Ross Perot on Spending

This may not be your cup of tea, but it is the hard truth about our nation's future. It's 35 slides with narration about our current national spending and how it is going to bankrupt our nation if we don't make some hard changes.

This is something to consider the next time you hear a politician making a new promise, we can't even afford the ones they've already made.

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Cowboy Party

This one dates back to tax season. The boys had the chance to go to a cowboy themed birthday party. They got to ride horses at a local horse stable and everything. Emily was in heaven being around horses again.

6-year-old Roller Skating Limbo Kid

His goal - to skate under 100 cars in one minutes.

Wow. Put that on your resume. Jiffy Lube will be begging for your skills.

Power Makes Em Go

We got new batteries for the power wheels and now the boys can ride the pickup. It seats two and can go offroad. It goes fast enough to scare the boys. Right now they just do laps around the house, but we hope to go on walks once they get the hang of driving it.

Beany's Bday Bash

These are some pictures from cousin Analiese's Bday party a few weeks ago. Ben got real messy with his cupcake. They rode bikes, blew bubbles with their wands, and played hard on the playground.

Working hard

Another project that we are undertaking is leveling out the ground next to the deck to put in some patio stones. Then we'll put the pool on the patio stones (so the pool is on hold right now).

Ben wanted to get in on the digging, so he grabbed my shovel when I put it down for a second and started moving the dirt around. He's a good worker to have on your team.

Home Maintenance - Kids Edition

We've been real busy trying to get some projects done around the house before the new baby comes in August. One of those projects is to stain the deck and porch. We borrowed Uncle Josh's power washer to clean it up first.

While we had it, We figured we'd take care of the green growth on the roof of the playhouse. I figured this would be a good time to let Caleb learn about the joys of home ownership, and he was just chomping at the bit to spray the washer.

The Reverse Graffiti Project

This is a little long, but it is cool how he does his "graffiti."

Pool - Round 1

This is a picture from round one of trying to fill up the pool. The boys were so excited about getting it full, and we were trying to be water-wise, so we put buckets under the gutters and formed the bucket briggade.

We had a big storm the next day and I kept cycling the buckets until the pool was full. It took a looooootttttttttt of buckets.

The sad news is that the inflatable ring at the top that keeps the water in had a small hole in it and the water all leaked out two days later. It was pretty heartbreaking to see all that water (about 500 gallons) and all that hard work that the boys had helped with go to waste.

Caleb had a good attitude. "We can just fix it and do it again Daddy." Oh Boy. Here we go again.

Nursery

Here are some pictures of the nursery ready for the new baby to come. Once we got Ben out of the room and moved him in with Caleb, we were able to dust off the old crib and give it one more round of use.

[This picture was taken right after we painted, so that is why the curtains are down and no pictures are on the walls yet.]

Boys move in together

A few weeks ago we bunked the boys beds and moved them in together. It was an exciting weekend for the boys. They have done surprisingly well with the transition. Both of them were eager to have a friend in the room, and they haven't kept each other up talking as much as I anticipated.

When we tried this a year ago, it was a total disaster because they didn't sleep good. They've both grown up a lot since then though.

Uncle Daniel has been giving them posters from his movie theater, and now they have combined their posters in one room. They have more posters than wall space now. It's a good problem to have.

Garfield minus Garfield

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I just came across this site that edits out Garfield and makes Jon look like he's schizophrenic. It's a new take on Garfield. This is kind of an attack on a childhood legend, so I'm not a big fan, but maybe you will appreciate it.

Most expensive crash ever

This is the most expensive crash the US Air Force has ever suffered. A stealth bomber goes up in smoke during takeoff and 1.2 billion (with a B) dollars (or more according to some estimates) goes up in flames. Yikes.

Link

[note that it is the second plane in the video, so it happens about halfway through the video]

In a related note, the USAF is looking for a qualified videographer that can keep the target plane inside the viewfinder during takeoff and smoothly move the camera to track the plane.

I played all that hockey for this?

Minor League Hockey Trophy Breaks - Watch more free videos

Oops!

Lightning

This lightning is from a few storms ago. It was very impressive.

