Grandparents...

Most kids have them, mine don't. My wife's mother died from cancer the year before I met her, and Alfred passed away earlier this year. So that leaves my kids without Grandparents... Why this post you might ask... Well, Taylor got on my lap a few minutes ago and asked me, "Why do Grandpa and Grandma hate us?" I didn't quite know what to say actually... I told her that of course they don't hate you honey, but it's complicated. Why is that? Why is it complicated? Of course my children are not aware of all that has gone on in the past year or so, so they have no clue. I'll clue them in later. I RARELY allow the events of the past year or so to bother me, until my six year old crawls up on my lap and asks me questions like that. How do you respond to such questions? I don't know... The fact is though, they DON'T have Grandparents, they do, but not ones that give a shit about them... Who knows, I suppose I'll figure some story out to tell them.. Suggestions???

Yeah! Another Fence Post...

Whatever, it's my blog and this is what I'm doing right now!! I suppose it's a diary of sorts as well, or at least a documentary of what I've been up to... :)

Coming around that corner was kind of complicated as it was a weird angle, and I had to cut a section of the fence to fit... Finally made it around the corner though...

Digging those holes in the front has been BRUTAL!! One of them took nearly an hour to dig the clay was so hard... I also think I may have bruises all up and down my left thigh where that auger kept banging into it when it hit something it didn't like!

Tanner and Bo!! Yeah, I know that wall is filthy!! I suppose I'll paint it in a few years, who knows! We've made the mistake of allowing the kids to 'hang out' in Cory's room and watch TV while snacking... Therefore the hand prints, etc on the wall... Not sure if Cory has noticed or not, but he rarely spends the night over here, once a month or so I suppose...

Time for dinner I think, then back to work... I had to stop until I got fuel! :)

Alrighty Then...

So yeah, I'm taking a break!! I thought for sure I'd have that damn fence up by now, of course I DON'T!!

Of course if I had not rented that auger, I'd probably still be on the first or second post hole! This Georgia clay is hard stuff!

It's going to look nice, I feel like jumping in the pool at times, but I know how cold the water is! The kids get in it all the time though, they do not seem to mind!

So, six panels up, and I have 27!! I am not sure I'll need all 27 though, but we'll see! I better get back to work! :)

Okay, I THOUGHT That Other Fence Was Hard...

So I started digging those post holes by hand... That wasn't working, so off I went to get a tool...

I rented the post hole digger, or one man auger if you want to call it what it is, and wow! I'm SO glad I did that...

Yeah, I only have SO many levels/clamps, so I had to improvise getting the gate posts up...

I got two sections up, and the posts for the gate that will go there... I kind of got sidetracked fixing Marci's computer because the 'genius' she took it to said it could not be fixed. I had it fixed in an hour or so, but would have had it fixed much quicker if I'd had my software with me... It AMAZES me the fools that call themselves IT people, yet they can't even do the simplest of things... Stunning really...

This Fence Is Killing Me...

Yeah, I thought this thing would be UP by now, it's not though!!!

That gate took me FAR longer than I thought!

I FINALLY reached the corner though, so hopefully the rest goes smoothly!! We'll see! I was wanting to get started on the black fence that goes around the pool, I may abandon this fence and start on the other... :)

Of course I toiled on, and nearly got it finished! Got too dark so you can't see the end progress... So tomorrow I'll start on getting the black aluminum fence up around the pool, I wonder how that will work out?? :)

Happy Birthday Tanner!!!

The birthday boy is nine years old!

A video game he just HAD to have...

Then there are the Webkinz... Something these kids could do all day, you buy the animals, then go online and feed them, house them, etc...

Of course I'm not done with that wainscoting yet!! Nor have I hung that closet door up yet in the boys room... All in good time! :)

Our Annual Fair Trip...

