Safety First!

Our evenings look a lot like this nowadays. Good thing he's wearing his helmet to drive the dumper all over the ramp.


Frankie and I were sick all weekend, so Juston did ramp repairs and painted it blue.

This is real?

I'd loved to have sat in on the brainstorming meeting when someone came up with this idea.



In other news, a post is coming....soon....I've just had lots of other things going on lately!

The Ramp

So after five years of big talk about doing it, Juston finally did it. He built a skate ramp in the backyard. This is what happens when you can't afford to build a garage because it requires $6k in concrete but still want to build something, I guess. Juston's older brother Jason and his cousin Thayne came out this week to help and from what I can tell, they've had a great time bonding and using power tools.

Juston and Jason in the early stages.


This old billboard, donated by Cartoon Network to our cause, is the tarp that covers the completed ramp. Frankie and Bridget had fun running around on it.


Frankie doesn't really like power tools. He'll grow into it, I'm sure.

Bridget may or may not like the power tools, but she does like to chew on sticks outside and get in the middle of things.


Nice view, eh?


Frankie's first test run on the middle of the second day of operation 'skateboard ramp.'


Frankie watching.


Jason and Thayne sheeting the ramp. All that's left is a tiny bit of sheeting and another coat of paint and we'll be in skateboarding session. Maybe now is a good time for me to learn...

Last week, with feeling.

I've slacked on blogging because I've been unmotivated. I've been busy with work and company and sitting outside while Frankie digs in the dirt for hours on end whilst I grade midterms on the deck. It's been fun. Last week, it was nice outside (yes, five days after the snow, we were in shorts). So we went to the zoo - again. Here's a few that look like many others I've taken, but, you know, Frankie looks cute, so I'm posting them anyway.


I had to bribe the Frankster with a lollipop to get him to stick his head into the Elephant cutout.


Usually Frankie doesn't want to ride the animals on the carousel; we end up riding in one of the stationary buckets. This time, I pretty much forced him up there, and once the jaguar started moving, he loved it. His little buddy Anna (to the right on the baboon) was also having a great time!


And lastly, our house in the midst of the week's earlier snowstorm. It looks almost serene and not quite as 'aluminum siding and vinyl fence' grungy in the snow.

Snow Day

As those of you who follow the weather know, Atlanta got a heap of snow today. It was raining when we went to church, and by the time the first meeting was over, it was coming down as snow, and hard. By the end of church, it was sticking to everything and the roads were covered in slush. Now, at the end of the day, it's all melty, but we got several hours of hard snow today, the likes of which I haven't seen since moving here four and a half years ago.

For your viewing pleasure, snow pictures, round 1:

There's snow on the truck!


Frankie and I walking to the car - he was NOT happy.


Driving home, view through the windshield: