Six.

Six.

Jackson is already six years old.

Wow!

Here is the birthday crown Jackson wore during class and two of the cupcakes he brought into the classroom for everyone to enjoy.

Before dinner, Jackson plans his attack.

The two birthday cakes. One is for Jackson while the other is for Brent. Care to guess which cake is which?

The birthday boys make short work of the candles.
Happy Birthday Jackson and Brent!

The New Project

The people that know about these things say that the first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting you have a problem. With that in mind...

'Hello, My name is Jeremy. I have a Jeeping problem.'

I have posted before about the 1972 J2000 truck that I picked up a couple of years ago in trade for a well-used winch. That truck has kept me busy tinkering around with repairs and modifications, but in the depths of my mind I knew that the truck would never become a reliable offroading vehicle. I wanted something that had some power, increased ground clearance, and the ability to carry Jack and myself on some adventures in relative safety.

Out of the blue, I found a Jeep that fits the bill!

The new project is a 1984 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Yes, it's large. And yes, it's ORANGE!

A friend in the local Jeep club had purchased this beast several years ago. Due to changing interests in his life he decided that he was tired of seeing the Jeep waste away in his driveway. I grabbed the Jeep up for a super cheap price (about what the J2000 cost me, but in cash this time). The previous owner even tossed in a few items as a bonus - I received new rocker panels to replace the rusty pieces, new door and window surrounds, a new fuel level sender, and many more parts. The total value of the extra parts alone exceeded $1000. I could part out this Jeep and it's parts and make four times what I paid for it...

But I won't. Because I am addicted...I love Jeeps, especially the older iron that just needs a little help getting into shape so it can continue on the journey of dirt road exploration.

I'm sure there will be more posts about the rescue of this latest Jeep project, but for now I'll leave you with some more pictures of "Big Orange".

Updating

I've been told that this blog needs to be updated more often. So update I will!

The biggest news lately is from the previous post. Jack started school! Getting things sorted out and ready for his school year have taken up a large portion of Mommy's time. Then more time was spent fretting about how Jack would handle school and being away from his Mommy, Daddy, or Grandma for a whole day. Not to worry - he did fine!

In news more recent than Easter, the family visited the beach this summer. Grandma and Grandpa Causey rented a house in Sandbridge (Va. Beach) and we spent a week relaxing and visiting with them and The Northern Family. Fun was had building sandcastles, riding the surf, and just generally goofing off.

The First Day of School

Our little boy is growing up! Today was the first day of school. Jackson started Kindergarten!

Daddy went to work so he could be distracted from thinking about his little guy out in the big bad world all by himself. Mommy held things together pretty well. Jack? Well he just did his thing and had fun at school! He created some things with Play-Doh, met a few new friends, minded his manners, and had a good day.

First day of school=done. Twelve more years to go. I hope the enthusiasm remains!

Easter!

P. O. (Previous Owner)

This is a quick rant about the person that owned the J2000 before me.

In the world of car forums, the previous owners of a vehicle is known by the abbreviation "PO". Usually the PO is an individual that is relatively unknown by the current owner, and thus becomes the recipient of a large amount of trash talk and ill will (a typical post on a forum will look something like this - "That stupid PO installed a set of 100 watt driving lights by wiring directly to the fuse panel instead of using a relay" - or something to that effect).

Well, the PO of my current project truck models the image of a previous owner as the completely lazy, idiotic dolt. You've seen my previous post about the door handle that was crudely carved from 2"x4" and then screwed into the door panel with three inch long lag screws. The same level of care was employed to complete the task of painting the dash. The J2000 came from the factory with a coat of a rather ugly shade of metallic green. Apparently the PO didn't like this green on the interior of his truck and decided to change the hue. From the looks of things when I got the truck it appears the only prep that the PO did before painting the dash was to shake the spray can.

The entire dash was rattle canned a red/burgandy color. The ENTIRE dash, including the chrome knobs, the white steering column, the silver surrounds, and the windshield weather strip. No masking was involved. Just a couple waves of the arm while the can was spraying.

Today I decided I was tired of looking at the peeling flakes of red on the top of the dashboard. I sanded off the loose stuff and masked the dash and windshield. I tried a can of semi-gloss white spray paint but it wouldn't spray. I rooted around the 'shop' for another can of paint and all I could find was flat black. Hmmm... that might be cool.

