The apple usually doesn't fall far from the tree?

I randomly pulled out and old photo album yesterday and found a picture my mother gave me that she took when I was 10 months old.  Both our boys are blonde with blue eyes and I think that most people say they have more of Mandy's features than mine.  The one think is the nose that neither one of us is sure where it came from.  I'll let people be the judge and post it here.  I made a collage with photoshop of the picture and several pics of Jake and Sam at 10-12 months.

Changing bulbs and Running laps

  Some of the lightbulbs are in difficult places and changing them sometimes needs a big ladder and a little problem solving.  I had Mandy take a picture as I was putting a new LED bulb into the recessed lighting above the fireplace.  Hopefully I won't have to change that one again for a while.  The weather has started to change here and summer looks like it has finally left.  The rain started today and the days are suddenly significantly shorter.  We had Grandpa Tomtom here for a few days and he helped me do a few of the last remaining outdoor projects on my list as well as the indoor ones.  It was great getting to spend some more time with him and the boys while I have been on vacation.  I included another video of Jake below.  Part of his punishment as well as playtime involves running "laps".  I won't say what he did to get a couple laps this time but it was just normal 3-year old stuff. It helps him get rid of extra energy and who knows maybe a scholarship later on?

Breaking The Trend

We have a first for the Mcgrail and Cuda sides.  It appears that the string of 5 boys in a row has finally been broken.  Everything from the ultrasound appears normal so far.  It amazes me how much better the resolution for a standard prenatal ultrasound has become even in the past few years.  Obviously nothing is for certain but it appears that we are having a healthy girl.  The pictures above are side views of her folded over with legs touching her chin. 

Monster Truck

Most people are going to wonder why after averaging only one post a month I am putting two in one day.  Well, I just decided that this was worth another short post.  Our friend Pete got a a big 4 wheel drive Ford with oversized tires and lift kit.  As soon as Jake saw it he fell in love with the "monster truck".  Every guy wants to use his truck for whatever he can like in the comercials so when I told Pete I hated the two trees in front of the deck he offered to come try and pull out the stumps with me.  I am kicking myself for not taking some pictures or video of the whole process but other than a burnt finger from touching a hot part of the chainsaw it was actually kind of fun and gratifying to rip tow treestumps out of the ground.

I still have some more cleanup work to do but the view from the deck is much better already.

Summer Berries

Jake Mandy and I got this in about 30 minutes

One of the thngs about growing up in the northwest was that berries are part of the summer harvest.  I grew up a short bike ride from several strawberry farms and we always had our own supply of berries in the summer that my mom would use to make jam and pies that we had year round.  I actually laughed the first time I saw a pint of blackerries on sale on the east coast for about 5 dollars years ago.  As James said they are pretty much a weed here in the Northwest and I spent a significant amount of time destroying them in our yard growing up.  Since we have enough room I decided a few of the blackberry bushes can live as long as they don't get too close to anything else I am growing.  Additionally the road is lined with bushes that just started producing.  We have been picking them the past several days and what you see above is just the tip of the iceberg.

Part of the eventual plan is to grow our own strawberries and raspberries.  Along the perimeter of the property we found several bushes that look like they were planted but were so overgrown it was hard to be sure.  They were producing what looks like some kind of black raspberry.  I have never seen them before but they are pretty good.  Matt and I cleared around them and found some old irrigation tubing so I am pretty sure they are not wild.  I found some posts while clearing some areas and we strung them up so they will hopefully start doing better next year.

Anyone know what kind of berry this is?

Berry vines after the posts and wire are installed.

In other news we finally have all the planned renovations in the basement here is a picture of the kichenette with all the appliances and sink installed.

Another Day, Another Project

I have been off of work the past week and have been able to get a lot of things done around the house.  Most everyone knows that we have more than enough projects to keep us busy all summer.  Show up and you are likely to get assigned a small project.


Gretchen, Colin and their two daughters were visiting this weekend before going on their cruise. After they left this morning I decided to tackle one project that has been bugging me ever since we arrived.  There is a nice play gym that came with the house however it doesn't appear that anything has been done to maintain it for many years.  The paint is faded and mold moss and mildew was growing everywhere.  The same goes for the picnic table right next to it.  About 5 hours later I had both pressure washed, the table sanded and painted however I ran out of paint for the play gym and I didn't want to go back to Ace hardware for the 3rd time today.  Mandy was encouraging though and she and Jake convinced me to try and finish it tonight.  They both were a big help and we got done just before dark.  I still have to bolt some of the handles back on and find some rope for the climbing wall but so far I think we all made a huge improvement and just may squeeze a few more years out of it.

This is a picture from the springtime.  I wish I had taken one before I started today.

The final appearance after powerwashing and painting

Looks much better after washing, sanding and staining.

Gretchen, Colin, Hope, Phoebe and Jake at the Beach

Getting Settled

Well it has been about 6 weeks since our last post here and as I type this I am wondering if anyone is still reading it. We made the long drive from Atlanta to Gig Harbor and along the way got to hang out with Mandy's parents in the RV which was a huge help. We celebrated the 4th of July and Sam's 1st birthday with more family in Newton Iowa before stopping to visit Mandy's Grandmother in Sioux City. After that we made our way through Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone which was a first time for me and the boys. I wish we had a few extra days to explore but we had a good time and got some great pictures along the way. We have been here in Gig harbor for a about 3 weeks now and are still getting settled but things are slowly getting put back in order. Being a homeowner is a shock again with all the additional projects that I are on my to do list.

Sam at the Newton Iowa 4th of July Parade

Mt Rushmore

Yes that is a snowball that Jake threw at me.

Sapphire hot springs in Yellowstone

The boys watching TV with TOMTOM in Gig Harbor.