Finally!!

Yeah, I know I've used that title before, but hey, I've had a few FINALLY moments lately!! :)

I got the trim on the bar, just have to stain it, I would have done it today, but it was kind of rainy off and on, so I didn't...

THIS is the exciting part, I'm getting all the outlets and switches installed, and that means drywall is NEXT!! Of course anyone who knows anything about building, once the drywall is done, you are near the end!! So hopefully within the next week or two, I will be ready for drywall!! I'll be SO glad when this is done!

I also have a new hero! I'm not sure who came up with this, but whoever did is my hero! Rather than the usual twist on connectors, you just connect all the electrical connections with these. No more trying to connect four or five wires in an incredibly tight space and HOPING it holds!! I'll NEVER use those other ones again! :)

Whew!

I'm tired, but what's new?? :)

Decided to clean out the pool house today, because it was taking me too much time to find the tools I needed. Half the stuff in there I no longer needed for the pool house, so cleaning day it was. Of course before I started that task, I cleaned the pool filters, WOW! That was a chore!!

Ready to get down to business tomorrow! :)

I FINALLY got that door working! I had originally gotten drawer slides from Home Depot, they didn't work! I finally used server rails, works like a charm!! Moves up and down like I intended it too!!

Also got all the rest of the dirt moved in the fire pit area... What a chore that was!! Luckily Zach came over and helped me! I think I'm ready for concrete in that area and the rest. So that's good! This has turned into the project from hell, but there is no quitting now... :)

Spring Fling 2008...

Whew! I'm SO glad that is over! What a chore! The kids ALWAYS have a blast though, so I suppose it's worth it all at the end of the day! :) I'd go on a rant here about how NO ONE volunteers to help out and I had to not only make the booth, but man it most of the night, but I'm sure everyone is well aware of my feelings on that topic... :)

Finished putting the final touches on the booth... I should have made that hole bigger I think because not many people could make it in the hole. The PTA always provides a sack of prizes to hand out, at first I started out just letting them kick it, then I told them they could kick it or throw it, and not long after that everyone got a prize for simply trying... :)

Chance, Nate and Tanner are just waiting with GREAT anticipation for the thing to actually get started! We got there about 3:45 to setup and it didn't start until 6:00. It finally started though, and I didn't see much of them all night!

Carolyn took Taylor around while I was tending to the soccer booth, she had a great time. This year they had a lot of rides as well as all the class booths.

Tanner and Lorenzo waited in line for nearly 45 minutes to ride the bungee jump ride. I think it was by far the most popular. Chance rode it to, I told him I did not see him riding it, he was like, "How could you not, our booth is right behind it." I was like, "Probably because I was chasing soccer balls most of the time." :)

Tanner on the bungee jump ride... It did look like fun!

I did find Chance on one of the breaks I got, he and his friends were riding this ride, not sure what it was called.

Not many pictures were taken this year for some reason. They had a lot more events though this year, not sure if anyone rode the horses or not, I think Chance said he did. Several of them won goldfish as well, I'm sure we'll be flushing them down the toilet in the next day or so... All in all, everyone had a great time. Me, I'm glad it's over and I'm back at home! The weekend is here, and I have a LOT to do, hopefully I get a lot accomplished, we'll see how that works out!

Bo and Blackie Meet...

That worked out well! :) I think when Bo went after Blackie there, Blackie swatted Bo... I wonder if they'll get along?? :)

That Time Of Year Again...

What time is that? The Spring Fling of course... :) Luckily I had a rather simple simple contraption to make this year! The concept is the kids have to kick a soccer ball through a hole... This is what I came up with...

Tanner helped me paint it...

Then the kids kept trying to make the ball through the hole...

I ended up making the hole bigger... :) Tis done though, I just have to put the signs on those boards at the top, which I just print out and glue on...

I'm Exhausted...

Okay, maybe not exhausted, but I'm tired... :) I started working on that damn pool house this morning about 10, and just quit not that long ago...

Canyon came over this afternoon and wasted NO time in jumping right in!

Soon all the other kids joined in. Of course the kids have swum off and on all day, they do it in short bursts it seems, then go take, as they say, "Hot baths". Not that I blame them, the water is freezing! Not really, but to me it is... :)

Aside from getting a lot of the trim on the back, I didn't take any pics, we also almost got the firepit area done. I rearranged it after this pic was taken because I didn't like the angles, but whatever... Still a lot of dirt to move out of there, but I'll be glad once it is done because I can then FINALLY get the rest of the fence up! LUCKILY the neighbor kid that has been helping me came over today, he did most of the hard work! :)

Finally!!!

