I have created another blog centered on personal finances
http://understandingdollars.blogspot.com
I thought it would be fun to talk about money, mostly to keep myself focused on my goals and desires, but I also thought other might enjoy it.

Turkey day!

For thanksgiving this year I wanted to try frying a turkey. With no complaints about the experiment from the family, I got out the propane burner and a large pot... 36 Min later.. One delicious turkey!
We had some mixed reactions on the finished product, but T and I sure enjoyed it. I was a little afraid that I might over season it for my first time, but it actually was a little dull on seasoning. I found most of the seasonings in the bottom of the pan after I drained the oil. Next time I will have to look into injecting it.

Nuts, and bolts, and gakets, and seals........

...... and bushings, and springs, and pistons,
and valves, and rods, and exhaust, and about a billion electrical connections, and hoses, and belts, and... you get the point. I took a few days and focused my time on finishing the van. Tina is really happy to have her car back. I'm sure Dear sweet old grandmother Peterson is glad that we are not using her car anymore. And my truck is glad to be parked again. (it only likes to be used for tough manly things, not picking up groceries- Maybe I'll go tow the 5th wheel around for a couple hours to remind it that I still love it) Now that the van is done I can move on to the next of the many projects that need to be completed. Maybe if I am fast enough the snowmobiles will be ready for the season :)

I purchased a new lever Action 30/30 last week. I was sitting at my desk working and looked over at Abigail as she was playing, and couldn't help but laugh at the obvious bad parenting skills I have. I was sure to take a picture, to insure that I will not be asked by anyone to baby sit their children.







Disclaimer:
I'm not a complete idiot. There is not actually a gun in the box. Please to not let your anti-gun liberal friends send this harmless picture to Child Protective Services. Picture may not be copied or duplicated with out prior consent of childs father (and Like heck I'm going to give you permission)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN #1

Abigail went as Thing 1 and Allyson went as Thing 2 for their first Halloween adventure!!! We used the blue hairspray stuff to color their hair. It was harder then I thought because they have such little hair and we had to do it outside. It was funny because you could see the steam rise off their heads because of the cold outside and the cold hairspray. They went trunk - r - treating that night. We got a lot of candy! Thank you Abby and Ally!! love mom and dad

The bane of my existence!

Tina's van started to over heat, so I figured I would change the coolant and give it a little tune up. It continued to over heat, and the coolant would just disappear from the radiator. I continued to fill the coolant and bleed the air out, but it seemed to get worse and worse. For those of you who haven't beat me to the end of my story, the head gaskets have gone bad. I purchased a wrecked van of the same model and prepared myself mentally for the long process of the ever impossible minivan engine swap. It really wasn't as bad to remove as I had thought it would be. Neil come over to help and we had the engines (wrecked van and our van) out in about 5 hours. I put new plugs and some parts on the engine going back in. I had previously run the motor of the wrecked van and did a few quick checks to insure it's quality, so I was pretty excited to get it put into our van. It took a little longer to get it in than it did to get the other two out, but with the help of Scott and Rohan we were able to do it in about 7 hours (including an hour of frustration due to a stupid tax on my part) The van fired right up on the first try (which isn't typical for my work) sounded great, run well, and idled smooth. After it warmed up I jumped in for a test drive. It took off down the road, much more power than the old engine! about 1/2 mile down the road I noticed some smoke (which is also typical when changing engines for me) I figured a hose had been left off, or maybe residual oil burning off, but much to my dismay as I entered the driveway it was pouring a brownish/cream colored fluid was leaking from the bask of the motor. I pulled the oil dipstick and sure enough it was full of a bubbly gross brown colored oil. You guessed it..... bad head gasket!
After much debate we decided to skip the motor rebuild and buy another van. I searched for the van style we wanted and found about 6 we liked. Long story short each of the 6 were showing signs of bad head gaskets, or actually had them go out while we were lookng at them!!
Now the van sits in the garage awaiting my compassionate touch. We are going to pull the motor and replace the head gaskets in hope that it will return to the reliable family van it once was....

Finally the day comes!
The other day I decided I have waited long enough. I was not yet a man. I have been going through life pretending to be something I was not. I had friends that were real men, and I was always needing their help to show me the right way. I was failing in my ability to create. I was neglecting my duties because I could not accomplish them on my own. It was time for me to grow up. I needed to do what the big kids do. I needed to break away from the menial life I had been living....
It was time for a WELDER!!!

Now I realize that this is a simple 110 wire feed, but it is the first steps to becoming a man. After I learn to not hurt my self with this one I will move up to 22o. I must first walk before I run. I must have the milk before the meat. I will become a man soon enough!

Famous wife and kids

Tina was asked to do a photo with the girls for a "news paper add" when the girls were just a couple months old. We thought it was cool and have a couple copies of the article that ran in the davis county paper. One day we received a phone call from a friend telling us they had seen her on a billboard..... What a shock! My first question was "where the heck is my money!?". It has been fun for Tina to get phone calls from people that have seen her. The board is just before the Centerville exit on north bound I-15. What cute girls I have- all 3!