Time Flies... Update

Ok, time for the update I’ve mentioned. Last time I wrote an actual update, it was June of 2010. I only wrote two more blogs after that dated to Sept 2010 and then I was silent here until last week. So, what has been going on since Sept 2010 until Sept 2013? 

First and foremost, my family: Ansley has seriously taken to learning and is doing so well is school. She started 2nd grade this year and is in the gifted program. She loves to read and just loves to learn in general. She is Daddy’s “Big Girl” and is just an awesome daughter! Riley is in pre-K and is also showing some uncanny smarts and memory for a little girl. My only question is if she is actually going to want to learn and will have the drive to learn like her big sister does. She is so much like me, I wonder about her. I always scored very high on the placement/IQ tests in school, I just didn’t care enough to even really try. So, time will tell about Riley. But, she is her Daddy’s “Baby Girl” and always will be. Heather has been awesome in her job and got into fitness a few years ago. She has lost all of her “baby weight” from 2006/2009 and is now even smaller than she was when we married in 2002. She has run multiple 5K’s, 2 half marathon and 1 full marathon. This year, she has a 24 mile “Trail Run” another full marathon in Savannah in November and then she has the “Crème de la Crème” in January 2014. She will be participating in the “Dopey Challenge” at Disney World. She will be running a 5K on Thursday, a 10K on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday. That is just as much insane as it is awesome, in my book. On top of her running she also does countless hours of cardio and weight training along with making sure the rest of us eat as clean as possible. She has become a fitness role model to her co-workers and friends. In 2012, Heather and I also celebrated 10 years of marriage and 17 years together. The only other family member I ever mention with any real regularity is my sister, Leslie. I mentioned back in 2010 that she was diagnosed with metastasized breast cancer that had reached her brain. Well, as of today, 5 Sept 2013, she is still fighting it hard. We have seen some changes in her over the years, but she is still fighting right along with no signs of giving up anytime soon. To follow her story, please go here:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/leslielorenz

During this time, Heather and I also had our genetic testing done. I, like my sister, tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation. So, that will be something Heather and I will have to look at with our daughters when they get older. Heather tested negative for it.

 

  As for me, I have since retired from the Air Force. After my second neck surgery, the Air Force decided they had no use for me. They said I’d never be able to be an asset to the Air Force again, so they medically disqualified me for continued military service and forced me to retire after 17 years of service. To be completely honest, I was about tired of their shit and ready to leave anyway. Although I didn’t get to retire at the rank or with the time I was shooting for, I was glad to be gone from it. After they forced me out because of my physical limitations, I swore I would get in better shape than I was ever in while in that uniform. After seeing the results Heather had with her fitness, in August 2012, I decided to get on the fitness train. Heather had the “Insanity” program and she said if I would do it, she would start it with me. So, we started it together and did a couple weeks of it. She had to go TDY and while she was gone, I kept going and got hooked. Unfortunately, when I got to month 2 one of the routines, wrecked my knee. I kept going for a couple days and it got even worse and it swelled up about the size of a softball. So, I was ordered to take about 6 weeks off to let it heal. I wore a knee brace the rest of the time and let it heal up. I went back to it and was able to finish the 60 days of Insanity (by taking Max Plyo out of the rotation) After that, I went on to another program that included weights called Les Mill Pump. It didn’t have enough cardio for me, so I did a hybrid of Pump and Insanity for 2 1/2 months. After I completed that, Beachbody came out with a new program by Les Mills called “Combat.” It looked awesome and I got it the first day it was available. Instantly, I fell in love with that program. 60 days later, I had great results with that program. After Combat, I moved on through Body beast and then to Shaun T’s new program Focus T25 which I am just completed. Next up is a revisit to P90X. I tried this program back in 2009 and failed it miserably. It’s time to give it another shot and complete this program with awesome results! So, over the last 11 months, I’ve lost about 25 lbs and multiple inches around the waist, belly and legs while gaining some inches in the arms and chest. During all this fitness time, I also became a Beachbody coach so I could try and help others along their fitness journey. I have a great group of folks with me and we are all helping keep each other motivated. If you are interested in getting your fitness on, email me at “beachbody(at)wolfpack764.com” or go visit my Beachbody webpage at: www.beachbodycoach.com/dalehall .  I would love to help you reach your fitness goals. As for other hobbies, I still scuba dive as much as possible. We still do our yearly trip to swim with manatees in Crystal River, FL and we put together trips each year to head out for some good diving. I did finally get to do my shark dive in the Bahamas back in Sept 2012. That was a freakin’ blast!! I also still fly from time to time, but have not finished my license for that as of yet. Dad and I did take the girls to the airport just this past Monday. Ansley went up with Dad by herself for the first time. She had a good time. We also took Riley for the first time ever. She sat in my lap and she absolutely LOVED it! That little one is going to be my fulltime co-pilot, I believe.

 

So, that’s about it in a nutshell. Too much detail is boring to read, so I decided to just hit the highlights and this was still damn long. If you have any questions concerning fitness, my neck fusions, BRCA1 gene mutations, scuba, flight, or anything I’ve mentioned, please feel free to message me or leave a comment down below. I will get back you…

 

Until next time...

Procrastination

You always hear that procrastination never pays off. Well, I have a true to life story that verifies that statement.

Last night, my sister, Leslie, called and wanted to borrow a few boxes we have in our attic left over from the move into this house. I have a fairly big stack of them, so she always calls if she needs a box. I told her I would grab a couple boxes from the attic and put them downstairs for her to pick up the next morning. As per usual, I forgot and didn't do it.
Today at work, I heard my cell phone ringing at my desk, but I didn't reach it in time to answer. I looked at the call log and saw it was my "Home" that called me. I knew my wife was at work so I was wondering why my home phone would be calling me. Then I realized, it was my sister calling about the boxes I didn't get out for her. I called back to the house and she answered my phone. The call went like this:
Leslie: "Hello?"
Me: "Hey, I forgot to get those boxes out for you."
Leslie: "Yeah, I know, but I knew where you kept them."
Me: "So, you got them yourself?"
Leslie: "Yeah. But...."
Me: "But what?"
Leslie: "You know I'm your sister, right? You know I'd never do anything bad on purpose, right?"
Me:"What happened?" (As my heart starts to race)
Leslie: "Weeeeeeeell. As I was coming back across the attic with the boxes..."
Me: "You went through the ceiling"

And then she proceeded to tell me that even though she had a flashlight and made a mental note of every area up there that didn't have plywood on it, she still managed to hit one area that was only sheetrock. Her foot went right through the ceiling in the kitchen between the bar and kitchen table. My biggest worry was she fell through it and got hurt, but she didn't. The area she stepped in is barely big enough for a foot to go in it, but she managed to put her size 8 in there just perfect and go right through. She wasn't hurt, but she was really worried about my ceiling. The ceiling is repairable, little sisters aren't always repairable. So, I'm good with the results. The hole is barely 8 inches across. It just looked much bigger with the insulation sticking out of it.

Not to mention that when Heather and I stayed with Leslie and Dale a couple years ago while we were moving into this house, Ripley (our dog) ripped up about $1000 worth of carpet in their upstairs playroom. They refused to let us pay for it. This hole is no where near a grands worth of damage, so Leslie still has a ways to go to catch up.

By the time Leslie had called me, she had already called Brother-in-Law, Dale and our Mom and Mom had already talked to a sheetrock guy to get it fixed. He's going to be here next week.

Below are three pictures of the hole. All 8 pictures that I took are in my photo area of my MySpace account: Wolfpack764 MySpace

How to have your day started off on the wrong foot...

Heather had a golf tournament today and needed to be at work early. I had jobs that had to be done this morning, so I couldn’t go in late. We were wondering how to get Ansley to the daycare when Leslie, my younger sister, volunteered to take her for us. Awesome.. Thank you!!! Leslie came over this morning, picked up Ansley and took her to the Daycare after they opened. Ansley is in a new room since the last time my sister had taken her or picked her up, so when she walked in, the Daycare crew didn’t know her and she didn’t know the routine for this room. She asked what they needed her to do. They showed her where to sign Ansley in and where to place her diaper bag for safe keeping. After she was all signed in, the daycare worker asked my sister, “So, are you the Grandmother?”

