Bush? - please identify

Black & White - old family photos

Okerlund wedding photos

 Eric and Erin Davis

Nick and Katie Allred

Blast from the Past - family photos

 Kari, Dad, Mom, Wayne, Jayne, Shauna
Martha, Janna, Paul, Andrea

Paul
Janna, Martha, Andrea

Stout Family Reunion - photo

Lynn, Jayne, Dad, Mom, Andrea, Kirt
Janna, Wayne, Martha, Kari

Owen & Colleen 50th wedding anniversary photo

Kirt, Lynn, Mom, Dad, Wayne, Paul
Janna, Shauna, Kari, Andrea, Kari, Martha

Martha & Dan Okerlund wedding family photo

Lynn, Kirt, Shauna, Wayne, Kari, Mom, Dad, Jayne, Paul, Andrea, Martha, Janna

Beautiful daughter and mother

Janna and her mother, Colleen Stout

Remembering when Alison McConkie was young...

Alison

Alison, Spencer and Richard

Alison and Spencer

Alison

Remember the Old Roof?

What exactly was the reason that a new roof was build over the existing roof of the house at 924 South, changing the pitch and the look of the entire house? And what did it have to do with the sidewalk in the front yard?
   Here's the explanation for the photo above, showing Dad and Paul filling in the gable siding over the front of the north end of the house:  
   It all began when Dad decided wisely that our useless front porch needed to be replaced with a longer porch that led to the driveway.  So we poured a concrete front porch that led us from the front door to the driveway.  The old porch, if you recall, came out from the house and stepped down to a sidewalk that led straight out toward the street.  The short sidewalk that led out toward the street ended in the middle of the front lawn.  But having a new porch presented us with a new problem:  rain cascaded down onto the porch and snow covered it, making it slippery.  So it was decided that a porch cover should be built.  I was working in construction at the time, so I volunteered to do the work.  Little did I realize that the small porch cover would blossom into such a huge project.  
   Both the north (older) and south (newer) sections of the old house had been build with very low-slope hip roofs.  Maybe 2&1/2 in 12.  So adding an even lower slope roof over the porch and tying it into the middle of the existing roof structure didn't make a lot of sense.  At the time I knew nothing about flat roofs, hot asphalt roofing, etc., so that possibility didn't even come into play.  Had I known about those possibilities the entire project would have been much smaller in scope and would have cost mom and dad much less. Also, running rafters from the front of the new porch all the way to the existing top of the roof would only make the problem worse, and would result in an even lower slope.  I convinced dad that the best way would be to raise the middle of the existing roof, which would give the front of the house a better look with a higher sloped roof line. This would involve constructing a four-foot high stud wall on top of the peak of the house, which I did.  (Disclaimer:  this was prior to my learning anything about total loads and shear.  If the house is still standing, it's only because it was pretty well build in the first place.)  I built a beam along the front of the porch, supported by 4x6s, then ran rafters to make the front of the roof. The old roof was a hip roof, which meant that the bearing wall I built in the middle had to be level on the top while the bottom sloped downward, following the slope of the south-facing hip roof.   For the slope of the back section of the roof to match the slope of the front, I build a short stud wall which was something like 48" in height, set directly over the back wall of the house.  We installed 2x6 rafters on the back side, completing a gable end.
   Once the lower (newer) section was complete I turned my attention to the upper section of the house.  The roof on that part of the house had to be raised to meet the roof I'd just built.  
   I built it pretty much the same way I had the lower roof - by first building a stud wall that went from front to back, meaning that the top of the stud wall had to be level while following the slope of the roof it was built on.  Looking back, it wasn't the best engineering, as the stud wall is built on a single rafter below it.  So if it's still standing, there are probably angels employed full time holding it up.  
   Once the roof structure was up and plywood on, we put roofing shingles on the entire roof.  That was back in 1976. I don't know whether they've ever been replaced.
   I recall that it was tricky installing roofing around the chimney.
   Looking back, my skill level wasn't actually up to that project at that time, and my time to work on it was less than the project deserved, which resulted in an unprofessional look to the house for many years.  Sorry about that, dad and mom.  

But wait ... what about the sidewalk in the front yard that didn't reach all the way to the street?  Dad, who never let anything go to waste, also recycled our concrete sidewalks.  He had us dig up the two or three sections of sidewalk, each weighing hundreds of pounds, turn them over, place them onto steel pipes and roll them around to the back yard.  (More than most kids our age, we KNEW how the pyramids got built, because we knew first hand about moving huge, heavy stones.)  
   Seems that in the back yard there was no sidewalk between the back porch and the driveway.  So we dug out the area for the sidewalk, set the new sections into the cut-out areas, then either dug further or added sand to bring the level up.  I noticed years later that the sidewalk had sunk almost an inch, meaning it needed to be lifted up and more sand added under it.  But only this family could or would say that about a sidewalk.
   So in the end, the sidewalk to nowhere from the front yard became the sidewalk from porch to driveway in the back yard.
   
Kirt, written 5/15/2016.  Additions by others to fill out the story are welcome.

Cousins & Uncle Wayne

Wayne, Justin, Shaunika, Stephen, Kristen, John, Alison, Jeff, Matthew, Logan  1981 California

"The Link"

He was two
A solemn-eyed child
Wise beyond his years
Gently he placed his 
     small chubby fist
     in the large and fleshy
     hand of a dying old man.
Great-grandfather sighed
     and held it firm,
     content in the comfort 
     it afforded.
The little boy stood
     oh so still,
     somehow knowing
     that life flowed between them.
Generations joined.
It was a precious moment 
     in eternity.

- dedicated to Jason P. Stout
   Colleen Stout

Thanks Mom - You are our "Cheering Section"!

"Cheering Section"

We each have our own cheering section.
It's made up of people who care
When I feel like a star, I know I'll go far
Because of the cheering out there.

We needn't have fame to be noticed,
We're each so important it's true
That nothing is lost, all effort is seen.
Our best and our worst is in view.

Some fans are quite close, we can see them.
Like parents, teachers and friends.
Our loved ones are constantly praying
That victory to us will extend.

There are others who also pull for us
They're not seen, they've gone on before
Or perhaps are waiting to join us,
Descendants from worlds afar.

All are concerned for our welfare
Our Father, His Son, Mother too.
Our Heavenly Parents are anxious
That we do the best we can do.

So how can we fail, we're supported?
We're cheered on, applauded by kin.
We Can't disappoint such a legion.
We'll lengthen our stride, and we'll win!

                                       Colleen E. Stout
                                       Orem, UT 1980