Dana and I left the kids with my parents and flew to Alabama, er, I mean 'Bama last weekend to look for a house to rent. We flew out on Thursday and went from upper 70's and clear, beautiful weather to overcast and drizzling. For the 3rd time in a row, Dana wasn't able to see the Mississippi River and she was bummed about it. We met our realtor on Friday and by noon had settled on a house to rent, not that there were very many to choose from. The house we chose is a 2000 sq. ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage place in a golf course community. So much for firing up the Camaro without mufflers when I get the new engine installed. Of course, I think golfers should have to concentrate while dealing with noises just like all the other sports - no offense, Larry! Anyway, the house is nice and isn't much more than a year old but the garage is so small! :( The more houses we looked at the more I realized how much I really love this house. So by noon, we had signed the paperwork for the house and the skies had cleared. Dana and I had Friday afternoon and all day Saturday to ourselves with nothing to do. We ate out, watched a movie, went window shopping at a very girl-oriented strip mall (NO guy stores) and just enjoyed the time we had together knowing we won't have another opportunity to do that for who knows how long. Then, at oh-dark thirty Sunday morning, we were at the airport for our trip home and to see our boys. And we had perfect weather the whole day so Dana was finally able to see that elusive river.
There are very few fences in that neighborhood - and most of the area - and that house is no different. Unfortunately, Cade won't be able to play in the backyard by himself anymore because he could easily end up in the front yard or the neighbor's yard or who knows where. The back yard is pretty small and sloped so that will cause problems for a swingset or a trampoline. The dirt levels off at the edge of the property though so I might try to stick the trampoline out there. A short distance behind the house is a wooded area that I'm hoping the kids can go play in. I think they would like that.
We didn't take the camera with us so you'll have to wait until I move next month to post anything. Of course, that's assuming I can find a cheap laptop and get internet access while I'm there.
So far, everything seems to be coming together fairly smoothly. I'm sure we'll run into several snags as we get closer or get in the middle of the move but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
As for a boy update, I haven't taken any pictures lately so nothing new to post. About all we've been doing is going to soccer practice and games. Kevin's team is now 3-2-1 after dropping a tough game today. But it was close and exciting to watch. Kevin has improved tremendously over the last few weeks. I can see a big difference in his ball handling and power when he gets caught up in traffic. He rocks! He's also very honest, almost to a fault. In today's game, he kicked the ball out of bounds and ref called it against the other team. Just as his teammate was about to throw it in, Kevin (standing right beside the ref) hollers that it's the other team's ball because he kicked it out. Suddenly, the ref acted like he knew that and was trying to get the other team to throw it in all along. Silly boy.
Like his big brother, Cameron is getting better all the time and he makes some good plays every game. Lately, he tends to hang back and play on the defense side of things. Cameron's team is 3-3 and only needs one more win to finish with at least a 50% win ratio and to beat last year's number of wins. Trust me when I say that would be a huge accomplishment. Can they do it? Stay tuned to find out.
As for little Cade, he's just happy not to get lost in the shuffle. He thoroughly enjoys being outside every chance he gets so he doesn't mind the games and practices at all. Tell that boy to come inside and his world falls apart.
Halloween is in 6 days so I'll wish everyone a Happy Halloween now. I recently bought a night vision camera that I plan to use on Halloween. Hopefully I can get some good video to share in a few weeks.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Busy Weekend
Alright, alright, I know everyone wants to know about the job in Huntsville. Well, I received the new offer package and... You'll have to wait until the end of the blog to find out what I did with it. I know. I've sunk to a new low in order to direct traffic to our blog.
First, we need to talk about Cade's birthday! My boy turned 3 on Sunday but we celebrated on Saturday. That really messed him up too. Every time I tried to tell him "happy birthday" on his actual birthday he kept telling me it wasn't his birthday anymore. Several of our friends from Life Group came to his party as well as Papa and Pa and Tootie. We rented a bouncing balloon with a slide for the kids to play in - and let me tell you, that thing was a blast! Um, I mean, that's what the kids told me anyway.
Bubbles ALWAYS make good presents.