Time Flies

Man.. It just seems harder and harder to get time to sit down and type anything up these days. I don't see how people can do it everyday.. I have a hard enough time trying to get it once a week. But, I wanted to do a quick up date tonight so I'm just making the time while Heather gets her clothes ready for work tomorrow.

I just noticed that Blogger lets you upload video, so I loaded one down below just to see how it works. This was taken Labor Day weekend while we were in Panama City Beach, FL. My sister wanted to take her kids diving before they went on their cruise to the Bahamas in October, so we all headed down to PCB to spend the weekend and do a couple dives with them. We stayed at a condo of a family friend. We had a great weekend. Tiny Baby went to the beach for the first time, ever. She, honestly, could take it or leave it. She did seem to have fun, but she seemed to have more fun in the Kiddie Pool at the Condo Complex more than she did at the beach.

Our dives were in the Gulf of Mexico. We did a wreck called the "Black Bart" and one called "Bridge Span #14." Both had a huge amount of fish and lots of barracuda. The kids had a great time and my sister and brother-in-law had a good time diving with them. This was my sister's first dive since she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. After the chemo and three surgeries, she's back in full swing. She did great on her first dives in a year and a half. This was also Logan's first salt water dive in about a year and a half and it was Alyssa's first dive since her Open Water checkout dives in April of this year. They all did great. M2, a dive buddy from work that dove the "Oriskany" with me, met us down there and he teamed up with me for the two dives. Good times..

Most of the family came back on the 3rd, we stayed an extra day to miss the traffic going back to GA. We took Tiny Baby to Zoo World so she could see and pet some animals. She got to see all sorts of animals and she petted a goat, a duck and a giraffe. I had never petted a giraffe before, so that was a first for me too. Just my luck, he was dirty and shedding something awful. But, we had a good time.

Next dives aren't really dives. I'm helping with the Rescue Diver class that's being taught next weekend. My brother-in-law is in the class, so it will be fun.

Everyone take care I'll try to update quicker next time.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my "baby" sister, Leslie. She turned the BIG 4-0 today!!! Although some people may dread turning 40, after two bouts of breast cancer in 5 years, 4 or 5 surgeries, countless rounds of chemo and 1 full regimen of radiation, we're just counting our blessings that she is here to turn 40. And, with everything, including the last surgery, behind her now, she will have MANY more to come!! Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes from everyone out there. Happy Birthday Sis!!!!

The picture was taken last October when she was about to start her chemo. I decided we could be bald together, so she shaved my head for me. Of course, she's grown hers back now and I've kept mine off.