After painting the top of the dash I was looking at the rest of the interior and figured that while I was at it, I should go ahead and do the rest of the dash. So I did.

Here's a before photo of the flaky red paint. It looked much worse in person, trust me!

Here are two after shots. Still not a beautiful paint job, but at least it is uniform and much cleaner looking!

More randomness

Vermont flowers with a few effects applied...

Storm's abrewin'...

Random Shots

Attempt at abstract art...

I miss that Jeep...


Somewhere in Northern Vermont

Getting there bit by bit...

Just rolling along...

City Kids Nature Experience (Petting Zoo)

That's one BIG bunny!

A cavy that very much wanted to not be in her pen!
So soft...
A hedgehog. For some reason I thought they were a bit bigger. Regardless, I now want a hedgehog as a pet!

Playground Time!

Before...

During...

After...

The Original

Sometimes the simplest things can make you stop in your tracks and think of things you don't often think about.

This cardboard logo is now a 'poster' in my office. The Andy Boy brand sign is from the box of some sort of produce we carry at the store, but for me it's a reminder that I miss my brother.

Now, I'm not the sort to get all teary-eyed and start bawling about not being able to regularly see and talk to my brother due to the fact that he lives hundreds of miles away. I do however, miss sharing things with my only brother. I miss hanging out fishing, four wheeling, fixing trucks, and talking for a long time about nothing in particular. Yes, technology exists that would allow me to call or video chat with him - but it's not the same. I don't much care for talking on the phone and neither does he. Email doesn't work well - I rarely check the messages. (It's been three months since I updated the blog...I think it's been almost that long since I've logged into the email account!).

So our lives carry on. Mine here in Virginia, and his in Vermont. I would love to have my brother closer to 'home' and share time with him, Cari and Levi. Miss you guys. Know that I think of you all often.

After all, I do have my Andy Boy Brand poster on the wall!

One Failure as a Parent

I love music.

I listen to a wide variety of artists throughout every genre. I promised myself that as a parent I would pass on to my son my appreciation for all types of music.

I talk to Jack when music is playing in the car, and tell him the band name. I tell him the words to the chorus (when appropriate!) and I share short stories about the artist's history. If I am flipping through the stations while in the car and Jack hears a song he wants to listen to, I leave it on that song regardless of whether I like the song or not. I do everything in my ability to encourage his interest in music.

So imagine my dismay when Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody began to play and within the first ten notes of the song Jackson blurts out excitedly "I love this song! It's by the Muppets!"

See, there is a video out there on the 'net that has all of the Muppets playing and singing Queen's great hit. The video is very cute and has a funny bit in it where Animal goes off on a tangent with the 'Momma' bit.... anyway, my horror derives from the fact that now tied into Jack's brain the Muppets are the artists that sing a great rock classic, not Queen.

Sigh.....

Jack managed to redeem himself in music credibility last night by hearing the song Should I Stay or Should I Go? by the Clash and not only did he yell "I love this song!", he then began to sing along. Correctly.

(Monologue in my head -YES! I've had an affect! Jack recognizes a song for the great beat and catchy lyrics and is able to identify a classic!)

And then in the middle of a verse he stops to add "This song is great! It's from the Rug Rats show!"

ARRGGHHH!!!

I've been on the lookout for a truck for NorthernDaddy. He stated he wants a truck with four wheel drive and character. I found the truck he needs!

Through a friend I was made aware of a "barn find". The super-secret property located somewhere north of Front Royal, Va. had an old Jeep Cherokee sitting next to the barn. When my friend investigated the Cherokee further, he discovered two other trucks hidden from view. One of those trucks turned out to be a 1967 Jeep J3000. This truck was bought in Alabama and has an almost pristine body. The sheetmetal including the cab, hood, bed, and tailgate are all straight and have great paint. The truck has every option available from 1967 to include power steering, power brakes, and get this...factory air conditioning! The only real work this truck needs is a carb rebuild and new seats.

The asking price is $3500. I think with a little time and conversation the price could be lowered as the owner is a real estate agent who happens to be selling the property these trucks are sitting on. My guess is he will not have another storage space for the J3000 and will need to move it when the property sells.

So - NorthernDaddy, this is a great truck that needs little to do what you want. OR, how about one of Jackson's Papas picking up a great project for a cute grandkid? Of course the truck would need a home for the next ten years or so and I will be glad to store and take care of Jack's new truck!