Not a birthday picture, but it's cute enough to include. Cade had the great idea of taking a balloon into the bath with him.
This is my favorite shot. Kevin looks like he's hovering.
Say Cheese!
"Driving" the tractor.
Gotta see how tall they are.
And, finally, I talked to the HR lady in Huntsville on Thursday and accepted their offer. My heart is doing flip flops even as I write that. My new boss called later that day to discuss a start date. He wanted me there ASAP and I was hoping to push it back as far as possible because the holidays are rapidly approaching. As it turned out, we settled on November 24 (or 25th, whatever that Monday is). Yep, that's 3 days before Thanksgiving. I'll be all alone on Thanksgiving. Empty house, just me. I also can't cook so I guess I'll buy a Turkey Hungry Man dinner for myself. Bleh. But, at least I'll be home for Christmas!
Thank you all for your kind words and prayers during this exciting time.
First, we need to talk about Cade's birthday! My boy turned 3 on Sunday but we celebrated on Saturday. That really messed him up too. Every time I tried to tell him "happy birthday" on his actual birthday he kept telling me it wasn't his birthday anymore. Several of our friends from Life Group came to his party as well as Papa and Pa and Tootie. We rented a bouncing balloon with a slide for the kids to play in - and let me tell you, that thing was a blast! Um, I mean, that's what the kids told me anyway.
These kids are responsible for what had to be the worst rendition of "happy birthday" ever in the history of ever. But they had fun singing it at the top of their lungs and Cade had fun getting the attention.
Putting a hurting on ol' Pablo.
Presents!
Bubbles ALWAYS make good presents.
Not a birthday picture, but it's cute enough to include. Cade had the great idea of taking a balloon into the bath with him.
Here are some of the pictures from his party and of us playing on the bouncing balloon.
The Man of the Hour.
It looks bad, but Cade is actually giggling here. Funny picture!
Can't just go down the slide like normal people, can we?
Dana got in on the action too.
After tiring of sliding down, we had the idea to try to take one bounce and jump to the top. Superman!
Superwoman.
Iron Man! Or, maybe Iron Cam.
I never knew Iron Man had long hair.
This is my favorite shot. Kevin looks like he's hovering.
This weekend I also taught Cameron a magic trick. Watch the video and tell us what you think.
Continuing with the reverse chronological order of things, Cameron's class had a field trip to the local corn maze on Thursday. Dana, Cade and I all went with him. Here are some pictures of that.
Another free pumpkin. We now have 7.
Say Cheese!
"Driving" the tractor.
Gotta see how tall they are.
And, finally, I talked to the HR lady in Huntsville on Thursday and accepted their offer. My heart is doing flip flops even as I write that. My new boss called later that day to discuss a start date. He wanted me there ASAP and I was hoping to push it back as far as possible because the holidays are rapidly approaching. As it turned out, we settled on November 24 (or 25th, whatever that Monday is). Yep, that's 3 days before Thanksgiving. I'll be all alone on Thanksgiving. Empty house, just me. I also can't cook so I guess I'll buy a Turkey Hungry Man dinner for myself. Bleh. But, at least I'll be home for Christmas!
It's starting to sink in - slowly. But things are already moving fast. We have a realtor lined up already. I spent all day today doing the things to the house that I've been putting off for the last 2-1/2 years so we can get it ready to sell. It looks nice too. I wish I'd done that when we moved in. I guess I only have 6 more weeks to enjoy it (as well as my nice, big house and huge garage). I guess the bright side is that I'll have lots more fodder for the blog for quite some time.
Thank you all for your kind words and prayers during this exciting time.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
What have I done?
Ok, so I heard back from the people in Huntsville today and they agreed to my counteroffer and have sent another offer package to me. It will be here tomorrow and I have until Friday to respond. Uh oh! Now what do I do? Did I ever mention what a big decision this is?
I'm just trying to ignore all that for now so hopefully I can sleep tonight and not dream about it like I have been.
