Florida Bound

Well Chelsea and Dan are Florida bound. I think of it as Dan and Chelsea's excellent adventure. It got off to a shaky start.  Didn't leave our house until 1:30 in the afternoon. But went over to Debbies to say good bye.  Which in hindsight turned out to be the right move.  I had an awards ceremony for the basketball team. When I got home I sat down at the computer desk.  Chelsea's only debit card was sitting on the desk. We called her and fortunately they were only as far as Middletown.  So they came back to pick it up.  That was around 3:30.

They made it to the campground in Kentucky in time to see a 'moon bow' I guess there is a waterfall there that makes a rainbow during a full moon. It is supposed to be a scenic trip, there are several stops they plan to make. Then they have a job interview lined up in Jacksonville.

Also this weekend we are celebrating baby Violets birthday.  Hard to believe that she is one year old.  It will be nice to see the Deeters.  Eric plans to bring some free beer for me from the warehouse.  My favorite son in law.

 Joe is visiting next weekend - and bringing his girlfriend to visit. She comes from Pittsburgh and is taking art at school there. We haven't seen him since the holidays so we are looking forward to his visit.

Chad had to have gall bladder surgery.  He is getting around better now and he is trying to get Joe's car finished so that he can drive it back.  He has had some bad luck with his own vehicles.  The engine blew on the pickup truck. The Neon was down for awhile.  So he has been keeping his hands greasy.  

 

 

Chelsea Wedding

 

Well we couldn't have asked for a better day in December in Ohio.  50+ degrees and sunny.  Snow a week before the wedding and the week after, but clear for that day.  There were still icicles on the falls, so it was picturesque.  

The reception was at the Twin Valley Rod and Gun Club which matched the outdoor theme.  Fair turnout, but I think the short notice limited the number people who hadn't already made plans.  Still all in all it was a good time and went well.  Now comes the hard part.

 Becky is helping watch Vanessa's kids for a week. Got a list of instructions to follow for all the critters.  Didn't realize how much Mr. Cuddles was being spoiled.  He only drinks bottled water and when I prepare his food I am suppposed to make a gravy to put over his food!  Well Mr. Cuddles will drink the same tap water that I drink and he will have to make his own gravy if he wants any on his catfood.

 

December Update

 

I am shopped out.  And we really didn't do much Christmas Shopping.  A few gifts for the grandkids and some food for Christmas day.  The rest was buying stuff for the wedding of Chelsea and Dan.  With the Durango broke down, I am the designated driver for shopping expeditions.  And I can't stand shopping.  We left around 9am and didn't get back home until after 6:30pm.  There was smoke coming off of the VISA card we used it so much.  Oh and my little Suzuki was filled to the brim with food, decorations, and champagne.  Could have just forgotten about the wedding and gone on a week long road trip.

Anyway we have a few perishable items to buy a day or two ahead of time, but most everything has been bought.  Now it is a waiting game where we watch the weather to see how things are going to break on the 31st. 

We are paying for the repairs to the Durango, it will take a replacement engine + labor.   I am still taking Advance Auto to small claims court since they sold me the wrong spark plugs which caused a hole to be burned in the piston.  But the wheels of justice grind slowly, so that is why we opted to proceed with the repairs now rather than wait.  Although the shop is swamped with work and so we have to wait our turn in line...

 Sorry to see Vanessa, Eric and the girls move back to Louisville, but happy that Vanessa has a good opportunity.  I think it is a good career move.  The Cincy office is small and not much growth. The Louisville operations are a lot bigger and so she be able to branch out and grow with the company. 

Basketball team is struggling a bit this season.  Hard time getting everyone on the same page.  But I am seeing signs of progress.  They are getting better.   As a junior high coach you just try to remember that the end game is getting them to learn they skills they need to play Varsity some day.

 

Post Thanksgiving Wrap up
Topic: Serenity

 

 

 

Little Serenity Miriam Tilton made her entrance just before Thanksgiving.  An ounce short of 8 pounds and 20 inches long.  Momma and baby are doing fine.

Joe is back for the holiday nice to see him.  Although there is a 24 hour bug going around.  It has made the rounds in our family.  Chelsea, Becky, Dan, me and finally Joe.  It hit him hard yesterday, but today, the day he drives back he is feeling much better. 

December will be a whirlwind with Wedding and Christmas planning.  

 

Prepping for Turkey Day

Wow lots of change in the Tilton family.  Lots of plates spinning.  Vanessa has an opportunity with her company to be a coordinator at Jewish Hospital in Louisville. A pay raise and better position.  And so the Deeters are returning to the Bluebgrass state.  The move will be happening right after Thanksgiving.

