Gilly's

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T09:10:00.003-04:00

Halloween 2010. The kids all had a blast. Morgan was an Angel of Death, Sara just wore a tshirt that said the is my halloween costume deal with it, Kenzie was a Geisha, KK was a dragon, Kaitlyn was a vampire, Hannah was a cat, Austin was Woody.

pumpkins

2010-11-01T09:01:00.004-04:00

It was weird doing pumpkins without Anthony this year. The kids still had a good time although Mommy had more work to do. Austin scooped his pumpkin and helped poke the holes to transfer the pattern but Mommy carved it. Kaitlyn picked out her pattern transfered the patteren and cut the straighter edges Mommy did all the little detail cutting.

Kaitlyn's pumpkin is the little monster. Austins is the skull.

This is Morgan's funny face pumpkin.

Not the best picture but this is all ours plus Amanda's pumpkins in the window.

leaf clean up

2010-10-31T10:40:00.004-04:00

So I started leaf clean up today, this is a picture of the front yard and as you can see from the picture of the trees not all the leaves have even fallen yet.

The kids agreed to help so that we could make trash bag spiders out of them for Halloween. Morgan and Austin helped out alot. Kaitlyn as you can see thought riding her scooter counted as helping.

These are the only two spiders we ended up making. It took us 1 hour to rake and bag the side yard and another hour to make the spiders so with the knowledge that we still had the whole front yard to do we decided we need to finish raking and bagging instead of making spiders. It was a great thought at least. Lucky for me my friend Amanda and her kids came over to help. I offered the kids $5 each to help. Morgan, Kenzie, and Hannah helped alot while Kaitlyn and KK played. Austin went back and forth between playing with the girls and running through our leaf piles.

I forgot to take an after picture when we finished because the kids were anxious to get to walmart to spend their money so I took these this morning as you can see just overnight the yard is already starting to get covered again. At least I have discovered $5 is a large motivator. Back yard still to get done and then by that time the front yard again. I am sure there will be some for Anthony when he gets back.

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Morgan's Skate night

2010-10-29T20:52:00.002-04:00

Morgan had her first unsupervised outing. Tyl middle school had a Halloween skate night at Galaxy Skate rink in Groton. She had a blast. She decided to be a Gothic Angel of Death. Thats my child for you.

Fall events

2010-10-28T08:23:00.001-04:00

This time of year is always beautiful with the leaves changing. For fall this year we have done the corn maze and an apple fair.

Kaitlyn 1st day of Kindergarten

2010-10-28T08:20:00.002-04:00

My baby girl started Kindergarten. She is so excited about everything she is going to learn this year, but I think she is even more excited about riding the bus.

Morgan's Birthday

2010-10-28T08:06:00.003-04:00

For Morgans Birthday she had a murder mystery party. Everyone had a great time dressing up and trying to change their voice. The Birthday girl got to be a bride who in the end we find out killed her father.

Kaitlyn's Graduation

2010-06-11T11:46:00.004-04:00

Kaitlyn had her graduation from preschool today. Kinda silly
since they do not finish school for another week. She was so
very proud of herself. Morgan took the pictures since I was
running the video camera so that we can send it to Daddy.

But once she walked across and got her little diploma (which
was really only a piece of blank paper) she could not figure
out what she was suppose to do with it. She started using it as
chinese finger handcuffs.

They put on a presentation to us of their abilitys through

songs and dances.

This is a picture of Kaitlyn with her best friend Montana.

Memorial Day

2010-06-11T11:35:00.005-04:00

I took the kids to the Memorial day parade. It was a good way to end a great weekend. Oh yeah I also dyed Morgan's hair teal the day before.

Gracie first haircut

2010-06-11T11:24:00.003-04:00

Gracie had her first haircut today. I wish I had gotten a before pic she looked like a wet dirty mop head. Austin let her out shortly before her appt and I spent 45 min chasing her around wet muddy lawns. I was very impressed with the groomers, although I don't think Gracie liked the bow she tried her hardest to shake it out of her hair.

kids karnival

2010-05-02T12:56:00.003-04:00

I took the kids to the kids karnival on the sub base this weekend. They had a blast.The only ride Austin could really ride was the train, unfortunately it broke down the second time he rode it.Kailtyn and her friends Hannah and Cadence really liked the motorcycles and gigantic slide. They rode both of them over and over. The slide was funny because they are all so tiny that when they would go over the bumps they would bounce up in the air. Despite the look on Kaitlyn's face she would get off and ask to go again. Morgan rode the rides with Kenzi they seemed to really like the swings, the whirlwind and this dragon mini roller coaster.

Mom and Kids

2010-03-27T21:27:00.002-04:00

As promised to my Daddy here is pictures of the kids and Grandma to show the height difference. Mom can't get over how much Morgan and Kaitlyn have grown, but personally I think she needs to be worried about how tall Austin is to her if he is only two.

Co Co Key

2010-03-27T21:04:00.003-04:00

For Kaitlyn's birthday she decided she wanted a trip instead of a "party". She originally wanted to go to Six Flags like Morgan but once I explained they were not open for the season yet she chose Co Co Key. We stayed overnight and had a blast although we were all still recovering from a stomache bug.
We went on the Lazy river alot since the water was the warmest there.
Austin got so tired mid day that he ended up taking a nap. On Grandma. Thank goodness for grandmothers
Kaitlyn was a little scared at first because a big bucket of water would dump out every ten minutes or so, but eventually she got braver and figured out a bell rang first. She did end up riding a big body slide towards the end. I felt a little bad for talking her into it because I went down after her and found out the ride was pitch black, but she was very proud of herself.

Austin on the other hand loved the slides and all we heard was "again, again" it took all of us to keep up with him.
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This is us the morning we left all trying to pile into one bed togeather. We had a blast.

Skates

2010-03-21T18:03:00.002-04:00

The kids and I spent the entire weekend outside. While I worked on doing the spring clean up the kids skated. I bought Kaitlyn a new pair of roller skates as an early birthday present and Morgan a pair of roller blades as a thank you for all the hard work she has been doing to keep everything going without Anthony here. I of course being the worried mother I am made them wear knee pads, elbow pads, writs guards and helmets but according to Kaitlyn I need to buy butt pads. They are all doing really well learing to skate. Austin is actually doing the best, but his wheels don't really turn very well.

Went Green for St. Paddys

2010-03-17T18:37:00.003-04:00

The girls wanted to dye their hair green for St. Patricks day so we used the type that you can wash out after one day. Kaitlyn's hair really does not show it very well but if the light hit just right you could tell it was green. Morgan's hair took the color a little better(all though in the begining I thought she just looked like she had been swimming a little to much.) Morgan is now trying to convince me to let her dye her hair with a 20 wash blue hair dye. I told her I would think about it for this summer.