Moving on... You may or may not be aware that Space Shuttle Atlantis was supposed to launch in the next few days to service the Hubble telescope. Endeavor was standing by on the second launch pad in case a rescue mission was needed. Well, Hubble broke more parts so that launch is off until next year. Did I ever mention that I was on both of those orbiters? I don't recall. Anyway, for every launch, NASA makes a t-shirt that we can buy. I've been patiently waiting for these 2 shirts to come out so I can buy about 30 of each. The designs are shown below along with my proposed modification. I'm still waiting to hear back from the t-shirt printing place as to whether they'll accept that change or not. I don't see any reason why they won't do it.
I also finally figured out how to add music to our blog. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get it to play in random order. I think we did a nice job of balancing the music selection, don't you? Dana kept insisting on adding ACDC and the like while I wanted Steven Curtis Chapman. The boys also made some suggestions to round it out.
Stay tuned for an update on the inevitable, potentially life changing decision.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Fall
Fall is here and our lives have become quite busy again. The soccer season started weekend before last so that pretty much dominates our weekends nowadays.
Kevin has another good team this year with only 4 returning players. They play well together and have a lot of talent. However, they did blow a 2-0 lead with ~8 minutes left in their first game to tie at 2-2. Doh! They shutout the next team they played on their way to a win. Kevin no longer plays goalie (he had mixed emotions about that) and he rotates between defender and striker. He's had a few good shots at the goal but no goals... yet.
Kevin's team got new uniforms. Pretty snazzy, huh?
Obligatory action shot.
Cameron has the same team again this year. Although their record is 1-2, they've shown more than flashes of brilliance this year. The team they beat started out with 4 kids on the field and with our coach's permission added another player when they started falling way behind - after about 3 minutes. A few minutes later they added a 6th player! I didn't keep score in that game, but the other team had no goals by halftime and finally scored 3 by the end of the game. Our guys had about 15 or so. I'm not sure what caused it, but they played well that game and actually worked together. Imagine that! They lost their last game but only by 2 to some hot rod team out of Mexico. The score was going back and forth until the 4th quarter when our guys fell apart for about 5 minutes and let the other team go up by 4. They pulled it back together though to finish the game. There were still a few instances of one teammate literally running into another and costing the team a goal because they were so intent on kicking the ball regardless of who had it. Ugh.
Cameron is getting fancy here.
I like this shot.
A couple of months ago, Cade drug our smallest bicycle out of the storage room and was always pushing it around the yard. Occasionally, he would ask one of us to push him while he rode on it. He sure looked cute pushing his bike around. I finally put the training wheels on so he could ride it by himself. And ride it, he does. He's always asking if he can go ride his "special bike."
Always wear a helmet!
Still learning to pedal.
On only his second day of riding the bike, he was already standing up.
My company had their annual picnic at the local maize maze last Friday. We had a great time.
Kevin and Cameron on one of the slides.
When Cade first got on this pedal car, he had trouble pedaling. I pushed him down one side and he pedaled back. Then he kept pedaling and pedaling and pedaling. He must have done 30 laps nonstop! Cameron is giving chase here but he eventually quit and went on to the big pedal cars with Kevin and me and we still finished before Cade.
Every year we get the boys' pictures here. It was dark before we remembered this time and the dang batteries died after this one shot. I'll have to take Cameron and Kevin back. For comparison, here is the shot we took last year.
Some miscellaneous pictures:
Cade growling at Pa. Look at that fierce expression!
The pictures never look as impressive as actually being there, but I think these still came out pretty nice. Taken from our upstairs porch.
This picture was taken Spring of 2007 before my grandparents passed away but I just got a copy of it. Here's Cameron with his great grandparents.
I also recently got a copy of some really cool, old photos. I'll post some of those soon.
C'mon! You didn't think I could go a whole post without at least one motorcycle picture, did you? Kevin and me tandem jumping over a small berm. Sort of. I was either late or early every time. But Kevin sure thought it was fun.
Kevin has another good team this year with only 4 returning players. They play well together and have a lot of talent. However, they did blow a 2-0 lead with ~8 minutes left in their first game to tie at 2-2. Doh! They shutout the next team they played on their way to a win. Kevin no longer plays goalie (he had mixed emotions about that) and he rotates between defender and striker. He's had a few good shots at the goal but no goals... yet.
