Is it 2008 yet? I've had enough of 2007!

Just a quick update.....WOW where did 2007 go? I can't say that I enjoyed the last three months of 2007 very much but hey, I made it home for Christmas and got a chance to enjoy a little bit of the Holiday season. Thanks giving was a bust for me can't remember a thing and well lets jsut say "I'm so grateful to be home" .

With 2008 only hours away now I thought I would do a blog and make sure eveyone knows how HAPPY we are tha tJessica na d Bryan are going to have a BABY! July 16th is her due date. We are now anxiously engaged in open discussions regarding BOY or GIRL and already planning around Fireworks season. Jessica had to make things interesting to have a BABY right during fireworks.....WE don't care just as long as she has a good healthy one. We'll even send up a blast to celebrate the arrival.

Jenna will be graduating this new year and will be moving out to go to school, She claims she can't wait....we'll see about that once she's gone! And our lastest on Jason well I've included a picture for all to see.. he is going to need to get married soon after he gets home, someone needs to take care of this guy. Look at his shirt I don't think he knows how to do laundry very well. WOW it looks pretty hammered.

Everyone is doing great and looking forward to the new year. We have been so blessed, more so than our family deserves. We are so blessed to have such great family and friends to encourage and to offer support. Thank you all for your prayers and fasting on my behalf...as you can see it really works. And the Lord does answer our prayers.

God bless you all

the pollards

The Excitment of The Holidays is Here!!!! 11-5-07

I think I had one of the best Fall seasons I can remember, at least for me it was one that I absorbed everything in and really appreciated the color that was available...nothing like in Maine but hey not bad either.

Can you feel it happening? I can its the month where something happens in your heart where you begin to feel gratitude for everything you have. Your reminded of the things that matter most to us. I love Thanksgiving I just wish I could eat more of it. This year I'm determined to eat a little cheese onion pie, and fruit salad. Perhaps a few bites of a cream pie too. This year has gone so fast for our family. With Jason on a mission, we seem to be writing all the time. The weeks just fly by here. And now the holidays are approaching and things have got to slow down so we can enjoy a quite night to decorate a tree. Which won't happen until after Thanskgiving.

I don't know about you, but I intend to enjoy these Holidays to their fullest. You know really get into the spirit of it all. They could be yor last you just never know. So from our house to yours we hope that you all have a great holiday season. Tell those you love just how much you love them and smile it'll all be over faster than you think.

Door to Door mini Bus Service for a Super FHE

The Judd's came by and picked us all up in the mini-school bus that Kelly uses in her pre-school. It was alot of fun...my memory is that school buses seemed alot big than this one was back when I was going to school. Those huge seats didn't seem quite so huge any more. We had a wonderful time with everyone.
Here is Mr. Judd ...aka Karl the Bus Driver. He was great and really knows how to put people back in their seats when things get out of hand as one mom found out in a hurry. Thanks for the door to door service Karl! We all loved it!
Well you can tell who got the back of the bus.....And notice in the way back ..I mean the last seats on the right.....Yep! that would be Jenna and Jordan I guess the older you are the more rights to the very last seats. What is up with the back of the bus? I think its the bounce you get!
Our FHE Trip took us to Kasota where we found the funnest slide and corn maze. The kids and Parents had a blast. It was a wonderful memory to make on a fun FHE night. Hot chocolate and cinn. rolls were served after. What a blast. Even the big kids had a good time.....you know when they have a good time, everyone does! I was going to stay home but decided at the last minute, it was a memory I couldn't pass up.....I didn't go down the slide but I had a good time watching from the side lines. Thanks Karl and Kelly for making tonight a super FHE!

