I post a lot of #mycoltonclips on my Blackhamball instagram. Those are basketball highlights. The "clips" being featured in THIS post, are the kind that cut cute curls from a Blackham boy head. Aunt Olivia has been the family hairstylist for years now. As Colton was packing up everything in preparation for his move to Oregon, he visited Livi for one last haircut (and HUG).
She was so cute - she created this step-by-step tutorial that he could have on him to show the next stylist exactly how to keep the cut Colton' likes. She also got him a GreatClips giftcard to help the poor college student with costs.
Built in blog post ... and I figured it might be good to have it here for reference!
Last year, Symphony Homes helped with the supervisory roles of the Diaper House (Diaper Daze). This year, they signed up to build a house. The building blocks? Boxes of diapers. Gray asked for theme suggestions, and got a number of "Bluey's Heeler House" votes. As our boys are grown, we were only vaguely familiar with Bluey. Grayson and I watched a few episodes ... research.
A little look at some some of the planning and prep ...
This project had Grayson occupied for much of June, July and August!
Friday, August 23 was the big day ... HomeAid had partnered with Ikea this year, and their parking lot was the location for this unique Parade of Homes. It was hot and sunny ... and WINDY. The diaper houses were supposed to be completed by 1:00, and available for the public to come and see until 5:00. The weather just wasn't cooperating though, and the event ended early, as many of the houses and displays were blowing away. Too bad this couldn't have been set up indoors at the Mountain America Expo Center, like the Parade Preview. The unique creations have a similar feel to the fun floats that always draw large crowds.
Grayson was sunburned - but happy with the completed project, and glad it was complete.
Say what you will about how inconvenient, challenging, tiresome, and on and on, something like this might be. But when you get to work side by side with some of your Symphony teammates, you’re reminded of the good things we have here. Everyone, and I mean everyone, had something “better” to be doing both Friday, and the other days, when preparations were being made. So, a general appreciation to all for setting aside your day-to-day to come and make this happen.
Conrado and Jorge – day in and day out these guys work tirelessly on our homes – and hardly a word is ever spoken to acknowledge what they do. Their pure grit and get-it-done attitude and demeanor were on full display Friday. Loading, unloading, stacking, unstacking, cutting once, cutting twice, driving screws, removing screws, lifting, moving, wind-whipped and drowning in diapers – these guys brought their A- game and I don’t know how we would have got it done without them.
Janet – I’m guessing anyone who has attended an event where Janet is involved already knows to expect attention to every detail. When you look at the pics of our completed Heeler House, look at the landscaping, the plants, the planters, the bird baths, the turf….all this pulled together in the final week. And God bless this woman, on Friday, the paint remnants on her beautiful face told the story of her devotion to roll out only the best for her team and the Heelers.
Jadon, Zac, Cole – these are my three amigos or tres friends. Always able to count on them at a moment’s notice so long as I can accept their banter and commentary, whether appropriate or edgy. They know what I’m talking about. Whether it’s Jadon’s natural MacGyver to work us out of a problem, or Cole’s thinking out of the box, or Zac’s staying power until the job is done, I can always rely on them to see things through. Whether or not they’re cheerful about it by the end is a different story (wink wink).
Dan – little did Dan know when he sought an internship with Symphony Homes that he had no idea what he was signing up for. No chance did he think he would be slinging diapers, painting mailboxes and measuring plastic panels…even if they were a bit short ;) But he’s been there time and again, taking instruction, getting things done and holding his own against the barrage of wise-A remarks this crew is sure to launch.
Caroline – I have no words here. (that’s not entirely true – I always have words) But dang, from the moment the Heeler House became a thing, she was all-hands-on-deck. The insanely detailed panels, windows, and doors on the outside, not to mention the down to the wire timeframes that were put on her, she delivered again and again and again. T-shirts, publicity, setting up drop locations, and getting the Bluey cut-outs that were such a hit. And guess who’s inside that Bluey costume….complete with a hydration pack…and overheating by the minute….yep, also Caroline. You should have seen the mob gather when Bluey showed up to the house. Caroline…..I don’t know how else to put it…..YOU SLAY!!!