Kevin's team got new uniforms. Pretty snazzy, huh?
Obligatory action shot.
Cameron has the same team again this year. Although their record is 1-2, they've shown more than flashes of brilliance this year. The team they beat started out with 4 kids on the field and with our coach's permission added another player when they started falling way behind - after about 3 minutes. A few minutes later they added a 6th player! I didn't keep score in that game, but the other team had no goals by halftime and finally scored 3 by the end of the game. Our guys had about 15 or so. I'm not sure what caused it, but they played well that game and actually worked together. Imagine that! They lost their last game but only by 2 to some hot rod team out of Mexico. The score was going back and forth until the 4th quarter when our guys fell apart for about 5 minutes and let the other team go up by 4. They pulled it back together though to finish the game. There were still a few instances of one teammate literally running into another and costing the team a goal because they were so intent on kicking the ball regardless of who had it. Ugh.
Cameron is getting fancy here.
I like this shot.
A couple of months ago, Cade drug our smallest bicycle out of the storage room and was always pushing it around the yard. Occasionally, he would ask one of us to push him while he rode on it. He sure looked cute pushing his bike around. I finally put the training wheels on so he could ride it by himself. And ride it, he does. He's always asking if he can go ride his "special bike."
Always wear a helmet!
Still learning to pedal.
On only his second day of riding the bike, he was already standing up.
My company had their annual picnic at the local maize maze last Friday. We had a great time.
Kevin and Cameron on one of the slides.
When Cade first got on this pedal car, he had trouble pedaling. I pushed him down one side and he pedaled back. Then he kept pedaling and pedaling and pedaling. He must have done 30 laps nonstop! Cameron is giving chase here but he eventually quit and went on to the big pedal cars with Kevin and me and we still finished before Cade.
Every year we get the boys' pictures here. It was dark before we remembered this time and the dang batteries died after this one shot. I'll have to take Cameron and Kevin back. For comparison, here is the shot we took last year.
Some miscellaneous pictures:
Cade growling at Pa. Look at that fierce expression!
The pictures never look as impressive as actually being there, but I think these still came out pretty nice. Taken from our upstairs porch.
This picture was taken Spring of 2007 before my grandparents passed away but I just got a copy of it. Here's Cameron with his great grandparents.
I also recently got a copy of some really cool, old photos. I'll post some of those soon.
C'mon! You didn't think I could go a whole post without at least one motorcycle picture, did you? Kevin and me tandem jumping over a small berm. Sort of. I was either late or early every time. But Kevin sure thought it was fun.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Labor Day Weekend
The Labor Day weekend was a great one in the Reynolds' household. We started things off Friday night by going out to dinner with our life group and having a wonderful time. I think we were "those people" who make too much noise a few times during the course of the evening.
The ladies got together again on Saturday morning for a baby shower for one of the moms who is getting ready to have twins. And then we all got together again Saturday evening to have a going away party for one of the dads. He's headed to Georgia (Pronounced Jawja - since I'm now an expert in speaking Suthern) for 5 months (!) to train to become a US Marshall. Once again, we all had a great time along with a few heartstring-tugging moments.
A while back, Cade drug our smallest bicycle out of the storage room and has been pushing it around the yard. Every once in a while, he asks one of us to push him while he rides on it. On Sunday, I finally got around to putting the training wheels on and lowering the seat. We slapped a helmet on his head, wished him luck and pushed him down the driveway hoping he would turn before he got into the street. Just kidding, we didn't wish him luck. Anyway, he hopped on and started pedaling around the driveway almost like he knew what he was doing. Every now and then he would accidently hit the brake and come to an abrupt halt but for the most part, he did fine. I don't have any pictures yet but he sure looked cute. By Monday, he was already hollering for me to watch him stand up while he rides. I'll get some pictures soon.
Now, on to dirt bike news:
We rode twice in one weekend! That's a new record for the last few years, I think. I'm really sore.