Winter is almost over

2010-03-08T13:40:00.008-05:00

It was such a beautiful day the kids could not wait to get outside and play. After lunch Kaitlyn asked if she could go get her roller skates she got last fall. They are the type you put on over your shoes and adjust to your foot size. Only problem they didn't fit any more. She took it in stride and said Austin could have them. He loved it and only took a few spills. She decided to ride her bike next. I did not have the heart to tell her that was to small too. Maybe a new bike will be her birthday present. Austin can fit her old bike, maybe I can convince Daddy it is ok for him to ride a pink bike. Probably not much chance of that happening.

Our New Puppy

2010-02-28T16:47:00.003-05:00

Our new puppy Gracie arrived today at noon. For all involved it was love at first sight. She is doing really well adjusting to the house and is already a ball of energy. We started immediately with housebreakin and all is going well she has yet to have an accident in the house and has gone outside everytime we take her which is good since I promised Anthony she would be housebroken by the time he came back home.

I found my watch.

2010-02-22T14:01:00.003-05:00

I haven't had my watch for a couple of months. I could hear the alarm going off in the livingroom around midnight, but could never find it before it stopping. I decided to take the subwoofer apart, and found it....

....along with a bunch of other stuff Austin decided to shove in the hole. The girls never did that.

Austin's 2nd Birthday

2009-12-06T20:09:00.003-05:00

For Austins 2nd birthday we just had a small family celebration. Pasta, Presents and Cake. Once again I forgot to buy birthday wrapping paper and new tape so Anthony had to use Christmas paper and double sided tape. Austin was funny to watch unwrap presents;he removed one strip of paper at a time.

Grandma and Papa gave Austin a "Color me a Song" which he loved so much he was not interested in the other presents anymore. We actually had to carry him crying into the living room for his last present -a Big Wheel(he stopped crying immediately).

I wanted to use red and blue on Austins cake, Anthony insisted on just the red with white icing so it was Alabama colors (Go figure) but of course red icing is hard to make and I say that it is more pink than red. (Should have listened to me and just used the blue)

Christmas Parade

2009-12-06T18:56:00.004-05:00

Carintha and the kids when to this years Christmas parade while I stayed at the house to make dinner and wrap Austin's birthday presents. They took hot cocoa and cookies, but Kaitlyn said it was shorter than last year. This was the first year Morgan got to watch the parade because she normally has to be in it. She decided not to do Girl Scouts this year, so she didn't get to be in the parade.

It snowed again...

2009-12-06T14:52:00.003-05:00

Well, it's that time again. It snowed last night, and Kaitlyn and Morgan were both up early this morning to go play in it. I didn't let then go out right away though. I made them eat breakfast first.

Austin kept eating the snow, but I think he'll be okay.

Kaitlyn and Austin came in and had hot cocoa, but Morgan stayed out for a while and made a "snowgirl". I didn't think there was enough snow on the ground to make one, but she got some off the trucks and was able to make a small one.

Morgan got straight "A's"

2009-12-03T21:21:00.002-05:00

Tonight, Morgan had her award ceremony, for getting the Principal's award, for getting straight "A's" in the first trimester of the year. When she first looked at her report card, she didn't thing she made it because it had some "S's" on it, for PE and behavior. I had to mess with her a little and make her think she didn't make straight "A's" because she had some "S's", but Carintha quickly explained what they meant.

Austin is a handful!

2009-12-03T21:14:00.002-05:00

A couple of days ago, while Kaitlyn was taking a bath, Austin kept getting into the bathroom so he could play in the water. Carintha locked the bathroom door so he couldn't get in. After Kaitlyn was finished taking a bath, Carintha got her out and took her to her room to get dressed. The she heard a big SPLASH! When she went to see what it was......this is what she found.

Finally got my orders!

2009-11-06T15:46:00.003-05:00

I got my orders a couple of days ago. I'm going to the USS Annapolis. It's out of Groton, so I'm not going to have to move. They are going out for 6 months next year though. At least I get it out of the way though. I know the Chief there and he is a really good guy, so I'm not that worried about it. And if I extend for a year onboard, I'll take it to the yards. Not sure about that one. I'll just worry about the next three years and see how it goes.

Halloween

2009-11-01T07:42:00.005-05:00

This year I tried a different way of carving my pumpkin. I googled pumpkin carving and found a website with a bunch of different faces. I printed this one out and copied it. I didn't turn out too bad.

The girls made their pumpkins while Austin watched Charlie Brown. He kept putting all the seeds bad in the pumpkins, so he got destracted by cartoons while we finished. (From left to right) Morgan made a clown, then mine, then Kaitlyn's vampire girl, and then Carintha's dog with a pumpkin.

Austin couldn't stay still long enough to get pictures taken, so there aren't that many of him. Misty and her kids came over to go trick-or-treating. The neighborhood always does a pretty good job. It was supposed to rain, but it only sprinkled a little.

House Work

2009-10-25T17:45:00.002-04:00

Winter Already?!?!

2009-10-16T03:26:00.002-04:00

If this is what happens when everybody starts cutting down on their carbon-footprint, I'm going to go back to driving my Blazer everyday. It started snowing on my way home from work yesterday. I guess it wasn't really that much snow....but it's Oct. The leaves haven't even really started to fall yet. I think I might actually buy a snow blower this year if this is any sign of how the winter is going to be.

After the kids came in from playing in the snow, and warmed up a little, they started getting their Halloween stuff out. They painted ghosts....on a stick.

I'm going on a boat......maybe.

2009-09-26T03:05:00.002-04:00

Just talked to the detailer today, (Friday), and I might be going on a boat.....in Nov. That was my transfer date, but wasn't sure if I was going to have to push it out a couple of months because of my rehab for my leg. I start physical therapy on Oct 7th for six weeks. That will take me out to the end of Nov. If I'm okay by then, I should technically be able to transfer. The good news is that the boat is in Groton. That's what I wanted. We wouldn't have to move, so that is a huge plus. The down side is that it is probably leaving around Nov or Dec for a six month deployment. I haven't confirmed that yet, but I looked up when they got back from their last one, and the rotation is about right. I haven't been on a boat in over 5 years, so everything is different. Oh well. At least it's a 688 and not a Virginia. Then I really wouldn't have a clue!

First Day of School

2009-08-31T15:17:00.003-04:00

Today was the first day of school for the girls. Morgan started 5th grade this year, and Kaitlyn is going to Pre-K.

Austin got upset when Kaitlyn and Morgan went into school and he couldn't go. He's been dropping off and picking up Morgan since he was born, but I think when Kaitlyn got to go and he didn't, he got upset.

Super Kaitlyn!

2009-08-29T15:04:00.002-04:00

When the girls were at Six Flags, Kaitlyn played a game and won a cape as her prize. She's been running around the house as Super Kaitlyn ever since. It's really funny, but the cape is a little big for her. It drags the ground a little, but I don't think she cares.

Morgan and Sammy on Bizarro

2009-08-29T08:58:00.002-04:00

This is Morgan and Sammy riding Bizarro. It's actually Superman: Ride of Steel, but they repainted the track, added in-car speakers, lights, and fire. Renamed Bizarro starting this season. I really want to ride it, but not sure if we are going to make it back this year.

Scream!

