So, SHHHHH, keep these pieces of information a secret!

Anyways, I have a voice student (singing) coming in a few minutes and a sleeping, sick 1 year-old in my lap. So I need to sign off.

Later...

Life Continues To Move On (Even If I Feel Like I Totally Got Ripped Off!)

Ok,

So I know that I have been bad at blogging, but I blame it all on the fact that my laptop finally completely died, and I don't have a desire to sit in the computer room clear away from the family, not to mention that I get all anxious about the sound in the wall! So I will do the best I can!

I got my application in the U of U for my master's degree and am just waiting for a reply to see if I was accepted. We shall see. I figure whatever. With the economy the way it is and resources stretched to the limit in every district, fund won't be available to hire a second principal anyways! :) But I would love the degree. The other good news is that the HS was approved to broadcast the classes, so as long as the they don't conflict with the HS schedule, we can watch them right here in town. YIPPEEEEEE!

If you haven't noticed from the widget to the side, our family is expecting our 5th and final baby! We are very excited about this development and look forward to welcoming Baby Hughes in July.

As to matters related to Church, they put in a new bishopric on Sunday, and took my counselor AGAIN! That is very frustrating to me. But I hope to get over it an move on.

School has been great. I love teaching my class. They are a great bunch of kids, and I feel that we are making great progress!Go Bears!

Well, I know this brings you sort of up to date. Until the next installment, Adieu!

Later...

P.S. Don't forget to SWING BY next Saturday for a quick look around. I am hosting a book tour on my blog. You will have a chance to win a prize as well! Check back for more details! Have a good one!