Ethans First Christmas Part 1

Here is the first video post for Ethans First Christmas. More to follow…

Some Ethan Videos

Here are a few recent videos of Ethan. These may be boring to some people, but I am posting them anyways

Our Family Portrait

I think it is time to post our updated family portrait provided to me by our own Emma.

I will let you decide who is Emma, Ethan, Mommy & Daddy. Funny enough, she drew me with hair. My kid is such a suck up!

Scott

Emma Reads Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin

Tonight I filmed Emma reading Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin. Thanks Auntie Erin for buying Emma this book last year.

Enjoy.

Emma’s Train Movie – Part 2

Emma wanted to make a movie. On Sunday morning we were playing with her trains and decided to try filming it. With a bit of VERY crude editing, this is our final product.

Hope you enjoy it as much as Emma!

Our New Garbage Shed

A few months ago we started building a new garbage shed bit by bit using materials from the restore as they were available. Well, last weekend we finally put some cedar siding on it, and got it to near completion. Here are some pics of it.

Here is the full view of our drivaway, side garden, and the new garbage shed. Now only if I had another place to store my kayak!

I am also thinking I want to trim it out a bit more to fancy it up. I don’t think Lyndsay will let me, but take a look at my example below and let me know if you think it would be an improvement or not…

(please note that this trim was added very crudely using photoshop. The finished product would of course look better and the trim would match the color of the rest of the siding. What I like about this trim change is that the hinges are hidden as are all the screws holding on the siding. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT NOTING IF YOU LIKE IT BETTER WITH THE TRIM, OR BETTER WITHOUT IT! I need your feedback to convince Lyndsay… OR if most people don’t like it, I simply won’t do it.

Thanks

Bell Satellite Dish

The birds & the bees are doing more than just teaching our children about reproduction. They are tampering with our technology…

So a few weeks ago our satellite dish started cutting in and out. The issue was affecting only non-HD stations. Last week the non-HD stations stopped working entirely.

Frustrated we called bell and they scheduled a tech to come check out the issue. Well, the issue was one the tech had never seen before.

While we can’t explain exactly how it happened, the cover on the LNB was broken – possibly by a bird flying into it??. ( I should add that the dish is on the roof of the house, and there are NO trees anywhere near it that could have caused this damage – very odd…) When the tech went to replace the part, he also discovered that inside the hole created by bird cracking cracked the LNB a wasp’s nest had formed, completely blocking the sensor.

The LNB has been replaced and we have our full TV lineup restored

I could see the queen walking around inside. A quick shot of Raid took care of that issue. Here are some pics

there’s that nest!

Sorry Ms Queen – Your rule has ended… Please do not report us to PETA?

Our Trip to Kihei (Maui, Hawaii)

Below is a little blip about our trip to Maui. If you only care about photos & videos, here are some links to those:

- Maui Videos
- Random Maui Photos
- Ryan & Margaux’s Wedding Photos

So our trip to Hawaii was fantastic. We caught the 5:30 ferry, took a walk around Ikea, hung out at Richmond Center, then spend our customary 3 hours in the airport waiting for our 4:15 flight. Everything at the airport went off without a hitch, except for when the nice people at airport security required that Emma part with “cookie” (her inseparable stuffy) be passed through the xray machine. Emma lost it, but recovered moments after being reunited.  The wait for the plane and boarding all went smoothly.  Emma LOVED the take-off. “It’s bumpy!” followed by uncontrollable giggles. So cute.

Papa picked us up at the airport in our rental van – a new Kia Sedona and we headed out to the condo. That Kia had serious issues, with the interior lights flashing at random on the way to Kihei. The next morning it wouldn’t start! We had to call Enterprise who promptly brought us a replacement – a seemingly reliable Dodge Caravan.

When visiting Maui, having a rental car is definitely essential. Sure you could just hang out around Kihei, but with a car there are many more beaches and places to explore. We went to the East side of the island for some huge killer waves, and headed to the north to Lahaina for dinner at Cheeseburger Paradise and a bit of shopping at the neat old shops. Lahaina was pretty cool, but not where I would choose to stay.

This trip saw us visiting a number of different and beautiful beaches, and eating an insane amount of pineapple. Pineapple in Hawaii is SO much better than the stuff we get here. I quite dislike papaya, but actually liked it there! All the fruits were amazing. We also didn’t drink at all – really.

Ryan and Margaux’s wedding was amazing. With a small group of about 20 guests, it was perfect. Ryan and Margaux looked amazing, and the whole wedding and sunset made for a perfect day. (Here are a few photos)

Kihei is really a beautiful town, the locals are exceptionally friendly, the weather is amazing, and the beaches are fantastic. It truly is paradise. Everything is within walking distance with Kamole 1, 2, & 3 beaches all offering some great boogie-boarding waves and “sandcastle” beaches (as was Emma’s Favorite).

We will definitely consider going back some day!

Photos – Kihei (Maui, Hawaii) – 2011

Here is a batch of photos from our Jan/Feb 2011  trip to Kihei Hawaii! Sorry, the Photos are in a bit of a random order…

[View with PicLens]

 

Videos – Kihei (Maui, Hawaii) 2011

Here are a few videos from our trip to Kihei!! More will follow so keep checking back!

Emma swimming in the pool with her water-wings!

Some Snorkeling Videos