Thanksgiving has come and gone

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I now have time to recap the hectic fun that we had with nine people visiting us.  First on the list was Brenda’s sister and family who came to visit for Thanksgiving.  The arrived on Monday and we had a great time hanging out with them right before Thanksgiving.  My parents then arrived on Wednesday during the day and the Brenda’s parents Wednesday night.  Brenda’s parents did not know Paula and Family were going to be here so we had a great time surprising them.  I wish I could have got a picture of the look on their faces when Brenda answered the door holding Colin and not Matthew.  They had a heck of time figuring out what was going on, but lots of laughs were had all around and everyone had a great time.

 

Matthew with his thumb in his mouth 90% of the time.  It is so easy to tell when he is tired and kind of exciting when you see the telltale signs of thumb sucking, blank stares and ear/eye rubbing.

That train has provided lots of fun and entertainment

Colin is younger than Matthew, but quite  a bit bigger.  the "My First Thanksgiving" shirts are 2T....now figure that one out.

So many people were here for Thanksgiving I had to bring in a folding table so everyone can eat in the same place. We had a traditional thanksgiving dinner with a 22lb bird. The turkey was the best turkey I have made or ever had to date. Not sure what I did different this time, but it was so juicy and good I even loved the white meat.

Lots of skin and cuteness.

Colin is a  seriously big kid.

Kevin and Landon came too, but did not make it in this picture I guess

Sooo happy to see the cousins.

 

The cousins had a great time playing downstairs and they really missed each other when it was all over.  Every night during nighly prayers James now makes sure we pray for Colin and he seems to think every picture of a baby is either Colin or Matthew.

Lindsey with the Thankfulness tree where you write what you are thankful for on the leaves of it.

 

To accommodate all of the people in the house and everyone have a bed,  it required that Brenda and I sleep on the floor in Matthews room.  It was actually not that bad and we slept well because we were so tired, but it was nice to get our own bed.

 

James got a new Pillowcase from my parents and loves the cat in the hat animals on it.

 

I like getting breakfast out and eating with James.  He loves to read the back of the box and then drink him milk like daddy.

 

It also was time for the annual Griswold family tradition of going into the woods and finding a tree.  We went with friends again and 5 kiddos 4 and under with a high of the day of 10F made for a less than awesome trip.  We still had fun, but just not as much as we had hoped.

Matthew wearing a hat that a co-worker gave me a long time ago for James.  At one point I had Matthew in the backpack, and was holding James, a saw, and a tree walking through the foot of snow on a very steep slope.

 

Here is the tree once we got it decorated

Couple of pictures in front of it.

I assure you I did not let him eat the ornament, but he did break it.

 

We also have been down at Brenda's parents house a lot in the past month.  It is always nice to be on the road and be able to see your wife and kids at the end of the day.  This is normally how James hugs his brother for pictures...Notice Matthew gasping for air.

 

We are stoked for Christmas and the celebration of Christ's birth.  The Christmas season is very different now that we have kids.  We have even a better appreciate for the gift of a Savior as well as a responsibility to teach our children about the free gift of grace.

Long time between posts= long posts

Seeing as it is fall and I have a ton of leaves to rake I thought I would compost some of them into the pumpkin patch.  I love running the rototiller which was handed down from my father and from his father-in-law.  This old thing is a beast a really can tear up the ground and now hold an even more special place to me since my grandfather passed away last week.  Every time I use it I can think of all the times he used it and really will enjoy it even more.  I have been having some issues with it and finally it stopped working half way through the job.  After lots and lots of carburetor troubleshooting I finally ran a compression and found the compression was much too low, so I was forced to tear into it and see what was the problem.  Right away I noticed this head gasket looked a little worn.  After a couple day I got off my butt and finally got a replacement from the guy around the corner (less than $3) and put the engine back together.  The thing started right up and really has some power now.  It was dark when I finally got it running but I had to try it out, so I donned the headlamp and went to work.  Tilling the soil is great therapy.

 

Pretty obvious where the air was escaping.

 

Last week I had a job about 10 miles from the in-laws so we headed out early and spent the week at their house.  It is so nice being able to see your kids at the end of the day and I know they had a blast a grandma and grandpa’s as well.

The boys love to play the piano.

James just let one and was letting us know in this picture.  Auntie Paula's glasses were a lot of fun to play with.

Seriously cute.  The sliding glass door was licked clean by the time we left.

Having fun with grandpa petting the cat.