Saying goodbye to Mom, Dad and Debbie

It has been great having everyone here and to see you all again. I'm so sorry for the rush and scare in which everyone got here but hey now I know how to get people to visit in a hurry....trust me it wasn't fun and I don't think I'll be doing that again. Or at least I hope not.
Seeing everyone was so fun. I sure wish we could do this when everyone is all together at once. Could you imagine the head rush that would be, wow!!!!! We almost did it three years ago remember when we met at Connie's for Christmas.
Mom & Dad, thank you so much for getting here when you did and Dad for the wonderful fathers blessing. Mom the soup was a hit and wished you could drop in and cook for me. We loved having you all here and hope you all get home safe. You truly are a blessing in you're lives and to see you all here was wonderful. I'm sure glad it wasn't for a funeral.

Well I can't tell you how good it was to see Chuck and Teresa and to visit after what has been I think 3 years this December. Thank you so much for coming, Chuck and Teresa! I wish we lived closer so we could do more together.
On top of everything else that was going on the past week, we managed to get Jenna through Homecoming week. Thank heavens for a wonderful daughter who was willing to borrow a dress and make some alterations. Personally, I think she is pretty cute.
Hey, Dad! So good to have you here. With mom's cooking I could put on 10 pounds in a month. Wish you could stay longer. Love you!

This morning we woke up to (believe it or not) SNOW! If you look close on my cover to my grill you can see the snow starting to form. It is cold today and the fall colors have been more prevelant. I so much love the fall season!

Goodbye picture with Connie early in the morning

I certainly don't look that good but hey what can you expect from a guy thats been through what I've been through. Connie looks good and Jayme a little tired but its early. I had a great visit with you Connie and I'm so grateful that I was here to see you. I Love you!

Brenda and Jean and I were visiting after they learned of my not feeling well came up for a visit and to see mom and dad from florida they are from Pocatello, great to have them here and they brought a great watermellon. My brother Chuck and his wife Teresa came from New York and of course my mom and dad were there as well. What a great night it was. It's sure a blessing to have family!

Brothers visiting

It was wonderful seeing my Uncle Theron and my Dad together....something that happens so rarely. They have a good time visiting I think . Seeing these brothers together is a real gift to me. Thanks Theron, Jean and Brenda for coming up to see us. It was so fun having you here. And the watermellon, wow! Loved it!

The Last Burn Pile

For the past several months we have been waiting for the county to lift the no burn policy and this was the last of the branches we cut ...if you look back to a past post yoouwill see the big truck we had come in to haul off an even bigger pile. Thanks to my brother-in-law Matt...the job was done well. Thanks Matt I really appreciated it. You don't know how much better I felt seeing that burn.

THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM IS IN ..WHAT A BLESSING !!

Over twenty men came to help install our sprinklers, 5 tractors, rototillers and rakes were out in full force. I can't begin to tell you how much of a weigh this has been lifted off of my shoulders. I can't believe its done. Grass in just afew more days will be seeded after we fine tune some things. What a blessing !

Tammi and Jenny our good friend next door grilled some hamburgers and hotdogs and we fed the entire crew for lunch I think there was close to 28 people when I last counted.

Twenty four men from the ward came out to help. It was some impressive and even the dog here watched to make sure things were going well.

On Friday night we had several men here to work on pulling the underground pipe. A total of 2300 feet of pipe was pulled to the correct locations with in 1 hour and 15 minutes. thanks to my good friend Scott with his huge pulling machine. Before he arrived no one thought we would get it done within the evening for the next crew coming in on saturday to install the heads. Scott proved everyone wrong and had it done.........it actually was what I thought the most exciting part of the entire process...everyone was impressed. We had two men pulling pipe and two men marking where the heads were to be installed via a map with had of the property and two men drilling holes where each head was to be. Thanks to these men we never could of had it ready for our Saturday crew.

This trailer served as our supply post. People worked here putting together valves and connecting pipe and flex pipe for the sprinklers.

Installing the turn off valve by the well for the entire sprinkler system. Jim C. And Tony M. working in the heat.

Scouts came to Spray Weeds

Here the scouts and leaders are filling tanks of chemical to kill weeds. This is the first phase of Operation "lawn". Even the dog got into the act!

