♣ King of Clubs ♣

The Wheel Less Wonder...

2010-01-04T01:20:00.002-06:00

If you looked real close at the last front and back yard shots (I mean REAL close) you would have noticed a couple things. First, my snowmobile was parked in the back yard behind the garage. Second, that the snowmobile trailer is sitting on a set of car dollys, not on it's own wheels.

These particular things are actually for a good reason, and no, I didn't get the wheels stolen from my snowmobile trailer! I originally bought my snowmobile trailer in 2001, brand new from my uncle in Fargo, North Dakota. He bought it, never used it, and upgraded to an aluminum trailer and sold us this steel trailer. My brother and I had both just bought snowmobiles and went in on the trailer together 50% each. Over the years, this trailer had been used to tow snowmobiles many miles, but also found use hauling ATV's, furniture, firewood, and was used as a land barge to place sofas on and tow behind a lawn tractor at BIR for the drag races.

Somewhere along the line (I have my guesses) the trailer was overloaded and the axle got bent. I also had a set of bearings go out on it and overheated one of the axle spindles. Basically what this meant was that the trailer would eat up a set of tires every year, wearing the inside tread totally bald. My brother and I would just split a new set of tires and keep using it. Well, over the last couple of years, the tires would wear out much faster and actually started to cause a towing hazard. Once my Dad bought my brother's snowmobile and his 50% interest in the trailer, we started talking about ways to fix the axle. The conclusion we came to was that we needed to replace the axle and spindles with the exact same thing that was on there to begin with. In order for us to get the correct measurements, we needed to remove the axle from the trailer. So, on a icy driveway on a cool December afternoon, Dad and I got the axle removed and didn't even snap a single U-bolt!

Now that we got the axle out and Dad got it taken apart and measured, we just need to find a place that can make us a new axle! I got a lead on a place here in town, but with the New Year holiday, I am going to have to wait to talk to them next week. After we get the axle made, we just need to replace and repack the bearing, install the hubs, reinstall the axle, and get new tires! Hopefully when all is said and done, we will be able to get a few more miles out of this trailer!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T01:19:00.000-06:00

Well, this New Year's mark the end of one decade and the beginning of another. When I look past over the last ten years, I can't help but be very thankful for what I have. I managed to find a job that I love, married the woman of my dreams, and welcomed my beautiful children into this world. My family is healthy and happy. I really can't find anything bad that happened in the last ten years!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year also. Maeve really got into Santa and opening presents and Shannon and I loved seeing her eyes light up with every gift she opened! We also celebrated Christmas with a major winter snow event. The snow started early on Christmas Eve morning, and continued until the day after Christmas. We started out with about six to seven inches of light fluffy snow, then got a break, then got another six inches of wet heavy snow mixed with some sleet and rain. Overall we ended up with about 11 to 13 inches! Not a bad Christmas gift from mother nature. The only real bad thing about this snowfall is that I was working during most of it and the driveway suffered. I got the fluffy light snow taken care of right away, but the wet heavy snow had to wait about 12 hours and in doing that, I managed to get about an inch of ice on the entire driveway. I just hope we get one day soon with some warmer temps so I can try and salvage the driveway for the rest of the snow season! Below are the most recent front and back yard shots. You can see how the snow really piled up!

Merry Christmas 2009!

2009-12-25T08:00:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Once again we kept with the Christmas photo card tradition. Shannon got a little more creative this year with the multiple photos and I think they look great! The past years can be seen here: 2008, 2007, and 2006. I like looking back as the past years and seeing how much our lives have changed and how thankful I really am!

So, from our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

PS. PLEASE do not join the massive amount of people going to the Mall of America tomorrow to return gifts, and if you do, DRIVE NORMAL!

Christmas Lights!

2009-12-20T13:59:00.007-06:00

When we bought our house in April of 2006, we didn't get a chance to get Christmas lights put up that winter. In 2007, I bought some white icicle style and got those hung and they looked pretty good, as you can see HERE. In 2008, with us just painting the house and the damage caused to the white Christmas light when I took them down, we didn't put any up. However for the 2009 season, I wanted to redeem myself.

Maeve has been OBSESSED with Christmas lights ever since she started seeing them up on hoses this year. Since I wanted something new and fun, I decided to go with C7 size, multi-colored LED lights this year. I also wanted a clean, neat, professional looking appearance, so I also bought some Quik Klips (my Dad has used these for years and they work GREAT!) and mounted those on the soffits and fascia. I think I bought the last couple rolls of lights at Home Depot, but I had more than enough. Over the period of a couple days in November, Dad and I got the lights hung. The weather was very mild so the installation went well, the only thing that slowed us up this year was installing the Quik Klips, but I am just happy we only have to do that once! I have the Christmas lights installed on a switched outlet I put in the soffit a couple years ago, so every night when it gets dark, Maeve flips the switch, looks outside, and say "So beautiful!" That alone made it worth putting them up this year!

We Got Some Snow!!!

2009-12-19T13:42:00.001-06:00

We got our first major snow fall on December 9th this year. The Twin Cities, specifically Bloomington, got about six to eight inches of snow which was followed by very cold temperatures and high winds. We had some drifts in our driveway over a foot tall! Then about 5 days later, we got another three inches. So, we will have a very nice white yard for Christmas this year. I have the first Front Yard and Back Yard pictures for the year:

So far the snow removal has gone very well, the snowblower fired right up and worked great. The recoil on the pull rope is sticking quite a bit, so before the next major snowfall, I need to take it apart and clean it. Maeve joined the snow removal team again this year and has been having fun while Dad shovels snow!

