Yeah, Yeah, Yeah...

I'm LOVING Spring! Although I really can't wait for 80+ degree weather all the time, I hate being cold, which = anything below 70... :) In other news... The puppies are getting big and starting to run around and play, too cute!

Taylor with one of the puppies...

Cute!

They are cute, but I think Carolyn has 3 or 4 of them sold now, they get their final shots Saturday, then off to their new homes... Of course I suppose it won't be long until Brianna has a litter... :( The kids are counting the $$ though and trying to decide what they want to get...

Cylee... Zac's baby, Carolyn watches her sometimes when he helps me work on the pool house. She is adorable!

When you have a leak that is difficult, Shark Bite fittings are the ONLY way to go! They are about 5 times more expensive than normal fittings, but they just slide on and do not leak!

Just putting the final touches on the pool house, now that the water is on and I know there are now no leaks, it's time to button that nightmare project up and be done with it!! Hopefully I get my Bobcat back today or tomorrow so I can start working on getting the yard graded and grass sown, what a great day that will be when I can walk outside and not have anything to do but lay by the pool!!!

Wow...

That's a lot of posting in just a few short days... :) I need to anyway, I've been such a slacker lately, and it is a journal of sorts...

No, I'm NOT a mechanic!! I try though, I can manage if I have the manual, but alas, I don't have any dirt bike manuals... Turns out Tanner's dirt bike is a 2 stroke rather than a 4 stroke, who knew?? So yeah, no oil, because who would think to look under the effing seat for the 2 stroke oil tank?? Yeah, the engine is shot now, but one of our neighbors fixes stuff like that out of his garage, so that's where Tanner's bike is currently...

Tanner, Chance and Nate with their bikes. Tanner is now anxiously awaiting for his to get the engine rebuilt, should be about a week the kid said...

Taylor went with another one of the neighbors to a birthday party for one of her friends and painted this picture at the party. Looks great I think, she now has it hanging on her wall...

Other news?? Yeah, I now have the bathrooms back in commission, wow! Not exactly what I had planned for the weekend, but what can you do?

With any luck I'll get my Bobcat back from the hydraulic shop tomorrow... You thought I had that pos fixed?? Yeah, so did I... :( Sadly, when I THOUGHT I had it running the other day, turns out there is another effing leak, so I finally got tired of messing with it and just hauled it down to the hydraulic shop...

Spring!

I LOVE it!! Unlike most people I suppose, I would rather it be 80 - 100 and humid than for it to be 65 or below... I'm sure the handful of people who actually look at my blog already know this though... :)

Another reason I love Spring is all the flowers and greenery... Flowers don't last long on azaleas or dogwoods, but it's nice the few weeks they do last.

If you reference the pic from my last post, yeah, that didn't quite work out, so I had to run all new wire for the phone/satellite/ethernet to the pool house, but tis done and the phone is hooked up, will test the internet and satellite today, should work though, as it is now a single wire going directly from the pool house to the house...

Luckily I haven't yet put concrete in that 'fire pit' area, because that was the perfect place to cut through with the new wire...

Other than that, same old thing here... The puppies are starting to walk around and eat/drink out of the 'big dog' bowls, now to just get rid of them in the next few weeks. The kids will try to sell them, if they have no luck, I will be giving them away, trust me!!

Then there was the 'water leak' in the downstairs bathroom that was coming from the upstairs bathroom, what an effing mess!! I had to rip out the ceiling in the downstairs bath and gut the upstairs bath... :( Oh well, they both needed a makeover, but I really didn't have the time to screw with it, but some things you have to make time for, such as water leaks... :)

Perhaps I'll actually take some pictures of the kids today to post later, don't wait up on it though... ;)

Well, I Actually AM Busy... ;)

I also haven't felt much like blogging once the day is done... :) I'm slowly crossing things off of my 'to do' list though, so I guess that is good!

Timberly, LeRoy and the boys stopped by on their way down to FL, but I only took about 4 pictures for some reason and this is the only one that actually turned out... I REALLY need to start taking more pictures!

Carolyn and the kids took the puppies to the vet for their first shots, they are getting bigger and starting to try to walk around, cute!

Puppies obviously... Yeah, I know that blanket is filthy... Carolyn buys blankets at garage sales for them, so they get a clean one every week... :)

One of the many things I've been up to, I ripped the phone/satellite/ethernet wires that go up to the pool house in two places last year when I was doing some digging, I have attempted to repair them, but too many connections now so I am going to have to run new wire, sigh. Always something...

