This is exhausting

We got an elliptical about 2 weeks ago. Here are the guys showing us how to use it. The first time I got on it I over did it and couldn't walk for 3 days.

Signs

This weekend I watched the movie "Signs" by M. Night Shyamalan. Watch this clip to reintroduce yourself.



At the end I always drifting into thinking about what I would do if in the same situation. If it was me and my family, what would I do? In the movie they have decided to stay in the house and try to ride out the invasion. Sure they board up the house. That is a good start, but they didn't even turn off the lights. Hello! That is a big "We are open for business, Come and get us" sign. When I slip into what would I do. I think about massing an active defense. Where would I place guns? How much ammo would I need? Where do I begin my defense? (at the front door, or in the yard) Where do I plan to finish my defense? (Attic, Basement, Garage so to facilitate a possible escape)

You see, I was knee deep in contemplation when the answer became blatantly clear. They hired the wrong Culkin brother for the movie. Instead of an asthmatic egg head, they could have had the older brother from Home Alone. The greatest home defense planner in the movie industry. Picture aliens getting smashed in the face w/ paint cans swinging on ropes, electrically heated door knobs, propane torches hanging in the air, falling hot irons, and lest we not forget the classic Jacks and marbles on the floor. By the end of the movie they would have had 2 or 3 aliens comically running down the street missing patches of hair (or scales), glued to each other, and begging for the police to pick them up.

Memorial Day

I am playing a little catch up. Here are a few pics from our trip to see Great Grandma Condie. She turned 96 this past April. Her body is becoming more frail, but her mind is a steel trap. She writes and recites poetry without a stutter. All while never a pencil and paper meet.

As a joke she wanted an out house built just like she had when she was growing up. She told us about when the first world War ended the people of Preston Idaho took all of their old outhouses to the center of town and created a sort of a skyline. They then set them on fire and called it "The burning of the sh*ty of Berlin".


Grandma has a family of foxes living in her barn yard. 50 years ago they would have been shot on site to protect the chickens, but now they bring a little life back to the place.


Any Karen Carpenter music will do.


Is it original? No, but everything was working at the right time.


Cows!


About a 1/4 mile from Grandma's house (the next door neighbor) is Napoleon Dynamite's house. I think I could throw a football over that mountain.


I think I have a picture of everyone of the girl cousins pummeling my boys. I tell them just to get used to it.


See!


My grandma. I had to say a crude phrase to get the guys to smile. It worked on grandma too.

As promised

Better late than never. Last Thursday I finally had my first post surgery follow up. I learned that the x rays didn't show all the damage, so when they opened me up there was a bit of a surprise. The knuckle area at the base of my had was broken into a few pieces on the 3rd and 4th metacarpals. That is why the doc had use the larger plates w/ the 2 place bases. I am now the permanent home to 12 screws and 2 plates. The 2 fish hooks you see in finger 1 come out in 2 more weeks.

Now this is just embarassing

Okay this appears to be a story line I can't get away from. Last Tuesday I had surgery to set the 2nd thru 4th metacarpal bones in my left hand. There was quite a bit of hope that a "closed procedure" could be used and they wouldn't have to open me up. Not my luck. My hand in now held together by a combination of titanium screws and plates. After the surgery we told the boys that they had to put wires and metal in my hand. They now think I have a robotic hand like Luke Skywalker. Which would have been cool beacuse the whole universe would tremble under the power of the dark side.


I hope to have post op x rays soon.

How about a hand

I wish I had a cool story to go a long with this like I was rescuing a baby panda cub from an apartment fire, but I don't. This is what happens when you unload your 700lb quad from the back of your truck the "wrong" way.

I broke the first three metacarpals on my left hand. The ER doc told me for braking my first bone, I picked some good ones. I did break my big toe once but that really doesn't count. They gave me a band aid and told me to come back in six weeks. I didn't go back.


Today I am going in to see an orthopedic surgeon to see if they have to pin this hamburger patty back together again. Wish me luck or pray for me, whatever your faith or conscience leads you to.

I have learned a few things from all of this.

• Always make sure the winch cable is securely attached.
• Vicodin and Comedy Central is better than chocolate and peanut butter.
• It is more manly to tell the nurse that you "passed out" rather than "I fainted"
• A blow to the back of your head can affect your short term memory.
• Always make sure the winch cable is securely attached.
  

"I'll take care of this!"

Sunday morning Julie made breakfast. Actually for the last week Julie has been working on Sunday morning breakfast. She got a recipe for a dish called "French Toast Casserole". For the last week she has been collecting the ingredients she needed and spent saturday night preparing everything. All she had to do was through it in the oven and enjoy a nice relaxing gourmet Sunday morning before church. ( Well that was the plan anyway) With a triumphant look on her face she pulled the dish from the oven. It smelled fantastic and looked even better.

She called the boys to assemble for breakfast and layed out plates on the table. Will was the first on the scene. With a crinkled nose he declared "I'm not eating that!" John following Wills lead and declared that it was "Yucky". In a calm and rational voice (Maybe) it was explained to them that this was breakfast and if they wanted to eat today they would eat this.

John was crying, Will was frantic, Julie was loosing her "rope". Panic had entered into our peaceful Sunday morning. While Julie was explaining to John that he could remove the nuts from the top if he didn't like them Will declared loudly as he came out of the pantry, "I'll take care of this!" He quickly made his way to the stove that the pan was resting on and raised a bottle of Windex and was about squirt it on to the food. Fortunately Julie caught him and did not allow him to sabotage our food. I can not decribe how I felt. I have never been more infuriated yet doubled over laughing at the same time. I guess Will was prepared to dive on the preverbial culinary hand grenade and take one for the whole family. That or he thought it would taste better with Windex.

By the time I left for prechurch meetings the boys had there faces buried in their plates and were declaring their mommies proficiency at Nom, Nom making. All was well again and we finally had our peace, but I doubt it lasted long.