Summer Days

MOVING TO MEXICO

Dear Mr. President:

I'm planning to move my family and extended family into Mexico for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me.

We're planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico , and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements.

We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration quotas and laws.

I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that I'm on my way over?

Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:

1. Free medical care for my entire family.

2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.

3. Please print all Mexican government forms in English.

4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.

5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and history.

6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at their school.

7. Please plan to feed my grandkids at school for both breakfast and lunch.

8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.

9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico but I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.

10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.

11. I plan to fly the U.S. flag from my house top, put U. S. flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.

12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.

13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say critical things about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.

14. I want to receive free food stamps.

15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.

16. I'll need Income tax credits so although I don't pay Mexican Taxes, I'll receive money from the government.

17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Gov't pays $4,500 to help me buy a new car.
18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.

I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who walk over to the U.S. from Mexico . I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.

Thank you so much for your kind help. You're the man!!!

I posted this post the other day and somehow it ended up back on April 6th, not sure why but I am re posting it!

Today I have less than two month deadline till my feet touch the salty sands of AP beach and it hits me that I have like zero time left. This is my neurotic side kicking and trying to freak myself out. Well its working.
Some hard choices need to be made and made now as to avoid split decisions we will pay for for a long time. We have two dogs, two ferrets and one cat and we have to figure out what we are going to do with them all. Monty the cat is easy as my grandma can stop by at night and feed her but expecting or even asking my grandma to take care of Koda and Kenai again is not an option. Koda's future is uncertain and that weighs heavily on me, knowing that it will be I who makes the decision on whether we get him fixed and HOPE it works (even the vets aren't so sure this will curb his "attitude problem") or to put him down. Kenai on the other we are looking at finding her another home, one where she gets out in a yard more to run and her owners have more time for her.
The ferrets are joining us in our long trek up and we are excited for you all to meet them. Luna and Amy will soon go in for their shots and papers and they will be official! The vet visit for them should not be too bad as they count as one, we would have to pay extra for their shots. Still trying to figure out if I should stuff them both in one bag or should I go legit and go with two (75 vs 150 plus cost of extra kennel). I do not think the airlines is going to open it up and let them out to check but you never know.
I am also thinking of things like traveling for the first time with an infant. This has me a bit freaked out as I do not know how Shane will do since he is still breast fed and he LIKES his schedules. I am already accepting of the fact that I will be that parent with the whiny baby stuck on a plane for eight hours. I am not sure how we are going to work it out with the restrictions on what you can carry (formula and breast milk) so the airlines will be getting a weird call to have those questions answered.
I have already started to mentally pack and with the charges we will face at the ticket counter for our bags, I am thinking bare necessity. I am going to do the math tonight and see if it would be more cost effective to send things up with flat rate shipping or just pay the baggage fee.
If using the postal service is more cost effective you can look forward to seeing boxes marked for the moose den arriving soon!
Then after we leave I have to worry about my house. We are only leaving poor Monty and while she requires minimal attention but our house can not look like no one lives here. So now I am having to pay for yard service while I am gone which was supposed to be the land lord's job. I sure wish I had family I would trust to stay in my home while I was gone!
Rental car and hotel reservations, vet visits and long phone conversations with the airlines.
Bags for travel and kennels to be bought...
Appointments to be made...
House to be cleaned and secured so when I get back the end of July all I have to do is put on clean sheets...
All this and regular life going on, like a boy turning 9!
Really?
Is he really nine?
Wow, he is almost out of the single digits!
Well that has been my whiny unfocused post and now I will quit my complaining and start doing, as time is RUNNING out!
Just know that while I complain of the things to do I am SO looking forward to seeing the HITW recreation site and am looking forward to a glass of wine on my front porch!
Anyone care to join me?

