Dad's Day(s)

I did my best to extend Father's Day this year, although I would contend it was for (mostly) unselfish reasons.  I got a jump start on it a week early by taking my Dad out to see the tractor restoration for the Cat Visitor's Center that I have been helping with research on.  I'm sure the discussions on some of the minutia of tractor history were a little beyond his interest level, but I think he still had a good time seeing all the projects, and I know I had a good time showing him.  The trip was only made possible by the willingness of Grandma to watch the boys, as C also had errands she needed to run.  We all reconvened after our busy afternoons for a nice supper together. 

Father's Day festivities resumed the next weekend.  They started off with the tradition of running in the Steamboat Classic.  I bested my time from last year, but was in no danger of setting a personal best.   Official Father's day celebrations consisted of a trip home on Saturday, and having C's Dad over to our house on Sunday; both good time spent with family.

Project work the past few weeks has been of the outdoor variety.  The ever increasing number of large toys (for both Dad and the boys) has put storage space in the under-deck shed at a premium.  I had decided earlier this year I wanted to expand the shed that originally used about half the available space.  The reason I hadn't done this in the first place was a pair of 2x10 support beams.  These beams hang down beneath the joists so are great for banging your head on, and since they sandwich the support columns, also provide a challenge for building a water-proof roof.  Weekend #1 involved taking down one wall and extending another, and also installing the roof.  Weekend #2 work comprised of trying to close some small gaps, and putting down pave stones for the floor.  The boys provided intermittent "help" throughout the project, but the task they were best suited for was leveling the paver sand for the stones.  The work was hot and dirty, but it is nice to not have stuff not so crammed in there.  It also motivated me to get rid of some stuff, which I have had a decent amount of luck doing on craigslist. 

Speaking of the large toys, the boys' power wheels have been getting more of a workout than normal lately.  L is really getting to be a good driver, and he and N have enjoyed making laps together up and down the cul-de-sac.  The neighbor kids have been out on theirs more lately too, which makes it all the more fun for them.  For the first time ever, we even had a day where we ran down all the batteries and had to wait for them to charge. 

The Ole Ball Game

N earned a free ticket to a Chiefs game for reading books a few weeks ago, but it was so hot we decided to stay home.  Tonight was another opportunity for a free night with the Chiefs through work, and the weather was much more cooperative.  I was just looking forward to a night out with the fam at the ballpark and some free hot dogs, but it turned out to be much more. 

As we walked in, one of the Chiefs staff stopped us and asked if Nick wanted to help paint home plate as part of the pre-game routine.  I didn't know that was part of the routine, but we got to go down on the field and paint home plate just before they threw out the first pitch.  N was super-excited. 

We had to wait a little bit to go down on the field for painting the plate.  While we were waiting Pete Vonachen, founder of the Peoria Chiefs, came up and teased N about wanting to trade him his hat (from the Lexington Tractor Show) for a baseball.  Pete has a tradition of giving little boys baseballs, and there is a statue of him giving a boy a baseball as you walk in to the ball park.  N did not want to trade his hat, but he got the ball anyway.  He also got one for painting the plate, so thankfully we had one for each boy. 

My managers put out a very nice spread for all of us and our families.  I couldn't even tell you what the score of the game was while we were there, but it was a beautiful night, with good food, family and friends.  What could possibly top off the evening?   How about getting to see Mr. Belding from the show "Saved By the Bell".  It's a bit of a stetch for Teacher Appreciation Night to bring in a guy who played the principle on a 90's TV show, but I guess I get it.  The line for his autograph was surprisingly long, and we certainly weren't going to wait, but it's not every day you get to see a sort-of celebrity.  It was a great night all around.

Cherry Fest

Two weeks since my last update; now that's more like my normal schedule. 

We've been busy the last couple weekends with things that have kept me out of the workshop for the most part.  The weekend before last we finally had our big garage sale.  Boy did we have alot of stuff to get rid of.  I felt like we did get rid of alot of the odd and ends, but still had quite a bit of kids clothes left.  I also didn't get a whole lot of interest in the tractor parts I had for sale, but that wasn't a big surprise since I had them priced reasonable for someone that needed them, not so cheap that someone would buy them looking to resell them.

