The Herbolds

Rough Week

2009-10-23T09:49:00.004-05:00

Wow it's been a rough couple of weeks! Seems everything is falling down on or around us.

Waterline to the icemaker gave up.
Waterpump on the truck gave up.
Kids TV died by loosing all color but red.
Check engine light came back on the truck.
Last night an odd sound in the bath led me to check the septic line, the septic tank pump had died.

But keeping a positive outlook

We caught the ice maker leak quickly before it got very bad, so no water damage.
The check engine light got me to the mechanic and the Waterpump gave up completely in the parking lot. So at least we were not stranded out in the middle of nowhere.
The kids tv was about 12 years old, and we were talking about upgrading our TV in the Den.
The code is an stupid emission code in a sensor in the tailpipe.
We caught it quick, so nothing backed up in the house!

Last night we took a break and had a night out on the pergola, we cooked hot dogs over the fire, and the Kids and I carved

Pictures... old Pictures

2009-09-12T22:39:00.004-05:00

Worked this weekend on some old photos that we scanned from Aunt Mary. I think it is very important to scan pictures before they degrade any more or something bad happens to them. For example to the right is a greatly scaled down scan of Elsie Herbold. She was my Great Aunt who died in a horse riding accident in 1913 at 20 years old.

Sad part is I have a lot of pictures of Herbold who we don't know because it was not written on the photo, and we have not found anyone yet who can tell us who they are.

Also working on scanning a lot of post cards, some had pictures of people turned into post cards, and others were just standard post cards. I Like this one for example because of its age. It was written 101 years ago from a branch of Herbolds in Pennsylvania.

So any Herbolds out there that want to share some info... let me know!

Update

2009-08-20T21:51:00.006-05:00

Had a good week, but we are ready for the rain to go away. The front that has moved through put Kim down for a bit. The kids are enjoying school, with the exception of a mix up with Josh on the first day where we went to pick him up from school and he rode the bus. Gave us a bit of a scare. I updated my DSi and there was a new flipbook app that allows you make basic animations. Attached is my second try at the app.

Weekend Update

2009-08-11T09:51:00.002-05:00

Kim is up and about a bit more, and is now able to walk around a store for a bit. We were able to go out to eat this weekend as well. I think she might have over done it a bit yesterday, as she was in bed by 7.

This summer has flown by, with several things I wanted to do with the kids tabled because of larger projects. But they are doing well. This weekend they all but finished shopping for school supplies, and spent the following hour or so unpacking them and getting them organized. I am sure they will re-organize them as the time draws near. Even Josh is excited for the new year, though he tries to hide it.

Update on Kim

2009-08-03T23:01:00.001-05:00

She is able to get and up and walk a bit more today. Still moving very slow however, but that is to be expected. Where they had to go back in turned into about 3" cut instead of the normal 1/2" one. Needless to say she is very sore on that side. That plus the migraines kept her down most of the day.

I got the yard cut, now if I can just find the time to "weed eat".

Arg...

2009-08-03T08:49:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we heard a rumor that Josh has a "Summer Reading List". This was news to me, as we did not hear anything at the end of school, nothing in the mail, etc. I have been on their website off and on all summer, but never saw anything about it. Another quick trip to their website now showed a link to a reading list with the following text.

In an effort to raise the bar of excellence for middle school students, we are requiring all 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to read one novel this summer. Students should have already read the book by the time school starts—August 19. Before the novel is discussed in class, teachers will give an assessment to determine completion of reading and level of comprehension.

We encourage you to purchase the assigned book for your child and read it with him/her. Hastings in Benton will have copies of all the books by mid-June. If you do not wish to buy the book, the Bryant Public Library and both middle school libraries have copies for check out.

Sounds like it has been out all summer, and my lack of parenting skills let this slip by doesn't it? However I checked the metadata of the Adobe file, and it has a creation date of 7-22-09! Wow, wonder how many kids will not have read the book? Josh loves to read and will not have a problem finishing the book. Good thing it is not War and Peace!

Kim

2009-07-29T07:18:00.006-05:00

Kim has been taken back, prepped, and is headed into the operating room. I am keeping the facebook updated, but they are expected to take about 2 hours. Kim is now out of surgery and it only took an hour.

She is in recovery, but not awake yet. She will spend the night tonight.

She had a bleeder and they had to take her back in. It is a small one and it should not be that big of a deal. Had to sign more paperwork due to them having to put her back under.

She is out of recovery and in a room. She is now sleeping while I catch up on work emails. (Yea for the hospital's WiFi!) I will get the kids this afternoon and bring them up to see her. Kim will stay the night here, so the kids and I will be back up here in the AM.

North Little Rock Secrete

2009-07-23T11:55:00.004-05:00

Just back from a great lunch, and I thought I would share a great secrete that my family has. It is a little blue plate that we have been hitting up for lunch for a year or two. The name of the place is BJ's Market Cafe (link). It is located in the North Little Rock Farmers Market. Today I had their hamburger, fries and a Dr Pepper for just over 8 after taxes, and it was worth every penny. The place is a hole in the wall, and you might have to flag down a waitress to get a refill, but they know many of their customers by name. You need to be there as close to "on the hour" as you can, as they get crowded every day. (Monday - Friday 6 - 3) Link to google street view.

Meagan's Room is done.

2009-07-20T22:53:00.004-05:00

Finished up, well for the most part, Meagan's room today. The room had a crack where a roofer miss-stepped, and cracked the sheetrock a good foot and half long. They repaired the crack, and because the room had to be cleaned out anyway we chose to scrape that stupid popcorn off and repaint.

Well I got it repainted over the weekend and tonight I used batting for the clouds instead of painting them on like I did last time. Meagan was happy with it, so we continued and hung all but a few of her butterflies. I grabbed the picture to post to our blog here, but needed a wider angle lens.

With the exception of cleaning up a few things outside this wraps up all of the work that centered on the new roof. Even with all the trouble, I am so glad we did it, and would do it again with the same guys. So if you need a new roof, I have someone I would recommend.

Long Day

2009-07-08T22:38:00.005-05:00

As you can see from the picture I had an exciting day today. On the way to work this morning I heard what I thought was a loud muffler in the duly truck next to me. It got louder as I got closer to him so I backed off, only the wap-wap changed pitch. At that point I knew what it was, by the time I changed lanes the car started to vibrate. I was on 630 but there was no where to change the flat due to the retaining wall. I made it to the next exit and changed it. Ran to Walmart and picked up two new tires.

