Welcome to the Best Damn Country!

VA pics

2009-03-15T10:42:00.001-07:00

A painful yet fruitful trip!

2009-03-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

What can I say? The trip was long and filled with lots of different emotions; highs and lows, laughter and crying, but most of all there was some healing.
I'm not sure my shoulders could be as strong as my brother Mickey's but would like to think they are. No parent should have to go through what they have gone through. I have to admit that my faith in God "IS" surely being tested at the point in time. I listened to all the religious people talk at Cody's funeral and not one of them could answer the question that was on every body's mind, "Why did this happen to this poor child?" What did he do to deserve being dealt such a shitty hand in life? Blind faith is what they are asking for. I not sure that I can give to them any more. Why do we see the evil people of this world rewarded with wealth and good health while children and innocent people suffer their whole lives? Good people who live their lives following God's word are raped, murdered and made to suffer. Meanwhile "Joe" the child molester walks the street or a man of God fondles a young child preaches to you and I! What God lets this happen? Death of a loved one causes many chain reactions and unfortunately they are not ALL good!
No, I'm not going off the deep end but some questions will need to be answered! Maybe they can't be answered, who knows. I will post some pics from the Virginia trip soon. Till then, C-ya!

Re: Time Flies

2008-11-05T23:11:00.000-08:00

A little background on the pics. Yes, Alysse is really 5' tall and Elijah is really 4' tall. The lions sweatshirt is for the Lynden Schools, they are called the Lynden Lions. The kids picked out their own costumes.

R.I.P. Kerry Gallager

2008-11-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

This a picture of one of my co-workers, Kerry Gallager, that recently died in a motorcycle accident on his way to work. He was new bike owner and rider and will be greatly missed. He was a joy to work with because he truly loved his job and was happy with nothing but doing the job right. It was a refreshing thing after dealing with grown men and women that bitch and moan about tough their jobs are everyday. They are lucky to have a job if you ask me and like I always tell them, "McDonald's is hiring!" God speed my friend!!

Time Flies!

2008-11-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

Wow, where does the time go?? I can't believe that it is November already and I haven't posted anything in a long time. I have enclosed some photos from Elijah's 7th B-Day, 4-H scarecrow fundraiser and Halloween of course. I had to work Halloween but the kids looked great and the rain held off for the walk. Alysse was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Zoey was Toto and Elijah was a Recon Commando. It is hard to believe that X-mas right around the corner and we are days away from getting a new President. Obama scares the shit out of me and I'm afraid that McCain won't live very long. Anything has to be better than that idiot that is in office right now. God help us!!!

Mojo & Zoey 08 '

2008-09-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

The most wonderful time of the year!

2008-09-02T10:14:00.001-07:00

The heading says it all!! School is back in session and Kelsey and I are beside ourselves! Don't get me wrong, we love the kids but we need time for ourselves if you know what I mean! I put a video feed from Youtube with one our favorite commercials. The top one is the "Staples" back to school commercial that I love! Elijah is in 1st grade this year so he will be gone everyday, all day and now I can work on the "honey do" list that has been neglected. I can also get back to the gym on a regular basis because lord knows I need it! Alysse is in 5th grade this year and she has her first male teacher so this should be interesting. Maybe he can keep her from being such a social butterfly and get serious about school, we'll see!
Summer is slowly coming to an end and I'm pissed! I think we got cheated this year but maybe September will be nice.

The Lynden Fair

2008-08-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Lynden Fair has come and gone and it was fun! This was the first year for Alysse and her goats. She did really well and even won 4 ribbons (1 red and 4 blue). I have updated the Walgreen's' photo album with pics from the fair. We are also getting 2 twin baby goats to add to the family. I will post some pics of them and the kids holding the babies. All and all it was a good time but we are ready for school to start. We took it easy on the kids this summer to give them a break but next year will be a different story. We want to keep them busy and that way there will be less fighting and bickering during the hot summer days. Mom, I still don't know how you did it with 7 kids! I would have run away rather than deal with 7 different personalities. We had great weather for the fair but it seems that summer is coming to an end. I hope we get an Indian summer this year but I doubt that will happen.

Mojo is getting bigger and better every day. He is already 10+ lbs and as long as a wiener dog. I will try and post some of those pics also. Zoey has mixed emotions about Mojo but does like to play with him when he isn't such a bully. Hope your summer is going well.

Video post

2008-07-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Click on the top video to see a bunch of clips from Elijah's Jedi training at Disney. Unfortunately, there is another kid named Elijah that did the same thing, go figure! Enjoy! I will try and post more pics later.

Slideshow

2008-07-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

I've added a slideshow with some pics from Disney. I will add more later, still trying to figure this damn thing out. You can click on the photo and it will take to the Flikr website were the photos were uploaded to. Once there, you can see all the photos bigger. Enjoy the pics. I am still trying to figure out how to add a video.

A good time for all

2008-07-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

What can I say, it was hot and crowded but fun for the whole family! Luckily for us we did not know how hot it actually was in California at the time. We were to busy playing and site seeing to watch the news or see the temperatures at the banks or else we would have been miserable. We left Lynden with the local temp being mid 50's and low 60's. We arrived in California to 100+ temps for the most of the time we were there. I new it would be hotter but damn! Like I said though, it is a good thing that we did not know hot it really was. We actually got a little cold when the temp dropped down to the 80's the last couple days were there. (Can you believe that shit?)

The kids had fun but weren't very daring when it came to the big rides. We started off with Splash Mountain, what a mistake that was. Both kids got scared and Alysse cried by the end of it. That kind of set the tempo for the next couple days, frustrating. They were very reluctant or refused to ride anything else after that for a while. I did get Elijah to go on the Star Tours ride and into the Haunted Mansion. The latter was a big mistake because he was bawling half way into it. I tried to explain to him that it wasn't real but he didn't care.
I was grumpy because of the fact that we had spent a lot of money on the trip and they were refusing to experience any of the rides for fear of being frightened. Kelsey and the kids even called me Grumpy so I bought a hat and shirt with Grumpy on it, only fitting right? They slowly warmed up to some of the rides and I went off on my own to have some fun. Kelsey is not a big thrill seeker so it was up to me to enjoy some of the big rides on my own. I figured that if I rode the big ones that I could talk the kids into trying more exciting stuff, not! I rode the Hollywood Tower of Terror, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and some other ones that I don't remember the names of. I had a good time even if was on my own sometimes. I sure hope that the kids get a little more adventuresome the older they get because I honestly don't see us spending all that money on trip like that if they don't fully experience it.
We got to ride many rides together as a family which was fun. We rode the brand new Midway Mania (Toy Story ride), Finding Nemo, Honey I shrunk the audience, Buzz Light Year's ride and Alysse's favorite Autopia. One of the best things we did as a family is when Elijah got picked to go up on stage and be a Jedi knight and fight Darth Mal. I honestly thought that he would balk at it if they did choose him but he did great and had a blast. He did have some problems with his lightsaber at first but what guy doesn't, right? I will try and put the video clips on the blog.

We made a trip down to San Diego, on a Saturday, to take the kids to Seaworld. The place was packed and once again, it was hot! We made the best of it and had fun. I have to say though that Seaworld has a lot to learn from Disney when come to setting up there attractions. They all seemed to exit at the same place causing some serious congestion.
There was lots to see and if I ever have to deal with parents and their strollers again it will be to soon. They have to be the MOST inconsiderate people I know. You think that they would be the opposite but not there. They stopped in the middle of the streets and strolled side by side thinking they owned the god damn place. Who cares if there are 200,000 people waiting to get by them.

All and all the trip was fun and it was nice to get away. We came back to nice 80 degree weather and the kids took advantage of the pool. It looks like we will have summer after all.

The dogs were very happy to see us and Mojo changed a lot just in that short period of time. They stayed with Kelsey's mom at the cabin in eastern Washington and kept her company while Buzz was at a business meeting. Mojo is getting better and better in regards to the house breaking. I still think that he is not as smart as Zoey but I'm a little biased.

As you can see, the Lynden Fair is our next big project. We'll see how that goes.

Holy webbed feet Batman!

2008-06-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

Can someone please turn off the rain already? I'm starting to grow roots and this shit is getting real OLD! I know that they say it rains a lot in Seattle but damn! I have a new motorcycle and can't even enjoy it. We would like to have a spring let a lone a summer. The rest of the country is having sweltering heat and we are freezing our butts off. The pool is ready and the kids are dying to get in it. They have been in it once already and froze their butts off.

