Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!!
Jack went out on his first Halloween tonight. We went around to some of our neighbors houses and begged for candy and sweets. Got a few good things, too! Daddy likes Milk Duds.


Jack left holding the bag

Where's the free candy?

I'm a JACK-o-lantern!

Mr. Fix-It

This weekend the dishwasher went out on us, made a few funny noises and would not empty the water in the bottom of the pan. After fooling with it for a few minutes, I decided to take it out and get a better look at the guts of the operation. I determined that there must be a clog somewhere and after about an hour, had it isolated at the exchange where the tube that carries the bad water out to the sink hookup. Took off the little cap, pried the tip off and there it was, a wad of grimy gooky crud. Fixed.

On Saturday afternoon, I took the door of the shed off of its hinges and replaced them so that they matched up better for the door frame. I also put up some tool-holders and put all my tools in the shed. Now I have a place for all my shtuff. I also hung a frame for the bicycle in the back of the shed. Fixed.

Monday morning I awoke to a car that would not work, turned over a few times then just made a clicking sound. When I got home I went and got a new battery and installed that, what do you know, it worked. Guess it was that first cold snap of the season and a 7 year-old battery. Fixed.

The upside to all this was that I got all this stuff fixed; dishwwasher, the shed door and the dead car battery - done.

I am officially "Mr. Fix-It".

Its 2am, Do You Know Where Your Cat Is?

So our cat decided to wake us both out of a deep sleep to regurgitate something he had eaten several hours before.

Nothing fills your heart with panic at 2am when your cat begins to make that sound. I call it "The Windup". The delivery, of course, comes a few seconds later. He always seems to be standing over a rug or carpet, even though our house is mostly hardwood flooring.

So after cleaning up the mess, I went back to bed and tried to calm myself from the adrenaline that was released a few minutes earlier from the disturbance.

He's 17, how much longer can he keep this hobby going?

Day at the Fair (and the Pony Ride)

We went to the Fall Fair in Old Town this weekend. Kathleen and Tino (grandma and grandpa) were up from South Carolina and went with us. Of course its politician season, so there were plenty of them there. There was a big fluffy Donkey, so I got a picture of me and Jack standing next to him/her. Jack was not too fond of the big donkey. It wouldn't be the only thing he was scared of that day.


We went straight to the kiddie rides and found the only one he could do was the pony ride, cause sticking him in one of those moon-bounce thingies to get trampled just didn't seem like fun.

He got on and decided to hold onto me, since I seemed more stable. He put up a little fight, but stayed with it. It was a short ride across the lawn of city hall, all of 1 minute. He smiled big when I lifted him off the pony.






Kate and Grandma K with Jack



Jack liked the Pad Thai Noodles and funnel cakes (minus the sugar)

Meow, Bahhh and Neigh

Jack has been learning what animals sound like, so we quiz him periodically. We usually ask about what a kitty, a lamb, a dog, a horse, a cow or a duck sound like.

Yesterday, I was dressing him for the day and he was very chatty, so I quizzed him, He did a horse (Nay), a kitty (meow), a cow (moo) and a dog (wuf). I ask Kate to come in and witness the genius he is displaying and he just babbles, "blahbety-bom-bippy-bing".

So the next morning, I get the camera out and record this gem, he does a Kitty, a Lamb and a Horse, except he sounds kind of country and says "naaaaayyyyy".

He also says bye-bye at the end.

Photo Booth Photos

These were taken while we were in Ocean City a month or two ago. We were on the boardwalk and saw one of those photo booths and decided to hop in.

Trip to Charlotte: The Reception

The Quarry


The Barbeque


Kate and Jack


The Goodyears


Me and Jack dancing


Stephanie and Jack


Dinner and some of the best steak I have ever eaten


The Toast


The Cake-Cutting

The reception was at an old quarry which has been converted to a beautiful private park. Besides the view of the hillside that has been cut-away and the water that fills up the quarry hole, there is a stretch of lawn, a sandy area with a volleyball court and a open structure with party lights. There were drinks, shrimp, steaks, salmon fillets, roasted potatoes and other food which were prepared over the barbeque pits.

The cake was awesome and so were the brownies that were provided as an extra.

The weather was a little hot, but you couldn't ask for a clearer sky. It was a good evening to be out, I was also surprised by the absence of bugs.

I did see a few wild turkeys before we walked in. I don't know if they keep them there as pets or they just happened to be passing by. Weird.

Jack had a great time, there were other kids there and he played in the sand a lot. We all had a good time.

Trip to Charlotte: The Wedding

Rustyn going in as a free man


Polly and Ken


Tim and Peggy


Cousin John and Christy


Tessa, the other Flower Girl


Anna, one of the Flower Girls

The wedding was at Triplett Methodist on Saturday afternoon. It was a catholic/methodist service that was a nice mix. The wedding music was bells which were played by the church bell choir, they were very good.

I did have to take jack out into the hallway for a time so he would not screech or yell-out. He didn't disrupt the service, but I didn't want to be "the parents of the kid who would not quit crying". I took him to the cafeteria and let him get it out of his system. Kate fed him a bottle and he was more manageable for a while.

The service was very nice. The church was very contemporary, not like I had expected from such a small town. The church is definitely the center of that town. I love small towns, they always have their priorities straight. In bigger cities, the largest and nicest buildings are usually Wal-Marts or Movie houses.

Trip to Charlotte: Pig Roast

Veronica and Matt


Jack going after the balloons


Jack and his cup


Kate and Jack


Rustyn and Stephanie


Stephs Uncle and Johns girlfriend


Rustyn holding Jack


Steph and the pig (ewww)


Sean and Brian, Stephs step-brothers


Rustyns Dad and Anna eating dinner


Lucy, Rustyn's Dog in her Hoochie-Mama outfit


Matt's Parents


Molly (family friend) and Ken (Stephs Dad)


Anna, Brian's and Sara's child.

We spent the weekend in Charlotte for Stephanie and Rustyn's wedding. Stephanie is Kates college room mate. They live about 15 or 20 miles outside Charlotte and just bought a house that sits on about 6 acres along with a dozen other houses and farms all around.

It turned out to be a good dry run for our trip to Atlanta later this fall. Jack was a little fussy a few times, but he did good. I am learning new tricks to keep him occupied and otherwise happy.

We left friday and got there Friday evening just in time for dinner (japanese food). The next day we cleaned up a bit and got ready for the pig roast. Stephs sister, Veronica and her husband brought a pig roaster complete with pig and roasted it in the driveway.

We got to meet the rest of Stephs extended family as well as Rustyn's family, too.

Stephs father and his wife stayed at the house along with us. Ken and Polly live in upstate New York and raise Alpacas on their ranch.

It was a good party.

Random Cute Pic

Update: Shed

I finished putting up the walls of the shed and putting shingles on the roof. Now I just have to make a door and some shelves.


When I took the picture of the shed, Jack sat in his Adirondack chair so I snapped a quick one of him - he likes that chair.

Coo Key

One of Jacks favorite new words is "Coo Key". When he is done with dinner, we ask if he wants dessert and he says "Coo Key", so we give him a Fig Newman.

He has also decided to walk around with a fig newman in his mouth, so it gets nice and soft and easier to chew.

The Farewell Dinner

Friday night after the last visit with Charlie, we all went out to a nice restaurant to celebrate his life and be together. We all reminisced over our experiences and time with Charlie over good food and wine. It was such a positive experience to celebrate a life instead of mourn it.

I brought my camera and got a few pictures, since we don't know when the next time we will have this many members of the family together. Our server was kind enough to snap a picture of us all.



Skip, Christopher and Tim


Skip, Jack, Kate and Christopher


Jack and Barbara


Tim, Jack and Kate


I think it was good to have Jack there, he definitely kept the mood light and probably cheered his grandfather up a bit. Nothing like making your grandson laugh.



The night was long, and Jack eventually was too pooped to pop.