Under Construction

Is Divorce Court still on TV?

Because Kevin and I might be auditioning.

Okay, seriously, it's not that bad...but Project Bathroom is still not over and I'm itching to begin Project Dining Room...so...we need to be finished.

Enjoy some pictures of our journey.  Note that I'm not in these pictures.  That's because I was running around taking pictures of "our" bathroom project that Kevin did all the work on.  And if I wasn't doing that, I was whining "I'm tired, I want to go to bed," or maybe something like "why didn't you rinse out those brushes?!?!"

Once again, Kevin is a saint.

(ps...Happy...um, I did not mean to steal the cartoon idea from your site, I really didn't!!!  But hey, imitation is the sincerest (most sincere?) form of flattery...so, hopefully you're feeling sincerely flattered!!!)

"I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt"

The time has come to submit Jake's picture to Grove City College so that he can be oooohed and aaaahed at via the Gedunk Magazine.  Yes, alumni send pictures of their children for all to see.  So GCC was kind enough to send a complimentary shirt as it is a requirement that the child be wearing the very shirt in the picture.

The shirt indicates that it is for an 18-month old.  Evidently it is for an 18-month old hamster.  It was NOT a pleasant experience to shove Jake into this shirt.  And consequently I did not score any good shots.

Here are a few samples.  To view the entire unfortunate collection, click here.  

A weekend in PAradise

You read it right. "PAradise." Meaning Pennsylvania...hence "PA"...hence "PAradise."

Anyway, we road-tripped it on out to Pennsylvania this weekend. Jake, Luther and I dropped Kevin off in Happy Valley and then continued on to the Greater Clarion area. We enjoyed a brief tour of the PSU campus and got the picture Kevin has been waiting for all of his life. His son with the Nittany Lion. We also have the one where his son almost fell off the Nittany Lion, but now we're back on the subject of calling CYS.

Because I took the camera with me, there is no documented footage of Kevin's stay in State College for the wrestling Big 10 tournament. I imagine Kevin is very thankful for that, seeing as how he was "dehydrated" when I picked him back up on Sunday.

And guess what? Those of you who follow the life and times of Karen over at "Another Stella Day" will be pleased to learn that I got to see her and her sweet little baby bump on my way up north. She and her GCC girls were having a reunion of sorts and were gracious enough to let me crash in for a minute to say hi, make Jake a bottle, let Luther out of the car, and snap a picture. Thanks girls, and it was absolutely fantastic to see you! Karen, your "Grubelet" is gorgeous already.

Then, in the Greater Clarion area, Jake, Luther and I stayed with my Nana and my parents came in to visit, too. Jake got to go meet his Great Great Grandmother...yes, that is two "greats." My Great Grandma will be 103 in April...born in 1906...can you imagine? 1906? And she is sharp as a tack. It was great. We also got to see my Aunt Carol and Uncle Rod and catch up a bit. Uncle Rod let Jake try on his hat which was a big hit! Check out four generations below...

After our visit with the McHenry side of the family, we went back to the Jordan side where we got to hang out with Uncle John and Aunt Helen and family. Have I ever shared this riddle with the blogging community? Well here it is. My mom's Uncle John, the gentleman I just mentioned, is not just her uncle...he's also her cousin. I promise...nothing scary...just an interesting fact. See if you can solve the riddle!

Next, we put Jake in the middle of the road and took his picture.

Then we even photographed the weird cows/bulls/steer (I don't know enough to tell the difference) across the street. I feel this was especially gutsy in light of the recent chimp disaster. Or especially stupid. It seems gutsy and stupid are separated by a very fine line. For complete coverage of the Greater Clarion tour, click here.

And then we were on our way back to Happy Valley to pick up Kevin. We enjoyed dinner with Pop Pop Vile and Walt...and even got to see Andrew for a minute. And that was that! A fabulous weekend for everyone in the Vileation Nation. And we even remembered the time change. Miracles still happen.

Oh, and check out pictures from Dog's baby shower here if you so choose! Dog is one cute pregnant lady, so I suggest you see for yourself.

Please don't call CYS

Yes, I look as though I haven't showered in weeks (and likely haven't). And Jake looks like a smurf who is going hunting.

But it's still a funny picture.

And please don't call Children and Youth Services on us. We really do clean ourselves up now and then and dress our child normally. We just don't take pictures of boring stuff like that.

I lost my camera...?

Just looking for a good excuse for why it has taken me this long to feed and water the ol' blog.

Since there is way too much to cover since Christmas, I'll just pick up from a couple weeks ago.

Dog and Jim came to town (and we played lots of "Ticket To Ride").

Kevin turned 32 (and Jake tasted frosting).

Sharyn came to town (and we went to Wegmans).

The Kruks had twins...a boy and a girl (and the Cudas and the Hardestys each had daughters!).

We went to Oklahoma City to see Casey and Chris (and the memorial from the Federal Building bombing).

I went to Columbus to celebrate with Dog at her baby shower.  And I don't have pictures to share yet because, as mentioned, I left my camera in Ohio.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

That pretty much catches you up! 

Oh...I finally read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."  Loved it.  Loved it so much.

And also, Jake laughed a lot so far this year.

Glad to be back!

PS...some of you may remember that I participated in a marathon a couple years back...part of Team in Training, San Diego, etc. etc.  (If you weren't aware of this maniacal event in my life, you should also pay close attention to the word "participated" and note that I by no means ran the whole thing...but darn it, I completed it).  Anyway, if you are looking for a way to contribute in the fight against cancer, please consider giving at this generous woman's Team in Training site.  It's a really difficult thing to fundraise $4100 and it's awesome when complete strangers pitch in.  It really defines "community."  Anyway, consider it!  Thanks!