Reformation Day festival.

Short videos just to make the blog more kiddish..as if I have not already been accused of too much of that already.  James loves to dance around and must have learned his moves from me.

Here we are out for a walk.

For Reformation Day our church had a reformation day festival with all the necessary candy and a ton of games for the kiddos.

Here is the pumpkin chunkin...also known as a trebuchet.  It actually worked really well and glad that Chris put the thing together.  I think I should try and make one next year if I got the time, because who couldn't use a pumpkin catapult.

James and I were hunters and Brenda went as a deer.  A six year old pointed out to her that female deer do not have antlers, but she was not deterred.

James checking out the trebuchet.

Another kid picture for you to drool over his cuteness.

Yesterday Brenda and I got a chance to go to a Eastern Washington football game.  It actually did not rain the whole game so we had a good time.  Every time they get a first down they blast a "eagle" call over the loudspeaker...I pointed out that it actually sounded like a red tailed hawk call, but not a big deal.

Brenda and James hangin out tonight.

And the wife resting.  I remember a call for a prego picture, but have yet to get one so here is what you get.

And a final video.

Pumpkins and Training

I was gone and busier than ever last week.  I was in Pueblo CO for some training for the next time a big railroad derailment occurs.  Generally we got about 12hrs per day of training, and the days seemed to drag on.  Almost everyone in the training were firefighters from all over the country.  At the end of every day the Railroad gave us dinner and all the drinks you wanted...needless to say, firefighters tend to drink a lot.  I tried to take it easy since we had to be on the be us for training every day at 7am, but some of these guys were out till 4-5am and then training all day.  Not sure how they do it, but they did.  It got a bit crazy at some points, but the cops were only called one, so it was an improvement over the last group that came for training.  I felt like the old guy there turning it at 11pm at the latest and if you can believe it, I was about the most mature person there.  It was like being with a bunch a freshman frat guys, except they were 40+yrs of age...seriously tiring.

Training in progress

what is that black smoke coming from the rail car....I am sure it is nothing.

Here is the night exercise of flaring material from inside the rail car.

Before I left we had a friend give us this electric train.  It seemed to be out of batteries, but after a replacement, I found out the motor was broken.  No big deal, because James does not know any better and he is happy with anything. 

Jim and Sandra came over the other weekend because it was Sandra's birthday.  A good time was had by all.

James likes hats sometimes, and apparently he likes my 25yr old Oakland A's stocking cap...who would have thought.

We also got to go to a backyard harvest party the other weekend.  Brenda saw this pumpkin idea on TV and wanted me to figure out how to make it work...standard.

I ended up contrasting a picture and getting it into black and white, printing it off, laminating the back and then slapping it onto a pumpkin where I skinned the front.  Bam...done.

The back is the family on a TV set.  It looks great now that I got a light bulb in it, but it was not very bright with the candle.

Hard to tell, but these were the other pumpkins in the competition.  We did not win, but I had a happy wife and that is better than any old first prize you can win (I got my "first prize" all the same).

Update through pics

Finally got a second to post.  I have been working a bunch recently on a project about a hour away and the long days leave little time to have any fun or see my kid when he is awake, but it should all be over soon.  By next week the project should be complete and I will hopefully get to sleep past 530am.

I have a lot of pics and many of them are from a couple weeks ago, but they are nice all the same.

James loves to run around the house after baths in the buff wearing his hooded bath towel which looks like a jedi cape screaming his head off.

Couple weeks ago on Sunday we went to liberty lake and took a evening walk.  James got sand everywhere of course, but had a great time.

He really loves just hanging out and messing around alot.

Obviously throwing rocks is cool.

Such a nice day looking at the Liberty Lake flats.

Another view of the nice area where we live.

We also went to this vintique store the other weekend where James got to site on a tractor. 

He loves trucks and "diggers" or backhoes and I guess that figures since he is a man's man.

My pumpkins this year got off to a very slow start and ended up not getting close to last years beast.  I got about 5 that are large, but the biggest one tops out at about 100lbs maybe.  My father-in-law on the other hand got some seeds from me and with the soils and heat they have down there he got one that weighed 360lbs.  Maybe next year I will have one that big.

Here is James feeding himself...a skill not yet mastered by many DeJongs.

Got to go out on the church campout as well.  I went, but had to work so left before 5am and got back to camp about 6pm, so not a lot of fun for me.  I did sleep very good.

Since I have been working alot, Brenda thought this would be a good time to go and visit her sister in Indiana.  She went out there and had a great time helping them out making food, cleaning, playing with our nieces and being a regular Mary Poppins.

Just down the road there is a pumpkin patch near the park they visited.

James had a  great time with his cousins (or so I hear), but I hope he likes it back here as well.

Brenda had a great time as well.

