All is right in the world again.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Get With It!
I am talking about Man - Poodle Puppy love.
He just keeps growing and growing. They estimate 60-70 pounds by the time he is done.
Crack for Kids
Last Christmas Zeke asked for a Webkinz. Lisa and I were excited because it seemed like a nice gift and it was CHEAP!! So here we are only 4 months later and they are up to 19 of them. Luckily Gunnar is too old for them.
That said the kids love them.
A Death in the Family
Our beloved Washer kicked the bucket this week. The repair bill was going to be $450 so we just decided to get a new one.
We originally went to The Home Depot, but they said we would have to wait two weeks for delivery. 
TWO WEEKS!!
We have five kids. So we went to the local appliance store and it should be here this afternoon
We originally went to The Home Depot, but they said we would have to wait two weeks for delivery. 
TWO WEEKS!!
We have five kids. So we went to the local appliance store and it should be here this afternoon
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Random Funny Images
What some people think
Randy's college motto
My desk at work - NO BREAKS!
My great friend from my youth who emigrated to Australia and had a pack of kids (he makes my mere five look puny). Of course you can see he is giving his best sexy pose so why wouldn't he be having kids non-stop.
Randy's college motto
My desk at work - NO BREAKS!
My great friend from my youth who emigrated to Australia and had a pack of kids (he makes my mere five look puny). Of course you can see he is giving his best sexy pose so why wouldn't he be having kids non-stop.
Great Quotes
Lisa was having one of her inspiring one on ones with the youth when she related a teenage indiscretion. Upon hearing this the youth responded
"You will never be a Bishop's wife."
All these years I assumed that calling would never come my way because of me. Now we know it is really Lisa that is holding me back.
"You will never be a Bishop's wife."
All these years I assumed that calling would never come my way because of me. Now we know it is really Lisa that is holding me back.
FWIW
I actually watched American Idol for the second time the other day; and I cannot believe they voted Carly out. There must be some bad fan history built up over the season that I am not aware of because she was fantastic. That is especially true when you see who was left in.
This dude was absolutely terrible and he wasn't even in the bottom. That is the problem with the show. Too often it becomes a popularity contest instead of a talent contest.
Of course they have seen this before:
But it took me awhile to finally figure out who this Castro dude reminded me of; then it hit me.
This dude was absolutely terrible and he wasn't even in the bottom. That is the problem with the show. Too often it becomes a popularity contest instead of a talent contest.
Of course they have seen this before:
But it took me awhile to finally figure out who this Castro dude reminded me of; then it hit me.
Cost of Living
Here are some awesome images of my truck!
Not so awesome though was the gas station today. The cost of the fill-up was $80. It will be so nice when school lets out for the summer and I can start riding my bike to work again. I worked it out and everyday I ride to work I am saving almost $3.
Though this isn't exactly my bike as I bought a frame and had a great Minnesota bike guy/dealer build it up.
Not so awesome though was the gas station today. The cost of the fill-up was $80. It will be so nice when school lets out for the summer and I can start riding my bike to work again. I worked it out and everyday I ride to work I am saving almost $3.
Though this isn't exactly my bike as I bought a frame and had a great Minnesota bike guy/dealer build it up.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Not that there is anything wrong with it.
Eric and Parker enjoying a little Man Poodle Puppy love. Parker is almost three times bigger than when we got him
Things I Wish I Had Done While On Vacation
Not the original source of the photograph, but it is where I found it; a really great web-site.
Our New Young Man
Qatar turned twelve last week and we had a nice party with all the family. It would have been nice if we had taken pictures, really nice. Anyways it was fun and we decided spur of the moment to set him apart as a Deacon (we cleared it with the Bishop) so he could attend the Temple that Saturday. Since it was last minute it was a casual dress affair, so Qatar can always know that his Uncle Eric participated while wearing a T-shirt that pictured a fire extinguisher and said "I put Out". That will make a funny story in conference one day.
He did have a party for some of his friends the next day. They spent the night and stayed awake way too late. So late Lisa has decided no one is ever having a sleep over again. So sorry guys, my 39th party is going to be kind of lame this summer.
Here is Qatar and his friends.