Ragged Old Flag

I remember the ice cream. It was plain old Vanilla but it tasted so good and sweet on that hot day so good in fact I barely noticed the old man sit down next to me.
I sat there kicking my feet as fidgety kids often do and he smiled, a sad smile perhaps remembering a time long ago where he kicked his feet licking ice cream.
I looked at him sideways and started to investigate the old man next to me.
He must have been really old, his skin hung in folds and looked as though it was paper thin and if I touched it I was sure it would be feather soft. I looked at his hands they were in similar shape but were covered in brown spots and I imagined connecting those dots. His fingers were curled and gnarled and resembled more claws than fingers and in those "claws" I saw he was holding something.
At this point the old man looked over at me and smiled, noticing I was staring at him. He looked back out over the court square and even though I looked to see what he was looking at, I could see nothing.
The Nebraska wind blew and ruffled what ever he was holding and it drew my eyes back to his lap. His fingers uncurled even though it looked like it was painful he smoothed over the rough looking fabric with a proud look on his face. It was an old flag dirty, torn and frayed but still folded as neatly as possible.
He held that flag as gently as one would a baby as he sat on that bench and he looked back out into nothing remembering a time far off. I asked him where he got his flag and why was it so OLD looking. He looked at me and instead of being offended by my childish bluntness and naivety, he started to tell me a story. A story about how he had become to know the flag he now carried on his lap. I look back now and wish I could have that conversation again and I wish I could remember his story in it entirety but I have forgotten most of it. What I did not forget was that his story was sad, he had been through World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War and he watched many fall but he said "Our flag did not."
I am not sure if he told me where he got the flag but in my mind now I can imagine where each and every spot, rip and tear came form.

This was inspired by Johny Cash's "Ragged Old Flag"

Feeling a bit down? How about upside down?

This issue was brought to my attention today as I looked at a few sites I support.
Groups who are against our current administrations decisions and policies are choosing to add pictures to their profiles depicting the US flag flown upside down.
Without looking up the actual causes that excuses hanging our country's flag upside down, I would have said that it was if you were in distress.
I then went on to look up the rules and regulations as to the proper display techniques for our nation's flag.
I do not agree that we as a country are at the point of hanging our flag upside down and to do so shows disrespect for the ones who have fought for what that flag stands for.
Some will argue that it is their right to express their dismay and displeasure with our current government officials by hanging this flag in the distress status.
What are you thoughts?

Angry, yes Racists, NO!

I am an American citizen and I am angry.
I am a member of the Tea Party movement.
I am not ashamed of either facts.

Everyday I read, write, learn and act.
I read current and past events in an effort not only to keep up to date but also to relearn the things I missed in my education and youth.
I write blogs for our movement describing daily my journey of rediscovering America and my government.
I act by going to Tea Party meetings and supporting our local efforts when I can.

I do not however have "hostility towards diversity" as our current administration would have you believe.
I am not a part of a robe wearing group that discriminates against a gender, race or religion. Tea Party members have a common goal to bring America back to the people and put the power of the people back to work and we are not doing this by violent means but by using the rights given to us by our founding fathers many years ago.
I want the elected officials to speak for the people that voted them there not their special interests.
I need a government I can trust in that will not continue to run us so far in debt that we have a made in China sticker stamped on our butts.
The name calling and accusations only tell me they are getting worried.
They know that America is starting to wake up and it does nothing but confirm that we are making REAL change.


Good morning America, would you like some coffee or how about some TEA?

Morning blog land, how are you today?
I have been away and I wish I could say that I was doing something extremely important but no.
The weather is looking nice for the day and it shows to be promising throughout the week.
Been looking at the increasing daylight and really do not need the Farmer's Almanac to tell me as the birds outside my window are doing a great job.
Heath is home today from work even though there is plenty to do right in this area and from the looks of things it will only be getting busier but WE needed a day off.
We are thinking of packing some lunches and going for a walk with the kids the fresh air does them good including poor Shane who has not seen too much of the outside world due to the winter months.
While we go for the walk here are some interesting things I found while surfing the web today.
I wonder sometimes if it is all really news but then I remind myself it ended up on my blog so it HAS to be!

Really? Do we care?

Now this says a bit about a person's loyalty.

How do you know when it is the best day to do something? Ask the stars!