2009-08-28T15:41:00.003-04:00

This is Morgan on Scream!.

Morgan's Six Flags Birthday Trip

2009-08-28T14:51:00.005-04:00

(Note 1: Carintha did the commentary on this post since I wasn't able to go.)

Yesterday was Morgan's tenth birthday. She has decided for the last three years to go to Six Flags instead of having a birthday party. This year she brought a friend to ride the roller coasters with since Anthony could not come.

The two older girls went off and rode batman while Kaitlyn and I ordered lunch.

This is a picture of the girls standing in front of the entrance to batman.

While we were waiting for the older girls to get off Mind Eraser, Kaitlyn starting getting bored so I let her use the camera. She took pictures of the ground, peoples legs, and this scooby doo balloon thingy that she liked.

This is one of the first rides the older girls rode, Kaitlyn was very upset that she was not tall enough to ride. She keeps telling me that she will be tall enough to ride it next time, maybe if we put thick soled shoes on she can (she is 2 inches too short).

Morgan likes the ride Scream!, but her friend Sammy chickened out at the last minute and did not get on. The ride shoots you up 20 stories and then drops you.

Kaitlyn is still to short to ride most actual rides and is starting to get bored of the little kid rides. She still enjoys the rides that are like driving a car around a race track.

Morgan, Sammy, and Kaitlyn love the swings. Kaitlyn is to short to ride the same swings that Morgan rides; she rides the ones in Looney Toons Town.

Morgan and Sammy wanted to ride Bizarro for a second time and the only way I would let them is if they rode some rides in Wiggles World with Kaitlyn and acted like they were having fun. It is funny to watch two tweens ride "baby rides" and try to look like they are enjoying themselves.

This is the ride Bizarro, the two older girls loved it.

In fact they loved it so much they rode it twice. We were using a flash pass so they did not actually have to stand in line, (it just held their place). Even though all the other rides were closed, and the bathrooms, we stayed one hour after the park closed so that they could ride it again in the dark. Afterwards they decided that they would never ride it in the dark again. Morgan said that between the speakers in the headrest, the fog smoke, fire, and plunging in and out darkness it was just too scary.

Morgan's "almost" 10th Birthday

2009-08-26T19:52:00.004-04:00

Morgan's 10th birthday is actually tomorrow, but we did cake and presents today. Carintha is taking the girls, and Morgan's friend Sammy, to Six Flags New England tomorrow for her birthday. Austin is staying home with me.

Morgan wanted a cheese cake instead of a birthday cake this year. Not sure why, but it's her birthday, so we got one.

Austin couldn't wait to get his piece. He loves food.....any food.

When he was done, he kept saying "Ahhhhhh" to try to get someone to feed him.

This is Morgan and Sammy.

These were from Grandma and Papaw.

She got the Hannah Montana movie.

She also got some bangles. No idea what those are, but again, she wanted them.

This was from Kaitlyn.

She picked out a lion fish webkins doll that Morgan had been asking for.

Then Austin found the box and started putting it on his head and talking into it. I guess it made a cool sound.

Sammy made Morgan a dress for her American Girl doll.

She also got her a swim suit, for her doll, from the American Girl store when she went to New York with her mom. Carintha is supposed to go out this weekend and let her pick out a bike that Grandma and Papaw are buying for her. That way she can pick it out and make sure if fits.

Painting the house

2009-07-25T16:47:00.005-04:00

This year, Carintha decided she wanted to paint the house. She has always hated the peach color so she decided to paint it a greyish color. She started on the back of the house. We borrowed a pressure washer from Josh and she cleaned the house first. Austin wanted to help, so he got his own brush on a stick.

I think he cleaned the grass more than he cleaned the house though.

She had to fill in the holes, so she used wood filler and caulk. She got caulk all over her hands and was worried it wouldn't come off. (she had to work the next day.) I gave her some of my orange hand cleaner. It came right off. It was funny to watch her freek out though!

Then she taped off the windows and doors so she could do the edging. We bought a wagner sprayer to make it go faster.

After two coats, it doesn't look that bad. Now we just have to do the other 3 sides of the house.

The Children's Museum

2009-07-11T11:42:00.005-04:00

Carintha's cousin Adam and his kids went with them to the children's museum close by.

Visiting Family in VA...

2009-07-11T11:26:00.005-04:00

Carintha took the girls down to VA to meet Grandma. The girls went to SC to stay for a few weeks. While they were in VA they went to see some of her family. The first few pics where at her Uncle Jerry's.

These were taken at Great Mamaw's. I can't believe she let the kids crawl on her like that.

Being lazy

2009-07-04T15:53:00.000-04:00

I'm not doing much for the fourth, and neither is herc. He's been asleep about all day. I almost got a video of him barking in his sleep, but since I have to hobble I made too much noise and he woke up. It was pretty funny though.

Getting ready for the trip.

2009-07-03T21:59:00.002-04:00

Carintha was getting ready for her trip to VA, but she was supposed to go to bed early. This was taken about 8, and she wanted to be in bed by 5. It never works out the way you plan though, unless you are travelling by yourself. She did leave before I though she would though. She was gone by 6 and I was betting on 8.

Being Silly.

2009-07-03T21:54:00.002-04:00

Carintha was watching "Bride Wars" last night while I was playing on facebook. I looked over close to the end and she was crying. I tried to sneek a shot, but I didn't get anything good. I don't understand the whole crying thing. Maybe I'm just a guy, but it wasn't even a sad part.....

Growing Up!

2009-06-29T13:29:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I went to get Austin up from his nap, and while I had my back turned, he decided he didn't want to wait for me. When I turned back around to get him out of his crib he was almost upside-down, trying to get out of the crib. We decided that if he was big enough to escape, then it was time to put him in the toddler bed. It is the same toddler bed that Morgan and Kaitlyn had. We have definitely gotten our money's worth out of that.

An Odd Toy

2009-06-29T13:20:00.004-04:00

Me and Austin were watching a Yankee game one day and he came in with one of my coolers. He ended up playing with it for the whole game. He used it as a chair, and then he would drag it to the other end of the room and put toys in it. I had to take it away from him when he started using it to try to climb over the gate with though.

Morgan's Graduation Party

2009-06-29T12:50:00.006-04:00

On the last day of school, Morgan invited some friends over to eat pizza and play games. Her birthday is in August, so she does an end-of-school party instead of a big birthday party. I spent most of the time downstairs doing laundry and watching movies, but I did come up for a little while to take some pictures. This was the baby food tasting game where they passed around baby food and tried to guess what it was.

Then some of the girls played with make up.....

....while the other ones played guitar hero in the living room.

They also had a contest to see who could make the best dress out of toilet paper. I don't know who won, but they all looked about the same.

KIDSBOWLFREE.COM

2009-06-27T17:00:00.002-04:00

Carintha signed the girls up for free bowling at kidsbowlfree.com last week. They get 2 free games a piece per day, every day, for a few weeks this summer. All we had to pay for were the shoes. It gives them something to do to get out of the house, and it's free. I stayed for a little while, but Austin couldn't concentrate on anything and kept wandering around. Carintha was trying to help Kaitlyn play, and with my bad leg I decided to just bring him back to the house and put him down for a nap.