Ever since Kevin moved to the KX, Cameron has been dying to ditch his Pee Wee and jump on "his" KTM. After sorting through a clutch and an electrical gremlin, I finally got the orange machine ready to ride on Sunday. Cameron was jumping around the garage singing, "I'm going to ride the KTM!" Monday morning found Cameron not only on a "new" dirt bike but also with "new" riding gear. Kevin gave Cam his old riding gear (again) and Cameron thought he had died and gone to heaven with all the new stuff. Some day Cameron won't think that's so cool - but not today. Here's my little buddy on his new scoot.
Cameron says, "This is the only view those punks at the track are going to see of me!"
It's hard to tell in this photo but I'm sure Cameron is going, like Mach 5.
Here's another feel good story! Dana was inspired enough to try riding Kevin's bike! It's hard to tell in this photo but I'm sure Dana is going, like Mach 5 (x10-3) Woo hoo! That's my wifey! Hey, where's her helmet?
Kevin waiting for his bike to come back.
As always, even the long weekends are always too short and ours was over in a hurry. Fortunately, for me, this is only a 3 day week followed by another 3 day weekend! I love my job!
Happy belated Labor Day!
The ladies got together again on Saturday morning for a baby shower for one of the moms who is getting ready to have twins. And then we all got together again Saturday evening to have a going away party for one of the dads. He's headed to Georgia (Pronounced Jawja - since I'm now an expert in speaking Suthern) for 5 months (!) to train to become a US Marshall. Once again, we all had a great time along with a few heartstring-tugging moments.
A while back, Cade drug our smallest bicycle out of the storage room and has been pushing it around the yard. Every once in a while, he asks one of us to push him while he rides on it. On Sunday, I finally got around to putting the training wheels on and lowering the seat. We slapped a helmet on his head, wished him luck and pushed him down the driveway hoping he would turn before he got into the street. Just kidding, we didn't wish him luck. Anyway, he hopped on and started pedaling around the driveway almost like he knew what he was doing. Every now and then he would accidently hit the brake and come to an abrupt halt but for the most part, he did fine. I don't have any pictures yet but he sure looked cute. By Monday, he was already hollering for me to watch him stand up while he rides. I'll get some pictures soon.
Now, on to dirt bike news:
We rode twice in one weekend! That's a new record for the last few years, I think. I'm really sore.
Ever since Kevin moved to the KX, Cameron has been dying to ditch his Pee Wee and jump on "his" KTM. After sorting through a clutch and an electrical gremlin, I finally got the orange machine ready to ride on Sunday. Cameron was jumping around the garage singing, "I'm going to ride the KTM!" Monday morning found Cameron not only on a "new" dirt bike but also with "new" riding gear. Kevin gave Cam his old riding gear (again) and Cameron thought he had died and gone to heaven with all the new stuff. Some day Cameron won't think that's so cool - but not today. Here's my little buddy on his new scoot.
Cameron says, "This is the only view those punks at the track are going to see of me!"
It's hard to tell in this photo but I'm sure Cameron is going, like Mach 5.
Here's another feel good story! Dana was inspired enough to try riding Kevin's bike! It's hard to tell in this photo but I'm sure Dana is going, like Mach 5 (x10-3) Woo hoo! That's my wifey! Hey, where's her helmet?
Kevin waiting for his bike to come back.
As always, even the long weekends are always too short and ours was over in a hurry. Fortunately, for me, this is only a 3 day week followed by another 3 day weekend! I love my job!
Happy belated Labor Day!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Huntsville, AL
What does Huntsville have to do with the following picture? Nothing. But I can't let a school year start without posting a picture of da boys on their first day.
Me and the hottie! Too bad I didn't use the flash. This was on my birthday too. Happy birthday to me.
Kevin is in 5th, Cameron is in 2nd, and apparently Cade skipped the rest of his part-time daycare and jumped headfirst into 5th grade with Kevin.
Now, on to Huntsville. Dana and I took a weekend trip to the area to check things out and see if it's a place we'd like to live. I also happened to have an interview at Marshall Space Flight Center. What a coincidence.
