Here are some pictures of our pool as it went in and what it looked like when completed.  It was done just in time for Megan to have her 11th Birthday party in it.

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What is not amazing is the heat.  It is cooler in Texas than it is here in New York.  What has made it worse is the A/C in the van has gone out.  We have just stopped outside of Cleveland, OH.  It is only 3PM, but the kids and us are about to pass out from the HEAT.  We plan to relax and get up at Midnight and drive.  It looks like we will drive all night and sleep during the day.  I will not post again until we get home.

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Canada Trip 2010 – Washington, DC

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A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. He growls when he feels good and laughs very loud when he is scared half-to-death.

A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child’s eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks. Never quite the man his son believes him to be. And this worries him sometimes. (So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough places in the road of those of his own who will follow him)

A father is a person who goes to war sometimes … and would run the other way except that war is part of his only important job in his life, (which is making the world better for his child than it has been for him).

Fathers grow older faster than people, because they, in other wars, have to stand at the train station and wave goodbye to the uniform that climbs on board. And, while mothers cry where it shows, fathers stand and beam — outside — and die inside.

Fathers are men who give daughters away to other men, who aren’t nearly good enough, so that they can have children that are smarter than anybody’s.

Fathers fight dragons almost daily. They hurry away from the breakfast table, off to the arena which is sometimes called an office or a workshop. There, with callused hands, they tackle the dragon with three heads; Weariness, Works, and Monotony. They never quite win the fight, but they never give up. Knights in shining armor; fathers in shiny trousers. There’s little difference as they march away each workday.

I don’t know where a father goes when he dies, but I’ve an idea that, after a good rest, wherever it is, he won’t just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he’s loved and the children she bore. He’ll be busy there too — repairing the stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.

I had a great fathers day.  Brian got me a really cool cutting board and funny card and Megan got me some books with a home made card.  I am very blessed to have two wonderful children and a beautiful wife.

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers in the world.

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We wash at least a load a day and on the weekends we wash ten or more loads.  The good news is that we have talked about getting a front loading washer and dryer for some time.  The bad news is I had not planned on doing it today or before our trip to Canada. I got in the van and went to Temple to get a new washer knowing if I found I a good deal I would get a new dryer also.

I went to several stores and ended up getting a floor unit from Home Depot.  They had a sale on washer/dryer combos so adding that to fact they were floor units I ended up getting the pair for almost a grand below list.  I was exsited to say the least.  Now I have to read the manuals which I had to find online since they were missing from the floor units.  We will see how we like the front loading washing.  We have always been told it saves money on water.  The way we wash we will soon see.

LG Washer Model WM0642HW

LG Dryer Model DLE0442W

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