Before they left to go bowling, Austin decided has was going to try to climb over the gate between the living room and kitchen. He busted the gate down, and busted his eye at the same time. He had a pretty good black eye for a day or so. The swelling has gone down, but it is still bruised a little.

Going to Fifth Grade

2009-06-18T12:13:00.004-04:00

Morgan is almost done with fourth grade. She had her graduation ceremony today at 1100. She got a couple of awards. She got one for meeting all the standards for physical fitness, one for the Honors Award for the 3rd semester, and a ribbon for participating in the chess tournament. She didn't win though. We were going to just take her home with us after it was over, but this year they are going to meet their teacher for next year. I pretty sure we always did this when I was going to school, but this is the first year they are doing it here. Morgan is having a end-of-the-school-year party today. She is having a few girls over to do girl things, so I'm going to watch movies in the basement. I'll post pictures later.

Surgery

2009-06-15T15:29:00.003-04:00

I went to see the Ortho people today. After they took the splint off and looked at it, they asked me if I could point my foot at the ground. I tried, but all I could do was point my toes. So, after squeezing my calf a few times, they decided it was a complete tear, and they will be doing surgery. I am currently scheduled for Friday the 26th, but if they can get me in sooner they will. Then I will probably be stuck at the house for about 30 days. That's how long Eddie was on leave for, so I will probably get the same thing. I'll send more pictures when I get them off my phone. It was really swollen and purple. I'm not too excited about the surgery, but at least I know what to expect.
UPDATE:
I got my pictures.

Broken

2009-06-12T16:18:00.003-04:00

Today, me and a couple of guys from the office went to play racketball. We've been doing it every day this week. Today I ruptured my left achillies tendon, partially. I guess that's better than completely. One of the guys in the office did the same thing last December, but his was a complete tear. I'm probably going to be in a cast for a month or so, and surgery is still possible. Yeah!

Kaitlyn playing the Wii

2009-05-30T15:32:00.003-04:00

I snuck up on Kaitlyn while she was playing Mario Kart. She wasn't doing bad. It works pretty good for her because it has a wheel. There aren't really any buttons for her to have to figure out.

Morgan's concert

2009-05-30T15:18:00.003-04:00

Morgan started playing trumpet this year, and this was her last concert. She played a solo, and so did her friend Sarah B.

Austin being silly

2009-05-30T14:37:00.003-04:00

Austin was playing with the clothes basket one day, and then he figured out how to climb inside of it.

He was happy for a little while. Then he couldn't figure out how to get out. So I had to help him out of it.

Morgan's Pictures

2009-05-30T14:29:00.003-04:00

Morgan likes to take pictures, so I gave her the camera last weekend to wander around and take pictures of stuff. She took these in the backyard.

Sitting around the fire

2009-05-30T14:22:00.003-04:00

Last fall, me and Erik cut down some limbs and they have been sitting in a pile in the backyard since then. I bought a chainsaw and started cutting them up into little pieces so I can burn them in the little fire pit we have. We sat out in the backyard at watched the fire and let the girls play.

Day Trip to New York

2009-05-30T13:50:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday, Carintha and Morgan took a the commuter train to New York for the day. They left here about 6 in the morning and they were in New York by 9. I stayed home with Kaitlyn and Austin mostly because I can't stand huge crowds. I've been to New York twice, and that was enough for me.

These were taken from the Empire State Building Observatory.

Morgan took a lot of pictures. This is a fountain that she found. She was standing on a bench to get a better look at it, but then some guy yelled at her to get down.

Carintha bought them tickets to see the Gazillion Bubbles show while they were there. It is done by some Japanese guy and his wife. You can find videos of it on there website and on YouTube, but she wasn't allowed to take any pictures during the show. Morgan had a good time though.

This was at the store at the Empire State Building. They had there picture taken that we could order a copy of, but it was just them superimposed on a picture of the Empire State Building. We didn't like it, so we didn't order it. They did go by the American Girl Store and got Morgan and Kaitlyn dolls. They like them, but I don't see what makes them so special.

After they got back, Carintha felt awful, so she went to the emergency room and found out that she had strep throat. It was a good thing that I had Monday off for Memorial Day, because it took her until Tuesday to feel good enough to take care of the kids.

The Bathroom Situation

2009-05-30T13:08:00.003-04:00

Ok, I know it's been a long time since I last posted anything, but this is part of the reason why. Between trying to get the work done in the yard and trying to finish the work on the upstairs, I've been pretty busy. And it seems to be the norm that any project that I start always turns out to be more that what I expected. Here is the before picture of the bathroom tub surround that I wanted to replace.

After I took the old tub surround down, I found a huge mess. They apparently had tile up before they put that surround up, so the adhesive for that was still on the wall, but it also had holes and mildew because they did a bad job of installing it.

When I got the old drywall down I found out that there wasn't any insulation in the walls. So while I had the chance, I went ahead and put insulation in.

Then I got the new walls up. I used cement board. This way I shouldn't have any problems with mildew and mold.

After I got the new walls up and did the mudding and smoothing, I painted it a darker green color than what we used last time. The last color we used looked like the inside of a submarine. It was the same sea foam green color. I still have to finish painting the rest of the bathroom the new color, but that shouldn't take that long.

Kaitlyn's 4th Birthday

2009-03-28T16:46:00.005-04:00

Today is Kaitlyn's 4th birthday. She had her birthday party at the playplace at the McDonald's in Colchester. Me and Austin stayed at home so we could put together her Barbie Jeep. It was supposed to be a surprise, so it has been in our bedroom for the last few days.

This is Bradley. He belongs to a guy that I used to work with.

This is Andrew, his older brother. They are good people.

This is Andrew again. Morgan was taking the pictures, so there are a lot of him.

This is Megan. Her sister and Morgan go to Girl Scouts together, so Kaitlyn gets to see Megan and Timmy then.

Kaitlyn got to sit in the "It's my birthday" chair, for obvious reasons.

She opened her cards and presents....

...and then it was time for cake. Then the battery on the camera died.

This is what I was doing most of the time they were gone. The box said 60 minutes. I don't think that was very accurate. It was closer to 2 hours. An hour to put the body together, and an hour for someone as meticulous as me to put all the stickers on...STRAIGHT.

I left the "windshield" and "roll bar" detached so I could get it out the back door. (One of my good ideas for this year.) I put it in her room until they got home, and then she went to her room to give the me batteries for the radio. I figured she would see it when see opened the door, but she almost ran into it trying to get to me. It took her a minute to realize what it was.

After we got it outside and fully assembled, she got in and rode it for about 5 feet. Then she got out and said she didn't want to ride it anymore. She just needed to warm up to it. After a while she started giving Austin and Sadie rides around the back yard.

I made board!!!

