The "Powers" that be....

Sorry for delay everyone. We’ve been a bit busy, plus it’s just not a convenient computer/internet situation. It couldn’t be much more uncomfortable of a place to sit a computer. That is both bad and good. Bad because I don’t get things like this done but good that I don’t sit surfing the web for mindless reasons. Enough of the whining, on with the blog…..
We were back in Michigan last weekend for an extended time as Jo had Thursday and Friday off, so I took them off too. We got a chance to do a few things while home that we both needed and wanted to get done. Also my parents came home from their Russia trip that Friday night and that was very cool to hear about. They also brought back a few things for us all which were very cool as well. We’ve been back to Michigan two times in two weeks and now we won’t be back until turkey time. It’s a long drive for the boys and they have been troopers but it’s time to slow down a bit for them at least. We also are moving houses this next weekend into a 4 bedroom two floor home on Lake Champlain. It’s only about a half mile up the road but is a much nicer place. So we are looking forward to that. We did move just over half our stuff this past weekend to another storage facility that is half the cost. We’ll have to move the rest as well, but some of that we’ll get some people to chip in. This time I loaded a 24 foot truck all day Friday and Jo helped me unload it all at the new facility. It also gave us a chance to go thru many of the 250 boxes to see where some things are that were missing, like winter coats!
Next weekend Zack has a big cub/boy scout verterans day parade he is walking in somewhere in southern Vermont. I guess this is a big to-do as I think the entire Vermont scouting groups are invited. My understanding is that that is all that’s in the parade is scouts and veterans. Sounds very cool. On the subject of the boys, we have two Transformers(Sean & BJ) and one Harry Potter (in quidditch outfit)(Zack) for Halloween this year. I’ll try and post some pictures for you. We went to a locally sponsored Halloween party last night that the rec department puts on for kids. It was really nice and they had fun stuff for the guys to do. Oh yeah, I totally forgot, BJ broke his left hand pinky two weeks ago, right above the second knuckle. No displacement so nothing had to be ‘set’ which is always good. It was very close to the growth plate and there was disagreement by the doctors whether or not it was at the growth plate but regardless it’s stiff treated the same way. So he’s had a big old bendy splint on his fingers which is usually bent in some origami looking thing by the end of the day cause he can’t leave it alone. He also turned 6 this past month (11th).
Jo and I are doing well, we are both busy at work, which is good. We are making some friends and they have been very good to us inviting us over often for Friday nights. Not much to report on that front. I did get my new taillights for my Mini Cooper. Zack, Sean and I put them in today. Really easy! I know most of you don’t care but they just look more snazzy, yes that’s right snazzy! See for yourself.

A quick story for you all about how we came home here last weekend after driving 12½ hours. It was about 6:30 Sunday night and was just past dusk. So visibility was not great but not total night either. It was dark enough to not be able to see which of the windows in the house was unlatched before I ripped the screen out to gain entry. Yes I know, it’s not the preferred method of entering a house but you see when we have the house key on the key ring that is sitting in the house we are attempting to enter, you must resort to some drastic measures. So I thought, ‘no big deal I’ll just get my trusty flashlight from the camper….which…is….in….the…..house….damn! foiled again!’ Alas a solution presented itself that allowed me to identify a window that was unlatched. Before I tell you my solution and how I came to be in possession of the solution keep in mind I’ve just driven 12½ hours in the car and am not totally grumpy but nor am I in a cheery mood. Moving on….So I’m somewhat pissy with the situation and then I remembered my good friend Craig Powers….No Craig, being pissy does not make me think of you, I was just trying to think thru some potential solutions and I remembered that I had just been given one of those pocket tools that folds up and has pliers, screw drivers, etc. But this one had one extra trick up it’s sleeve, it had an LED light on it that was surprisingly bright. Boyaah!, from pissy to ecstatic. And where, you ask, did I get such a unique, situation saving item such as that! You guessed it, Craig Powers! He gave it to me the night before back in Grand Haven. So thanks to Mr. Powers, I did find a window that was unlocked, I did successfully break into our rental house, and I was able to calm down and have a reasonably peaceful night after that. So to you Craig, I tip my hat, for without your need to give away your collected trinkets in an effort to lighten your load prior to heading on your next life adventure, I believe I would have ripped down as many as four screens in the house prior to finding an unlocked window and therefore have four screens to repair prior to leaving next weekend. We all extend our thanks!

I’ll leave you with tonight’s activities……

And These Are The Days Of Our Lives.......

And These Are The Days Of Our Lives……….

