Chad's Wedding
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Chad

It was a laid back, easy going wedding for a laid back, easy going guy.  It was an outdoor wedding and the weather was a concern since it stormed the night before.  But it was sunny and breezy - which was ok since it would have been hot and sticky without the wind. The ceremony went off with out any problems.

Metamora was a nice setting.  We got some old fashioned candy before the ceromony.  Walked around some of the shops to kill time.  Would like to go back again when we have more time to walk around.

The pics seemed to take forever, but we got some good ones.  And the reception was fine.  Got to see a lot of relatives that we hadn't seen for awhile.  I had hurt my hand when I took a spill on the motorcycle and it was definitely sore after all the handshaking.  All in all a memorable day.

Pre wedding
Topic: Chad

We are one day away from D-Day. All the preparations have been done and the moment has arrived. Today is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at the Hearthstone Grill in Metamora.   Took today off of work to do some last minute running around and also to buy a wedding gift. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

 Memorial Day weekend was good.  Although it got off to a bad start when I wrecked my motorcycle.  I took the scenic route home and was on a gravel road next to a creek.  Swerved to avoid a pothole and went down. Fortunately I was only going 20-25mph at the time.  I had to go to the doctors yesterday anyway and mentioned that my arm was still sore.  An x-ray confirmed that I did break my forearm right by the elbow.  They didn't cast it since it was stable and had already started to heal.  Scratched my chin and knee, was wearing a helmet and it got scuffed up.  Without the helmet, I am sure that I would have been digging gravel out of my scalp.

Everyone was over on Monday. Did the grandfather thing with Elaina and Cash.   Hooked up a wagon to the garden tractor and drove around the yard.  Visited the chickens and took the truck into the field t see the cows.  The rocket swing is still a hit, judging by Elaina and Cash's smiles.

 Oh, Joe's last day of school today.  Was dressed up and had his hair slicked back.  Not sure what that is all about, but I guess that he and some of his friends are just doing something different to celebrate the end of the school year. 

Vanessa's boss is something else. On a day when someone was in from the regional office he did some shenaigans.  "Where is he going with that van?"  "Oh, he is going to get some doughnuts and coffee".  Then later, "How come petty cash has all of these expenses?" "Oh, that is from him going to get breakfast and lunch." "I see..."    Later that morning they needed the van to make a priority delivery.  Where is the the van?  Oh, he needed to run a personal errand and took the van...    A month later he had an email from the regional office that had some personal stuff in it.  He prints off the email verbatim and distritbutes it to the workers.  Lots of heat from that.  Something tells me he is not going to be around very long. 

 Chelsea is winding up her school year at Sinclair.  Another week or so and she is done.  She is actually taking some exams early so that she can leave for camp.  

nuther grandbaby on the way
Mood:  happy
Topic: Chad

Chad announced over the weekend that he and Sarah are expecting a baby in August. So that is exciting news, if this keeps up we will have a swarm of grandchildren at our house during future Christmas celebrations.  I would prefer that they were married, but they are both in their mid-twenties so they can make their own decisions. Oh, if it the baby is a boy a name has been selected - Johnathon Cash Tilton.  Sarah is a Johnny Cash fan.  She may stop working her job. She does interior work in house's which involves painting, etc. So to prevent breathing fumes she may look for something else or simply stop working.

 Not much new to report from Louisville.  Vanessa and Eric will be up for both Christmas and New Years, so they will be putting in a lot of time on the road.

Chelsea's basketball team is now 6-4, not bad. Joe needs to focus on the classes where he is struggling. He has the ability, but not the drive.

Went hunting with Jimmy. We did not get a deer although we had our chances. Still it was nice to be outdoors.  The one day it was 50+ mile an hour wind gusts. Simply awful weather - but we saw more deer that day than any other day that we were out. An owl must have gotten blown out of it's tree because we saw it flying and land on a huge oak tree in daylight.  Later one morning we heard two owls hooting back and forth in the woods before daybreak. Jimmy saw a coyote. Of all things we found a bow saw in a fallen tree.  It was not in the tree crossways as one would think, but long ways with the grain of the wood. The treen was semi rotten, but we both used our knives to shave away the wood that had grown around it and finally pull it free.  No idea how long it may have been in the tree, or why someone would have stuck in the tree like that. It was not broken or anything.