I spent most of the day painting, and I HATE painting, but I'd rather do it myself, because I HATE drips even more than I hate painting... :)

The kids swam, although I still am not sure how. They actually swam several times today, but this pic was taken about 7:30 and the sun was going down and there was a breeze, NOT me! :)

Anyway, I FINALLY got the pool house sealed off from the elements, what, almost ten months to the day from when I started it. I started it on June 21st of last year. Of course it's mostly been sealed off except for that door above the bar. Which will slide up and down depending on whether the bar is open or closed... :)

New Addition...

I'd say I've been busy, but whatever... I suppose I have been, but how long does it take to blog?? Yeah, exactly! Anyway... We have a new addition to the Goodling family here... My wife's sister came down today from Knoxville and brought us Blackie...

Chance and Blackie

I didn't really want it, but apparently I was outvoted. The cat is here and Mike and Linda are gone. The cat does seem nice enough though. She likes to hang out under my desk, but it doesn't really bother me. I guess I'll survive so long as the cat doesn't go to the bathroom in the house... :) The kids LOVE her btw... They were trying to come up with a new name for her, but I finally told them, "What if I changed your name right now?" They decided to stay with Blackie... So Blackie is officially a new member of our household... :)

Update! Blackie has decided this shall be her perch... For now at least... :)

Picture Scam...

Umm... I mean this years school pictures... Use to be, they would send a proof, this year they sent all the pictures... Once I GOT them, Chance had already given one of the 'Family Pack' ones to one of his friends, which essentially is the sheet that has the pictures on the plastic that you can tear out and put on your key chain, use as a bookmark, etc... So I basically already had to buy that sheet I suppose... Not that we don't always buy them, but damn... Of course they say that it is a $60.00 value to buy all five sheets, but you can have them for $45.00... Huh?? Isn't this 2008? Where I can print professional prints from my PC for pennies?? I wonder how long this scam will go on? Anyway, here they are:

Chance

Tanner

Taylor

Another Day Goes By...

Yeah, I spent half the day cutting trim and painting...

Painting is a chore I absolutely DETEST!!! Has to be done though...

Slowly but surely... I'm sure I'll get it done one day...

As promised Petra, a pic of Chance and Tanner, not that you can really see their haircuts, but hey, at least I took the pic... :)

They Don't Get It!!

So Carolyn had taken the kids to get haircuts, and I was hungry... I had to run down to the store, so decided to stop at McDonalds to get something to eat. I ordered, then paid, then pulled up to the window to get my food. The girl told me, "Can you please pull up?". "Why?", I asked. There was no one behind me I might add. "Because the food isn't ready yet." she said. "I'll take my money back then", I replied. A blank look came over her face, she told someone, "He wants his money back". The window shut, I sat there. A minute later, she opened the window with my food. "Do you still want the food?", she asked. "Yeah, if it's ready", I replied. Off I went... I didn't even WANT McDonalds food, but pull forward??? I WON'T do it. I used to just refuse to do it, but I read a story about someone who got arrested for that, so now I just tell them I want my money back... :) If I wanted to wait, I'd go home and microwave something...

Yeah, I DID take the kids to Sparkles this morning. I took a lot of pictures, but for some reason this is the only one that actually turned out. Perhaps I need to read the manual for my camera... Yeah, I'll get around to that SOON!! The good news is I got to page 353 in the book I'm reading... :)

After we got back from Sparkles, Carolyn took the kids to get haircuts and to get a new tire for the van. I was actually about to drag out the parka and the kids came and asked me if they could swim. I was like, "Isn't it cold?" "No, we think it's warm" they replied. Whatever, if you don't think it's cold, swim! They did... :)

I was FREEZING watching them, but they did not seem to mind...

I spent the rest of the day trying to get that trim up... Finally got it though... Wow!

So I suppose I'll leave you with a photo a day from now on when I work on the pool house, see if you can spot the difference from the day before... :)

On It Goes...

Yeah, I never did get around to taking the kids skating, but they have been hounding me so much that we are going first thing in the morning so I can get back and continue working on the pool house... I'm getting so close to the end, I don't want to stop... :)

I spent half the morning and part of the afternoon getting the trim cut to go around that opening... Of course if I wasn't so anal about making everything fit perfect and just using caulk, perhaps it wouldn't have taken so long... I was about to prime and slap the trim up, then realized, wait Matt, you have to stain the bar first, it will be hell trying to do it once the trim is up...

So I then spent several hours finishing the bar, then sanding it and finally staining it, so that chore is done... Perhaps once I get back from skating in the AM I will get a LOT of the trim up... I'm hoping anyway... :)

Directions, huh???

