its that time once again, that time when the guys and i take our annual trip to the cabin. we've been going for years now, and this is our 6th annual trip (archives: 5th annual, 4th annual). we go up for a night and do manly guy stuff. most of it i am sworn to secrecy about, but some of it i am able to share. we got up there just before dark this year, we broke with some traditions and went to a different place to eat. when we got back we did our usual cabin stuff, including some great new inside jokes ('are you done with this?', 'like a hurricane', and something or another about a guy named ted). by morning we exhaustedly woke up and head back to the civilized world, some how changed by what was experienced, and somehow closer friends then when we arrived. even though we were missing a few of the usual members (adam and zagman), we made the most of it and had an amazing time!
the cabin '08
its that time once again, that time when the guys and i take our annual trip to the cabin. we've been going for years now, and this is our 6th annual trip (archives: 5th annual, 4th annual). we go up for a night and do manly guy stuff. most of it i am sworn to secrecy about, but some of it i am able to share. we got up there just before dark this year, we broke with some traditions and went to a different place to eat. when we got back we did our usual cabin stuff, including some great new inside jokes ('are you done with this?', 'like a hurricane', and something or another about a guy named ted). by morning we exhaustedly woke up and head back to the civilized world, some how changed by what was experienced, and somehow closer friends then when we arrived. even though we were missing a few of the usual members (adam and zagman), we made the most of it and had an amazing time!
the main event
with dinner done, that means theres only one thing left: presents! (or as my family calls them: prizes!). we all found a spot to sit and started to dig in. we let the kids go first, and then they were in charge of bringing the gifts to whoever they were for. it was a great time, everyone was pleased with what they had gotten, including myself and diana! we both made out pretty good- my family always spoils us! a great time was had by all, and we certainly felt loved.christmas dinner
downstairs we had set up the basement for dinner, just like thanksgiving. the two tables were set up and filled with tons of great food mom and jill had prepared. by the end we had full bellies and a great time. the kids even behaved themselves very well during dinner. maybe its because they knew more presents were to come...(more pics)
just one
before we knew it, jill & tim and the kids were there and it was time for the party to start! all of us were hungry, but the food wasnt quite ready yet, so we allowed the kids to open one gift before dinner. my mom had gotten all three of the kids their own digital cameras! jackson got a pixar 'cars' camera, tweets got a 'hello kitty' designed one, and aves even got one too!taking it easy
christmas morning we all slept in and enjoyed the fact that we had so little planned. we lounged around all afternoon doing as little as possible!christmas eve
my mom wanted to go and get her nails done, but she waited around for us to drive up wednesday morning so diana could go with her. i dropped the women off to get pampered, and i went and finished my christmas shopping. i came back a bit early, so i stopped in at the kregal bookstore and listened to a few new cds. i found a couple good ones, and ended up buying a short sampler from a band called 'the myriad'. its pretty cool!at 6:00pm we went to the candlelight service at kcc. they always pull out all the stops for the christmas eve service, but i was really questioning their strange music selections... that night we went over to tim and jills and hung out with them and talked for a while. its always good to spent time with them, and we actually get a chance to talk and enjoy each others company when the kids are in bed!
rain delay
tuesday morning i woke up on time to drive down in the bad weather and take diana to work. she didnt work until 12:30, so i was able to make it there in time. we went for lunch at logans, then in the evening we had planned to come back up here because she had the next two days off. unfortunately, the weather was not willing to cooperate! while i was playing at panera and getting the last of the christmas presents for my family, it started raining on top of the two feet of snow that had accumulated over the past three days! the temp was hovering right around 30 degrees, so i didnt want to chance the rain turning to ice by the time we were ready to go after she got out of work, so we were stuck down there for the night. wednesday morning we felt pretty certain that the roads would be ok, so we headed back up to grand rapids.
a small milestone
wow! this is my 500th post on this blog. its a small milestone, but i thought i could use it to reflect on this whole blog thing. my first post was on september 29, 2005, and quite sarcastic. when i started all that time ago, i remember thinking that there must be something to it since so many people seem to be doing it. i told myself i would try it for a month, if i liked it i would continue and start to share my blog with others. if i didnt like it, i would delete it and move on. from the tone of those early posts i certainly didnt think i would enjoy it, but i guess i was wrong! i started off posting a couple times a week, if i had the interest or time. today i eagerly look forward to the time each week that i can spent updating and improving this little slice of the internet i call my own.from those first few posts it has grown into a whole collection of blogs! i started with just the 'poke it with a stick' page, but i quickly expanded to include pages on music, movies, critiques, an image gallery, a page for odds and ends, one defining some strange words, a page dedicated to a tv show, a strange inside joke, and a page for everything else! this is my 500th post on this main page, but i've actually racked up over 1600 posts all together on all my different pages! (yikes, it almost seems like an unhealthy obsession when i put it that way...) doing this blogging thing has changed me quite a bit: i have been challenging myself to write better, i examine the events of my life more and try to express what positive things have come from them, i take a ton more pictures (which not everyone seems to think is an improvement...), and i have been able to share my life a bit more with those who know me. not too bad for some dumb online journal, huh?
ive got more planned, so stay tuned for the next 500!
movie madness!
yesterday i was able to fulfill a dream i have had for a long time. as a big movie lover, i have always dreamed of wasting an entire day at a movie theater. monday i made that dream a reality! when i shared my vision with the guys, they wanted to be a part of it as well. so monday rex, jeffry lee, and i met up at the movie theater and proceeded to watch 5 movies in a row. no, you did not read that wrong: we saw five movies in a row!the day before i had carefully orchestrated our plan of attack, a way that we could fit all five of them in during the course of one day. we started at the theater on knapp's corner, there we saw 'slumdog millionaire' (my review). diana had dropped me off and then took my car back to her house, so the three of us guys had to scrunch into jeffry lee's tiny truck to make the transition to the next movie. we then drove to the woodland theater and watched 'eagle eye' (my thoughts). after a quick run to the mall food court (chinese food, yumm...), we were back and ready for 'rocknrolla' (my review). after a short break, and the addition to our ranks of aaron and freddie, we strode back in and saw 'role models' (my review). after that it was off to the rivertown theater to catch a late showing of 'punisher: war zone' (my review). one day, five movies, and it was glorious.
living the dream, brother, living the dream.
booger king
the other night diana and i drove through a burger king for some food. it was quite a wait for some reason, and as we were sitting there we noticed this sign. look closely, its missing an 'r' in the word 'burger'. diana and i got quite a good laugh at that- buger king? booger king?!? i know its really lame, but it was hilarious at two in the morning...
dealer looses
we had originally planned to go to aarons and hang with the guys sunday night, but with the bad weather and all diana and i decided to stay at my parents instead. my mom was pleased- finally someone to play cards with! we pulled out the ol' phase 10 deck and had at it. last time we played i didnt do so well, so i assumed my luck might change for this game. well, you know what they say about assuming... my mom and diana dont like to shuffle, so i always did, and then i would deal. after a few miserable hands, my mom suggested that i only did bad when i dealt. i decided to make mom deal instead. and wouldnt you know it? i won the next hand! i started doing well for the next few rounds. i wanted to see if this theory of hers was accurate, so i dealt the next one. -70 points. turns out that that theory has now been upgraded to fact!
charlie's brunch
we had planned to go out to charlie's crab for brunch, and we werent going to let a little (a lot) of snow slow us down! once we had the cars cleaned off and the driveway clear, we were ready to face the challenges that might come. we got there right on time and had a seat. diana had never been there before, so it was pretty cool to have her there. the thing about charlie's crab is that its situated right on the grand river. since the weather had been so crazy, it was strange to see so many huge ice chunks floating by! the meal was amazing and a very good time, even if we kept getting interrupted by chad calling trying to find his keys. he had planned to come with us, but wanted to get a head start on his trip up to the cabin with his friends. because of the key situation and the weather they didnt end up going that night anyway- he should have just come with us. his loss...the great blizzard of '08
the whole family was planning to go to church sunday morning, tweets was even going to go up with the kids in her sunday school class and sing, but the weather had a different idea in mind. in the morning my sister called my mom and informed her that church had been cancelled due to the outrageous amount of snowfall that had accumulated during the night. i didnt find out until much later because mom was nice enough to let me sleep!once all of us were up and about, my dad, brother, and i headed out to take care of the driveway. it was quite a mess, not only because of the huge amount of snow, but also because of the huge amount of vehicles in the driveway! there were a total of six (thats right, six) vehicles at the house that morning! my parents vehicles, my car, diana's car, and chad's car! as we were trying to clear the driveway, we also had to play a little three-car monty. we finally got it taken care of, but somehow chad lost the keys to his car in the shuffle. after having to go to the nissan dealer, and calling a locksmith, he was finally got a new key. what exactly happened to the old one? i guess we will find out when the three feet of snow finally melts...
