Merry Christmas!!!!

I know this is a late post, but MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope everybody got what they wanted..... I sure did. I got a lot of beer brewing stuff, a couple Wii games, Sham-wow, and a bunch of other stuff. Jacob had a very fun Christmas. He was very interactive this year. I will get some pics up as soon as I can.... 

Happy New Year!

 

New Brew!!

Today Etsuko, Jacob, and I went to Eugene. I wanted to get another brew ingredient kit and she wanted to go to the mall..... Good trade off. I wanted to try a very strong, bitter, and hoppy beer. I ended up getting a Diggity Dank Nugget IPA :).... It is an Imperial IPA, which means it is very strong, bitter, and hoppy. 

A normal brew consists of about 2-3 oz of hops. This recipe calls for 7 oz!!!!! The gravity is also very high on this brew. Normal is about 1.050. This recipe is 1.090. This means the potential alcohol level will be about 7 to 10% by volume.... It will not take many of these to get you feeling good ;). 

On the way home today, we almost got into a huge accident. We had no idea that there was ice on the ground. I was driving about 60 mph when the back of Etsuko's car gave way. I took foot off the gas and did not try to steer out of the ice. Luckily, the car steadied and we drove 30 mph all the way home. We really got lucky tonight. It could have been much worse. Hope everybody is having a great holiday season!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

I hope everybody is having a GREAT holiday season......

We are having a fun time. I feel very blessed that both Etsuko's family and my family are doing so good through these tough times. We got our tree a couple of weeks ago.... I put up lights on the house for the first time two weeks ago (a big thanks to my do it yourself brother-in-law). I almost got all of my christmas shopping done. I will finish it up soon. It has been really cold here. I am still brewing beer ;). 

I am brewing a new type of beer. It is called a dunkel-weizen. It is a wheat German beer. I can't wait to try it. 

Here are some pics.

Busy Weekend!

This weekend was very eventful. My parents had there annual Halloween party.. We had a contest of the best homemade video this year. My brother in law won it. His movie was pretty good considering how much time we had. We also went a pumpkin farm. Jacob loved it. We took lots of pictures. I will get them up in another post.

I will try and put up my home video. Hopefully it works!

Beer

I got another brew going. I am getting pretty good at this brewing stuff. This will be my fifth brew. 

Quick Recap:

1. A Hef

2. A Porter

3. A Amber Ale

4. Espresso Stout

5. A Hoptastic IPA

A couple of weeks ago I went to an brew fest. I had a beer there that was great. All I could taste was hops. After tasting it, I figured I could brew it. Hopefully it comes out as good as I think it will. Here are some pictures of my new brew.

My Hoptastic Brew

Brewing Goodness.....

This is what is going to give me my hoppy flavor (flavoring hops)

A guy can never have enough good beer!

Dentist......

I haven't been to the dentist is a long while..... I would say about 5 years! 

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the dentist for the first time since I left the Navy. The doctor said that my teeth were in ok shape. 2 weeks later I got a root canal :(..... Today I got what they call a deep cleaning. I call it a recipe for pain. 

The dentist cleaned under my gums. I spent about 2 hours in the dentist chair enduring a lot of pain. They gave me some local numbing, but it was not near enough. I was reading about the procedure, and not many people get all their teeth done in one sitting. I got mine, and right now I wish I didn't. 

My gums are still bleeding and it is hard to eat. I guess once you get one of these deep cleanings, you have to keep getting them. I don't like that idea. I probably should not wait another 5 years to get my teeth cleaned again :). 

Fall Is Here

Hey!

Finally!!!! Fall is here. I am sad to see summer leave us, but I do like my four seasons. This summer was packed with lots of stuff. I am ready for things to slow down a little. Etsuko and I had our 6 Anniversy on the 1st.... We didn't do much, but we still love each other as much today as we did 6 years ago...... ;) 

Beer brewing is going good. The porter I made turned out real good. The Amber Ale that I bottled last weekend has some promise to it....  I have an expresso stout going now. I hope it turns out good. I tasted a little bit, and it tasted like it would be rich and full of caffine. 

