This seems to be a project that now the bathroom is useable will not end. I'm in the process right now of trying to get the trim finished, and I never really realized how difficult that aspect is. I have a very nice saw, thanks to dad letting me keep his indefinitely, so that definitely helps. So tonight I was carefully planning it out, and carefully cut my first piece to perfection......only to figure out I had it upside down......so it was ruined. I think I can salvage it on another part of the bathroom, but I wasn't too happy with myself. At any rate, I did get 2 other boards cut and ready to put into place. Now, for the finishing nailer....which I don't have. So, I will explore that world tomorrow, and see what I can get. Normally I like buying tools, but currently, I'm sick of it.
On another note, I'm trying to get this done because next Friday opens soccer season. It's a fall that will already be busy, and I've got games lined up into October, and more will be coming soon. I gotta get more done this weekend, or I'm in big trouble.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Just another busy summer....VACATION
Well, as you can see by the lack of posts, we've been out and about through the summer. Here are some of the highlights.
We took a family vacation to Tennessee. We visited some of Heather's relatives there, toured the Ryman Auditorium, and stopped at the country music hall of fame. We also had Olivia's first trip to the zoo. She enjoyed seeing the animals, and attempting to imitate them as we went along. Before we ended up seeing the entire zoo though, we lost O. Not literally, but the poor thing crashed in her car seat. She just couldn't do it any longer. But we had a great time there none-the-less. We did come away with a few interesting stories too.
This was Olivia's first time flying, and she travelled quite well. It helped with the new iPad we had gotten for this very reason, to help Olivia travel when she wouldn't sleep, and I'm sure that literally saved us. More on the traveling front though, we left home with a plan to get to the airport early, and be set to just get organized and ready to head out. So, what did I do? Forgot the camera. I did think of it before we got on the interstate, but yet, it cost us a very valuable 15 minutes. Plus, we'd already been running late that morning. Getting up at 5:15 and trying to get everyone out the door on time is a big task, and we didn't quite make it. So when we arrived in Sioux Falls at the airport, we were half an hour behind schedule. We got through security easily though. I took Olivia with me through the metal detector. I saw they still had it, and I figured out how to get to use it instead of the imaging device they have there. So, we get to the gate a few minutes before boarding, but we all needed to use the bathroom, so Heather went, I went, and then I took Olivia to change her. They were in a hurry to get the plane out of the gate, so we were among the last to get on board. I get to the agent who scans my boarding pass, and it won't take it. She informed me that I'd been upgraded to first class and they'd changed my seat assignment. Well, I told them I didn't want it, and since the plane wasn't full, they let me keep my old seat. I knew that I needed to be there to help with Olivia. We get to Minneapolis fine, but Olivia becomes a huge pain in the airport. She's yelling and screaming and won't eat. We finally get her to calm down and head to the gate to find out the plane is delayed. Great. We wanted Olivia to sleep on the plane, not in the airport. So, we are sitting down and my name gets called to see the gate agent. I go up there and she hands me a new boarding pass. I'd gotten a second upgrade. I don't often get two in one trip, but apparently today was my lucky day and this was a very full flight. So, I gave it to my lovely wife so she could get away from the chaos for a while. She's also been taking a summer class, so it gave her the opportunity to be able to focus on getting some items done for class. So, she took the upgrade seat, and now the only problem is I don't think I'll get her to sit in coach every again....
We got to Tennessee and get our luggage and head to pickup the rental car. At the rental car counter, I get up and they pull up my reservation and tell me that I received a complimentary upgrade! Well that was good news. I ended up with a jet black shiny Lincoln. This car was so new, in only had 1,100 miles on it when we got in. Our vacation was rolling in the lap of luxury!! So we got to the hotel, and I told Heather I was going to try and sweet talk the reception is (if it was a female) and see if I could get us an upgrade at the hotel. So, I go in and sure enough, a female. So I sweet talked her a bit, and walked out with the key cards to a suite. So, now vacation was set!!! I love the extras, and to not have to pay for them was even better! So I want to say a big THANK YOU to Delta, Marriott and Avis for a great summer vacation! And one minor thank you to my work who helps me get frequent flier miles and other reward statuses for my trips. I say that's a minor thank you because I don't want them to think I need to travel more to up the level of rewards I receive!