verve pipe annual
after we left my sisters house, diana and i headed downtown to the intersection club. for the fourth year in a row my favorite band (well, second favorite) was playing! they have a tradition of playing the weekend before christmas every year. ive been to every one so far (last year i wrote about it here), so of course we had to go to this one too! we met up with rex, aaron, jeffry lee, freddie, jessica, and chris when we got there. the first band was on when we arrived, but i wasnt too interested, so diana, jeff, and i walked back out to the front of the place and sat down at a couch and chatted for a while. we headed back to the show and heard the last song by the second openers, and then they had a surprise for us: many of the original members of the popular local band 19 wheels were there and headed on stage and played one song for us! it was really cool to see them again.finally, it was time: the verve pipe took the stage and rocked out! this year was especially awesome, two more of the original members were back! a.j. on lead guitars, and doug on drums. the only original member missing was brad, the bassist. it was great to see those four guys back together rocking it up there! the set list was unexpectedly heavy on older songs- which i loved! in fact, they played a couple songs ('la la', and 'penny is poison') that i had never ever heard then play live, so that was awesome! i had never been to a concert with diana before, and it was really cool to have her there with me for a band that i love so much. after the show i even got a chance to talk to brian vander ark, the lead singer, for a minute, and had him sign a poster for the show that i might or might not have stolen...
the whole family
saturday evening the whole family headed over to tim and jills for dinner. when we got the the kids were really excited because their uncle chad was home! its the first time my brother has been able to see them since spring, so it was really cool to see them react when chad walked in! jackson and tweets latched on to him right away, but aves took a bit longer to warm up to him, shes a bit young to remember him from last time he was around. chad went with the kids to the basement and he and i had a blast roughhousing with them, playing with their foam swords, picking them up by their feet, and playing all kinds of fun games with them. finally it was time to eat, so we all sat down at a really long table, jill had set up two of them together. the food was really great! after we had finished and started cleaning up i got a call from diana that she was almost there. i drove out to the highway and had her follow me back (she's still a bit hazy on the directions to jills house).when she got there the kids got excited all over again! she gave all the kids hugs and kisses and the girls wanted her to read to them. it a rather special night: it was the first time we have ever had our entire family under one roof! by the end of the night the kids were really tired and dragging, i guess uncle chad had done a good job of tiring them out- tim and jill were very thankful!
vacation begins
now that break had begun, it was time to head home and see the family! first things first: i went to go see diana for dinner. she got out of work around 5:30, so we met up for dinner at hacienda (one of my absolute favorites!).then it was up to grand rapids! i stopped at my parents and unpacked and got to talk with my parents for a while. around 10pm i met up with the guys at our usual hang out, fridays at rivertown mall. after a little while we went to go see a 'the day the earth stood still' (my thoughts here). after we got out of the movie, rex, jeffry lee, and i were still up for hanging out, so off we went back to fridays... it was good to see the guys again . ive been a bit delinquent with talking to them lately, so we got to do some catching up.
