The Summer of Luke

With the weekend drawing to a close I thought I'd put up some random pictures from the last few days. We haven't been too busy, just relaxing and going out to eat and such. Luke is feeling about twenty times better, and is really smiling and laughing at everything now. He's back to normal from the looks of it.

The bad news is Grandma Jan is sick now. She may have caught what Luke had; she's been out of commission all day. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her at all- Steve's been up and down taking care of her. So hopefully she gets better, we all don't get sick, and we can have a fun last few days. Keep your fingers crossed.

We went for a walk on Saturday night. Luke had a great time once he was out of the stroller. He loves walking around and playing with the grass. We didn't stay too long- the flies were out in force, and there are about a million and a half ants around here.


Luke's been doing this Mick Jagger thing a lot lately. It's really funny, and we have no idea where he got it from. I'm thinking I should turn down the classic rock station I usually listen to before he picks another rock star to emulate.










Grandma and Grandpa took us to Outback on Sunday afternoon for an early anniversary gift. Luke had a great time, and got to sit with the the big folks after we were done.







Mommy tried to read to Luke, but he wanted to play. Reading is fun...we end up reading the same books over and over, and Luke has no idea what we're talking about, so we just make stuff up while we read. You gotta be creative...




Min bought some bubbles and Luke loves them. He chases after them and squeals and laughs.





Grandma and Grandpa also bought us a new coffee maker...it's the new version of the our old one that we threw away when we got here. I call it the "Hamilton's Own" coffee maker (ok, one of you out there will get it). Luke loves the box, and this is further evidence that we are wasting our money on toys.



Mommy feeds Luke some barbeque from Sticky Fingers. Riley is learning that's the place to be at dinner time, since Luke inevitably gets tired of eating and starts throwing his food on the floor.



It doesn't show here, but Luke was laughing hysterically at the BBQ pork Mindy gave him. We think it was because it was stringy. He's a trip. Thankfully he's been eating a lot better. We even got him to eat a banana (Mom and Dad, you guys should appreciate that one).

A special shout out to my little brother, who turned 26 today. So we're all tracking, that's four more years until he's 30 (and yes, I know I am less than a year away...). Hope everyone had a good weekend!

BIG NEWS!!!!

Ha ha...thought I had something to announce, didn't you? Well, I do actually, but it's probably not exciting for most of you. The car windows are fixed! Glory, glory, hallelujah.

For those of you who may not know the saga of our car windows, well, take a seat. Long, long ago- before I came home from Iraq in 2004 long- our rear driver's side window went out. And by went out, I mean it wouldn't go up. So we taped it up, since we figured it would be a short term thing until we got it fixed. Well, when I took it in not long after I got back, they quoted the price of the repair to be about $400. That's FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS for one window. Uh, no thanks, I'll find a better price. Only there was no better price- that was pretty much everyone's price. So we drove around with the tape. Then, when we were at Randy and Jamie's wedding in September 2005, the rear passenger window went out, same deal. So I was looking at around $800 to repair two stupid windows that wouldn't stay up, much less work. Suffice it to say we kept a fresh roll of tape in the car from then on.

Well, time wore on and a combination of laziness, circumstances, and cheapness kept me from getting them fixed. Until now...I did an internet search about a week ago and found the part, and I wanted to knock it out while Steve was here. So we trekked out this afternoon, and voila! We actually did it. I told him I had a huge sense of satisfaction in knowing I didn't pay some shmuck 800 bucks to do what we did in two hours and a total cost of about $325 bucks (both regulators and the door panel tool I bought). So, eat it all you car mechanics.



You can see the tape in this one. We got quite good at taping, and every few months we'd need a fresh set. The most annoying thing was driving with it on there and flapping...you could sometimes barely hear the radio.




We had to pop off the door panel, peel off the dust cover, and then unbolt everything off the door frame. The first one took us a while to figure out, but we rocked the second one.


These were the parts I bought last week. They make you buy the whole assembly. I must have got it just in time too- I payed $150 for each one, then a few days later I saw them listed at $200 each. Yes, I am a huge cheapskate.

Doing a little testing...the tape residue was causing it to shudder when it hit the rubber. The only thing left to do is clean all the gunk off, and we're good to go.

Luke wanted to help out.

Hopefully he gets his car knowledge from grandpa. Daddy is not so good.

So to anyone who needs some help fixing their car windows, I'm your man. But just to warn you, I charge about $400...

I'm gonna graduate!

So like I said before, I graduated from my Captain's Career Course down here at Fort Gordon on Thursday. Not really a big deal, just one of those Army blocks you have to check. The real stellar part was that we were only the second class to get to wear ACU's instead of our Class A's (the dress green uniform). Everyone was really excited about that, I think more than the actual ceremony. Mindy commented that she could tell it was bunch of captains, since the morale was less excitement and more of a "let's just get this baloney over with so we can get out of here." That is with the exception of those of us staying an extra month for another class. That really takes the excitement out of graduation.