Another Lotus Shot

2009-07-05T23:41:00.006-05:00

Got a great shot shot of a lotus and its visitor, and had to share. I have uploaded it to WeatherUnderground so feel free to pop over there and rate it! (Link)

Weekend Re-cap

2009-07-05T23:26:00.007-05:00

A quick recap from the weekend. Saturday was spent over at Kim's Mom's house for the 4th. We took the big inflatable slide and placed it at the side of the pool for the kids. They a great time swimming, eating, and driving go-karts. A few shots from the weekend are attached.

Mammaw sat down with the great-grand kids to eat, and made a great photo op.

Another Flower

2009-07-02T10:35:00.002-05:00

Work will continue this weekend under the Pergola. I have resurfaced the concrete on the patio and now I am going back with decking. I plan to plant more flowers around it, as well as come up with something that the vines can hold on to while they go up the side.

Back at the pond the spider lily has bloomed. I caught it on the first night it bloomed, and now we have about 6 or so blooms.

We will go with family over to Kim's Mother's house on the fourth for swimming and food. At some point we need to pick up some pryo, but I am holding off as long as I can keep the kids back. The economy is hurting the firework stands and I expect they will have deep discounts as we get closer so they do not get stuck with stock.

Also on tap for this weekend is the second Ice Age movie, I promised the kids we would go and see it.

Summer Storms

2009-07-01T10:55:00.002-05:00

Yesterday afternoon a strong thunderstorm rolled through and tested my new roof. Strong straight line winds blew a lot of branches down in our yard, but blew trees over just up the street. One even landed on a moving car on Sardis, but thankfully she was not hurt. This same tree ended up pulling the power lines down with it, so we were without power till about 9:30 or so last night.

Day of swimming..

2009-06-28T15:15:00.006-05:00

With temperatures Saturday at 98, and the heat index in the upper 100's. We spent the day at Kim's parent's house outside in the pool. It turned into a small get-together as others showed up. Attached are a few of the pictures we took of the kids. The little one jumping off the diving board is Elliot who is the little boy of April, Kim's cousin.

Pond Flowers

2009-06-28T14:56:00.006-05:00

The flowers about the pond are in bloom. Attached you will find a few pictures of the lotus flowers and one of the wild Irises that we have around the pond. The water Irises have buds and should be bloomed out in the next week or so. I also took a shot of a visitor who was on his way away from the pond.

An Angel

2009-06-25T12:41:00.004-05:00

For those of us guys who grew up in the 70's... we lost an angel today. Farrah Fawcett died today at the age of 62 after her battle with cancer. Farrah will be remembered for many things: her trademark blond hair, her swimsuite poster that graced the back door of many teen boys and got her the role in the TV series Charlie's Angels, and showing that 48 year old can still be sexy by posing in Playboy she will be remembered by many of us who grew up in the 70's.

The Roof is Done!

2009-06-20T17:18:00.005-05:00

Yea! The roof is done, and it looks great! They did a great job on the roof. It was complete on Friday, but they came back out on Saturday for some flashing work and floated the patch on our bedroom ceiling. I spend the rest of Saturday sanding the entire ceiling and painting it. You can see the finished picture of it here, however the paint was still a bit wet. They will be back on Monday to clean up a bit.

Roof Day 1

2009-06-17T15:25:00.008-05:00

Roofers started this morning at about 7:30, and had the entire back of the house shingles removed as well as the decking ripped off by noon. They are doing a great job so far. In the early afternoon, a knock at the door from one of the roofers gave us the news. We have a temporary sky light in our bed room. No one was hurt, and the roofer said they will take care of it all.

Pergola Day 10+11

2009-06-14T21:46:00.006-05:00

Kim was down with a bad migraine today so with major help from Josh and Meagan, we were able to finish the pergola this weekend. Even added several extras that we had not planned on. As you will in the pictures, I ended up adding a cloth covering on the top for some added shade, as well as a long thin bar on one side. We got the dog house moved, and the wisteria vine started into it. Monday morning I will start cutting off some of the ends of the bolts that are sticking out.

Pergola Day 9

2009-06-11T22:51:00.003-05:00

Did not get a bunch of time to work on the pergola today, a new map pack came out for Call of Duty, and Josh and I had to give it a go for a while. We did finish the stringers on the roof of the pergola however. Hopefully this weekend, we will finish putting up the rails, and I think I am going to add some kind of top plate for the rails, so it will hold a Dr Pepper.

Dragon Fly

2009-06-10T20:46:00.003-05:00

Also grabbed a close up shot of a dragonfly. I also have uploaded this picture to WeatherUnderground, so please feel free to rate it, by clicking here.

Pergola Day 8

2009-06-10T19:57:00.008-05:00

Started on the stringers today. At least I think they are called stringers... well that is what I am going to call them. Stringers are now the little boards that go on top of the pergola that do nothing as far as strength, but do break up the sun light a little. I had planned on placing a 1"x4" stringer every 12 feet, but I did not like the look of it, so I placed them a bit closer. This however caused me to run out of boards tonight, so that will require another trip to Lowe's. I feel like every time I walk in they should meet me at the door with an ice cold Dr Pepper and a steak... rib-eye medium rare!

Meagan started running a fever this morning with an upset stomach so I was down a helper. As you can see Josh was a great help tightening bolts and handing me boards. Shadow kept me company by laying under the ladder, catching any drill shavings in his fur. Pepper helped out by removing any cutoffs to the yard, where she would grind them into... well... lets just say mulch.

Pergola Day 7

2009-06-09T20:36:00.003-05:00

Got 6 more supports up tonight before my arm gave out. I guess I never counted... 28 total supports, each made of 25" long 4 by 4 with the ends cut at 45 degree. Mounted with a 3/8 lag screw into the post, and a 3/8 carriage bolt into the rafters. I think I only have 2 more supports to go, then I will tighten up all the bolts, and start mounting the 60 1 x 4 boards on top.

The end is in sight!

Pergola Day 6

2009-06-08T21:07:00.004-05:00

Kim had a rough night last night, a bad migraine kept her restless for most of the night. In all I estimate that I got about 3 - 4 hours of sleep. So... I just did not have a lot of energy today, but I did get two beams finished, and 4 more of the 45 degree support arms. I also tightened bolts till my arm felt like it was going to pop, and I know I did not get 1/2 way through them. I know I am going to feel it big time in the morning!

Pergola Day 5

2009-06-07T17:56:00.002-05:00

Work continued today on the Pergola. As you can see from the picture I am almost done with major structure. A quick trip to Lowe's tonight should enable to finish it up on Monday. Kim was down today, so she stayed in bed, but Dad offered to help when he got back into town, so I took him up on it. He was able to help me get the last beam in place.

Pergola Day 4

2009-06-06T21:34:00.003-05:00

First an update on Josh. He felt a bit better today and only ran a very small fever. So he had a tough day sitting in the recliner, watching TV and playing XBox. Meanwhile work continued on the Pergola. As you can see in the photo I got a support beam up and the cross beams as well. The cross beam was built on the ground and due to its weight, we had to lift up one end, place it on a support, then do the same with the other end. It took a bit, but with its weight, it was the only way we could do it.

Pergola Day 3

2009-06-05T20:44:00.005-05:00

I am down a helper. Josh has not felt well the last few days, and today he started running a bit of fever. We could tell he did feel well when he went to bed early on his own. Meagan had to fill in for Josh with helping on the pergola, and she did a good job. As you can see from the picture, we completed the front and started down the left side, back towards the house. This exercise thing is starting to catch up to me, as I have a bunch of muscles saying "What the Hell?" very loudly tonight.

Pergola - Day 2.5

2009-06-05T07:33:00.008-05:00

Counting this as Day 2.5 because of the rain yesterday. I got a lot done on day 2.5, as you can see from the pictures, I got a corner up! Kim and I are happy with the look so far, and we hope it continues this way. It was a bit challenging to get the first completed piece up so I could connect the second. I tied it off, and placed a support board on it, and then kept the kids back while I tied in the next support. A few pictures attached to show you what the corner looks like. The first picture shows the view from the porch, and the second is looking back from the yard.

This is what I found in a flower bed this morning as I left for work. A bit blurry, because it was still a bit dark when I left. These are the neighborhood dogs. The black one belongs to a neighbor who I think has given up trying to keep her in her pen. The other two puppies they rescued from the interstate, and can't find a home for. So if you know of anybody who wants two gold lab mix puppies... I know where to find a few!

Pergola - Day 2

2009-06-04T08:23:00.002-05:00

Nothing got accomplished on the Pergola today, due to the Rain. However we did hear back from the roofer, and I signed the work order. Not sure when he will be able to start on it. Dish network came out and replaced our receiver that died again on Monday with a new model, amazing how fast you become dependent on the DVR!

Pergola - Day 1

2009-06-03T07:00:00.006-05:00

Work proceeded slowly last night. Most of the time was spent creating templates that I will use to ensure I drill holes in the correct place or ensure that I mount boards in the same place. My goal was to get one square of the pergola up, but that did not happen. I discovered I had purchased the wrong size bolts and will need to run back to Lowe's today for some 8" bolts. I did take a quick picture last night when I stopped and you might be able to get an idea of what one section will look like when I can actually bolt it together. I did a quick and dirty job of fading the background to make it a bit more visible.

On a positive note, I noticed a bud on a Lotus plant last night. That little bud is about the size of a nickel now, but it will be a flower about 6-8 inches across when it blooms.

Pergola - Day 0

2009-06-02T09:04:00.007-05:00

"Work" started today on Kim's Pergola for our back yard patio. The patio is 18' by 18' this thing is going to be huge. Today was the design phase as well as the go to Lowe's and buy the lumber phase. I was able to use their website for pricing and did very well. After it was all said and done I waled out with my list and came in just 3% under what the website said. I have included my 'rough' sketch that I used to figure out what items I will need. This was a very rough sketch, and does not show any width to the lumber.

At this time the plan is for the beams to made of two 2x6 boards separated by 4". The ones that run parallel to the house will be set 6" lower than the boards running perpendicular to the house (towards the back yard). Of course all of this is subject to change ;-)

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T21:38:00.003-05:00

For Memorial Day we were to go over Mom and Dads house. Kim was down again today so it was just the kids and I. Josh and Meagan had a blast playing with Jason's kids.

Rest of the day

2009-05-23T21:49:00.005-05:00

I was just heading out of the house when the neighbors dogs started going nuts. I stepped in the front yard and saw they had something cornered. I walked over to the fence and saw they had a snake pinned up against the back wall of the house. I yelled at the dogs, and they started to back off. I then watched as the 2-3 foot long snake crawled up the side of the house by gripping the ridges in the brick, heading for the windowsill. I figured it was going to lay up on it to get away from the dogs. I started to notice that the snake was not curling up or running down the sill. I jumped the fence just as I saw the tail of the snake disappear into the house through the open window that was missing the screen!

I called the neighbor who was not home and told her what had happened. She called me back later to tell me that they had found it in a bathroom and relocated it to the woods. Turned out to be nonvenomous.

Kim called me about 3 and was feeling a little better so I ran back to the house to get her, and brought her back to her moms house. I few of pictures attached: Kim and her sister, and Josh and Meagan with her cousins.

Saturday

2009-05-23T11:17:00.003-05:00

Kim is down today with a bad migraine, so I am getting ready to pack up the kids and head over Kim's parent's house for the day. I hate it she is not going to be able to go, but that is part of having chronic migraines. I will try to get some pictures and post a few tonight.

When Clean is a mess...

2009-05-18T20:45:00.000-05:00

Sharing my pain, so other may learn.

Long story short... the kids got in trouble for arguing with each again, so I made them help about the house.

It was going well, once they realized they were not going to just pick up one thing and hide in their room. I had Josh shaking out rugs, and Meagan cleaning out the shoe chest. When they finished a task they would come back to me for another. Meagan got assigned loading the dish washer. Because the kids have not been loading it correctly, we have started a rule where it needs to be inspected before they can start it. Meagan was just getting ready to start it, when I had to remind her of this rule. Good thing, as she had loaded it with dish soap she found on the top of the counter and not the little solid tabs we keep under the sink!

We wiped all the liquid soap we could out of the soap bin, and the door, but you can't get it all. After it was all said and done, it took 6 rinse cycles, stopping it 2 minutes into them, and using a shop vac to suck all of the suds out of the dish washer. Good thing we caught it, or we would have had a house full of suds just as Meagan pointed out... Just like in the cartoons!

More Science

2009-05-16T19:33:00.000-05:00

Headed to Mid America Museum today as part of our "mini vacation". Kim and I each had gone as Kids, and I had gone with some friends after High school. They have added some things in the last (good God, I am not going to count that up) XX years. But several of the old favorites were still there. The kids had a blast! The only problem was getting them to move to the next experiment, so they could see it all before we had to leave.

I took many pictures and will only include a few here. The first one is from their large plasma sphere. It is amazing that after so many years these are still such a joy to watch. The second shot explains its self. Josh would try it long enough to get a good photo! The last shot is their Tesla Coil. It is a bit larger than the one I re-built in collage, and they claim it is the largest in the US, but I think I have seen large ones on the Net.

Hot Springs

2009-05-16T19:15:00.000-05:00

While in Hot Springs we stopped by the downtown area for a very quick trip to show the kids why it is called Hot Springs. The kids and I had a quick content to see who could hold their hand in the water the longest. A nice visitor asked if we would like her to take our picture.

