Rug Aquired

We went out and bought the rug. First stop was Home Depot. We were not impressed. Then we hit up Lowe's and finally decided on the rug in the picture. Stacy and I liked it and the boys bought into the choice when I told them that it had race tracks on it to drive cars on. I'm clever like that. So clever. I should be given an award for be smart enough to outsmart a 4 year old and a 6 year old.
Then we had to put it down, which was not an easy task considering I had to lift the lofts as Stacy pulled the rugs under neath, all the while I had to stand in the way of where the rug was to go, since that was necessary to lift the excessive weight...dang, who designed these heavy things anyway? It was not fun, but we finished. Tomorrow we have to get the rest of the room straight, but for now, the floor is covered. Step 1 of two complete.

The Lofts

On January 1st I took on a new project; build the kids loft beds with built in armoires and build in book shelves. It was quite the project. See the finished product here: Alex's bed and Jackson's bed. That alone is not THE story, although it is a story. One that I'll surely tell at some point because that project drug on for quite some time...but I digress.
A few months after completion of the beds, Alex fell and broke a bone in his foot, which required a cast for 3 week. This is yet another story that I'll skip for now. He had fallen, not out of the top of the bed (thank God), rather off of the ladder when he decided to climb down in the middle of the night. He hadn't gotten very far when he lost his grip and fell to the floor. At that point we decided an improved loft was needed, thus I added the black handles that you see near the top of the ladder. We assumed that the improved ladders would dissuade any further falls...and it did, for a while.
Last night, in the middle of the night we were awoken by a thud, followed by Alex's cries. We bolted into the kids' room to find him holding his feet. That was quite an "oh shit"moment. It didn't take long to figure out the he was okay (thank God again). He had jarred his foot, his hand and had a little bump on his head, but I'm pretty sure he hadn't landed on his head. Anyway, we got him back to bed, and then this morning checked on him again and all was well.
Back to the lofts. When we had checked on him, I had fleeting thoughts of tearing the lofts down. Regardless of money wasted on the project, any amount is not worth risking their safety if the loft remains a hazard. Like I said, it was a fleeting thought. Both Stacy and I began brainstorming about ways to "fix" the situation. Here is what we came up with:
(1) Padding. We have hard woods in there. That is not a forgiving surface should they fall agin. Stacy suggested a rug to cover the floor in their room. It will not only look better, but would offer a small amount of padding should they misstep again. Surely we will put down an extra pad underneath the rug as well, so that will help. We're going run shopping tonight.
(2) We've been concerned about the opening around the ladder. From the ladder to the foot of the bed there is an opening, albeit small, where they technically COULD roll off of the top of the bed. Of course that has not happened. The problem has been during the climb, but it is still an issue that we can avoid. Also, the climb itself can be made easier with more handles, larger steps and an extension to go higher. I have decided to redesign that small part of the loft project; to build new ladders that are more sturdy, which extend up higher, not only to the bottom of the mattress, but up above the mattress all the way to the railings. Also, the top of the ladder will join with the railings (requiring me to tear down the existing railings on that side) offering more to hold on to at the top. In addition, I will include handles all the way up to the top and down to the floor. I plan to avoid the metal handles this time, by carving handles into the front of the rise of the ladder. To do this, I'm going to choose 2x6s rather than 2x4s to provide the extra area needed to carve out holes for handles.
I think the redesign, plus the carpeting should really reduce the chances of any more injuries. Of course, in the middle of the night, half asleep, it will still be possible to clumsily fall, but I believe the chances of anything more than a little bruise are really diminished as compared to our current setup.
I'll post pictures of the new room with rug and of the newly designed lofts when construction is completed. Wish us luck with this one!

A House is a Work in Progress

We paint more than anyone I know. If a few months have gone by with no major project, we fill that void by painting or repainting a room. The most recent (and current) painting project: our dining room. Previously, we had painted the room a deep shade of red. I really liked the color, but the room was always a little dark, so I was up for change when Stacy mentioned the desire to repaint. We picked out a yellow from lowes, that is actually a dual color. The plan is to use rag rolling; which entails one solid base of one color of yellow and a lighter shade rag rolled over it. I cant wait to see how it turns out. Currently we are one coat away from being done with the base color.
Before painting, I decided to make the project a little bigger than most of our painting jobs. Since the day we first saw our house, the one thing that I hated was the ear sores that are our non-working heat registers. Many of our rooms have these things along 2 walls. I hate them. They take up room, keep furniture pushed away from the wall, the look awful and in my mind are perfect homes for millions of roaches!
I chose to rip them out myself. I was a little concerned because those heat registers are typically of two types. One type is electric and I dont like the idea of messing with wiring. The other type is heated by water. It turns out that our house contained the water variety. You could see the water pipes going into the floor. I crawled under the house (which I hate doing) only to find out very good news. I had intended to do some plumbing to cap off the pipes and cut them off to remove the eye sores. What I found was that at some point over the years, someone had already removed the part from underneath the house. The pipes going into the floor just ended hanging halfway to the ground, not connected to anything. That was great news. I climbed back out of the dungeonous crawl space of my house and went up stairs and ripped the registers off the walls, exposing a mix of plaster and wood....mainly wood. Then I used an entire gallon of spackling preparing the area for painting. As I already mentioned, we are now in the painting phase. Still to go are the rag rolling phase and then laying the base and toe molding.
So far, it has gone really well. Hopefully the project will continue to go smoothly.
Oh, and now that I have removed the registers from one room, I only have 6 rooms to go.... ugh, not fun to think about but taking it one room at a time wont...or shouldn't be that bad. Wish me luck!

Back to normal life

Vacation is over. It took no time to get back to the grind. To be honest, normalcy was restored, not by work, but by food. The first day back, we hit up Moe's. The next day a visit to Red Robin finished off the transition back to Columbia. If you know me well, you know that I love these two places. After knocking a visit to each of these off the list, a transition back to work was not bad at all!

Favorites:
At Moes:
My Overachiever Combo (2 soft chicken or beef tacos, loaded down with toppings, a side of queso, and 3 cups of salsa infused with hot sauce.) On occassion I'll change it up with a Beef and Black Bean Homewrecker....man I love to eat!

At Red Robin: I haven't had anything bad, but the best by far has to be the Bleu Ribbon Burger (crumbled blue cheese, onion straws, lettuce, tomato, chipotle mayo, and an onion bun), with either french fries or preferably onion rings. I'm getting fatter just thinking about. Did I mention I love to eat?!

What a Joker (times 2)

Over vacation there were 2 items in pop culture that I thought were great.

First was a moment during the ESPYS. The entire show was pretty good. Justin Timberlake was actually a really good host. He, as well as much of the rest of the show was very entertaining, but nothing during the night compared the Male Athlete of the year award. The nominees were Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Alex Rodriguez. To me it was a toss up between Kobe and Tiger. I, unlike most people I know, actually really like Kobe. I was hoping he would win, but who could really be upset by a Tiger Woods win. After all, the guy took down the field at the US Open with the use of one leg, no arms, and while wearing a full body cast. Ok, that is a bit of a stretch, but he did play injured and pushed through for the win. It was amazing. For his efforts, the ESPN voters bestowed unto him the coveted Male Athlete of the Year Award. The award’s acceptance speech was the highlight of the night…. In Tiger’s Absence, Will Ferrell stepped up to the mic and had the place rolling when he accepted the award, not in place of Tiger, but as Tiger. He went on to tell how he was conviced that he really is the greatest athlete alive. Of course he said it a way that only Will Ferrell can and it was hilarious. I wish I could relay what he said with the comedic delivery that he had, but I think that is impossible. If you missed it on the ESPYS live I wont ruin it for you; check out one of the replays on ESPN.