Been too long

I have been absent and while I wish I could say I was doing something really important but I was not.
I will hopefully breath some life back into my blog and think of something witty to write about.
Eh...maybe tomorrow.
Today I think I will keep it simple.
The kids have been home over the last week and have been bored out of their minds...seems staying home everyday in the rain is not fun! They have had a few days to play outside with the weather improving enough to get my side and back yard raked and cleaned of winter poo and trash. Looks like now just in time for the rain but I suspect when it finally stops and the sun comes out we will have a full green lawn. There are patches of green grass already but for the most part my lawn is still brown and ugly.
I have been spending the time indoors learning how to sew and it is much harder than I thought but very full filling. I have bought one used sewing machine for $20 from Craigslist then found another a few days later for free and they came with everything one would need to start! They are both older machines but the older FREE one works the best and I prefer it over the newer one. I found a lady on craigslist that was giving away free fabric and I snagged it thinking i would get maybe a few good scraps only to find yards of fleece in many colors!
I made several sleepers for Shane, a couple of blankets, a bath robe set for a friends little boy and cloth diapers. I am also working on making a few dresses and have bought some cute material for Heather who would have thought I would have to wait over eleven years for my girl to wear dresses?
Heath is back at work full swing and we have all been adjusting after a very lazy winter. He has been working mostly in Nebraska but that will change as the fields every where start to thaw.
He has found two more deer antler in Kansas to add to his "shed" collection. They were found in two different spots but they are so similar in size that they could have been from the same deer!
The kids now have them in their rooms next to their beds.
Well I am going to bed and I will try to write in the morning!

A renewal of vows

This year marks Heath's and my tenth anniversary well actually November 27 of last year but still we have not reached eleven yet!
Heath and I have always talked about renewing our vows but never really put a specific time frame on it until now.
We are planning on doing a simple ceremony to mark the ten years of our marriage and then follow that ceremony with a reception in the HITW, inviting close friends and family.
We are thinking July 17th as that is one of the only weekend that does not have birthday, anniversary or baby due!
Let me know what you guys think!

Its beginning to look a lot like spring...

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Springtime

(Sang to the tune its beginning to look a lot like Christmas)

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Ev'rywhere you go
Look in the back yard and then its covered with poop again
with little piles and puddles in a row!

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Flowers in every store
The prettiest thing to see is the green grass that will be
Right out your own front door!

A pair of red rubber boots with and pot holes on your commute
Its the complaint of John and Jane
Melting snow brings squalls and dripping basement walls
Sump pumps are sold out or rented
And the kids can hardly wait for school time to come to and end!

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Ev'rywhere you go
There's piles of snow in the yard one in the front as well
Soon there will be flowers that need to grow

Its beginning to look a lot like springtime
Soon the birds will start
The thing that will make them sing is the bird seed that you bring
Spring is in your heart!
Enjoy!

That's what little kids do...

Just another rainty day...

Another rainy start to my day here in Lincoln Ne and I am left wondering what will I do?
Maybe I could learn to make cheese but I am hearing the main ingredient in the recipe I found can be considered a "bio hazardous" substance and if used as a weapon, I could be charged with a felony.
Does that mean I am a loaded and deadly weapon?
I gave up on the cheese idea to read some news and found out the Cory Haim died of a suspected drug overdose which marks the end of a life of another child star.
I think I will put on some music, watch the rain come down and drink my coffee.
What shall I use for creamer?

