Welcome to our 'NEWS' BLOG page. Here we will keep some notes as to what we are doing, interesting things we have done, and just miscellaneous notes.

March 08-A busy schedule does not leave much time for web updates. A simple Blog would be easier to maintain, but the website is fun. In the year since the last update, I have finished school and Ruth has started, we have bought a new truck (Silverado 4-door,E-85,-nice), Isaac has played baseball and basketball, Isaac has completed the requirements for Wolf rank in cub scouts, we took an excellent vacation to starved rock, and many other events.

Isaac continues to go to Home Depot each month for the Kids Club. He is getting old enough that he has more strength for using tools and is develpoing some skills. He has worked on two pinewood derby cars, and is getting better with sanding and painting. Power tool usage is still limited to a sander.
He has been taking weekly swimming lessons. The swim club has been using a local hotel until their facility opens, which we hope will be before summer.

I mentioned we are adding on to our house. I will start a 'construction blog' at another address, since there isn't enough space here to contain the photos. I will include before and after pictures, progress reports, and comparisons to plan. We just hope the project goes smoothly and everything we want done can get accomplished. The primary goal is to add a room for the older kids, which will free up some of our existing space. A bonus will be a new master bedroom. This is an integral part of the plan as we needed to add enough value to the house to allow financing the project. The new playroom in itself would not increase value enough to justify the construction expense.


February 07- Once again getting the 'bug-to-blog'. As mentioned on the homepage, it has been a while, and there is much to talk about. As Isaac gets older, we find less time to relax- but there are many more activities. Isaac has been taking gymnastic instructions for over one year, he is getting better all the time. We took summer off because of the many other interests. This Spring, Isaac will be trying baseball. So April will be an 'overlap' month with gymnastics and baseball.

Isaac joined Cub Scouts as a Tiger Cub last fall. This has been interesting as we get a chance to see him as he behaves with his friends. He has had many opportunities to learn about the community. He went to the senior center at Christmas to deliver cookies and sing carols. He helped collect food for the food pantry in the fall, and he participated in the Christmas Parade in town. Isaac will step up to 'Wolf' this weekend!

Isaac goes to Home Depot every month for the Kids Club. He get to build a project and dad usually has something to pick up while there. This has been a good chance to learn how to use hand tools. He also has been making some projects for Tiger Scouts. He made a pinewood derby car (first time using spray paint), which looks pretty cool and ran fairly well. He hopes to build a faster car next year now that he has a better understanding of the requirements. Isaac will work on the space derby 'rocket' next.

July 05- Well. It has been some time since there have been any updates to this site. A lot has happened, there is much to add. We bought a VW to help ease the impact of rising gas prices. It is a 1964 Beetle, there will be a page added to cover that (pictures, restoration (?) notes, etc.). It is primarily a daily driver for work, but it does have a little personality and can be fun to drive. The goal was to get something with better fuel mileage than the truck (18-19 mpg), but it had to be cheap and parts had to be available. The financial impact had to be minimal. We didn't want to get rid of the truck since the utility is very convenient. The mini-van is a staple, so an inexpensive used vehicle was in order. Our Beetle has character, gets me to work, get about 35mpg, and so far I can source all the parts I've needed- cheaply. The intent is to have the fuel savings recover the costs of the vehicle in a short period of time.

We took a real vacation this spring (pictures on Isaac's site). Isaac is finally old enough that we can do more elaborate trips. We went on a trip to Disney in Orlando. We splurged and had a wonderful time, although by now it seems years ago. We will add some of our pictures and adventure stories as time goes by.

Since we bought the pop-up a few years ago, we like to squeeze in as many camping trips as our schedule allows. We have been out once this year, have another trip scheduled in a couple weeks and plan to try to fit in another two or three weekend trips yet this season. We changed towing responsibilities from the van to the truck. It doesn't have the same creature comforts, but it sure makes the driving better.

One of my short term goals is to clean up some of the old pictures and links on this site. I have had this page in several different forms since 1997. It is all hand-coded so it takes a bit more time to format than something designed with front-page or similar software. I have added a couple pictures to some of the genealogy pages. I am working on adding more pictures and adding information to the genealogy section as well.

Due to an equipment upgrade, the Little House has it's own website. The site is currently under construction. Look for an 'OPEN HOUSE' announcement soon. The site will contain an activity calendar with local interests, pictures, maps, vacancy schedule, etc. This will also free up space here!

Thanks for visiting!

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