NotFortyTwo

We really didn’t know what we were shooting for at first. I thought maybe an Audi A3, but the Honda dealership was on our way, and much closer to the house.

We test drove just about every Honda, but our salesperson was very patient and never complained about the hours of work. We came very close to buying an Element, but it was just too limited in seating (only 4). We figured that if we bought a car that only held four passengers, we’d unexpectantly end up having another kid (things seem to work that way for us...).

With great reluctance, we gave up on the Element and looked at the Pilot. It’s big enough for 8, very quiet, and handles more like a car than a truck. Did I mention they had incredible deals running on them (that helped too). We ended up getting one with the DVD entertainment system, which make this the “best car ever” from Allan’s perspective. It has wireless headsets for the kids, so driving has been very quiet lately. I also hooked up a PlayStation 2 for them, since the car had an AC plug all ready to go.

Our expectations are that our car life should be much quieter and simpler now. A couple of neat things:
- Kim can run the car through a free car wash at the dealership any time.
- The car will actually tell you when to do all service, including tire rotation.
- The car monitors the tires, so we should never have to worry about driving on a flat.
- All maintenance is free for 3 years/36,000 miles.

So, that’s the latest here!

We went to the hospital in McKinney, TX, first and they brought us in pretty quickly. Unfortunately, that hospital wasn't equipped to fix the arm. So, Children's Medical Center of Dallas sent up an ambulance to pick Allan up, as they are the only hospital in the area with the expertise. The ambulance team was outstanding, and although we were very concerned about how this was going, they really made us feel he was being moved to a first quality facility.

This all started about 7:45pm. By 11:45:pm we were at Children's. They looked Allan over once he arrived, but there was an emergency surgery, so the doctor who could help Allan was extremely backed up. About 4am they set his arm and we got home around 6am.

We're tired, but Allan's arm is back in the right shape, and they are very confident it will be just like new.

Amazingly, Allan didn't cry or scream through this process, and was very cooperative with the doctors. I'm not sure I could have done so well.

We also stopped by our friends, the Lockes, for a quick visit, which was the best part for the kids. They both picked grapes and played in the garden. Annika made several trips to a local playground, while Allan learned to shoot a pellet gun. We probably don't need to eat for a week after all the good food!

The picture will get you over to our photo gallery. Enjoy!

With the cold front it was too windy to do the fancy mass balloon launches, but they still showed quite a few, and some still flew.

Next year we'll be back, but for the evening flight and burn shows. From a picture perspective that will put the sun to my back! Taking pictures at dawn into the sunrise, but not of the sunrise, is a losing proposition.

Click on the picture to see our photos!

So, with a giant bag of beer rolls we went to have some fun. Strangely, the ducks weren't interested in eating. We circled around the lake, and although there were big pockets of ducks and geese, it was a big let down for us. I've never seen ducks and geese that didn't come running for food.

We thought it might just be the beer bread, but a few other people were trying with normal bread and getting the same results. I'm not sure what's going on with those ducks, but we probably won't head back over to that park again...

Nothing is perfect, but I feel I've at least produced something on par with many of the wheat beers I find at the store. The next batch will be an attempt to move up the ladder - if this is what I get with a "canned" setup, it should be amazing using a "scratch" recipe. Of course, the best thing is that I now have homebrew to drink while I work!

Kimberly has been invaluable in the process - I think she actually understands this process... Also, she's the sanitization master. Allan and Annika helped get the beer in the bottles, and Kim capped them. This is definitely a family operation, although I'm the only one that will enjoy the product.

Allan and Robert spent the first day at Universal Studios. It was fun, but not so exciting that they'll be going back any time soon. Kimberly and Annika spent the day relaxing at the pool.

We headed down to Vero Beach on Sunday, stopping at Ron Jon Surf Shop. As many billboards as were posted on the freeways, we had to check it out. It's basically the Home Depot of beach life.

The rest of the week was spent on the beach, at camp fires, and swimming in the pool. Both Allan and Annika took advantage of the many activities. Rob and Kimberly even spent one evening at a wine tasting class.

Click the image to see the photos.

The entire family is having a great time playing Wii Sports - even the grandparents can take part.

Enjoy the pictures - there are only a few this year...

Blue Stars - First Performance

Blue Stars - Second Performance

Silver Stars - First Performance

Silver Stars - Second Performance

In order to get the book on release day we had signed up weeks ago, but we didn't realize that when you arrived you had to get your passport. We were a bit late and ended up in the last group to get the book, Group D. It was past 1:30a when we finally got home, but everyone enjoyed the experience. Click the picture to see the photos.

The only question now is how many days it will be before Allan emerges from his room!

I had two very good helpers working with me - our resident pasta rolling experts. It was like Play-Doh you can eat. We rolled out enough lasagna noodles for two big batches and an assortment of fettucini and angle hair pasta.

The other major experiment was making ravioli. I don't have any pictures, but I will leave it at "it looked like ravioli". Either the dough was too thick, or possibly we put in too much filling, but either way it really didn't work out. On the bright side, Kim created an outstanding cheese filling that we'll definitely use again.

At some point we'll start posting our recipes - the ones that work.

The main driver behind the slicer is our beef jerky production. We make a lot of it, and our local grocery store stopped slicing raw meat. Of course, it will also slice bread (Kim makes a lot of bread), cheese, homemade roast beef, and just about anything else.