We also drove by all of the lakes around Hot Springs. However most of the lake access areas were closed, as you can see in the picture. I also uploaded the picture to weather underground, so please feel free to follow this link and rate it!

Update

2009-05-15T14:03:00.001-05:00

The day started out early, just as early as any other week day. The kids got up at just after six. We ate in the car, so we had a little time to kill, so we walked around campus. We setup Meagan's display, and after orientation Meagan had to go stand by her display and wait on the judges. Took about 45 minutes as she was at the end of the row. After the interviews we broke for lunch.

Kim's parents came up and met us before we headed back for open viewing and the awards ceremony.

Meagan won 3'rd place for her grade overall. She was very excited, as she should have been. After it was all over Meagan called Granny and Grandpa and told them the good news. Meagan then called her teacher to fill her in. Now back at the hotel, we are off to take the kids swimming for a bit, tomorrow we will take the kids to Mid America Science museum then head back home.

Update

2009-05-14T20:48:00.000-05:00

Got checked in, and the kids got a chance to swim. They love to swim, don't know where they got that! (Kim and I each love the water) Hope the shot is a good one. I was taking a stepping back to take another shot and found the whirlpool. Yup stepped right in it, and down I went. I was able to stay vertical and keep dry from the waist up.

Packing up...

2009-05-14T15:57:00.000-05:00

Meagan is bouncing off the walls. Had to send her out side to "exercise the dogs" so Kim and I could pack.

Daily Update

2009-05-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

The DVR died this morning. Seems when it rains it... you know. Called Dish and they are sending a replacement. Wonder if they subcontracted the design/build to Microsoft. Speaking of them, the xbox has been fixed and is on its way back to the house.

Rundown

2009-05-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

A quick rundown:

Meagan - Regional Science fair coming up this Friday. Thinking about spending the night down in Arkadelphia, so if you know of anything to do down there let me know!

Josh - Doing well ready for summer break. And is excited for middle school next year.

Kim - With all of the weather fronts, she had not been out of bed much in the last few weeks. Was able to go to a late breakfast for Mothers Day on Sunday. For Mothers Day she got a mini rose bush and a locket with little charms that represent Josh, Meagan, Shadow, Pepper and I.

Me - Meeting my self coming and going, with all of the standard house things going on, and trying to keep the kids picking up their mess.

Shadow & Pepper - Feel so sorry for them. I have bathed them twice in the last three weeks so they could come in for a bit, but within a few days, they get so muddy, they just can't come in.

New Camera - Kim and I came to the conslusion that we needed a new camera. Don't get me wrong, we love our DSLR, but some times we just want a small POS (point and shoot, not that other POS you were thinking about). Picked up a Canon PowerShot (8MP) from Amazon, and we love it. Much easier to carry around than the big camera bag!

Rain - Going on 4 weeks of rain now... getting very tired of it.

Xbox - Another one dead last week. Got the E74 error, that replaced the Red Ring of Death. Sent it in to be fixed, and moved the one from the bedroom to the den. Glad they pay for the repairs. Josh is only having minor withdrawals so far.

Rain... Rain...

2009-05-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

So far in the first 11 days of this month, we have had over 9.3 inches of rain. Needless to say everything is good and soggy. Have not been able to work much on the pond, other than pump out some of the water that seeped between the liner and the ground. Placed some new lights around the pond, as the old solar ones quit working. New ones are LED's with a cracked glass globe. Thinking of placing a submersible light in the pond, do see if it would help keep the snake out. One night, between the showers, I was able to grab a quick picture of a spider (Wolf?) hunting at night on a Lotus leaf.

One of the roads close to the house flooded, so I grabbed a quick shot.

Weekend 1/2 Over

2009-05-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

Well... the boy is still alive. Quite an accomplishment after this morning. I cleaned his room today. We started at about 9 and I stopped at about 5. A quick rundown on some of the things I found today. Several empty candy rappers even though they are not allowed to eat in their room. 1 half eaten bag of candy (think Halloween), and 3 or 4 cups. Speaking of cups I found our 1/2 cup measuring cup in his room as well.

After it was all said and done, I pulled out 2 and 1/2 trash bags of trash. Not the standard trash bags, these are contractor bags, that are about 5 feet long. One fills up our out side trash can!

Today turned out to be a good day for it, as it rained all day, and needless to say Kim was down. I would accuse her of faking it, so she did not have endure Josh's room, but you could see it on her face. Weather fronts always put her down.

Science Fair Results

2009-04-24T15:49:00.000-05:00

Meagan came away with First place in the science fair today for 3rd grade!

To celebrate she selected Larry's Pizza. Works well for Kim, as on Fridays they have a buffet, and she can have their baked potato pizza as it is one of the only pizzas she can eat every once in while.

Next step will be the regional fair on May 15th.

Skittles... and more skittles

2009-04-19T22:55:00.000-05:00

Meagan has been working hard on her science fair project. Her project is to prove her theory about Skittles having more orange flavored ones than the others. So we have purchased a bag of Skittles from the same store, and counting the number of each flavor.

The interesting thing to me has been the price and how much they fluctuate between stores. Even between like stores, for example the Walmart in Bryant was .48 and the one in NLR was .64. Without taxes. The most expensive was a tie between two Big Red gas stations and at $1.19.

After all of the counting was done, and the pictures were completed we piled all of the Skittles on the scanner and took the above pic. Science fair is Friday, and we have a lot of to do between now and then.

Spring Break

2009-03-20T13:46:00.000-05:00

Today spring break starts for the kids. They are very excited. Josh and Meagan will be going with my parents for a weekend up at the cabin in MO. Then a couple days at the house with Kim and I, then they go on a fishing trip with Kim's parents.

I expect they will have major amounts of fun, though Josh will be without x-box, and could go into withdrawals.

My plan is start working on the yard, pond, and plants out side. I do wish Spring would go ahead and get a hold of this year and quit letting Winter step back into the picture.

Night Out

2009-03-02T12:23:00.000-06:00

I have always been a fan of Robin Williams. It started way back in the day when we watched Mork and Mindy with my family. Then when I was old enough (my gauge not my parents) seeing his concert at a friends house, left me gasping for air. Now I enjoy his quick wit on current events even more. I always said I would pay to see him in concert, but figured he would only play large venues.

Well my brother told me last week he was coming in concert to Little Rock! I got up early Saturday morning and sat on Ticketmaster's website till tickets went on sale at 10. The first 'best tickets' tried to sit me in the balcony, but the second time I got 3rd row.

Can't wait till April 10th.

Weekend Update

2009-02-17T13:54:00.000-06:00

A quick update on our weekend. I took off on Monday and we all ran up to Thayer to help mom and dad clean up from the ice storm a few weeks back. The damage was unreal. Kim described it best saying "It looks like god ran his fingers down the trunk of the trees folding all of the limbs down like an umbrella." Here is a shot my mom took with ice still on the ground a week after the ice storm.

