Buckler
Mood:  happy
Topic: Joe
I had Joe give me a hand putting together the workshop in the barn. It is finally starting to take shape. Joe asked that I give him a hand putting together a buckler. He had found a round piece of aluminium and so we got some wood and leather to make a servicable buckler. We used some Neatsfoot oil for the leather and even though it was ancient, it softened right up. He is armed and ready for battle if we are ever invaded by any Carthaginians.

Chelsea has her first AAU tournament this weekend. They will only have like 6 players on Saturday. So she will see plenty of action.

Vanessa got a job in Louisville. I think that it is a parts inspection job similiar to what she did here in Ohio. Chad did some more work on the little red car. I guess that she is going to try to come back up in the next few weeks and take it to Louisville again. I am hopeful that all of the bugs are out of it this time. I worry about her driving all that distance and breaking down.

Chad is working on his Oliver tractor. He seems to have no interest in getting the Plymouth Duster ready - even though I put all the money into parts to get it on the race track...

BB & German Heavy Metal
Topic: Chelsea
Chelsea's AAU team had a scrimmage last night. They went up against Eatons 9th grade boys. It was close until the end when the boys pulled ahead. The girls actually lead for about 2 quarters. Chelsea was close on her three's but didn't hit one. She did snag some rebounds and played decent defense. She liked playing, but was disappointed with her performance on offense.

On the way there we listened to a copy of a CD of some German heavy metal band. It was odd listening to Metallica style music with German lyrics. I asked her - what is this, Nazi's on crack???

Joe has grown another pants size. Maybe this will be a good excuse to run over to Eaton and check out the new Walmart. They need to invent a new style of stretch jeans for growing boys. They expand in both the waist and the inseam. Any investors?

Easter
Topic: General
Had a happy Easter. Everyone made it for the main meal. I think that they all had a good time. The girls brought their boyfriends along.

Chad is tearing his tractor apart. He is redoing something with the hydraulics and putting in a new clutch. Sounds like a lot of work, but he seems to think that he will have it up and running in a few weeks.

Joe stayed over at Cody's a couple of times during spring break. Chelsea just hung out.

ulcer
Topic: Chad
Found out that Chad has an ulcer. Don't know exactly how he got it. They are going to try and treat it for now. He went over to fix Aprils car on Monday night - she is still using him.

Vanessa is having car problems. Grandpa Jacks car had problems overheating on the way to Louisville, then it developed a problem with stalling out at low rpm's. She is coming back over Easter to get the pickup truck. She feels safer in it. Not sure what her plans are with the car.

Chelsea and Joe are home for Easter vacation this week. They are helping Becky get things set up Easter this coming Sunday.

African Preacher
Topic: Joe
Pappaw had two guests over. An old friend Dave McNeil and his travelling companion - Stephan from Uganda. Stephan is a preacher who is trying to raise money for a new school in his community. He was interested in my cattle - he owns 7 himself. He has 12 kids and was a teacher, then a principal. He and Joe really hit it off. Although both Chelsea and Joe asked him a lot of questions about his country. It was good for the kids to find out a little about how other folks live.

V moving
Mood:  happy
Topic: Vanessa
This past weekend we helped Vanessa load up her belongings. We helped with all of the heavy stuff. Becky wanted to help load up some of the small stuff, but Vanessa said not to worry she would take care of it later. We told her not to turn down free help, but we were all hungry and left to eat before heading home. We ate at Red Lobster since Vanessa was going to be leaving. Sort of a going away dinner.
It was a bit more expensive than I had intended. Since the kids are getting older the adult beverage part of the bill is getting bigger.

After the meal Eric asked for Vanessa's hand in marriage. I told him that I would be honored to have him for a son in law and gave my blessing. It was a nice old-fashioned gesture that I appreciated. No date is set for a wedding, but I am sure that it will happen within the next year or so. Becky said she talked to Vanessa and that she wanted to have children at about age 25. So we will be transitioning into another part of our lives in the next few years.

Chelsea is still seeing Ron. He played soccer which is a minus. But likes the Bengals which is a plus. He doesn't like Michelle either which is another plus. But has no aspirations for college which is a minus. So I am neutral towards him at this time. They seem to get along OK and Chelsea is happy which is the main thing.

Joe spent the weekend at Kyle's. It was Kyle's birthday. They had a good time - Joe got some sort of pellet pistol from Dick's Sporting goods. How does he get other boys parents to buy stuff for him all the time?

Chad had an uneventful week. I think that he and April are on the outs. He helped with Vanessa and stayed at our place for awhile on Sunday. Joe beat him pretty soundly on the computer. One of those shoot 'em up games. I told Joe that he needs to let his older brother win every once in a while or he won't want to play anymore ;- )

V home
Mood:  chatty
Topic: Vanessa
Vanessa is home for around a week. She found a place in Louisville over the weekend. She is pretty much packed up and is doing her finals at Wright State. She gave her 2 weeks notice at the printers. So she is pretty much ready to move once things are wrapped up at school. Becky is upset about her going. Maybe we can use a long weekend to go camping somewhere down around Louisville and visit her while working in a little boating.