We are getting close to Disneyland and while I can say that I'm excited about it, I'm sure that Kelsey and I will need a vacation from our vacation. We are really hoping that the kids will be up for the trip. We have already told them that it will hot and that there will be a lot of people. We will see Sea World while we are there and a couple other side attractions. Kelsey has it all planned out so we will see.

Mojo has been a nice addition to the family but has his drawbacks. He is definitely more Yorkie than Poo. He seems to be harder to potty train than Zoey thus far. He likes to pick on Zoey and will definitely be bigger than her. I'm sure that Zoey has mixed emotions about Mojo. They wrestle together but Mojo can get a little rough.

The motorcycle, call it a mid-life crisis or whatever but it is fun and I wonder why I didn't get one sooner. It is a 2005 Yamaha Warrior, black cherry color with flames. I will post a better photo soon. The last owner only put 800 miles on it so it is practically brand new. It will also help by saving on gas with the prices as high as they are. I've taken it to work a couple times and would like to use it more. Can you believe this shit? $4.21 a gallon out here with no end in sight. Please, no safety tips from people! Kelsey and her family has given me enough for everybody. I am 41 yrs old and not some 21 yr old, snot nosed, kid with reckless abandon. I am responsible and will be careful. Thanks any how!

Hope all is well on your end!

Youth Fair 08'

2008-04-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Our first Youth Fair is done and over with! Alysse did great and got 4th place with Stormie. It was a BIG learning experience for all of us and we glad we did it. Stormie did better than expected until the showmanship judging starting at which point she had had it! Alysse was almost in tears because Stormie would not behave but kept her cool until the very end. The judge made her switch goats to see if it was just the goat not behaving or if it was Alysse that was not good a showing. She quickly found out that it was Stormie indeed. We have a lot of work ahead of us before the Lynden Fair starts in Aug. Elijah was a big help with clean up and keeping the place swept up. We learned and so did the goats, we hope. It is a lot harder than you think. Animals get bored and tired just like people do and when they are ready to go they are ready to go.

Undecided

2008-04-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

Well, we went to see the puppies again with the hopes of deciding which one it would be. We left there a little closer to a decision. The good thing is is that they are starting to show us their personality traits more and more. The one on the left is the one that Kelsey and Elijah like. Alysse and I both like the one on the right. The one on the left has more personality and a cute little tail that bops around as he plays. The one on the left was a little more reserved and has a cropped tail but more coloring. Alysse left there liking the one on the left a little more. I told Kelsey that I would be happy with either one. We have one more week to really make our minds so at least we are getting closer.

Kelsey is finally feeling better and hopefully we will be over the Flu bug for the year!! The funny thing about this Flu bug was that I never lost my appetite and never felt nauseous. The aches, pains and fever were there though.

Alysse has the Youth Fair this weekend and it should be a big indicator as to how she will do in the 4-H fair this summer. It will also let us know if she is really into the goats or not. If she doesn't start taking more responsibility with the care and maintenance of the goats then she can forget about getting any other animals! Wish us luck at the fair. I will post some pics after the weekend.

Got "MOJO"??

2008-03-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we think that we have found our "MOJO". He is a Yorkie Poo from a local breeder and is 5 weeks old. We have met the whole family once and will visit one more time prior to picking him up in 3 weeks. They are all very cute and he will be a little bigger than Zoey. He will be more Yorkie than Poodle by the looks of it but that is just fine with us.

I am getting over the flu and so is Alysse. Hopefully it won't run through the whole family but one never knows. The thing that pisses me of the most about getting sick this time is that it started on my DAYS OFF, of course. Murphy's law I guess.

03/31/08
The name for the new puppy changed because Alysse does not want to remember all that happened with the other one so we decided to start new. We have been kicking the name "MOJO" around for some time now and this puppy just looks like a "MOJO."
Kelsey got my flu yesterday but still went to work. Alysse is better so now we hope that Elijah won't get next. He was sick with it once already so he should be safe, we hope!

Back to the drawing board!

2008-03-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here we go again! We had the great misfortune of having to tell the kids about the Peanut mix up and boy was that hard!! I don't know if it is was gender or age thing but Elijah took it pretty well. Alysse on the other hand was an emotional wreck for about 30 minutes. Kelsey talked her through her feelings and they were all the same as ours. She was mad, hurt and pissed off about the whole thing. We explained the whole situation to her and let her cry it out. A couple hours later we were able to let her look for a new puppy on puppyfind.com and that seemed to help. We are no where near getting a new puppy but have decided to start looking again. Janyce's daughter(Kellee) has offered to provide us with another dog from the same parents as Peanut but we are looking elsewhere at the same time. In a way we understand that things happen for a reason but that doesn't make the pill any easier to swallow. We don't harbor any ill feelings toward Kellee but are a little befuddled as to why she did not contact us prior to placing Peanut with another family. So the Peanut chapter has been closed and on to the next chapter, we hope!