We took a family vacation to Tennessee. We visited some of Heather's relatives there, toured the Ryman Auditorium, and stopped at the country music hall of fame. We also had Olivia's first trip to the zoo. She enjoyed seeing the animals, and attempting to imitate them as we went along. Before we ended up seeing the entire zoo though, we lost O. Not literally, but the poor thing crashed in her car seat. She just couldn't do it any longer. But we had a great time there none-the-less. We did come away with a few interesting stories too.
This was Olivia's first time flying, and she travelled quite well. It helped with the new iPad we had gotten for this very reason, to help Olivia travel when she wouldn't sleep, and I'm sure that literally saved us. More on the traveling front though, we left home with a plan to get to the airport early, and be set to just get organized and ready to head out. So, what did I do? Forgot the camera. I did think of it before we got on the interstate, but yet, it cost us a very valuable 15 minutes. Plus, we'd already been running late that morning. Getting up at 5:15 and trying to get everyone out the door on time is a big task, and we didn't quite make it. So when we arrived in Sioux Falls at the airport, we were half an hour behind schedule. We got through security easily though. I took Olivia with me through the metal detector. I saw they still had it, and I figured out how to get to use it instead of the imaging device they have there. So, we get to the gate a few minutes before boarding, but we all needed to use the bathroom, so Heather went, I went, and then I took Olivia to change her. They were in a hurry to get the plane out of the gate, so we were among the last to get on board. I get to the agent who scans my boarding pass, and it won't take it. She informed me that I'd been upgraded to first class and they'd changed my seat assignment. Well, I told them I didn't want it, and since the plane wasn't full, they let me keep my old seat. I knew that I needed to be there to help with Olivia. We get to Minneapolis fine, but Olivia becomes a huge pain in the airport. She's yelling and screaming and won't eat. We finally get her to calm down and head to the gate to find out the plane is delayed. Great. We wanted Olivia to sleep on the plane, not in the airport. So, we are sitting down and my name gets called to see the gate agent. I go up there and she hands me a new boarding pass. I'd gotten a second upgrade. I don't often get two in one trip, but apparently today was my lucky day and this was a very full flight. So, I gave it to my lovely wife so she could get away from the chaos for a while. She's also been taking a summer class, so it gave her the opportunity to be able to focus on getting some items done for class. So, she took the upgrade seat, and now the only problem is I don't think I'll get her to sit in coach every again....
We got to Tennessee and get our luggage and head to pickup the rental car. At the rental car counter, I get up and they pull up my reservation and tell me that I received a complimentary upgrade! Well that was good news. I ended up with a jet black shiny Lincoln. This car was so new, in only had 1,100 miles on it when we got in. Our vacation was rolling in the lap of luxury!! So we got to the hotel, and I told Heather I was going to try and sweet talk the reception is (if it was a female) and see if I could get us an upgrade at the hotel. So, I go in and sure enough, a female. So I sweet talked her a bit, and walked out with the key cards to a suite. So, now vacation was set!!! I love the extras, and to not have to pay for them was even better! So I want to say a big THANK YOU to Delta, Marriott and Avis for a great summer vacation! And one minor thank you to my work who helps me get frequent flier miles and other reward statuses for my trips. I say that's a minor thank you because I don't want them to think I need to travel more to up the level of rewards I receive!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Hello from iPad
I haven't had much time to actually sit and play with my new toy yet because I'm still quite tied up in the bathroom.i finally took the plunge and got an iPad. It's been a long wait for me but so far it's main job has been entertain Olivia. So here is the first post from my iPad blogger app. I'm sure many more are coming.
So with spending time recently in the bathroom I am nearly ready to get that project wrapped up. I have the floor taken all the way back to the 109 yr old floorboards. Tomorrow a new subfloor goes in then the new floor covering. If all goes well a fully functioning main floor bathroom will be back by the weekend!
So with spending time recently in the bathroom I am nearly ready to get that project wrapped up. I have the floor taken all the way back to the 109 yr old floorboards. Tomorrow a new subfloor goes in then the new floor covering. If all goes well a fully functioning main floor bathroom will be back by the weekend!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Fun in Fairmont
So, two days in a row!! Wow, sometimes I surprise myself. This morning we took a hike all the way across the street to McDonalds for breakfast. Now a days, we start to look for McDonalds (or other restaurants) that have a kid friendly area or play land. This McDonalds here had a kiddy arcade. They had a hoop shoot and some video games and a couple of coloring computers that you could sit and color on. My favorite of course was the hoop shoot. I sank the day's high of 66 points in 45 seconds. I also had the "holding a baby high score" with 42 while holding my nephew Logan. He enjoyed having us playing ball while being held. And, as you can see in the below photo, Olivia had a great time watching, and would often stand off to the side and yell "dada!!" while I played as encouragement. It was a great time, and who said play lands are just for the kids?? Or, do I just falsely consider myself an adult.....
