Wrenching & Screwed

I have to get the belt and air filters changed on my scooter before WKRP rally. Unfortunately this has turned from a 2 hour job into a week long job. My friend Jeremy and I started working on the scooter at 4pm on Saturday and made very little progress. We did get the new fender on, and ran the wire for the GPS, but every bolt and machine screw was frozen in place for the filters and belt. The phillips heads were getting gouged out pretty quickly. My friend Vince sent me a text message to ask how it was going and I told him it was not. He came over to help, even running to Sears to get a set of Easy-outs which helped get another screw or bolt off. Every one will have to be replaced anyway... Sunday, Jeremy and I ended up getting a few more off using a drill with phillips head atttachment. We did manage to get the right side air box off, only to find that they had sent me the wrong part. At least when I do get the correct part it may be much easier to get the screws off...we are replacing them all with stainless steel. Between Jeremy and myself we have buggered up the heads of all the screws & bolts that have to come out. One has the entire head sheered off. All the phillips heads are rounded out at least somewhat and will have to be replaced. We finally got one of the major bolts out to find it is a specialized bolt with a rubber flange thing. This has quickly become a nightmare. I have less than two weeks before the rally. Jeremy thinks it will be fine, just take more time. Right now my bike is in peices over at his place and cannot be ridden. We had to stop working about 4pm Sunday due to rain and I had to clean up and be ready to get the kids at 730. I am really hoping the penetrating lubricant we got at Autozone will help. Everything else hasn't so far...

Faster than a speeding bullet!

Its superLogan!

Logan at Tumbleweed

He's goofing around trying to tickle me and Kat...silly boy!

My friend Jim Legans

There's a guy who I've know for several years now.  Well, I say "known" but I have never met him.  We have emailed and chatted back and forth, and even talked on the phone.  We are what some would call "gamers", and we have played the same ongoing game together on the 'net since 2006.  He was on a bit of a journey around the United States, and was able to drop in and meet me.  He came to my apartment and visted with the kids, Splott(who he referred to as Cujo), and I.  He did not have a lot of time and had a schedule to keep, but we were able to keep him in Louisville for a couple hours by having lunch at Indi's Chicken.  I really wanted to take him somewhere to get a Hot Brown (which is a Louisville Original dish) but The Brown Hotel I believe requires reservations, and the only other place I know for certain has one is Tommy Lancaster's over in New Albany...hardly appropriate (and closed on Sunday).

 

It was very good to shake the hand of a man who I have known for this many years and enjoyed a friendship with through gaming.  Although Jim is not short, he has such a grand personality that I expected him to be taller and bigger than me.  Still, he is my friend and I am not at all disappointed to have finally met him.  Safe travels, and a welcome return home, Jim!

Kathy and Grandma Sue

Kat and her mom came out to cheer Logan on at the Pinewood Derby.    The kids really gets along well with them.  Kat and I play games, watch movies, and have lots of fun in general with the kids.  Kathy's mom has got them doing scrapbooks and they really love it.  They each have their own scrapbooks and just did "Ms. Paula" and scouting pages.  Next I think they want to do pages with Splott.  I wish I could do it, but I would have to have a huge book for every subject.  I can't choose well and want to include everything.

One-hundred ninety-four MPH

They timed the cars at the Pinewood derby. Logan's dog car ran at over 194mph! Winners were clocked at 200+!

The 4th Kind...creepy

Logan and I watched this last night. (Lexie was playing on Foo Pets which she will soon be banned from if she doesnt quit getting on so much). It was a movie that was a dramatized documentary about alien abductions which included interviews, sound clips, and video footage(including some startling police cruiser video tape) with the real people that actually were involved. Very creepy for its realism...possibly because key parts actually happened! You should watch it if you're at all interested in that sort of thing.

Saturday-Pinewood Races

We had a good time on Saturday at the regional Pinewood Derby races. Logan didn't do so well, but his puppydog shaped car emblazoned with "RIP Ms. Paula" was well received. He was extatic when it jumped the track into the next lane causing a re-race. The other Bears were telling him it had rabies and was trying to attack the other cars. :) Kat and her mom (now dubbed "Grandma Sue") also went with us and took lots of pictures. Lexie was not feeling well though and spent most of the time in my car listening to WAMZ. We took the kids over to see the booth at the Peddler's Mall, and they wanted one of everything. Logan especially has been looking for a bargain on a clip-on lamp for the clubhouse under his loft bed.

What Lexie Made

The kids wanted Kat & I to take them shopping so they could get something for their mom's birthday. We spent like an hour in Michaels letting them look around. They always feel good about making her something. Logan was going to pay for it with Birthday money, but I paid the $25 for their stuff. I told him it was a nice thought, but when somebody gives you a gift, its supposed to be for you...not another person. I think the kids understand...

Balls

I really hate like hell for my kids to see this crap!

Intermission...

We got in just in right after the opening act...

John Mayer

Dont know who this feeb is, but Patti says not JM.

Rude & idiotic

If you seethis rude idiotic driver, dont give him a spare inch. He will cut over in front of you taking any safety zone you have built up between you and the car you follow. Also, if you see him, please punch him in the throat for me.

High expectations

I cannot believe this woman just bragged that the kids who are in the music program and took the cruise to Cozumel Mexico did not drink, do drugs, or have sex. Also bragging about the teachers who went having a good time partying! Is she crazy?????

I highly suspect...

I highly suspect this man has come to his child's concert sh*tfaced. I am basing this on the fact that I getting a buzz from his breath.

Janet!

Our neighbor Janet joined us at Lexie's concert!

Lexie in Orchestra

The school is have a music program tonight and Lex is in the orchestra on Violin. Hope she survives...she only got a C+ ;o)

Too old for the road.