Nathan – it ain’t easy making a transition from marketing to construction – but that’s what Nathan has had to do. This guy has been throwing boxes with us from the get-go. Friday was no different. Making sure to help Caroline with anything she needed and doing whatever was tossed his way as we completed each detail, large or small.
Andrea – this shout out might be a tad short but the impact was impressive. As the wind gusts were whipping the IKEA parking lot, and pieces-parts of other houses were flying by us, she looked over at our Heeler House, which stood completely unaffected by the gales, and said “This is the Symphony Difference”. Somewhere I could hear a mic drop in the distance. Well said, Andrea, well said.
Rosalio – while you won’t see his face in the pics, Rosalio’s contribution was…how should I put this… above and beyond all expectations. He indisputably bailed me out of a tough spot – building the roof, the bay window, the porch awning and prepping it for transport and wrapping it all up THE DAY BEFORE the big event. I’m just speechless (again, I’m really not speechless, quite to the contrary unfortunately). Rosalio is another fellow teammate, working in the background, no fanfare, no recognition, constantly getting stuff done and the diaper house was no exception.
Greg and Ben – as you might imagine a project like this requires….how should I put this….REACH. These two giants literally extended their arms, legs and hands as those of us, vertically challenged, could not rise to the occasion. (that sentence was pretty good, even if I do say so myself). This often put them at the top of ladders, fully outstretched as the gusts from the south pummeled them. OSHA was NOT on site that day, lucky for us. Involved in all parts of the build, when it came time to trim this house out they were found measuring, cutting, and nailing up the details that would give the home is final pop. Craftsmen indeed.
Rick Hawley – what can I say here. If you’re ever in need of someone to provide a nearly unending streaming of chatter, trash-talk, jokery, stories, encouragement, filtered and unfiltered candor, laughs bordering on tears, well Rick is your man. Not a minute went by without his narration piercing the wind gusts. Aside from all that, once this dude sees the goal, good luck trying to stop or slow him down and he’ll have you laughing the whole way. He’s another one that this event simply would not have happened without. Brian – and last but cer tainly not least, our fearless leader, the big kahuna, the grand poobah….showing up to make sure to bring some semblance of balance and propriety to this rowdy crew and keep Symphony in the best possible light. I’m fairly certain he even put some turf in place, not above getting his hands dirty. You can’t hold this guy back. More to the point – his show of support to the team is an absolute with him. Seemingly small efforts and the big ones, he’s always making sure to acknowledge and give credit where credit is due. And so it was on Friday.
So many people to thank and acknowledge. My apologies to those I’ve missed. In the lead up to the big day Corbin, Jason, Lily, Cassi, Mike, Jared had their hands in this in so many of the tasks that were necessary in putting this together. Your help and contribution has not gone unnoticed. As I mentioned last week, it was basically impossible to involve a larger group of people – the constraints of space and work dictated how many individuals could be productive. I know many of you would have liked to participate at some level – that’s not lost on me. Who knows what the future will hold ;)
As you may already know, we didn’t take home any official prize. Truth be told, there were some very cool and creative entries. It’s always important to remember what the goal was – providing support to and awareness of HomeAid, The Utah Diaper Bank and the homeless parents and children in Utah. Over 60,000 diapers, not including diapers at our drop locations either have been or will be delivered to the diaper bank by Symphony Homes alone. That’s no small number.
And it would be a huge miss on my part not to thank and acknowledge Bruce and Rob’s ongoing support of these efforts of outreach to the community. It speaks to their character and desire that the company they’ve created take a responsible and supportive role in the spaces we occupy. Thank you to you both.
I couldn’t be more proud to be part of and work along side this group of people. In the end, YOU are the Symphony Difference.
Cal and Keaton work for Camson Electric, and at the end of August, the company had a team-building getaway. Hanging out at a cabin, with ping-pong challenges, and then hitting the muddy roads on the razors. I didn't get a lot of feedback from the brothers, other than it was MUDDY, and the tires threw the damp dirt up all over the machines, and the people in them.
Thanks to Keaton - we have some pictures!
At least there were no issues as with some of Grayson's earlier rides (Off-Road Reality).