Second was the highly anticipated, second installment of the new Batman series, The Dark Knight. Being that Batman Begins is arguably my favorite movie ever, I was very excited about this sequel, in hopes that it would live up to my expectations. Also, with the untimely death of Heath Ledger, there was much build-up for his farewell performance as the Joker. I even heard rumors that it may have even been an Academy Award winning performance. Well, over vacation I had the opportunity to see how The Dark Knight stacked up. I must say that I was very impressed. I still have to give Batman Begins the slight edge, but that being said there is no doubt that the sequel lived up to the high mark set by it’s predecessor. Once again the director kept that realistic feeling that was lacking in the comic versions of the past, only this time there was a very, very dark feel to the the movie. Although I tend to like movies like that, but would definitely not recommend it for kids. Christian Bale remained the quintessential hero as Batman, giving the character a realness that is void of most super heroes or villains for that matter. Meanwhile, Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker was light years more realistic, evil, and sadistic than the campy version played by Jack Nicholson nearly ten years earlier. Despite any disputes concerning the Oscar worthiness of his performance, I have to agree that he did an amazing job with that role. Hats off to both of them and I can only hope that there will be another Batman movie in the works in the near future.


If you missed the Best Male Athlete Award on the ESPYS or The Dark Knight, then you really missed out. I suggest you check them out.

Lake Vids-Jackson Knee boarding

Lake Vids-Jackson Skiing

Lake Vids-Alex Knee boarding

Fun in the Sun

Let me give a disclaimer for this post, because I struggled with me PC last night I didn't get the videos loaded. I hope to load them tonight. For now here is the post.


Well, I survived all of the water sports. As I said I would, I attempted to ski. I was rather happy with the results. It felt like I had only stopped skiing a few weeks ago, although it's really been years...with the exception of a one day trial last year. I skied on two, then dropped one and it felt great. Then a storm cut the day short.
The next day, I tried out the knee board and it too, felt great. I was able to do everything I wanted to cutting, a little jumping, even some 360s. Then I decided that I needed to attempt to stand on the board. Maybe not my best idea. I was quickly reminded that I'm now 31 years old and not quite as versed in water sports as I once was. What am I saying? I'm saying I busted my ass... not once but twice...but I'll hold on to that 5-10 seconds that I swerved back and forth trying to gain my balance. Ha. It was very fun and no doubt fun to watch and I busted it!
The highlight of the day, however, was not my knee boarding. Nor was it any of the adult skiing (which included runs by my mom, my brother, my sister in law, and myself). It was the first try at knee boarding by both of my kids, and the attempt at skiing by Jackson. It was awesome. I was so proud.
Unfortunately, we did not have any skis that could be tied together for Jackson to learn with so he managed the best he could. On the last try we had rigged the skis together with some fishing line. Next time we'll have the real deal ready. Regardless, I think his attempts were amazing. I assumed he and Alex would want to quit after one failed attempt each. Not the case. They were total troopers. Check out Jackson's first skiing run...



Like I said, next time we'll have the tied skis ready to go. After the skis, we attempted to knee board. Jackson and Alex both really tried and went above and beyond anything I would have hoped for. They both did great. It's funny to watch little kids knee board, because they have the luxury of kneeling on the board and floating before it ever stops. I remember when my brother used to do the same thing some 20 years ago...but I digress. Both kids did an amazing job. Check them out below...




See. Weren't those pretend videos amazing?

I was so proud of how well they did and cant wait to go back for round number 2!