Second phase of "Operation Lawn"

Thanks to the coordination of good friends of the Burley First Ward and the use of Kloepher's big semi-truck. Master driver Blair Bowers came rolling into my back yard with a 18 wheeler, with determination to haul off a debry pile from earlier in the year to begin the second phase of "Operation Lawn" Thanks Kloephers for the semi. And to all that helped out. Its amazing what you have to do after the county has implemented a "no burn " policy due to the dry conditions here in Idaho. WOW!!

Compacting tree branches to be loaded. Talk about team work and precision.

Just a sampling of Blair's handy work with a back hoe! Is there anything this guy can't drive?

Thanks to some great friends and my brother Tony work removing this pile was no problem at all.

Please Don't try this at home! If you look closely you can see the brave look on Mike Haynie's face as he trys to man handle a chain saw and hold on 12 feet in the air on the edge of a back hoe bucket....Blair Bowers is so confident in his abilty to drive with a guy that high on the edge of a bucket with a chain saw in his hand that even he, can do it with his elbow, while talking on the cell phone at the same time. This is what farmers call multi-tasking! Not a tough thing for a Idaho farmer to handle. My bet was that Blair was checking on a old friend somewhere, talking about good old days. Mike on the other hand was so busy looking to cut down any hanging branches that fear never was a real issue for this seasoned lumber jack.

The Puppies are coming to Life:

This little gal seems to like to tell everyone waht she thinks and really she does rule the roost.
They are coming to life so much adn its beginning to get to be alot of work because they take up so much attention. Don't worry though my kids really have enjoyed them. And you would never be able to tell as much as they hold them any ways!!!!

YOu couldn't ask for a cuter picture of loving each other!

These guys are having a lot of fun fighting with each other. While the Mom's away the kids will play. These guys are having just to much fun chewing on each other.

What a Fun NIght to Remember

Here we are getting ready to go for a special pony ride just for us. Special thanks to the Bowers for their thoughtfulness. I really enjoyed it and could of gone for another hour it was that fun. The kids enjoyed it as well as Tammi. Its amazing how fast that little gal can go!

This carriage is one that for many years was used by Elder Haight of the quorum of the twelve in our local parade In the picture below I was sitting it the very same spot that Elder Haight used to sit and his dear wife to his side. The Bowers own this buggy and pony and still use it each year to drive special people in the parade.

Our family in the buggy! It really was fun. You couldn't of picked a better night it was so cool and and hearing the sounds of the pony clip clop along was really fun.

Tonight a very dear friend and his wife came to our home with a little pony and buggy that was built by the amish back east. What a great Family Home Evening we had. After driving around our circle with our family I rode bac to their house with Jame and Jordan and then got to drive it. How Fun!!!!!
Enjoy the pictures I've posted.

The kids are having a ball with them. Jayme asks every hour about holding one, They have had alot of handling to day as we had their tails docked and dew claws removed.

They are so tiny. Look at the finger compared to the puppy. not much bigger.

We are busy with puppies!

We have had far less sleep since these puppies have arrived than before. Tammi is up checking them quite often and taking maggie out to potty. After this week we should be able to relax a bit with them. They get caught under the blanket and can't find their way out. Maggiwe just keeps digging for them to find them, so its good to check on them alot.

Big Thanks to Bryan and his Folks:

It would of been one of the hottest days of the year so far, but today Jessica and Bryan with the help of his Mom and Dad came up tto see us and brought some of the coolest rocks from the mountain up behind Bryan's mom and dad's house in Preston Idaho. The whole idea was to build us a rock wall around our well. Bryan and his dad spent hours in the blistering heat building a beautiful rock wall that will serve as the center piece of our front yard for years to come.

