A Day In The Life - 7/24: New Phones

I slept so late today I can't even believe it. I guess my candle needed rejuvenating. But after I got up at 8:30 Gaye played with Jase for awhile and then I finally got out of bed so we could go phone shopping. I have been putting this off for about 9 months now. My phone, which I got about 5 or 6 years ago when I first went cellular, is still working. It still calls perfectly from just about anywhere I need it to . . . except girls camp. I also have an iPod Touch where I keep all of my music, photos and games. But three things motivated me to finally do the dirty deed.
First, is that the DroidX has a huge screen, runs on a Google operating system and is open application (no restricted like the iPhone.) It will run any applications written for it without somebody voiding your warranty if you download something that is not authorized.
Second, I recently traveled to Dallas and even got quite lost a couple of times (which was really cool because I never get really lost) and Quentin had his phone which comes with a "Garmin" application that uses the GPS and Google maps to provide driving directions. That was worth the price of the phones right there.
Third, the real clincher was that rumor has it that the internet connection will go to a usage-based fee soon rather than getting unlimited usage for a flat fee. I don't really want to do that so that was the final motivator that I needed to get my bones in gear.
So, Gaye and I ended up buying two phones (which will be shipped to us in about a week), switching our plan from T-Mobile to Verizon and spending a lot of $$$ to do this. But I think it will be a fun adventure and we are once more the envy of all of our kids. :)
Now I need to buy the accessories - belt clip, car dash dock, extra charging cables/docks for car or work, ghost armor, etc., and figure out how to do my email to it. That will be an adventure in and of itself. Human Detected! Got to go.

A Day In The Life - 7/23: A Day With the Kids

It was a glorious day which began with the arrival of Hero and Jessica at 5:15 am. I had volunteered to watch Hero for them while Paul went to the Army recruiter's again to do some more work on his re-enlistment.
Gaye was going to Tucson to spend the day with her mother so I was on my own to watch and entertain her.
So, we played, spun in the computer chair, did Noah and the Ark, Legos,
trains and puff balls.
We played inside and out. We bounced the ball (until the dog bit it and put a hole in it.) Paul arrived back at the house around noon and just in time for a spectacular lunch of Mac & Cheese.












Later Jennie and Kyle stopped by so that I could work with Jennie on her DIY projects, filling and gluing some wood cracks. That only took a few minutes and then we were done until they both dried.






Paul was still hanging out until Jess arrived since he didn't have a ride home - Gaye had our car and Jess had their's. When she showed up they got Quentin to go and get Jase.

Hero and Jase played in the back yard while the kids hung out on the swing and the lawn enjoying time together. Finally, Gaye arrived back from her trip to Tucson.

We all went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse but it took forever to get us seated and then they had to split us between two booths because they had several other very large parties there and just had no other place to put us. They did a great job of taking care of us and the food was delicious.

A Day In The Life - 7/21 - The Second Half

And now to the reason for all the problems with getting a couple of tools. The Varsity scouts came over to begin the process of making knives. The current scouting leaders in our ward are newbies and so I try to help out since I have been doing this for about 15 years and, in this case, I have the equipment to build knives.
So, a couple of boys, John and Mark, and a couple of leaders, Brother
Larson and Brother Angel. I think that they really enjoy making the sparks fly as they begin shaping their piece of steel into blades for their knives. I guess I will have to do another one.

A Day In The Life - 7/21: Home Depot Hell

I thought that this was going to be a simple purchase. I needed another sander and a grinder for a Scouting activity (see the next post for more information about that.) There is a Home Depot just around the corner about a mile and a half away. So off I went.
At my friendly neighborhood HD they didn't have a bench sander like I was looking for. They sent me to the next closest one which was 8 miles
away at Val Vista and Broadway.
When I arrived, they had but one sander - but that is all that I need. I get it and the cutter with some supplies and it is back home. At home I begin to unpack the sander and find that part of the housing has been broken. Also, the grinder is missing a piece - the wrench. So it is back to HD to return them.
I have no problem getting my money back and then I am off to the next closest Home Depot which is at Val Vista and Warner. They have several in stock and so I get the sander and grinder there. I head home again to unpack a second time.
At home I find that the wrench is included this time but the housing on this second sander is cracked. It must be a bad packing point. Back I go again.
This time, after returning the sander, I open the next one while still at the store and check it to be sure that I am not going to need to make another trip.
Finally, after about 60 miles of travel and 4 hours I got the tools that should have been a simple 15 minute purchase.

A Day In The Life - 7/20: Mutt and Jeff

Gaye and Jennie are doing some DIY projects and one of them is a little cabinet that was once a night stand. And while they have it apart, Itchy Brother, the cat is checking out all of the secret hiding places. And the mutt is checking out the cat.