2009-03-17T14:53:00.002-04:00

Ok, I know it is a little early to start celebrating, but it is a big step anyway. I took the Chief's exam back in January, and I found out today that I made board. So now I have to look at my record and make sure that everything is accurate so that when the board convenes in May, that when that look and my package it has everything that is supposed to be there. That being said, I'm not going to get my hopes up to high since it is my first time up. But, what that does mean, is that I can also put in my LDO package in October this year. As much as I would like to make Chief, my ultimate goal is to make LDO. It would open up a lot more ports that I could be stationed at, and the pay isn't bad either.

10 Years

2009-03-13T16:42:00.003-04:00

So me and Carintha have been married for 10 years now. We didn't do much on our actual anniversary on Friday because she has a real job and had to work until 6 or so. We, I, made reservations at the Craftsteak restaurant at Foxwoods MGM Grand for Saturday. It was a little expensive, but work the extra money. We had a great time, and probably won't do it again for another 10 years. No pictures though. She got me the drum set for Guitar Hero though. I played it at Momo's house when I was on my "vacation." I don't have any pictures of me, but I did get a couple of Katilyn "playing." Morgan has started playing too. She's actually not bad.

Alabama

2009-03-03T15:45:00.004-05:00

After we left Grandma's house last Wednesday, we went to see my people in Alabama. Kaitlyn watched movies on my PSP while Austin took a nap. She doesn't know what "be quiet" means, so I had to distract her with something until he was asleep.

We went over the Kenny and Pam's house for wings one night. Angie and Michael came with their kids. Austin and Anna Beth became instant "friends." Michael said that Anna Beth probably thought he was a big baby doll for her to play with. She fed him from the table.

And she tried to put his socks on him, and later Kaitlyn's pink boots.

Then she tried to give him a pacifier. Austin has never taken a pacifier. He usually just spits it out.

But boys will do anything to impress a girl I guess.

Then all the girls got him down on the floor and started tickling him. Hopefully he doesn't loose his charm as he gets older:)

At Grandma's house

2009-02-25T19:58:00.004-05:00

After Momo's house, we stopped by Grandma's house. We are leaving to go to Alabama early in the morning. This was taken just after we finished dinner while I was getting everything ready to go back in the car. I am slowly collecting things as we go. So far we can still fit everything in the car, but I'm only half-way done with the trip.

Going to Charles Towne Landing

2009-02-24T21:15:00.005-05:00

Today we went to Charles Towne Landing. We didn't get there until about 3:15, so we didn't have a lot of time to wander around. We basically just went to see the animals and then it was time to go home.

It wasn't too cold, but we still put the kids jackets on because we were going to be out there for a few hours.

Most of the time Kaitlyn was in her stroller being pushed by Grandma, but I was able to steal her away for a little while and took a picture of it.

Grandma was the only one allowed to push her!

This was in the Visitor's Center before we started. I don't remember this place, but a lot of it has changed since 1999.

When we got the the bathrooms, Kaitlyn couldn't pass it up. She likes to go the bathroom's just to see what they look like.

Me and Austin waited outside.

I still like the Otter's the best, but I only saw one.

Getting the windows tinted

2009-02-24T20:55:00.006-05:00

I looked up a tint guy in the Yellow Pages, when I got the Summerville, and found a Mobile Tint guy that would come to the house. He tinted all the windows on the car in about 2 hours and did a pretty good job. I checked it a few hours after and the back window still has some bubbles at the top, but they are going away as it drys, but it does have a nationwide lifetime warranty so it doesn't really matter. If it "breaks," they will fix it. I'm a big believer in before and after pictures, so that's what I did.

At Momo's House

2009-02-24T20:48:00.004-05:00

The first stop on our trip was to Momo's house. She had just bought the drum set for Guitar Hero and Austin and mary were playing with the box.

After a while he decided he didn't like it anymore and wanted out.

Kaitlyn got her ear's pierced (again)

2009-02-15T13:16:00.004-05:00

Back when Kaitlyn was two years old, she wanted to get her ear's pierced. Carintha took the girls to get them done. They did one ear at a time, and it took them about 45 minutes to get Kaitlyn to let them pierce the second ear. She wouldn't let anyone come close to her ears to turn them because she was afraid it would hurt. Some days it was even hard to get her to let you brush her hair. Eventually we had to just pull the ear rings out and let the hole grow up. So yesterday, I was just joking with her and asked if she wanted to get her ear's pierced again. She said she wanted to. So while Carintha and the girls were at the mall, they stopped by Claire's and got Kaitlyn's ears pierced. She didn't fight or squirm. She didn't even cry this time. And it has been no problem cleaning and turning them.

Carintha's Car

2009-02-15T13:02:00.004-05:00

The last time we bought Carintha a vehicle, we decided that it was going to be my turn next time. But, I gave in and bought her something smaller to drive everyday in order to save on gas. The next one is going to be mine though.

My (short) trip to Vermont

2009-02-12T17:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, me and Erik went up to Vermont to pick up a '55 Jeep that he bought. When we got off the interstate I looked over and saw a bunch of outhouses in an empty field. Erik, being from Maine, proceeded to tell me they were not outhouses, but ice shanties on a lake. You don't see that too much back home, so I made him take a picture so I could post it. I wanted to get a picture of the "moose crossing" signs, but we were too slow to get the camera out, and I wasn't stopping. We left about 1 pm and I didn't get home until about midnight, after dropping it off at his house and driving home. I love road trips, and now I can say I've been to Vermont. Now I've been to every state in New England.....at least for a few hours anyway.

Read the User's Manual

2009-02-08T14:27:00.004-05:00

OK. For the last couple of months I've been comparing my TV to my friends and have been a little dis-satisfied with the quality of picture. Today I was looking at the owner's manual and it says specifically, if you noticed the picture darken, consult a TV repair man to clean the interior. Well, I'm not going to call someone to come fix my TV, so I took the back off to see what I could do. I've vacuumed it out before, but this time I noticed something else. Mostly the huge amount of dust on the projector len's. I was very careful and vacuumed the inside and wiped off the lens. Huge difference. I usually can't stand to watch TV with the living room curtains open, but now I can see the TV. It's amazing what you can do when you read the manual!

Carintha's accident

2009-02-05T19:06:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Feb 4th, 2009, Carintha came on base to take Austin the see the doc. She was going to drop Kaitlyn off with me at the office and then pick her up after the appointment. She was on her way out of the parking lot waiting to pull out. I was headed into the building, and then I heard a crash. The first thing that came to my mind was....was that her. I didn't see it. All I heard was the noise. By the time I looked over, everyone had stopped. Then I saw her backing up. I went over to see if everything was okay. You couldn't even tell she had hit anything. I can't say the same about the little car she ran into. The rear passenger's side door and rear quarter-panel got dented pretty good. But, after she called the insurance company, they said that since we've had them for almost 10 years and never filled a claim, this one wouldn't change anything. She does have to go see Judge Judy on base about her ticket though. (I forgot, she was in the Expedition, not the Fusion. Even better.)