Pheasant Hunting 2009 - Trip #1

2009-12-17T13:41:00.001-06:00

November 21, 2009

As I have said in a few of my earlier posts, hunting this year kind of got put on the back burner between Will arriving and my work schedule, I just didn't have a ton a spare time to get out.

However, I did manage to squeeze in a day trip hunting pheasant. A gal my sister-in-law know from bording thier horses together has a 40 acre hobby farm just outside Lonsdale, MN and had a pheasant problem. It turns out a good number of pheasants roost on her property and cause some damage to her house, yard, and crops. She had mentioned such to my borther and he was more than willing to help her with her problem.

My Dad, brother, my brother's friend Ryan (who we duck hunted with earlier in the year), and myself all headed down early on a Saturday morning. It was a very nice day, sunny, cool, and crisp. The land we would be hunting was about half harvested corn and half grasses, with a few wooded tree lines at the end of the property. We started walking in from the road with the help of both my brother's dog Tanner and Ryan's dog Diamond. We hunted down the field, around the grasses and into the wooded areas and didn't see anything. We didn't even hear a pheasant cackle. With the opening time for pheasant hunting in Minnesota at 0900 hours, we were thinking the pheasants were probably in the HUGE grassy area across the road soaking up the sun.

Needless to say, we didn't end up with any roosters. The trip was still good fun and I got some exercise too! I had to get home early, but my brother, Dad, and Ryan ended up walking some other public hunting reserves in the area, but didn't have any luck either. Hopefully next year, I will have more of a productive hunting season because my freezer is empty!

Sleeping Muscle...

2009-11-25T23:15:00.005-06:00

Mileage: 87,904

I really don't like this time of year, but only for this reason, I have to put the Trans Am away for the winter. I actually stopped driving it about a month ago, but then the weather got nice again, and I never took it out. But now, it is getting cold, and I don't think we will be getting any more heat waves so I am officially calling it in storage for the year. I did the final wash, got in parked tight against the garage, and got the cover on.

I actually wish I had some more time with the Trans Am this year after I got all my house projects done, but I didn't. I didn't manage to start a nice collection of parts which I will be installing next year, including new carpet! I know this is going to seem like a small number, but I did manage to put 398 miles on it this year!

One of the things that goes along with me storing the Tans Am, is getting the snowmobiles out of the side yard and back in the driveway. Dad and I plan on replacing the axle on the trailer this year since it is bent and burning through tires yearly.

Will's Room

2009-11-25T16:56:00.000-06:00

I remember back when we were expecting Maeve, we pretty much had her room done and ready for her months before she was born, see HERE, HERE, and HERE and notice the dates, Maeve was born 07/24/07! Getting Will's room ready didn't happen as far in advance. I think I didn't everything in his room in about a month, and we actually bought the last couple things we needed HOURS before Shannon went into labor.

Our house has 4 bedrooms, 2 upstairs, 2 downstairs. Our room and Maeve's room are upstairs and to try and limit the impact of the baby coming on Maeve, Shannon and I decided to put his room downstairs (under ours). This room was set up originally as one of two guest rooms, but once we took the bed out of it for Maeve a couple months ago it was pretty much a storage room. Below are the pictures of this room when we moved in, nothing had really changed from then to just before me getting it ready for Will.

The theme for the room actually started with the bedding. Shannon and I spent some time looking in stores and online for bedding. We had a very hard time finding some we liked. We finally decided to go with a cowboy/western themed bedding that we found online. You can also see the AMAZING quilt that my mom made for Will draped over the back of the crib, it is super soft and the detail in the embroidery is stunning.

After we had the bedding picked out, we decided on a color. We figured a good accent color for brown in blue, and after sorting out about 50 color cards, we decided on misty grey blue color called "Millstream." Next came the task of painting, which like all of the rooms in our house stated with two coats of white semi-gloss on the ceiling, followed by two coats of the color on the walls. Once the all the painting was done, I replaced all the painted over, broken, old, and dingy outlets and switches with new fresh white ones, replaced the light fixture (so it matches the rest of the house) and hung the valance. The valance rod is actually a stick from the woods that Mom, Dad, and Maeve found on a nature walk. I then cut the stick down knocked the rough edges off, and mounted it. Shannon and I both think it looks really cool and goes great with the room.

For the furniture in the room, we reused Maeve's crib since she is in her big girl bed now, and purchased the same style dresser that we bought for Maeve, but in a different color.

We only have a couple things left to do. I want to hang some natural fiber rope (in a couple loops) on the wall above the dresser. I then want to hang a couple horse shoes and an old cowboy hat or two around the rope. My sister-in-law has a couple horses and she said she would be able to get use the shoes and hats! It should be neat when it is done and I will remember to post a pic or two when it is!

King Family...Party of Four!

2009-11-25T15:52:00.003-06:00

That's right, we now have a family of four! Shannon was originally scheduled to be induced on November 12th, but at about 0030 hours on the early morning of November 11th, she started having contractions. We got to the hospital a little before 0300 and we were were parents again at 1119 hours on November 11th!