Friday, June 29, 2012
Time for the Smart Phone??
So, I've been poor on posting anything lately. No new videos, pictures, or here. The only reason a few tweets show up on this page is because I send them from my cell phone. Well, we have been out and about with some mini vacations before our big upcoming week long take Olivia on an airplane vacations. So, I'm in Fairmont, MN this weekend with Heather's family. Last weekend we were in the Black Hills with my family. We are here in Minnesota to celebrate Heather's dad's 50th birthday. Everyone is celebrating now with cake and ice cream and presents, and I've stayed behind in the air conditioned comfort of my chair in the hotel room to stay with our sleeping little girl. She's quite tuckered out from something today, probably just all the excitement of the people she hasn't seen much of. I believe Heather should be coming back in with my cake and ice cream any time now.
So, does this have anything to do with the post's title? Kind of. When we were in the Black Hills, Heather spent a day not feeling well. So, I took Olivia and went with mom and dad and Trent and Uncle Guy to Deadwood. I'd never seen it before, and it's a cool place. I want my 8 dollars back, but it is a fun place to be. While we were there, we stopped at Kevin Costner's restaurant. It was a neat experience, but Olivia wasn't too thrilled. So as we sat down to eat, Trent grabbed his iPhone and pulled up some of her favorite shows on uTube. So, lunch was saved and Olivia was happy as a clam the entire time. Fast forward to tonight when were at the restaurant for Todd's birthday, and once again Olivia was having none of it. So, we quickly got our hands on Uncle Joshua's iPhone and got her shows up to watch again. I've decided that it's no more of using uncle's iPhones to get this done, it's time to start using mine.....or to get our hands on that iPad, one of the two. Funny thing is, Heather has said I'm welcome to get BOTH. Not just one, both of them! I'm excited, but the issue is, I don't have the funding currently. I have already spent that on the bathroom.....
Ohh, that reminds me, our bathroom remodeling project. That just doesn't seem to want to end. I'm finally to the point though of painting, redoing the floor, and install the pieces that have been pulled out. Well, last night I was working on the floor, and found that beneath our bathroom floor lies flowing hardwood floors.....that have been damaged. Ahhhhhh! I love the hardwood floors our place has, but these aren't in too good of shape, plus there are a lot of holes for what look to be old radiator heating pipes. Well, it's probably going to turn into a bit of a project to get the old wood floor ripped up. It really goes against everything I believe in. But, I believe that I will have the bathroom completed around the 4th of July. And, if nothing else, I'll have a full day that day to do work on it!!
So, does this have anything to do with the post's title? Kind of. When we were in the Black Hills, Heather spent a day not feeling well. So, I took Olivia and went with mom and dad and Trent and Uncle Guy to Deadwood. I'd never seen it before, and it's a cool place. I want my 8 dollars back, but it is a fun place to be. While we were there, we stopped at Kevin Costner's restaurant. It was a neat experience, but Olivia wasn't too thrilled. So as we sat down to eat, Trent grabbed his iPhone and pulled up some of her favorite shows on uTube. So, lunch was saved and Olivia was happy as a clam the entire time. Fast forward to tonight when were at the restaurant for Todd's birthday, and once again Olivia was having none of it. So, we quickly got our hands on Uncle Joshua's iPhone and got her shows up to watch again. I've decided that it's no more of using uncle's iPhones to get this done, it's time to start using mine.....or to get our hands on that iPad, one of the two. Funny thing is, Heather has said I'm welcome to get BOTH. Not just one, both of them! I'm excited, but the issue is, I don't have the funding currently. I have already spent that on the bathroom.....
