Like Stop Motion?

Love this Video….I Have no idea how long it took to make!

Different Perspective….

This past Tuesday we took our birthday girl, Brooklyn, to the zoo.  Had a great time and we brought a friend of ours, Mandy, and this is what she saw.  It’s not the norm but I love the perspective.

Mandy’s Blog

First Fish!

Pics will be floating around soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Yep, Yesterday Brooklyn caught her very own Fish!  I was so proud of her!  She cast it out about 30 feet (no lie….She’s that good and she’s only 3!)  Reeled it in just a little and once she had that bobber go down she set that hook and reeled in a whopping 6-7 inch fish!  Was it a Perch?  Nope….A CATFISH!!!  I was so proud of her!  Bout brought me to tears!

What made me so proud of her was not that she did i t all by herself or anything but the fact that she practiced for so long!  She would have her practice lure on and she would cast, and cast, and cast till she got the hang of it.  She would probably do this for about 3-4 weeks now….  I truly think she is the best soon to be 4 year old caster in the state!  So it was great to tell her that all that practice paid off and she came out with a reward!  a 6-7 inch Catfish!

She was so patient, and wanted to bait the hook, cast, wait for the fish, and reel it in….But of course didn’t want to “pet” the fish.  I am fine with that for now….But soon enough she’ll be my little helper and taking care of her sissy and her mommy.

Working on the car…

Well….Here’s a pic of Dad and I working on the car…..It’s progress at least.

Still working on it.  As you can see my pop got his tattoos on his arms that he’s been wanting and I finally got that belly I have been working on….

I’m mario?

Last week in KONNECT, our discipleship program for kids here at our church, we had costume night!  It was a blast!  Each month we have a theme night and we do various things.  Crazy Hair Night, Glow in the dark party, pj night, etc….. Good times.  I dressed up as Mario and my good friend Red Dawg (our Emcee) dressed up as a Bandito!

There were two kids who actually dressed up as us!  Hilarious!  Rightly named as Mini Edge and lil’ Red Dawg.  We had 4 overall winners that night Mini Edge won and 3 other costumes, A cowboy, Nancy Drew and a Mail Carrier.  Good creativity juices flowing that night!  I didn’t know why lil’ Red Dawg didnt make it on stage but he had an excellent chance on sweeping the competition!

Well below are some pics for your enjoyment……

Enjoy.

I’m smarter than a dumb bird……..

Well a couple days ago we were watching a reality show on the discovery channel that is non-typical to what I am used to but it kept my interest so we watched it….It was called “Verminators“.  It is a show that is based off of that people have bug/animal/pest problems and they come out and take care of buisiness. Well this particular episode of Verminators the big issue was Pigeons in the Attic.  They found a hole and began to nest and live in the attic of this big 2 story Duplex.  Well, apparently the pigeons have been living there for many years.  There was POOP all over the place, dead pigeons, babies, eggs…..It was bad and very gross.  That show has kinda kept in my head for a couple weeks now……..

……………well yesterday (i don’t know the exact terminology) our overhang on our roof has vents on the underside that keep the circulation going in our attic…..on one of the mesh vents have gone bad and a hole has somehow been punched through.  I didnt think of it much but Sheena said, “we better cover that before a bird flys in there.”  I said, “I’ll get it tomorrow. A bird won’t find that hole and make a nest or anything this quick.”

HA

Well this morning I pull up into our driveway and see a huge fat pigeon sitting on our gutter in front of the hole!

You can imagine what flys through my mind!

As I step closer a bird flys out of the hole!

What tha!

Well I run in and tell Sheena that she’s right and there is a bird trying live up in our attic….Of course she says the common words…”I told you!”  So I drop what I got and go up in the attic to try to plug the hole.  As I am up there I realize I can’t reach the hole so I go BACK down into the garage and try to assess the situation a little better and figure out how I can plug that hole! 

After a short deliberation we decide to do a temporary fix and fill it with a piece of cardboard.  But before I put the cardoard piece in i go ahead and rip off the entire piece of bad mesh.  When I pull down the mesh and feel around I pull down tons of pine needles, leaves, twigs and various goodies.  CRAP!  Luckily, I tore it down before a full blown nest was developed.

I stepped away after blocking everything off and cleaning everything out and I watch to see what tries to fly back in there and complete it’s nest. 

I waited….

and waited….

and waited….

for like 1 minute and then I saw a black bird with twigs in mouth try to fly up into the attic!  SUCCESS!  It tried a couple times but failed! 