Again on the Piano

and with the Cats....again

Since work does not have to pay for me to stay in a hotel and I also have a food allowance I could  go out to eat with the whole family at a nice place and it did not cost me a dime.  So nice to have a good meal and say thanks to the in laws for housing me in such a practical way.  James liked the ribeye bone.

James got these car tracks a while ago and has been having a great time playing with them.  Mom and him set this one up and I was really impressed with Brenda's building skills on this.

 

Brenda had some MOPS get together game night last weekend so I got to take the boys to the mall and the play area there.  Since it gets so dark so early it is kind of hard to play outside.  I detest the Mall normally, but this one here is not busy so it is actually tolerable.

Playland time

I thought I had posted this picture before, but guess I forgot.  My mustache is much bigger now.

 

Two weeks ago we also got the opportunity to have a couple of my co-workers from San Jose who now live in Helena over.  It was a blast catching up with them and having our kids play with each other.  We had the other people we worked with in CA that are up in Spokane on a job over for dinner as well and it was so much fun catching up and seeing people from the past.  It is really amazing the people you run into at various parts of your life and you never know when you are going to run into them again.  It really is a small world.

That little girl is so cute.

James is unaware that this train is actually broken.  We got it and it never worked so he just sits on it and pushes it around.  He loves to push his brother and goes around about 100 times without stopping.  I have no idea what I would do if I had that energy.

Brothers having fun.

James is getting more and more daring.  He loves to wrestle and jump off things.

Not always a smooth landing, but fun to watch.

The boys again...and yes I realize this is now a kiddo blog.

Brenda just hanging out and being herself.  Sunglasses inside is probably not needed, but when you look this good who cares.

 

While down in Sunnyside I got a chance to ride in Jims new speedster and actually got to drive it.  There is a lot of fun to be had driving old model T’s and they each really seem to have a personality.  Each one of the rides a little different and all of them turn heads wherever they go.  James had a blast riding it as well.

I will spare you my political rants this time.



Fall Flair

With the threat of weather and winter fast approaching I thought it prudent to finally get someone to take a look at the roof and the minor leak it has.  The leak did not go into the house, but just onto another old roof section since the leak was at the interface of where the previous owner added on the front porch.  I could not figure out why the valley was leaking but upon inspection he had installed flashing and then nailed every 6 inches down the middle...bad idea.  There were several time where words were exchanged between me and the roof.  the previous owner also used shingles stacked up on each other as spacers and a lot of other non industry approved techniques that lead to the leaking.

I had contacted a roofer and he gave a me a quote of $2400 to fix the two valley's.  I just about fell over and for that much I could go to roofing school and fix the roof and still come out ahead.  After watching a couple of youtube videos and common sense in hand I got to work.

Water damage on the roof required some additional attention.  I did not get a picture of the finished project, but I figure if the past crap job only leaked a little there is no way mine is going to leak.  To top it off I only had to pay less than $400 for the materials...awesome.

With all the runs to Hopeless Depot James got his fill of popcorn and sitting on rental equipment.

North Idaho in the fall is amazing.  This is a picture I took at work the other day...it was a good day at work.

I got a chance last week to run over the St Regis and throw a line in the water.  I did not catch any fish but got some good time alone on the water and was glad to do so.  The Tamarack trees throughout the area look like they are on fire

Matthew is being so very cute nowadays and should be walking shortly.  He pulls himself up all over the place and really is fun to be around.

James has a bunch of cars that I got off craigslist a few weeks ago and is constantly asking for the "car"....I try to explain to him he has about a hundred and I have not idea which one he is talking about, but he knows and is adamant.  He also likes to haul things in his truck as shown here.

James was a horse for the churches fall flair party.  Here is is with his friend the lion.

Since Brenda and I were just going to go as cowboys I thought I would grab a lead rope and clip it on James "mane".  Everyone thought it was funny and I am sure some thought that having your kid on a leash was cruel, but I don't care.

James and Mom.

Matthew being a cute rooster to round out the farm theme.

 

And now, for another political rant: 

Health care rollout seems to be all in the news nowadays and I am a bit miffed since it is now open enrollment at work.  Since everyone now has a right to coverage the insurance companies actually have to account for those people who have life ending illnesses and under the new law can get any coverage they want.  This increased cost is of course getting passed onto the consumer of course.  Next they are going to make the companies provide life insurance to everyone even those who are going to die in a month and make the rest of us foot the bill.  Thanks Government, because of the new law I have insurance that 10% higher cost and provides 50% of the coverage it used to.  Good job providing for your responsible citizens (please note the sarcasm).  Oh, and where is me $2500 saving I was promised as "average American household"?