Five Puppies Arrived ------------- July11,2007

It was along night Tuesday for Our expecting Mother "Maggie" She was in labor all day and went right to her birthing box first thing tuesday morning so we all knew she was going to deliver any time. Sure enough Wed. Morning she started to breathe very heavy and pace back and forth. By 1:05pm she had delivered her first Pup and it was a male. Her second pup was delivered at 2:10pm and was a female. Twenty minutes later another female, twenty minutes after that her thrid female and wwe thought we were done only to see her go through similiar breathing patterns and again another male at 3:35 pm to finish it all off. She is a great mom and has already shown her displeasure with people sticking their hands in to touch the pups. her verbal commands to even Tammi have been enough to say "hey don't touch the pups!" Mother and Pups are doing great and I can only wait for 5 little ones to be crawling all over the place. Its a good thing school is out for the kids to be here to take care of them all. I will dock tails and cut dew claws today when the mom goes outside for a break. Tails should fall off within 3 to 5 days thereafter.

Jordan way to girls camp and Jenna to Cheer camp. Jayme and I holding down the fort.

Fireworks in full force:

The true Blue fireworks sing is new for this year

nice sign I think our booth stands out more than anyone elses booth.

We miss Jason this year he was our best seller!!!!

As for the jump toy..its new this year as well with a sports theme to it. there is a basketball hoop inside the toy. Was really hot to day but it didn't stop kids from jumping in it.

Fireworks Season Once Again

Well fireworks season is upon us once again for a new year. We actually are getting started a little later than last due to the way the 23rd falls on the calendar and the fact that we are no topen on Sunday. So beginning on Mnday morning we will be up and running full force. And yes, we are short handed with out our best salesman "Jason" however, I would much rather him be serving the Lord than doing fireworks for 10 or 12 days. By the way he is doing well.

We have spent the last several days setting up the booth for an inspection that took place this afternoon at 12:00. Jenna and Jordan are off with the youth at the temple today so its Tammi and Jayme and I home. I'm doing IV's in preparation for the next week of working at the booth...actually I'll try to just sit and be there and have the kids wait on customers. Jenna is the only one we have right now that is old enough to work the booth.

We are all doing well. Many projects on the list of things to do and try to get done this summer. As soon as fireworks is over we are going to make an attempt to get the sprinkler system in so that we can plant grass. That would be nice.

A busy Two Weeks

For the past two weeks we have been super busy around here. First Tammi's mom passed away which was a blessing in a way. She is much better off where she is now compared to all that she was going through. We will miss her but still have her Dad here to worry about so our attention will be directed towards him.

This past weekend Ric Morley and I were able to work on our storage room shelves. They look great and all thanks to master Carpenter Ric! I think he loved putting all my wood working tools to work. Everything from nail guns to Saws. Our family home evening tonight is going to be spent moving stuff over from grandpa's garage.

Next is the Den Building shelves for the den. We have so many boxes of books and no place to put them because we didn't have any shelves for the den. So that's next and then stain the deck rails, once thats done then we'll finish what we can on the Sprinkler system.

In between that and everything else I've made two visits to the hospital....just as a refresher course for the nurses down there..want to make sure they don't forget what to do. Oh, I forgot I also got all the weeds sprayed as well...big job but done.

Dad and the Girls Making Rolls

These lovely ladies and I made rolls, actually a double batch. I enjoy it as much as they do to not to mention how easy it is with everyone's help. We are beginning to enjoy our time together talking and laughing. I wish you could smell the rolls baking.......oh man! We enjoy eating them too. Right out of the oven hot with melted butter. Jessica knows how to do them Jenna and Jordan are learning and Jayme, well I think she loves to play with the dough more than anything.

Work day in the Back Yard!!!

WOW we had a crew of Kids helping us work in the back yard. We also had two great neighbors helping us. We also got the post holes dug with the tractor for the fence that runs along our property line. The girls really did a great job work ing so hard. Cutting trees and cleaning out the irriagation ditch. I supervised on our four wheeler or the tractor our neighbor let us borrow. We now have a pile of trees 25 feet high by about 30 feet. We plan to have abig bon fire in a few weeks.

We got alot done and have tons more to do but hey every bit helps right? We'll get it done. Anyways we had a great time with eac h other and today well we're all sore to say the least.