Puppy Gate

2008-03-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

Well it is official, we will NOT be getting Peanut as promised! The daughter sent us an email that she has already placed Peanut with another family but that we could have a different black puppy if we wanted one. In our heart of hearts we will not push the issue in light of the death of Janyce and the grief of her family. We have yet to tell the kids and are not looking forward to doing so either. We decided that we will start our search again. It is amazing how attached one gets to something that they did not even have yet. I just hope for the daughter's sake that she is telling us the truth because Karma can be a bitch! Peanut was the pick of the litter and I hope that she did not keep her for herself. She would have been a great addition to the family.

Puppy update

2008-03-15T00:06:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on "Peanut." We just received some bad news about the lady that we are buying Peanut from. It appears that she has passed away. We received an email from one of her daughters and it said that all pending puppies sales are on hold until after the funeral(03/18/08). After that date, we are to contact her daughter to see about finalizing the sale. We are hoping that things will work out the same as far as picking up Peanut but it would not be right to rush anything at this time. We did not even know that Janyce was sick and pray for her family in this sad time. We have not told the kids about this just in case something goes wrong with her sale.

I posted a pic of the wife and I because she was not happy that I did not have any pics of her on the Blog. She should be happy now, I hope!

What about your friends?

2008-03-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

What about your Friends? I have recently contacted a lot of old Army buddies and every time I do my memory goes on overdrive. It is great to catch up with them and see where they are and what they doing. I was surprised to see many had remained in the service even after the Iraq war. I am not sure how many have been lost in the recent wars but I'm amazed how many made through alive! Some of our friends were left behind by our own accord or things did not end the way we thought they should. Life is too short and friends are an important part of life. I had decided not to keep in touch with one of my friends and just recently contacted her. She is doing fine and has a great life. So 15 years have passed and we can talk like we just saw each other yesterday. Time has been wasted due to stubbornness and pride. The search was just to put things in perspective and make amends. Now, if I could do that with all the other relationships that ended on sour note! Ha Don't let petty things cause you grief and cherish your friends.
Enjoy the new pics of "Peanut", we get her soon. Isn't she a doll?

Peanut photo update

2008-02-27T00:13:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note and new pics of "Peanut". She is very cute and looks like a little stuffed animal. The kids are getting anxious for her arrival in about a month. Hope you like the countdown clock. Elijah is really into Scooby-Do these days so that is why I picked that one. I will write more later.

Eyes wide open

2008-02-14T22:34:00.000-08:00

Here are some updated photos of little Peanut with her eyes open. She is almost 4 weeks old and cuter than ever! The lady, Janyce, sends us updated photos so we can see how she is growing. Peanut is not from the same mom & dad as Zoey but she is going to be her sister. The whole family is getting anxious and I will probably put a countdown clock on the blog to show when we pick her up.
The family is doing well except that little Elijah has a cough and stuffy nose. The county has been passing the damn thing around. The rain is still coming down which is better than snow in my opinion. Our trip to Maui helped us get out of the winter blues for a while. Spring won't get here fast enough for us though.
Work is slow, just the way I like it.
Well, not much to talk about so I guess I will go for now.

Not so perfect season!

2008-02-05T21:15:00.000-08:00

I've been to busy to sit down and write anything in the last several days but have a little time now. I thought that the Superbowl was going to be a blowout just like most the nation and boy were we wrong! I had to watch it via the internet at work and listened to the end on my Sirius radio. I hate the NE Patriots and I'm so glad that the lost!!! :) Sorry Shirley but they asked for it! The head coach is a cheater and a sore loser! Brady is so embarrased that he can't even show his face in public. Where are the praposals now? He and Moss are opting out of the Pro Bowl, I wonder why? I honestly did not think that Eli Manning had it in him but he proved a lot of people wrong, good for him.
Peanut is a couple days older and has yet to open her eyes. We got some updated photos and I have added them to the Blog. We hope that she has wavy hair just like Zoey but it just depends on who she takes after. Mother was a minature poodle and dad was a Yorkie. The kids are getting excited but we have to wait until spring break to get her. Zoey will love to have a sister to play with and keep her company.
It's like we are starting Noah's ark because we have two of everything. That should be the last addition for a while, I hope.
Hope all is well on your end and keep praying for little Cody!!

