Finally a week to blog about

This week is the Adams Co. Fair and Rodeo. We took advantage of Dollar Day and headed out to the fairgrounds on Wednesday evening. Grady LOVED it. He ran through the animal barns numerous times, mooing at the cows and laughing when they'd moo back. He even did some wild dancing to a cowboy singing some Johnny Cash. Today he's talking about going back to the "fairn" to go on the alligator train (we didn't make it to the rides on Wednesday but he could see them from where we parked). We'll see...I think I'd have to take some Clorox wipes with us to feel good about putting Grady in those seats. Can't be any worse than Othello WalMart's shopping carts right? The most exciting news of the week is that Uncle Matt returned from his mission to Chile. We had a good evening last night--met him at the airport, enjoyed some delicious mexican food, and then attended a session at the temple. Grady can't wait to spend more time with him! As for today, school is out for the fair (the first time we've had a day off during fair week). I love the Adams Co. Fair more than ever!

$1 ice cream

Mooing at the cows

Enjoying some Johnny Cash

Uncle Matt

Cousins

I stole these off my sister's blog because they were so dang cute. We were able to spend a lot of time with our Walker cousins in August and loved every minute. Love these kids. (In order of oldest to youngest)

PRIEST LAKE TOP TEN

1. The scenery

2. The sun

3. The sand

4. Being with family

5. Laying out

6. Grandma Walker's popcorn balls

7. Family dinners together every night (150-200 people)

8. Boat rides

9. Card games

10. Going every year for the rest of my life

Summertime and the Livin's Easy

This summer Grady's been...

bouncing it up in our cousins' bounce house,

digging with Grandpa Gilbert,

hanging with Uncle Tanner,

shooting bad guys,

AND making super-sized messes

Grady at Bat

WARNING: Turn your volume way down before viewing this...I got a little carried away cheering for my little Grady Sizemore AND I recorded this on my phone so the mic was right by my loud mouth.

PRIEST LAKE--JULY 2009

Grady and I were able to make a quick trip up to Priest Lake this past week for the Sharp family reunion. It was nice to get away to such a beautiful place and by the second day the weather was gorgeous! Grady was most excited about the boats and threw that word into just about every sentence.

We can't wait to see everyone at Walker Priest Lake!!!

In the News...

Othello Independent Article--July 8, 2009

Local cabinet makers start family traditon

Posted by Jenn on Jul 7th, 2009 and filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry.

Jim Gilbert of Gilbert Cabinets & Furniture has been making custom cabinets for 15 years. He first started out by creating pine furniture for 13 years, crafting mostly waterbed frames. He sold his furniture as a wholesale distributor in Spokane, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, or as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. When the waterbed market dropped off he decided to take a break from woodworking and farmed for about five years.
One winter he took a side job and remodeled a kitchen. He still had all the necessary woodworking tools from his past waterbed business and decided to design all the cabinets for the remodel himself. By spring Gilbert realized kitchens and cabinets were a growing field. He gave up farming and has been creating custom cabinets ever since.
Cabinets, kitchens, offices, schools, churches and light remodels are his focus. The majority of his work is done in oak, although he also works in hickory, cherry and maple.
“Oak is less expensive and fits the area. Most of Othello is price-conscience,” said Gilbert. “I prefer hickory, the rustic knotty hickory. Rustic used to be just a cabin look, but now it is very dominant.”
Gilbert has had most of his work come from churches in the past but homes have kept him busy this year. He can do full kitchen remodels, light framing, sheetrock, paint, tile and countertop installation. This often leads into bathroom remodels. He sub-contracts out flooring, electrical and plumbing projects.
Gilbert is a distributor of Wilson Art solid surface countertops, although he can also do granite.
“The bad part of my job is that it’s really dirty. The fun part is that I joke about ‘going to make another woman happy today.’ Women want to give me hugs because they love their new kitchen,” said Gilbert. “People remodel their kitchen because they want it and have money for it. It is fun doing it because people are happy when you are done. I look at other occupations and people pay them because they have to.”
“I like working in Othello. I know the people and trust them,” he said.
Gilbert also enjoys working with his family. His son Todd is his business partner. Another son Tanner also works for him. All of his sons have worked for him while in school or full-time. Many other members of the community have worked for him in the past.
Paul Risenmay recently had Gilbert replace his kitchen countertops and bathroom vanity.
“He did a great job. He was not the cheapest or the most expensive but he was really competitive,” said Risenmay. “He brought over his computer and showed us photos of other work he had done. That is why we went with him. He does great work and showed us lots of options.”
Gilbert Cabinets and Furniture can be reached at 488-0282.