Connor's Birthday!

We have to separate, at least as much as possible, our children's birthdays from the holidays on which they fall (for our next child I'm shooting for Independence Day!).  This year at least Trick-Or-Treating was Saturday night, so Connor's birthday party was "on schedule" on Sunday afternoon.  At the party we had lots of family and presents!  His favorite item was an 19" remote control Mach 5 race car, given by an incredibly generous benefactor, but of course there are no photos of it.  Perhaps in the spring...

That's a glimpse of the box the RC Mach 5 came in! 

Tired out after a long day!  Such a simple item as a glow stick was one of his favorites.

Halloween!

Connor's pre-school had a little party on Friday, then Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood was Saturday night.  I sometimes wondered if 33 homes was enough "selection" for the kids, but at this point even Connor only hits maybe 15 houses, and Evie I'm still carrying around, so...

It was a great time, and while Connor is now an "old pro", Evie has really started getting the hang of it.  She's so sweet to watch, while Connor is more brave and adventurous now.  Connor's costume was "Racer X", who is Speed Racer's (unknown to him) long lost brother and one of the heroes of the Speed Racer series (long-time readers may recall that last year he went as Speed himself).  Evie was a Princess, which was apropos since she's our little princess every day.

Random Fall Photos

Just like it sounds, folks...  here ya go!

Our neighbors grow pumpkins all summer, and then throw a great fall harvest party for the whole neighborhood; it's a great event!

Connor is right at home in trees, because he's a monkey.

Happy Birthday Jodi!  I think we went to dinner at Carrabba's as well, but perhaps that doesn't need a photo.

South Haven

We visited Tina's family's place on Lake MI once again, and this time we took a walk to one of the only nuclear reactors on the big lake.  (I mean, you'd think there'd be more...  after all, what could possibly go wrong with nuclear fusion and / or nuclear waste on the shores of the largest fresh water source in the mid-west??)  After hanging around a while, taking photos, gesticulating wildly, and pointing at things, security came out and suggested strongly that we keep on moving.  Go figure.

The Fix.

We hit the line pretty well on this one!  Nothing a little duct tape and some 30-weight ball bearings can't fix.

I was a little daunted by the thought of fixing the UG sprinkler line, and even looked into hiring it out.  However, after consulting with some Real Men and figuring out the materials I needed, I gave it a shot.  Turns out the worst part of the job was finding a store that sold UG sprinkler line in 5' sections (Menard's does, and you can Save Big Money while you're there), as opposed to 50' or 100' sections like most big-box stores.  With tools in hand and my trusty side kick C-man, we tackled the job in about 90 minutes.  (When it didn't leak no one was more surprised than me!)

"It Must Have Been The Trees, Jimmy..."

The development where we live was farm land in its former life, and because of that the land is quite flat, and quite devoid of trees.  (The name "Clear Meadow" fits it perfectly, in fact.)  There is a tree farm right down the road though, and we had a couple pretty-well-grown trees planted.  It was a pretty cool process to watch, too.  We have underground sprinkling, so it was an "educated" guessing game as to where the various lines ran.  We were right half the time, ahem.

Darth Vader's Fortress of Solitude, anyone??

**These photos *will not* orient correctly, and the blame lies with Blogger/Google; it cannot be helped!!**

Phish!

I have lots of memories of seeing Phish (starting in the summer of 1995), but my how times have changed.  I went this summer with just one other guy, since the other group I used to go with sort of "broke up" (or went on hiatus, much like the band).  It was still awesome though, and we saw two shows.  The hotel I chose was a real winner too, I must say, and it for sure had a swimming pool.  In hindsight, this was probably my last (set of) Phish shows, but at least it was at my favorite venue:  Deer Creek.

No false advertising:  Here's the pool!

The Road, Part II.

After removal and drain tile, we had it leveled and put in tons of base crushed stone, then the next they finally laid the new asphalt.  It was a big project, so hopefully we did it right and the new road lasts 10-15 years!