Carintha's 31st Birthday

2009-02-03T14:25:00.004-05:00

Carintha's 31st Birthday was yesterday. She had to work and didn't get home until after 5, so she took the girls to get pizza and we did presents and cake after. I got her the car for her birthday, and she almost killed me when I said I wasn't going to give her the keys until her birthday. Me and Morgan went out after she got out of school to get Carintha a couple of other things.

Morgan made her a couple of "coupons" to use to get things, like time to herself among other things.

Morgan also gave her a candy bar that she bought at daycare, a candle that she got from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and a ticket to a East Lyme High School basketball game. Not sure where that come from.

Kaitlyn made her a card at daycare, but she forgot to bring it home.

I got her one of those massage things that you put in the chair. We were fighting over who was going to use it first. I thought I should get to use it so I could see if it worked like the one in the store. I lost though.

Then, after the girls got ready for bed, we did cake and ice cream. Probably not the best time to give them sugar, but it all worked out.

The Dishwasher Installation.

2009-01-20T16:42:00.003-05:00

After Carintha started working, the dishes were the last thing that either one of us wanted to do. This is the first house I've lived in that didn't have a dishwasher since I lived in Georgetown. We even had one in Guam! So I got Carintha a dishwasher for Christmas. Actually, she picked it out on Christmas. We went to Home Depot and I wandered around while she played with them. They shipped it to the house on Jan 3rd. The installation wasn't that bad, but the cabinets had to be modified in order to get it in there. Since we are going to have cabinets put in later, I wasn't too worried about tearing into the cabinets. I just started taking things apart, and eventually it all started coming together. I didn't take a before picture, but this is close. This was after I took the doors and the counter off.

This is where the dishwasher is going. And yes, I made sure to turn of the power and water before starting.

I took out the garbage disposal and junction box so I could add a GFCI outlet. I ordered a power cord for the dishwasher that was going to plug into it. I also had to cut the bottom of the cabinet out. I only had to widen it about 5 inches, but it took a good bit of work to do it.

I basically just relocated the pieces of the cabinet, so I was very careful taking everything apart so it could be reused.

I put the dishwasher in and ran the water and electric. Then all I had to do was put everything back together.

I put the counter and sink in. I had to redo the plumbing because one of the junctions broke, but that wasn't too hard.

Then I had to cut the cabinet door to fit the smaller hole. I don't want to do it again, but it went better than I thought it would.

Morgan playing in the snow.

2009-01-19T16:57:00.003-05:00

This started with Morgan and Kaitlyn trying to build a snowman. The snow was too dry and wouldn't stick together. Kaitlyn got frustrated and came in the house. Morgan stayed out to play on the hill.

She wasn't doing too bad actually. She made a little trail at the bottom of the hill so she would slide further.

I tried to get a picture of her jumping in the air and landing on her boogie board, but this was as close as I could get to it.

The girls playing in the snow, again.

2009-01-19T16:45:00.003-05:00

We have been getting a lot of snow this year, so Carintha bought the girls some boogie boards to play with in the snow. She took them Morgan's school to play with them the other day, but Austin was asleep this time, so they just played in the backyard.

Kaitlyn wasn't too good at getting up the hill. Mostly because it was ice underneath the snow, but Morgan helped her up.

Austin has learned how to climb

2009-01-19T16:36:00.001-05:00

I was sitting in Austin's room using the computer the other day and when I turned around, this is what I found. As far as I know, this is the first time he has decided to climb on anything. Later that day I found him on top of a box of diapers too.

More snow

2009-01-12T19:25:00.004-05:00

This was the begining of the storm we had that we got about a foot of snow out of. The girls had a good time playing in it, but I'm tired of snow. I hate having to shovel it all. Kaitlyn only stays outside for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then she gets wet and cold and she wants to come in. It takes longer to get her ready to go outside than she actually stays outside.

Austin can walk now

2009-01-12T16:58:00.003-05:00

Austin has been walking for a few weeks, but he has finally got to where he doesn't fall every couple of steps.

Grandma's Big Toe

2009-01-11T16:04:00.003-05:00

Sometime while everyone was here for Christmas we played "Cranium." Morgan, Grandma, and Papaw were on a team, and Me, Carintha, and Aunt Dina were on a team. At some point during the game, Morgan's team had to have someone draw a predetermined thing, with there eyes closed, and have the rest of her team guess what it was. I thought that would be pretty hard, but Grandma did a good job; even though her foot had six toes! (It was a supposed to be a Big Toe.)

Austin's Horse

2009-01-11T15:43:00.004-05:00

Austin got a horse from Grandma and Papaw, but he wouldn't touch it while they were here. He finally warmed up to it a couple of days ago.

Kaitlyn likes it too.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-11T14:55:00.004-05:00

We staying in CT again for Christmas this year. Carintha's parents and her sister came up again, but this time they took the train, and stayed for about a week. This year it was Aunt Dina's turn to be sick, but we made it through okay. I like to drag Christmas out, but we were finished opening presents about lunch time. I was the first one to wake up, but Carintha wouldn't let me get up because the kids were still asleep. We also have watched "A Christmas Story" every Christmas since 1999, so that was playing in the backgroung most of the day. This is Morgan sitting with Papaw to open her present from Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn got a princess dress-up costume from Aunt Momo. She wore it the rest of the time we opened presents.

Morgan and Kaitlyn got a Wii from Santa. I think I play it more than they do, but they will grow into it.

Morgan got a "talking" parrot that you program at first, but it will learn things as time goes by.

Kaitlyn got "Horton Hears a Who" from Aunt Dina. I think it is a very good movie, if you haven't seen it yet.

After we opened a few presents, Austin was confined to his high chair to avoid him getting into everything. He got his first football. It is small and green, but a football.

Kaitlyn got a Leapster game, and was very greatful, but she hadn't opened her Leapster yet, so I'm not sure if she knew exactly what it was. But she has been playing with it at least once a day ever since.

Papaw got a cordless grill thermometer. (It was my idea.) That should go good with the "flying b" brander that he got from Aunt Dina.

Grandma got a few DS games to keep her busy when everyone is driving her crazy. Aunt Dina almost got druged on the trip up here.

It snowed again...

2008-12-21T14:06:00.003-05:00

Friday it started snowing at about 1:00. It didn't stop until late that night. It snowed about 8 inches or so. Carintha had to work this weekend, so we all took her to work because Morgan had a swimming party to go to that afternoon. That was cancelled though. They didn't want people trying to drive in the snow. It wasn't supposed to snow today, but it did. About another 2 or 3 inches. We have shoveled the driveway about 6 times now in the last 3 days. At least it wasn't that cold today. I was about 16 degrees yesterday, but today it's only 32 degrees.

Not Approved by the Naval Safety Center!

2008-12-17T16:46:00.005-05:00

Ok, those of you who don't know, Carintha's dad works for the Navy as a civilian. He works at the Weapons Station in Goose Creek, SC as an OSHA safety inspector. Morgan went to SC for the summer last year. I'm not sure exactly when these were taken, but I do know that we had to watch training at work, provided by the Naval Safety Center, that had pictures of people who had accepted hitchhikers while on a riding lawnmower. I just thought it was really ironic that a Navy Safety guy would be doing one of the things "they" told us not to.

http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/

The Girls at Mohegan Park Summer 2007

2008-12-17T16:23:00.002-05:00

I was going through some things downstairs and found these pictures from last summer. These are of the girls playing at Mohegan Park in Uncasville. It's about 30 minutes from here, but it's a nice, quiet park where they can run around for a while.