If you are only comfortable at 10mph UNDER the speed limit, you should get somebody to drive you!

Crappy Room

Lexie is proud of her craptastic room. I am disappointed.

Aviation/Aeronautics day at the park.

I took the kids to the park today so Logan could fly his model rocket and R/C plane. They were both so much fun for the kids that they both wanted to do it.

The first thing we did was launch the rocket.

The first launch was using one of the engines that came with the rocket startup system. It was A type which is not as powerful. I guess you need to use a little more wadding than what the instructions called for because it sort of slagged the parachute a little! The second launch was about the same...the parachute didn't open much and had holes and I thought the landing would damage the rocket, but it was ok. The third time I was the one who got to push the button and we were out of the type A engines. I had to use a B type engine which goes up a bit further. Well, wouldn't you know that it got hung in a tree!

I promised to buy Logan another rocket to replace it...

After this, we played with his Air Hogs Jet Set R/C Plane.

It flew pretty good, but was hard for the kids (and even myself) to control. I think that even though this is the only park with a field designed for these kinds of things, our skill level is such that we probably need a bigger field! There were some guys playing soccer, and kids having baseball practice, and a couple times we distracted players with a plane or rocket over their heads… Other than a couple dive bombs into the ground, the Jet Set did well. Crashes, but no burns.

Young archers show they're sharpshooters

Lexie’s Archery Tournament made the paper….

You can view it HERE.

Kat’s Surprise

Kathy has been irritated for days about her car.  She likes to keep it neat and clean, and the snow we’ve had has left the paint job looking like crap from the salt on the roads.  I took it down to the carwash (which was packed!) and ran it through the automatic wash.  It actually came out not too bad... See how happy she looks with her clean car!?!?!?!  She is in Indy today visiting her Mom and her friends.  Tomorrow she plays bingo with her Mom and Grandma, then she’s coming back to Louisville.

Logan’s New Room Decor

Logan recently re-did his room in the solar system/space theme. This was inspired by a mobile that Theresia got him for Christmas. For his birthday, Rachael* got him a cool huge puzzle, and Kathy found the color planet stickers to help decorate his room. He put the puzzle together and Kat used this special gluey stuff to paint over the top and make it into a poster. I wanted to surprise her today after breakfast with Joe, so I asked her for her car keys and she and Logan hung the poster.

*corrected from original post.

Pawpaw, Archery, and Frisch’s

It was great to have the kids Grandpa Joe join us at the archery tournament.  I think he had a good time, and he was really impressed with Lexie’s shooting.  I am very proud of her too.  Afterwards, he invited us to Frisch’s for the breakfast bar.  Kathy went with us and we had a great time visiting.  We have missed him for the last 9 months.  Kathy and Joe had a lot to talk about because she lived in Florida for a long time and it is clear the Joe has fallen in love with the weather there and how nice everyone is.  He also talked about his wife Dana’s new dog, and how they are doing a lot of renovations to their house so they can sell it and move to Florida permanently.  We missed them a lot and will be sad to see them go, but I think we are all going to be happy that Joe is happy.

Lexie shoots again!

Lexie is doing pretty good this time. There is a new rule that you can't neal down while retrieving arrows. I told her that I only want her to beat 179-her score from last tournament. Her grandpa is here to watch and that is a pretty big deal to her.

Dr. Seuess' birthday

Today was Seuss' birthday. The lady who helps the kids into school from the car rider line was dressed as the Cat in the Hat.

Statewide Tornado Drill

At 10:07am this morning, the state of Kentucky did a test Tornado Alert System. Many businesses, including where I work did a drill. We had to go to the most interior wall of the building which was about the distance of two blocks from my office. I just kept thinking how I would probably die on en route to the safe area... I did stop to grab a cup of coffee on the way-something I guess I would probably not do if there was a real tornado (unless I was extraordinarily thirsty...but perhaps with a jolt of caffine I may make it to the safe area a lot quicker). I was of the opinion that with all the open space, the fiberglass, wood, and aluminum product whirling around like a blender in the 25 foot high warehouse, that we would probably all die anyway. My next thought was that although I like the people I work with, I dont believethere is really anyone there I would care to have around to see me perish (or vice-versa). Not that they aren't nice folks... In retrospect, if this tornado thing is going down, I had better stop for the cup of java.

Music is the problem...

Logan, who consistantly gets A's in every subject feels bad this year.
No matter how hard he tries, he cannot seem to get better than a B in
music. I am not pressuring him about it...I can live with that. But
the problem is it's like a splinter in his brain. He knows he usually
does better, but cannot figure out how to do what it takes for the A.
I have asked for a conference specifically with his music teacher at
Smyrna Elementary, but so far she has been unable or unwilling to
contact me.

Now this grading period, my daughter Lexie got knocked off the honor
roll with a C+ in orchestra. She is a little beside herself too, as
she has been on honor roll this whole year so far, which is a big
change from the squeaking by she did last year.

I am irritated. Back when I was in grade school it was impossible to
get anything but an A in music. When I was in Junior High too...it
all involved participating and doing your best, and not so much about
talent. I am sad to see that arts teachers in Jefferson County (or at
least at Smyrna Elementary and Moore Middle School) seem driven to
grade hard in these subjects. I know a B is nothing to worry about,
and the occasional C is not either--its just that I really look out
for their delicate little self esteems, and it p*sses me off when
there is nothing I can do.

Lexie has another Archery Tournament this weekend and will shoot on
either Friday or Saturday. I hope she does well. At least that is
some place her pride and sense of accomplishment can remain status
quo. As for Logan...sadly I think he's getting used to the idea that
B is good enough. It's starting to bleed over onto his homework too.
I have not seen their report cards yet. I hope they are not too bad.