Category: Family

Hey ya’ll!

Here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for:my first attempt at this posting business.

For those of you we haven’t talked to recently, our trip to South Carolina was great. We really enjoyed ourselves, and now we’re back. I’m taking a break from school for the summer, so I’m enjoying the time off.

Andrea has a job as the music and art specialist for grades 4-6 at Orem Elementary School. We went to visit the principal the other day, and she’s really excited. She has a lot of stuff to work with. Plus, all the teachers in her district get a laptop, so we have a 900 MHz iBook to use as long as she works in the district. So that’s really exciting as well.

In any case, here are some of the pictures from our trip, including pictures from Patriot’s Point, home of the WWII ships the Yorktown (an aircraft carrier), Clamagore (a submarine), Laffey (a destroyer) and Ingham (a Coast Guard cutter). And, pictures from the River Banks Zoo in Columbia, Folley Beach and downtown historic Charleston. And a couple of Andrea’s brother Matt and his family. Sorry about the large album sizes, for you dial-upers. But yeah.

Enjoy!

P.S. Thanks a ton Jer for helping me figure out the whole picture-posting business.

Here’s another post for your pre-weekend fun. Some more pictures of the kids/cousins/grandchildren.

About a month ago we finally got around to setting up the kid’s pool that they got from their cousins a while ago. We decided to put it at the beginning of our driveway, mainly because that’s where the sidewalk that comes from our back door ends and it would be easy for the kids to come in and out with their swim suites.

However, our driveway is gravel, sharp gravel. So the first thing we did was clear off the top layer of the sharp stuff. Ashlee even helped. Then we had to lay down a couple of small tarps on top of the cleared out spot (we didn’t want any remaining gravel to puncture the bottom of the pool). Then we put 4-5 bags of sand down on the tarps and spread it out and evened it up in a nice circular shape to fit the pool.

Then it was time for the water (which Nick helped with). And then the summer fun kicked in. Go check out the rest of the pictures in our Pool 2006 album.

What’s the deal with the last picture in the photo album you say? Well, the kids got to use the pool only two or three times. Then, one of those Michigan summer SEVERE thunderstorms hit. You know, the ones with large hail, winds over 60 mph, and “ideal” conditions for a tornado. Well that last picture is what was left of the pool after being pelted for about thirty minutes with 3/8 inch hail pellets. Now we’ve got to figure out what to do with the 4-5 bags of sand spread out under the pool. Maybe we’ll get some more sand and just dig ourselves a beach in the backyard.

PS – The bottom of that pool felt luxurious! I got in once with the kids and you could have taken a nap on the bottom it was so soft, except for all that water you would have been submerged in.

Since the tagline says ramblings from, allow me to ramble some…

As Becky and I were pondering our existence at McDonald’s, not our Earthly existence mind you, just how we ever got ourselves stuck actually having to eat at McDonald’s while our kids were having fun playing (can we say playland, which is the most evil invention ever and how do kids ever find out about playlands in the first place?). Now, on to the story, Becky was reminding me that Ashlee’s initials are A.R.F. Which, if pronounced altogether, sounds similar to a dog’s bark. Which is kind of ironic since her favorite activity to “untrain” Frankie is to run around on all fours barking like a dog so as to get Frankie to run after her barking annoyingly. Obviously, those staples in her head from last winter weren’t too much of a deterrent since that’s how she got hurt doing the very same thing with Stella.

Oh, and one last note about McDonald’s, it’s Pirates of the Caribbean month and we came home (eventually) with a couple of Pirates. AAARRRGGGHHH!

Ramble number two. Even though the actual NBA is becoming a little dry and bland (and that’s coming from a basketball/NBA fan), NBA Jam T.E. is still as fun as I remember it. Nick and I have picked up playing each other in some “friendly” competitions the past few days. Now I need a little help. See, I can block the occasional shot on those rare occasions when my defender is in the right place at the right time. But I can definitely admit that it’s mostly luck. However, everyone’s favorite little video-gamer has apparently found out the secret to blocking shots because he blocks mine EVERY SINGLE TIME I TRY TO DUNK ON HIM! Then he just laughs at me as he dribbles the ball to the upper corner and calmly sinks a three on me. Looks like I’ll have to resort to the Hack-a-Shaq technique to be able to hang unless one of you knows the “secret” to blocking shots. Oh, Chris, you should get this game for your Super NES. Just make sure it’s the Tournament Edition (hence the T.E.).

Well, I’ve done enough procrastinating of homework for one night. I can’t wait for the day I have no assignments or projects due or tests or quizzes coming up. Hey, wait a minute, didn’t I already reach that point once? Go figure. Anyways, I have plenty more posts with pictures and such coming up so visit often.

By popular demand, I’m finally getting to the story of Frankie. Some of you may remember Stella from last fall. Well, it turned out that she got too big for us. A lot larger than what the pound told us she would get. She was especially too big for Ashlee. So after a few months, we adopted her out to another family. As Michigan’s cold winter months set in, Becky was once again getting the “got to have a puppy” urge. Determined to get the perfect size pup with the perfect temperament for our family (not too docile, not too hyper, and small), Becky spent the winter months researching her perfect puppy.

Having ultimately decided on getting a mini-dachshund, when spring rolled around, Becky spent time on the phone and on the road tracking down our new family pet. So meet Frankie:

He was only 7 weeks old when he came to live with us and he was tiny. Tiny as in he makes Tazzie look like a large cat (Tazzie is very much on the smaller side of average for a 12 year old kitty). And he only took about a week before he stopped crying through the night (note to self, good set of ear plugs). He won’t get much bigger than about 8 pounds. He’s quite a hit with the general public too, as everywhere we take him, everyone wants to pick him up. It’s so bad that we have leave him home sometimes. And he’s the perfect size for Ashlee to play with (although she’s doing her best to undo all the training we’re trying to give him) and small enough that Nick is actually interested in him.

More pictures can be seen at The Frankinator’s first web album. So there you have it. The brief story of Frankie. Enjoy.

So, one of Nick’s top teeth in the front is loose, as in really loose. He’s been playing with it more and more this past week but it’s still hanging in there. We even tried to tie some dental floss around it and have him pull it out. But a little bit of blood later, that sucker was still in there. It’s only a matter of days (or hours, or even minutes).

The same tooth on the same side but on the bottom has also been loose. It doesn’t get as much attention however because the top one has been loose longer. At the kid’s first dentist visit a couple of week ago, the dentist told Nick that there was no root under either of his loose teeth and that they both should be coming out any day now. But tonight, as Nick was was brushing his teeth and after he spit, he asked me, “What is that? Is that my tooth?”

He picked the little object up and held it so I could see. Pinched between his finger and thumb was his tiny little bottom tooth that none of us were really even paying attention to. It had come right out on its own while Nick was brushing. He was pretty proud about it and very excited. He was telling me he could put his name up in his class at school where they keep track of everyone that’s lost a tooth, and he also was excited to tell his dentist. We shall see what the Tooth Fairy brings him tonight!