A Day In The Life - 7/18: Legos

Legos, the perfect building set for little kids and big kids alike. You can grow from the simple piling of blocks to the more sophisticated sets. And, as you can see here, it even becomes a generational thing where dads and grand dads build with their children.






Quentin and Jase are playing with a set that has been around since our boys were little.

A Day In The Life - 7/17: Another Movie - Inception

Yes, it is another movie ticket stub. This movie, however, was much better and the ending is great. Don't give it away! This is the movie about people who get into your dreams and steal your secrets, or maybe help you to steal someone else's secrets. It was a very interesting plot with great graphics to compliment the storyline. Recommended!

A Day In The Life - 7/14: Off to the Movies

Yes, it's a movie ticket. Actually, it's a move ticker stub. Quentin and I went over to the theater and hit up the Sorcerer's Apprentice. It was an OK film but not a great film. Nicholas Cage was just not quite believable to me as a sorcerer. I would still recommend it as a very fun movie to see, but it is not a keeper.

A Day In The Life - 7/13: Something's Afoot

OK, so the walking Thing got a little over done. Actually, it was probably the shoes. Although those desert boots are really comfortable they are not walking shoes. The result was a big fat blood blister hovering beneath those oddly-shaped toes. Well, back to the bicycle.

A Day In The Life - 7/12: The life of a Dog, that is

I took the dog for a walk. She didn't survive as well as I thought she would. A short walk around the neighborhood, a mere 2 miles, just wiped her out. But a few days of taking walks with me has improved her. She now goes on a three mile walk in 100-degree heat and holds up very well.

A Day In The Life - 7/08: Inheriting a Dog

When Jennie and Kyle sold their home and moved to an apartment they needed a place for their dog, which appears to be some sort of Rottweiler/hunting dog mix. The way she pounces on everything is what makes me think that she has some hunting dog in there somewhere.




She is only a couple of years old and has lots of energy and little stamina - goes full blast then stop and drop. She LOVES to play with her toys, race around the yard and dive into the lawn for a little roll time.






One of her toys is a stuffed, now unstuffed, pig. She pounces on it, shakes it, tosses it in the air and chews it like it was bacon on the hoof. She will need another one soon. There are bits of stuffing scattered all over the lawn every day after she plays.

A Day In The Life - 7/07: The Office is Changing

We have decided that it is time to re-do some areas of the house, including the office. The first step was to buy another office chair when we were out at IKEA and get it assembled and ready for use. Gaye did the honors because the new one fit her better than the one that we already had.






The next step was to take all of the Cd's, DVDs and VHS Tapes off of the shelves, remove the shelves from the office wall and re-mount the shelves on the wall on the landing above the stairs. Then we had to go through all of them and decide which items we no longer wanted, which went to Bookman's and which went to the dumpster. Finally, we took all of the Cd's, removed them from their cases and put the disks into a sleeve binder.

A Day In The Life - 7/05: I thought I Would Never See The Day

This is a picture that I thought you would never see. Me, with my minty white, hairless programmer's legs which have not seen the light of day in about 40 years (except for a rare swimming expedition). But when we were in Dallas I saw Bo in a pair of shorts with legs that looked just like mine. So, while we were in Carlsbad Ben and Jenn made a stop for some stuff at Wal-Mart and I saw a pair that were long enough and had cargo pockets, which I am a big fan of - lots of places to put my stuff. So, I took the plunge and got a pair and actually put them on and went out in public.
Then I remembered why I don't do shorts. Originally I quit wearing shorts because dirt bike riding was just too hard on the knees without some denim between the knee and the dirt I was falling into, or between the leg and the exhaust pipe. But today's concern is that I am already chilly at most people's comfort zone so adding exposed legs in, say, a theater, is a bad idea.
So I will probably get a couple more pair of them but they will remain clothing for bike riding, hiking and other outdoor activities when it is over 100 degrees (which happens all of the time in Arizona.) Although, considering my record for falling off of bicycles recently, perhaps that is not the wisest decision. Stay tuned for more.

A Day In The Life - 7/04: Piromaniacs at Large

It's the Fourth of July, we've just been to New Mexico where fireworks is the third largest industry so it is only right that we do some celebrating with the kids and grand-kids.
First we get their attention - Oooo, a Spark-ely.





Jase picks up the habit quickly and is soon waving and twirling the sparking sticks in the night air. Trying to set the lawn on fire is a major activity of the night.













Hero is a bit more reluctant but with a bit of coaching from her dad she picks up the habit as well. She is still not certain that this is the sport for her. I guess drum majorette and waving a baton is an acquired taste.






Now that we have the junior piros well on their way to a life of crime we can sit back and watch their parents blow up bigger, better and more colorful (as well as louder) piro-technica. I think that the dog is hiding under the couch.





Paul is demonstrating holding a sparkler and talking at the same time. Wow, I guess it really can be done.









Jase has become a two-fisted sparkler. "No, Dad, you can't have one - it's mine."









The party was a success. Lots of fun and food. The kids are worn out and all of the evidence of our illegal activity is . . . left at . . . my house. (oh dear.)

A Day In The Life - 7/02: Cloudcroft, NM

After leaving Carlsbad we headed towards Tucson but made a couple of stops along the way. The first (no pictures, darn it) was at a little roadside stand that sold jams, jellies, nuts and a variety of trinkets. They also had a mini-farm with pigs, llamas and goats. It was over grown with huge old trees which made it a very shady, pleasant place to stop. We bought several jars of jams for my home teaching families (and one of pumpkin butter for us).
Farther down the road was the town of Cloudcroft, which I always want to refer to as Cloud City - too much Star Wars, I guess. It is a touristy little town dressed up in old west store-front facades with lots of antique, jewelry and western wear stores, food, outdoor gear and a bar or two, which may have been the attraction for all of the bikers that were there as well. I had to get a really cool belt that looks like it has barbed wire in it, with the matching wallet. IT was a very fun place to stop.

A Day In The Life - 7/02: Carlsbad Caverns

It's a funny thing about caves. They're never where you expect them to be. For example, The caverns near Carlsbad, New Mexico, are near the top of quite a large mountain. It makes me wonder how all that water got up there so it could run down through the mountain to create all of those magnificent sculptures over hundreds and even thousands of years.
But the view is quite spectacular from the front of the visitor's center.
The walk to the cave entrance is about a quarter mile from the visitor's center.
The account has it that Carlsbad Caverns was discovered by a cowboy named . . . not Carlsbad, but White - Jim White, who was out hunting cows and saw what he thought was smoke on the next rise. He rode on over only to discover that the darkness was bats, lots of bats, exiting the large (cavernous?) entrance to the cave.
On the walk down we spoke with a man and his wife who had lost a son in his youth whose name was Jason. The gentleman had a memorial to his son tattooed on his lower leg. We talked with them about it and about Jase and the similarities (a motorcycle accident).










You walk down to the entrance to the caverns - a long and winding trail 750 feet under the ground after quite a trek down to the cave entrance.








Ben and Jenn took us on this adventure in their car while Paul, Jess and Quentin took our car from Dallas back to Tucson and then drove Jess's car back to Mesa. They sit on the trail side which descends into the depths of cave-dom.





It is difficult, if not impossible to describe the immenseness of this cavern. I am surprised that the mountains continue to stand with such emptiness inside of them. They are certainly not what they seem from the outside.

A Day In The Life - 7/01: Leaving Dallas

We are on the road back home. Well . . . almost. I figured that as long as we were in Dallas we might as well make a stop by Dealey Plaza where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
The plaza seems such a peaceful place. It is hard to imagine that a president of our nation was killed here by a shot fired from the sixth floor of the red brick building in the background.

The Old Red Museum building sits on the southeast corner of the plaza with it's gargoyle on the roof and wonderfully intricate staircases inside. At the very least, it was an interesting building but also housed some of the early oil companies of Texas.





This structure is one of three here in the plaza that pay homage to a man who sacrificed his life serving his country and encouraging us all to "ask not what your country can do you you but ask what you can do for your country."





Ben, Jenn and Gaye stand at the memorial with its flag at half mast in tribute to our president.

Tribute to Gayle Tinsley - Day 4

One of the reminders from this sad time is how important pictures become when someone is gone. With that reminder fresh in our minds, here are some pictures of the family as we prepare to leave Dallas later that day.

Hero and her mother, Jess, admire the flowers in Audrey's back yard.









Hero with her Omah.











The Vaterlaus clan:
Paul and Jessica
Ben and Jenn
Rich and Gaye (with Hero)
Audrey
Quentin







The Tinsley clan:
Rich and Gaye Ann
Bo and Dawn Marie
Dena and Gaylen

Tribute to Gayle Tinsley - Day 3

The day of the funeral was a sad day. Ben, Paul and Q were pall bearers. The tribute was wonderful by Ray, the friend he worked for and his pastor. The music was wonderfully touching. It was a sweet tribute to our friend, father, husband, grandfather and great example of true Christianity in action.

Tribute to Gayle Tinsley - Day 2

While driving to the airport to pick up Jennie Gaye and I took a detour through her old neighborhood. This is the house that Gaye grew up in although it has changed in the last 40 years.







We visited the cemetery and mortuary to ensure that all of the details were in readiness for the viewing and the funeral. Hero needed some time outside to get out the wiggles.






Restland cemetery seemed very quiet, green and beautiful - a great