It is time for my parents to throw their annual Halloween party. These parties are usually pretty fun. This year there is a little twist. We all have to make our own scary movie. After the we watch all the movies, we will vote on the best one. I just got done shooting mine this weekend. I will post it after I win top prize at the party.

Here are some pictures of the Perfect Porter. 

Finished My First Brew

Last weekend, I finished my first brew.....

It took me about 4 hours. That included cleaning the bottles, pans, and other equip. It was very interesting..... Here are some pics and videos of the process.



It's hard work brewing beer!



I am preping to start bottling!



Doesn't that look good.....



It is esstintial to enjoy a beer all throughout the brewing process!!!!



Bottling was fun...

Brewing Time!

We just got back from a fun filled weekend at the coast..... It was nice. The weather was between 65 to 70 on the coast and 90 to 100 in the valley.... Jacob had a great time with all of his cousins.

The brewing is as planned..... Most of the process was done by the time we went to the coast. All I need to do now is drink enough beer to accumulate more glass bottles.... A hard job but somebody has to do it...

This weekend should be pretty low key. My sister is having a garage sale (should be fun). Next weekend we will be at the coast again.... The last hooooraw of the summer.... Hope everybody is doing good!

Brew-master In Training!

That's right! We got a brew kit..... I spent a while tonight brewing my first batch...... There is a pretty stiff learning curve. I can't wait to get another shot at brewing. I am a little worried about my first batch.

My house now smells like Hops!!!! I sure hope it doesn't stay long. Here are some pictures....

Scandinavian Festival

This weekend we went to the Scandinavian Festival...... It was a fun time. There were lots of food, drinks, and booths. It was in Junction City (a long drive). Here are some pictures.

Oregon Jamboree

I had a fun weekend! This was the first experience with the Jamboree.... My cousin was a sponsor, and was able to get us into the sponsor tent. There was covered seat, free finger food, and no line to the beer gardens..... It was great. My mom and brother had VIP tickets.... Tom got to meet Kelly Pickler, Mom got to meet Sugar Land, and my cousin Michelle got to meet Trace Adkins. Needless to say, they were star struck! ;)

I also learned how to play rummy. Rummy is a great game. I wished I would have learned earlier in life! This month is adding up to be a very busy month for us! We are going to the coast two times in the next 3 weeks. I am finishing up my summer bowling league, and signing up for a fall bowling league.

Hope all is good!

Summers is Almost Over????

Wow!

I can't believe that summer is almost over..... So far it has been a very busy summer. I have been playing hard and working hard. The house is great! The landscaping on the other hand is moving slowwwwww.... I hope to put in sod soon.

Jacob is having a blast this summer. He is almost two and very active. He loves to swim, talk, run, eat, and cry..... Sometimes all at the same time!

August is going to be a very busy month. We are going to stay a couple of nights at the coast, go to the Jamboree, and try to get up to the zoo. It should be fun! I might regret saying this, but I am ready for summer to be over...... :( I am ready for things to slow down.

How was your weekend?

This weekend was very busy!!!!!

I was off on Friday, so of course we played poker..... Low and behold Josh came over. His parents just built a new home and wanted to celebrate it. We hurried our poker game and went up to enjoy the festivities! Needless to say, I was hurting the next day.

Saturday was our company picnic. I didn't think I would like it that much, but it was really fun. Jacob had a great time. I wish we got more pictures.

Sunday was Sasha's birthday! It was a princess theme. We had a great time. She got lots of gifts.... We had the party at my sisters house. She did a great job at decorating! I didn't get a picture of the cake, but it was a pink castle! It looked and tasted good.

Monday was my day to relax. I did that! We all went to Salem for a couple of hours. I had a doctors appointment. For the rest of the night, we watched TV and had a BBQ.

Overall, it was a great weekend!

Jacob.....

Jacob has been taking swimming classes. He loves to swim. Here is a picture of him under water... I keep telling him to close his eyes, but he doesn't listen to daddy.

It is finally done!!!!

YES!

I can't believe that I finally got our fence installed...... I was thinking it would never happen. We still do not have grass, but! thats ok.....