If you haven't been there Huntsville, (pronounced Huntsvl) is a lot like Las Cruces in that it's very green, lots of trees and water and high humidity. You know, just like Las Cruces was in the Paleozoic Era. The weather was actually beautiful the first two days we were there (upper 80's with humidity around 35%). I don't know what those whiners are talking about when they say it's hot and stuffy. Piece of cake!
A piddly little pond between Decatur and Huntsvl. Pfft! I've seen bigger bodies of water collecting at the end of my street.
The historic district is really cool. This building is almost as old as our country. If you're ever in the area, you have to go see Harrison Hardware store. It's cool!
Some hot chick I snapped a picture of when Dana wasn't looking.
Me and the hottie! Too bad I didn't use the flash. This was on my birthday too. Happy birthday to me.
Um, yeah. I really don't think I can add anything to this.
Rocket Park at MSFC. The tall one is a Saturn 1B, I believe. At something like 162 feet it's about 1/2 the height of the mighty Saturn V. It's still no Atlantis though. And, I would know that, because, like, I might have kicked the tires and left a noseprint on the window in Atlantis' airlock or something.
Dana had a nice view of the sunset on the way home.
Thanks to Mom & Dad for watching the boys while we were gone. Rest assured, they came home spoiled rotten and wired with sugar.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Summer's End
Doggone it. Summer vacation is officially over. School starts tomorrow. As always, we didn't do half of what we wanted to do this year but we've been cramming trying to get just a little more in right at the end.
I don't have any pictures as cool as what I posted last time (did I mention I sat in the Commander's seat of Atlantis?) so you'll have to bear with me as we slog through our latest update.
Rain is a rare occurrence around here. The boys try to take advantage of it when they can.
Speaking of taking advantage of... Shouldn't the little brother be getting a ride from the big brother?
We borrowed my parents' boat and hit the lake this weekend (Friday actually). The weather was terrific, there was little boat traffic and the lake was calm. Cade started to cry when I started swerving back and forth in the boat until I let him sit in my lap and steer. Then he was giggling like Elmo as we swerved our way up and down the lake.
My boys and me.
Building a sand castle.
The boys and I spent all afternoon on Sunday riding. And goofing around with the camera.
Like Cameron's helmet? He broke the visor a week or two ago and now he has that goon look.
Check these out! Kevin took them. He's a natural with a camera.
He even got the crash-in-progress shot.
The rain does wonders for the desert.
Honey, I shrunk our kid.
"I'm gonna pound him!"
Poor Cameron had a rough weekend. He asked me to take this photo to show his wounds. Here's a quick rundown: 1) Chest wound (wound sounds more dramatic than scratch) due to falling on the boat trailer 2) Elbow wound due to eating dirt while out riding 3) Side wound due to little brother playing with and throwing a motorcycle.
I don't have any pictures as cool as what I posted last time (did I mention I sat in the Commander's seat of Atlantis?) so you'll have to bear with me as we slog through our latest update.
Rain is a rare occurrence around here. The boys try to take advantage of it when they can.
Speaking of taking advantage of... Shouldn't the little brother be getting a ride from the big brother?
We borrowed my parents' boat and hit the lake this weekend (Friday actually). The weather was terrific, there was little boat traffic and the lake was calm. Cade started to cry when I started swerving back and forth in the boat until I let him sit in my lap and steer. Then he was giggling like Elmo as we swerved our way up and down the lake.
My boys and me.
Building a sand castle.
The boys and I spent all afternoon on Sunday riding. And goofing around with the camera.
Like Cameron's helmet? He broke the visor a week or two ago and now he has that goon look.
Check these out! Kevin took them. He's a natural with a camera.
He even got the crash-in-progress shot.
The rain does wonders for the desert.
Honey, I shrunk our kid.
"I'm gonna pound him!"
Poor Cameron had a rough weekend. He asked me to take this photo to show his wounds. Here's a quick rundown: 1) Chest wound (wound sounds more dramatic than scratch) due to falling on the boat trailer 2) Elbow wound due to eating dirt while out riding 3) Side wound due to little brother playing with and throwing a motorcycle.
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