Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

Okay, really from Clay.

He had this to say at dinner last night about the inauguration:

"How do you say it? Nog-ration? I bet they drink lots of 'Nog' there... you know, egg nog."

I love the way his mind works!

Pinewood Derby 2009

The Pinewood Derby was a real blast this year. We spent a few days the week before working on our cars and thanks to Uncle George and the scroll saw he let us borrow, cutting out the boys' designs were a cinch. We will definitely be borrowing that again next year. Dad did the cutting and some of the detail work, but the boys did some too, like painting and sanding. Next year, the plan is to let them do their own cars with as little help from dad as possible...'cause dad is going to make his own car next year and race it against some other dads. See, Pinewood Derby isn't just for the kiddos...it's very serious for us dads too!
As for Derby Day, we made it a family affair and even Lanie had a good time. It was Clay's first year to participate since he's now a Tigercub and it was Turner's second year (he's in the Bear Den) AND second time to come home with an award. Last year he came home with a 2nd place ribbon for his den and this year, his "Whale of a Car" design won him a TROPHY-1st Place for "Best Non-Car Design." He's very excited to say the least...what 8 year old doesn't love a trophy? Dad is pretty proud too. His car looked very sharp and was pretty fast even though speed wasn't really something he cared too much about (but dad did...and made a few minor adjustments to make sure it was quick). Clay's car, the blue speed machine with it's yellow racing stripe, looked rather sweet and it was fast too. But unfortuntely he's in a den with the family who wins EVERY YEAR! They have some secret technique and build fast cars. It's on next year...we are going to perfect our designs and hopefully give them a run for their money. Look out Bodden's...the Richardson's are throwing down the gauntlet in 2010! Click here to see some more pictures from the day's events.

Zipline Fun!

The kids put their Christmas loot together and ordered the supplies to build a zipline in the yard. Here's what it took...

• 1/4" Galvanized Aircraft Cable-200'
• 1 12" Turnbuckle for taking slack out of cable
• 15 Wire Clamps
• Some really creative engineering on Dad's part.
  

It wasn't too difficult to put up, but due to all the rain the ground was really soft and driving my 1/2 ton truck through the front yard so I could use it to get the slack out of the cable was a pretty bad idea. I have some huge tracks where nice grass once was. Oh well, it's all in the name of fun. Remind me of that when I am complaining about it come Spring and my grass is all jacked up! The kids liked it though 'cause I was throwing mud and grass about 20' into the air. And as I had straps, cables, ropes and ladders rigged up, my wife asked me if I was trying out for the Darwin Awards! Oh ye of little faith. With what I had going I would have surely only gotten an honorable mention! You have to actually die to get an award. I am sure I would have just severely wounded myself. Anyway, it's up...no one has been hurt and it's really fun! Not too high OR fast, it's a great ride that the kids can't get enough. I will mention that Mommy has yet to put her trust in it and ride, but due to the amount of harrassment she's getting from Turner and Clay, I am sure she will soon. I suggested hooking Lanie's Johnny-Jump-Up to it so Lanie could ride but that didn't go over too well. Anyway, it should make for some great times at Camp Richardson for kids and grown-ups alike. The next addition will be a permanent launching platform, but for now, we just climb a ladder and go. Come take a ride!

And They Call It...

Puppy Love

We got a new lens for our camera and I am having a great time playing with it, can you tell? The truth is that I *may* have pulled the opposite of 'the husband getting the wife a power drill' because I bought the lens as a gift for Jeff's birthday last week, but I have spent much more time enjoying it than he has!

Turner & Gizmo are big buddies, especially since Lanie's arrival which meant that Gizmo got the boot from our bed and has now taken to sleeping with Turner every night. Most nights when we tuck Turner in he has both Gizmo and our cat, Thomas, snuggled up with him. He seems to have a gift with animals, they just love him. I'm wondering if we should change his name to

Dr. Turner Dolittle?

The Million Dollar Question...

Is Lanie going to have curly hair?

YEP! Looks that way!

Christmas Fun 2008

We had a great Christmas break this year... First we went to Daphne for cousin Josh's wedding. We usually see them every summer at the beach, so it was a change to see everyone all cleaned up for the wedding considering we spend our summer days together in jammies or swimsuits! We got home and went straight to cousin Janet & Perry's for dinner and games which is always fun. Then on Christmas morning all the grandparents joined us to see what Santa brought and to open gifts. Below are some photos of their loot and our Christmas morning breakfast. The boys have spent their days enjoying their new toys... the electric scooters and Nintendo DS'a are the current favorites. Lanie got lots of goodies, but so far her favorites are a blue foam puzzle piece from a puzzle book and a hot pink drum stick. She has been crawling around the house with one or the other in her mouth like a puppy dog since Christmas.

Freebies & Deals...

Happy New Year!!!

I love bargains, so I thought I would share my newest find. Have you noticed these "Redbox" things in the front of your local Walmart? I did and decided to do a little websurfing to find out about them. Well folks, this is the next Blockbuster or Movie Gallery. Just about every movie rental place around here has gone out of business so this is my new favorite way to rent movies. Yep, we've tried Netflix which is still a bargain if you use it enough. To rent movies on demand at home runs $4 and we rarely get through one without the digital connection messing up, which is a *TAD* annoying. Also, you can now watch lots of things online, but again our internet connection doesn't always cooperate.
Thanks to Redbox, we've enjoyed several movies over the holidays completely free. During December they offered free codes for a movie rental every Sunday in addition to the free code they also offer the rest of the year on Monday nights. And when you sign up online they also give you a free code to use whenever you like. The free signup code is 'BREAKROOM' and you can use it once anytime to get started, even before you signup.
How does it work? Next time you're in Walmart walk up to the box, use the touch screen button at the bottom of the page to hit 'rent with promo code'. Enter your code, it will accept it and show that you have credit to rent one movie. Then it will guide you through a selection process to see everything that's in stock (yep, they usually do have the newest releases in stock). Choose your movie, enter your email address, swipe a charge or debit card, and it spits out your movie and emails you a receipt. Even for the freebies, you do have to swipe a card because it will charge you $1 per night late fee up to a $25 cap if you don't return the movie. Like I said, we have used it successfully several times this month for free without any charges to our credit card.
The regular fee to rent is only $1 per night and movies can be returned to any redbox, not just the one you got it at. When you sign up online you can also check what's in stock and reserve movies at different locations. You do have to make a trip back to return it, but we live within 5 minutes of several locations so it's no big deal. Obviously, if you always forget to return movies (Dad!) then this is not going to be a great deal for you!

I am hoping to get some family Christmas photos uploaded and posted here soon. My goal for the new year is to try and get at least one family post and one 'money saver' post up each week this year so we'll see how that goes!!! I am also going to add some local blogs that have helped me save money this year... Again, Happy New Year!