For the last couple of days I have been playing a lot on the Wii.... I got Mario Kart the other day and can not seem to put it down. My sister family got the Wii, and I have been playing online with my brother in law a lot.... He is pretty good at battle.

Etsuko wants to get the Wii Fit next..... I told her if she promises to use it at least 3 time a week I will get it for her. It is actually pretty fun. Both my mom and my sister have it.

Fence installation!!!!!

I had a five day weekend, and it was all about building a fence. Lucky Me!!!! I should say lucky Derek too!!!

I could have never gotten as far as I did with out my "master craftsman" brother in law Derek. We started on Saturday and I finished one full side (the longest side) on Tuesday. It looks really good.

First, we I rented a augar (a big earth drilling device for you that are not savvy on landscaping tools). It took us about 6 to 7 hours to get 95% of our holes drilled. Not to mention we had to set each post..... That was Saturday.

Second, we started laying the foundation for the cedar slats.... Derek pinched a nerve in his hand, so we had to take it easy. We put up the 16 foot 2x4's (big long pieces of wood). Derek put up a couple of cedar slats and then handed the job to me..... I finished half of the job (one full side) today.

Here are some pictures.....

I Won!

Yesterday, I went and picked up a BBQ.......

It took a while, but I finally talked Etusko into letting me buy a BBQ. We grilled on it last night and it was heaven.....

I guess now I have no excuse for not having people over!

It has been really hot, so I installed our AC. Etsuko said it was like a sauna in our house the first hot day. It is cool now! I am ready for the sun, but not 90 degree weather. We should be back down in the 60's next week.

Backyard

Preparing the backyard was the name of the game this weekend.....

I spent 3.5 days on tilling, racking, and bringing in new dirt.... Overall, it was very cheap, but it was a lot of work! Hopefully this weekend coming up I can starting installing/preping for a fence. We didn't realize how big our backyard was until I started tilling and laying dirt.

We almost bought a BBQ grill this weekend, but we wanted to wait until we had a backyard to enjoy first.

We had a great Mothers Day. We celebrated as a family at a Hungarian restaurant named Novak's. It was pretty good. I got Etusko a wooden planters box. She still needs to pick it out. My brother had a working interview yesterday. He is a veterinarian technician. We are crossing our fingers and wishing him luck.

Craigslist

Etsuko is now a craigslist believer!

My parents were nice enough to give us a range for a house warming gift, so we put the range that came with the house on craigslist. Not more than a couple of hours later, we had offers. There is a person coming to buy the range tomorrow.

I am thinking tools, BBQ, Wii games..... She is thinking Shabby Chic........

I wonder who will win!!!!!!

Propery Lines

I believe I found the property line......!!!!!!

I tried going to route with a metal detector, but I had no success. Instead, I did a lot of measuring. Etsuko supported by holding the measuring tape.... Thanks!

I reserved a tiller for Friday. This week I am working a Monday thru Thursday so I get Friday thur Tuesday off. I hope that we have some nice weather this weekend.

Wish us luck.....

Landscaping

We are all moved in......

But!

I didn't realize how much work landscaping is...!!!! I started the prep work for our front yard and back yard this weekend. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will have a fence installed. We want to go with sod, but it is just so much cheaper to seed....

Either way, we will have a back yard really soon. The weather has been nice the last couple of days, so I got a lot of stuff done this weekend. A couple of my neighbors have came by and said that we are doing a good job with the front yard.... It was pretty bad when we first moved in.

Etsuko is really focusing on decorations. She loves Shabby Chic. I am not to hot on the style, but she will make it look good. I have faith. There is a lots of work, but the pay off is going to be great. Just wish it wasn't sooooooo much work!

Finally Moved In!!

The move is over.....

All we have to do now is work on decorating the place. My brother in law came over yesterday to help me install my ceiling fan.... He did a great job.

Our house is in need of some curb appeal! I went out and bought a mower, but it did not do the trick. I was down on my hands and knees for most of Sunday and Monday pulling weeds. I think I got most of them. Now it is up to Etusko to find the right plants.

Our home does not have a fenced in backyard, so that is the next big project. Since the home didn't really have a grassed backyard, we are going to kill the weeds, till the soil, and lay down sod. Should be a fun time.