Sister update and the Tale of the Toyota

First update: My sister is home from her reconstruction surgery. She had the surgery on Monday and was home the following Thursday. She is mighty sore but is getting better with each passing day. I dropped by to see her yesterday and she seems to be doing very well. She came home with 6 drainage tubes coming out of her body and is hoping to have them removed during her post-op appointment today. Other than being sore and getting wiped out pretty easily due to being able to do nothing for a couple weeks, she is great. She isn't taking very much pain medicine either. If she gets her tubes out today, she will well on her way to recovering and moving more normally. I asked her if she was ready to have a sit-up contest, but she passed on it for right now. :) Thanks for all the well wishes and thoughts.. I'll keep you informed to her progress.
The next update: As you read a couple weeks ago, we got a new Tundra for the family. Well, after Tundra #1 was sold, we decided to get Heather a new car also. She liked her older car (2005 Chevy Equinox) but she was never in love with it. Just not the car she thought it was gonna be. So, we decided to get her a new one also. She was choosing between the Toyota 4Runner, the Toyota Highlander and the Honda Pilot. She did quite a few hours on the web researching, as she always does, and did a few drive-bys and see the vehicles. She got to look pretty good at a couple 4Runners when I bought my truck and she went at the new '08 Highlander when one got on the lot. Although impressive inside (Heather said the inside changed around so much with all the compartments it was almost like a Transformer) but she wasn't all that impressed with the outer looks. She like the Pilot, but the Toyota name has always been good to us, so she started looking very hard at the 4Runner.
This past Saturday, we decided to go look at the local Toyota Dealer in Macon and see what they had on the lot since the Warner Robins Dealer didn't have what she was looking for the day we went up there. We got there and she found a couple and even drove one. When we went in to discuss the price, we found out the one she was she was looking at was a Demo in black with 4000 miles and we figured we could get it for a great price. When they came back with their offer, it was about $1000 over invoice. You have got to be kidding me!!! Heather looked at the offer and decided to go home and see what we could find on the web. She like the Salesman and wanted to deal with him, so we said we'd come back even though they made a stupid offer on that black demo. So, we home and started looking. We found one that met her needs/wants and called the salesman to see when it would be available. It was still at the port and was headed to Alabama, but he could intercept and have it delivered to Macon. We told him not to worry about it.
Later that night, we found a dark blue (the same color as my Tundra) on their website and it had all the options she was looking it without all the extra options she didn't want. We went back up there on Monday to discuss that car. She didn't really didn't want the same color as my truck, but decided to look at it anyway. I thought it would be cool to have the same color, she thought it would be weird. We looked at the blue car and while they got the info it, we found out it was also a demo with 4500 miles on it. The salesman had been called back from his lunch to help us out. We didn't know that had happened, but he hadn't gotten to the restaurant yet, so it wasn't like he left his food. As he went to get the offer, Heather told him he had one chance because we were on our lunch break and she didn't have time to play games. She also told him she didn't expect much of an offer to come back because of the stupid offer they made on the black demo last weekend. He came back with a stupid offer. They still wanted well above invoice for, what we considered, a "used" car. Heather looked at him and said, "You're kidding me, right?" He said he didn't make the offer, he was just the messenger. She said, well you can give the message that we are leaving. And she got up to leave. He asked if she would just wait for the manager to talk to her. She looked at him and then he said, "What would you give for this car?" She looked him dead in the eye and said, "It's not my job to come in here and tell my highest price I'd pay, it's your job to make me an offer I'll take. You're the salesman, I'm the customer." He left and when he came back, she had had time to stew about everything was just mad at them treating her like a "dumb girl." Not to mention it was easy to see they refused to do what she asked. Heather hates paying interest on anything, so she doesn't want the cash back rebate, she wants the lowest APR she can get. And, she wants to know the "Out the door price." Every time they came in with something, it had the 1500 dollar rebate taken out and it was without taxes, tag fees, etc. In other words, no the out-the-door price.
Before he said anything, he looked at me and said, "Did she negotiate your truck like this?" I told him, "No. The Toyota Dealership in Warner Robins made us an offer that was below what we were going to offer, so there was no arguing. You people don't seem to want to work that way." Then he sat down and instead of giving Heather another lower price on the car, he preceded to explain why they were offering what they were offering. And again, it was with the 1500 dollar cash back and no tax, title and fees added in. Heather was about LIVID at this point. She grabbed her keys and said, very professional like, "Keith, I'm sorry I interrupted your lunch. Go get yourself something to eat, because that's what I'm going to do." He said could his manger talk to her and she told him, "No he can't. I see the way (insert name of Toyota Dealer here) does business and I don't appreciate it. We will not be coming back here." And with that, we walked out of the office. As we walked out, I shook his hand and told him sorry it didn't work out, but if he really wanted to make money in the car business, he needed to go work for the dealer in Warner Robins. All he was doing in the Macon dealership was losing opportunities because of their business practices. As I was pulling around in my truck, I saw the Manager talking to Heather in her car window. I saw her shake her head and he walked away.
Heather and I left and went and ate lunch. She was so mad at this time, she said we will never step foot on the property again. At her window, the manger actually made an offer that, if he would have done it in the beginning, she would have taken it, but he waited until we walked out, so she told him to keep his offer. Remember, she had told them they had one chance (and then gave them a second chance anyway) and they decided to play the game anyway, even though they had been warned.
Heather went to the Warner Robins Dealer that day after work. 4 hours later she came home with a beautiful Nautical Blue Metallic 2007 4Runner with 17 miles on it. For a better deal than the Macon wanted to offer for their "used" car. She didn't really want a car that was the exact same color as mine, as I mentioned earlier, but it is a very nice looking car and she's OK with the same color. We never drive both vehicle together anyway, so what's the difference? She was very happy with her purchase and the experience she had while buying the car. I have a problem with "free advertising." I don't do it. If the dealer doesn't throw anything in for free or make it worth my while, I don't run their name on my vehicles. The first thing I do when I get home is take off the dealer graphics and get rid of the tag frame. Heather said she was so happy with her time up there, that if they had painted a big (inset name of dealership here) Toyota sign on her vehicle, she would have kept it. I'm just glad they didn't piss her off like the other dealership did. But, I knew from the day we bought the truck, she wasn't going to have a bad experience. Although I like my dealership, I'm still not going to advertise them for free. Her graphic is on her car, but not on mine.
But, I will give you the name of the dealership to stay away from: And since we only have two Toyota dealerships in the Macon/Warner Robins area, it will be easy to figure out who the good guys are. The one to stay away from is Bill Butler Toyota.
Heather was awesome to watch these last few days. She thought she was going to embarrass me. I was totally in her corner and loving every minute of it. You really can't get the true feeling of how cool she was from words on a blog, but take my word for it, she was awesome to watch. And the whole time, being as mad as she was, never once losing her composure or being non-professional. That's what I have a failure to do, so it was cool watching someone that can work that way. Although they may treat the next female in there like a "dumb girl" they will never think of Heather that way again. She rocks!!! :)
I will post pictures of the new 4Runner as soon as I can take a couple.