We started close to the house, and started clearing downed limbs and the snags we could reach. Mom took this picture of me up in the tree with a "Sawsall", as lugging a chainsaw up there was just way to dangerous. I don't know what is more remarkable about this shot. The fact that I was up that high, or the fact that tree held me.

Saturday night, we had a great hot dog roast with Aunts and Uncles we don't see that often. Even teleconferenced one Uncle in from Michigan.

Sunday we awoke to a nice surprise, about an inch - inch and a half of snow! The kids had great fun, but it melted quickly and was all gone by noon. We did more clearing on Sunday, and packed up to come home on Monday.

Tough Times ?

2009-02-10T19:12:00.000-06:00

Take a look at the sign I spotted on the gas pump at a local Walmart today. Well I guess the tobacco company's are feeling the pinch of the economy. Just don't like the idea of them offering a free sample at all, just to get people hooked.... Wow...

Quick Update

2009-02-01T12:24:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update, as it seems I have seen my self coming and going as of late. Tried to go with my parents today to help clean up in Thayer after their ice storm, but I made it just north of Little Rock when the "Check Engine" light came on in the car. So I had to turn around and head back to the house, and they go up with out my help. From the sounds of things there will be more than enough to do later. My aunt measured an average of 4" of ice, and the power company is telling folks that it could be March before they get power back!

People have wondered how big the dogs are, well here is the answer... or at least half of it. Pepper as always been more of the lets play kid of dog, but lately she has been wanting some attention, and crawling up in your lap to get it. Her body stops at my foot, that is the Shadow on the floor.

Update

2009-01-02T09:13:00.000-06:00

I now have the truck back, and it is running great. It needed a new distributor and rotor.

The kids and I started work on a dog house for Pepper and Shadow last night. The design will be more of a duplex, as I did not want to build two houses. The house will have a foot print of 4' by 4' with a slanted roof line that will be about 2' 6" high on the lowest end and about 3' on the tallest end.

I will post pics when we get it done this weekend (hopefully)

Best plans shot to hell...

2008-12-26T20:46:00.000-06:00

Today was going to be a laid back day. Start clearing out the laundry room so we can run and pick up a new dryer for Christmas. Good plan... walked in the laundry room and stepped in water. Found the water tank was leaking. After shutting off the water, and getting every thing cleaned up. I talked dad into coming over and helping install a new one.

Got into the truck to run to Lowes (Home Depot now added to my black list), and the truck would not start. So long story short, I have a new water heater, even though it cost almost twice what it did 7 years or so ago. So we still have the old dryer, and it looks like the truck will go back to the auto shop, maybe by tow truck!

Early Christmas

2008-12-19T10:03:00.000-06:00

Kim and I picked up an early Christmas present for us this week. We had been keeping an eye out for a new laptop, and doing some price matching. Then I saw an unadvertised deal in Wal-Mart. They had a Toshiba Satellite L355-S7835 laptop for 598 (link is to Amazon, as the Wal-Mart website does not show the laptop). The cheapest I could find the laptop for on the net was just over 730. One thing I love about this laptop is its huge 17" screen and full size keyboard.

The only downside I have found is that it does not have firewire built in, so I had to pick up an $80 express card that will allow me to hook up my video camera via firewire.

Let us eat Cake

2008-12-18T12:39:00.000-06:00

A quick shot of the cake I made for our office party. It was a yellow cake, with butter cream icing between the layers, and a fondant covering and a bow. The snow flakes are fondant as well. Meagan and I did all of the fondant work, while Kim made the cake batter. A true group effort, except for Josh who was playing the xbox.

Wow...

2008-12-17T18:43:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has been a while... so here is a quick rundown. I have been sick most of the week, even to the point of staying home from work. Due to the Ice the Kids were home on Tuesday, and the same front that brought the ice, kept Kim in bed most of the time as well.

So when I have not been running the kids to or from school, helping Kim, or blowing my nose I have managed to wrap a few presents. So please excuse me if you get a little something extra!

Now class what have we learned?

2008-11-24T15:11:00.001-06:00

Kim

2008-11-10T18:12:00.000-06:00

Kim underwent laparoscopic surgery today to try to find some reasons for hormone issues. The Dr found and removed Endometriosis and some connective tissue. She pulled through fine, however she will be down for a few days.

Halloween

2008-10-30T20:23:00.000-05:00

Billie, a co worker, gave a scathingly brilliant idea. Kim and I picked up the Kids in our Halloween costume. Kim dressed up in her witch costume, and I dressed up in a Master Chief costume from the video game Halo. As kids filtered out of the school, they got a big kick out of Kim and I in our costume. Meagan was the first one to see us, and her jaw just dropped. By the time Josh walked out, a nice sized crowd was around us. You could see it on his face that he just could not believe what he was seeing. It was great!

The family, with Kim's parents, packed up and went to the Halloween festival in Bryant. Even Kim and I got into the spirit. Kim dressed up as a witch, and I as Master Chief from the video game Halo. Meagan went as a vampire, and Josh went as the grim reaper.

While the festival was noticeably smaller this year, but the kids still had a blast. Kim's parents even rode a few rides! Several other witches complemented Kim on her costume, from nice looking witches to green faces with prosthetic noses. The Halo costume also went over well, I was asked to pose several times. Some times it was from Dads, or teens who have played the game, and was even asked to pose with small kids who did not know who it was but just thought it was cool.

Great fun was had by all again this year! I have uploaded all the pictures I took to our photo site, check the link to the left.

Street Art

2008-10-27T10:35:00.001-05:00

I can only imagine what kind of chaos this would cause around Little Rock...

A few quick shots.

2008-10-18T23:03:00.001-05:00

Considering the financial times we are facing I found this a bit funny, so I snapped a picture with my cell.

Second shot I snapped on the way home today. We were driving to the house and we noticed a local water was venting water. We guessed it was on purpose.

Update on Pepper

2008-10-16T10:22:00.000-05:00

Everything went fine with Pepper. It was very interesting watching the interaction between Pepper and Shadow the day of and after her surgery. Shadow would walk up to Pepper give her some ever so slight bumps on her nose with his. It was very sweet. However after about the 10th time of this she snapped at him. He stayed back for a bit, and then let him check on her later. Today she is Pepper again and wants to run and play and jump. It is proving difficult to keep her activity level down some. She will have to back to the vet on the 23rd to get the stitches out. I am wondering how hard it is going to be to get her in that vets door.