All in all, we are very happy to be home owners.....

Here is a picture of our ceiling fan.

Painting is Done!

The painting is done....!!!!

Today, my brother came over to help. We painted the dinning room and kitchen, which was very difficult. Most of the kitchen had to be brushed, which made it a whole lot longer. Tomorrow we are making the move.

Hopefully we will be able to get a U-haul truck. We are tired of sleeping in the apartment that we are in......

The place looks really good..... Thanks to my mom and brother.

The House is Ours

Finally!!!!!!

We closed Monday on our new home and had to wait until Tuesday afternoon to get our keys.... We finally got our keys, and then we were off to paint. My mom came over last night and helped paint my living room and hallway. I couldn't have done it without her.....

The paint colors are Alfalfa and Alfalfa sprout (Kilz paint). Kilz's claims that one coat is all it takes, but the final test will be today. At first I thought the paint was a little too light, but as time went on, it grew on me. I plan on painting the dinning room and kitchen today. The kitchen is going to be a rough job. I will post some pictures when I get done with the painting.

Closing

The closing date is here!

Monday is the BIG day! We are very excited!!!! I took off the week so we could move and paint the new place. Over the last couple of weeks, we have became very anxious. Overall, the process has been really fast. It has only taken us about 3 weeks from picking the home to closing on the home...... But it seems like an eternity.....

We did our final walk through on Saturday. We should be moved into the home by Thursday. It all depends on how fast we get the place painted.

Wish us luck at closing.

Terrible Two's

Even know Jacob is not quite two, he has entered the terrible two's. I guess he is acting like a little boy..... He has learned to climb on the couch and chairs. It is ok until he falls off the couch (which he has a couple of times).

Everything else with the little guy is going great. He is learning at light speed. He is very curious about everything... Anything Momma or Dadda has Jacob wants... He loves books (only if they have pictures of trucks/cars). He is also able identify certain types of trucks and cars (i.e. fire trucks and police cars).

We got a couple more games for the Wii. The first one we got was Zelda (but I took it back and got Tiger Woods Golf 2008) and the second game was for Etsuko called Petz Dog2. She really likes it.

A quick update on the home.... All we are waiting for is the appraisal. Today, I got home owners insurance.... It is sooooo close we can taste it. It felt good giving our 30 notice.....

Home Inspection

We just got our home inspection done....

The inspector said that everything looked good... There were a few things that need to be fixed. Hopefully it will not be like pulling teeth to get the seller to agree to some fixes...

Now, all we have to wait for is getting the appraisal done! We are getting really excited. Etsuko already has paint picked out for the living room, kitchen, Jacob's room, and our bedroom. Now all we have to do is get some more furniture. Of course I need to buy a BBQ.... Everything else seem to be doing just fine.... We just want to get out of this apartment.

Coast

Today, we all went to the coast.....

On Saturday my cousin got married. They had a beautiful wedding. A lot of my extended family was in Oregon for the celebration. We all enjoyed Easter together. It was really nice. Yes! we had fun with the Wii!!!

Today at the coast, it was beautiful. The sun was shinning all day, which is a rarity this time of the year in Oregon. Jacob had a great time. This was the first time he really got to enjoy the coast. The other times he was just a small little baby.

Here are some pictures of our trip.

Home

We finally found a home!!!!!!!!!

We have been looking/getting everything in order for the last 6 months. It is a cute little home. It is about 1200 square foot, 3 bedrooms and two baths, and a two car garage. The only thing I dislike about it is that I will have to put in a fence. I will also have to do a little landscaping. All in all, we are really excited to get into a home.

The next step is getting to closing. The home is vacant, so the move in date should be really soon (like 30 days).

Here is are some picture of the home.

Wii

Guess What!!!!!!!!

Yep, you guys guessed it...... I got an Wii. I saw that Target had the Wii on ad, so I got down there around 8:30 and bought one. I have been playing it all weekend long. Etsuko is starting to get better at bowling. I am trying to get her into golf so we can buy a new game......