Ohh, that reminds me, our bathroom remodeling project. That just doesn't seem to want to end. I'm finally to the point though of painting, redoing the floor, and install the pieces that have been pulled out. Well, last night I was working on the floor, and found that beneath our bathroom floor lies flowing hardwood floors.....that have been damaged. Ahhhhhh! I love the hardwood floors our place has, but these aren't in too good of shape, plus there are a lot of holes for what look to be old radiator heating pipes. Well, it's probably going to turn into a bit of a project to get the old wood floor ripped up. It really goes against everything I believe in. But, I believe that I will have the bathroom completed around the 4th of July. And, if nothing else, I'll have a full day that day to do work on it!!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
The Remodel
So, we've been having some problems with the second floor being pretty warm during the day here at our new place, so we did some work to try and correct it. Well, we found the runs were good, and were actually disconnected in some places. So, we dug into a wall to do some work on the ventilation. Unfortunately, the way a previous owner decided to decorate the bathroom, there was some plastic covering on the wall. So, in order to get to the plastic down, I had to tear it off the wall, and thus damaged it. So, I called Heather in, and the carnage began. We ripped out nearly the entire bathroom all the way back to the studs. There was some poor construction found behind it, and it complicated the procedures greatly. While I was at work, Heather spent the better part of one day pulling pretty close to 500 nails out of the walls of the bathroom one day. As of Thursday, I thought that I would get to sheetrock the bathroom again, but unfortunately, I found some terrible electrical work. And by terrible, I mean overloaded and some burned wire. It's probably a miracle the house is still standing with how bad it was. So, after spending 4 extra hours doing rewiring, today I finally finished, and after my friend Travis from church came over, we were able to get almost all of the sheetrock up. I have just a couple of hours left to put it on, and then I can mud and finish this project up! I'm looking forward to getting it done, and getting our main bathroom back. Probably not as ready as Heather is though to have the bathroom back!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Becoming Manager
Last night became a first in my softball career. I took over being the manager of our club. Well, it was just for one week, but I got to be the guy in charge. I now end my managerial streak with a win, although my overall record became 1-1 after a split night. I did make sure and tell our current manager he is no longer allowed to take vacations that begin on Wednesdays.
Well, things here at the new Wipf household are getting settled in. We are having more work though, and still trying to get the roofs replaced and the insurance companies satisfied, and lots of other projects that just seem to keep hanging around. Plus, I still have a garage half full of stuff here at the new house that needs to all be gone through. I'm thinking thats going to end up being a Saturday Morning endeavor this week. Saturday afternoon is totally booked up for us, and while the evening is free, I already know what I'm going to feel like doing Saturday evening, and that would be nothing. Doesn't help for getting all the work done, that's for sure, but with as busy as we are at work, I need some time to just relax.
Upcoming, our family here has two vacations planned. The annual Wipf Family Campout celebrates 20 years, and we have an extended weekend in the Black Hills in a couple weeks. It's going to mark my return to motorcycle riding as well! I have arranged for a nice 2012 Ultra Glide Harley to be waiting for me upon my arrival. Ok, my brother did it for me, but I may get to help him ride his bike out there too! Should be a fun event. Also, Heather and I have booked a trip to Nashville. Heather has some family there, so we will be heading to see them and some of the things the city of Nashville has to offer. Maybe, if we feel really ambitious I may venture down to Chattanooga for good old time's sake. Would be great to be back there, and we could actually be tourists there for the entire week. Someday, that may just happen. Anyhow, not sure if putting Olivia on a plane will be fun or not, but we're going to find out!
Well, things here at the new Wipf household are getting settled in. We are having more work though, and still trying to get the roofs replaced and the insurance companies satisfied, and lots of other projects that just seem to keep hanging around. Plus, I still have a garage half full of stuff here at the new house that needs to all be gone through. I'm thinking thats going to end up being a Saturday Morning endeavor this week. Saturday afternoon is totally booked up for us, and while the evening is free, I already know what I'm going to feel like doing Saturday evening, and that would be nothing. Doesn't help for getting all the work done, that's for sure, but with as busy as we are at work, I need some time to just relax.
Upcoming, our family here has two vacations planned. The annual Wipf Family Campout celebrates 20 years, and we have an extended weekend in the Black Hills in a couple weeks. It's going to mark my return to motorcycle riding as well! I have arranged for a nice 2012 Ultra Glide Harley to be waiting for me upon my arrival. Ok, my brother did it for me, but I may get to help him ride his bike out there too! Should be a fun event. Also, Heather and I have booked a trip to Nashville. Heather has some family there, so we will be heading to see them and some of the things the city of Nashville has to offer. Maybe, if we feel really ambitious I may venture down to Chattanooga for good old time's sake. Would be great to be back there, and we could actually be tourists there for the entire week. Someday, that may just happen. Anyhow, not sure if putting Olivia on a plane will be fun or not, but we're going to find out!
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