Pepper

2008-10-14T12:24:00.001-05:00

Well we dropped off Pepper at the vet this morning for surgery. She is being spaded. Hate to do it, but having a male dog (her brother) in the same yard we had to do something. We also have a bunch of stray dogs in the neighborhood so having him fixed instead would not have worked. We will pick her up this afternoon, and I will post back then.

Weekend

2008-10-12T20:11:00.000-05:00

Not much to report from this weekend. Saturday the kids and I worked on the house some, and then ran to pick up some scripts for Kim. I noticed that the back left tire was a bit low again. Long story short we spent a good chunk of the afternoon getting two new tires for the car.

Saturday night we popped some pop corn and watched Iron Man. Kim was not feeling well enough to make Mass with us. After the kids and I got back to the house I did the yard. I gave the dogs a bath and then we watched Nanny McPhee. Josh wanted to stay up and watch a show on the giant crystal caves but it was getting late, so we recorded it for Monday night. We love the DVR.

A Quick Update

2008-10-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I packed up the wife and the kids and went my parent’s cabin on the family land. After I got off work, I picked up the kids and we packed up a few things and headed out. Saturday morning Dad and I took the kids to Grand Gulf State Park for some hiking. Attached you see some of the pictures I took on the way down into the gulf and some at the bottom. This gulf is the watershed for 27 or so square miles, and the water that enters the final cave here comes back out of the ground 10 miles or so from here at Mammoth Spring, AR.

One part you walk through a cave or natural bridge to come out on the other side of a bluff. One small tunnel shoots off from the main tunnel only to make a quick 90 degree turn and end up outside. This small section was no longer than 10 feet long so I let kids go on their own and I took some shots of the kids crawling out of the cave. I did not take many pictures during the assent, because I was too busy sucking wind.

Saturday night we grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with a few of my Aunts and Uncles. The kids had a blast clearing the property by finding sticks to throw into bonfire. Dad gave Josh a hatchet and let him go to down on some pine trees that he cut earlier in the season. By Sunday Josh (with some help from us) had cut up three trees. Meagan stumbled upon a black snake about 3-4 feet long. We took some pictures of him, and let me go on his way. Kim hurt Saturday night, so we took it easy Sunday and did not rush out of town. We went by the cemetery so everyone would have an idea where some of the family members are at. We had fun and are going to try and go back when the leaves start to turn.

Why I don't eat at Sonic

2008-09-18T13:36:00.000-05:00

My family has not been eating at Sonic for several months now. Not because of a single bad experience, just because we have all noticed a dramatic slide in quality. At first we chalked it up to just a given Sonic location, but it did not take long to find that every Sonic we tried the food was bland and poorly prepared.

Well... the other morning I thought I would give them a chance again for breakfast, they always had good breakfast burritos. Wow I was wrong. Take a look at the photo I took with my phone, this was not the fist bite, this was the third or fourth. The second burrito was no better. No substance what so ever, and lets not even talk about comparing it to what they advertise. So this consumer has had enough, and we will not be giving them any more of our money.

Dog Update

2008-08-25T06:49:00.000-05:00

Shadow is feeling better, and acting like him self again. They spent the night chasing the kids in the back yard, and even ganging up on Josh and bringing him down for a thorough licking. After all the play time, the dogs held still long enough for me to get picture last night. (Shadow on the left, Pepper on the right)

Snake Bite

2008-08-24T17:19:00.000-05:00

We had some excitement this weekend. We came home after running some errands on Friday to a sick dog. Shadows face and neck was swollen, it looked like he tangled with a viper. Of course our vet was closed at this point so he had to go the emergency vet. Mom piled up Josh in the car and I kept Meagan at the house with Pepper. After calming Meagan down I searched the back yard for the viper. I never found anything, however I can not imagine it got away unharmed. Because of the woods behind our house, we have seen snakes. Most of the snakes have seen have been harmless, however I have killed several copper heads and one small rattler. My guess is that Shadow tangled with a copper head.

The vet gave shadow a shot of antibiotics, steroids, and an antihistamine, and his swelling was gone by Sunday. I am sure that Shadow has learned his lesson, and I am sure the snake did as well.

Quick wrap-up of the week

2008-08-22T12:47:00.000-05:00

Me - Busy with the kids first week of school. Had oral surgery on Wednesday (knocked out) still recovering. Hick-ups for the last two days... not funny. Took dogs to vet, not a fun trip.

Kim- Busy with kids first week of school, she took care of me on Wednesday (most of that I do not remember) down with bad headache first of the week and yesterday.

Josh - Good first week, only had homework one day. Learning that arguing with Dad when he does not feel well is not a good idea. Orthodontist appointment said all is going well and will see him in six months.

Meagan - Busy first week of school, homework every day, but still enjoying school. Looking forward to new Viva Pinata game next week. Orthodontist appointment said all is going well and will see her in six months as well.

Pepper & Shadow - Missed the kids a lot this week. Vet trip on Thursday, all went well. Each got sick in the car, they found it much more fun to puke on each other.

First Day Back.

2008-08-19T07:39:00.000-05:00

Monday was the first day of the school year for Josh and Meagan. This day serves as an annual reminder how quickly the kids are growing up. Sure birthdays come and go, but those seem to occupy our time to such a degree that we miss the underlining tone. Then when you least expect it, at the end of the summer when there are no holidays to worry about... you get a sobering reminder that another year has come and gone.

Josh will be in 5th grade this year, his last year in elementary school. This means that the glimpse of hormonal driven behavior we have been seeing over the last year will start to grow brighter and brighter until one day it will supernova in a flash of hormones so intense it will leave everybody at ground zero looking like Wile E. Coyote with a strand of hair on their head still ablaze.

Meagan will be in 3rd grade this year. She has been placed in the GT program. GT for those who do not know is the new term 'Advanced Placement' class. From what we have seen however every class teaches to the federal/state/local mandated exams regardless of its label. So the GT class seems to be more of an exercise in volume management and not subject matter. Meagan came home from the first day of school having to write a report on the topic she choose for the 30 minutes of required daily reading, math, spelling words, and I believe one other.

Update

2008-08-12T07:55:00.000-05:00

Wow its been a bit... and it is past time for an update on the family. The kids start school this coming Monday. As you can expect, Meagan is excited and Josh... not so much. Both of their best friends got a different class this year and the kids were very bummed over it.

Kim is averaging about one good day out of two weeks or so. Not sure why the hard last few months for her, but that just seems to be the way the migraines work. Thanks to those who called and talked to her on her birthday, it helps her spirits to hear from friends and family.

The puppies have grown... and grown. I still need to capture some pictures of them and post them here. I will try my best to do that this week. Just does not seem to be enough time in the day to get things done.

How long till I can retire...

... carry the four....

Oh.. I made my self sad...