lake vacation

I'm currently in the middle of vacation number two of the summer. We opted out of our normal trip to Myrtle beach, due in no part to the beach umbrella impalement, for a more relaxing trip to my parents house on lake Greenwood. So far it's been great. Unlike the first vacation, I have not been waking up early to run. This is due to the diagnosis I received from the Orthopedist. Although I felt like something was cracked or worse, it turns out that I'm just a baby. Ok, maybe not a baby, but in truth the problem was just severe tendinitis. That is both a relief and a shock. I had idea tendinitis could be so painful. As it turns out, all those pro athletes that I thought were total wusses by sitting out with a case of tendinitis, were really in pain. I now feel for them and realize that they're not just big babies. You can either believe me and trust they're in pain or you can deem me a wussy too. Anyway, along with the diagnosis, I was also given instructions to do tons of stretches (given to me on a handout), and no athletic activities for two weeks. No basketball. No running. Ugh. That sucks. Guess what? It's now been two weeks and tomorrow morning I play to run, water ski, and knee board. I cant wait. Although I've rested, I cant say that I've stayed away from all activities. After all, I've played golf and ridden jets skis, and "raced" with Jackson and Alex. The rest has done me some good though. Between that and my stretches, I'm feeling better. Not perfect but better, so tomorrow I plan to get back on track. Ok, I digress, but the point was that I'm having fun but haven't been exercising.
I have however, been playing in the water, jet skiing, swimming in the nearby club pool, having water gun fights, swimming, and totally relaxing. It's been great. The food has also been very good. As can be expected on one of our vacations, we've eaten every dinner out, most lunches and even one brunch. Not one bad meal in the bunch. Man, I love to eat!
The weather has been outstanding...hot, but within reason. Well, within reason if you have a lake to jump in to cool off. Ok, it's been damn hot, but we've enjoyed it. We've coated the boys in 70 SPF and had no burns as of yet, although Alex now looks to be totally native American at this point. It's crazy how well you can tan thought 70!
The boys are loving the lake. I'll have a follow-up post just on them in a few days with pictures.
There is not much else to say for now, but perhaps after I take my chances at knee boarding and skiing tomorrow (after a few years off), I may have more to say. Wish me luck!

Wedding Bells

Last weekend was a big weekend. My one an only brother got married. The weekend began for us by hitting the road early on Friday, only working a half day. Then it was off to Spartanburg to pick up our tuxes. That's right; I said OUR tuxes. The kids were co-ring bearers and they looked awesome in their tuxes...even if Alex was pissed about wearing the vest.
Later that night was the rehearsal dinner. I have to say that the food and company was great. A few of the highlights were the video they had put together of Matthew and Laura over the years. There were some pics of them as kids that were awesome. There were ones that parents love, in which they were dressed up and looking nice, and then there were the ones that made everyone laugh. My favorite was one when Matthew played soccer one year, and his socks are pulled up to his knees...although you hardly noticed that fact because you could look away from him short being hiked up to his arm-pits....ok, maybe not to his arm-pits, but pretty bad. It was hilarious. If I can get a copy of that picture, I'll add it to this post late. Another highlight of the night was Jackson passing out. He was so sleepy he fell asleep sitting up in his chair. We told him he could lay on the carpeted floor under the edge of the table. He layed there, passed out for what seemed like 2 hours. Even better than that, every once in a while Alex would walk by and kick him to see if he was awake. Too funny.
The day of the wedding rolls around and we spend the morning by the pool before getting ready for the wedding. Meanwhile Matthew (and probably Laura but I cant attest to that) has a huge case of the pre-game jitters. I think that felling lasted up until the ceremony ended. At that point, I think he took his first breath since the ceremony begun a half hour earlier.
Laura looked beautiful. Matthew looked great. They looked happy. Months of build up and they were finally married. Time to party...
The reception was a blast. Stacy's parents for gracious enough to take the kids with them so we could enjoy the party. It was awesome. The band played lots of good dance shagging type music. Not usually my top choice, but definitley fun to dance to. We danced, ate a little, danced, talked to people, dance, drank, danced, and then it was over. It was such a good time, that the night couldn't end there.
The post party hangout was the bar of the hotel which we had half full until they shut the lights off.
The next day the newlyweds headed out on a week Cruise. I'm eager to hear how that went. If it is half as fun as the reception was, they wont be disappointed.
What a great night! Good luck to Matthew and Laura and may their future be as happy as mine and Stacy's is!

Jackson is 6

Wow! I need to catch up. I'm a week behind!

