Trampoline Down The Backyard.

It seems like lately we are always so busy around here and there always seems like things just keep being added on to our busy lives.

With the summer now here the yard needs mowing every other week. I've had to trim back bushes and cut low hanging branches off the tree in the front yard. Yesterday, we got a trampoline from one of my mother-in-law's neighbors. It's awesome! However, that meant I had no other choice but to tackle the enormous task of cleaning up the backyard. This required the calling in of reinforcements. So, we were able to get Daniel, Jeromy, & Josh to come on over. The yard required 2ft tall grass to be mowed, a tree branch from our neighbor's tree to be chainsawed off, and our Crape Myrtle was going to be cut down. I mowed the lawn. It required 2 passes at different mower heights. Jeromy and Josh used the chainsaw until it stopped working. We weren't able to take down the whole Crape Myrtle because of it. But one large branch was removed. We're going to work on the rest of the tree in a few weeks. All of us dragged the branches out to the front for the trash man to pick up sometime in the next few weeks. Even Joshua took a few little limbs out with him. (What a big helper out little guy is!) And now we have a new toy to play with in the backyard. Anyway, here's our new toy.

Soon we're also going to remove the shed, cut down another bush that's back there, tear down the sunroom, add a nice new porch, and landscape the whole thing. It's gonna look nice. Someday.

This weekend it's off to the cabin in Arkansas to celebrate the 4th of July. We'll be riding 4-wheelers, shooting off fireworks, playing tee ball, and having a good ol' time. Everyone else is going up there on Thursday night. I have to work until late Friday/early Saturday so I'll have to meet up with them then. I can't wait!

Anyway, that's all I've got. More will come in the future.

Here's A Quickie!

It's been awhile since I posted, but I'm so into Facebook now that I rarely take the time to post here. I check for updates all the time and my wife posts things on her blog at least twice a week if not more. Anyway, here's what's happening right now.

I'm stuck in Memphis waiting for someone to come change a tire on my rig. I woke up at 3:30pm and found it flat during my pre trip inspection. The maintenance shop at our yard closed at 3pm. They're having to get an outside company to come fix it and it's taking forever! Once the tire's fixed I get to head home.

My wife and I are starting to learn how to save money. I no longer stop at truck stops everyday to buy a meal. Now I bring food with me. The savings is amazing! Well, the tire's fixed and I'm ready to hit the road. Like I said, it's a quickie!

Sittin' Here Restin' My Bones

There's been birthdays, Mother's Day, sick days, and today is Memorial Day. I guess it's time I post something. I might as well. I've been sitting at home by myself since I got home yesterday at 7am. My wife & son went off to the cabin in Arkansas with her Mom, Step dad, and sister's family to enjoy the holiday weekend. I had to work and was unable to go. I thought it'd be kinda cool to have the whole house to myself for a couple of days. And for about 30 minutes it was. Then I got bored. I went outside and mowed the lawn. Then I took a long relaxing shower. I watched a movie. I went grocery shopping. Being alone in this big house really isn't all that great. I don't know how my wife did it before Joshua was born. She had to be alone 5 days a week while I was out on the road. At least now our son is here to keep her busy. And I'm sure he keeps her busy!

Last Sunday we had a birthday party for Joshua. He became a 2 year old on Tuesday. He had a 'Tow Mater' themed birthday party. Susan and I thought we could get this whole party taken care of on our own. But me getting sick and cake troubles required us to call in reinforcements. Thanks to Stephanie the cake was saved and thanks to Brandon the hamburgers got cooked. Joshua received so many really cool gift for his birthday this year. He got a play yard and a bubble mower from Mommy & Daddy. A tee ball set, a bat and baseballs from Nana & Pops. A toddler sofa bed from Uncle Brandon & Aunt Stephanie. A GeoTrax plane set and a toy camera from the Uncle Jeromy & Aunt Mandy. A hand made puzzle holder box and puzzles from Daniel & Christina. A $20 check from his Grandparent's in CA. A Wagon filled with sandbox toys from Auntie Jo. And of course plenty of new clothes. In other words, he made out like a bandit!