Seems like I am always working on this effing pos! I broke one of the hoses the last time I was working on it, tried to get one at the Bobcat dealer for over a month, kept getting the run around, I finally went down to a nearby hydraulic shop and they made me one in about 15 minutes and it only cost $25... It required a "special" tool that I couldn't find anywhere, so my neighbor took a regular wrench and 'made' a crow foot wrench for me, which worked like a charm! So I finally have that damn thing running again, now to finally get my back yard graded and grass planted, Carolyn will be THRILLED when that day arrives! I will too for that matter... ;)

Yeah, other than that, I'm NOT working on that basement at the moment, waiting on the guys to finish the drywall and then paint, then I'll go over and do the finish work and it will be done! Winding down on the pool house as well, so with any luck THAT nightmare will also soon be complete! The kids were on Spring Break last week, although we didn't do much of anything, of course I was not off of work. The neighbor took them to a Braves game, they took the Marta down to Turner Field, had a blast! Taylor LOVES baseball, so I guess there may be some games in my future... ;) Yeah, I'll try to actually keep something up here, operative word being try... :)

Another Day...

Happy Valentine's Day Carolyn!

I Love You!

It's Snowing...

Oh well, luckily it's a long weekend!! I do still find it amazing though how many people here just freak out when it snows, having lived in places where there is snow on the ground, and lots of it, for months out of the year, yet nothing closes down. Here, an inch of snow and people buy all the food in the grocery store like we are going to be shut in for six effing months or something. This snow will be gone in a day or so... Idiots, there are a LOT of them, so not really too much you can do but just be amused by it all... :)

It just started snowing about an hour or so ago, supposedly we may get 3 - 4 inches...

Tanner made a snowman as soon as he got home from school, he is out there now making a snow "family", so who knows, I may just have another post later, particularly once Chance gets home from school and joins in on the snow fun... :)

Yeah, Whatever...

It's only been a few weeks, right? :) I'd say I've been busy, but I really haven't been... I WILL be glad when winter is over though!! Almost there, I love Spring and Summer, the rest, not so much. I do have a gazillion things that need to be done once Spring arrives, but I actually am looking forward to it. Time to wrap this backyard nightmare up once and for all! If I don't finish it this Spring/Summer, I may not... :)

I did go with Taylor on her field trip today to the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum

About to get started hunting for fossils...

Digging for fossils... Or rather, brushing away the fake sand while looking for 'planted' fossils... :)

The kids had a good time and I didn't take nearly enough pictures! I keep saying I am going to take more pictures this year, but it isn't really working out all that well. I took about 10 when Titus and Jackie were here, and pretty much none since then. :( Oh well, it's still early in the year, so hopefully the picture taking resumes...

Other than that, just the usual, family, life, work and projects... And of course there is always the 'basement' as well...

Grandma Woods ~ 1917 - 2010

I'd say rest in peace, but who would want to rest when you can praise God and sing with the angels? Which is exactly what Grandma is doing right now, as well as seeing Harley again after all these years! I know that everyone has fond memories of Grandma, she was great! She lived a long, full life though and is in a much better place now! Sadly, I am still missing many photos prior to the mid 90's, but I did manage to find a few...

Not sure when this was, early 90's I think, Grandma and I having our birthday party...

Ditto...

This was in 1989, Grandma did not think I could carry her, so I had to prove her wrong... :)

I do know that she was ready to go, and I know that we will all see her again one day. If God chooses to give me as many years here on this earth as he gave Grandma, I will consider myself lucky. I have however instructed my wife and children to have a party in lieu of a funeral for me, as it should be in my opinion. Yeah, I know her last name is not Woods now, but I will always remember her as Grandma Woods! Good memories, good times! Till we meet again!

Cold and Snowy...

Sigh. That's about all that is going on here, at least it waited until everyone that was visiting made it safely back home though, I cannot wait until Spring!

Yesterday around 3PM when it started snowing...

This morning around 8ish... Hopefully I'll be able to get out later...

Pool, the pool was getting about a quarter inch of solid ice on it until I removed the controls from the timer and now just have it running 24/7 to keep anything from freezing...


Cory's new apartment. He moved in a few days ago, of course all he had was a bedroom set, TV and stand, so we took him some dishes, microwave, and other essentials. Jessica's mom provided a table and chairs and Carolyn's sister is going to bring some furniture down from TN once the weather clears up a bit. First time being out on his own, always a milestone in life... :)

Other than that, I guess I need to get over and finish my neighbor's basement now that the holidays are over... Yes, I'm still working on it, although I've not been over there since a week or so before Christmas... At least it is inside, otherwise I wouldn't get back to that until Spring, I don't do cold unless absolutely necessary!

Huh?

So, here it is, my first post of 2010 and it's already the 4th??? Oh well, I don't do resolutions, what can I say. I do need to blog more often though as I plan to print it one day and give it to my kids... We'll see how that works out. :)

I don't even really have much to say actually, I plan on finishing my pool house this year (but I've said that now for two years, so we'll see if that happens) as well as getting my back yard graded and grass planted. There, I guess I actually DO make resolutions, those are mine... :)

Here are a few pics from the past week or so, I had a gazillion people in and out, but amazingly only picked up the camera twice, I REALLY need to work on that, sigh...