We had Jackson's 6th birthday party at Leapin' Lizards on Thursday. If you are not already familiar with Leapin' Lizards, it's one of these places that is full of the blow-up moon walks and the kids love them. They also have costumes, games, puzzles, etc... We had a good time. Jackson and his crew were pretty wild. They sheer madness of the moment as the ran from one moonwalk to the other and back again, screaming and laughing all the way, reminded me of a sceen from a cheesy comedy movie (like Kindergarden Cop or something like that). Meanwhile Alex and his buddy Carson were playing it up at a slighly less manic, albeit wild, pace of their own. We always let the non-birthday brother invite one friend to the birthday party. That makes for a good party for all involved.
Jackson's mix of friends included kids from his old daycare, kids from his new school, and even one from his summer camp at JCC. They had a grand time every second. The only rest of the 90 minute party, was for a quick bite to eat: chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A, chips, cake and icecream. Then it was back to the wild and crazy time on the moonwalks. When we left we went home to open presents. I do find it strange though, going home and opening presents with just the family around, since when I grew up we opend presents at the pary, but these days we have partying down to an art. Opening presents at the party would only cut into play time and Jackson wouldn't have any of that. By the time we were done, Jackson was on clound 9. He loved all of his presents. One was even a Books-A-Million gift card, which he used 10 minutes after opening.
After all was said and done, my kids crashed and slept all night. I'd be willing to bet every other kid at the party did the same.

Check out a few pics from the party.

I'm getting old

A short basketball update. Last night consisted of the good, the bad and the ugly. In jumbled order, the ugly is our team's record (1-3), the good is that my play has improved as has my shooting (3 of 5 for 7 points), and the bad is that I'm getting old!
I'm only 31 but at times I fell much older. Specifically, my right leg has been riddled with nagging injuries for some time (ankle, knee, hip, hamstring, calf - you name it). Most recently my hip has been bothering me, which brings up thoughts of old people falling with a broken hip and saying "I've fallen and I cant get up". I can run without much pain, but side to side movements have gotten progressively more nagging. It's been something that I have, like many other people, decided to put off in hopes that it would just get better. Last night's game made me rethink delaying any longer. I called Moore Orthopedic for an appointment and they are seeing me this afternoon. Luckily I am seeing one of the doctors that specializes in sports medicine, but I still feel as if I'll be surrounded by people twice my age with hip problems. It kind of makes me laugh. Anyway, I'm 31 and old!

Pawley's Pics

These are just a few pics from our vacation. A few from the beach and a few from Family Kingom. The kids had such a good time. We can not wait until the next vaction!

Fireworks for your birthday

Jackson was fortunate enough to be born on the 5th of July. He has the privilege to have his birthday escorted in by exploding fireworks each and every year. I've actually heard he and Alex discussing amongst themselves the fact that Jackson's birthday has fireworks, while Alex's has the fair. It's funny what sticks in their minds. I could see the firework association , but the state fair being linked to Alex's birthday is pretty funny. I guess those are the two things in October that are important enough to them to remember.
Jackson's birthday is sure to be an exciting event for years to come as there will always be a party to take part in, even if held the before his actual birthday. This year was no different.
We enjoyed the 4th of July on lake Greenwood with my family. It was a beautiful day on the lake, full of swimming, riding jet skis, boat rides, too much barbecue, and of course fireworks. We headed up the lake to one of the large annual fireworks shows. This one was held at Grand Harbor, just a few coves up from my parents house. The previous year the show began at around 10:00, so we planned to get there an hour early and chill for while, maybe even go for quick swim. We pulled up a few minutes before 9:00 and weren't a minute too soon because before we got the anchor dropped, we heard the first explosion. Quickly getting into place we settled amongst hundred of other boats to enjoy the show, which turned out to be a very good show despite Jackson telling us "that wasn't very long" once it had ended. I always have enjoyed fireworks and watching the kids reactions makes it that much more enjoyable.
After the show we headed back to my parents house and I swear the lake looked like a picture of space, with what seemed to be thousands of lights spread all across the darkness of the lake. That alone was quite a site.
After we arrived home, it was time for our own fireworks. Much thanks to Laura, my brother Matthew's fiance, for handling the kids personal fireworks show. I think the kids enjoyed that as much as the big show we had been to earlier in the night. Oh yeah, and let's not forget that the boys throughly enjoyed throwing pop-its after the fireworks were finished. I have no idea why those are so fun, but they're awesome, for kids and adults; throwing them on the ground, against trees, and even a few at each other (even though we tell our kids not to do so).
The next day was Jackson's birthday and it was more of the same; swimming, jet skiing, boating, more barbecue and even more fireworks. We had saved half of the stash for Saturday and that was a good decision, because the kids loved it, and of course because we were celebrating Jackson's birthday. I sure am glad that Independence day is not like Easter, changing dates each year, because we'd still have to have a fireworks show on the 4th and 5th every year to usher in Jackson's birthday....of course that wouldn't be so bad.
I look forward to the fair and Alex's birthday and hope it will be just fun as this past weekend, but just in case, maybe we should stash some fireworks and pop-its for the celebration.