(more pics)
hard candy shell
when i went out to my car to get ready to leave friday i was greeted with about half an inch or more of ice encasing it! it was really strange, the whole car was almost like an m&m with a icy candy shell and filled with car goodness inside! fortunately it was a little over 30 degrees outside, so it wasnt too much of a pain to crack it off. it still took me about 45 minutes, but i had the day off, so i didnt mind the extra time!snow day
thursday night we had terrible weather which made friday a bit bittersweet. it was awesome, first of all, because the weather was so nasty and the icy sleet was so terrible that we got a snow day! hurrah! but, it was bittersweet because it was the last day before christmas break, so we were mostly going to spend the day bowling and having a pizza party! it was nice to have a day off, but it would have been such a fun day that i kinda wish we had had it.
stations of the cross
every once in a while at school we take the kids on field trips. the history teacher thought it might be cool to take the kids to see a religious park that was only about 30 minutes away. its called 'the shrine of Christ's passion', and its a park that features life size statues of 14 different stations of the cross. in Bible the we just finished covering the week leading up to and including the crucifixion. though the stations of the cross is a catholic tradition, we felt that it was still worth seeing for the students. after we returned from the trip we talked with the kids about what could be gained from viewing these statues, and where our beliefs and traditions differ from those presented.they liked the field trip, but there was one pretty big problem: it was an outdoor exhibit, and it was about 14 degrees. there was only mild frostbite, so we viewed it as a success...
day of rest
you know, sometimes its the days that nothing happens that are the best. sunday diana came with me to church, and we got to see wayne and pat, the couple we went out to eat with a few weeks ago. and we saw ken and kristine, who is really really pregnant! they are about a week away from the due date, so she is just about to burst! its a boy, and ken is really excited!we spent the afternoon reading and lounging around in front of the tv, we even fell asleep- ah, i love those lazy sunday afternoons! in the evening we got pizza and just enjoyed the time together.
man, these three months will not pass soon enough!
b-ball tourney
saturday there was a 6th grade basketball tournament at school. i had said i would work the ticket booth for the day, so i got there before it started. i hung out and collected money all day while the kids played b ball. every now and again some of the kids would come out and keep me company. it wasnt too much work, so i got caught up on my ds playing! derrick, our new p.e. teacher, came by and we talked a bunch. we got to get to know each other a bit better, which is always good. it was good to talk with him and learn more about him. i havent been able to do that very much this year. with the new addition and room change i am no longer across the hall from the p.e. teachers office, so i hardly ever see him! derrick is a pretty cool cat, but i still miss matt...the poco lounge
diana brought poco with her when she was here thursday. she knew she would be back on sunday, so i convinced her to let him stay with me for those days in between! it was fun hanging out with poco, having some good old fashioned guy time, just me and the pooch. he did a lot of laying and sleeping, so i followed his lead and did the same! (more pics)
compatible
thursday diana came over for our final wedding counseling meeting with pastor randy. i guess we are a pretty good match, because he said that he was quite pleased with us and gave us his blessing that he would marry us! phew! i was worried that we were all wrong for each other! to celebrate our apparent compatibility we went out to eat. when we got back we watched a little tv and diana let me play with her hair. i always love doing that because her hair is awesomely curly- i twirled it into fun little clumps that stuck! so, of course, i had to take some pictures!audio books
ever since i first started making the trip, back in the day, between home and dordt college i've been enjoying books on tape. every time i'd go on a big road trip i'd make sure i first stopped at the library and loaded up on some good audio books.with all the driving i've been doing the past year going back and forth to dianas, i've really been taking advantage of these audio books! i've been listening to a ton of them lately, and have been writing a bit about the ones i listen to. if you have any road trips ahead, or would just like an alternative to that same old cd or radio station, take a look at some that i have enjoyed! find all my audio book reviews here.
oh, and don't forget to check out the other Poke It With A Stick contents listed at the right!