After having been sick since last Friday night I agreed with my wife and went to the doctor Monday morning. By that time I had flu-like symptoms and my left eye was bloodshot. The doctor told me it was a viral infection and gave me a few prescriptions to get filled. One of the scripts was for eyedrops. Well, I'm cheap and thought I could just use some stuff I already had at home. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!! I ended up making both eyes extremely bloodshot, itchy, watery, and burning. On Wednesday I went and got the right eyedrops. It's been 5 days and there's still a hint of red in my eyes, but it's almost gone. Another lesson learned the hard way. Never be your own doctor! This is where my wife would say, "I told you so!" And I respond, "Yes, Dear."

That's really all I've got. Everything else is just day-to-day stuff. Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend.

Mother's Tire Of Lightning!

First off, I want to wish all the mom's out there a Happy Mother's Day. Here's hoping that your special day is filled with all the wonder and joy that you can handle.

Okay. Now that that's out of the way here's how things are going in my world. We'll start with work. My shift bid finally came up and once again I am still on the same shift. It's good and all, but I really would like to have a Monday - Friday shift. Hopefully it'll happen the next time around. The last few weeks of driving had not been too exciting. Mostly just the same old same old. However, on the last day of this week I ended up having a tire blow out on the trailer I was hauling from Lubbock, TX to Abilene, TX. I had to drive 70 miles with it that way until I reached the TA truck stop in Sweetwater, TX. Once I got there it was discovered that the blow out had been caused by the mud flap getting tangled between the 2 tires and the bar that holds it in place was pulled between them. Here's what that looks like.I got there at about 7pm that night. It took the mechanic until 1am to finish the job! 6 hours! That's outrageous! By the time I got out of there my company had taken me off 2 load assignments and I ended up losing about 400 miles for the week. On the plus side of things, I did get to come home early and see my wife and son before they both went off to bed. I tried to go to bed too, but I couldn't sleep. That's why I'm here doing this now.

In other news. 2 weeks ago my wife's mother & stepfather had to come and stay with us for awhile. During a strong storm we had that Monday morning their house was struck by lightning. It hit their chimney and sparked off to their electrical wires which started a fire in the attic. The fire department came and put it out rather quickly, but they had to punch a hole through the living room ceiling to get to it. The damage wasn't too extensive, but the electric and gas were out and they were not allowed to stay there until it could be repaired. Here's what it looked like from inside the attic.

It's only been 11 days and they've already got the electric and gas back on and the hole fixed in their living room. They moved back into their home Friday night. I'm really surprised how fast it all was taken care of. Especially since the insurance company was involved. I'm sure they're just glad to be back at home sleeping on a regular mattress instead of the air mattress they had to sleep on here.

And here's the Joshua report. He's getting to be such a big boy. Yesterday, my wife sent me a video of him doing somersaults all by himself. Last week he began peddling his tricycle on his own. He's begun speaking in sentences and not just 1 or 2 words at a time. Okay, the sentences are a little broken, but still it's not bad for a kid who's about to turn 2. In fact, next Sunday is his birthday party and he turns 2 on Tuesday. My wife & I have discovered that it is hard to by a toy for a 2 year old. He seems to old for some things, but not old enough for others. Later today we're going shopping to see what we can come up with.

Anyway, I'm starting to finally feel tired. I think I'll try to lay down again and see what happens.

