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Justin's Band Awards

Tonight has been a big night for Justin. He attended the 2008 Desert Ridge High School awards banquet and Justin won big. He got most improved Jazz student, biggest band geek, section leader award, chocolate and gift card for wind capacity and wind master.

Justin 2008 Band Awards

New Camera

I got a new camera. It's a Canon S5 IS. I really like it. I also got some lenses for it from www.lensmateonline.com. I got a 52mm adapter tube, a polarizing lens, a UV lens, and a wide angle lens. I finally got to take the camera out for the first time today to get some pics. The odds were against me because Tandi is out of town and all three kids are sick, but I made it to the Gilbert Riparian area.

The sun was very bright, which made adjusting the camera properly difficult, but the pictures came out pretty good I think.

Gilbert Library Riparian Reserve

I also took one video. I am really impressed with the quality of the video.

Easter

We had a fun Easter. The proof is in the pics... and vids.

Easter 2008

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Fin

The bathroom is complete.

Bathroom Upgrade

New Floor

I started a big project this weekend. We have been having trouble with the toilet getting stopped up so I was going to make sure the wax ring was installed correctly and maybe get a new toilet. Since I was going to remove the toilet I decided it would be a good time to install ceramic tile.

We went to Home Depot Saturday to look at tile. It was amazing, we actually liked the cheapest tile they had on sale there and it was enough to do the floor.

The install has been going fairly smooth so far. I haven't made any major mistakes that I know of. We bought a tile saw a Harbor Freight. It was a big help.

I have to cut and install the last few pieces of tile and then grout and caulk along the edges. Then we are going to paint, then we are getting a new toilet, then we are putting a new cabinet above the toilet, and then Tandi will decorate with a new shower curtain and whatnot.

While at Harbor Freight we also got a rock tumbler. We didn't get the proper sand for it yet, but we have it running with some rocks from around the house and some park sand. HF is supposed to sell sand kits.

Pics below:

New Floor

Shooting with Alex

Alex and I went shooting near Queen Valley, AZ. It was fun and there weren't too many kooks there. We got a new target that was pretty neat.

The pictures are pretty darn lame.

Shooting

Kid's Tent

Alex and Garrett decided to build a tent using blankets and chairs. It's the most elaborate indoor tent I have ever seen. It has a cool long small entryway and then a big indoor area. It's pitch black inside. Alex made a video, but it's pretty dark.


This is the first video I have uploaded to YouTube so Arthur is responsible if there are any problems.

Wharton Trip

CW and I just returned from another trip to Wharton. The primary reason for the trip was to meet with an accountant, but we squeezed in a little fun. We took a lot of pictures I have posted a bunch of them and I will let CW post his (they were taken with my and Peggy's cameras and put on my laptop so I've burned them on CD's for him). I'm not putting links to all of the albums so you can just go to my web album and look at them. I put a few of the really high quality pics below.

Snowstorm

It's very cold and wet today. So cold and wet that the Superstitions and Four Peaks are covered in snow. I got a few pics after work before the clouds closed back in and it started raining again. It has been a very wet winter so far. It's very green here.

Feb 4, 2008 Snowstorm

Phoenix Zoo

We got a big burst of energy this morning and no one was sick so we went to the Phoenix Zoo. The kids had a blast. It's been a long time since we have been to the zoo. I was surprised that Garrett wasn't quite as interested in the animals as I thought he would be, but he still had fun. I rented an electric scooter at the zoo so I wouldn't be crippled by the time we left and that was a huge help. I don't feel drained at all. The zoo wasn't very crowded for it being a Saturday. It must be because of superbowl weekend and the superbowl is here in town so there is a lot going on related to that and there is the FBR golf tournament closing out this weekend. Pictures below:

PHX Zoo

Memories

One of my last visits prior to Dad's death I digitized a bunch of slides that Dad had taken. Almost all of his old pictures were slides. I am finally getting around to posting some of the pics. They include me and my siblings from long ago.

New Car

Well we finally got a new car and got rid of the money pit dually. We got a Mazda CX-9 and we really like it. It's almost completely loaded. It has three rows of seats, Bose 275 Watt sound system, Navigation system and a bunch of other fancy doodads.

New Car

We bought the car at Earnhardt Mazda in Chandler, AZ at Ray and I10. One of the reasons I waited so long to get a vehicle is I absolutely hate the car buying experience with a passion. The only reason I went to this dealership is because through my work I was supposed to get a special no haggle price. That could not be farther from the truth. I haggled more than usual. I went through three levels of assholes playing dumb, my best friend, and a crybaby genius that just wanted to help me out. I don't want to spend forever typing the details, but if anyone ever reads this that is considering buying from this dealer please reply with a reponse to this post and I will be happy to fill you in on the details. I strongly recommend against buying from any of the Earnhardt dealerships. Their slogan is "No Bull" and that couldn't be farther from the truth. I was so pissed by the time it was over I couldn't sleep all night and that's unusual for me. I finally gave up at 3:30 this morning and came down to sit in my recliner.

Oh Christmas Tree

We decorated our Christmas tree this evening. Lindsey came over to help. It was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed having her here.

I didn't realize how much I have been slacking on my blog stuff until I looked just now. I remember thinking about adding a lot of stuff, but I guess I haven't. I meant to add stuff about my most recent Wharton trip, but nope.

The kids are really looking forward to the holidays this year. We plan on spending Christmas in Wharton, TX with their Grandma. We haven't figured out how to get there yet, but we better figure it out soon.

Here are the pics from decorating the tree:

Christmas Tree 2007

There is also a brief movie in this album.

I should have a lot of updates this month with all the Christmas activities and all the pretty things to photograph.

Halloween

Well the kids had a great time on Halloween. Justin stayed home to hand out candy. He's too old to go with us. Garrett was a Ninja and Alex was a Alien. They got a huge haul of candy. I've got a massive headache right now from eating too much.

Homecoming Dance

It's the 2007 Homecoming for Desert Ridge High School. Justin has a date this year. Her name is Hannah. She is a freshman, while he is a junior. They are both in marching band. It has been a very busy day for them. Earlier today the band was at the Gilbert invitational competition. The pre homecoming pictures are below.

Justin's 2007 Homecoming Date

Schnepf Farms

Last weekend we went to Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek Arizona. It's a family farm that has been in the valley for a long time and they have added carnival kindof thing to raise money. They have a fall/Halloween festival that's a lot of fun for kids. Every year they add a little more stuff. This year they have fireworks every night.

This year we made a scare crow. We are looking forward to putting it in the yard for decoration. We are getting a late start on our Halloween decorations this year. See pictures from Schnepf below:


Fireworks pictures are always lame and boring so I tried a video this time. Let me know what you think and if this video displays okay.


This kids got their costumes for Halloween. Below are some pics of Garrett with his Ninja costume. I couldn't get Alex to move fast enough to take his picture. I will get a picture on Halloween though. You can be surprised.

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MIA

Well, I haven't posted in a really long time. I seem to have lost focus and I have been busy at work and it's been way too hot to do stuff outside here. It's starting to cool off now. It's great.

Alex is in band this year and Garrett has given his trumpet a try. See below:

Tandi and the kids are going to NM to see the grand balloon fiesta. Hopefully she will bring back lots of pretty pictures. We are planning several fall/Halloween activities as well so don't give up hope. This blog isn't completely dormant.