work party
this past weekend diana and i got to spend a bit of time together. her work was having a christmas party and she wanted me to come with her. she had the day off, so we got to spend the whole day together! we went for lunch and then wandered around the mall together. the place was pretty crowded, but we didnt really have anything we were looking for, so we kicked back and just enjoyed it all. before the work party a bunch of her coworkers met up at hacienda. we got there about an hour and a half before the party and just got to hang out with them for a bit. it was pretty fun, her coworkers really enjoy spending time together, and its always good to see them outside of the work environment. around 7:00pm we all headed over to the hall that was hosting the party. we had a great time eating talking and laughing. they gave away some cool gifts, but she didnt win any of the big ones. i know diana is really looking forward to leaving home depot, but there are a lot of friends she is going to leave behind.crocheting for kids
for the past couple years we have offered activity periods for our students. its a time set aside for them to participate in activities outside of the normal class stuff. this includes things like journalism, where the kids write and print a newspaper, there is an option to learn how to use film editing software, where the kids create and edit their own videos, an introduction to the spanish language, an in depth look at the holocaust, and a drama class where the kids create their own short play to perform in front of the whole junior high. ive taught the drama class before, but this year i wanted to add another option: crocheting!the response was amazing! tons of kids, even a bunch of the guys, wanted to learn how to crochet! i actually had to add a second session just so i could fit everyone who wanted to do it. we started this past thursday, and it was a blast! some of the kids were able to pick it up right away and were even able to help those who were struggling. within the next few weeks these 44 students will be able to make their own scarves and hats, which they are really excited for! ill be sure to continue to take photos of their work and feature some of the most creative stuff they come up with.
regency
Diana always told me that when she was little, she always dreamed of becoming a hairdresser. when it came time for college she wanted to go to beauty school, but didnt have the support to do it. so instead she went to grand valley university. after every year she said that she would want to quit and go to beauty school. she didnt. after she graduated from college she looked for a job in a field she wasnt really interested in. she didnt find anything, so she settled for a job at home depot where her best friend worked. two and a half years later, she still holds on to that dream of becoming a hairdresser.in a few months she will be moving here and doesnt really want to stay at home depot (which is a good thing, because i dont want her to either...). so we are faced with the challenge of her trying to find a job around here. after much thought and prayer, we decided its time for her to pursue her dream. at the end of april she will begin classes at Regency Beauty Institute. 10 months later she will be a hairdresser.
well, thursday after our meeting with randy we decided to check out the campus. we drove over there and it was really pretty cool! she filled in the last of the forms she needed, and we got a tour of the place. it looked great, and i know she will be well equipped to begin a new career doing what she always dreamed of! happy ending are nice, huh?
marriage counceling
thursdays diana and i have our marriage counseling meetings with pastor randy. we werent sure if she would be up for it so soon after her surgery, but it turns out that she was feeling great thursday morning, so she drove over for the day. she got to my place in the afternoon and just hung out until i got home. she even brought poco to keep her company!then off we went to go see randy. these marriage counseling sessions are really a lot of fun. we get the chance to talk about some big stuff in a structured environment and really dig in. most of the stuff we have discussed before, but its quite helpful to have someone there to guide the conversation and challenge us in different areas. also, he gives us tons of material that we get to go over with just the two of us afterwards. its been good to talk through everything and has helped us grow deeper and closer.
clive
wednesday diana had oral surgery. she had to get a bone graft on her upper jaw, which doesnt sound like much fun at all. she got out of it ok and said it wasnt as bad as she expected, which is always good. afterward she felt well enough to go out for dinner with her family, so it must have been feeling pretty good- or maybe that was just the pain medication she was on...she told me i didnt have to come and see her, and i wasnt going to, but i thought about it and realized that i really didnt have anything better to do, so off i went! i didnt get there in time to see her family, but i did get to spend a couple hours with her. she was really glad to see me, and i brought her a new friend! we decided that he was probably a british dog, so we decided to name him clive.
the other family
by saturday evening we had spent so much time with my family, it was time to see dianas! so we headed over to see her parents. we went to her mom and step-dad's place and checked out the new garage they are in the process of building- its looking good! diana's sister barbara and her boyfriend nick came soon after, so we sat down and had some pizza. we chatted about the wedding, thanksgiving, and the christmas plans. they live right on a lake and told us that they had taken their boat for one last ride the night before- yikes! i'm a bit surprised they didn't have any frostbite!after a couple hours of catching up with them, it was time to go. we stopped by diana's dad too. he had been watching poco, so we picked him up and wished her dad a happy thanksgiving.
rockford
saturday my family got to introduce diana to another of our favorite places: rockford! its a little town about twenty minutes just north of grand rapids. its a quaint little town with a bunch of fun little shops and the corner bar, a restaurant that makes the best chili dogs on earth! the kids were with us, so we stopped at a couple shops that had kid stuff and toys. they had a great time poking around at the different things. one of the stores had some big stuffed animals which initially terrified aves! tim worked his daddy magic, and soon she was willing to pet them with a smile on her face.afterwards, we went to bed bath and beyond with my sister to work on our wedding registry. she had seen what we registered for and told us that it was pathetic (she used much nicer words, though). so we went there with her and she helped up find a bunch more stuff that we could use and stuff we would need that we didnt realize we needed. she, having gone through this and knowing what a married couple needs, was more than willing to help us!