Much Better Mood

I'm in a much better mood tonight. I slept pretty good last night (unlike Sunday night). I did get up at 4:00 this morning with Tiny Baby, but she fell back to sleep within 45 minutes, so I got a tiny bit more sleep before I had to get up at 5:15.

A few updates..

My sister, Leslie, has had her reconstruction surgery. She was under the knife for over 7 hours on Monday. Everything went well and the doc was pleased with the results. They said she was sitting in a chair today. She wasn't a very good mood, but they have her on some good pain medication. The meds actually make her sleep a lot, but she feels no pain when she's sleeping so that's a good thing. She's going to be in the hospital for a few more days and should come home later in the week. All in all, a very good report from the surgery.

I sold the '03 Tundra. For those of you that have no experience with Military folks: Each base has a parking lot they allow members to put their used vehicles in and try to sell them. We pay a dollar a day to put our vehicles there and 90% of the time, they will sell before your first contract runs out, if you have a decent vehicle and don't want a million bucks for it. We call that Parking Lot, "The Lemon Lot." The vehicles there aren't "lemons" but it's a name that was given to the Base Used Car Lot years ago and it just stuck. I put the Truck on the "Lemon Lot" last Tuesday. I got two calls on it on the following Friday. One was a girl that seemed very interested in it and another was a dude that could read. The sign in the window said: "2003 Toyota Tundra SR5 2WD Extended Cab" He called me up and asked one question: "Is your truck 4 wheel drive?" "Ummm.. Oh yeah, normally it is, but the front wheel drive portion really need a break so it's on vacation in the Caribbean. It should be back next week. If you want to buy the truck now, I'll tell them where you live when they get back." Here's your sign. But, Luckily, Buyer Allyson wasn't a dumb ass. She liked the truck and wanted to buy it for her husband, who is deployed, for his birthday. How cool is that? We met and she drove the truck on Saturday and then she had the Toyota place look at it on Monday. She called me Monday afternoon, we settled on a price and I met her this morning to sign the papers at the Credit Union. We signed over the title and she's now the proud owner of my '03 Tundra. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.

