XMas 2007 Part 2

We were supposed to get an inch or two of snow, but instead we had a beautiful sunny day. The boys ran out to try out GP's new sled.

Nana really got into bowling on the Wii.

Merry Christmas!

XMas 2007

This year we had Nana and Gramma & Grampa for Christmas. They all arrived on Christmas Eve.

Santa came during the night and left a load of goodies for everyone. CP got some cool star wars stuff.

GP got his lava lamp.

And both received a healthy supply of WW-2 gear. (Note the B-25 attacking the tank)

GP's Self Portrait

GP took his self portrait.

Werft 1

On the second day of X-Mas vacation, we needed something to do, so we made up some paper airplanes and a paper hangar to match. This one was designed for 1:144 scale planes and works well with a lot of the boys' planes. The internet has some amazing resorces for paper models. Download them, print out on cardstock, and build your own things. I barely have time to assemble these models, I cannot image how anyone has the time to actually design stuff like this. Pretty cool.

Katrina is a total lap cat. Whenever anyone is sitting for more than two or three seconds, she is there.

Gingerbread House 2007

JP & the kids put together this year's gingerbread house. As usual, the icing (liquid nails made from powdered sugar) was problematic and we resorted to using ziploc baggies to squirt it. Next year I need to remember to setup a caulk gun...

Aside from the initial house construction, the boys completed the house themselves. Note the P-51 in sitting on the table. It seems like there's some sort of WW-II plane sitting on every flat surface of the house.

Wagon Wheels

CP made breakfast for us the other morning. I don't know how he did it, but he was able to flip this pancake by himself.

Ice Storm No. 2

Last night we were brushed by the ice storm that left 2.5" of ice in Oklahoma & Missouri. We ended up with about 1/4" here in Lincoln, and Beatrice had 1/2 - 3/4" with another inch of slush on top of that.

The boys had the day off of school and played all day. I slept in and went to work in the daylight.

XMas Season

This weekend was very mellow. Saturday, the boys & JP put together X-Mas decorations while I worked on my amplifier project (I resurected a 10" powered subwoofer and now have something that can rattle the walls). Later that night, we went to the women's UNL basketball game (sorry, I forgot the camera) and watched them defeat USC. I think these games are the best entertainment value. Who needs movies when you can go to a live sporting event?

Today GP's cub scout den had a Go-See-It trip to the Nebraska History Museum downtown. We were late and left 15 minutes before we needed to be there, hit every red light, had to look for parking, and still made it on time. The boys had fun running around the empty museum. It's been snowing/icing all weekend and no one was there.

Today JP finished up the outside decor with a pair of grapevine reindeer. It beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Coolest XMas Ornament

On Wednesdays at work, I co-host our microcontroller club at lunch. One of the engineers had some experience in microcontrollers and offered to teach us all how to use them. I thought I had found heaven with PLC's, but microcontrollers are king. They are little plastic chips that are basically an entire computer, complete with a processor, memory, I/O, serial communications, etc. All on a chip that costs $2. Today we built a scrolling marquee. Instead of a big banner, this one only has one column. In order to see the message, you have to move the marquee, as shown above (1 second exposure). My next challenge is to hang it on the christmas tree and then spin the tree so that you can read the message. I will have to wait until JP is not here for this one...

DIY Practice Amp progress

So... I built a practice amp, but it was not very practical as collection of tangled wires and a circuit board. I sketched up a cabinet that could be built with the scraps of 3/4" finished birch plywood that I used to build our piano bench. With the help of nearly all my power tools, I ended up with a very solid box. I need to laser out a metal panel at the top for the cable jack and some knobs and lights (knobs & lights are always good). Right now, the panel is made out of the side of a Busch Light box.

The cheesy speakers sound OK, and the audio amp IC is staying under 80 °C, so it should be OK. Once this is complete, it will be time to start building some cool effects citcuits (more knobs & lights!).

JP's new PB prints

Along with the wrought iron wall thing, JP got some prints for the dining room. She took advantage of me being shut-in due to the ice storm Saturnday morning and we hung them up. All we need now are some guests so that we can use the dining room.

Husker Volleyball Star

Yesterday, Tracy Stalls, a Husker volleyball star visited CP's class and signed autographs. This morning, she's on the front page of the Lincoln paper. It's really fun living in a small town.

The lady Huskers are on a 70+ game winning streak.

First Snow

We finally got our first snow last night. The only problem is that it came in the form of an ice storm.

JP's new Artwork

JP finally got a piece of artwork from Pottery Barn to hang above the fireplace. She has been searching for the last two years for something that would fill the space. I was practicing my guitar and JP had to take a picture to send to Mary, her Pottery Barn co-dependent. I have to say that I am grateful for JP's sense of style and her shopping abilities.

Special Ops

I took the boys to the Dollar Store in Savanna to get some high quality machine guns and then it was on to the Palisades. We hiked the Sentinel trail and the boys ran the entire way with their new guns. I am in their crosshairs in every picture we took.

Later that day, we went to see Brad at his place. He introduced the boys to his latest xbox 360 game: Call of Duty 4. I was impressed and have asked santa for an xbox 360. CP turned into a commando for the remainder of the trip.

Thanksgiving in Lanark

We took off the day before Thanksgiving and drove across Iowa to Lanark. We hit a blizzard in Des Moines and made it through before the rest of their 4" of snow fell. Illinois met us with rain and good driving conditions.

We gave Great Gramma her X-Mas gifts, since she is not planning on coming to see us. JP knitted her a shawl.

The dogs were happy to be together. Maggie barked her head off chasing squirrels and birds. We have no squirrels in Lincoln - must have something to do with not having trees. The first day we were there, they both ran around. The second day, they slept.

After thanksgiving dinner, we gathered 'round and played the kids' favorite game - "The Dice Game." Aunt Sue started the tradition a few years ago and the kids really look forward to it. This year she made it better by having some of the presents be specifically for the boys. In years past, it has been CP that falls apart when someone steals his present. This year it was GP's turn. Must be something about being seven. I ended up with an awesome LED flashlight that I have been wanting for a while. Thanks Aunt Sue!

Air Guard Firehouse

Today we (Den 11) went to the Nebraska Air National Guard fire station for one of our requirements. Sgt. Mark Wit gave us an awesome tour.

The highlight of the tour was a demonstration of how much water the air force trucks can pump out. The truck on the left holds 3000 gallons, and the one on the right does 1500. I think we watched all of it shoot through the air in about a minute. The base here is dedicated to a bunch of KC-135's that do in-flight refueling, so there's an overabundance of jet fuel. Sgt. Wit said that if they can't put out a fire with their equipment, something's wrong, and you don't want to be around. Click on the photo below to enlarge it.