Key, Like Kilo

What a character.
The first time I met Key he was wearing only a bath rob that read Huge Heffner over the left breast pocket. This is not too abnormal except he was standing in the middle of the Tackle Shop.
There would be many stories told when he would randomly show up dogs in tow.
You knew Key was in town when you could hear his diesel engine rev or the tap tap of him shooting at nothing on his property.
He was a nice enough guy even if he was a bit rough around the edges.
I remember a particular story that still brings a smile to my face.
One day while I was working at Ulmer's Key, Tom and few other guys came filing through the check out. They were very excited as they were going on a fishing trip to the Kvichak River. The place rang a bell as Heath had talked about it before. I chatted with the guys as I rang them up and bagged their purchases, teasing Tom and Key, telling them to not tell my husband as he would be jealous they were going.
A little while later I got a call from Tom telling me they had an extra seat if Heath wanted to go but they were leaving in an hour.
At the time Heath had no cell phone so I had to drive all the way home pick him up and have him back in Anchor Point in less than an hour. Needless to say he made it.
I can still remember my husband's face as I told him that they wanted him to go and it is still a trip my husband talks about often and we still don't know how a seat suddenly opened but Heath was thankful regardless!
The stories Key told were some of the most interesting stories I have ever heard and yes some were a bit disturbing but you could never really know if they were true or not.
One such story he told was of his original reason for coming to Alaska many years back and until we saw the framed and signed mugshot of Steve McQueen, we thought it was another tall tale. There in that picture frame was Steve McQueen and it was your typical mug shot but it meant something more than that to me. It brought up the possibility that some of his stories were true even if they were a bit far fetched.
Last night while Heath was looking on information on Key's property he came across an article about Key and while it was short it added more to the mysterious guy in his bath robe who enjoyed his guns.

More Earthquakes...

Another earthquake hits, this time in Turkey
and it leaves one wondering:
Are earthquakes really on the increase?

Some are quoting scripture,
and some are talking end of days
I think I will go buy flea collars, its getting warm out there!
now all I need are some rays!

*in case you are wondering what "divers places" means, I looked it up.

Also I referenced a site above IMDb and I have to give a bit of a nod. If you have not already found this site I suggest a look through. Heath and I are movie buffs, (I feel comfortable saying that) and one of our favorite games is "guess that actor/what other movies have they been in" and now even our kids play it. This site is fun and has solved many a debate I use it almost everyday!
Enjoy!

National Pig Day



Pork and Sweet Potato Wrapped in Bacon (My own recipe!)
Side Dish: Skewered Bacon Wrapped Halibut
Side Dish: Sauteed Asparagus



In honor of national pig day, even if I am 6 days off, I decided to make a dish that would help celebrate the March first holiday.

Here is the recipe and instructions. Be for warned there are probably easier ways to make this dish but it would not taste any better or be as much fun! Also it is not for anyone on a diet or a vegetarian!

First you start with THICK (1"-1 1/2in) boneless pork chops. Slice the pork chops in thin slices, making one slice per each serving you would like. I will not begin to give you exact measurements as there are none. I used two pork chops and made more than enough for my family of four (that eat big people food anyways)!

Once you have the pork chops sliced you trim the fat off the pork chops and save scraps. Place sliced meat on plate and place in fridge.

Mean while peel three or so sweet potatoes, again I used three and had just enough but you may want to bake some for a side dish although we used asparagus.
Once you have them peeled chop in thin slices. At this same time get a yellow onion and chop it into large pieces.
Heat a large sauce pan up with 6-7 pieces of bacon folded in half and chopped in one inch sections. Place entire onion in pan and slowly saute adding spices or your choice. I left mine plain and just added salt and pepper. Once you have the onions and the bacon cooked add the chopped up sweet potato and about 1/4th cup butter. Let vegetables and bacon saute slowly till sweet potato are soft but not burnt.

While that's sauteing pull out about a pound of halibut and chop into approximately inch sections. Cut one piece of bacon in half and wrap one piece of halibut sliding a skewer through it. Add other vegetables of your choice I just used onions to keep it simple. I used about 4-5 pieces which made about one serving.
Place in fridge.

Now that your vegetables are done they must cool off but you do not want to loose the bacon grease. Place strainer on a plate and let vegetables drip for about an hour. Works also because the vegetables and bacon need to cook down for you to handle them.