Its an add, but it is cool

2008-08-05T13:12:00.000-05:00

Love the muppets!

2008-07-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

7 Year old sings Billy Joel

2008-07-16T09:44:00.000-05:00

Check out this 7year old do his rendition of "The Piano Man"

When good kids loose their minds.

2008-07-09T07:37:00.000-05:00

Yea it happened yesterday. Kim took Josh and Meagan with her for her Dr's appointment. Kim left them in the waiting room while she went back to see her neurologist, something she has done before without any problems. They each had their DS game unit with headphones to keep them busy.

Long story short, they were playing their games in a head to head mode. Josh got mad at Meagan and started to argue with her. This escalated to him chasing her (now crying) around the waiting room.

Kim now enters the waiting room. She gives them each the 'Mom has had it' look and they stop. Kim starts talking to the receptionist and Josh tries to interject. Mom then gives him the 'Shut the hell up' look and he stops.

The parental investigation conducted interrogations using the bad cop / bad cop method and determined a 90% - 10% split in the guilt.

The parental court passed sentence swiftly yesterday with Josh receiving 90% of the punishment. He has until I get home today to write an apology letter to the clinic. Outline of the letter has been predetermined. They each had to pick up sticks and pine cones from the back yard. They also had to help me clean out the toy area, going though games and toys. For those that know my kids, know that this is a punishment for Josh and not for Meagan. This task they will continue this morning when they get up.

Josh's parole date has yet to be determined for his ban on TV and video games.

4th of July Recap

2008-07-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

Wow... we are exhausted. 7 Hours of driving can take it out of you. Having a young boy who decides he has to go to the bathroom within 5 minutes after stopping for gas does not help. (I about killed him)

I have some great pictures of the vacation, and I have uploaded them to our photo website (link on the left) Let me know if I got any names wrong.

New flower

2008-06-30T12:01:00.000-05:00

A quick post of a new flower bloom in the pond. This is a white Spider Lilly, that I have had for some time now. I love the blooms as they standout from the standard Lilly due to their extra long peddles.

The Cost of Food.

2008-06-26T20:24:00.001-05:00

We all know the cost of food has gone up, but just how much. I found a site that gave some numbers from the FDA.

Looks like Mom was right about the price of eggs going up. However lets hear it for Bacon!

Price of lemons... kind of leaving a sour taste in your mouth huh? Sorry it was to easy.

Wonder what the price of Tomatoes has done now?

Paint Shop

2008-06-26T08:41:00.000-05:00

Thought I would make a quick how 2 guide showing how people use a photo editor to make a photo of something stand out. For my example I am using the shot of the lotus flower from my previous post. My photo editor of choice is Paint Shop. It has all of the power I need at a fraction of the cost of the 'other' program.

First step is to separate the background from the portion of the image I want to stand out. In this case the flower and its stem. The first thing I do is create a layer that is an exact copy of the current image. Think of a layer as separate sheets of clear paper stacked on one another. I do this by right clicking on the thumb nail image on the right and select duplicate. I now use the Background eraser tool to erase the area close to the flower.

Once I have gone all the way around the flower, I use the Magic wand selection tool with the setting of opacity to select only the flower. I then invert this selection (menu item under selection) and hit the delete key to remove the background. To help the flower stand out, I then use the 3d effect Drop Shadow and add a bit of a shadow to the flowers edges.

Now that I have the flower separated I can add the background back, for an enhanced look, or I can change just the background to a sepia tone, or a black and white tone as I have done before. You could even get creative and make the picture look painted and the flower unfinished. (Click on the one below it looks better full size)

More Flowers

2008-06-25T20:58:00.001-05:00

Was able to get some pictures over the last few days. First shot is Shadow. He has some brown in his coat and seems to have more of a laid back loving attitude. It will be interesting to see him as lapdog when he is full grown.

Second shot is Pepper. She does not have the brown that Shadow does, and has more pronounced white on her paws, tail, and a streak on her chest. She is more playful and more difficult to get a shot of.

I have two lotus this summer that are blooming for the first time. This is the first one. It has a very bright color, and looks great against the green background of the Burning Bush.

On a side note, we are gearing up for our tip to my Aunts for the 4th of July. We have some fireworks on order, a rc race boat, and everyone is getting excited about seeing relatives we have not seen since 2005.

Weekend Update

2008-06-22T22:02:00.000-05:00

Josh continues to heal nicely, but is not bending his knee very much. He will get stitches out this Friday, and it will be interesting to see what the Dr tells him.

It was a busy weekend this weekend. Much of it was spent working on the kids outside play station. I built a bridge from one side to the other. It was dark when I finished so I will snap some pictures later. I did take some pictures of Meagan's sunflower, Josh's stitches, and a time exposure of the kids playing with a lighted Frisbee. Frisbee shot on the right, rest is on our photo site.

We chose "Get Smart" for an afternoon Sunday movie. It was very funny, and had several inside jokes for those who have seen the original show.

Flowers

2008-06-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

First an update on Josh. He was able to get about some today. We met my parents for dinner and even shopped a little (very little.) His bandage is starting to itch, so we explained that it is a sign of healing, but if you have ever had a cast you know what he is going through. Only he can not stick something down in it to scratch!

The flowers are starting to bloom. I went out this morning and took some quick shots, here are a few. I have no idea what the first flower is, and it only about the size of a dime. It reminded me of fireworks... and it is about that time of year!

Next shot is a new flowering vine. It goes by the name Clitoria Ternatea it is also known as the Butterfly Pea or Asian Pigeonwings. However I tend to like its scientific name the best.

Last shot is the first few lotus flowers of the year. There are buds on a few of the others, and I will grab shots of them when they bloom. More pictures of the flowers, can be found on our photo website. More can be found on our photo website.

Josh Pictures

2008-06-14T14:33:00.000-05:00

Here are the pictures from yesterday. First shot is in the surgery prep room, after he got his IV.

Second picture is Josh showing that he survived the IV.

Third shot is Josh being silly before any of the drugs were administered. He was telling the nurses that the hat made him look like the lunch lady at school.

Fourth shot is after the procedure. It has been a long time since we have seen him all covered in blankets with oxygen. This look reminded us of 10+ years ago when he was in the neonatal intensive care unit. Not good memories to bring back.

Last shot is Josh on his way to the car.

Josh Update

2008-06-13T18:58:00.000-05:00

A quick update on Josh's surgery. All went well and we got home about 11 or so. He can put some weight on it, and walk with a limp for a bit before needing some help. Josh has to keep a brace on it for a couple of days. His stitches will need to stay in for a couple of weeks. I took some cell phone pictures of him before and after, however I have to find the adapter first.