I was also able to complete my American Heart Association CPR/AED Instructor course today. I took the course last Thursday, but we had to actually instruct a class and get evaluated to become "official." So, I instructed my first class today. I didn't have to do the whole thing. Our evaluator started the class and did block one. I did block two and another instructor candidate did block three. We did good and are now CPR instructors. The reason I wanted to be an instructor stemmed from last year. I need to be CPR qualified to take my PADI Rescue Diver course. That's when I noticed we had no instructors at work and there was no way for me to get qualified. I took me three months to find a way. I finally had to sit in with Healthcare Givers and take the "Mac Daddy" of CPR courses. I was well trained, but I was trained well above my level. But, hey, when you're desperate, you'll take what you can get. Since I got so pissed off about not being able to get qualified, I decided I can't sit there and complain if I wasn't willing to do something about it. So, I have become an instructor so no one else has to go through what I did to get qualified.

Everything is still a "go" for our Oriskany dive, so we're getting excited about that. I hope we get some good pics and video from it.

That's about all I have for now. If you get time, drop me line and post me a comment. I don't seem to be getting very many comments lately.

My Sis and my Truck

First and foremost, please keep my sister, Leslie Lorenz, in your thoughts for next few weeks. As most of you know she has gone through two bouts of breast cancer in the last 5 years. She's clear of cancer and is doing very well. But, this week, she goes through, what we hope, is her last surgery. With this stint with cancer, she decided she had had enough and got a double mastectomy. So, now that she is all healed up from the chemo and other surgeries, she is having her reconstruction surgery this week. She went to Atlanta today to check in and she goes under the knife for 7 hours tomorrow morning. It's going to be a long, painful healing process, so please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

As for the truck, Heather couldn't get in the truck all that easy due to the Tundra's size. So, she asked me to put some step tubes on it so she could get in it easier. Since I like the look of the tubes anyway, she really didn't have twist my arm. When it comes to step tubes, I only have one choice. Westin. So, as I was looking at the Westin site, they had put up a big banner that they finally came out with a bull bar for the Tundra. The bull bar can have a front license plate holder with it and since, on the Tundras, you have to drill the bumper cover to mount a plate on the front, I wanted that licence plate relocator. So, as I ordered my tubes and noticed the company had free shipping on everything, I ordered the bull bar and license plate relocator to go with it. I ordered the stuff on Sunday night and it showed up on Thursday afternoon. So, after work on Friday, Sid came over to give me hand, since he has already mounted the bull bar on his Tacoma. After about 2 hours and a beer or two, we had the tubes and bull bar mounted. My sister even gave me a new Dive Flag tag to put on the front, since my original is so faded out. Here is the finished product:

As the Toyota commercial says: MMM, MMM. Tasty.

Thanks to Sid for helping me out...

Sister and Qualified Phone Guy Update

I was reminded that I hadn't updated you folks on my sister lately, and I deeply apologize for that. I get asked at work so much, that I forget there are still people out there that don't know the latest.

As of today, 07 April 2007, Leslie has finished her chemo treatments (about 4-5 weeks ago) and has had her hysterectomy. I forget the actual figures, but after you have breast cancer once, your chance of getting it a second time is pretty high. Then, if you do get it again, which she did, there is like a 60-80% chance of getting ovarian cancer after that. Leslie decided not to chance it and go ahead and get it all taken out. So, she's three weeks past her hysterectomy and is healing up nicely. She has been given clearance to drive and pick up Tiny Baby, so she's happy now. After she heals completely from this last surgery, she will go on her Church's Youth Choir Tour. After she returns from the tour, then she will schedule her reconstruction surgery. After that, she will back full strength. It's really been amazing this time around. She barely slowed down during this round of treatments. It was awesome to see how she blazed through this considering how this whole regime started with such a bleak outlook. The entire family really appreciates every one's thoughts, prayers and well wishes for her. They have definitely come in handy.