Once they are cooled down get out the rest of your bacon (I was already into the second pound of regular sliced bacon at this step)!
Lay a full bacon strip in the cutting board and place one slice of your pork chop at one end, place vegetables and bacon in pork chop wrap bacon to lock in veggies. Place carefully on broiler pan. Bake at 350 degrees till pork is cooked through.
*After eating the dish popular opinion was that the bacon around the pork could have been a bit more crisp. I recommend maybe lightly browning carefully on the sides an top as best you can. I did not use the broiler for this step, though I know I should have. The grease was thick and the meat was almost drowning in it!*

Take skewered halibut and saute in the bacon/sweet potato/onion grease till both sides are crispy then place on the broiler pan with the pieces of pork. I dusted my skewer with paprika for color and salt and pepper and it was perfect. Make sure that halibut is still moist but flaky and make sure bacon is cooked. I think mine took about 15 minutes on the broiler pan at 350 degrees.

While those are baking pull out your asparagus and then saute slowly in the left over grease, I added more onions.

By the time the vegetables are cook to taste (we like our firmish on the outside but soft on the inside) your food should all be done. I served as is with no sauce.
The pork came out juicy (not sure if it was the grease that pooled around the pork itself) and the sweet potatoes were the perfect veggie.
This was extremely rich dish and while it was in honor of celebrating the pig I think Igained a few pounds from this dish!

If you try it before summer let me know what you think but I do plan on making it this summer. The halibut skewers will work well on our fire pit and the wrapped pork, well it just good!
Enjoy!

Junior High Already?

Heather and I went last night to the first of Heather's five orientations she will have before starting school on August 15th. Driving up to the school I noted that it did (thank goodness) have a parking lot, unfortunately I was still unable to find parking. That was amazing because it was just the 6th graders there and there are two other classes. Walking into the school it was hard to not be impressed by the schools brick exterior which it turns out has not been altered since it was built 83 years ago!
We were seated in the auditorium that features a balcony and the best acoustics I have ever heard without a microphone. The chairs were the old folding wood kind with wrought iron bases and their condition amazed me as they looked like they were installed yesterday.
The hour presentation was informative giving us the basics of the life of the average 6th grader at Irving. Heather is projected to attend school next year with an approximate head count of 850 students, with her class reaching 300. Irving is capable of holding 935 students without adding any additional buildings and has held as many as 1100 kids during one school year.
The school boasts three fully equipped computer labs with two newly added mobile labs with 60 lap tops. Each grade will be taught a language, though I am not sure if they learn one language a year or if they stick with one language through out their time there.

Heather is excited to start and even impressed she will get her own locker!
The only thing is the start date for school has caused a bit with our travel plans to the Alaska this summer.

Pine Needle Bear



This was sent to me in an email and while I rarely forward things every once in awhile something more than a perverted joke or spam comes through that I feel is note worthy.
Today it was this bear. He is made from pine needles that a man collected, washed and trimmed then meticulously glued together to form this bear. From what I read it took the man 8 months to do this bear.
The detail is just beautiful!
I wonder if I could ask him to make a moose?

Night Terrors and Night Hags


We always knew Hunter moved around in his sleep moving from one spot in the house to the next in a sleepy stupor. At first we thought he was waking up and looking for a more comfortable spot (he likes heater vents) but we soon began to realize he was not awake after a few incidents where he wakes up and does not remember. Stan can even attest to Hunter's nightly wanderings after an incident that occurred when they were staying here with us.
A month or so ago we moved Heather out of Hunter's room so she could have her own space and he his. That very night Hunter came out of his room in a panic and very upset claiming "something" held him down in his bed. He claimed that he could not scream for help or move and that "it" was sitting on top of him. He was so panicked I knew what ever happened it scared the heck out of him. What do you tell your child when they come to you with this? The old "you had a nightmare" just doesn't cut it but what else can you say? To him it was the most frightening thing ever and he was scared to sleep.
We decided he could sleep on Heather's floor till he was more comfortable sleeping in his room alone and maybe he just needed to get used to the arrangement.
I once again went to my trusted search engine and Googled Hunter's experience totally expecting to find information on poltergeists and demons and such only to find sleeping disorders as the number one cause of scenarios like the one Hunter had.
Turns out it is a common occurrence for people who sleep walk and they even have a term for it, Night hags or Night terrors.
I guess as a sleep walker they have the ability to wake up their mind before their body wakes up and therefor there mind is working but their bodies are not so a feeling of being held down and not being able to talk lead to panic and a feeling of something evil holding them down. A lot of people can mistake these episodes as demonic or evil manifestations but it is only the subconscious conjuring up an image to match the panic the person is feeling.