William Lawrence King (Will) was born at 11:19 am on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, MN. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 21 inches long. The labor and delivery went very smooth and the staff at the hospital was great. Shannon and Will got to come home the next day and everyone is doing very well. Maeve has been a great big sister so far and loves to help out both Shannon and I.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T07:27:00.005-06:00

This was Maeve's third Halloween and this year she totally got into it. She went as Elmo this year (we couldn't find a Thomas the Tank Engine costume that fit, like she wanted!) and had a blast. Shannon and I, along with my Mom and Dad were "practicing" with her all week, teaching how to say Trick-or-Treat and then thank you (which she says Tank You!). She also got to carve a bunch of pumpkins (with Shannon and Grandma) and had a really good time smashing up all the pumpkin guts. I also have to thank my beautiful wife for carving my pumpkin using the very detailed Firebird pattern I found on the Internet!

I actually had the night off work, so Shannon and I were both able to take her around this year. Grandpa Tim came over to the house first and gave her candy and we then had sloppy joe's for dinner (an old tradition that my Mom started!). We then drove up to my Mom and Dad's then to Grandma Dee's house. We had to make sure and Trick-or-Treat at the grandparent's houses! When we got back home, we stopped at a few of our neighbor's house and then headed home. It was pretty chilly, only about 40 degrees or so, but Maeve was having so much fun ringing the door bells and picking out her candy, I don't think she noticed the cold at all!

We spent the rest of the night helping Maeve hand out candy to the Trick-or-Treater's that came to our house. I think she liked doing that almost as much as getting the candy! We have 19 kids come to our house this year, which is about 3 times as many as the last two years! Once Maeve's sugar high (she was literally running in circles around the house) wore off, she crashed and had a very good nights sleep!

Geocaching!

2009-11-01T07:00:00.005-06:00

I recently added a new hobby to my list. Geocaching! My buddy Dave from work has been doing it for a while and had been talking about it quite a bit. He even created another blog to track his finds! If you don't know that much about Geocaching, don't feel bad, I didn't either, but you can read more about it HERE.

Basically it is a GPS based hide and seek where people hide little containers or boxes (called caches) in parks, wooded areas, trails or campsites, they then log the information (including the GPS coordinates) into the Official Geocaching Website and then other people set out to find it. You might think this sounds silly or way to easy but it isn't either. It is much harder than it sounds. The GPS gets you in the general area of where the cache is hidden, but you still need to look around to find it. Sometime they are in tree stumps, under rocks, hanging from branches, ect. It is also great exercise and gets people out of their house and in the great outdoors!

I have had a GPS unit for over a year now and have it mounted in my Suburban. I mainly just use it for directions and marking locations of things.

So far I have only "found" one cache. It was pretty easy and it was my practice run. Dave was coaching me on how my GPS works and what to do. Getting to the cache was easy (it was right across the street from the fire station I was working at) but like I said, finding the actual cache was a bit of a challenge to a rookie like me! I hope to find some more caches soon and I really want to get Maeve involved in helping me find them!

Thanks for the great hobby idea Dave!

Profile Picture!

2009-11-01T06:52:00.002-06:00

I figured after three years and me saying over and over again that I was gonig to change it, I should finally change my Blogger profile picture! Since my wedding was over four years ago, I figured I needed to move on to something more recent!

ENJOY!

Duck Hunting 2009 - Trip #1

2009-11-01T04:56:00.011-06:00

October 9 - October 11, 2009

I knew toward the end of the summer that this wasn't going to be a year of real hard core hunting for me. I simply had too much going on and with me still being lower on the seniority list at work and with the upcoming birth of my son, I just didn't have enough time. I am pretty sure this might be my only hunting trip this year, I know deer hunting is out of the question and I might try and do some late season pheasants, but who knows.

The only real hunting trip we had planned this year was for the second weekend of duck hunting. We (my brother Michael, Dad, and myself) were invited to go to Ryan Everson's cabin (one of Michael's close friends) just outside of Big Fork, MN. Michael had been to his cabin before and always said the hunting was very good. Dad and I didn't really know what to expect, the said it was public hunting land, but it is almost never used by anyone else.

Since we in a new environment, Dad and I made a point of asking Michael many times what we needed to bring. We got most of our gear together and really didn't need anything different that normal, but the Friday morning that we were supposed to leave, Michael called and asked if we could bring the S.S. Dinghy. I agreed, but that meant I had to get some serious work done in a few hours. I hadn't even got the boat out of the backyard yet this year! Not that I was real surprised, but the trailer lights didn't work. So after Dad and I spent about 2 hours completely rewiring the trailer, it was finally ready to go. It was still without a motor, but we had everything else strapped in a ready to go!

We all met at my parents house and hit the road just before dinner time. My brother would be driving up (since he knew where he was going and all) and we would be in his wife's Tahoe.