Off we went to the fair when I got home from work, today was ride all the rides you want for 18 bucks a person (which is a bargain considering the cost if you go when it's just normal prices), we took Sarah (our neighbor) with us and Nate and his mom met us at the fair. For some reason, we didn't take hardly any pictures this year, I suppose it was because normally either Carolyn or I are riding with either some or all of the kids, and the one who isn't riding takes pictures, but this time while one was riding the other was talking to Doris (Nate's mom)... Oh well, we took a few though, so here are a couple:

First ride we rode, it was rather tame considering some of the others, but the boys told me they needed to "work their way up" to those rides first... :)

Why I ever got on this, I don't know! For starters, once we got to the top the wind was blowing, there are no seatbelts, and the seat was slippery!! I had a death grip on Taylors leg thinking that she could just slide out and fall!! Doris and Nate were in front of me, and Doris turned to me when we got to the top and pretty much said the same thing, "What in the hell am I doing up here?" Then I look down at the car in front of them with Chance, Tanner and Sarah in it and I see Chance leaning forward, which was nerve wracking enough, so I hollered down to him to sit back... I was GLAD when it was over!

They always have to try the rope climb, but none of them ever make it to the top...

I was amazed that Taylor wanted to ride this one, but this year she rode all the rides the boys did with the exception of a few of the more extreme rides and she was not tall enough or she just might have... I suppose next year she will be tall enough for them all, we'll see if she rides them all then... :)

This was actually the only kiddie ride that Taylor rode, and I took her to ride that when the others were riding one where Taylor wasn't tall enough...

Everyone had a great time! I'm always glad when it's over, but I enjoy seeing the kids have such a great time!

Nice!

So I was putting the boys in bed and saw this! I don't mind lizards, believe it or not, but in the house?? I didn't move it though... :) So Chance now has two frogs in captivity in the garage and now a lizard in his room...

Why?

This project was supposed to be a two day affair, now it's on the fourth day?!?!?

I finally got that corner done though... Except for that piece next to the house, but I'll wait until I have the siding on before putting that up. I wonder when the siding will go up??

Getting one of the last braces up that the fence slats screw to. I think that is what took so long, I had to make 44 notches in those posts to hold the braces... I should have just screwed the 2x4's directly to the posts without notching, but I'm kind of anal like that, which is why the projects take longer than they should I suppose!! :) You know, I have the funkiest shaped head! The woman who cuts my hair says the only people she has seen with heads shaped like mine were dropped when they were babies! Seems like I do recall a story of Duane dropping me off of a dresser once when he was changing my diaper, I wonder if that's when it happened?? :) I suppose we'll never know...

Finally got the rest of the posts and braces ready for the fence slats, I won't get anything done tomorrow as it is that time of year and we will be taking the kids to the fair after they get out of school!! They are SO excited, but of course, so am I!! I wonder how much money we'll piss away tomorrow at the fair... :)

I WON'T Be Doing That Again...

So on the way to school today to drop the kids off, they all ganged up on me and asked if I'd bring them lunch... I'm a sucker for stuff like that, and my kids KNOW it!! So of course I said okay. Once we got to the school, I went and found out when all the lunch times were, ughh! It turns out they were spread over more than an hour, too late though, I had already said yes!

So I went to work thinking I needed to be at the school for Taylor at 11:22. I rushed to the school, stopping to get her lunch on the way, I got there at 11:21, and low and behold, Taylor was DONE eating lunch and they were dropping their trays off... She had the saddest look on her face, it nearly broke my heart! I went to her teachers room and told her I goofed and thought lunch STARTED at 11:22 not ended. So the teacher said I could sit with her. So I sat with her, but Taylor didn't want to eat much because, OBVIOUSLY, she had already eaten. So we decided to go out with her class for recess to the playground. We hung out there for a bit, I took a few pictures and then told Taylor that it was time for me to go get Tanner his lunch, which I verified started at 12:10...

So off I went to get Tanner's lunch. I got back with it about 12:05 and went to the lunchroom to meet Tanner. While I was in the lunchroom waiting for Tanner's class to arrive, I saw on the wall that Chances lunch started at 12:22... (Chance had told me 12:30) Hmm... I thought, that doesn't give me much time! Tanner's class was LATE getting to lunch, I finally saw them coming and went out in the hall and gave Tanner his lunch that I had brought, and told him that I had to RUN and get Chance his lunch, I'll be back!