The search was painful. We purchased a "pro" slicer from Cabela's, but it was somewhat "sloppy" to use - lots of flex in the mechanism. It also had an issue that solidified our primary decision criteria - cleaning must be easy. The Cabela slicer required a screw driver and removal of the blade to clean, a very dangerous project. It was also setup so that any juices from the meat would run straight into the inside of the machine. Many of the units on the market have that design.

So, when you look at the pictures and think, "that thing's huge", you're right. We basically had to buy a real commercial slicer to get the safety and cleaning features we required. It was a bit surprising when it shipped via Roadway freight, and even more interesting when we picked it up. They used a fork lift to put it in the back of our SUV. I really wish we had thought to get video of that moment - what are the chances that will happen again?

We fired the slicer up and made our way through about 28lbs of meat. It is a dream to use, the cleanup was easy, required no tools, and no kevlar gloves.

Storage is still the big question, but even though we were a bit nervous at first, we are now convinced it's going to have a long and busy life with us. Click the picture to see it unboxed.

You can get the blow by blow of our DisneyWorld adventure by following my Jaiku posts. It's getting updated as we move through the parks - a diary of sorts.

Another big change for this trip is that we didn't bring our big camera. We have Annika's, Allan's, and the HDV camcorder, so the pictures are going to be an interesting mix. I already miss the DSLR, but I don't miss having to carry it...

Click on the image to see today's photos.

Enjoy the pictures.

It was held at the new Frisco Athletic Center. They were a bit disorganized, as they had just opened, but the kids didn't mind.

After way too long, due to procrastination, I finished Kim's garden plant starter stand. There's probably an official name for it, but I think that gets the point across. It's made of mostly scrap wood from projects long ago, which helps justify my "never throw anything away" policy.

So far we've planted a few varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and tomatillos. The first tomatillo plants are coming up, which is why I had to finish the project. We had a small celebration, as they are our first garden plants. Even Chong was excited.

Now we just have to figure out where this garden is going to go in the yard. I see more work in the future.

So, Kimberly took to the internet again to find a better way. Since we never do anything the easy way, it should be no surprise that rebuilding an old piano quickly became the route of choice. Especially since we really want a Steinway.

We located an 1871 Steinway, which after some research by Kimberly turned out to be a Style 1 Grand. It is 7'2" according to the Steinway records, but 7'4" according to a tape measure. It was originally shipped to Cincinnati on June 6th, 1871 finished in rosewood.

About 50 or 60 years ago, a rebuild changed the legs to the art deco straight spade design and covered it with a black finish. Our refit will restore the original style legs, although they are difficult to find, the fretwork music desk, and the rosewood finish. The pictures of the shiny piano in the gallery are of an 1873 slightly smaller piano that is representative of what ours should look like. The only major difference will be the color, which will be a bit more red for ours.

The blocky picture titled "Fallboard" is the logo we plan to put on the fallboard, which is the underside of the keyboard cover.

Click the image for the gallery. It's exciting to think we can breath new life into a 137 year old artwork.

By the way, we intend to have a party when it turns 150 in 13 years.

We called around looking for a tall ladder, but no one rents a 20ft a-frame. Fortunately, the fire department was there to help. They came out, cut the wire, and eased it down.

Allan and Annika thought it was great getting to look over the fire truck. It was the most exciting thing on our street in a while.

The show lasted for two hours and included some rather dangerous stunts, all performed over a concrete parking lot. The kids were mesmerized the entire time.

Click on the picture to see the photos.

It's been a busy couple of months with no end in sight. This weekend was our first off road experience courtesy of our Land Rover dealership. I can't say that there wasn't some initial hesitation to take our shiny, still very new, LR3 on the course. But, how else would we know all the cool buttons actually work?

On Saturday we got a private run through of the course. It was great to have our instructor Shawn in the seat next to me to tell me what to, and not to, do. His favorite words are "Trust the Truck!" With him guiding us through, we completed the 3.1 mile course with no problems.

After the course we explored a bit, giving the kids a chance to visit a petting zoo and even do a little fishing. Within the first 10 minutes Allan caught a rather large fish. Fortunately there was an actual outdoorsman on hand to get the fish off the hook and back into the water. Allan was ecstatic. So was I when the guy offered to get the fish off the hook.

That night we had dinner at the Lodge (the event was held at the Rough Creek Lodge). It was very expensive and good, but not something we would do again. The kids spent the evening in the kids' club playing games and eating.

Sunday morning was the main event with around 70 Land Rovers. It was something to see them crawling up the trail in all shapes and sizes. We went through the main course and had timed trials through a precision course. My favorite part was splashing through the mud, even if it did make a huge thud. Fortunately, all the parts remained intact. In fact, not a single rattle or squeak was introduced.

Allan thought it was the best vacation ever. That's not too shabby for a quick two day trip. I certainly can't complain. How often do you get to romp around in the dirt with a 6000lb machine?

The advertisement says the LR3 is built for the '1', meaning the 1 in x chance something will happen. I have a whole new appreciation for what that means and can't wait to explore it further.

Click the images for pictures and a video.

The park was great. The kids got to swim, play on watercraft, hike, and ride horses. I got to drive a jet boat, something that I've now realized my life has been missing all these years.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and the video. Click on the images to see them.