A visit to the pumpkin patch

Fall is here. The great thing about fall here in Phoenix, is that it doesn't even feel like fall. 70 - 80 degrees is the norm and everybody is out an about enjoying the great weather. The only bad thing about it is that everybody else and their grandmother (literally) knows it's great weather, too and comes out and clogs our streets. But I digress, this entry isn't supposed to be about the weather and the influx of snowbirds.

Today we went out to "Mother Nature's Farm" to enjoy in some of the family festivities and get a couple of pumpkins. We did get a couple of pumpkins, but it wasn't exactly what we expected. The pumpkins that came with the entry fee is a little kid sized pumpkin that you could decorate with a marker and stickers. We were expecting good carving pumpkins. I guess we are going to have to take a trip to good ol Wal Mart to get the pumpkins we really want. Why Wal Mart? Because it's cheap. :)

The first thing we did was pick out the pumpkins for the kids to decorate. That didn't take too long, as all the kid sized pumpkins pretty much are very well shaped. We took a few pictures and then headed to the bounce house. Josh just loves these things. He could bounce all day if we let him. While Josh was bouncing, Briana decorated her pumpkin. We did the standard hay ride around the farm as well. I was expecting to see more, but from the looks of things I don't think the farm is going to be there much longer. Not much there in terms of growth, and the fields were not in that great of shape. The kids also got their faces painted.

Not much to the farm and the festivities. Not that many people there either. Oh well, at least it was a good time to spend with the family. 

More Home Improvements

One of my friends is currently remodelling their kitchen, and showed some pictures of new recessed lighting that they are installing. That got me thinking, "You know, now that we have the new kitchen island installed, we really need to get additional lighting installed to provide better coverage." I did a bit of research and I found that installing recessed lighting for a remodel is quite a simple task, especially when there is an existing light and switch at your disposal.

I decided to take a trip to Home Depot, and found some recessed lighting and trim that almost exactly match what we already have in the kitchen. Given that the cans and the trim almost match the price of a single halogen bulb it was a no brainer to go ahead with the purchase. I picked up 5 extra lights and started to work. I first measured out the distance between each of the existing lights so installing the new ones would line up and match. I used my laser level to line up the locations where the new lights were going, marked the center of the light placement and used the provided template to draw the circles in the ceiling. The batteries in my stud finder are dead, so I relied on my home construction pictures to make sure that I wasn't cutting into any existing joists. I proceeded to cut the holes and also I fished the wiring through so I would be ready for the next step.

The next day I shut off the power to the existing light switch (which also controlled the entertainment center and garage, go figure) and started the rewiring and installing of the new lights. It was amazing how easy it was to install the new lights. About an hour later, Tammy and I were done with the project. From the picture provided, you can see were the existing light fixture was (I still need to find a suitable cover). The far 9 cans are the original lights, and you can see 4 of the 5 new cans that were installed. Now if only all of the home improvements done could be this easy.

Phil the dog

We have had Maya (Blue Tick Coonhound mix) for about 10 months now. We got her when she was less than 8 weeks old from a foster home. She has grown up to be a very loving puppy, and sometimes a bit too loving. She's great with the kids as well. But being that we are away from the house so much during the week with school and work, we decided to get her a companion to keep her company.
Tammy has always wanted a small dog that she could just have sit in her lap and not be a bothersome creature. With some luck, she found Phil on the Humane Society website and on chance decided to check him out. He's a 6 year old miniature poodle, and is very patient with Maya and her crazyness.

You can tell that Phil was a lap dog that was able to sit on every single piece of furniture in the house. This is something that is going to be tough to break him from, but we are making steady progress. He's a great dog, and definitely is a lap dog. One thing that I didn't expect was his digging. He needs to be around somebody to lay with and just in general keep him company. I guess Maya isn't good enough for that because on the second day we had Phil, he already dug a hole underneath the side gate of the house and got out. He then proceeded to do it again the next day. This of course has forced me to put down concrete blocks underneath the gate so Phil can't get out.

We are glad we got Phil, and it looks like Maya is too. 

Getting rid of the training wheels

It was only a matter of time before it happened, but the other day I decided to take the training wheels off of Joshua's bike. It was surprisingly easy to get him to get to go by himself, just a little push to get him going and he was on his way. None of the running and following and holding on to the seat that you would expect from the first steps of learning to ride on only two wheels.

What probably made the most impact on the speed of his learning is the fact that he is already quite proficient at riding a scooter. This provided the needed balance for the transition to the bike. He was hesitant on turning, having to stop before pushing his bike to turn it around, but once he figured out that he could do it without stopping, he is going crazy. Up and down the curb, figure 8's. Next thing you know, he is going to be doing wheelies and other tricks. The only thing he needs work on is the starting. Just a little help and a push and he can go and go. Why do they have to grow up so fast? 

I remember the show name...

The show was called "Threshold." Seemed like it only played 1/2 the season before it was pulled off the air. Shame. Especially the vegetables with the human teeth :)