Tour of Mike and Tammy's house, it should be ready by Oct.1, Hal, Delle, Laura, Mike.

To be a kid again, nothing but wind in your face and who cares if it's 55 degrees and overcast.
'You wake up late for school - man you don't wanna go
You ask you mom, "Please?" - but she still says, "No!"
You missed two classes - and no homework
But your teacher preaches class like you're some kind of jerk
You gotta fight for your right to party' - Beastie Boys

8 Seconds and a high score earns you $50k. Delle and I met a couple cowboys at the SLC airport and they were flying up to compete in the Steer Wrestling event. These guys were huge. They tour all summer to different rodeos in pursuit of the that all mighty purse, they could walk away with cash or a new pickup. They made it sound easy until we watched them both get their asses kicked and walk away with a fist full of dirt.

Whoa! West Jet was a major sponsor of this years Stampede and were treated to a private bull riding event. It reminded me of the the good old Nortel days when the money flowed freely through the gap fingered hands. This cowboy is an old timer at the rare age of 38.

Missing in action this trip was Tim and Julianne. They were expecting Harrison and he was born on July 22. Harry will have many years of Stampede to look forward to visiting. You may have noticed the long sleaves, well, it was fairly chilly in the mornings - Canada eh!

This may be Bryson's last Stampede for a while, he'll start playing extended baseball seasons with all-star play and tourneys. He really enjoyed his visit to see Nana Kiki.

This is the actual West Jet sponsored chuck wagon raced during the Stampede. At the starting line 4 teams of thoroughbreds per heat (9) are hitched to their light wagons, hearts racing, eyes wide open, breathing fire. The drivers know that they can run a horse to it's death, the drivers also remember that they have cheated death many times before and just maybe this will be their last race.

Calgary Alberta as seen from the Stampede grounds.

This is taken from a rock outcropping where my neighbor, Q-Ball (Quinten Gonzales) and I installed a solar light. I packed my hammer drill and 2 batteries to the top and drilled down as far as the batteries would last, then epoxyed the solar light into the hole.

Stairway to the lower level. 2 bedrooms, a full bath, mechanical room, family room, sun room, theater, and storage room. I made the aluminum gate in my welding class

This is looking south. We love the Amish table and chairs - and bar stools, it took 12 weeks from order to delivery. We rub the wood (maple) down with lemon oil/wax stuff every 3 months.

Welcome to the kitchen. The countertops are a blue denim laminate, gas stove on the island. We also have installed an icemaker in the island. The next project in here will be to install a valance above the window that looks like a small shelf made of crown moulding.

The Grass Diva. We have a lock, Gema loves the grass. I can even get her to rollover with ease when she is on the grass. Her favortite things are: going for a ride, going swimming, getting a kong full of treats, playing with her dog buddies, playing frisbee, duck hunting, and grass.

Mr. Brett Jolley, host of the 4th of July party on the Jolley Ranch.

My ride and Brett Jolleys ride.

Looks like I'l have to trim up some of the cedars around the yard. This was the first time cutting the new sod. I had the mower set to cut at 4", the highest setting. 12 bags later the lawn was done.

New toy. I'm not so happy about all the sunflower seeds that drop from our crummy feeders. You can see the light green patch of the thousands of sprouts. I may have to replace the sod and start over on that patch. I'll see if mowing will kill them off. I've also got rid of that feeder.

Gema sure enjoys her new front porch.

Just Add Water. It all started with the Irrigation or Irratation blog and $4500 later we can now be free to go on vacation!

That's our unwanted pond. I have since had Copeland Concrete make a drain with a cast iron grate. Next thing to do is rent a hoe (not a hooker) and dig a hole and set the drain, then trench out the drain pipe and make it look pretty. The trick will be to get the drain at the right level for asphalt.