He did have a party for some of his friends the next day. They spent the night and stayed awake way too late. So late Lisa has decided no one is ever having a sleep over again. So sorry guys, my 39th party is going to be kind of lame this summer.
Here is Qatar and his friends.
The Indiana Jones part of Remodeling
It seems people were always putting little things on top of the ceiling lathe prior to it being sealed up. If your house is old enough you can occasionally find some really neat things up there. Now I did find some tree rat tunnels full of their nuts, if you know what I mean. But other than that I did have two nice finds . First we have the 1916 catalog of new records being offered by Victor. The average record cost in 1916 was 75 cents to $1.25. 
Of minor interest was the photographs of some of the artists within the front cover. My camera cannot focus on the names, but in the bottom right is Efrem Zimbalist. In the top right is his wife Alma Gluck. Now they went on to produce Efrem Zimbalist Jr. the actor. He of course went on to bring us Laura Holt, the real brains behind Remington Steele.
I also found a magnifying glass. I remember we had one of these at my house as a kid. So interesting but not very rare.
Of minor interest was the photographs of some of the artists within the front cover. My camera cannot focus on the names, but in the bottom right is Efrem Zimbalist. In the top right is his wife Alma Gluck. Now they went on to produce Efrem Zimbalist Jr. the actor. He of course went on to bring us Laura Holt, the real brains behind Remington Steele.
I also found a magnifying glass. I remember we had one of these at my house as a kid. So interesting but not very rare.
Remodeling - The Dirty Part
Last Friday we tore down the lathe portion of our walls. That is actually pretty easy. Unfortunately many years ago in our house they had insulation blown in the walls and ceilings. So when you pull down the ceiling all the dust and insulation comes with it. Anyways, here is a before shot of the door and closet...
And here is the after. As you can see we removed the entire closet structure and reclaimed several feet of the hallway. The latter had a drop ceiling which contained the duct work for the air conditioning. We are going with a more industrial look for the room so the exposed duct system will actually help us.
Even with the great help from Shawn, Steve, and Eric; it still took about 4 hours and 19 full trash can loads to get all the insulation out. Here is a shot of me before:
And here is after. Even with the nice dust mask (i.e. not the cheap ones) I was still blowing black snot for the rest of the day. Nice image.
And here is the after. As you can see we removed the entire closet structure and reclaimed several feet of the hallway. The latter had a drop ceiling which contained the duct work for the air conditioning. We are going with a more industrial look for the room so the exposed duct system will actually help us.
Even with the great help from Shawn, Steve, and Eric; it still took about 4 hours and 19 full trash can loads to get all the insulation out. Here is a shot of me before:
And here is after. Even with the nice dust mask (i.e. not the cheap ones) I was still blowing black snot for the rest of the day. Nice image.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Reviewer is a Liar
Some reviewer stated this movie was hilarious. Now given it starred Molly Shannon, had dogs, and was from the writer of School of Rock; you might of thought he was right and ordered it from Netflix. Guess what? Not so funny. Give Year of the Dog a miss unless you are really into that PETA thing.
The one message I can agree with is to get your pets from a shelter or pound if you are going to get one. Oprah did a nice show the other day on the horrendous problem of strays in this country, and the last thing we need is more breeders and puppy mills.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Lisa Funnies - or Post 100
Water Park
Every year we like to head over to Wisconsin Dells for a little winter water park fun. In case you are not familiar Wisconsin Dells is a water park themed city with both extremely large indoor and outdoor parks. We obviously went with the former.
Trying to get the classic "I'm peeing in the pool pose" but JT got too close to the stream.
JT at the kid park. The "jet ski" had a trigger that shoots a jet of water.
Rick and Amanda heading for the wave pool. Except for the few times he went on the Tornado, Rick lived in the wave pool for three days straight.
Rick and Qatar in the wave pool sans waves. They came on a regular schedule and lasted 5 minutes.
Amanda and I think Cenny.
Nice photo of the tree fort dumping its 5000 gallon bucket of water (every 5 minutes). This is a professional photo as ours did not turn out as well. The water comes down with enough force to rip your swim trunks off - just ask Zeke or Qatar.
Another pro shot of the wave pool.