(more pics: 1, 2, 3)
camp rock
friday night adam had a get together for the premier of his latest work: camp rock. now, if you are not familiar with 'camp rock', then you obviously don't spend every day around middle schoolers like me... 'camp rock' is a disney made-for-tv movie that stars one of the jonas brothers. it has been a big hit for disney along the lines of 'high school musical'. with the recent disney movies they have been making a 'what's what' edition that they show on their channel. this particular edition is kind of like those old vh1 pop up videos, only its for the whole movie. the company adam works for has been in charge of these pop-up versions of the films, and adam is actually one of the guys who writes the bubbles that appear on screen!he has done five pop-up movies so far, and this was his sixth. it premiered on the disney channel on friday, so he had a bunch of us over to watch it with him. as we watched we would read the bubbles, and then adam would tell us what they really wanted to say or some other stories that were a bit too fun to include on the movie itself. it was a terrible movie, but a ton of fun to hear adams take on things!
after the movie we hung out and talked with everyone for a long time. lindsey, by request, quick ran home and brought back the florida video! diana and jeffry lee hadn't seen it yet, so we went through and watched the special music video as well as the 50 minute highlight reel. diana loved it! also, begrudgingly, she admitted that my long hair actually looked good (as i had always suspected...) we had some great heart to heart conversations and really got to talk through a ton of stuff. finally, around 2:30am we realized how late it was and headed back to my parents.
the sennekers
before diana and i met up with my parents for dinner we stopped by dusty and carrie's to say hi. diana hadn't met carrie yet, so i wanted to introduce her, and to see their little guy, gavin! he is getting really big! he's crawling around and making tons of noise- good for him, but i'm sure its a challenge to his parents! hes adorable, and it was great to see them again- it had been far too long!
a movie, a game, and a hall
friday was another busy day- we got up on time and got ready. around 11:00 we had some leftovers, and then the day began! papa, tim, and i went to go see 'quantum of solace', and the girls went shopping! after the movie tim and i went to gamestop to see how much it would be to get a game boy advance or ds for jackson for christmas (hes starting to read, but i dont think i have to worry about him reading this...). after checking them out, and tim getting a little something for himself, we went back to tim and jills house. we got to talk for a bit, and tim tried out his new game. we caught a ride home with mom and stopped by the reception hall we have booked for the wedding. no reason, we just wanted to see it again as continue making wedding plans.(more pics)
the after party
after the meal we cleaned up and went back up to the living room and played with the kids for the rest of the night! by now papa and tim had given up on any of the football games being any good, so they didnt mind us crashing the tv room. jackson's birthday is coming up and diana and i arent going to be able to make it up for the party, so we gave him our gift while we were there. he loved it and wanted to watch it right then! the kids always love to play with my phone camera and take pictures so i let them.diana and i had a great time just hanging out with the family and enjoying our time together. we are certainly giving thanks for them!