Bluegrass, Mud, and Wine....how could you go wrong

So last weekend (a long long time ago) Brenda and I headed up to Newport Wa fort the Bluegrass festival that was held up there.  We had a good idea of the bands that were going to be there so we wanted to go and check it out.  Turns out we aged the crowd down considerably when we got there, but I was not deterred and we were able to spend the entire Saturday listening to Bluegrass and relaxing in the amazing weather.

At one point James was tired of all the old people music and we had to bring out the electric toothbrush Brenda got him which he loves.  Those batteries are about dead by now.

Kevin Pace and the Early Edition are a great band with good harmony and good down home gospel music for the masses.

Is anyone ready to go home....let me guess.

My favorite part about the day is when I get home and especially when James has a bath and then get to run around the house.  I of course like to do the same, but for some reason I cannot fit on the horse.

Is that about the cutest thing you have seen or what.

This past weekend we had the day free and just bummed around the house for most of the time, but had contemplated going to some mud bog races.  Seeing as my wife tends to have way more get up and go than I do, she decided we should go and I agreed.  I am glad I did, otherwise I would not have got to see the worst mullet in mud bog history.

How can anyone think that this is an appropriate way to let your kid walk around.  I figured I should be on the phone with social services because this kid is seriously getting abused...that is just wrong.

Meantime it was time for all of the trucks to rev the engine and parade around.  They were amazingly loud and those guys loved to make them as ridiculous as possible.  Then came the time when I felt like the worst parent in the world.  The lady next to us was obviously prego and must have weighed about 85lbs soaking wet.  She was painfully skinny and was sucking down cigarettes at a rate that would rival the Marlboro man and then.....there she was....giving me earplugs for my kid.  I know I should have been more prepared, but just when I think I am a good parent compared to others I am reminded not to be so judgemental and there is always room for improvement.  She was very kind to give James earplugs and I thanked her profusely.

Lots of these.

Not even sure where you get tires that big, but I pretty sure they are off a tractor.

Mullet kid cheering on the racers.  Hard to believe his dad was out there racing....no, not hard to believe at all.

Yesterday we had friends take care of James and headed to Arbor Crest Winery for a concert on the lawn and a time to relax.

The winery has the best view overlooking Spokane Valley.

And then looking towards Spokane.

Another basic winery picture.

The band and some statue blowing water out of two straws....real classy place.  The band played a lot of Buffett and some James Taylor along with others.  We had a great time and it was the most perfect weather you could ask for.

This evening I was out in the garage and James was acting like a crazy kid laughing at anything and just being all around a good time.

Blue camo is the new black.

He is teething a lot trying to get the back molars in and I guess he liked this allen wrench as a  teething ring.

There was this crazy guy at the concert..he danced like this the whole time.

James running around the garage and acting like a crazy.

A little of this and a little of that.

There is not much as far as continuity in this post except James it seems and I had a hard time coming up with a title.  No need to go on and on about this and that so I will jump right in with picture descriptions.

I have never seen popcorn before, but here it is.  Friends who watch James gave us this and after a few minutes in the microwave this is what it looks like.  Corn at our place did not turn out so good this year, but I am interested to try popcorn next year if I get a chance.

James has gotten the hang of eating corn and does not seem to mind if it is a bit over ripe.

He sometimes like to eat and sometimes can be quite the bugger.  We cannot figure out any real reason behind either, but believe that it just may be the stubborn attitude of his heart.  I have that problem too sometimes.

Here is the result of being 32 and acting like you are 12.  I was riding one of the articulating skateboards that has one wheel in the front and one in the back.  It is actually not that hard to get on and ride, but it is when I started to try new things like turning where I ran into issues.  Skinned elbow and knee as well as a black and blue hip will remind me of of lack of agility as I age. 

It is hard to imagine how uncoordinated I will be when James gets to be 16, but hopefully it will not get to bad.

Pig Out in the Park was happening this weekend in Spokane where there were 100 food vendors and lots of free music.  James had a great time Friday when we went there.

This is the first time he ever let us put glasses on him without him freaking out and ripping them off.

On Saturday we headed down to Jim and Sandi's house for some R&R and also to see them.  Jim and I had a chance to work on the newest Model T, and I also got a chance to drive one of the others out and around the countryside.  Driving one of those old cars is a great time and way more fun than driving a new car.  There is a lot to think about and it takes way more skill.

Back at home I finally got the engine of the bike back together for the second time and the bike fired right up.  I am still tracking down some electrical gremlins that are driving me nuts and the bike still does not seem to be 100%, but it is sounding great.  James and I were out in the garage and I was working on the ignition points using the multimeter.  Right when I put the probe down there James was right there picking it up and running his own diagnostics on the bike.  I was looking for all the help I could get and any new ideas at that time so the help was welcome.

Here is the bike now.  I got new mufflers for the bike and it makes the bike a lot quieter, although it is still quite loud.  I found out mufflers are required by Washington law so they had to be added...crazy government laws infringing on my rights.

The opposite view of the bike, man that bike looks awesome, now if I can only those minor issues figured out we should be all set.