Long Trips And Family Adventures

Well, it's been 2 weeks since my last post. I just haven't really had much to talk about. 2 weeks ago was just another week. I drove, I came home, and I went back to work again. Last week was interesting. My first load took me to Memphis, TN. After that the rest of the week was very unusual for me. Normally, the furthest east I go is to Nashville, TN. Not this time. This time I went to Knoxville, TN. Then I went to Charlotte, NC. Then to 2 stops in Atlanta, GA. And finally a long 850 mile trip back home. I actually enjoyed the change of pace for once. I took a few pictures along the way. Here's one of a tunnel in Fines Creek, NC on I-40.And here is one of downtown as I was entering Atlanta, GA on I-285 West.Anyway, I was able to get home by midnight, Sunday morning. I got a good night's sleep and woke up ready for a good day with my family. We didn't do too much all day. Susan's mom came over and we went to Double Dave's Pizza for lunch. Then we went to Daniel & Christina's to give their kids their Baptism gifts. Joshua and Adam seemed to have a blast playing with each other. They chased each other all over the place, played catch-the-ball, and pretty much just rough housed. After that we came back home and Janie trimmed Joshua's hair.(It was getting kinda shaggy) Susan made steak, potatoes, and corn for dinner. Joshua didn't really touch it much, but I think that's cause he ate a whole bunch at lunch. When dinner was over Mommy sat him down for potty time. He did pee, but most of it didn't make it in the potty. He got it all over the floor instead. After that, it was bath time, where he decided it was more fun to drink the bath water than play in it. And after the bath was over he rejected his towel and streaked from the bathroom across the hall to the office to show Daddy that he was clean. Nice! I wonder how that would look if Susan or I did it? Never mind! We put him to bed, he fussed only for a moment and went to sleep. For some reason Susan & I suddenly had the urge for ice cream. There was none in the house. So, at 9:00 at night I drove off to Braum's and got Susan a Brownie Fudge Sundae and A Banana Split for myself. It was oh so goooooood!

This morning it has begun to storm. The thunder is loud, the rain has been heavy at times, and the weatherman says it's only going to get worse. It looks like it's supposed to be like this all week. I usual love a stormy day, but not when it goes on and on and on. Susan already had to head off to work in the rain. Now it's my turn to go out in it. I need to take Joshua to daycare. Lately on Mondays I've hated taking him there. I've been missing him a lot lately while I'm out on the road and I just want to keep him home and keep him all to myself. Oh, well. He needs to spend time with his friends and he learns so much in daycare.

Okay! I guess I need to stop typing now and get things done.

A Week Of Many Surprises.

This week was not a typical week for me. Most things that went on this week were either last minute or completely unplanned. Let's start with Tuesday. The new cell phone I ordered from Verizon was delivered. I spent most of the day playing with it and trying to learn how to use all of it's features. Before I knew it the rest of the day had passed by and I hadn't gotten hardly any rest for work. After having not gotten much sleep during the day and not fully being ready to head off to work I called my work to see where I was going to be headed to. I got a really big surprise when they told me they didn't have a load for me. Ouch! I didn't want to go out, but I can't afford to be missing work either.

On the plus side, I did get to be at home with my wife on our 3rd Wedding Anniversary. We had celebrated it on Monday by going to Red Lobster for dinner because we thought I wouldn't be home on Wednesday. So, on our Anniversary we went to Pasado's Mexican Restaurant with Jeromy & Mandy. Pasado's has the best guacamole I have ever tasted. Their food isn't too bad either. After dinner was over I called my work and they had a load for me. So, I got ready for work and headed out the door.

Well, here's how things went as far as my work schedule goes. Dallas, TX to Lubbock, TX to Dallas, TX to Shreveport, LA to Jackson, MS to Memphis, TN and back to Dallas, TX. If that seems short well, that's because it was. I actually arrived in Dallas at 6:45am Saturday morning. A whole day earlier than usual. So, my work week was really, really short. However, the early return home gave me the fantastic opportunity of making a surprise trip to Arkansas to see my family. They had all headed to the cabin for the weekend to celebrate Easter and I originally wasn't going to be able to be there with them. I didn't even tell them I was coming. After the 4 1/2 hour drive there I stopped just before entering the gate and called my wife. I asked her how things were going and told her how much I really missed her and Joshua. She said her and Joshua missed me too. I said to her, "Than look over the hill.", and drove onto the property. They all seemed surprised to see me there. They also ended up having a surprise for me. The night before Janie's air mattress had gotten a hole in it and her and David were using ours. Susan had an extra twin air mattress, but that was it. I had no bed to sleep on. That was easily fixed though. Susan and her mom took a trip to Mena, AR to buy another twin for me to sleep on.

The rest of the time in Arkansas was spent having fun. I rode around the property a bunch of times on the ATV's, shot some clay pigeons, flew kites, did an Easter egg hunt, played kickball with Joshua, and had some really good BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. After the day winded down and we had all settled into bed a strong thunderstorm blew through the area and soaked everything. It was still raining when we got up Sunday morning. We ended up having to load up all our things into the vehicles in the rain. And wouldn't you know it, the minute everything was done being loaded, the rain stopped! Figures! Anyway, we got home around 5:30pm and relaxed most of the rest of the night.