Em and Me on Mothers Day

Last but not least, a picture of me and Emily. We actually celebrated Mothers Day in our house on Saturday instead of Sunday. Sunday is so busy with church and then going to visit family, that it is much more relaxing to just do presents on Saturday and make it extra special for Emily. The best perk of Mother's Day/Father's Day is that it is diaper free for whoever's day it is. We also did some small gifts from the boys so they could show Emily how much they love her. They were soooooooooooooooooo excited about giving her her presents. Giving them to her on Saturday was crucial because Ben is pretty bad about keeping secrets these days. He just gets so excited that he spills the beans every time there is a surprise.

Cupcakes

Thanks for the cupcakes Mrs. Ashley. The boys really enjoyed them, especially the colored sprinkles. Check out the mustaches. Yes, we usually wear clothes at the table, but we stripped them down for this eating event.

"Reflexive" music game

Here is probably the most serene and relaxing video game you will ever play. And it's actually quite fun. Give it a try. Try to gather every color except Red. Be sure to go for the purple, they are awesome.

My best score (I played twice) is 1,321,477. Scores like that really boost your self esteem.

Link

Me and the Boys

Here is a great picture of me and the boys from the Mother's Day shoot.

Homemade Pasta

While in Italy Emily learned the ancient art of making pasta from Steph. She wanted to try it once we got home. Here is Ben helping her prepare the pasta. It was a bit messy, but they both enjoyed themselves. It was delicious, and Caleb even ate his all up (and he is not a fan of new dishes).

Emily and the Boys

Here is a great one of Emily and the boys. The boys did so good taking pictures that day (Emily did too)!

Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme:

Friday, June 6th (today) is National Doughnut Day. Krispy Kreme stores are giving away free doughnuts, so if one is close by be sure to pick one up for me!

Caleb and Ben on Mother's Day

A good picture of two boys just chillin on the couch, and then a silly one. If you ever ask for a silly face from Caleb (or just about any four year old it seems), be ready for some fingers to pull on his mouth. They think it is a funny picture to look at.

Will PP for Beans

Ben is out of daytime diapers!!!! He's been wearing the big boy undies for about a week now. He had always said he would wait until he was 3 (a few weeks from now), but last week decided to use the potty on a whim (with Emily's strong encouragement). He's doing great with only a few accidents.

The secret to his success is a bag full of small, colorful jellybeans. He can barely finish his business before he asks to get his jellybean.

So for a glorious few months we won't be changing diapers in our house until "baby jellybean" arrives (somewhat ironic name isn't it).

Word of the Day - Zonkey

Zonkey's at the creation museum.

This was a new one for me. Zebra plus Donkey = Zonkey. Check out those legs (click here)!

Australian Death Calculator

Planet Slayer - Greenhouse Calculator

The Aussies have performed quite the public service by helping me know when I should die. Apparently I've been a carbon pig and should have died at age 10.1. At that point I had used up my share of the Earth's resources. I would like to take this chance to apologize to those whose resources I stole unknowingly. I would also like to apologize to those whose resources I will continue to use, because I don't plan on dying anytime soon (especially not as a service to the Earth). Now I think it is time for whoever thought of this website to apologize to the Australian people and anyone who might consider taking this advice too seriously. It's geared at Elementary age kids after all.

(Source: Dave "the Funyon" Runyon)

Mother's Day Pictures

It has become a tradition for us to take a family picture on Mother's Day after the church service and before everyone changes into something more comfortable. After taking a bunch of serious shots, Emily announced some silly ones. Caleb really hambed it up, and little Ben just smiled in them all.

***Keith - note that the family ketchup was not part of the picture this year. It was sulking for days about being left out.

Physics of Moving the Island - Popular Mechanics

Losties, be sure to check out this article on Lost and moving the island. It comes at it from a physics standpoint.

NC State Fire off Campus

One of NC State's most loved and visited buildings catches fire (click here). No one is hurt. Let's just say it will force them to do the cleaning and renovations that were desperately needed 10 years ago when I was in school.

Spot the Fake Smile

Here's a quick online tool to see if you can spot the fake smile versus the real smile. I got 12 out of 20. I'm smiling right now about my score. Can you tell if it's fake or real?
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Bella Visits For a Week

This is actually an old post that I realized I never posted (there were a few of these actually). Emily's brother's dog Bella came to visit about a month ago for a week. The boys were in heaven taking care of her. It almost made us consider getting a dog for Caleb to care for, but then we thought better of it. We've got enough responsibility right now.