The power wheels, on the other hand, sold fairly quickly.  The two highest priced ones sold before we even actually opened.  The buyer came a day early trying to buy them, then showed up the day of the sale 20 minutes before we opened.  They even helped us get things setup just so we could "open" and let them buy them.  L did have some issues with us selling the skid steer.  He was happy to demonstrate it for potential buyers, but was not keen on other kids sitting in it or driving it.  When someone actually bought it, we had to distract him by taking him to the back yard just so he wouldn't get upset.  To help him get over it, I got down the four wheel drive Bigfoot I put together a couple years ago.  It was a big hit, and I think the skid steer is a distant memory now.  To further celebrate the end of the garage sale, and try to beat the heat, we got out our good ole kiddy car wash.  The boys found it no less fun than last year. 

I did sneak in some workshop time in spite of the garage sale.  The Memorial day weekend was a deadline I had set for myself to get my "new" mower deck for Johnny done.  The deck that came with Johnny looked good from a distance, but it had some pretty gnarly rust and cobbled up repairs, and the bearings were noisy.  I had bought a deck in better condition with bearings already replaced last year, with the intent of repainting it and swapping the "old" one out.  That plan hit a major snag when I got it home and realized it was missing the main drive pulley.   The missing pulley relegated that project to the back burner. 

Fast forward to a couple months ago, when I came across someone in the Peoria area looking for a mower deck for a 110.  After talking to him, we struck a deal where I would sell him my "old" deck when I got the "new" one done, with a Memorial day target date.  The cosmetic part of the restoration was straightforward, just some sanding and some paint.  It took a while to find one, but as it turned out, the missing pulley just saved me the aggravation of trying to remove the old, pressed-in pulley shaft.  I was able to buy a complete assembly, with new pulley, bearings and shaft.  I left the new part in the freezer for a few days, and then when it came time for the install I heated up the hole.  It slid in with little effort, but didn't take long for the shaft to warm up and be stuck in place.  So far I have only done a quick test, but the bearings were nice and quiet.

Wildlife upate: Memorial day weekend was not kind to the bunnies.  I think the hot, dry weather was rough on them, and they mowed all the vacant lots so their mommy didn't have as many places to hide.  The poor things started dropping one by one, yet it seemed there were still several hopping around.  In all, I think there must have been 6 or 7 to start with.  After we got down to just a couple left, I stopped seeing them all together.  Our robins on the other hand, seemed to have done OK.  It's amazing how fast they grow.  One day I checked and their were 3 birds crammed in that nest, the next day it was empty.  We have seen a couple of the adolescent birds around the yard and on the deck, doing what they do best; making a mess. 

This past weekend brought the Washington Cherry Festival.  We didn't take part in it much last year, but took full advantage of it this year.  Friday we went to a friends house and watched the fireworks.  The boys did pretty well with staying up late to watch the show.  In spite of the late bedtime, they also did pretty well with getting up to watch the 5K race and doing the carnival rides.  C was supposed to run the race this year, but her back was bothering her so we switched her entry to me at the last minute.  It wasn't my best 5K time, but it was nice to have the family all there cheering me on.  We went home just long enough to eat breakfast and shower, and then it was back up to the carnival.  The boys did all the usual kiddie rides, but my favorite was riding with them on the Ferris wheel.  We also caught the tail end of the pedal tractor pull.  N took a turn, and then they got out their "big boy" pedal tractor and let me give it a try.  I think I did OK considering I just ran a 5K.

And finally, with all the garage sale revenue burning a hole in her pocket, C determined it was time to go shopping at everybody's favorite seller of furniture assembly projects, IKEA.  They were having a sale on some pieces that fit with our decorating plans.  We had debated on going up as a family, but ended up leaving the boys with Grammy and Grandpa, which was a very good idea.  After nearly 4 hours in the store, we loaded up a carload of boxes and headed home.  The boys were very excited to help put the stuff together.  We channeled that enthusiasm into sorting the hardware into little containers, which they both did a nice job with.  It took nearly 3 hours to do the first piece, which was enough for one night, so they will get plenty more opportunities to help.