Oh, Miss Graceful slammed her finger in the door of her truck. It is swollen. She may go to a doctor today if it doesn't feel better. She is still the most accident prone kid.

Chelsea had her awards banquet tonight for basketball. She left early because of practice with her AAU team. It looks like they have some decent talent. The extra work at the gym seems to be paying off. She hit 4 3's while I was watching them scrimmage. She did OK for coming into practice cold.

Chelsea also has proficiency tests this week at high school. The sophomores come into to school, but the rest of the school comes in 2 hours later. I guess they don't want noise in the hallways to interupt them?? They have to pass them in order to graduate. Joe is taking his tests in junior high as well this week.

Chad brought April over this past weekend. I think that she is still the same - using Chad until someone better comes along.

Joe has a new hamster. Fred had a close encounter of the feline kind - Mr. Cuddles somehow got into the cage and used Fred as a playmate. Becky found him batting a lifeless Fred around. Joe was unhappy and mad at the cat - but I told him that it's his instinct to go after small furry animals. I told him to put a weight on the lid to the cage so that he can't get in there. Anyway Tiny Tim is smaller than Fred - he is some sort of minature Siberian hamster. He is definitely a runt. Seems to be nice enough, he hasn't bit anyone yet anyway.

bad day
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: General
Well Becky had a bad day yesterday. When she went to buy something at Kroger she couldn't open the wallet that she had purchased from Walmart a week or ago. The bag boy snickered until he tried to open it and was likewise frustrated. 4 people tried it and they finally just sliced it open.

Next she was returning home and car pulled out in front of her. She hit her brakes hard and blew out a brake line. Fortunately, a repair shop was able to work her in.

Never say everything that can go wrong has gone wrong - it seems like there is always something.

That something was - Chelsea, who locked her keys in the car at the girl scout get together. We had to contact AAA to get the car opened as we had never made a second set of keys.

Joe had a dance at the middle school. He had a good time. Found out that he is not planning on doing track. That was a disappointment. He claims that he is still doing football. Maybe his interests lean more towards hunting and fishing. We are going to try and hit Rush Run in a few weeks if the weather holds up.

Louisville
Mood:  chillin'
Topic: Vanessa
Well it looks like Vanessa will be moving to Louisville for sure. Her boyfriend, Eric, is moving down there this week to take a management position down there. She is going to finish her quarter at Wright State, stay with us for a week or two while she looks to transfer to a school down there, find a place to rent, etc. then move down there too.

So this will be a busy spring for her. Oh, she is also looking to sell her truck and buy an economical car. Grandpa Jack may be willing to sell the car that Chad just finished working on. It is a 3 cylinder so it will be a lot more economical than the full sized pickup truck. She owes me money for the truck, I am tempted just to take the truck for use around the farm and call it even.

Becky is upset that she is moving out of state. I asked her, did you think the kids will stay here forever? Plus it is only about a 3 hour drive or so to get there. It's not like she's moving to one coast or another. I told her that maybe we could go visit for a weekend this summer or somthing. Also Becky tells me that Eric was waiting to get this position, get settled in, and would probably propose to Vanessa soon. So there could be all sorts of change in the next year or two.

Chelsea is hanging with Michelle again. I can see a change in her attitude. The double date this weekend was with an older guy named Ron. Seemed clean cut at least. Hard to tell if they really hit it off or not. She celebrated a friends birthday on Saturday - a group of them went and watched a couple of movies and grabbed a bite to eat. There is an AAU meeting tonight, basketball practices will be starting shortly.

Joe inherited Vanessa's futon. She is getting rid of stuff she doesn't need. He was happy to toss his old twin bed and fold out the futon - it doubled his sleeping space. Also Joe has almost caught up with Vanessa height-wise. I am thinking that sometime this year that Vanessa will have the dubious distinction of being the littlest Tilton. Also I noticed a little shadow on his upper lip. Becky said that she noticed the same thing. We are wondering if he will be hairy like Uncle Vaughn.

I did not ask Chad about April, I am guessing that he is still seeing her. He helped Vanessa by fixing her headlights in the truck. It was a bad switch. She paid him for his help. I tried to get him to do some 100K maintenance on my truck - but he said that he is getting tired of working for other people on the weekends. I told him that I could understand that - I'll just take it to a repair shop. Some of the easy stuff, I'll just do myself. He seems to be enthused about taking the Duster to the drag strip - but he needs to get hopping. Spring is almost here.

Relationships
Topic: Chad
Well Chad is seeing April again. Like a moth drawn to a candle I guess. He must think that this time it will be different. Chelsea may go on a double date with Michelle. Michelle is now engaged, although she has left school. It sounds like Chelsea's first experience with a blind date. This may be interesting.

Took Joe shopping for his birthday. We went to Mendolsons(sp) surplus in Dayton. He got some electronic parts there. Then we went to buy some more lego's. He must have enough now to cover his walls if he wanted to.

Pokey Pants Vanessa waited until the last minute again to register at Wright State. So she didn't get all of the classes that she wanted.