Just be careful what you watch on TV….It may just happen to you…..unless you are smarter than a dumb bird.

What did she say?!?

BEFORE I start let me set the stage up for everyone…..

Sheena and I are sitting next to each other in the girls floor getting ready for prayer time right before they both go to bed.  The girls Brooklyn (3) is in her PJ’s sitting in her bed.  Bailee (2) is in her Pj’s as well sitting in a little chair right in front of us.  We always ask the girls who wants to pray, sometimes it’s us and sometimes it’s them.  Last night…..me…..

Okay the stage is now set.

As I am praying for various things I keep on hearing something pitter patter back and forth back and forth with little whispers…..I keep to my guns and continue to pray.  Once I finish prayer I look over and Brooklyn is 2 inches from Sheena’s face Whispering  “Mommy, Where’s my water bottle?”  Sheena then said, “I don’t know where it is but during prayer we sit still and talk to God.  It is not a time for playing, getting up, or looking for water bottles.  We can do that AFTER prayers.”  So we then go into a discussion about the importance of Prayer and reverence to God.  (Yeah with a 3 year old)  Crazy Huh.

THEN all of a sudden RIGHT in the middle of this 3 way conversation of intense bibical doctorine and theology with our 3 year old we hear something that just brings you back the the reality of a family with 2 amazing little girls……Bailee says these precious little words….

(NOW WAIT before I get any further……..Think of the sweet little voice she has and how adorable her puffy little cheeks are with her little dutch girl blond curly hair and her big blue eyes)……..

Bailee says “I got a boobie.”

Sheena and I look at each other with out laughing and stare each other down trying to build strength from each other to not die laughing in the middle of our SERIOUS conversation with Brooklyn.

But Bailee wouldn’t stop!  “I got a boobie, I got a boobie, I got a boobie.”  She is saying these things as she is holding her leg showing us her BOO-BOO!

Oh geez…..

Our girls are hilarious, awesome, smart, kind, polite, oblivious, random, and obviously at this young age have no clue of when it is appropriate to say Boobie.

Which I have been informed…..There is never a good time to say Boobie.  So you better say it as much as you want right now Bailee because you won’t be able to get away with it for much longer…..

Ah….Welcome to my House Full of Ladies.

Curiosity Killed the Cat….

Bait & Switch….

Curiosity Killed the Cat….

Could it be true?

I am an idiot…..

These are all possible titles for this particular post.  But “Curiosity Killed the Cat” has won this small contest and by reading below you should be able to see how all of these titles can come to fruition.

Here’s my Wednesday……

Sheena in red, Me in yellow

I don’t know if this is true or not but you need to take a look at it….It doesnt seem right…but just take a look.

What is it?  (as she hands me a Dodge Dealership flyer claiming we won some prizes because our “numbers matched” on the form.

This flyer says that we won at least 2 prizes….Either $10,000, a $2500 gift card, a vacation, or a digital camera.

Do you think it is true?

I am not sure but i see no loopholes or asterisks or anything…..I would hate to throw away a prize that we could have won!

As I look at the form I look over it BIG time! It claims no gimmicks, no purchase necessary, no nothing.  Just come down and claim your prize!  I think to myself what the heck is this about?  DO I really want to drive down and claim my prizes?  Is this a bait and switch scheme?  is this true?  Is this one of the biggest situations of false advertising?  Only one way to find out……….take the trip.

So I call say dealership and ask the information person i would like to speak to someone about claiming my prize.  The dealership says the following…”Congrats Justin!  When is a good time that you can come in and claim your prizes?  Today? Tomorrow?  3p-4p? 5p-6p?

I hang up after talking to him I think…..well I better start thinking of 100 excuses because I think they may be interested in selling me a car only!  BUT the flyer says nothing about purchases or buying anything!

(Fast forward about 3 hours)

I pull up to the dealership….I find a guy to talk to about my prizes….He takes my flyer (never opens it the whole time I was there) and we find a nice glasses in office…..

The following is the dialougue we step into…..Dealership in Green, Me again in yellow

So how can i help you today?

Well I was interested in the flyer and claiming my prizes.

Okay….What kind of car do you drive?

95 toyota 4 runner.

Did you want to trade it in and upgrade your vehicle today?

Nope.  Been driving that car for about 12 years and it’ll pretty much stay in the family i believe.

What else does your family drive?