As most of you know, I am "The Phone Guy" where I work. I install and troubleshoot phones, program the phone switch, run, install and wire out LAN and phone jacks all over the place. Sid and I even do it as a part time business away from our normal jobs. So, we're pretty knowledgeable when it comes to these things. Well, we had a cordless phone in the house that just refused to hold a charge. So, Heather went out and bought a new set of cordless phones that we could use downstairs. After I got those plugged in, programmed and working, I decided to take the base unit of the cordless that we replaced and use it upstairs in the computer room, since it was a corded/speaker phone. I brought it up here, plugged in the power, plugged the line into the wall and set all the features again in the phone. I just plugged it all up and left it be. When the phone rang later that night, I didn't ring in here and I wondered why. So, I looked in the programming and the ringer volume was set at MED and turned on. I picked up the handset and there was no dial tone. Great. So I checked all the programming and checked the jack in the wall and made sure the line was plugged in. I knew the power was in because I could program it. Still no dial tone. I worked with it for a bit and then gave up. The next day I came in and started working on it again. After double checking all my wall connections again and they were correct, I was starting to think the phone died. Then, as I looked around the speaker the phone was sitting on, I found my problem. The phone line from the wall was laying on the floor. I never plugged the line into the phone itself. You need me to do any phone work at your house????

Hello Charlie, Goodbye Charlie

And so, the saga of Charlie the squirrel continues; and ends. I fed and watered him and come the next morning, he was still sitting on my back porch waiting for me to come out to feed him. Anytime the dog and I would walk outside, there he was running up to greet us. After people had read about the squirrel, they started to drop by to see him. Especially concerned about him was my nephew, Logan. He came over as soon as he found out and wanted to see him.. I took them out back and Logan was, at first timid around around the squirrel. I told him he didn't need to be as I stepped down the steps right next to him and knelt down to rub his head and back. The squirrel was just sitting there letting me rub him. As soon as Logan saw that, he knelt right down and scooped up the squirrel in his hand. Even after two days with it, I still didn't feel comfortable enough to pick him up, but when Logan did, he just sat right there in his hand. All the pictures tonight are Logan with "Charlie." I was originally going to name him "Earl the Squirrel" but, as always, everyone hated my idea and Logan said he was going to be called Charlie. So, Charlie, it is. Logan really bonded with Charlie. They played for close to an hour.

They had to leave for a previous engagement, but I figured I'd see them later. And, after they were done, Logan and Brother-in-Law, Dale, (yes, my sister's husband's name is Dale) came over to check out Charlie. We all watched Logan with Charlie and started to wonder about Charlie. As I mentioned before, he has a bum foot. It was working much better on this day than it did the day before, but the two things got us wondering. Because he really trusted people and had a bad foot, was he being raised in some rehab place and was around humans already? Or, was he just a retarded squirrel that didn't have motor skills and didn't know better? No idea. But, watching Logan play him, it didn't matter. After they were done playing, the sun had gone down and it was getting chilly out. Logan had taken Charlie in his hand and started to rub an area of his back. Charlie curled up into a ball and had fallen asleep!! No kidding, he had a sleeping squirrel in his hand. Since it was getting cold, Logan couldn't stand the thought of just putting him on the cool ground, so we went in, got a box, cut a hole out for him to get in and out, Logan loaded it with grass and put him in there for the night, right by the bottom step where I had his food and a water bowl set out. We all went in for the night.


The next day, today, I stayed home with a sick baby. So, when I got time, we went outside to check on Charlie. He was no where to be found. We looked all over the yard, in the box, under the porch and he wasn't anywhere. Even the dog couldn't sniff him out. All throughout the day, each time I let the dog out, we went out looking for him to no avail. Logan even came by after school to check on him and I had to tell him he had bugged out. Of course, he had to check for himself, so he searched everywhere and Charlie wasn't around. Logan and his Dad had decided that if Charlie was still here, they were going to keep him and take him up to the Animal Rehab place in Atlanta. Very nice thought, but there was no need. I guess we gave Charlie enough food, water and attention to where he felt better and decided to go off and be a squirrel. Maybe we did some good. I just hope he doesn't come back to chew on my water pipes like his elders have done in the past.

Tiny Baby is doing better. We found out why she was running a fever. We have a tooth!! We just noticed it yesterday. This whole time, we thought she was teething, but never felt anything. Some babies will run a fever when they are teething. Then, while my sister was over here, she was playing with her and as she put her head down, Ansley opened her mouth and we saw her first tooth is on the top and not the bottom like most babies have. That's why we never felt it. So, we have our first tooth.

We also want to wish my Sister good luck this week. She has her first, of two, major surgeries this week. Wednesday to be exact. So, good luck and we'll be around if y'all need anything.