Prepping the Durango for vacation has been an expensive and trying ordeal.  The worst part of it was the Air conditioner going out. The evaporator is under the dash and it was leaking.  Chad advised doing the heater core at the same time since it is over 10 years old.  Figured that I may as well do it all at once instead of having to get back in there a second time if it would fail later too.

 First problem is that due to the design you have to remove the entire dash board and drop the steering wheel to get at the plastic box that contains both items.  Found out that they changed the design of the heater core - it is now thicker.  Meaning that the new one would not fit down in the slots where the original one was.  So I had to use a dremel tool to cut away the plastic to get it to fit.

Get it all together and find out that the vent is not working hardly at all.  The air is good for the dash or for the feet. Had to remove it all a second time to figure out what was going on.  The wider heater core meant that the flap for the vents would barely open.  So I had to move it back further in the box - more work with the dremel tool.   Finally got it all back together and it works fine, for now.  

 Add in the expense of two new tires, new lower ball joints, new fluids, and maybe we should have just rented a SUV for a week.  

Posted by christ77 at 6:04 AM EDT

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Richmond held their fireworks last night.  Went with Vanessa and Co.  It was a good time. Elaina had a bubble blowing toy to play with that kept her occupied after we arrived. Violet was a good trooper throughout. Hardly fussed at all.  She seemed fascinated with all of the people. And the glow sticks and fireworks kept her fascinated.  Some of the fireworks frightened Elaina.  She lay down between Becky and I for awhile. My favorite firework was one that made the image of a heart - pretty cool.  

 Joe is helping me put the finishing touches on the trailer.  Another gallon or two of paint and it is finished. He and the two Kaplinger boys went around the corner to a neighbors 4th of July party.  Neal has been doing odd jobs for us this summer, I think that he is bored.

Posted by christ77 at 8:09 AM EDT

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Well I learned the hard way that contents may burst at 120 degrees is accurate. Left some dyed car refrigarant in the back of my car  - sure enough the can burst and it looked like a bank dye pack exploded.  What a mess.

Have to fix trailer.  It was old and rusted when we bought it.  But now I see how badly the frame is rusted by the axles. We noticed that it was at bad angle when we loaded Joe's care ont it.  Gonna take a lot of welding to get this roadworthy again. 

Vanessa and Eric are planning on going on vacation with us.  So it should be a good time having everyone there.  

Posted by christ77 at 7:20 PM EDT

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 Good turn out for the party.  We all had a fun time.  There was some rain, but it came and went. 

the school bus driver stopped by the party and gave him a gift - a brand spanking new X-Box!  Everybody likes Joe I guess.  My last day of school my bus driver threatened to take us back to school to see the principal. Well that was after me and Phillip Olinger rolled smoke bombs down the aisle... I ended up having to walk home.

he has a summer job - working for Mike Loy auto repair in Lewisburg.  They were impressed with his resume and awards from the Miami Valley Career school.  Still plans on WYO tech in PA this fall though.

am dragging a little.  Got to bed at 10pm.  But this was my week to carry the pager.  Got woke up at 2am, 4am, 6am, and 10am.  So I am feeling it right now.

Posted by christ77 at 7:17 PM EDT

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Had a good time during my trip to Dallas. Really enjoyed shrimp fajitas and shiner beer at Papa Deaux's restaraunt.  Also enjoyed 7 Salsa's restaraunt. Temps were warm - in the 80's and it was windy.  But no storms until the day that we were to leave.  They were so severe that they ended up cancelling and delaying flights including ours.  I did not get back home until 3am.  But that was better than some folks - they were bringing out cots for them to sleep on at the airport.

Went to glenn miller park in richmond.  Had a good time watching the kids in the playground.  More fun watching than having to chase after them as we had to do as parents.  Had some Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Baby Violet took a nap - and so did I.  

Posted by christ77 at 6:59 PM EDT

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Well after sinking over $200 into a engine rebuild kit, new belts, filters, the garden tractor has given up the ghost.  We never even got the the complete lawn mowed once.  Hopefully Joe does better at body work than what he does at rebuilding engines.   Now we will have to buy a new mower from the looks of things.  Its always something.

Posted by christ77 at 9:12 PM EDT

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Joe is commited to Wyo Tech outside of Pittsburgh.  He is taking auto body there.  So he is excited about that.  No prom for Joe this year, said that he and Julia would have more fun at Kings Island.  So that is where they are going to go.  

Plowed and disc'ed garden.  Was putting away disc and caught a limb of the old Sycamore tree with the bucket of the tractor.  It was dead from a lightening strike.  One half of the trunk was barely hanging on and was about to fall.  So I knocked it over with the tractor.  The other half was still standing, so I decided to take care of it too.  When I started to push it over, a coon ran of the top.  

I stopped for a second then started to push again.  Then I spotted the babies - still up in the trunk.  So I backed away and parked the tractor by the barn.  Becky came and talked to me about seeing the Momma coon.  I heard a noise and there in the bucket of the tractor was one of the babies!  unhurt.  I picked it up by the back of the neck and took it by the tree so that the Momma could find it.