04 Mazda 6.

Did you want to trade that vehicle in and get a new Dodge?  It gets great gas mileage. blah blah yap yap horsepower yip snip blah suspension.

(I love hearing about cars…don’t get me wrong…if you know me I love cars but i added the blah blah for your sake. )

Nope.  We wanted to keep the Mazda.  We owe less than a year on it and we would like to pay it off before we get a new car.  Love having one car payment.  We want to make sure we are smart with our finances.

Oh Okay.  Do you want to go test drive a new Dodge?  It rides better than your Mazda.  Guarantee!  These new Dodge’s are Luxury trucks.

I better not….I know me and I dont need to drive one. I know I will like it (4runner drives like it looks…..rough)

You sure?  How bout we pay off your Mazda, you keep it and you can get into a new Dodge and have your one payment.  No Interest Lifetime warranty on Drivetrain and suspension.

That sounds like a good deal I’ll take 3 please……  (just kidding)

Sounds good real good actually but Sorry man.  I am just interested in my prizes today.  I will keep you in mind.  These trucks are nice.  I like the New Dodge’s and Chevy’s as well.

Well okay I see.  No problem.  Let me go get your prizes.

Here is what happened in the next 20 minutes as I sat by myself pondering (just what they wanted me to do!    )

I looked around and noticed all the glass offices were full of people!  A guy by himself, a family of 3 , a family of 4, a lady by herself, and me…..ALL had the same flyer I had and ALL were winners……Dang it.   BUT there is hope!  But how can they give these prizes all day!  we’ll see.

The guy by himself is beside himself!  He is going wild!  Super ecstatic about to win a prize!  He is even playing air drums to the lobby music while wearing his rockin’ shades!  I heard him say “I won! I won!  YES!”…….poor guy thought he won……But wait….I am in the same place as him!  I think i won, I think I got the $10,000…..

As my salesman walks back in he has 2 things in his hand.  A walmart giftcard and a vacation!

As I leave I sit in the car call the walmart number to see how much money is on there……THE GRAND TOTAL OF $5.00.   and my vacation…..has so many stipulations on it!  Had to choose within 15 days, had to pick 3 places, they could change my location and time if they wanted to, I had to pay transportation, food, additionals, and pretty much everything….they paid for the hotel and even that total could not exceed $175 for the total of 3 nights.  Avarage is $58 per night for the room.  NOTHING above 1 star is that cheap!

So did they Bait & Switch?  Did they lie?  Well they basically exculded information which is lying by ommission in my book.

So if everything looks like it is to good to be true.  It is.  But hey I got to see the new dodge upclose.  Thats always fun.

Now I know my options for my next car at least.  And I know which dealership I don’t want to go to now for our next vehicle purchase.

(As I finished this post….literally typed my last word….I received a phone call from said dealership and they left a voicemail asking if I talked to my wife and was wanting to know if I was interested in coming down to test drive a new dodge.

Painting update….

Round 1 of painting is complete and it has passed inspection!

Yep my parents came in this weekend (had a great time) and they loved the new color of the living room.  Painting the wainscoting from Dark brown to white makes the room look more open and brighter and we love it.  Now we need to paint the trim in the hallways and the 3 bedrooms…..geez….not fun but needs to be done.

Well that’s the update.

What I learned…..

You can say “We need to paint the ________.”  “We need to move that __________.”  “Why don’t we clean up the garage?”

Just as we have been saying we need to paint the baseboards and wainscoting since we moved in.  Well we quit talking about it and just acted.  Once we started with the first slap of paint you can’t turn back.  So the thought of the day.

Quit talking and act on it!  (I am sure there is a better way to say that or a better quote, but you got the idea)

Paint or not to paint…Part 2…..

Okay as you heard in my last post we have painted our Living Room from Dark Brown to White to open up the space and have the cleaner more modern look.

Their is one think in our living room that has a nice look to it and is a nice architectural piece.  A built in bookcase with nice molding surrounding it.  That is the 1 thing we did not paint when we initially painted the living room.  So yesterday morning we thought that it would be an easy 1-2 hour job of priming it and painting it and then we would be done.  Wrong.

It has tons of crooks and crannies and angles and corners to paint!  It took us much longer to complete!  Literally 3-4 hours easy!  We had to coat it with 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint plus drying time in between each of them!

So remember if you think something is going to be quick and short just account for an additional 1-2 hours of “oh yeah we need to do that” time!