01 August 2011

Honey Prairie and Stuff

More of the same? Perhaps.

Summer continues to speed by, but in a "fun fun fun till daddy takes the Tbird away" fashion. I got shipped out again shortly after the last post. I went to Fargo, Georgia. Don't feel bad if you have never heard of it, the population was pushing three or four. The forest service called me and told me on the phone that they needed me to go to the Okefenokee Swamp to help with the Honey Prairie fire. I thought it was a prank call, but sure enough, there is such a thing as the Okefenokee Swamp. I can now say I have been there. I blog this only because of the uniqueness of the ecosystem this place was. The region is home to deer, black bear, alligators, turtles, wild turkeys, armadillos, possums, all kinds of varmints for that matter, and wild pigs. I saw all of the above except for wild pigs while there. I have included a picture of the foliage, and then a picture after the fire whipped through to give you an idea of the intensity. I had a blast, and like always, its good pay.

As of today, I have slept in my own bed 17 times since June 1st. I am ready to slow it down and stay home for a while now, after a short vacation for Rebecca and I that is.

While I was away, (and a little bit while I was home), Rebecca ran a couple of 10K's to keep her on track for her half marathon preparation. She ran the Farmington and Deseret News races. She also held down the fort while I was away. She also holds down the fort while I am not away. Not sure how she does it. And she proved me wrong after I wrote last month about how we don't get into the dressing up part of movies or large events, by going with the "girls" to the latest Harry Potter movie.

Tierra also ran this summer. She ran in the Farmington 5 K. She loved it. (Again, not my genes.) She did very well amongst those in her age group. Tierra is also fascinated with Zombies. So when the world falls apart and the zombies start to take over, we will have a resident expert.

Eli has a one track mind: Star Wars. I keep meaning to ask my parents if I was this obsessed as a kid. I remember loving Star Wars, but Eli honestly does little else, talks about nothing else, and wakes up to start it all over again. Ok, make that 90 percent, the other 10 percent he is asking to play games on my phone. He is an awesome helper around the house though. He loves to do some chores.

When I called home each night, Haylee told me the same thing every conversation: That she watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, likes Small World, Pirates, and Disneyland. And that she went to school lunch.

I come home after 16 days away and it seems like the kids had all aged years. I am sure you have all experienced similar situations.

I missed out on the Triple A All-star game. We had won tickets, so Rebecca took the kids and had a blast. They liked the home-run derby more than the game itself. The kids also got to go a baseball camp put on by some of the Bees players, and loved that. Oh yeah, I did save a Turtle in the Okefenokee swamp. Yep, I think that makes me an honorary member of the Sierra club now.

6 comments:

Stephanie said...

I'm sure that the turtle would thank you if he could. ;) He would thank you EXTRA if he only understood that you missed the Triple A All Star Game.

Looks like Rebecca and the kids have had a fun summer. I'll pray that no more swamps burn, or should I pray that they DO burn?

Amy said...

Great update and tell Rebecca I love the HP costumes! I feel like my kids are growing up so fast! How do I slow this train down? Thanks for fighting the swamp fire Chad. You guys are awesome, seriously!

Natalie said...

Neal's grandpa was a BLM guy and worked the fires around the country. He has some great Florida swamp fire stories. If Bend, Oregon is ever burning again, you should work that fire. It's one of my favorite places.

Is there a program out there for lawyers who want to work the summer fires? I have a husband who sometimes suffers from job envy. But, the problem with having a lawyer hanging around is that they can be such kill-joys sometimes.

Anonymous said...

I can tell that REbecca is Ginny Weasley but what is she holding in her hand? I thought I was a Harry buff!

I am now thinking of you as one of those "Swamp People"...did you eat the turtle?

Chad said...

Angie: Are turtles good? I didn't even think about it. I did eat Alligator though. Chewy, slight similarity to chicken crossed with cabbage.

Hendricksonblog said...

is chewy chicken and cabbage good?