This morning Joshua slept in until a little after 10am. When I went in and woke him up he was in a really good mood. He has been a little sick the last few days and has had a yellowish goo coming out of his ears. So, I decided to have him stay home with me today and we've been playing and having fun all day so far. I put him down for an afternoon nap around 2:45pm and he's still asleep now. He has a doctor's appointment at 4:30pm tonight, but he seems to be getting better on his own just fine. We'll still go to be sure though.

Anyway, now your all caught up and you'll have to wait until I have more to type.

Bye, Bye Old Fence. Hello, New Cable Line.

It's blog time again. Wed. - Sat. was spent driving as usual. There was supposed to be a shift bid at my work last week, but for some unknown reason it didn't happen. I really don't mind though, because they do the shift bid by seniority and I'm still way at the bottom of the list. Every time shift bid comes around I worry that I'll end up being on the standby list and have my miles cut dramatically. So far that hasn't happened thank God. Anyway, here's last week's lineup. Dallas, TX to Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA to Mobile, AL to Birmingham, AL to Jackson, MS to Baton Rouge, LA to Memphis, TN and back to Dallas, TX. I got home around 2am Sunday morning and was able to get a good nights rest.

It's a good thing that I got that rest too. On Friday I received a call from my wife and she informed me that some really strong winds had come through on Thursday and the fence on the west side of our house had blown over. Here's a picture of the aftermath.

So Sunday afternoon we had the Howard's and Spencer's over to our house for fence raising party. The neighbor also joined in since it was his fence too. The fun began by tearing down the rest of the old fence and digging out the old posts. Next it was time to dig new holes. The first hole dug was the beginning of a whole new adventure. You see, we started at the back of our property and about half way into digging we noticed we had hit some cables in the ground. At the time we thought they were just old cables that had just been left in the ground. More on this a little later. It took all day and a trip to Lowes for some extra supplies but by the end of the day we had a new fence. Here's what it looks like now.

While the guys were out working in the yard, the ladies worked inside watching the kids and cooking enchiladas. They did a wonderful job at both. Dinner was delicious. The kids seemed to have had fun most of the time. Once dinner was over though, for some reason Joshua became a holy terror. He was screaming, crying, and throwing a fit. Nothing was stopping it either. What he really needed was a nap. He usually gets one some time in the afternoon, but with all that was going on he hadn't had one. He was a little better after he did get one, but not great.

So, while I was at Lowes, Susan calls me to tell me that our internet and cable tv is out and asked if I could call Charter and see why. I called them and they told me they would look into it and to call back in an hour or so if it was still not working. After a couple of hours had passed and the fence was done and everyone had left I checked the internet and cable tv to see if it was working, but it still was not. I called charter again and they told me they would have to send someone out on Monday to look at it. Luckily, I also have a Verizon connection card that I use while I'm out on the road, so we at least had access to the internet, even if it was slower than molasses.

So today, after I got home from doing some running around town, the guy from Charter shows up and tells me that everyone on our block that has Charter has lost their service. Turns out the underground cable we hit on the digging of the 1st post hole belonged to Charter. Yep! We hit a live one and killed the cable on our entire block. He had to dig up all the dirt and gravel around the post, splice new cable wires to the old, and bury them again. At least now we have our services back.

In other news for today. I got Joshua up and took him to his daycare. Susan has gotten an earier shift at her work and asked if I could take Joshua to daycare on my days off so that he could sleep in a little later on Mon. & Tues. I have no problem getting to spend a little more time with my boy in the mornings. After I dropped him off at daycare I went and finally got my new glasses back again. They were made right this time and I can see through them perfectly. I also took the check our neighbor gave us for his half of the cost of the fence to the bank. Then I went and paid off a loan we had. That was a nice feeling. And finally I went to Walmart to get a few items we needed at the house. I also kept myself productive at the house by doing some laundry, doing the dishes, and taking out the trash and recycle items.

Now I'm tired and I'm heading off to bed. Night y'all!