It’s Friday today. The Friday that I work. (For those of you who don’t know, I work a 9/80 schedule which means I work 80 hours in 9 work days which gives me every other Friday off.) No major plans this weekend for once, although it is Apple Festival on South Hero this weekend and from what we hear it’s pretty big. Well, big for Vermont! Jo is becoming more at ease and comfortable in her job and I am still enjoying mine. I am also enjoying my new-to-me Mini Cooper and have been online looking for upgrades/add-ons. I’ve got my eye on buying the checkerboard mirror side mirror casings to match the roof and also a much cooler rear tail light assembly. Other than that I don’t know what more I’m going to do. I don’t want to put too much money into it and the things I am going to do are pretty cheap.
The boys are doing well and have been riding the bus home with classmates a couple times this week and hanging out at their houses, so they are definitely making friends.
I started playing at an indoor (gym) soccer pickup league this last week. Wow, am I out of shape!!!! I thought my heart was going to explode. I also strained a calf muscle that hasn’t really improved yet so I’ll have to watch it this next Monday. Getting old sucks! I am going with a friend of ours, Danielle. She’s pretty good at soccer and we have kids the same ages. She’s the one who started the kids soccer program that Jo and I have been helping with, and the boys have been participating in. I am hoping this off season we can sit down with some neighboring towns and expand the program.
Zack is in full Cub Scout mode now and since we have no idea where his uniform is right now we are going to have to buy him a new one. He is a wolf this year and we are very proud of his enthusiasm for the scouts. His den leader lives on a big farm and so he is going to get a great education about farm life this year. I’m toying with the idea of getting into scouts because I think they need a tiger leader. Zack is also in his popcorn drive so we’d love for you to order something from him. Click here for a link so you can see what he is selling. I’ll have to supply prices some other way. Zack would really love to have your support with this as he can earn a patch for it and it really helps their funding for the year. So call with questions or for prices if you’d like. 616-402-4652. Zack is also really developing an athletic zest. He loves soccer, but also football. He really likes all sports but has latched onto these lately. Know for the engineering geek side, he likes to watch Modern Marvels on the history channel with me and just recited some fertilizer facts to BJ yesterday after watching the Modern Marvels on fertilizer a couple days earlier. That’s just darn funny to me! He also really liked the one on the building of the Mackinac Bridge.
Seany is also making friends at school and already has his favorites. He is doing great and they love him there. We have had a few notes about how he has been a real example for the rest of the kids. For those of you who haven’t seen him lately or interacted with him, he is very in control of his body language and facial expressions. Well beyond what BJ and Zack could do at that time. I don’t know how to explain it, but if you spend only 5 minutes with him he’ll have you laughing.
BJ is doing well also and academically doing well in school. He’s struggling a bit socially but that is because he is overdue for a meds increase. He is big into catching frogs right now and I think he really likes living in the sticks out closer to nature. He too is finding friends, and doesn’t know it yet but he has a girl friend. It’s a little girl from his class, a real spitfire, who has a big crush on him. I guess she’s been writing her name and BJs with hearts all over her house. Of course he, like his dad, is clueless about that stuff. I’m not clueless now but back then I was.
We went home last weekend and got to see everyone. The only downside of the trip was that Pete & Mandy have had a pretty major setback to their pregnancy and their bid for children. I don’t want to go further into that as I’m sure they don’t want details broadcast over the internet. We did get to go to the symphony with June and Dawn as well as out to dinner at Arboreal. Both were great and we were very thankful for the night out with adults and also to my parents for once again answering the babysitting call. Every once in a while you do something as an ‘adult’ that makes you feel, well, like an adult….The symphony was one of those things and I found myself not only enjoying the music but also people watching. The majority of people were older but they all looked like they were enjoying themselves and I realized so was I. Go figure, an uncultured beast like me enjoying the symphony. What’s next, cats and dogs living together? Britney Spears getting a clue? The government actually getting something done? A presidential candidate that we can actually vote FOR instead of the least of two evils?........Sorry, got side tracked there for a moment. Damn near got up on a soap box. Back to the symphony thing…….So here is your hypothetical question to ponder for the week. Is it best to make your kids go to things like the symphony when they are young and totally disinterested therefore risking that they grow an aversion to such things until they are much older, or is it best to give them much smaller snippets thru some other way hoping they’ll show interest by themselves or at least not get an aversion and therefore be open to it much younger in their adult life? (I am contacting Guinness to see if that qualifies for the longest sentence in history) Regardless, talk amongst yourselves……Oh yeah, if I just sparked off a spousal argument…….it was Joeys idea, yeah right, Joeys idea!
June is doing alright but finding this round of chemo a bit more taxing than the previous round. It was good for not only Jo but all of us to get to see her. Obviously we are all concerned about the future and where things are going to go. On the subject of Jo’s parents, we continue to get cards from people showing they are thinking of us, both in concern for June and in memory of Dale. It’s greatly appreciated.
Jo is getting more comfortable in her job but she has also has some major challenges that are not normal to an incoming new principal and they have kept her from adapting as quickly as if she had come into a previously decently run school. It has been interesting to watch her truly become a more confident, stronger person. She certainly takes less crap from me. Oh well, it’s easily worth it. She works hard and is learning to adapt to a different schedule. Maybe I’ll have her add onto this herself.
I think that’s it for now, feel free to leave feedback to this, I think there is a link below. Also, you may be able to subscribe to this blog so you know when it updates. I don’t know for sure though. Check around on this site and let me know. Lastly, for all you Michiganders, I just wanted you to know what it’s like to cheer for a winning football team. By that I mean consistently winning. It’s Fantastic! It’s Great! BooYah! Go Patriots! Doesn’t that sound like fun? I still cheer for the Ly-Downs, but now I can cheer for a team I know has a chance to win consistently, it certainly is nice.

PS. Please forward my ‘blog update’ e-mail to anyone you think might be interested. When you do, also send their e-mail to me and I’ll add them to my ‘Blog update’ email group. If you do figure out how to ‘subscribe’ to the blog and get automatic notification of a blog update from the blog site, let me know and I’ll take you off the ‘blog update’ email group. If you’d just like to forget about us and live a normal life without these pestering e-mails……tough, your stuck!!!! Just kidding, let me know and I’ll remove you in a year or two.