So anyway, I'll just do the picture comment thing again. That seemed like fun for everyone, right?

Grandpa playing with Luke Thursday morning. They got in late, so Luke was pretty out of it when they arrived, and that was the first chance they had to interact with him.


Outside the auditorium before the ceremony started. I let Luke wander around, and showed him off to my friends.

It looks like it was just us...and it really was for the most part. There were several family members there, but other than that, nobody really comes. But in their defense, everyone is really busy going to lunch and surfing the internet.

Hard to see, but that's me...with my manila envelope holding my paper certificate. Oooh!

At least Luke was proud of me. He knew the long hours of shamming and making up appointments that I had put in to achieve such an honor.

This is the memorial to Signal soldiers who have died in conflicts since Vietnam, including Iraq and Afghanistan. World War II and prior are forced to create their own, I guess. In all seriousness though, take a minute or two from your barbeques this weekend to remember guys who have gone over wherever "there" may have been, and not come home. As much as I complain about the Army, I am very proud of the 0.5% of Americans that I serve with who sacrifice a lot so the other 99.5% of citizens don't have to.

Luke and I posing outside the auditorium.

Is this the same kid who was born just last year? Scary.

If there is one thing I learned from being in an artillery unit for so long, it's that sticking your face in the gun tube is bad.

I have nothing to say about this. Except that this really is my good side.

I love catching her off guard...

Signal Towers...so many memories. OK, not really. But wasn't the sky nice?

Have a happy Memorial Day weekend!

Is anyone here a marine biologist?

"The sea was angry that day, my friends..."

Well, this is the first post in non-chronological order of the events of the past few days. Mindy's parents arrived late Wednesday night (just toward the end of Lost, but don't anyone panic- I caught it all) (That was for Mindy- "You are not gonna ignore my parents for a TV show!"). We pretty much hung out all day Thursday, after the graduation ceremony for my class- I'll post the pictures from that in another post so those of you out there who either don't know me or care about my life can skip it if you want. I'm pretty flexible like that.

Anyway, we went back to the zoo in Columbia, SC for a couple hours on Friday. It was a good time had by all, and rather than write a big post, I'll just comment on the pictures.


This is the group looking at the toucans. There was a bird in this area that cools itself off by pooping on its own feet. It was pretty hot out there, but at no point was I tempted to poop on my feet.


This was our attempt at a family photo. Luke was really fussy. He is still getting over his sickness, but we thought getting out would do him some good. He was whiny (and still is) but feeling and acting better.

This is my reaction to the rude person who walked in front of our picture, right before we took the last one. I made several snide remarks right after this, which earned me a glare and a "Chris!" from my wife.

Mindy, Luke, and the proud grandparents. They haven't seen Luke since Christmas (except on here) and have been having lots of fun with him...well, when he isn't whining or crying or throwing a temper tantrum. Then he's all ours.

Mindy fed the goats while Luke looked on. Last time we were there he helped feed them, but he was in no mood to do it that day. This reminds me of a story. In college, Mindy would make me go with her to feed some pygmi goats out at Perry Farm in Bradley. We would have to go to the store, buy a bag of baby carrots, and then drive over there to feed some goats who get fed multiple times a day. Obviously, I was in love.

Grandpa and Luke checking out the wallabys. Luke is a total grandpa's boy...he loves both of his Grandpa Steves, and won't leave their sides when he's around them. I'm going to try to convince them to use their magical powers to teach him some practical skills (like mowing the lawn, changing the oil, etc) that I can use to my own benefit.

Luke got out of his stroller and checked out the wallaby on his own. He was trying to reach through the fence to see them. One tried to bite his arm, but we wrestled it to the ground before anything bad could happen. OK, that last part was a lie.

Luke proceeded to walk out of the wallaby area (I just like that word if you can't tell) and venture around the zoo. Well, at least the 50 square foot area nearby. He found a dirty pine cone and carried it around with him for awhile before we could pry it away and toss it back in the bushes.

All the big cats were in their caves since it was so hot. Luke grabbed the chicken wire and shook it to call them out, but they were obviously afraid of him.

Grandpa Steve pointing out the monkeys. No, I was not standing right in front of them.

Luke has this fascination with glasses, all kinds. He will grab them off your face if he can get to them. So what do we do? Encourage it, of course. Hey, I never said we were good parents. This is Mindy putting her sunglasses on Luke. He had a big grin on his face the whole time.

One righteous dude...

Grandma held Luke for a little while near the baboon display. This reminds me of a story. One time in college...oh wait, I shouldn't tell that one.

Luke has been having a blast with his grandpa. See, he's teaching him to drive.

This is Luke's newest pop-up book, which he loves. And destroys...in fact, the night we brought it home, Luke had pulled out the tab on one page and ripped up the mechanism that makes it pop up. This is why we can't have nice things.

Next post: Chris graduates on time, for once!