The outside of the Tornado. Four person tube that shoots in from the left and swings all the way up to the right, and then back up the left. So on and so forth until you drain out the bottom. Lisa loves it but it just gives me a headache.
Qatar balancing on the log in yet another pool.
Gunnar climbing out of the wave pool while his friend Sexy Rexy looks on.
More photos later if I can find them. They have over a dozen slides, two hot tubs, lazy river, and several other pools as well. Great fun but three days is enough. Next year we will be moving up to the more aggressive Kalihari.
Trying to get the classic "I'm peeing in the pool pose" but JT got too close to the stream.
JT at the kid park. The "jet ski" had a trigger that shoots a jet of water.
Rick and Amanda heading for the wave pool. Except for the few times he went on the Tornado, Rick lived in the wave pool for three days straight.
Rick and Qatar in the wave pool sans waves. They came on a regular schedule and lasted 5 minutes.
Amanda and I think Cenny.
Nice photo of the tree fort dumping its 5000 gallon bucket of water (every 5 minutes). This is a professional photo as ours did not turn out as well. The water comes down with enough force to rip your swim trunks off - just ask Zeke or Qatar.
Another pro shot of the wave pool.
The outside of the Tornado. Four person tube that shoots in from the left and swings all the way up to the right, and then back up the left. So on and so forth until you drain out the bottom. Lisa loves it but it just gives me a headache.
Qatar balancing on the log in yet another pool.
Gunnar climbing out of the wave pool while his friend Sexy Rexy looks on.
More photos later if I can find them. They have over a dozen slides, two hot tubs, lazy river, and several other pools as well. Great fun but three days is enough. Next year we will be moving up to the more aggressive Kalihari.
Deplastering
Her are some photo's after we removed the plaster, approximately 2500#'s of it.
Window area again.
Old covered up doorway that went to the attic stairs,
Looking from outside the room through the old hallway linen closet into the built-in closet. We will be eliminating the linen closet and bringing the bedroom door flush with the hallway.
Window area again.
Old covered up doorway that went to the attic stairs,
Looking from outside the room through the old hallway linen closet into the built-in closet. We will be eliminating the linen closet and bringing the bedroom door flush with the hallway.
Just Casual
After next week my company has decided to go business casual all year round. I am so glad I waited to buy the two suits I was on schedule for.
We can finally ditch the ties!!
We can finally ditch the ties!!
Remodel
We began working on what will be Gunnar's room. At least it will be the oldest boy's room so they can be by them self while the others live together in the attic rooms. This is the room that JT has been in and before that it was Amanda's room while she was at home. I took some pictures somewhat at the beginning of the process. I am removing all the wood trim (i.e. doors, window frames, baseboards, etc). I filled the back of my pick-up twice hauling it all.
Looking in from door at opposite corner.
The built in closet next to the door.
The door and closet.
Looking in from door at opposite corner.
The built in closet next to the door.
The door and closet.
JT About Town
JT made it into one of the local papers by watching the cars crash at the end of the Pinewood Derby track. If you look closely you can also see Grandma and Abbie in the background.
Conversations:
I was upstairs working on the remodel when JT runs up and gets my attention.
JT: Dad, I love you.
Me: Why thank you JT. That is very nice.
JT: Can I play Xbox now?
I am beginning to doubt his sincerity.
Conversations:
I was upstairs working on the remodel when JT runs up and gets my attention.
JT: Dad, I love you.
Me: Why thank you JT. That is very nice.
JT: Can I play Xbox now?
I am beginning to doubt his sincerity.
Hamish Macbeth
I did manage to find a winner among all the B books I read. The Hamish Macbeth series by MC Beaton was great. I managed to read all 24 books within three weeks. They all involve an unambitious, but rather clever policeman in the little Northern Scottish coastal village of Lochdubh. Sometimes it seemed a little Jessica Fletcher as an inordinate amount of people are getting killed in such a small town. But if you overlook that small detail they are quite fun books.
It was also made into a TV show BBC Scotland starring Robert Carlyle. The show loosely follows the books.
It was also made into a TV show BBC Scotland starring Robert Carlyle. The show loosely follows the books.
AWOL
Between sickness, vacation, and remodeling I have not had the time to keep up. One day becomes two, and so on and so forth.
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