I am not sure what we have to do for this but what I found stress is the key and not being overly tired. I will be looking into more information and trying to figure out how to help him sleep better. We have moved him into his room and bought him a lamp that he keeps on at all times and when he roams around we always find him in the the light cast off by the lamps in the house sleeping soundly. We have not had another episode although I still find him wandering around the house in the middle of the night.

Conspiracy theories, drug trafficking and terrorists.


What do these all ave in common with D. B. Cooper? Not much. I was watching a movie last night and they talked of the character D. B. Cooper and it sent me to the computer to learn a bit more about him. There really isn't much after he jumps from the plane except a few claims to have found his body, a parachute and a placard from the plane that fell when he jumped.
It was a short but interesting read and I learned that because of D. B. Cooper and several failed attempts to imitate his jump Boeing created the Cooper which prevent the stairs from being deployed after the plane has taken flight. I also found out that he was Dan Cooper and D. B. Cooper came from another man who was brought in solely on his initials. He was cleared but I guess the name stuck.

So you are probably wondering about the headline and what they all have to do with D.B.?
While researching the jumper I found a site that talks about information on the 9/11 hijackers. It is an eye brow raising read and it makes you wonder. I understand that sites can be biased but it was a good read non the less.

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Double Shot...
I had to post twice this morning due to some "cool" facts, I will blame it and all typing errors on the double shot of espresso!


• We've now had at least an inch of snow on the ground in Lincoln for 75 days, the second-longest duration, topped only by 92 days in 1975.
• Our half-inch of snow on Friday gave us a season total of 39.3 inches of snow. That puts us in 16th place among Lincoln's snowiest winters.
• We haven't seen 50 degrees since Dec. 1; we've seen 40 on four days since Dec. 1.... See More
Enough already?

It gets worse.

There's a winter storm watch for Sunday morning through Monday morning.

The National Weather Service says a winter storm system is expected to develop over the southern Rockies on Saturday and move onto the Plains Saturday night.

Forecasters say most places in the storm watch area, including all of Southeast Nebraska, are expected to receive between 3 and 5 inches of new snow, but the potential exists for more than 6 inches in some locations.

The combination of snow and gusty north to northwest winds could cause travel problems.

Much of the rest of the state also could get 3 to 5 inches of snow.

Friday's storm brought the most snow to far southeast and west-central Nebraska. The weather service said several areas in Keith, Garden and Lincoln counties reported receiving 5 inches or more, with an unofficial total of 6.5 inches near the Sutherland Reservoir west of North Platte.

In Southeast Nebraska, Nebraska City reported 4 inches, Auburn 3.4, Tecumseh 3, and Crete 1.7.

So we are headed into another forecast of a snowy weekend and I am watching the state warnings and thankful that I am not driving anywhere! Seems of late that all we are seeing is one day of thaw and then several days of snow and it makes it hard to believe that soon there might be some green poking through the twice frozen poop soup in my back yard.

I was going through my pictures again trying to consolidate some of them and make them easier to manage (this has been a goal since I began taking pictures but I have never really accomplished it. Recently though I have managed to get them on one external hard drive now I just need to clean them up further.)

When I came upon this picture I first saw Hunter out numbered, gripping for his life, being drug to some unknown torture by his girl cousins. I remember the day this was taken and it was a good day. I know that despite the deceptive looks on the kid's faces they are all really enjoying them selves, even Hunter!
After staring at this picture I was reminded of a conversation I had a few days ago about the grand kids returning to the pit and how neat it would be. Then the full reality hit me.
This pit was built for our family but did any really know the impact this place would have on our family? A place was created that our kids and their kids could call home and always have something in common and something to come home to no matter how far they roam. This last year we saw the oldest bear cub leave home and we face the girlie Buffie leaving home soon as well and we are faced with them growing up despite our best efforts . We will start to see them dating guys we don't like and maybe a few we do, we will see their hearts break and spirits fly and we will watch them create families of their own. All I can hope for is that they to will bring their families back to the pit and they will have pictures like this to share.