So yeah, I didn't read the directions on how to install that siding... Day before yesterday, I noticed it all buckling in the back and on the side. I went back and read the directions, and oh, I was supposed to leave a 3/16" of a gap between the panels and a 1/16" gap between the nail and the panel... Yeah, I didn't do that. So I have spent the past two days tearing if off and redoing it. Ugh!! Tis done now though, and all per the directions!! :)

Also, I did not have the corner pieces that came with the siding, so I had to make my own. I spent a good part of the day doing that and painting them...

I got some of the trim up, after making it and painting it. Going to look nice I think!

I also got that fence around the pool equipment done... I'd probably be MUCH further along if I had not had to rip off all the siding and redo it, but whatever... :)

Brrrr!!

I'm not sure how they do it, but they do... Swim that is! I think the water is absolutely FREEZING!!

Chance and Nate were the first two in...

Then Taylor jumped in, Tanner is still deciding...

Tanner finally worked up the nerve to jump in...

They didn't swim for long though... :)

There's Just So Much To It...

Of course, having been in the construction industry for years, you would think I would have realized that... :) I never had to do all aspects of it myself though... It seems like the closer I get to the "end", the more there is to do!

Just simple things, like putting the metal on the bottom to adhere the stone to, takes what seems like forever. Have to cut it, then nail it up, then go around corners etc, all the while trying not to cut yourself while doing it...

I did make a MAJOR mistake, and I did not put the copper tubing for the water in before I put the roofing on, so I just lifted up the shingles, drilled a hole and shoved it in... Of course it took a bit longer than it sounds.

Now the fun begins, soldering ALL of the various water connections... Which I suppose is what I'll be doing for the next few days, who knows... I'll just be glad when this is done, because I've BEEN over this for a few minutes now... :)

Whew!

Yeah, I've been working on that damn pool house! I sometimes wonder what life will be like when I'm NOT working on something... Hmmm... Perhaps we will soon see!

I've got all the siding on now except for that bit by the door on the right, and the only reason I didn't get it on is because I need another section of J-Channel... Tomorrow I suppose...

Finally made it around the back, what a nightmare it was, but whatever, it's done now. I also finished the soffits today as well...

So yeah, who knows, I just may get this thing done soon! LOL!! It has turned out rather well I must say, but I'm OVER working on it, but can't quit until it is complete!! I'm going all out on it this week, we'll see how much gets done! :)

Fifth Grade Field Trip...

Today was the fifth grade field trip to Chattanooga. As Room Dad, I had little choice but to volunteer to be a chaperone. We had to be at the school this morning at 6:30, so I set my alarm for 5:00, but for some reason woke up at 4:37 and just got up fearing I would not wake back up if I went back to sleep... I of course went and made coffee as I normally do in the AM, heating up what was left from yesterday first because I MUST have coffee immediately upon waking, particulary at that hour... Checked online, e-mail, logged into my office, etc, then went and woke Chance up and off we went...

First stop was Ruby Falls. The three kids standing, Ryan, Chance and Brandon were my responsibility for the entire day. They took about ten parents per class, each parent had to make sure each of the kids they were responsible for were within "grabbing distance" the entire time. We had a good time at Ruby Falls, I'd been before, but it has been ten or fifteen years...

Next stop was the Chattanooga Riverboat Pier 2 where we had lunch. The lunch was tolerable I suppose. We were to go on a Riverboat cruise next, but the plans changed and off we went to the Chattanooga Aquarium...

The kids LOVED the Aquarium. I think Chance was one of the few kids who could get a butterfly to land on his hand. I managed to do it once and tried to show the kids how to get them to land on them, but then it was off to the next exhibit...

Chance LOVED the Aquarium. He took about four times as many pictures as I did, so perhaps he will post some on his blog... :) Yes, I realize he NEEDS a haircut!!

Last event was a ride on the Southern Belle... Of course by this time I'm OVER it! I think the reason I was though is because I wasn't able to smoke all day, I did sneak a cig in behind the bus twice as the kids were loading, but that was it. Just as well I suppose, but I wasn't happy! :)

LUCKILY I took a book with me! We rode on those charter buses, and of course the kids all brought their iPods, Nintendo DS devices and their PSP's... Plus they played a movie on the bus. I was immediately absorbed in a book I have wanted to start for some time: Ken Follett, World Without End. What a writer! I'm so into it now I feel like picking it back up right now! I won't though, because if I do, I'll read it all night and two nights in a row with little sleep I don't need! So a good time was had by all, and now it's time for me to go get some zzzz's... :)