Burn baby burn

It was such a nice today that Kathleen did a little yard work. She did a good cleaning of the mulch beds and cut down most of the grass plants. I cut down some branches. I knew we'd end up with quite a brush pile. What to do with it? I decided to burn it. Burning isn't illegal in our parts, though you can only burn natural vegetation. Kathleen wasn't to keen on this idea, but she 'warmed' up to it. I started a fire in my wheelbarrow and just kept feeding it. Five or six trash cans of yard waste was reduced to a wheelbarrow of ashes. I left the wheelbarrow out in the middle of the backyard to smolder. It will probably rain tonight putting the embers out for good. The ashes will go into Tuesday's trash. It was much easier than trying to dispose of it and it was fun.

New laundry room

Before...

Our new laundry is nearly complete. The before picture is pretty much the way the room looked when we moved in. Before there was a fridge were the shelf is and there was a single wire shelf above the washer and dryer. Now it is more of a proper laundry room. We got rid of the laundry tub and replaced it with a counter and laundry sink. We added as many cabinets as we could and have lots of storage now. The IKEA cabinets worked very well in this room.

We're making changes and a couple of big ones soon. But more about that later.

After...

Crazy Hair Day!

Payton's class did really well - such as behavior, drawing, working, playing, etc. - and earned 20 bears. For this they get to do something special on Friday. So today is Crazy Hair Day!

Mom is out of town. I wasn't going to go rummaging through her hair products drawer to do something crazy and worse non-reversible. I thought about hair paint, but didn't want the mess. Besides it is raining this morning. Can you imagine Payton going to school with water soluble hair paint on and it is raining? Instead of crazy hair day, it would be ruined clothes day. I passed.

We went to Party City last night and bought a wig. Middle of the road solution and Payton can wear his hair 'till it falls out. I had an after thought when leaving the store; he would have been very funny with a bald head cap on too!

Parker in our bed

I snapped this shot of Parker a couple of nights ago. He is dressed and prepped for bed.

Polaroid camera, but no phone?

If Polaroid had stuck a phone on this thing way back when, they would have had something.

Chores are done, time for fun

Park and I are home now. It's pretty nice out so we spent a little time on the backyard playset. I grilled a burger. Parker is sharing it with me. He says "Bite bite." Who can refuse that?

Hot dog at IKEA

Parker and I are out and about today. One of our stops was IKEA. It was nearly lunchtime so Park chowed down on one their 50¢ hotdogs. We have a couple more places to go to. Our day isn't done.

New shoes

Parker got new Crocs today. Just what y'all wanted to know right?

Skiing and a Water Park

Payton had a couple of days off from school so Kathleen planned us a skiing trip in the Poconos. We traveled to the Jack Frost/Big Boulder ski area. It was an easy 2 hour drive. We got there with plenty of time for Kathleen and Payton to ski a few hours in the late afternoon. Big Boulder has nighttime skiing. Parker and I just hung around the hotel room. Payton did great skiing. He hadn't forgotten his Swiss ski lessons. After an afternoon of skiing we all settled into our room to rest.

Friday started with more skiing. This time at Jack Frost and Parker and I went along. We hung out in the lodge while Kathleen and Payton skied. We picked a good time to go skiing. Parker drank half of his drink and climbed up on my lap and went to sleep. I sipped a beer and read an ebook on my phone. Payton gained more confidence with his skiing. He is curving left and right down the slopes. He sometimes gets his skis parallel, but mostly he still snow plows down the hill. He mastered using a chair lift. He never used one in Switzerland. After a few hours a skiing we headed back to the hotel for the water park.
Our hotel wasn't the greatest, but its indoor water park was. It was smaller than that of Great Wolf Lodge, but it wasn't crowded and had as much or more things to do. The Komodo Dragon was fun. They call it a flow riding ride. I call it a boogie board thing. It was fun. Payton and Parker loved the place. Kathleen planned us a good trip. We played in the water for 4 or 5 hours. We had planned staying two nights, but after swimming we packed up and headed home. We were home by ten.

Gas prices can be ridiculous here

Gas prices are night and day between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Yesterday I filled the truck. We don't buy gas in Pennsylvania if we can avoid it. Luckily we live a mile or so from Jersey where gas prices are much lower. A nearby Lukoil station was selling regular for $3.35 cash / $3.43 credit. Just across the river a Shell station in Jersey was selling regular for $3.09 cash / $3.19 credit. Hey, in Jersey they pump your gas as well!

No front teeth

In a matter of days Payton has lost all of his front teeth. He sounds a little funny sometimes when he talks now. We can already see the tips of his new teeth coming in.

Momma loves her boy with or without teeth.

Toothless

Payton lost two more teeth - TONIGHT! Both of his front bottom teeth fell out this evening. He's looking like something out of Deliverance.

Parker ready to play hockey

Parker likes playing air hockey. He's an easy win now, but he tries. One day he'll get the best of his brother.

Lost first tooth

Payton lost his first tooth today! His left front tooth has been loose for a while now. He was eating a cookie at school and it finally came out. The school nurse gave him a big tooth pendant to put the tooth in and he wore it around his neck the rest of the afternoon. Tonight he is going to get a visit from the tooth fairy!

Jump Rope for Heart

Payton made this video, all by himself, to ask people to contribute to Jump Rope for Hearts. I think he has a natural talent! Watch the video and if your interested in donating click here to visit his personal donation page. It will bring you to a page to make a donation online!

Snow update...

We missed a big one. No snow, just some freezing drizzle. No big deal.