Titus, Joshua, Marci, Timberly, Terry and myself the day after Titus and Jackie arrived at our house coming back from Paris...

Uncle Titus with his neice and nephews (the ones that happened to be here), Titus loves his neices and nephews!

Adam and Andrea, not sure why I didn't take one of them with Gideon, but like I said, my picture taking has been severely lacking as of late...

Titus and Gideon, it was actually the first time Titus and I both met Gideon, he is a very beautiful boy!!

Relaxing after dinner last night...

I still can't believe I only took about 15 pictures the entire time everyone was here visiting... :( Perhaps I'll be better at taking pictures this year, I've taken very few this entire year it seems... Yeah, I need to work on that...

Lucky...

Yeah, I'm sure everyone who reads my blog saw this on FB, but whatever... :) Here's Lucky! Chance and Tanner each have a bearded dragon, they laid 18 eggs, I was going to get an incubator for them, didn't realize they cost as much as they did, so I made my own, following instructions of course... :) Anyway, only one made it to the end! So Chance and Tanner named it Lucky... I did buy them a real incubator for Christmas though...

He is loving life, checking out his new world. We were at Big Canoe when he hatched, so he was stuck in the home made incubator until we got back. He seems to like his new environment...

I don't normally like lizards, but he's kind of cute! :) The kids are ecstactic that one made it, I am too!!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone is having a nice relaxing day! The kids didn't even get up this AM until about 9:00?!? Once they did though, we had a great day with gifts, food and fun! Merry Christmas!

Scene before anyone got up...

Chance and Tanner... I do realize my camera takes shitty pictures... I did get a new one for Christmas, but obviously took these before I opened it up... :) So out of the hundred or so pictures I took today, these are about the only decent ones of the bunch...

Carolyn, I did take this one with my new camera, seems to be a little better than the other two I was using...

Taylor, one excited little girl!

Cory finally got here around 1:30, and we all had a wonderful dinner prepared by Carolyn! Now we are all just relaxing and Jessica will be over in a bit... Yes, I DO have new blinds for those doors, just need to install them... I only bought them about a year ago I guess... :)

Merry Christmas Eve...

Hope everyone has a great day today with food, family and fellowship! The kids are quite excited about tomorrow, of course I am as well... :) They are trying to talk me into letting them open a present tonight, sometimes I let them, sometimes I don't... Perhaps I'll have some pictures for you later... :)

Blue Christmas...

One of my favorite Christmas songs...

Visit...

Uncle Tom and Aunt Esther were down visiting with their son Terry and they stopped by today... It was a nice visit.

Yeah, this is the only picture we took. I was trying to remember the last time I saw Terry, and couldn't. I suppose I was in my teens...

Class Parties...

The kids love them, but I am GLAD they are over! I suppose they wouldn't be so bad if more parents would chip in, but having done this sort of thing for the past 8 years, I doubt that will ever happen...

This is basically what Carolyn and I did yesterday, go get all the stuff and then put it all together...

I actually had my camera in my pocket the whole time, but only took about three pictures for some reason... I really, really need to get a decent camera, which is the reason I hardly ever take pictures anymore, my camera takes shitty pictures... Yeah, Tanner at the party if you still haven't figured that out... :)

Now that the parties are over and the kids are on break until after the New Year, I suppose I need to do some things around here before everyone descends on the place... :) Oh yeah, and try and finish my neighbor's basement... Sigh.

Exciting Stuff!!

What a GREAT time of year! I'm sure everyone else is as excited as we are about the holidays!! In lieu of a more extensive post, I'll leave you with a picture of our Christmas tree... :) Perhaps a better post will be coming later this evening... :)

Sigh...

I am spreading myself WAY too thin for this time of year... Why I keep adding more things to do, I have NO idea! Yet I keep doing it. I have work of course, then there is the neighbor's basement which I'm not sure if it will ever get done. Christmas cards?? Haha! I suppose I'll try and get some out later this week... :) Now I've agreed to go service some servers at a Meineke, and not sure why... Not to mention the whole Room Dad thing that is taking place Friday, yeah, I'm not ready. Oh well, I thrive on it all, so I suppose it will all get done, who knows, not a whole lot of time for blogging though... :) I will try to put up some pics in the next few days... :) Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays, I'm trying to...

Yeah, Whatever... :)

I've got nothing to blog about... Well, I suppose I do, but I am too busy finishing my neighbor's basement and will be lucky to be done by Christmas... :( I literally spend every waking moment over there, and yeah, I STILL have stuff that needs to be done in my own home! Oh well...

In other news, there are only three bearded dragon eggs left, and still a few weeks until they 'should' hatch, so there may be none... Twenty days until Christmas and each day I have new "wishlists" on my desk... :) I do love this time of year, it's so fun, particularly when you have kids. Who knows, I may start having more entertaining things to blog about soon, until then...