The drive went pretty good and we hardly had any traffic. We stopped at the Applebee's in Grand Rapids for dinner and continued our drive further north. A little past Grand Rapids, it started snowing. It wasn't a real heavy snow, but was more than just flurries. It was real pretty to see and brought back great memories of duck hunting when it is actually cool out! When we pulled into Ryan's cabin, the snow was a little heavier than before, but hardly accumulating. Dad and I were very impressed with the cabin. It is a year round walk out lake home. It is pretty much just like a house, kitchen, bathrooms, showers, ect. It has an amazing pole barn filled with toys and sits on about 5 acres. Ryan showed up about an hour after we got there and we settled in for the night. My brother and I would be sharing a room with two full sized, pillow top beds, and dad was across the hall in his own room sleeping on a king sized pillow top bed. We sat around and talked for a few minutes, watched the flat screen TV, had a couple beers, discussed the plan for the morning and hit the hay.

The alarm came at 0500 and Michael and I both woke up very refreshed and ready to go, Dad was soon to follow. We got all of our heavy weight hunting clothes and proceeded to get our gear ready. When we got upstairs (we were sleeping in the basement) we were greeted by about two inches of snow on the ground! This had the makings of being a great morning hunting! We got all of our gear ready and started the short drive to the lake we would be hunting on. Michael, Dad, and I drove in the Tahoe (with Tanner the dog) and Ryan and his two cousins (who were joining us) rode down in his Kubota towing his duck boat. It turns out we didn't really need my boat anyways!

We arrived at the lake (I guess it is technically called Grass Lake) and got everything unloaded. I was excited about hunting on a lake and using a boat to get from point A to point B since most of the duck hunting I am used to involves hunting and getting around on land. The boat we were assigned to was a 1982 12' Alumacraft fishing boat. It would be powered by a 45 ft lb thrust trolling motor (since my motor is messed up still). Michael piloted us out to were we would be hunting. The area we were hunting was on the south end of the sitting along a small creek that flows to a natural rice bog. What a perfect area! We got the boat unloaded and hidden and set up our blinds. The morning was crisp and beautiful. We saw quite a bit flying, but only a few were within shooting range. We ended up with two ducks (it could have been a few more, but I think we were all a little rusty shooting this years!) and Tanner had two nice retrieves. We headed back in after about 4 hours of the morning hunt. We needed some food and the warm up!

Saturday was the last day of the early closing time, so after we got breakfast and spent a few hours warming up, Michael, Dad, and I headed back down to the lake for another hour or two of hunting. Ryan and his two cousins needed to get their deer stands set up, so we would be the only ones one the lake. We changed our location to a point about 1/2 way up the lake (the blind where Ryan and his cousins were in the morning) where a fixed blind was located. We sat out there until closing time, had a few missed opportunities, but enjoyed the day and talking with each other.

The rest of the day, we spent cleaning ducks and lounging around. We all caught a couple movies (thanks to DirecTv) and had pizza for dinner. I don't really remember the exact time, but I think we were all in bed by 2200 hours!

Sunday morning came again at 0500 hours. Pretty much the same morning getting ready as before. However, this morning, we would be heading back out to the point we were at in the afternoon the day before and Ryan and his cousins would be at a different point down the lake from us. Since we only had the trolling motor again, we were towed about 3/4 of the way to our point by the other boat. We got the decoys out, boat hidden and blind set up just in time for shooting time. Today was much slower than the day before. Not as much flying at all. I don't know if it had something to do with the thin layer of ice around the edge of the lake or what, but we only had a few shots and no kills for the morning. It was another crisp morning and after about 3 hours, we packed it up. The other group had a few ducks for the morning, but they also noted how much slower it was.

Since it was getting closer to the middle of the day, we figured we should start getting things packed up for the trip back. We helped get the boats and gear put away and then got our things packed in the Tahoe. We straightened up the beds, had a late breakfast, and said our goodbyes. We were on the road at about 1130. I think I slept 3/4 of the way home!

Once, again another great duck hunting trip. I always look forward to spending time with my Dad and brother in a duck blind every fall. Hopefully I will have at least one more hunting trip this year, but if not, it was still a good year. I think next year we are going to do some late season scouting and find a few more spots to try out. I think Dad and I are going to try and join Michael in North Dakota also!

Summer Projects are Done!

2009-10-27T10:00:00.011-05:00

I know, it has been almost a month since I last posted, and to be honest, I just haven't had any time! So, in the next couple of days, I am going to try and get caught up again. I really don't want to be behind when the baby is born!

I did finally finish all the projects I wanted to get done this summer. I think I finished the last one about a month ago. You have no idea what a huge relief it was to be finished! I don't think I will ever make such a long list for an entire summer. I think one or two medium sized projects will do!

First on my list of accomplishments is painting the front door. If you remember about a year ago, I replaced the front door but never got around to painting it. I finally got out the Hawaiian Cinder paint and after a couple coats and scraping the windows, it was done! It looks much better than bright white and completes the front of the house!

The next project I finished involved building a fence. The west side of our house was the only part that still had a section of chain link fence up. We never really had any need to replace it, but since I started storing the snowmobiles over there in the summer time, I wanted the ability to put them behind a fence a shield them visually from the road. So, to suit these needs, we built a small section of wood fence that matches the exiting wood fence. We were originally going to put a 10 foot gate up, but due to the terrain of the area around where we were building it, it wasn't possible. So, as an alternative, we build a removal fence section. Since I would only be moving the snowmobiles in and out of the back yard a couple times a year, this removable section should work just fine.

The actual construction and assembly was pretty easy. We have two posts set in concrete and the rest of the framing is cedar and matches the style of the existing fence almost perfectly. The removable section is held in with bolt latches and is very secure. It is a two person job however, I think that section weighs about 200 pounds! I still have to do a little landscape edging along the house, but that can wait until next year!

The next project finished was a combination inside/outside project and involved windows. Last year when we painted the house, we didn't get a chance to finish trimming out the lower level windows (see the picture on the left). The lower level windows are original to the house and still have wood sashes that need to be painted. So I took a nice weekend day and took all the windows out and painted the trim, tracks, and windows with two coats of paint. They were dry in a couple hours and reinstalled. The front of the house finally looks done!

Then, to finish off the windows, on the inside of the house we bought and installed new blinds and dumped the ghetto looking drapes. I used the same company I used on the upstairs blinds and matched the style exactly. The installation went very smooth and the quality of the product is great. Just like last time, I would recommend them highly!

The last of my summer projects involved freshening up some things in the kitchen. We repainted it from a red-orange color to a deep red. Then, we replaced the dated brass door hardware with new ones. This was pretty easy to do and made a huge difference. Now the knobs match the rest of the "metal" in the house.

We also added a blind on the window over the sink. I can't believe it has taken us this long to buy blinds for this window. The sun is VERY bright on this side of the house in the summer and is blinding when you are cooking dinner. The used the same company again as all the other blinds in the house and they delivered again!

The last thing we did in the kitchen was refinish the light fixture. When we bought the light fixture for the kitchen, we got it on clearance and bought it because we liked the style and the tinting of the glass on the globe. The color of the metal part of the fixture was brass and we didn't like it very much and it also didn't match. To fix this, I took the light fixture down, spray painted three coats of bronze on all the metal parts. I then waited until it was dry and sprayed a light coat of flat black over the bronze. When the black was dry, I took some steel wool and distressed the raised edges so the bronze would show on the edges, but the flat black would be the primary color. This was about the extreme end of my "arts and crafts" patience, but I think it turned out nice!

With that, my summer projects are done! So far for next spring/summer the only major plans we have are rebuilding the next, installing a swing set, restoring the Kitty Cat, and working on the Trans Am!

Ducks Unlimited 2009

2009-09-25T14:27:00.006-05:00

I really don't feel it, but it is officially fall and hunting season is right around the corner! It seems the busier I stay over the summer and the more things I have going on in my life, the less time I spend "thinking" about hunting. Don't get me wrong, I am still crazy about it and love to do it, I just don't spend all of August and September thinking about it any more.

One of the annual events that kick off hunting season for me is the Ducks Unlimited banquet. We have been attending the South Metro chapter's banquet since they reorganized in 2006. They put on a very nice banquet and I think they are gaining a few people each year, but I think they would like the attendance numbers to be a little higher. Either way, this is a great event to be able to spend with my Dad and brother and all the money raised goes to "the ducks!"

This year, the dinner was GREAT and they had a nice spread of prizes and auction items to bid on. Our family came out pretty good this year. I won a leather case that was filled with a beer bread mix, grille seasoning, a spicy meat sauce, a Cabela's camo hat, and a 6 LED hat light. I also came away with a Ducks Unlimited logoed Fossil brand men's watch! This was perfect considering I broke mine again working outside last weekend.

Michael and Dad both did pretty well too. Dad ended up with a basket of Duck Unlimited food/baking supplies and a framed Goose print. Michael got a bronze sculpture and a crystal necklace. Now that I have been to the Ducks Unlimited event, I am totally in the mood for hunting this fall!

I'm Half Done!

2009-09-25T13:58:00.006-05:00

That's right! Ten years down, ten to go! September 1, 2009 marked my ten year anniversary with the Bloomington Fire Department! Not a bad achievement considering I'm only 29 years old! So, in 2019 I will be eligible to retire and go on the deferred pension roll until I turn 50 and can start collecting my pension.

The fire department in Bloomington is volunteer, well paid-on-call to be exact. So it is basically made up of citizens of the city who take time out of their day, family life, job, ect and respond to the fire station when they are paged. We receive a little under $5 per call we respond to and minimum wage when doing chores on the trucks or around the station. So the monthly checks are not going to make you rich, but it is a little something. Beside serving the community you live in, the other benefit of the fire department is that after you put in 20 years of service and turn the ago of 50, you get a monthly pension check until you die. The amount is the same for everyone and is calculated as 1/3 of the most senior Bloomington Police Department patrolman's monthly pay. I don't know the exact amount, but right now it is around $2K a month.

I can't believe it has been ten years. I have had a lot of changes in my life in the last ten years and the fire department has pretty much been the one consistent thing. I have totally enjoyed the first ten years and I am looking forward to the next ten!

THEN

NOW

Maeve's Summer Adventure's

2009-09-25T13:15:00.008-05:00

Shannon and I have been trying to do some fun things with Maeve this summer before winter and the new baby comes. Maeve loves being outside no matter if it is summer or winter, but having some activities planned is never a bad thing to pass the time.

The first activity we had planned for the late summer was the State Fair. This was Maeve's third year going. Each year she seems to enjoy it a little more, since she can do more things. We made all the usual food stops, machinery hill, and the animal barns. She really loved seeing the skid loaders and the tractors. She even got to sit in a skid loader with Dad! For a two year old she has had a very interesting obsession with skid loaders since we had one do some work in our yard a few months ago! She also thought is was fun being able to pet the horses. To finish off the day at the fair, we watched Maeve's Aunt Abby march with the Jefferson Marching Band in the midday parade. Maeve was dancing in the streets and clapping her hands to the songs!

