Hawker Hurricane

We finally finshed up GP's balsa & tissue Hawker Hurricane. He did a nice job painting his favorite color: blue. Now we just need some warm weather and no wind.

Finally, Snow!

Last Friday we finally got a taste of winter with an all out blizzard. This one had been predicted for a solid week, so the plows and salt trucks were out clearing the streets before it all turned to ice. During the day we had near whiteout conditions, but by the time I came home from work, we had blue skies again.

I was very excited to get a chance to run the snowblower on the Navigator. Niiice! With the chute up, it shoots snow at least 50 feet.

GP has a bad cold and has been locked in the house all weekend.

I tried making a snowman, but the snow wanted to stick more to the grass than the ball of snow. CP made a beefy snow fort. Too bad it's supposed to be 45° tomorrow.

Den 11 Visits the Fire Station

Tonight, we (Den 11) visited the main Lincoln fire station downtown. While we were there, two calls came in and we got to see four different trucks take off with their lights and sirens going. This is one of the few stations that still has and uses fire poles. The intercom went off and before we knew it, there were firefighters sliding down the poles and jumping into their boots. The boys were very excited.

JP's B-Day Present

Today we had a bit of snow, a little sun, and then some more snow. We are in a winter weather advisory until 6:00 tomorrow AM. Nothing like fresh snow for the Monday morning commute.

After seeing all the fix-er-up git-r-done stuff that my little sis has been doing, we headed out to the home depot. We ended getting some can lights. JP has hated the ceiling fan in the living room since we moved in. It's a nice fan, but it's too big and in the wrong spot. We pulled the fan out and tunneled thru the ceiling for light number 2. I got some dimmers on clearance for $.01 each (!!!) that will go in next. Now we can sit anywhere on the sofa and read without having the glare of a supernova in the room.

Thanks to all the grandparents for our new lights.

Old Fart Band

Our neighbors had a guitar hero / rock band party this weekend in honor of our birthdays.

There were 10 adults playing all night. We didn't get home until 12:30. Every time we play, I have more and more respect for real musicians. I need to start practicing the songs before I invest in some leather pants. It's hard to be a cool rock star when you can't sing.

Government Day

Today I went with CP and his cub scout den on a grand tour of the Nebraska State Capital. His den leader arranged the tour with a friend that works there. Our first stop was to sit on the floor of the legislature and watch them debate and vote. We then went and met the local state senator. He has 5 kids and was excited to talk to the boys.

Next, we went on an official capital tour with an official tour guide. She discussed the building and its artwork. I was impressed with all the art deco lighting fixtures and woodwork. On the tour, we sat in the old senate chamber (NE is the only state to have a unicameral legislature - only one house, and no political party affiliation). We visited the supreme court and marveled at the intricately carved ceiling. The tour guide left us to explore the observation deck on the 14th floor by ourselves.

After lunch in the cafeteria, we met the rest of the executive branch.

We met the Attorney General. His son is in CP's class.

We also met the Lt. Governor and the Secretary of State.

The highlight of the day was meeting the Governor.

Each official spent 10-15 minutes talking to the boys about the importance of being good citizens.

Another Neighbor Gets Old

Another one of our neighbors turned 40. We threw a surprise 80's party for her. Unfortunately, some of her relatives that came knew about the party, but not the 80's thing. I'm not sure what they were thinking when they entered the house.

I grew a mullet for the occasion. Next time, I need to make sure that my eyebrows match the rest of my hair. We danced all night to 80's dance tunes. I hated those songs when I was younger, but they certainly are fun to dance & sing to.

January Model Building

We put together the USS Arizona that CP got for XMas. The old one has been stepped on, kicked, dropped, and taken several baths. We took our time with the new one and painted everything before assembly.

CP's den leader put together a pinewood derby building night. We had a heated workshop with everything we needed, including a band saw. CP roughed out his and GP's cars.

Hello 2009

JP put together a rockin' New Year's Eve party for the neighbors. In all, there were 15 of us, plus a whole housefull of kids. Everyone brought a snack - we had cuban sandwiches, Puerto Rican Egg Nog, delicious chocolate covered cake balls, meat balls, cheese, and a whole lot of finger food.

The highlight of the evening was dancing to the wii game, Raving Rabids TV Party. It has a mini game where you use the wiimote to mimic the dance moves of a stick figure. The concept is similar to guitar hero, but instead of notes, you do dance moves.

We also played a few hours of the new Guitar Hero World Tour. Everyone got to play their favorite part in the band. Someday we will have a competent nieghborhood band. Until then, we will all have to dream.

Our party went until 2:30. New Year's Day will be a long one, as GT's Gator Bowl party starts at 11:00, and JO's Penn State Party is after that.

Christmas 2008

The Grammas came for Christmas this year. We had a great time as usual with too many gifts, too much food, and some relaxing down time.

The boys got some snowboards and tried their hand at real snowboarding on the little bit of snow (and a lot of ice) we had. CP is a natural at it. I swear I watched his leg twist around two or three times every time he fell and his boot didn't come out of the binding.

Christmas Cookies

The boys helped JP make a batch of cookies. They are actually almost helpful now that they are getting so big.

This year's gingerbread house came out looking great. The boys completed most of it themselves.

Christmas Picture

Here's our 2008 Christmas picture.

Geologist Badge

CP completed the Webelos Geologist requirements at a nice program put on at Pioneers Park. We had a beautiful day compared to the last time we were here. The sun was out and the wind was nonexistent.

CP's friend is into hunting as much as CP is into WW-II, which is how much Forrest's friend Bubba was into shrimp.

Quiet Day

Today was a quiet day inside. It was cold (but sunny) out, and we are all still recovering from the long Thanksgiving weekend. This morning we cleaned up the basement. I took 5 huge cardboard boxes to the recycling center - their usefulness had been used up after being cars, planes, bunkers, etc. This afternoon, JP had the boys assemble their foam gingerbread house.

We put up all the Christmas stuff this past week. The house looks great. All we need is some real snow and it will really feel like Christmas. We had snow last week, but it only stayed around long enough to make driving hazardous in the morning.

Today I worked on the Tempest cabinet all day. I ended up giving everything a second coat, due to the translucent paint. I still need to install the glass properly, but all in all, it is looking pretty good. One of the guys at work gave me a non-functioning 60W receiver that is now functioning and pumping out the sounds of Tempest. Next step: upgrade the speakers and add a bigger hard drive so that it will function as a jukebox.

With the Tempest machine installed, my man-cave is nearing completion. I need to find a beer fridge...

Thanksgiving 2008

We went back to Illinois to the Grammas' house for thanksgiving. They had all the Christmas trimmings out and ready for the holiday season.

I took the boys for our obligatory trip to the dollar store in Savanna. We scored an H&K 94, a S&W 459, and two MP-5's all for $12. The boys took them on our hike (mission) to the top of the sentinel at the Palisades.

After the hike, we broke ice in the river for an hour.

We woke up to snow on Sunday for our drive home.