Old Wagon

My cousins will recognize this old wagon and block set.  It was one of the best things I got from my grandmother's.  I hid it away from the girls for a while because I didn't want them or their friends ruining it.  But they're toys made to be played with, and I thought they'd be good for Owen's room.  The girls actually made good use of them by "building" houses for their dolls.  They never build vertically, just horizontally.

At some point one of the wheels came off but thankfully was kept with the wagon.  I got a brass screw from the Ace on 7th and Missouri today to fix it.  Hopefully it keeps on truckin.  I sure had some good hours of fun with it back in the day.

Winter Grass 2014

This year I did two things different for the winter grass in the backyard:  I killed the Bermuda more before planting and I used topping.  I stopped watering two weeks before the day I was to plant, and one week before I did a thorough thatching with a rake and my old mower.  The topping is $5 a bag and I thought why not give a few a try.  Yes, even it's organic, for Bobbins, although it's soil, so if it wasn't, that'd be scary.  Who knows what "organic plus" means.  Probably some extra chemicals for Bobbins.

I have to say, I think both decisions paid off.  The grass is the best it's been since the first year I did a winter lawn in 2011.  I'm also not watering it quite as much so it's not so wet and I don't have to mow it as often.  All the hard work pays off.

First Way Dinner

We came home from camping, cleaned up the Sequoia and ourselves, and headed downtown for the First Way charity dinner.  Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood executive who had a change of heart, was the keynote speaker and was powerful and poignant.  And humorous, despite the somber topic.  And inspiring, despite the dispiriting nature of the matter.

 

2014 Camping

We headed east of Payson again this year, joined by Jacopone and his girlfriend Michelle as well as Kevin's sister.  Kevin and Jess and kids were with us as usual.  It was quite a crew.  We couldn't reach the spot we had last year because of construction on Hwy 260, so we found something suitable and pitched our tents.  We shot some guns, ate good food, drank a bit, and chatted by the fire (in between corraling the kids all the time).  Owen had a real rough night, which was hard on Bobbins and I, but the three of us made it.  Good thing we decided on one night instead of two.

These first couple shots are in the Fry's parking lot on Shea in Scottsdale before we left.

 

 

 

JoJo's First Soccer Game

Always in the shadow of her big sister, JoJo wanted to do something of her own that was not ballet.  Oddly, she chose soccer.  Thankfully, the City has a league in a park right by us, and it was only $45.  Of course, they needed volunteer coaches, and of course, Bobbins signed us up.  We got JoJo's team, gray in color, and the kids chose Grayhawks as our name.

JoJo really struggled during the first game, getting pushed down and being scared from then on out, crying at some points.  I tried putting her in goal and that didn't work well either.  It was a learning experience for both of us.

 

 

New Window Casing

Bobbins has wanted our bedroom windows "framed" since last year, and I was finally able to get to it.  She bought the materials through my dad and got them painted.  It was just a matter of making the cuts, then glueing and tacking them up.

That bit of duck tape by the right window is covering a former rod for the old outside window bars, which for some reason was left behind.  Despite a few hiccups, everything turned out pretty well.

Measure twice, cut once!

Dads Night at School

MM's school has an annual night for dads in October, with a western theme:  BBQ, smores, dancing, panning for gold, and a carriage ride with Clydesdales.  Her mom made sure she was dressed for the part, and she embraced it.  I rushed home from work to get us there on time.  I met some other dads and got to talk to MM's teacher and principal.  We had a great time.