Barry’s Daily Web News

Picture of the Week

I haven’t done a picture of the week for a while, so here is a good one Cortney took with Sean and Princess:

In other news, Sean and I raked the front yard this morning. The big mesquite tree has dropped quite a few leaves, although you wouldn’t know it from the amount of leaves still on the tree.

I also checked out the sprinkler system, which is finally working after the valve fiasco we had last weekend.

Garage Sale Day

Cortney had a garage sale today. She was joined by two of her friends. It sounded like they all had a good time.

I just took it easy today, and Sean, Ethan, and I all got plenty of time into Lego Star Wars. I plan to be a bit more productive tomorrow.

Boys Night Out

I hope this post doesn’t find its way into the search rankings — somebody searching for that information is bound to be disappointed…

The kids and I went to McDonald’s tonight. Since Sean received perfect scores on both his spelling and phonograms, he was treated to an ice cream cone for dessert, in addition to his Happy Meal. As usual, Sean and Ethan spent most of their time on the video games.

Princess Has a Fun Class

Princess really enjoyed her dog class. For half the class, all she had to do was greet and play with the other dogs. I really think she liked that.

Early to rise?

I went in early to to work in order to prepare for a meeting, which worked out well since I was able to go home early. Sean had the day off from school, so Cortney took him to the local science museum. Ethan stayed in school for an extended day, to give Cortney plenty of time at the museum.

My parents went to the model home where they are building so they could look over the upgrade options. They have an appointment tomorrow morning to make their final choice on the options.

We all went out to eat at Sweet Tomatoes. Sean and Ethan were a bit cranky when we first got their, but they settled down after that.

The problem with getting up early is that I am tired now, and won’t be staying up too much longer.

Guests

It was another nice day today, but I did not spend much time outside because I had to work late. After I came home, ate dinner, and finished Sean’s homework, it was time for Ethan to go to bed.

My parents arrived safely this evening. They are staying just for a couple of days so they can pick out the options for their house, then they are flying back.

We Have Water!

This morning, we had an “expert” tech come out and look at our main water line. It took him 3 tries to get a good weld to the water line, but he got it done. I had to work from home today, since the water wasn’t fixed until mid-afternoon. At least we have water for one my parents arrive tomorrow night.

It was a gorgeous day today, with a high of 82 degrees. After dinner, we all went over to the dog park. This was Cortney’s first trip, and she expected Princess to run around more and play with the other dogs. She was too busy taking pictures of the kids at the dog park to noticed I worked Princess hard on the agility course. After that, Princess was happy just to walk around, sniff all the smells, and greet the dogs who came up to her.

Still No Water

The plumber actual gave up today. He was able to hook everything up with just a slow leak, so we had the water running just long enough for everyone to shower, including Princess. We also ran the dishwasher and one load of clothes.

We had guests over for the Superbowl, and we were barely ready when they arrived. I wanted Chicago to win, so I was disappointed with the game, but otherwise, everyone had a good time.

A Day Without Water

Since it was warming up nicely outside this morning, I thought I would replace the broken pressure relief valve, and get the sprinkler system working again. I received the valve I ordered over the internet yesterday. Replacing the unit wasn’t too much trouble. Until I went to turn on the water valve. I did not realize the valve I shut off was the main line into the house. And somehow, I just couldn’t get the valve to open back up.

I called a plumber, and had no response in two hours, so I called another. That plumber arrived a 4:30 in the afternoon. He showed me that the valve had sheared off, and I needed to replace it. The plumber had trouble with the main water line, as it was soft copper, which comes by the reel. By the time the line made it to the house, it had warped enough so that it was oval in shape. To make a long story short, the plumber ran out of time, and we have to go through the night without water.

The only good part of the day was when Cortney went out to get some steaks for me to cook on the grill. We ate nice steaks on paper plates, but at least we did not have to wash any dishes.

Hockey Game Update

The Jobing.com area where the Phoenix Coyotes play is very nice. The facility is brand new, and construction is almost complete on a nightlife area around the arena. I liked the free public parking, and the ease of getting in and out of the parking lot.

The game turned out to be quite exciting. I thought the Coyotes were outplaying the Predators, but with 11 minutes left in the game, the Coyotes were down one goal to two. The Coyotes ended up scoring two goals in the last few minutes to win the game.

I slept late this morning, so I worked late as well. I saw the remains of an interesting accident on the way home from work. A car had crossed about 15 yards off the highway to enter the company parking lot, hitting a couple of cars, and pushing the cars into yet more cars. I’m glad my car was not involved, as I would bet it was an uninsured motorist.

After dinner, I only had time for one round of Lego Star Wars on the computer before the kids went to bed.

Hockey Game

Sean and I are going to see the Phoenix Coyotes. Like the baseball and the basketball game this year, we purchased the tickets through Sean’s school. Now, I just need to take Sean to a football game to round out Sean’s professional sports experiences.