The next late summer activity we did with Maeve was going to Underwater World at the Mall of America. This was something that I had wanted to do with Maeve for a while, but it never panned out. We finally set a day and went. It was totally worth it. Maeve had a blast looking at all the fish, turtles, seahorses, star fish, and other aquatic things. The walk through aquarium was really cool. Maeve loved watching the fish swim over her so she could see their bellys! I am very glad we went, however, unless you bought an unlimited pass for the year, I can see this being a once a year at best trip. The tickets are about $20 per adult and $11 per child three and over. It was totally worth it, but the whole time only lasts about 30 minutes. Shannon and I were glad that Maeve had as much fun as she did!

The last little event we had planned with Maeve was to go apple picking at Emma Krumbee's in Belle Plaine. I personally had never been apple picking before, so I really didn't know what to expect, but Shannon and I figured since Maeve loves being outside, this would be a hit with her. The weather was about perfect, 70 degree with a slight breeze. We walked out to the orchards and started picking. Maeve had a blast. At first she just wanted to run around and pick up the apples on the ground, but once she figured out she could pull them off the trees, that was much more fun. Since Maeve is obviously a daughter of mine, we even had to stop and check out the tractor in the middle of the orchard! I think we ended up with a 1/2 bushel of apples and one tired kid at the end of the morning! I am for sure going to do apple picking every year!

For those of you with little kids, I would highly recommend each one of these activities. They are all totally set up for kids, and every kid I saw at each one of these places was having fun. The best part is that the kids are exhausted when it is all said and done!

We Are Having a Boy!

2009-09-24T00:03:00.005-05:00

This summer has been pretty busy and I know I haven't mentioned much about our upcoming bundle of joy, since my original post. I think that since I have a daughter, having another baby coming isn't making me as nervous as I was with Maeve. Don't get me wrong, I AM NERVOUS, but I at least know what to expect and how to handle it. A couple months ago, we had our "official" ultrasound and found out that we are having a boy!

Shannon and I decided that we are going to name him:

William Lawrence King (Will)

We knew we wanted his first name to be William, so we could call him Will, but we didn't know what we wanted to do for the rest of it. After much thought, we decided on Lawrence for his middle name. Lawrence is also the first name of Shannon's uncle that passed away earlier this year, so it is kind of in memory of Uncle Larry also.

Shannon's due date is November 19th, so hopefully we will have a new addition to the dining room table by Thanksgiving!

One Year with the Trans Am!

2009-09-21T23:34:00.004-05:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of me owning the Trans Am. To be honest, it has really gone by fast. I have loved every minute of owning it. In the last year I have done a few things to it, entered it in a couple car shows, and learned a ton about the car itself, but I haven't really had the time to start any major projects with it.

I know Shannon and Maeve both have enjoyed taking rides in it, and I always get compliments and looks from people when I'm driving it. It makes me very proud to own it.

I want to thank the original owners again for giving me the opportunity to enjoy this car as much as both of you did and to preserve it for years to come!

Maeve's Big Girl Bed!

2009-09-02T00:09:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago, we finally made the big switch for Maeve. We took apart her crib and moved in her new "Big Girl" bed! It was a good time to make the switch, we need the crib for the baby when it comes and don't want to make too many changes for Maeve right when it is born, plus, she could almost climb out of it.

We essentially had two guest rooms in the basement, one with a queen sized bed and the other with a full. We brought the full into Maeve's room and Shannon ordered a very cute comforter set for it. In about an hour, I had the crib taken apart and moved out and the new bed moved in and put together.

The bed is a little big for her right now, but she will grow into it over the next few years, and I'm sure will continue using it until college (it is a VERY comfy bed). She doesn't use the pillows you see in the picture above yet, they are too think still. She has a custom made "Thomas the Tank Engine" pillow that my Mom made for her. She can't sleep without it and it is the perfect thickness.

So far she has only fallen out of the bed twice (even with the bed nets!), once on the first night and then again last night. She hasn't been hurt, but she is a crazy sleeper (all over the place) and until she figures out the borders of the bed, she might take one or two more middle of the night "dives."

The only other issue that we have had, is that if she isn't totally tired and ready for sleep, she will climb down from her bed and start playing with her toys, or try and open her door. Shannon and I decided that once we put her to sleep and shut the door, she is staying in the room. Sure enough, every time she hasn't fallen right to sleep, she crashes eventually!

Overall, she is sleeping great in her "Big Girl" bed and loves to show it to people. I can imagine it only gets easier with every night!

A Great Story...

2009-09-01T23:59:00.003-05:00

My buddy at work sent me this story and I can't help but share it. I am really happy for "Papa," I can't even imagine the amount of work and money it took to get his first car back. I know quite a few people that would love to have the same outcome with thier first cars...to only dream...

I think someone needs to put together some nation wide database or website specifically set to reunite car owners with thier vehicles...or at least let them know if it is even around still...hmmm...I have an idea... :)

FOUND: PAPA JOHN’S LONG-LOST CAMARO!
KENTUCKY MAN RECEIVES $250,000 FINDER’S FEE

Pizza chain founder recovers beloved car he sold in 1983 that led to start of Papa John’s;
Celebrates by offering free pizza to all Camaro owners Wednesday, August 26

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (August 25, 2009) – “Papa” John Schnatter conquered roller coasters and the sweltering Texas heat, took the mound at professional ballparks, attempted a record for the world’s highest pizza delivery, taught children how to toss pizza dough, chatted in football broadcast booths, rang the Closing Bell at NASDAQ, and met countless customers and team members as part of a nationwide Road Trip this summer, all for one purpose: finding the beloved 1971 Z28 Camaro he sold more than 25 years ago to help his dad’s tavern stay afloat and ultimately launch Papa John’s.

Just how beloved? So much so that Schnatter, founder of the world’s third-largest pizza company, initially offered a $25,000 “finder’s fee” to the person who could produce the title to his long-lost Camaro, and later offered $250,000 to whomever could produce the title and transfer the car. The search was chronicled online at http://www.papasroadtrip.com/, where thousands of people logged on to offer tips on how to find his car.

Today, Papa John’s cherished Z28 Camaro is coming home to Louisville, Ky. And, as a result Jeff Robinson from nearby Flatwoods, Ky. (pop. 7,605) is $250,000 richer. The company has also extended a $25,000 reward offer to the family who originally bought the car from Schnatter in 1983, in appreciation for their help in linking the contest winner with Papa John’s.

“What a complete shock to know that the car in my garage was partly to thank for starting a company like Papa John’s,” said Jeff Robinson who has owned the car since 2004 and modified it slightly for various races and car shows, but retained most of the original body parts including the hood, rims and tires. “When I realized this was Papa John’s Camaro, I immediately wanted to get him his car back.”

Robinson, who had previously heard about the contest from a friend in Cincinnati, learned last week that he in fact might have Schnatter’s car. The family who originally purchased the car heard about the contest while watching an interview with Schnatter during the Washington-Baltimore preseason football game on August 13 and began searching for details online – ultimately directing them to Matt Hardigree, associate editor of Jalopnik.com, a Web site devoted to daily news and gossip for those obsessed with the cult of cars. Hardigree, who met Schnatter during his Road Trip stop in Houston in May, investigated the details himself then contacted Papa John’s with the lead.

“Papa John’s story was an immediate hit with our readers, who flooded the site with clues and tips on how to find the Camaro,” said Hardigree. “Everyone on our site loves cars and felt empathy for John, who traded one dream for another.

“Jalopnik is proud to have helped reunite another enthusiast with his prized Camaro. Not only is Papa John’s rewarding the contest winner with $250,000, but has also extended $25,000 to the Jalopnik reader who originated the lead.”

The company spent last week confirming the authenticity of the Camaro, including verifying title with the Kentucky Division of Motor Vehicles, pulling ownership records, and finally tracing the “out of state transfer” back to the state of Indiana where records indicated the car’s previous owner as Robert Schnatter, John’s father. After the final step of traveling to Flatwoods, Ky., to inspect the car and confirm the VIN, Papa John’s arranged for Robinson to deliver the car to Schnatter at Papa John’s headquarters in Louisville, in exchange for the promised $250,000.

“The Camaro represents what I gave up to start Papa John’s,” said Schnatter. “Words cannot capture the emotions I am feeling in getting back that part of my history. I didn’t have much back then, but for my business dreams to come true, I had to part with the one true asset I had to my name, and even then, there were no promises of success. I never gave up hope that someday I would get that car back.

“The foundation of Papa John’s was built on my decision to sell the Camaro, and while it may not appear to be a huge sacrifice to some, it represents my roots in this business. And, perhaps it can serve as proof to others that hard decisions today can pay off for you later, if you’re willing to believe in what you are doing. I’m extremely grateful for the success of Papa John’s, and really wanted this critical piece of our history back.”

The search has been scrambled in the past due to the car originally being described as a 1972 model. In fact, the car is a 1971 ½ model, so technically it’s a ’71. At some point in the company’s history, the year was rounded up to 1972.

In celebration of Schnatter finding his Camaro, Papa John’s will offer a free large, one-topping pizza on Wednesday, August 26, 2009, to Camaro owners. To redeem, Camaro owners must arrive at their nearby Papa John’s restaurant in their Camaro to order and pick up their free pizza. Limit one pizza per Camaro, and one visit per Camaro.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s is the world’s third largest pizza company. For nine of the last 10 years, consumers have rated Papa John’s No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John’s was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine (R&I) with the 2009 Gold Award for Consumers’ Choice in Chains in the pizza segment, ranked first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John’s at http://www.papajohns.com/.

3 Year Blog-versary!

2009-09-01T23:48:00.005-05:00

Yep, it's true. August 23, 2009 marked my third year keeping this journal. I never thought I would still be doing it at this point. I know my average posting has gone down a little bit since I first started, but then again I have a little bit more going on in life than I did then!

I really don't have any major plans or changes for the journal coming up, kinda keeping with the same topics and look. I do want to change my profile picture soon, I'm getting bored with my wedding photo!

After three years, here are my stats: 167 posts, 9818 visitors (site hits).

I hope everyone that reads this (I'm sure there are one or two of you out there) have been enjoying it, and let me know if you would like to see anything change! HERE is a link back to my very first post, for old times sake.

Finishing Some of My Summer Projects...

2009-08-20T14:39:00.008-05:00

So far, my summer projects have been all about 1/2 done. Some because of time issues, but other required me getting other things done first, to finish the original project. In the last couple of weeks I have actually managed to mark a few projects off the "list" as DONE!

First, the front landscaping project. This project started HERE when I had all the nasty, crappy looking rock hauled away. After the rock was gone, the project was back on my shoulders to get the landscaping block installed, more dirt hauled in, sod installed, and mulch spread. After about two months, we got it finished! I will spare all of you the boring details on how to install landscaping block walls, but let me just say that to do it right, it takes a while!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

I'm really happy with how this project turned out! I think it looks MUCH better than the junk that was piled up there when we bought the house. We are planning on putting some plants, shrubs, and/or bushes there, but those will be on the agenda for next year.

Next, I finally got the back yard willow tree project finished up. We had the tree cut down in May, the stumps ground out in June, and I just got the hole leveled with dirt and sod layed down.

STUMP

DIRT HOLE

FINISHED!

Lastly, I finally got the chance to repaint a few of the cold air return vents in the hosue. If you remember, my brother bought us new register vents for Christmas a couple years ago, but due to the unique size of the cold air return vents, they couldn't be replaced. They were the original brown/grey color and looked very dirty. So after a couple years, I got them done. One can of primer and one can of white paint and they look about 30 years newer!

I still do have a few more projects left for the summer, but most of them are pretty small and I am almost done with most of them! I will make sure and post them when I do get them done! After all the house projects are done this summer, I am going to start working on the Trans Am as a reward!

Maeve's Second Birthday!

2009-08-19T14:13:00.009-05:00

Maeve had a very special birthday this year! My Aunt Nette and Uncle Bruce had wanted Shannon, Maeve, and I to come up to their cabin for a while now. While we were trying to find a weekend that worked for both of us at Easter and the one we picked was the weekend of Maeve's birthday! My Aunt was very excited that she got to plan a birthday party for a little girl, since she has two boys!

Their cabin is located in northern Minnesota, just outside of Crosby on Serpent Lake. Their lake cabin has been in their family for a very long time. The lot they have is beautiful and the two cabins (a main cabin and a guest cabin) are perfect. Dad and Mom left on Thursday night and Shannon, Maeve, and I left on Friday afternoon when Shannon got home from work. The drive was very easy (I slept the entire way) and in a matter of a couple hours, we were there!

Aunt Nette gave Maeve an "Elmo" themed birthday party (since she LOVES Elmo!) complete with cake, streamers, blow toys, and posters!

The birthday party was great! Maeve had a wonderful time and got many nice gifts. She is really starting to get into opening presents, which made it fun for everyone to watch!

After the party and for the rest of the weekend, we all enjoyed ourselves very much! I think I was stuffed and relaxed the entire weekend! Maeve had a chance to play in a lake for the first time and LOVED it! She even got to wear the same Snoopy life jacket that my brother and I wore at our lake cabin when we were her age! I also convinced both Maeve and Shannon to go on a Sea-Doo ride with me!

To continue Maeve's birthday, she actually ended up with four total present opening sessions! She got more very nice gifts from her Grandma and Grandpa in Texas, her Grandpa Tim, and her Grandma Dee.

I think Maeve had an amazing second birthday! She is still talking about it all the time. I would like thank my Aunt Nette and Uncle Bruce again for having us up to their cabin and giving Maeve such a special second birthday party!

Another Car Show!

2009-08-19T13:23:00.006-05:00

Mileage: 87,688

I really only planned on attending one car show this year, and it was in May. However, my Dad came across an advertisment in our chuch flyer for the 5th Annual Mount Olivet "Motorheads" Car Show. He passed on the information to Michael and I and we could both attend, so we both signed up!

The show was being held at the west campus of our church in Victoria, MN. The show was fre and offered a BBQ dinner, and door prizes. There wasn't any judging or competition at all, which was fine with me. The plan was for Michael, Dad, and I to drive out together and then Shannon, Maeve, my Mom, and Jess (Michael's wife) would come out later. We both got our cars cleaned up and detailed and set out for the ride there. It is about 30 minutes from my house and a very nice ride. I think it was the longest trip I have taken with the Trans Am since I have had it! While we were driving in, we noticed that the skys were looking a little bit dark, but we figured the bulk of the storm would miss us. We were wrong. After we got the cars parked and looked around at some of the other vehicles, the skys let loose. They issued a Tornado Warning and were reporting possible hail! This was not good news for a classic car show! Michael and I both put our car covers on, figured that if it did hail, it might deflect some of the damage. After about 30 minutes of heavy rain, the strom was over. No damage, just a bunch of wet cars!

The car show was a ton of fun, and I will for sure do it again. There were some very nice cars out there, even ones I hadn't seem before at other shows in town. I took some pictures of a few of my favorites! I have a wierd taste in classic cars!

Between my brother and I, we had quite a fan club. Along with all the people that I mentioned above, my Aunt Nette, Uncle Bruce, and my buddy Chris and his son all came out to the show to see us! It gave us a chance to take some nice family photos!

Overall, it was a great show. Everyone had a good time and the cars didn't get damaged!