thanksgiving feast
around 6:00pm my sister, bro-in-law, and the kids came over. we played with them for a bit, then it was feast time! like we did last year, we had our meal down in the basement. we set up a couple tables and all gathered around for dinner. before we began, jackson wanted to read (thats right, hes old enough to start reading! crazy...) us the thanksgiving day story. he got up by the steps with his mom to help him. then he got nervous. he gets nervous some times and then he acts like a little baby: hiding his face, whispering, and talking like a baby. after about 10 minutes of trying to get him to read it, we gave up, prayed, and started the meal. it was a Delicious assortment of great food my mom and sister had prepared for us- everything from turkey to sweet potatoes, to beer-battered bread and dip! a treat for the senses! eventually jackson got up the courage, and used his 'big boy' voice and read the story for us, it was cute despite all the frustration of getting him to say it.poker face
happy thanksgiving! this morning i got to sleep in a bit. when i rolled out of bed around 9:30 i was surprised to find that diana had already gotten up and showered! we went downstairs and spend some time talking with my parents and paging through the newspaper. around noon we had lunch, just the four of us. mom made some egg casserole and monkey bread! yum. after lunch diana and i ran a couple errands. we got tickets for my dad, bro-in-law, and i to see the new bond, and we went to meijers to get a few missing things for thanksgiving dinner. diana was thinking and we also got some squippies for her feet so she could stay warm in my parents frigid house.after we got back, my grandma stopped by and we played phase 10 with my mom. diana totally destroyed us in the game leaving me and my mom in the triple digit negatives! yeesh
the carver
my parents really love thanksgiving dinner, but for some reason they both hate carving the turkey! this isn't a problem at all considering i LOVE to carve the turkey! last year my mom had the turkey sitting out for me to take care of as soon as i arrived for the weekend, and this year was no different. diana and i got home around 10:45pm, she went to bed, and i stayed up for a bit longer and took care of the bird!
thanksgiving eve
diana and i headed up to grand rapids on wednesday for the thanksgiving weekend. we had originally planed to do something with jeffry lee, but that was going to go until too late at night, so we made other plans with the guys. we headed straight over to fridays (no, the fancy one over by woodland!) and met up with aaron, adam and dusty! it was really great to see the guys again, adam and dusty i hadn't seen in months, and diana hadn't ever met them! it was a ton of fun catching up with the guys, everyone had some new and exciting news to share- births, pregnant siblings, and even a new love! diana had a great time meeting adam and dusty, and the guys gave me a thumbs up on her, so all went well!it was great to see everyone, but by 10:30pm diana and i were pooped out and parted ways with the guys- we had a long day ahead and were looking forward to some sleep!
quality poco time
last time i went to see diana on sunday i offered to take poco for the week. i knew i was going to be coming back to pick her up for thanksgiving on wednesday, so i offered to take him until then. i'm glad i did because we had a great time, just us guys. we went on a walk each day and i sat around and petted poco each night, which he loved! diana said she got a little lonely, but we had a great time living up the bachelor lifestyle.finally, wednesday after school i drove him over to diana's dads house so he could watch him over the weekend while we went up to grand rapids to spend thanksgiving with my family.
construction part 4
saturday morning we were up bright and early, ready to face the cold! we got out there around eight in the morning. all bundled up, we got to work putting the exterior in the walls. all went well, papa's policy of 'measure twice, cut once' payed off again. we (please note: most of the time when i say 'we', i really mean 'dad'. i tried to help as much as i could, but he's the pro) put up the walls without much problem. in fact, papa kept saying how he was impressed with how easy everything was going; everything was matching up and going on even and square.next came the roof. papa had built the trusses ahead of time at home, so we were able to skip right through about four hours worth of work! after a brief break for lunch (what did we eat? you guessed it: schoops burgers!) papa brought a ladder, but i unfortunately dont have one of my own. this was a bit of a problem considering we would need two to do this job! i went out front and was lucky enough to have a neighbor out raking his lawn. i walked over to him and asked if i could borrow his ladder. he was nice enough to oblige, so we got right back to work. we put the trusses up on the roof one at a time, carefully measuring each one so that the roof would be straight.
next was some edging, after a few minor hiccups, we were able to complete that step too! then we put the plywood over the trusses- now we have a roof! after that we cut the gables to fill in the side walls. i made a few bad cuts and we almost ran out of good wood to use! it was a close one, but we managed to do it without having to make a return trip to menards. papa wanted to install the door next so we caulked that up and screwed it in. getting that square took a bit of work, but papa was able to do it thanks to those wonderful things called shims.
we took care of the rain guards next, making sure each of them interconnected with the rest of them. before we knew it, it was time to start shingling. i brought them out and threw them up on the roof, then it was papas time to relive his youth. he used to shingle roofs as a side job for a couple years- im sure this brought back a few of those memories! unfortunately, the sun was quickly fading, so papa made the call and we had to face the fact that we were not going to be able to finish it this weekend. as dad picked up his tools, which are many, i drove back to menards for a door knob for the shed door. we installed the handle as darkness overtook the evening. i had to pull out some flashlights in order to finish the job!bruised but not beaten, we will soon return to complete the rest of the roof and trim. the end is in sight!