A baby on the way!!

2008-01-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

That got your attention didn't it! No, we are not pregnant but we are going to have a new addition to the family in a month or two. Zoey is getting a sister and her name is going to be "Peanut". She a sable (light brown) Yorkipoo and is only 9 days old. I have enclosed a couple photos of her so you can see how tiny she is. Her mother is a minature Poodle and her father is a Yorkie. We will pick her up around spring break time and can't wait. I will update the photos as they come available.

Elijah is back to his old self and we are soooo glad! The kids did not have school yesterday due to snow, bummer for Mom and Dad. :( We sooo need a break and are starting to get cabin fever. They did have school today and it was nice to have some alone time with the wife (Kelsey).

I'm back to work tomorrow and I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to the old grind. I'm sure that the first day back I will eat my words.

Hope all is well in your world. C-ya.

Home is where the heart is!

2008-01-28T20:17:00.000-08:00

I think that the title says it all. While it was great to be on vacation, it is greater to be home. All of our creature comforts and surroundings welcomed us home with open arms. A big sigh of relief could be heard as we pulled into the driveway of our lovely home. The flight home was OK but long. Not much turbulence to speak of but it seemed like it took forever for our luggage to come. A jam on the luggage belt was the cause and soon we were freezing our butts off outside awaiting for our shuttle to the hotel. Elijah was fine on the plane and Alysse never did catch his flu. We still have our fingers crossed hoping that the rest of us don't come down with it in the near future. Elijah is fine during the day but at night it is a whole different ballgame. His flu has turned into a severely stuffy nose and sinus. He/we had a hell of a time trying to get any sleep last night with his constant snorting and grunting. Kelsey was up several times during the night trying to re-position him so that he would not be so loud. Nice try! Kelsey, Alysse and I slept with a pillow over our head most of the night. Now that we are home, he has his own room and we hope that the night will prove to be uneventful.
Dealing with this makes us so grateful and can only imagine what my brother Mickey's family has and is going through. God Bless them and let little Cody get better soon and forever!!!
Little Zoey was sooooo happy to see her family. The whole family missed her and we talked about her often while on vacation. She would have had a blast on the beach! I wonder how much trouble you would get in if you smuggled her over there? Big I'm sure, just a thought.
Nana & Papa were the best hosts as usual and are still there for another week. I'm sure that they are relaxing now that they can have some peace & quiet for a while. They're the best in-laws a guy could ever ask for.
We returned to Washington to find rain and snow awaiting us, great. All is well the ends well.
Bye for now.

Homeward bound!

2008-01-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe what I'm about to say but "we can't wait until we get home"! Yep, I said it and wish it wasn't true. Elijah has had a viral flu for about the last 3 days. He has had a fever off and on but no vomiting, thank God. He has missed out on the beach and pool for the most part of those 3 days. We leave tomorrow and guess what? Alysse thinks she is getting sick. She said that her tummy hurts but I think she getting worked up about Elijah's sickness. Alysse is very in tune with other people's sicknesses and misfortunes. She hates to hear any animal or baby cry or appear hurt. She freaks out and has to leave the room. She really hated us talking about Elijah being sick and got all bent out of shape when we were brainstorming on how we were going to handle the trip back home.

The money that runs this island, Maui, is incredible and it amazes me how small their medical clinics are and back assward they are. It probably does not help that we are the big bad white people(howlies) and they could care less about us. I have been here 5 times and have just recently noticed how much the locals do not like us. I'm sure that they like the money that we bring into the communities but would rather have us not be here. I can see where having tourists around all the time would get old but money made this place what it is today. I will give you prime example. Buzz and I just went to the local "Safeway" to buy medicine and stuff and were basically treated like shit!! Now thinking back to the "Safeway" we have in Lynden, people would get fired if they treated customers that way. The girl made no eye contact with us and spouted off the usual banter of "Would like help out with that?" and "You saved $1.98." What can you do? I guess just be thankful for the life you live and the job that you have. Amen!! Pray that our flight back to Seattle goes well with the sick kiddos and all. Talk to you on the Mainland. Luv Ya.