Acrid Odor....

2008-12-16T15:51:00.003-05:00

Ok, there are only a couple of people that read my blog that will get the meaning of "acrid odor..." so I'll explain. On the boat, or ship if you are one of those guys, just before a fire is called away, "Acrid odor in ________." usually preceeds the fire. Well, there was an acrid odor in the house this morning. I was in the shower and Carintha was making breakfast, but someone had left the light on in the bedroom. (Not me) We don't have an overhead light, so we have two spot lights that I used to use on the entertainment center that we use for lights. (See the first picture.) Somehow, Morgan's sweater that Carintha bought for her Christmas Musical tomorrow ended up on top of one of the lights. When I got out of the shower, I smelled an "acrid odor." I went to the kitchen thinking that maybe she had burned breakfast, but I didn't smell it there. I came back to the hallway and I could smell it again. I went to Austin's room where the computer is. Nothing there either. Then I went into our room. It was slowly filling with smoke. Since the sweater was made of wool it didn't really catch on fire, it just burned in one spot. (See the second picture.) No damage done though. Just have to go buy a new sweater for tomorrow.

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-13T14:09:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, the girls and Michaela went to the Oakdale Fire Department to have breakfast with Santa. Austin was taking his morning nap so he stayed with me. They got their pictures made, but my scanner isn't hooked up right now so I'll add it later. They were they for a few hours and apparently ate a good bit. Morgan came home not feeling well because of it. Everything worked out though and she still went to her parade later that day.

Austin's First Haircut?

2008-12-09T20:28:00.003-05:00

I gave Austin his first haircut tonight. I couldn't stand the shaggy look he had, so I took out my clippers that I use when I'm on the boat and gave him a trim. Nothing major, just a little of the top and cleaned up the sides. The first two are of him chewing on the hair brush.

These are after I was finished. Carintha was holding him the whole time, and I had to snap my fingers to get him to look in the other direction so I could cut the other side, but over all I don't think it went too bad. I think he looks a lot better.

And if not, it will grow back....so it doesn't really matter anyway.

Morgan's Christmas Parade

2008-12-07T18:11:00.002-05:00

Morgan had her Christmas parade today. I think she is about ready to stop doing them. Every year she complains about it being too cold. This year they all dressed up as snow"people". This is the only picture I have because Carintha didn't take the camera with her.

It snowed today!

2008-12-07T17:38:00.003-05:00

I got up this morning a little after 6 and looked out the window. I couldn't tell right away, but after I looked out the kitchen window to the back yard I could really tell. It snowed about 2 inches. Michaela spent the night last night, and when Kaitlyn woke up and looked outside she had to let everyone else know that it had snowed. She ran out into the livingroom and said "Mommy it snowed!" Kaitlyn has been asking if it snowed last night for the last couple of months. It finally did. So at about 7:30 they asking to go out and play in the snow. We got them all bundled up and they went out and played for a while in the first snow of the season.

Austin's First Birthday

2008-12-07T17:16:00.004-05:00

December 6th 2008 was Austin's first birthday. We didn't have a lot of people over, just Jamie and his family. He had a football cake. Very appropriate, I think, since it was also the same day as the SEC Championship game between Alabama and Florida. It was a great game, but Alabama lost. The first time since 2007. Anyway, here are some pictures from the birthday party. Kaitlyn had to help him blow out the candles. He didn't really know what to do. That will come in time I'm sure.

We gave him his own cupcake at the table, but then we decided he should probably put it on his highchair, so we moved him. He cried a little, but then when we gave his cake back he was ok.

Joseph had to put the cupcake in Austin's mouth before he would try to eat it. I'm not sure what the problem was. He eats anything else you put in front of him with no problems!

He eventually figured it out.

Then it was present time. He made a mess, so we striped him down to his diaper.

At first all he wanted to do was beat on the boxes. We had to help him unwrap them. He was happy with the boxes. That would have been cheaper anyway.

Grandma and Papaw sent him a Little People AIRPLANE.

Morgan got him a stuffed Panda bear, and Kaitlyn got him some bath toys. He also got a Leap Frog centipede from Jamie, and a walk-behind thing to help him start walking.

Morgan's Poem

2008-11-28T10:47:00.003-05:00

This was Morgan's Black and Orange poem that she had to do for school.

Austin can stand up

2008-11-28T10:19:00.003-05:00

This is Austin after I gave him a bath and got him ready. He has been standing up by himself for about a week now, but every time I tried to get a picture he would just plop down and stare at me. He's not walking yet, but I'm sure that won't be far off.

The Girls "Sleep-over"

2008-11-28T10:12:00.004-05:00

We where all downstairs a couple of nights ago and appearently I mentioned having a sleepover. So the night before Thanksgiving, the girls all moved to the livingroom and watched movies. Carintha slept on an air mattress and didn't sleep very well.

Ashley's funeral

2008-11-25T12:09:00.003-05:00

I took these in 2005 at Joseph "Cooter" Ashley's funeral. He was the guy on the San Fran that died after they ran aground on their way to Austrailia. I had known him ever since he got to the boat and we were good friends. He was buried at the family plot in West Virginia. Of the 26 crew members that showed up the this funeral, only 4 were still stationed on the boat. The rest of us had been stationed on the boat with him and we travelled from CT, VA, GA, and a couple of other states I'm not sure of. We just started calling each other and met there the day before the funeral. I was supposed the be on the boat at that time, but thank God, I got off six months early!

This was what the San Fran looked like after it hit the mountain. Cooter flew about 30 feet forward and hit the propulsion lube oil tank. He didn't die directly from his injuries. It was actually when they tried to do the medevac through the bridge hate that he suffucated.

In Austin's room

2008-11-24T20:35:00.003-05:00

I took these in Austin's room earlier tonight. He doesn't spend much time in there unless someone else is in there. He likes to be in the middle of everything. Carintha just got him a toy box for his room. I'm sure that will get filled up after his birthday and Christmas. He likes to play with cars so that gives me and him something to play with. I still have my "Dukes of Hazzard" cars, but they are replicas. I used to play with them so much that I rubbed the paint off of them.

How Kaitlyn spends her evenings, most nights.

2008-11-24T20:22:00.002-05:00

This is how Kaitlyn spends her evenings, and sometimes her afternoons. I log into Netflix.com and she watches "Caillou" on the computer. She climbs up on the back of the couch and lays for about an hour and a half until it's over. I don't remember when it started, but she's been doing this for a couple of months at least.

Morgan at Spanish Steps in Guam

2008-11-18T21:30:00.001-05:00

Strange looking picture of Morgan when we were coming back from the beach in Guam. She looks a lot older than she was for some reason. She was about 4 and some change.

