Posts Tagged ‘tucker’

Memorial Day and a New Horse!

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Hi Everyone,

Seems it has been a little bit of time since I have written a post so I figured I better get one out while Heidi was taking a nap. She is doing really well and we are gearing up for her 1st birthday at the end of the month. I cannot believe that it has been a year already. She is truly a blessing, even though she gets in lots of trouble! Her new favorite thing to do is open the dvd player. She figured out which button it was and crawls as fast as she can to get there, when she thinks we are not looking. She spent a little time in her playpen this weekend so that Dad could finish up with the truck and Mom could work the horses. She really liked it for about a half hour and then she was over it.

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Derek has been keeping busy with work and school. He just returned from a quick trip out to CSU to see his advisor and work on some papers. He was also able to see some friends which was good. He then got home for a very busy Memorial Day weekend. I had lined up for us to go and see a horse, since we had been thinking about getting one I could teach lessons on again. So we did that Saturday morning and ended up buying him.  Derek then spent the rest of Saturday and Monday cleaning the cars and mowing the lawn and one of the pastures.

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His name is Buck and he is a 12 yr old grade Quarter Horse, which means he is not registered but he is a really honest fellow, just out of shape.

I spent the weekend helping Derek, watching Heidi and riding the horses and working on our garden, which has gotten huge. Derek says it is like a controlled jungle. I guess that there is one thing all the horse poop around here is good for! Other than that things around here are going pretty well. We are looking forward to some vistors at the end of the month as my Uncle Frank and Parents will be coming for a vist for Heidi’s birthday. It will be lots of fun and good to see everyone again. Hope you all are doing well and we will talk to you later!

Derek, Nichole and Heidi

Homeowners and Vacation

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

We are finally homeowners and we are really excited. We just recently purchased 17 acres that is outside of town about 28miles. On the acreage we have a 3 bedroom 2 bath house, a horse barn, a hay barn, and it is completely fenced. The property also backs up to the Water Management area which is like a National Forest and we have deeded horse access to the trails plus no one that has land around us can divide their lots so we have a pretty unrestricted view of the water management. In other words it is a perfect fit for our family and horses. We have started the move process and will post pictures of the place once we are settled (here are some pics for those who can’t wait http://www.heavenlymeadows.org/Property4Sale.html). We are looking forward to the peace and quiet of the country and the ability to ride our horses from the house. Plus we have a porch swing to enjoy the stars and sunsets :) .

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We also were just able to take a quick trip to Orlando for a quick vacation/temple trip/work trip. Derek was at a conference all week and Nichole and Heidi came along to relax and enjoy the pool. We have put up some pictures in the gallery from the trip and Heidi really enjoyed the pool and Nichole enjoyed the down time before we really start moving.

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Derek, Nichole, and Heidi

Almost Crawling!

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Well I just got home from ICASSP 10 in Dallas Texas (A Electrical Engineering Conference). It was a great trip and I was able to renew a lot of friendships both personal and work related. Since I served my mission in Fort Worth over 6 years ago I knew quite a few people in the area and a few that are close to my heart. I was able to take a few lunches with former companions, converts, and members from the area. It was great to see how much has changed and how much the church has grown in the area, especially seeing the Fort Worth Stake being split and how much the church has grown in the Weatherford area. I spent 12months in Weatherford and 6 Months in Fort Worth so I really love the people of the two stakes. Below is a picture of James Gates whom I baptized while on my mission.

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While I was gone Nichole and Heidi held down the fort with the horses and did really well especially since I will be doing the trip thing all over again soon. But I came home to a wonderful surprise of Heidi starting to scoot around. She is not quite crawling, but almost there and Nichole was able to catch it on video this morning which I have posted below for everyone’s enjoyment.

http://www.tetonedge.net/videos/Heidi Scooting.flv

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the signs of spring, we are finally getting back to normal temperatures here, but the Gulf is still cold.

Derek, Nichole, and Heidi

The Sunshine State

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

Howdy-

I thought I would get on and give a quick update on our life in Florida. Currently we have about 2 weeks till Baby Tucker will be here and we are getting really excited. Nichole has spent time getting the baby’s room together sewing and crocheting. I have just been going to work and spending the rest of the time with the horses and projects around the house. I have really enjoyed spending more time riding and working with the horses.

It has really been sunny lately as we have not had rain for about three weeks and we have enjoyed time outside and playing beach volleyball with the branch. But tonight we have a thunderstorm forming and had a lightening storm that I caught on the video camera. It was pretty cool and storms like this was one thing I loved about the south on my Mission. Also I have purchased a weather station and will be putting up a weather page and webcam on the website that will give everyone a live feed at our house and the weather so you can see the weather here. We hope everyone is well and talk to you soon.

http://www.tetonedge.net/videos/Lightening.flv

Love

Derek and Nichole

The Big Move

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

So first of all we are all safe and sound here in Florida. That being said there was some pretty interesting stuff that happened on the way.

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The first day we left it was Saturday morning the 16th. We got up and got everything ready, thanks to Wendy and Charlie we got the hay secured in the front stall of the trailer and then caught the horses and got ready to go. Istu was great, but Emma decided she really did not want the shipping boots on and did not really want to get into the trailer. After we did get the boots on and her in the trailer she kicked at Derek as he was closing the door. He got a bruise on his hip but is fine. We eventually came to figure out that she was coming into heat and that is why she was such a butt on the whole trip. We were able to stay at a boarding barn about a mile from Derek’s Aunt and Uncle’s house. The second night they stayed at another boarding place in TN which was really nice, we were able to put them out for a little while on pasture which seemed to help a little. Emma did fine the first and second days in the trailer but did end up kicking Istu on the third day so he is a little swollen on his right hind leg. He is not lame but it is tender as she gave him a pretty good kick. They did really well overall and are adjusting pretty well to the new place, though Emma is still not sure what is going on with the goats at the next door neighbor’s place.She keeps Nubian milking goats and sells the milk so it gets a little loud around milking time.