We also went house shopping.... We looked at about 8 different homes. We really only liked 2 of the 8. Etsuko really liked one house. It was pretty nice, but I still want to look at others.

We should be finalizing our pre-approval pretty soon. We will then be able to start putting in offers. I guess we could still be putting in offers now, but I think we have more power if we get pre-approved. Etsuko can't wait!!!!!!

I'm Back!!!

Hey guys and gals,

I feel bad that I haven't updated this blog for a while. The family has been sick for the last two weeks. I am just getting over a week long cold. Last week we decided to get serious about getting a home. Today we took that first step! We got pre-approved. We want to start looking this weekend. Etsuko is excited about looking at homes (we have been looking on the net for a long time). I am getting really excited but I am also getting a little nervous. We still need to find a Realtor, and that is turning out to be a long process.

Jacob is doing great. He is really starting to be interactive. It is almost like a switch turned on. With that, his temper has really started to come out. We believe that he is going to have a bad case of the terrible two's. Thats ok!

Etsuko has been real involved in the mom's club. This month she went to the OSU farm. I am really happy that she is getting involved with other mothers. Jacob loves visiting other children his age.


Here is a picture of Jacob at the farm



Here is a video of Jacob and Mom playing. Jacob is raising his hand in acknowledgment of his name. If you listen closely, you will hear Dexster howling in the background.



We still have not gotten the Wii. I think I am just going to give up....... Sorry for the late post again.

Cage Fight

Last night a couple of co-workers and I went to a cage fight. It was actually really good. It lasted about 3 to 4 hours. It is nothing I would try, but it was fun to watch. I thought it was going to be more gruesome.

The less experienced the competition was, the better the fight. I was surprised to see so many high/right out of high school students. It used to be "I want to be a fire fighter when I grow up", but now it is "Mommy! I want to be a cage fighter when I grow up". Jacob better not ever say that to me or Etsuko.

Etsuko did not want to go, but I think she would have liked it if she did. We took some pictures, so I will put them up when I get a chance.

Super Bowl

This years Super Bowl was Great!

My whole family got together to watch the Giants beat the Patriots. The women of the family enjoyed the kids and UNO, and the men enjoyed the game. By the end of the 4th quarter, everybody was watching.....

I think I ate a little too much..... My pants are getting tighter on me. The next thing that we will be watching is American Gladiators! I sure am glad they decided to bring that show back. I even got Etsuko into watching it.... It didn't take much.

I am starting to train Jacob to be on the show!

Have fun guys!

Snow

We finally got some snow!!!!

It seems like the whole country got a really big cold streak this week. Oregon was no different. Earlier in the week we saw some light snow showers, but today (Sunday the 27th) we saw about 3 to 4 inches. Remember we live in town (it is very rare to see that much snow in town). My parent live in the country and they saw about 5 to 6 inches of snow. They also lost there power. I like snow but I like to have power more.

This is Jacob's and Dexter's first year of snow. They both really liked it. Here are some videos of Jacob and Dexter enjoying the snow.

I hope all is well with you guys!

Birthday

Yes! My birthday was yesterday. I had a really nice lunch with my family at Red Lobster. My birthday was really low key after. That is just the way I like it.... The gift theme this year was CASH! Great Gifts Guys! Overall, I had a great birthday. Next on my list is the Wii.......

Dexster's Having Second Thoughts

Dexster has always been a lazy dog! To prove that point here is a picture of Dexster sleeping.



Now that Jacob is here, he feels that his space is being invaded!

Happy New Years

Happy New Year!

I hope everybody had a happy New Years! I know it is kind of a late post. We have been busy around our house with the little one. He is now an expert at walking and getting into stuff. We had a great New Years. I spent the first part of the night with my Mom, Dad, Brother, and my sister's family. We played poker and Wii for most of the night (my brother-in-law Derek won the poker game), and then I made it home to bring in the New Year with Etsuko and Jacob. I believe this was the first New Years in a long time that I counted it down with Etsuko. 2007 was a great year for our family. Now if I can get the Wii, 2008 will be an even greater year. I hope all is well.....

Here are a couple of pictures of me.... Etsuko wouldn't allow me to post any of her