Hoops follow-up

Well, I cant claim to have completely turned it around, but I played better than I did two weeks ago and had a great time in the process. I felt better on the court, felt more comfortable on defense and even my shooting began to feel natural again (although my shots are still not falling). I finished the game 0 for 3, with 2 points coming off of my shooting 2 for 2 from the line. I also had a few blocks, one of which was with such authority that it not only took us to overtime, but was also reminiscent of a spike in volleyball. I loved it. Much like my rounds of golf that often top 100, but are remembered because of that one 40 foot putt or that one iron shot placed inches from the cup, I'll remember this basketball game for that block. The fact that I shot poorly wont matter, because that block (like the perfect long iron shot) keeps me coming back for more.

Time for Hoops

After a 2 year respite I've made my triumphant return to basketball. Since I have started running again, the transition to running the court should be easy, right?

It's funny how we think of ourselves in the context of the past. If you were posed the question, "are you any good at basketball?" (or any sport for that matter), what would go through your mind. You may go through a thought process similar to that which I do.
First, I imagine myself in my prime, back in college, when I used to work out 5 days a week and stayed on the move constantly. I picture myself as I was then, ready to step on the court against any adversary. Regardless of how good they may be, I'm sure I can hang with them because...well...I'm good, aren't I?

Second, I realize that I may have lost a step, but I'm sure that I'm still a "good" player.

The next thing I know, I'm watching another team play and realizing that the level of play in church league that I just joined is not near the level I used to play back in the day. I chuckle and think to myself "Man, I should dominate".... "should" being the key word.

Once the game begins and I find myself sucking wind, find myself 2 steps behind, find myself wandering nearly aimlessly across the court; I realize that I may not be quite a good as I used to be. Also, I realize that I spend 1/3 of my life sleeping, 1/3 of my life sitting behind a desk at work, and the majority of the other 1/3 being a couch potato. Of course I'm proud of that 30 minute run I went on early in the week. I'm sure that balances out the other 23.5 hours of the day, the 3 huge meals, the snacks, and vegging out on the couch...

The previous scenario is not theoretical. It's not what I think would happen. It's reality.

My friend, John, and I signed up for a church league in Lexington. Our team is not bad, nor is it good. It's just bad enough so that (in my out-of-shape condition) I feel like one of the good players on the team, yet just good enough that I feel a step slower than I was just 2 years ago.

Our first game was 2 weeks ago. On our first possession of the game, I set pick and rolled to the basket, ready for the ball, the pass was made....and I fumbled around with the ball until I ultimately turned it over to the other team. Ugh, where are my hands? Although I was sure it would get better in a matter of minutes, it didn't. After a few mis-handles, I became a pivot man and did not look to shoot at all. By the end of the game I was 1 for 2 from the field, for a grand total of 2 points. Not good considering that I am, by far, the biggest guy on our team. We really need a big guy down low. I hope that I can get it together to fill that role.
I missed our second game due to a trip to the beach. Tonight marks our third match-up. I really hope that I can leave the fumble fingers at home so that I can make my mark on the game and be some semblance of the player I used to be, vaguely reminiscent of that college version of myself that I see in the mirror although it's not really there. We'll see how it plays out.