August 25, 2001 - Heather was registered for school yesterday and she got an eye exam today (20/20, but has trouble readjusting focus from far to near). We picked out a cool pair of glasses for her. School starts Thursday and I think she's ready. Zephen got registered with no problems. We're keeping him back in 8th grade and he'll be going to school with David (Dave and Nancy's son). Let's hope for success from both kids this year.
August 24, 2001 - The trip to Long Beach was a lot of fun (check it out here). We actually stayed an extra day and came back Saturday afternoon. Just in time to go to my fantasy football draft. I did okay in the draft and I hope I'll have a respectable season. I don't have the power house team I had last year, but I should do well. Zephen is going to be living with our friends, Nancy and Dave. We think it will be a very good environment for him and we hope he'll have great success. Nancy and Dave are great friends and great parents and we really love 'em and not just for doing this. Mary Ann will be working her butt off the next two to three weeks. Her store manager is out due to a surgery and so she is the big honcho. It should be a great experience for her.
August 18, 2001 - Mary Ann picked up her nephew, E.J., yesterday. He's going to go with us to the kite festival. We're pretty excited to go (at least I am). The weather had chilled down the past few days and we are only going to be in the high 60's/low 70's this weekend. We're slowly getting ready for the trip. We'll be spending next week in Long Beach and we're hoping the weather will be like it was last year. Next weekend we have our draft for my fantasy football league. I'm not drafting first this go around and it's a 12 team league this year. I think it'll be unlikely anyone can build a Juggernaut like I had last year. I'm hoping for a good draft and a lot of luck, naturally.
August 12, 2001 - We picked up the tent trailer Thursday. Mary Ann immediately wanted to take it out, so I called a private RV resort about 4 miles from our house. Mary Ann, Heather and Heather's friend, Tiffany, and her mom, Angela, all went and camped there through Saturday. The weather was around 90 on Thursday and Friday and they all ended up going to Wild Waves (a big water park). Alas, I worked, so I missed out on all the fun. Zephen didn't go because he took off until 1:30 AM on several consecutive nights and there had to be some consequence. We signed up for the resort and are now committed to using our trailer a bunch. They have six resorts in Washington State and we immediately got 2 sites in Long Beach for the kite festival. The private parks aren't as spaced out as the state parks, but they do afford you the opportunity to go camping at the drop of a hat. I need to bring the trailer in to work out a few bugs, but Mary Ann and the group had a fun weekend.
August 8, 2001 - Mary Ann and I got way out of hand yesterday. Mary Ann's store manager was on vacation last week and she had to put in a lot of extra time. As a consequence, she got Tuesday off this week. The weather has been beautiful and the wind finally kicked up, so we went to fly my new kites yesterday morning. The new kite is most impressive and I'm going to have a lot of fun with it. After going shopping, Mary Ann asked if we could go look at tent trailers. Well ..... we ended up buying one!! We're both really excited and can't wait to try it out (Mary Ann wants to go out and camp Friday night). In addition to the trailer, we also get a free membership ($2000.00) with a private RV resort that has over 500 sites across the western United States. It requires about $300/year for maintenance and the cost is only $6/night to camp. A lot of the campgrounds have pools and spas and all the amenities of home. Even at that, we have to really think about it. I kind of like a more rustic camping adventure. They do have a lake resort not more than 10 miles from our home and over 4 sites in the Long Beach area (where the kite festival is). We go to a presentation on it tonight and they're going to feed us barbecue. At the very least, we get a free 3 nights/4 days package at one of their resorts to try it out (we're hoping we can sneak into one down by Long Beach for the kite festival). Tomorrow morning, I drop off the van to have the hitch installed and then Mary Ann and I return in the afternoon for a 1 hour crash course on the trailer and then we take it home. We haven't told the kids yet :) Mary Ann is taking the kids to Wild Waves on Friday. The weather is in the 80's for the rest of the week, so it should be a great day (I work). Mary Ann and Angela, one of Heather's friend's mother, may take the girls camping Friday night.
August 5, 2001 - We met with Marla, Dan and Robert at Point Defiance Zoo yesterday. We've been seeing an advertisement about a dinosaurs' exhibit and I haven't seen my sister for quite a few months, so we thought it was a good idea for some fun. Zephen didn't want to go, so Heather and her friend, Tiffany, went with us. We had a lot of fun checking out the animals and the dinosaurs. Thanks for a great afternoon, guys!
August 1, 2001 - I finally cleaned out the back room today. Mary Ann has been wanting a sewing/puzzle area and asked that I spruce it up for her. So, I picked up a 6' folding table and some chairs at Sam's yesterday. I got a van full of trash out of the room and the garage and hauled it off today and followed that with a van full of garbage for goodwill. The garage and room both look great. I also punched a line through the wall and hooked up Heather's computer to my home network. So, the room is now Mary Ann's retreat and Heather's homework area. The van's interior is now spotless as well. I was going to do the front yard this week, but I think I'll wait until September. I need to take down a tree and some shrubs, throw in a bunch of dirt and put up a retaining wall and fence. Given there's a water shortage here, I don't want to be watering a new lawn during the hottest, driest months.
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