Chelsea is desperately trying to find a job for the summer.  Several good leads, but no results.  She helped with the fencing to make extra money and has been doing articles for the paper as well.  Has a new boyfriend named Dan that helped mow the lawn.  Our lawn tractor has problems so it had to be push mowed.

Posted by christ77 at 10:47 AM EDT

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Little Violet Deeter entered the world at 8 lbs and 9 ozs last week.  She and Vanessa are doing fine.  Elaina seems to be adjusting well to her new sister.  Coincidently Eric has a part time job as a security officer in the Hospital where she was born.  Just started like a month ago.  We are hoping it goes full time and that he can just leave Home City Ice and have a steady income.

Chelsea just ended another quarter with Sinclair. She edges closer to completion.  Still deciding between Wright State and OSU as the next step. She is seeing a guy named Joe who works at the Green shopping mall.  I have put $800 into her car for repairs.  Hopefully the car will go for awhile and let my checkbook recover.

Chad and Sarah are expecting child number two - just found out this past weekend.  The new addition is expected around Thanksgiving.  I wonder if this is a competition! So she will be expecting again during vacation in SC in August - but won't be as far along as before.  He is fixing up Chelsea's old Toyota for a friend of Sarah's.  Nice guy.

 Joe is doing track this year.  Running the 400 is what he is telling me.  He and Julia are still seeing each other. He takes her out every weekend.  He has been working intermintently on his camero.  The hood looks nice where he painted it. But he needs to swap out engines with the old one. He is starting to feel a little senioritis.  There is a technical school in Pennsylvania that he has been eyeing, but has not commited as of yet.

Becky and I are maintaining.  Renting out the farmland this year and only keeping a couple of cows for freezer beef.  With Joe graduating and so our last supply of free labor soon to leave home we are simplifying.  Plus Becky says that if the cows get out - she isn't chasing them by herself. We did maple syrup again this year, but not as much as last spring - we got a late start.

 Oh and not to be outdone the Durango has given us problems.   I did the work and put in $180 worth of parts for brakes,shocks, etc.  But there is an electical problem that I could not fix.  So it will take a trip to a dealership to figure out this one.  Things are going well with Luxottica.  May be going to Dallas again soon in April or May.  

Posted by christ77 at 7:38 PM EDT

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Well basketball season is over for me.  Ended the season 7-9.   6-6 in the league and 1-1 in the tournament.  Had one really good player and everyone else.  So we saw a lot of box and one's in the last part of the season. Word got around that we were a one trick pony.  Good bunch of kids, but most of them had no experience. Some of the other teams had players who had been doing youth league together for a number of years.  Still the players got better during the season and improved which is what it is all about at 7th grade.  

I survived the lay offs at Luxottica.  They did a reorg and me and another guy from our group now report to a team in Dallas.  We will continue to work in Mason, but report to a Manager in Texas.  I got to fly out there to get acquainted and do some cross training.  We will probably fly out there frequently the first 6 months and then periodically thereafter.  

Vanessa has a date set for her c-section.  Little Violet Leigh Deeter should arrive March 15.  Vanessa is hoping for sooner, she wants to get this overwith.  

Chelsea is thinking of going to Ohio State after she graduates from Sinclair. Originally she wanted to go to Wright State.  But OSU may have some degree's that would be a better fit with what she wants to do. So she is going to visit again this spring and check out their programs.   

Chad has been working all the overtime he can handle behind the steering wheel of the snow plow.  He has been working long days to keep on top of all of the snow we have been getting lately.  

Joe (our baby) turned 18 this past Friday.  Had some friends over for Pizza and what not.  Played WoW until the wee hours of the morning with Cody, Cody, and Co.  He is on track to graduate this spring.  

Posted by christ77 at 8:47 AM EST

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Herschels came out to tow Chelsea's car - only she did not leave her keys.  So they wouldn't tow the car.  This after I had told her to be sure and leave her keys with her mother.  When does responsibilty kick in?

Had a good trip to Dallas to meet the new team.  Weather was rainy - that same system was heading to Ohio and would turn into snow.  But more on that later.   They are more laid back than Mason.  Took me out to some really nice places to eat.  The first place was very rustic - Pine lodge with tall ceilings, and moose, elk, caribou, etc. on the walls.  The second place also had tall ceilings and had its own micro brewry.  Did have a 'Shiner" that is a popular beer in Texas - I liked the taste.  

Their offices are actually inside the same building as the manufacturing lab. And of course I got a tour of the facility.  Very interesting to see how eyeglasses are made.  They have some automated machinery and also some stations where work is done manually.  The lenses start out as round blanks and aren't shaped to fit into the frame until the last step. 

The flight back wasn't bad until we started to descend into Dayton.  We were in the middle of a snow storm.   Looking out the window, all you could see was white.  Did not see the runaway at all until we touched down.  And the ride home was not pleasant.  About 6 to 8 inches of snow, I think it took as long to drive home from the airport as what it took to fly from Dallas to Dayton.  

This morning the tree limbs are hanging low from the weight of the snow.  It is going to be a nice day to stay inside and fool around on the computer.

Posted by christ77 at 10:26 AM EST

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