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Summit did really pretty well, she stayed in the truck with Derek and did sleep some. She got on pretty well with Derek’s Uncle and Aunt’s dog Shelby when we stopped at there house in Kansas City KS the first Night. Thanks so much Uncle Gene and Aunt Marjean for letting us stay! The second night in the hotel she was so tired she just crashed with Sam on her bed. The final day she was really glad to get here and be able to be in a house. She has really liked going out to the barn to be with the horses and inspect the property every few hours, though she still has not gotten a sleep schedule down so she is pretty tired. She made a new fried, Souki, the great Pyrenees puppy from next door. They like to wander around the property together and she is really cute.

The cat did not fair quite so well on the trip. She spent the first few hours of the trip car sick and threw up in her carrier. She then proceeded to poop in the carrier as well so she was just not feeling very well. After Sam got her cleaned up, since I can’t touch the cat poop she seemed to do ok for the rest of the day. We fed her a little the next morning and she threw that up so on the third day she did not get breakfast and did really well all the way to the new house. She is liking the new windows and all of the lizards that move around the windows.

Derek, Sam and I all weathered the trip really well. The first night was great thanks to Uncle Gene and Aunt Marjean for letting us stay with them in KS. It was a little long for a first day but it was nice to see the family and spend a little time with them.  The second night was not too bad. We stayed in a hotel in Fairview TN, just out of Nashville by about 20 miles. It was close to the place where we were keeping the horses. We all got some sleep, though not a much as we would have liked. The third day seemed to be the longest, even though it was the shortest drive time. We got stuck in traffic after an accident outside of Nashville, so we were moving along at a crawl. That was when Emma got Istu in the trailer,  After the Accident things moved pretty well until we hit just this side of the AL, FL line when the speed limit started dropping. It went down to 45 in some places with stop lights through the small towns so it was kind of frustrating, but we made it through. We stopped at the official Florida welcome center, mostly because I needed to go to the bathroom for the hundredth time it seemed. We were all glad to get to Florida and be able to be at the house. Thanks so much to my sister Sam who helped me drive, and even though it was a little scary sometimes, we made it and I could not have done it without here.

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I have taken some pictures of the new house and put them in the gallery. It is just the outside, since we don’t have any furniture yet so I figured I would post pictures of the inside of the house once we get unpacked.

Hope all of you are doing well!

Derek and Nichole

Thesis Done!

Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Well the thesis was completely finished on friday with printing and is off to the binding. It was a relief that it is all done. The pdf for the thesis is below for anybody that wants to read the 137 pages. I also reposted the slides from my defense as well which is a nice summary of the thesis. Hope all is going well.

JDT M.S. Thesis

MS Defense Presentation

Derek

Passed!

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Well I have just passed my M.S. Defense and have that step out of the way on to my PhD. So stress has been relieved. I have posted my slides from the presentation below and will be posting the actual thesis once it is finalized. Also I have more pictures of Nichole I need to post as she is looking more pregnant. We also have our ultrasound on March 3rd and are really excited for that. Well I better go take a break and prepare for a class, there never seems to be a break.

MS Defense Presentation

Derek

Linux and Code

Saturday, February 7th, 2009

I have started working on coding programs again in Linux and have a link to the menu for my current work and to my archlinux repository which contains the binaries of the programs. Hope everyone is doing well.

Derek

More Updates

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Well we have both been busy with school, work, and play. We just had another Doctor visit and the report was that the mother and baby are all healthy. We also scheduled the ultrasound for March 3rd and we are really excited for that. Also, everybody has been asking for a picture of Nichole, so we there is one below for your enjoyment. As you can tell she is not really showing yet, but soon will.

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Nichole has just been keeping busy with work and teaching riding lessons. Derek has finished the actual writing of his entire thesis and now is just finishing up the revisions with his advisor and that is the part he really loves ;-) .  Also we spent the last weekend with Tim and Amanda and went skiing up at Loveland at had a beautiful clear day and a great day skiing. We have posted pictures in the gallery from the top of the resort and you can see Grey’s and Torrey, Keystone Ski Resort, and Breckenridge Ski resort so everybody enjoy. We then spent the rest of the weekend with the Millers and the Haynies going to church and watching the Superbowl. We had a great time seeing our friends. Hope everyone is well.

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Love,

Derek and Nichole

Skiing in Jackson and a Baby update

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick note to update you on everything.  First, we went to the Doctor on Monday and everything is good. The Doctor met Derek and was able to listen to the heartbeat. He said it was good, right in the middle around 150 bpm. Everyone says I am still pretty little, meaning they can’t even tell I am pregnant, but I am only 14 weeks so I am sure I will be getting bigger soon. We have also added a counter to the blog for everyone to keep track.

We were also able to go up to Jackson with Tim and Amanda Miller to go skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. It was so much fun. The weather was great, with some sun in the morning then some good snow in the afternoon. It was the first time for me and Amanda there and were were able to have alot of fun on the blues, double blues and even some blacks. We ventured up the Gondola, but not on the tram this time. Derek and Tim were up the Tram and in the bowls most of the day. We all came home mostly exhausted  but really glad that we went. It was a great day and fun to spend time with our friends. We have some great pictures and a video so check it out. We hope you are doing well!

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Love

Derek and Nichole.