Surgery for Josh

2008-06-09T20:59:00.000-05:00

Kim and I took Josh to visit with the surgeon today. As we expected, he also suggested that Josh have the bone spur removed. Josh is set for surgery this Friday. Procedure should take about 45 minutes, and it will take about two weeks to heal.

Magic Springs

2008-06-07T21:16:00.000-05:00

My company had a company picnic on Saturday. Our plan was to go and take my parents as well. Kim started hurting early in the morning, and she only got worse as the morning progressed. The kids and I had to go with out her. Thankfully Granny and Grandpa were there to help.

We had a great time, but were very tired at the end of the day. I have uploaded a bunch of the pictures I took to our photo site.

2008-06-06T12:03:00.000-05:00

Looks like Josh is going to need surgery on his leg to remove a bone growth that we found three years ago. Everything checked out fine three yeas ago, and the Dr today said it had grown, and will be getting in his way more, and so he should have it removed. We will know more on Monday, when we have an appointment with the specialist who would be doing the surgery.

2008-06-05T08:56:00.001-05:00

The puppies were very tired after working in the yard all day. This is their sleeping position most of the time. It is very sweet, as for the most part they must be touching while they sleep.

The kids used my camera and took some pictures in the back yard. At right is Pepper giving Josh the "What are you doing with that thing?" look for taking her picture while she was trying to take a quick nap.

On the right, Meagan nabbed this shot of Josh being goofy while helping Dad with the welded wire fence. Our goal is to have the yard puppy proof by Saturday.

The kids took some other shots as well. However... I will save you the shots of the puppy butt, and the ones of Kim and I working the hot sun.

2008-06-05T08:50:00.000-05:00

As you can see I finished up Max's memorial stone yesterday. I planted some bleeding hearts on each side and then placed some strips of welded wire around the stone, and covered them with mulch. After the concrete has had a while to dry out, I will come back and remove the stickers that I used for the year, and paint them in, along with the hand and paw prints.

2008-06-04T13:22:00.000-05:00

First an update on Kim: She is doing much better, the swelling has gone down a bunch, and it no longer looks like she has a sun burn. She however, still has a visible rash over most of her body.

Today was the last day of school for the kids, and Kim rewarded them by checking them out early and took them to the dentist. They are very excited about the summer, however Meagan starts basketball camp tomorrow.

We picked up a great game yesterday, Lego's version of the three Indiana Jones movies. We got it for the 360, but they have it for the Wii as well. Kim and I played it for several hours yesterday, enjoying the humor they added to the story lines. The kids got their chance to play it today, and they are enjoying just as much as they did the Lego version of the six Star Wars movies. We give it 4 thumbs up.

2008-06-03T10:47:00.001-05:00

Kim's test yesterday used a dye made with iodine. Kim informed the techs and nurse that she was allergic to iodine, but they informed her that topical iodine was different that iv. Last night Kim started breaking out in a rash. She called the Dr. and they told her to take benadryl, and come in if it is not better.

This morning Kim's face was swollen and the rash was worse, so I took her to the Dr. They gave her a steroid shot and a script for a strong antihistamine.

2008-06-02T21:25:00.000-05:00

It was a working weekend this weekend. I setup a new 70 foot runner for Pepper and Shadow, did the yard, worked on the pond, and replaced the porch light.

I also finished the headstone for Max, took his name plate off of his bed I had made him, and sealed it in an acrylic brick. I then set the brick in concrete. Pepper and Shadow wanted to help by digging, but they were strongly discouraged. I picked up some bleeding heart bulbs to plant on the side of the stone.

I took today off so I could take Kim to the hospital for a test. She had a follow up test for her collateral artery. The first doppler test was inconclusive, so they setup the contrast CT scan today. We should find out the results some time this week.

2008-05-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

Picked up the "Wii-Fit" last Monday, it has been powered up every day so far. This is just not an exercise tool, it is fun. The kids are loving it, hula hooping, ski jumping, downhill skiing, and a bunch of other activities.

We have found ourself trying to best each other in each game. However kids have an advantage with their lower center of gravity, being more agile, and of course being younger. I have found some muscles that I forgot I had. If you have a Wii, I would strongly suggest picking one of these up, it is great fun!

2008-05-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

On my way to lunch last week, I passed a local gas station and they had gas at 3.74, after lunch gas was 3.87. However a recent report from our government said prices are falling. (Source) In fact they show prices have fallen since 2004! I want to know where they buy their gas from!

Well... come to find out it is just as my high school physics teacher told me "Statistics is like a bikini... what it reveals is suggestive, but what it withholds is vital!" The more reports I see from the government, the more I see that this statement is spot on.

It looks like the government is "adjusting" the numbers. Here is a link to a article from an Institute of Energy Research economist who explains the adjusting and shows the real numbers, now do you trust them to say we are not in a rescission?

2008-05-26T21:48:00.000-05:00

Today we spent the day with my parents, Jason and his family. We took the new puppies and let them play outside with the kids. I took some pictures and have uploaded them on our photo site (link on the left)

2008-05-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

Kim and I were on our way to take the kids to see the new Indiana Jones movie today. But first we had to stop by Wal-Mart. Well in the parking lot was some one trying to find a good home for four puppies. They were shepherd Lab mixes, four brown and two black. Long story short we walked away with the two black ones.

So we have two new members of the family, Pepper and Shadow. Pepper is the smaller of the two (runt of the litter) and Shadow has a mix of brown and black fur. (Pepper on the left and shadow on the right)

2008-05-23T09:41:00.001-05:00

On a lighter note... check out this dance this guy does.

2008-05-22T07:41:00.000-05:00

It just at the end of supper when our neighbor called and wanted me to come out side... alone. She had a puppy she wanted me to see, that another neighbor had rescued. It was only 3-4 weeks old, and very cute. I went and got Kim and she suggested we let the kids decide. Hummm... ask kids if they want to keep a puppy... what do you think they would say?

Kim and the kids named her Mollie.

Being such a young puppy she required trips out side and to be fed every two hours. Kim decided on her 3:30 AM trip that this young of a puppy was not for us. The kids this morning seemed a little unhappy... but they understood how much work such a young puppy was, and that were just not ready. They also liked the idea of taking our time and getting a dog that the family chooses, when we all are ready.

2008-05-21T09:54:00.000-05:00

Kim down with a migraine so I took the kids to school this morning. We talked a bit this morning about Max. We all kind of wondered when we would stop glancing in Max's usual spots expecting to see him, and only getting the depressed reminder that he is gone. The kids mentioned that they went to feed him this morning, and how something that they was a chore in the past would have been so nice to do this morning.

We talked about how like a cut, it will hurt a little less each day, until we have healed over, and start to remember him and not our loss.

We were almost to school when Meagan chimed in "Oh yea I have a spelling test today."