No surgery for me. (Yet)

2008-11-17T19:28:00.006-05:00

After driving 6 1/2 hours to Bethesda, MD, only getting 5 hours of sleep in a strange bed with hard pillows, and getting up early to have my eyes examined, I was turned away. Apparently my cornea is 50 microns too thin to do either the LASIK or PRK surgery. 500 microns is the minimum. I came in at about 448. They said they could do it, but if they messed it up, there was no possibility that they could fix it. Not good enough odds for me. Not a big deal, I can still get the toric implants later if I want to, but I think I will keep wearing contacts for a while. Maybe next time I am on shore duty I will try again. I left about 1100 from MD and made it back to CT about 1800. Not bad time considering I drove during the day through NY.

Austin's Bump

2008-11-16T10:32:00.006-05:00

Austin was playing in the living room with the girls and he found the candlestick holders that sit on the window sill. Well, he grabbed one and pulled it over on himself. It's hard to see in the picture, but the reddish circle above his left eye is actually a pretty big bump. I couldn't get a profile shot because I can't get him to not look at the camera. Carintha and the kids on on their way to the doctor's office just to make sure he's okay. I'm still getting ready for my trip to Maryland, but should be leaving about 1200 or so.

Austin asleep in his high chair.

2008-11-13T20:44:00.002-05:00

Tonight after we at dinner, Carintha left me and the little kids at home while she took Morgan to Girl Scouts. Kaitlyn was playing with Morgans' DS, and I was on the phone with my sister. When I came back in the kitchen this is what I found. I wish I could fall asleep so easily!

Written by my Uncle, Kenny Avery...

2008-11-12T21:36:00.001-05:00

Saying a fond farewell to a local legend:
Austin Avery

By: Kenny Avery

When country music fans both young and old, sit around spinning tales of their favorite stars, the names Roy Acuff, Benny Martin, Curly Box and Charlie Daniels are bound to come spilling off someone’s lips.And most knowing country music fans worth their price in ticket money to the Grand Ole Opry will suddenly realize that these names are all synonymous with fiddle-playing.To the city dwellers, and unknowing country music fanatic, a fiddle is known by the name: violin. Again, true, knowing country music fanatics know that a fiddle is an humble-spirited instrument that’s mostly played with callused hands. Hands that have paid their share of dues and have had their share of having the brass ring sliding from their deserving hands when it came time to reach for it on the carousel of life.Hamilton, Alabama resident Austin Avery is no stranger to country music. Or the fiddle. Or to callused hands made that way from years of manual, low-paying labor and too, having ‘the brass ring’ slide out of his hands when it came to reach and grab his share of gusto from the one-way trip called life.Avery, 89, now passed from this world, would sometimes recall the first time he actually held a fiddle in his hands. “I was cutting up so much that my mother handed me my dad’s fiddle and set me in the middle of their big bed complete with mattress stuffed with goose feathers and told me to occupy myself.”Avery was seven years of age when this life-changing event happened and from that moment on it was a relationship (he and the fiddle) that would endure for the remainder of his life.Austin came from a big family, six in all, that farmed the land for their living in Hamilton in the Marion County’s infancy.Austin was the only boy in his family of his parents, James and Ida Belle Avery and sisters, Ludie, Etta, Evie, and Arvilla.“I never thought much about being the only boy in a houseful of sisters--we all played games and got along pretty good when my dad didn’t have us working in the fields or something else to keep us from being idle.” Avery recalled.But it was Avery’s love for the fiddle that kept him out of teen mischief as he would steal away by himself and practice one song at a time until he had mastered the song and then he would find another song as a challenge to his eager mind and fingertips.As Avery explained, “Not everyone can be a fiddle player. It takes a world of patience and an ability to accept failure often.”As he grew older and more experienced, he found himself entering fiddling contests in the area of New Hope, a small community near Hamilton.He won first place in several fiddling contests and attributed his talent of fiddling to, as he is quick to say, “The Good Lord.”Austin Avery was more than just another fiddle player. Far more. I personally have watched his life over the years and watched him excel in various occupations--auto mechanic, carpentry, brick laying, machinist, and a farmer. All of these occupations were all self-taught. Austin did not hold walls of certificates of higher learning from various colleges and teaching institutions.Austin had a very valuable gift: knowing how to live life and know what to do when it came time for him to do something either for his family or a neighbor.During his 89years, Austin has seen his family grow into housefuls of kids, grandchildren, and great grandchildren at Christmas and birthdays. And during any given holiday gathering someone is bound to say “Paw paw, get out your fiddle and play us a tune.” And he did on many occasion as he would get out his fiddle and play with a pure, natural style with that would make Roy Acuff, the Dean of the Grand Ole Opry and Charlie Daniels, who fiddled the devil out of Georgia turn green with envy as his fiddle bow caressed the strings to tunes like “Billy in The Low Ground,” “Sally Goodin,” and “Uncle Penn” come to life.Avery, who long-since retired from work both public and private, was simply content to enjoy day-to-day life with his only love, Mary Dean Lee Avery in their quaint home in Hamilton, Alabama.But ever so often, someone like Eugene Taylor, another Hamilton fiddler, years younger than Austin, will drop by for a Saturday evening jam session in Austin’s living room.Granted, Austin would not have made his home in Hamilton if with his talent for fiddling, he would have made a good living in the early 50’s playing with bands at state fairs and rural concerts. And possibly tasted fame in Nashville as a solo artist.But he made a sacrificial choice between pursuing his dream of fame in fiddling or just working to see that his family’s needs were met and to make sure his children were raised right before they left home for lives of their own.Austin seen his share of trouble and adversity in his 89 years of living and he has enjoyed numerous days with joyful events, but one thing has remained a constant in Austin Avery’s life: his fiddle playing.I say, with all love and respect, that I watched Austin’s life over the past 89 years and how he slowed down on doing some things that we all take for granted.That’s how life is. I should know Austin well.Austin is my dad.And I am proud of him.Austin left us on September 25, 2006 and he left me with one question: How do you properly say farewell to a legend?You don’t.If you have any sense, you will learn to appreciate them while they travel through your life.Because legends are like shadows, they are here and gone before you know it.

Who Austin got his name from...

2008-11-12T20:58:00.004-05:00

Austin got his middle name from my Great-grandfather, Austin Avery. This was taken when we brought Morgan to Alabama to meet everyone in Alabama the summer after she was born.

This one was taken in December 1987. I'm assuming it was when we did Christmas at their house that year.

Me after bootcamp...

2008-11-12T20:55:00.003-05:00

I have no idea who took this picture, but this was my barracks room when I was going through Subscol in July 1999. They have completely renovated this building now and it doesn't look anything like this anymore.

Lots of Leaves!!

2008-11-11T15:36:00.003-05:00

I spent from about 10:00 this morning until about 3:00 this afternoon raking the front yard. Carintha had taken the kids to the store and got home about 12:00, so obviously the girls had to play in the leaves when they saw the pile. It didn't really matter, the wind was doing more damage than they were.