 

The website rollout is another one of those things that miff me.  So now, I am required to get health insurance and because most of it is online I have to get internet.  So the government is actually requiring the purchase of 2 things….wait, I also need a computer, electricity, and money to pay for it. To make this money I actually have to work since I cannot borrow all I want like the government does so that is another thing I am now required to do.  Does anyone else see a cascading effect here.  Marxbama here we come.  Another thing that really is annoying and frankly pandering to me is when the website rollout is blamed on someone, but the Obama claims to take “full responsibility” for the problems.  It is easy to take full responsibility when there is no punishment.  When you are not going to get fired or really be held accountable it is really easy to take responsibility.  Heck I also take responsibility then when someone else fixes it, I can also take credit…moronic government officials are really trying my patience.

Selkirk Loop and Ione Train

Fall is distinctly upon us and the frost is covering the ground in the mornings now on a regular basis.  We picked all of our apples two weeks ago and got moving making 9 gluten free apple crisps for the freezer to keep us ready at a moment’s notice if we get company or friends over.  The pumpkins did not do so well this year and I can actually pick the biggest one up by myself so I think it only got 125lbs or so.  The sunflowers were huge and the biggest head must be something like 20” across.

Here is James talking on the phone.  I guess the guys at the part department got his order wrong because I swear I heard him say " NO, I ordered a right side solenoid starter coil, not the bottoms stator bearing...that would be ridiculous".  

James also likes to make Matthew laugh.  Sometimes he can be a little rough with Matthew, but so can I... so I guess he gets that from me.

 

Last weekend we headed to Sunnyside to see the in-laws.  We were already planning on going down there and then I got a couple days of work down there scheduled at the last minute, so it was pretty cool to get paid to drive down and back.  Jim’s newest model T speedster is just about done and it fired right up on the first crank which was fun, but we ended up pulling the axle apart due to some “noises”.  Jim did most of the work, but I had a good time all the same.

New (old) toys at Grandma's house.

Th first drivers of the Speedster T.

Back at home messing around

No pants....no problem.  This is a good rule to live by.

 

This past weekend it was my time to go out and ride the GS.  I have wanted to do the Selkirk loop into Canada for some time now and things just had not worked out, but I was determined to make Saturday work.  It was a brisk day, but that is about all you could hope for this time of year.  Before I left,  Brenda and I talked and thought about doing the train ride in Ione this year, but like every other year it is sold out online and you could go up hoping to get a ticket, but chances are slim.  Since it is 2 hours away that is not a good idea to risk it.  During my ride, I passed through Ione and then turned around and thought I would stop and see if they had any tickets for Sunday.  To my surprise they had some and sold me enough for us to ride the train.  With tickets in hand I continued the loop. 

 

On the Ferry

 

Just outside of Nelson BC I noticed a sign saying the time the next ferry left was at 1:10…Yikes. I was 30km away and it was 12:50, so I took off and rode like the wind.  I arrived at the ferry right as the gate closed in front of me.  Luckily the captain saw me and then re-opened the gate and let me on.  That saved me a 2hr wait so I was pumped.  The ride was awesome and made me once again realize I could ride my bike all day every day and not get tired of it.  380 miles and 8hrs 30 minutes of riding and I arrived at home with a big smile and happy attitude.

Kootenay Lake is awesome and Canada is going to be some place I go and see a lot more of in the future.

 

Sunday Brenda and the boys stayed home from Church since Matthew had a slight fever.  After church I booked home and we left at about 10:50.  I was once again against the clock since the train left at 1pm and we had a 2hr drive to get to it.  Well, we arrived about 8 minutes before the train left and were happy to have made it.  James was so excited as we told him on the drive that he was going to ride a train, he kept pointing out every train we passed.  When we got there he was speechless stuttering and pointing while his eyes were as big a dinner plates…that scene alone was worth the drive.  We got to ride in the Caboose and had a great time.  It is pretty old school as they let you walk out on the back of the caboose and stand there with just a small safety chain across the opening as you ride on a trestle 200ft over a huge hydroelectric dam (and me holding James).  I was probably having as much if not more fun as James.  The ride is only about 90 minutes roundtrip, but on the way back the engine goes on a siding and moved to join with the caboose and pull us back to town.  We had a great time and the weather was perfect.  Such a nice time of year to get out and see the fall aspens, maples, and tamaracks.

What is that sound? A TRAIN!

Brenda and Matthew on the back of the caboose.

James pointing out the Engine and where it is going.

The Boys and Mama

And then there is me trying to blend in with the local flora with my red 'stache...hot...so hot.  I have to beat the women off with a noodle.

Back at home it is time to make some music.