Chad moves
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Chad
Well Chad is mostly moved.  He was able to get a truck from Ryder with a lift in the back and that made things easier. On Saturday we moved most of the stuff from inside the duplex where he was staying.  Then on Sunday he moved tools, tool boxes, etc. He has the rest of this week off to move miscellaneous items and get unpacked.  After seeing how old his dryer and his oven were, I asked him if he regretted buying that old truck with the $1000 of money I gave him as sort of a house warming gift – Nope, he was happier with the old truck….    Still I plan to do this with the other kids when they buy their first house and I will buy new items instead of handing over cash. So far both Chelsea and Joe are getting good grades this school year.  Chelsea is trying to get the position of treasurer for this new club that they have at school for medical technology students.  She feels that she has a good shot at it.  Also she is working on being part of the quiz team for school.  She said that they may tape the show later in October.  She thinks that she will be one of the ones selected to be on the panel.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that the quiz team goes against Oakwood – who have won this several times.  Joe is having fun with FFA this year.  Also he is thinking of trying for band.  I think that there is a girl that he likes in band and that is why he wants to join.  But I would be happy with him doing that.  We are prepping for our hunting trip to Kentucky.  Joe wants to really rough it – making a home made tent with a tarp like they did in the old days.  But I am going to be more practical, using a regular tent.  If a cold front moves in, I don’t want the wind blowing in on me all night. Vanessa and the baby stopped in last weekend. Eric had a golf outing and banquet with his work in Cincinnati. So Vanessa tagged along and drove on up to our place to stay overnight.  Baby was a little fussy at first from getting shots and being in a new house I think. She settled down and played and coo’ed with Chelsea.  Vanessa is thinking about shifting gears and getting an assistant nursing certificate.  She hasn’t decided for sure yet. She got exceeds all in most of her ratings at work, but the max pay raise was 4%.  So she was disappointed with that.   

move prep
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Chad

Chad celebrated his 26th birthday last weekend. Went to eat at Golden Corral and then went to see the movie Fearless.  We all had a good time, Chelsea did not pick any fights for a change. Asked Chad about moving into his new house next weekend. "Well we may not do it, Sarah may want to visit some friends." I told him that we can do the grunt work on the weekend, and she can unpack during the week.  Oh, he has his priorities - the first thing he wants to move is his tools...

 Chelsea turned her ankle at open gym, but seems to be doing OK otherwise. She plans to attend the TVS homecoming dance. So we are going dress shopping this week.

house deal is on
Topic: Chad

Well it looks like Chad has finally got himself squared away to purchase a house. They close on a house outside of Eaton next Tuesday. It will be great to get all of this clutter out of here. He must take after Becky - doesn't want to part with anything.   I think that his girlfriend preferred another place, but this place is pretty much ready to move into without any work. They are going to Somerset KY for a car rally. He is taking the Mary Kay.  He is compromising with Sarah and is going to go to a waterpark and such.  She can stand so much of the car stuff and then she needs a break. He did interview for a new job with a company that will be servicing Cincinnati Bell's fleet. They won't ramp up until October, so he won't know anything right away.  So there could be a lot of changes in store for the young man in the next few months.

 Vanessa is visiting this weekend so it will be nice to see the crew. Chelsea has moved in with Uncle Vaughn for the school year. Now if we could just get Joe to move in one of his friends...  Anyway so far so good with Chelsea, I think she may have been a little lonely, but I think she will adjust as she meets new people in town.  Joe is adjusting to being an only child. He is disappointed that his computer time has been cut back. I told him that I would bump it up some if he gets good grades. I just don't want him to dig a hole like he did last year.

House
Mood:  rushed
Topic: Chad
Well Chad has made an offer on a house. It is on a 5 acre lot. Plenty of storage space, so no reason not to move out all his stuff. There is still a lot of red tape to get thru, but once this deal is done, I am ready to start hauling.

Vanessa and Eric are moving to a new apartment. We inherit two of their cats. They will go outside of course, one in the house is enough. We plan to go visit sometime soon and see Louisville.

Becky bought Chelsea a car. I am not happy about it, I would rather that she walked. She is still grounded. Her project in school with E. Coli bacteria did OK in judging at Sinclair, but was not good enough to go to regionals. I told her it was learning experience and to use the experience to be even better next year. Joe's grades are improving we are keeping the pressure up on him. He has been shooting his 22 quite a bit as of late, now he wants to buy a scope.

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.

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.

Civic & BB
Topic: Chad
Chad finally got the Honda Civic that he was fixing for Grandpa Jack running. I was working in the barn on something else and gave him a hand. It wouldn't hardly run and seemed to be spitting back up thru the carberator(sp). Came to find out that the exhaust pipe was clogged with a mice nest! He loosed up the exhaust pipe, got it running, and slowly tightened it back up until it blew out all of the plastic and debris. Anyway it frees up some extra space in the barn. I told him that he needs to get his plymouth duster ready for this summer.

Chelsea's team lost in OT to Ansonia. She scored 7 points, including one three point shot. She had a rough game inside - she probably missed 8-10 shots in the paint.