I flew down the road to get Chance his lunch and those morons at McDonalds (I know they only make six bucks an hour, so I don't get too irritated with them, but wow!!) screw something up EVERY time I go there!! I finally got the food at 12:23! I had visions of Chance wondering where in the hell I was, luckily the school is a half mile from the McDonalds! I got to the school, rushed in and Chance was in line about to get the cafeteria food. So I gave him his food and he went to his table. I spent a few minutes with Chance and Tanner then told them I had to get back to work... So needless to say, I WON'T be doing that anymore!! The kids all enjoyed it though, but Taylor has told me that since she didn't really get her lunch on time, I owe her another one! She's right! I do! :)

Picture of Taylor on the playground at school...

Yeah, I did work on that fence some more as well. The problem with all these projects is I never think things will take as long as they do. I had to notch all those 4x4's so I could put the boards in that will hold the fence up... Took a LOT longer than I thought!

Finally got that side ready for the fence slats... Only got about three up though and then it started raining!! Oh well, there is always tomorrow... :)

NO, I Didn't Finish...

Okay, so I'm an optimist...

Putting concrete around the next to last post...

When I say "I'm going to do X", I always forget about all the little details that take time... Anyway, I have all the posts set around the pool equipment, and nearly have all the braces on, so it shouldn't take too much longer... I also have run the string where the pool fence will be, we'll see how that goes... I'm tired!!

I'm SO Tired Of Manual Labor...

Doesn't have anything to do with it, but I saw Tanner walking with Bo and took the pic... That dog follows Tanner everywhere he goes... The dog did fall into the pool earlier, got curious and slipped I suppose, or wanted to take a dip, who knows... :)

Just about have the posts up so I can fence around the pool equipment, I'm hoping to get that done today, just taking a break to eat... :)

The part I ABSOLUTELY hate!!! Digging post holes! They won't dig themselves though, so someone has to do it!

I had told Zach yesterday that if he wanted to come help today, to come on over. He didn't show up. I guess I wore him out yesterday! :) So toil on I do...

Okay, It's Not Progressing Quickly Enough, But Whatever...

So Zach did show up and brought a friend with him... They worked for about an hour or so I guess, then the friend had to go home, but he didn't have a ride. His mom said she would come get him if he gave her $10 for gas... Wow! He started acting like he thought I would take him home, so I clued him in real quick that wasn't going to happen! Do I have taxi stamped anywhere on me?? He finally got one of his friends to come get him and left, Zach and I kept working...

Putting down about 20 or so bags of manure and top soil to mix with the clay we have here so hopefully we can get some grass growing...

Oh, and Tanner got a dog!! That boy has been wanting a dog for so long, so he decided he wanted one for his birthday! Carolyn found this one somewhere, forget where, but it cost like $300 bucks! First time in my life I have ever spent that much on a pet! Then there are the accessories! Tanner loves it SO much though, it was worth it! They are in there as I type 'fixing' up the space for the dog, I think he named it Bo, but not 100% sure on that yet... :)

Ready for the fence! Moments after I took this photo it started pouring down rain, which is why I am blogging! I think it has stopped now though, so I better get back to it!

Busy Weekend Ahead...

Yeah, I'm getting tired just thinking about it! I've reached the point where I HAVE to get that damn fence up period! So today, we cleaned up the worksite and loaded everything in the trailer to take to the dump in the morning. Once that is done, I've got to move a LOT of earth, which is brutal manual labor, but it HAS to be done, so be it...

THAT'S what I have to work with! I have to level all that out so I can actually PUT the fence up, should be a blast! :)

Just got through loading the trailer with all the debris that has piled up during the whole building process, so we'll take that to the dump in the morning, then go get the rental tool, then get to work! We'll see how much I get done...

Volunteering...

If you have kids, do you volunteer to assist at any of the activities they participate in? I went to take the kids to school this morning, and the woman who is in charge of the 'Room Moms' asked if she could talk to me, of course I said yes. So anyway, no one signed up to be the 'Room Mom' for Chances class for the SECOND year in a row! So I'm Chance's Room Dad again! Not that I mind, but it's like pulling teeth to get anyone else to do anything, so I usually just end up doing it all myself without EVEN asking anyone else to help! I mean really, if the class needs snacks donated, am I going to start calling all the other parents to see if they will donate 30 snacks, then wait to see if they follow through?? Or am I going to go to the store and just buy the snacks and save myself the headache, yeah, I'll just go buy them, I'm out what? Ten bucks? So we'll see how it works out this year, but I'm sure it will be much the same as last year! So it will be Carolyn and I again for Chances class...

