Out with the old in with the new

After the last 6 months we have been sitting up to a metal patio table to eat our meals. We have had plans to get a new table and we finally had an excuse to go to IKEA in Sacramento and got a new table and chairs. Here is a picture of the old and the new.

Assorted pics from vacation

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE DUSTIN

CHEESER





CINDERELLA




Robinhood and Little John

Fireman

We had a great trip to CA and back. It was short but sweet. Too bad we didn't get up to the ranch but we were all sick and not too excited about spending more time in the car. We did manage a trip to IKEA and Trader Joes. We got a new table which I will feature in the next post.

If you have some time a fun thing to do is to spend 15 hours in a sitting behind the wheel of a car. It is even more fun if you you choose to drive southeastern ID and northwestern NV. So basically the route was Boise to Stockton to Oakland and back to Stockton. With 2 previous nights of short sleep it was actually not that bad. It is also better considering that we are in a nice car and that we are not driving a wagon with a team of oxen.

Grandparent plague

It has been a consistent pattern. The grandparents come and everyone gets sick. We made it through the entire winter without a single cough or runny nose since the grandparents left last fall. As I predicted within a week of the grandparents arrival the noses started to run and the coughs started to bark and throats turned sore. It starts with the kids, then moves to the the grandpa and the dad and eventually to the grandma that has the cold until the next season we see them. So no more sickness is expected until later this summer when the granparents might return.

For those requesting pictures of the "No Roof Car"

I have posted a few pictures to the new blog "No Roof Car". I decided to document improvements and maintence etc on the blog so I can see how far we have gotten and where we have been. So far a few little things have been fixed and the 5 times over the car washx2, clean, polish, wax. There are many things to get it into the shape it should be but these things will take time and money. At least it is now able to legally ride on the road and it doesn't act like it will leave me stranded yet.

Back from blogging vacation

I am back froma blogging vacation. It is not as if I have been too busy working or due to lack of Bloggin ideas it is merely laziness and time spent doing other things. the grandparents are here and we try to get in a Settlers game each night. I finally lost tonight. We have done a couple of home projects and also some auto work. I will try to get some pictures up tomorrow.

I have also been losing weight which takes up a lot of my time. In the last year I have dropped around 20 lbs. So you are all dying to know the answer. For me it has amounted to portion control and watching what goes into the mouth. the less you eat eventually you get used to it and aren't as hungry. So now I am in the normal weight range and no longer over weight. I am guessing it has been about 13-14 yrs since I have been at this weight and I am still losing. Now if only I could get myself to exercise and gain some muscle mass I will be set. The weather is great so that excuse is gone. So for those of you keeping score at home I am at 191. Ten years ago at my fattest I was pushing 230. I was looking at my passport photo today and noticed my face was pretty chubby.

Ok enough of that. I will try to get some pictures up.

For those of you that are wondering we did get a "No roof car" and it has been pretty fun. It needs some working over and the projects have begun. I will get some pictures up tomorrow.
I am comtempating a blog regarding the car to help me document resoration and maintenace etc. I haven't thought of a perfect title for the blog but am thinking about "The no roof car" as this is what we refer to it in our house. I will keep you posted.

Howdy Pardner!

Spring has almost Sprung

This is the time of year when you think it should be spring. When we lived in MI it was hard to get to March and know that spring was really another month and a half away. Well, apart from having an easy winter it is exciting to see the bulbs poking up and buds swelling on the trees and a weather report that says 67 degrees by Sunday. And the good news is that I don't have to work this weekend. Anyway, the worst part of the MI winter was that it would not go away. There was usually a thaw this time of the year followed by a couple other winters before spring came. When spring did come it was wonderful.
The old grandparents are coming on Thursday afternoon for a few weeks. That will be fun as we have had no company since late summer except for a one night stay by the FIL sometime late fall. No one in the house has been sick this entire winter. That is a new record since kids have been with us. I am sure that when the grandparents come everyone will get sick as this has been the general pattern. Well, I think this post is dull enough for 2 or 3 of my usual posts. I will sign off for the night and remind our dear friends in MI that time cannot be stopped and spring will be there soon......only another month or two.

Confucius says: "Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

Figured I would start out with a quote....Not that it means much of anything in relation to the post but we met our son's Cardiologist today. Many of you know that when our son was a 20 week old fetus we found out that he had some interesting abnormalities. Not what you want to find out about your 20 week old fetus. Anyway, to make a long story shorter he has a number of abnormalities that are totally functional and the only thing he has to worry about is Endocarditis with dental or other invasive medical work that could cause infection. Given all the other scenarios this is pretty easy to live with. Our son will have a repeat cardiac echo in the next year to determine if he has a bicuspid or tricuspid heart valve.
The Cardiologist was a young personable man that went over everything with us and talked about what further plans might be. I already mentioned the need for my son to take prophylactic antibiotics but the other main concern of the doctor was not medical but financial. We hadn't even remotely thought about this. He said that people like our son can have a hard time getting life insurance if it is not spelled out in black and white that his condition is not really any great threat to his life expectancy. We had never even thought about that but interesting none the less. The other interesting thing we found out is that we found out that our Pediatrician (who we haven't even met yet) is the fairy God mother of the Cardiologists son. Small town, small world.