*The girls in this picture are now much taller and much more grown up and the boy, well he still screams when his girl cousins gang up on him but even he has gotten a bit taller!
Here is a toast to many more memorable memories with this family that is growing even as you read this!

Heath 8 days/ Shane 22 days

When we asked Stan and Terry for pictures of Heath as a baby to compare to Shane we KNEW Shane looked like Heath but were shocked when we looked through the photos and saw Shane starring back at us! After putting these two photos together I went on a search for some old pictures I have of Hunter because I know if I were to throw him in the mix he would add to the confusion! Now like I said we knew he was half Heath and half me but there is something to be said about seeing that much of a resemblance and likeness.
There are a few differences that I could see from this photo but then it could be the lighting. Looks like Heath might have been a bigger baby with darker hair and looks as though his eyes were dark in this picture. Terry was he born with brown eyes? Heather was born with brown eyes and they always stayed that pretty brown. Hunter was also born with blue but changed to green so Shane has blue so far so I am hoping they stay that way so I will have one brown, blue and green eye kids! Anyways it was a bit of fun and proves that Harrington genetics are running strong!

Spring & Renewal

I am a big fan of Febreeze and when they came out with their air effects I was even happier. I like buying my scents according the holidays for example for Christmas we used ginger bread and fresh baked cookies smell sprays. Now that we have spring cleaned and the house is spotless I figures why not use the new spring collection.
I bought linen & sky and spring & renewal. They both smell amazing and fresh without being over powering like the air fresheners of days past that choked you out of the room recently sprayed.
As I sat this morning reading the back of the spray can (I won't mention where ;)) I started to think about the smells they have canned. The first smell linen & sky I could see them being able to bottle the sky but how do bottle renewal?
I went to the ingredients to see what the mixture was for renewal finding odor eliminator, water, fragrance, non-flammable natural propellant, quality control ingredients, no CFC's and no phosphates.
So that is chemical make up of renewal.
On to other, more important news.
I80 claimed several Nebraskan's lives over the last few days and many accidents including a 35 car pile up outside of Lincoln and a 14 car pile up near the Homestead National Monument on HWY 4 were the resilt of blowing snow and winds. Drivers not driving for the winter road conditions are also contributing factors and that low visibility and black ice have sent cars into the ditches and onto their tops. Unfortunately for a few Nebraskan's the roads conditions claimed their lives which prompted state officials to close I80. The cold temps in Lincoln are staying right about the low twenties during the days and dropping even lower at night but with the wind it feels like below zero.
Question?
How do you repair hundred year old sheet rock?
Well first you have to go online and figure out what kind of material was used. About the time our house was built (we were told the house was built in 1915) there were several types of ways to cover the walls and after working this summer with sheet rock I am glad times have changed! After reading few articles I found one I think properly describes my house so I am guessing I have lime plaster placed on wood lath. This is makes since below the windows that had air conditioners in them have water damage and after close examination the only thing keeping the plaster together anymore is the thin piece of wall paper. Lime does not handle water well. We learned another interesting thing while looking into the wall, we have no insulation! It is just an open space between the outside wall and the inside wall and when a chunk of the plaster fell we realized why our room is so cold on windy days!
I am thinking of just getting some mud and slapping it on the hole as this is not my house and I am afraid to put too much money into it and if we start to repair this then we would have to start a project I am not sure we should. As a side note the water damage was not from us. They used to keep the air conditioners in the window year round and during the winter with ice and snow its not a good idea. This winter we took them out!
Well it is time to wake the kids up and ready for school.
Question of the day.
Will Lincoln Nebraska still be colder than Alaska?