chillin' with papa
papa and i tried to figure out what we should have for dinner. when i told him there was a long john silvers close by, it was a short conversation! i headed out and picked up some fish and a movie. when i got back papa and i ate our meal and watched the last bond movie: 'casino royale'. we had both seen it a couple years ago when it was first in theaters, but we are planning to see the new one next weekend and wanted to see it again before we went.it was really fun to just be able to relax with papa, i get to do that when ever i go home to see the family, but it was a nice treat to be able to do it at my place. after the movie (which is a lot longer than i remembered it) papa was exhausted, so he went to bed. since i knew he was coming i got a nice new twin air mattress. i was willing to give him my bed and sleep on the air mattress, but he refused and slept on it instead. in the morning he said it slept alright, but the noisy trains that go by in my backyard were not alright at all...
lumber yard
in order to get further on the shed we needed some more supplies. we headed over to menards and checked out what we needed. we loaded the truck with wood for the walls and then headed back into the lumber yard. we found the wood we needed eventually, got a few pieces cut to the right size, then headed home, where it was warm.
construction part 3
time to get some more work done on the shed! friday afternoon my dad came down from michigan again to work on my shed. last time we worked on it we got the floor done. now its time for the walls! papa came down while i was still at work and got busy. by the time i got home he had designed, cut, and assembled all the walls. they were spread out on the ground ready to be put up. i suited up (it was 35 degrees after all, i figured i should put on some snow pants and gloves), and got right to work. it didnt take too long to raise the walls, but its pretty cool to see the shed start to take shape.lazy sunday
i got back from michigan saturday night and sunday diana came with me to church. we havent been able to work that out very often, so it was nice to have here there with me this week. pastor randy finished his sermon series this week on the philip yancey book 'prayer'. he's an author i really love, so i enjoyed the series a lot. after church we got to go home and just hang out. it gave me a little glimpse into what our lives will be like, falling into a wonderfully comfortable routine (i mean that in a very good way). it made me feel like an adult! we got home, she snuggled up on the couch, i thumbed through the paper, we chatted about little things. it was great! i've got to say, i am really looking forward to the married life...
two trees
i had a rather strange phenomenon in my front yard this fall. i have two trees in front of my place, and once autumn hit one of the trees dropped its leaves immediately, but the other one has taken a couple more weeks for the leaves to even change color. strange...
uncle Al
the real reason i went up to michigan this weekend was to see my great uncle. i have some great memories of my cousin and i, back when we were around 10, going with my grampa to visit his brother. we always called him uncle al, he was actually our great uncle, but we always had so much fun with him that we just called him uncle.well, this past saturday he turned 90 years old. wow! its amazing to think about all the things he was around for- he was actually born four days after world war 1 ended! now that has been a while... his family threw him a big party to celebrate, and everyone who knows him was invited. i havent seen him in almost twenty years, but i knew i wanted to be there to celebrate him. hes getting a bit forgetful, but hes doing surprisingly well for 90. while there i got to sit and chat with him for a while, and talk with my gramma, two aunts, and one of my uncles. its a long drive, but i am glad i got to be there to honor uncle al!
*update* some sad news: thanksgiving day uncle al went to be with our Lord. he took a fall earlier in the week and just didnt recover. we take comfort in the fact that right before he left us he got a chance to see everyone he loved one last time. we look forward to seeing him again in glory. he will be missed.
the gas conspiracy
i was so excited about the low gas price i got saturday that i had to take a picture! a buck seventy five? are you kidding me? awesome!but i recently watched an interview with an economist and he had a good point: he said that the gas companies are just toying with us. they raise the prices really high, and once we start talking about alternative fuels, they drop it down and we forget about finding another option. that way they keep the addiction going. it happened after the gas crisis in the 70's, and its happening again. not sure if i totally buy it, i mean the economy has be mostly responsible for the price drop, but its an interesting theory to say the least...
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