Remember my post about being the 'Dad's Committee Chair'? Yeah, that is working out GREAT!! We were supposed to assist with 'Movie night on the lawn' right, and even the Dad's who SIGNED up to help out never responded to me about assisting. Well, two of them finally did, but wow!! So that is going swimmingly!

Speaking of swimming:

Chance LOVES the pool! Even though the water is FREEZING if you ask me! I told them I would hook up the gas tomorrow, as I have not yet done that... :) I wonder how much my gas bill will go up??

That slope behind the pool is the project for this weekend and getting the pool fence up as well! Yeah, I still have those pink lines tied to the posts as my fence... :) So I'm going to rent a tiller, and do some "shaping" on that hill there and then use the extra dirt to fill in around the pool deck and then put up the fence around the pool equipment and then put up the fence around the pool! That's the plan anyway, we'll see how that works out... :)

Grammar...

It's stunning how so many people can't grasp such simple concepts...

Polls...

I've often wondered myself who the people are when you read things like: "57% of Americans think (insert something here)". Then you read that it has a +/-4 percent accuracy and they asked 100 people?? So out of 300 million people, the 100 nitwits who actually will stay on the phone when someone calls and asks, "This is so and so from XYZ Polling Inc, would you like to take a minute to answer a few questions?" Stunning really!

Entertainment Center...

I'm GLAD to see this project coming to a close, of course I have a dozen others I'd like to see the same thing happen on!! All in time! :)

Trying to figure out all the connections! I think I'm going to have one of my friends come over and hook it up, because I didn't do it right!

It is working though, Nate asked me, "Who is that old man singing?" I had my Jerry Lee Lewis DVD in... :)

Just minor details to get it finished, but the hard part is FINALLY over!! :)

Yeah, Yeah, Whatever...

So I decided to take a break from the pool house and finish the entertainment center (Yeah, I started THAT project on April 5th! But hey, in the time since I've torn down the back stairs, hauled all the trash to the dump, completed the flower bed in the back, had that little issue with the septic tank, did the front lawn, run gas, water, electrical and sewer lines from the pool house to the house AND built the pool house, so give me a break! :)

I had to move the thermostat, which is one of the reasons I 'stalled' on that project, not sure why though, because that task only took about 30 minutes... :) Carolyn is always like: "That only took x minutes???"

The outlets in that right side though took me about 2 hours though, I didn't have much to work with on wire length and they kept coming loose, but I FINALLY got it working and the unit is now in place finally!!! Maybe today I will actually GET the TV we bought about SEVEN months ago turned on and working!!! :) Who knows, I could possibly ACTUALLY get those ceiling fans up and the missing piece on the curtains up today as well!! Carolyn would probably be ecstatic if that happened!! We'll see! :)

Wow!!

So Chance asked me the other day what 'sexualism' was... Of course the first thing that went through my mind was, "Oh no, here it goes!"... I was thinking that I needed to go to the school and see what books were in the library, I needed to go get his book and see what he was talking about... Etc... I asked him, "What do you mean?". He replied, "Well, we are learning about that in social studies and I was wondering what it meant." I asked him what else they were learning and he told me. Then I asked him again about the sexualism and what they were learning about that, he told me they hadn't really started learning about it, but he was just wondering what it meant... I was about to explain it to him, then something happened, I forget what, and I didn't. Of course I told Carolyn about it, and today after they were done doing their homework, Carolyn brought me a piece of paper with the word 'sectionalism' written on it and said, "That is what he meant"... Whew!! How funny though! Maybe!! After looking at the definition of sectionalism, is this what we are teaching our kids?? Precisely the reason my kids will not go to public school after elementary school... I may have even done them a disservice by sending them to the government to be educated in elementary school...