Shakespeare warned of the Ides of March. I don’t know what he was so worked up about. Carla was born on the Ides of March. Happy Birthday Carla! It is also Monica’s birthday. Happy Birthday Monica! Seems strange to me that so many people would choose to be born in… Read More »Happy Ides of March
On Sunday I descended into the depths of Missouri and Kansas on Sunday to watch Alexis compete in competitive cheerleading. I had spoken with our Associate Pastor Andrea about good barbecue joints in Kansas City and she recommended Jack Stack for ribs and Oklahoma Joe’s for sandwiches. I looked into… Read More »Be Aggressive!
The best part of these pictures is that around the time we started on this set of pictures, Johnathan said, “Hey mom, you are standing on a snake.” Carla looked down. She was indeed standing a living, breathing snake. She slightly overreacted. Poor thing. At least it wasn’t hurt. >… Read More »Johnathan – Day 1 Part D
On Mother’s Day, I hosted the first family event at the new house. I learned the following things. 1. My mom, despite literally knowing me my entire life, will takes something out of my fridge and eat it without looking at the expiration date. 2. If you ask Elainie to… Read More »Mother’s Day
It would be best for all of us if you read this like I posted it on March 15. Happy Birthday Carla! Sadly, it is something like 50 years since this picture was taken and Carla still steadfastly holds to the mantra put forth by her t-shirt. Also. Sadly. My… Read More »Happy Birthday
I have one loyal subscriber that incessantly complains whenever I post too many posts without pictures. He often sends me an email that in essence “boos” me. I usually tell him that he is a big boy now and that he needs to use his words. But I’m quite certain… Read More »Saturday the 14th
Although Carla and Alexis did a wonderful job of taking pictures, one of the downsides of not having taken any pictures myself is that I didn’t get pictures of everybody that helped. So thanks to my incredible painting crew on Primary Painting Day: Jason Stensland Carla Stensland Alexis Stensland Jason… Read More »Primary Painting Day
More pictures from paint prep night. I got those green chairs from my Aunt Linda to with a sweet white table she was throwing away. Those chairs are surprisingly popular. That is also Shannon showing off her taping skills. Carla painting the bathroom. Life Lesson: When working on a ceiling… Read More »Friday Night Paint Prep Club – Part B
Day 2 at the house involved a ton of work on the cabinets. Carla put a coat of paint on the bathroom walls. The carpet removal team started their work. I don’t remember the actual name of this color, so we will call it green. I respect Carla and her… Read More »Day 2 – Things Start to Look Different
I have not touched any of my cameras since I left the resort in Arizona. Luckily for me Carla and Alexis did a fair amount of documentary photography on the work that was done on the house. Day 1 consisted mostly of swapping out light fixtures and starting the nightmare… Read More »More Day 1 Fun
On Sunday, January 10, I looked at the House with the Cute Backyard with Jason. I had seen the house with my Mom, Carla and Jay. Plus Teresa had seen it earlier. I wanted Jason’s far more practical perspective. Jesse also dropped by to look for a lead pipe. A… Read More »The Ballad of House Buying: Part 4 – A Closer Examination
So I think I can be a little freer with the experience of house buying that I have been enduring. I guess the most important news is that I am officially going through the process of buying a house now. I would like to at least go through the process… Read More »The Ballad of House Buying: Part 1 The Surrogates
I started Thanksgiving by helping serve the free Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom, Teresa and Logan. I was given the extremely important duty of collecting trays. After my shift concluded I talked dogs with Karma’s former vet Jordan and his family. Even though I know when I get a dog… Read More »Thanksgiving
Teresa’s latest project was too make individualized Christmas booklets for all the members of the family. Well, not for me, but for the other members of the family. IMAGE LOST I spent a fair amount of Thanksgiving trying to explain that I don’t really care what I get for Christmas.… Read More »Too Crafty?
Shannon had over a foot of hair cut off her head last Thursday. On Sunday I was able to document this joyous hair loss, but the day was not completely happy. In the picture above you should try to look past Shannon. You may notice something. Shannon appears to be… Read More »The Shannon After
I thought I would celebrate my Mom’s birthday by posting some pictures of her from the 1970s. I think that might be our old milk truck in the background! With the best child. With the middle child. Out at McHose Park. Out at the old house on W. 15th Street.… Read More »Happy Birthday Mom!
I am coming off a 4 day weekend that has drained me in every way that a person can be drained. I guess the highlight of the weekend was seeing a cousin that I haven’t seen in maybe 15 years. It was definitely a strange weekend for family.
Happy Birthday to my eldest sister, albeit a couple days late! The old Bennett Antique Shop in the background. Teresa and Carla Swanky Teresa and Mom Teresa and Dad Colorado Teresa and Dad Colorado Now by looking at some of those pictures you would guess that Teresa must be like… Read More »The Eldest Sister
I drove to Albia on Sunday to watch Elainie play softball in the Little League State Tournament. I was honestly expecting to only watch one game because they were playing Grand View. I can never recall a Boone team beating a Grand View team. But it happened. Boone beat Grand… Read More »Albia, Iowa
Blogger has been flaky at best. If you subscribe to the Journal, you should get an e-mail immediately, but the entry might not be found on the website for a small amount of time. I apologize for the low quality of these scans. I was working with a low end… Read More »1982ish
Jason has relatives in Parkersburg. On Monday, Carla and Jason went up to Parkersburg to help his relatives with the damage to their property after the tornado. Here is a portion of an e-mail that Carla sent out about Jason’s relatives experience with the tornado: Yes, the relatives are all… Read More »Parkersburg