 Not to be outdone, Chelsea and Dan are getting married.  On New Years Eve of all times.  It will also be an outdoor wedding by a waterfall. So that will be an adventure.  So we are busy planning that.  There was also some kind of falling out between Chelsea and her cousin Jessica.  So there is some added turmoil to make sure that the pot keeps at a steady boil.  

 Sarah is due any day now with new baby Serenity. The actual due date is right around Thanksgiving.  So that will be grandbaby number four.  It has been a difficult pregnancy for her.

Joe is doing OK at school.  Grades in the 90's.  We went to Blairsville to visit and had a good time.  Nice food and a scenic area.  We delivered the seats for the Star Chief and the Camaro that Chad and Joe respectfully are restoring.  Joe is going to redo the upholstry.  

I am going to the Eaton game tonight.  They are in the regional final against St. McNicolaus.  This is the deepest that any team from Eaton has gone in football, so I figured that I should watch it.  Hope that I don't choke rooting for the Purple and Gold. 

 

 

 

 

 

Vaca!
 Good times as always at Edisto this summer. Part of the money to pay for the vacation was courtesy of Lexis and the severance package that I got.  Bought a CD with a portion of it - specifically for this vacation and cashed it in before going. So a tip of the hat to my ex employer for helping to finance the expedition.

Some things never change and so it was with Vanessa - our most injured kid growing up. Got stung by jellyfish, not once but twice!  Joe had a really bad jellyfish sting, a week later you can still see the affects on his foot. Asa got sunburned pretty bad. Wouldn't listen to his uncle Chris about putting on sunscreen. This was the second time that Sarah has come to the beach and been pregnant (Little June expected in Novemer). So she was able to get the water some, but couldn't enjoy it as much as she could have. Despite it all we were able to laugh it off and have a good time.

Cash's first words on seeing the ocean - "big swimming pool" and I guess thru his eyes it was a huge swimming pool. He had a blast running thru the surf and playing in the sand. Chelsea had a little game where she passed him back and forth on a raft in the surf.  He rode the waves a short way and then Dan would catch him and push him back. Cash and Elaina had fun together in the ocean. And even baby Violet got into the surf for a little bit.  She was a good trooper thru it all.

Got to spend some time with everyone in the ocean.  One memorable time was Me, Chad, and Joe chilling just out past where the waves were breaking. Floating on rafts and talking. Spent one evening smoking cigars and having a few beverages on the deck of the beach house with the crew.  And we found out that Vanessa can still ride waves on a boogie board.  

Went fishing for sea bass about 20 miles offshore. The water was choppy as there were storms brewing to left and right.  We had a gap and our Captain ran hard for it - and got us all soaked.  Eric and I were in the bow and although the waves broke over our heads, we go bounced good as we went from wave to wave. Joe and Dan were back further and every so often a wave would break right and soak them.  Chelsea probably ended up with the most fish, but Asa - a first timer at fishing caught the biggest sea bass and the biggest fish overall, a shark.  It was an Atlantic shark about 3 foot long.

 Also on the trip we saw some dolphins in the distance and a crazy bird that kept following us while we were fishing. He would circle the boat hoping for scraps, then land in the water and bob in the waves for awhle.  We considered him good luck as the fish really seemed to bite while he was around.  No one got seasick although Dan and I got a little queasy.

 Went to patriots point to see the aircraft carrier and submarine.  Cash was pretty good thru out.  He was fasinated with the planes on deck and some of the ships models that were in the hanger section.   Had a meal at 5 guys burgers and fries.  First time that we had a chance to try it - and the food was great.  Mixed reviews from the big meal at the Pavilon.  It has changed ownership several times over the years.  None seem to compare to the first time that we ate there.   

The trip back was harrowing at times.  The Durango is big, heavy SUV with a car top carrier on the roof to add to the instanbility.  Best suited for driving straight, not looping thru the Smokey Mountains in the rain.  It would downpour buckets, then in an instant it was gone, then you would go another few miles and another cloudburst - or a clouid!  One good thing about the Durango, it was nice to have the V8 to power up the inclines.  

Ahh and summer is all but over.  Chelsea is taking a couple of classes this fall at Sinclair before transferring.  Now she is thinking of Ohio Un.  Joe intends to goto WyoTech outside of Pittsburgh in Sept.  The rest of us go back to work on Monday.

durango saga

 

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.  

4th of July

 

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.

Warningl labels

 

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.  

 

 

 

Joe Graduates

 

 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.