The Waltz Family Blog

Am I supposed to update this blog more often...

2010-07-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Seems like this is going to be a yearly post, or there abouts. It has been another good year. Sure there are rough spots but nothing that would knock us down. Emma is 7 going on 18 and Eli is just happy being a boy it seems. Emma loves the glitz and glam kinda thing, I think she gets that from the Waltz's. Eli just wants to be cool. When we get him dressed for church he always asks if he is going to be wearing cool clothes or handsome clothes. Emma wants to wear the fanciest thing that she has in her closet all the time. If she is going out to ride her bike, which she learned how to do this year, she wants to put on her hat, glasses, heels and nice clothes.

My lovely wife is working at the bank still and loving it. She has had some complaints but who doesn't. We bought her a newer car this year because we were getting very worried about the Buick as it had 103K miles on it and it seemed like it was one thing after another with it. So we/I started looking around for a car. Well lets face it, I got obcessed about finding a new car. We found a Volvo XC90 and agreed to buy it provided they fixed the problem with the radio. That never happened so we got our money back and started looking again. We came across a Saab 97x and it was nice. Never thought to look at Saab so I started looking at what was out there and found one with 54k miles and close to our budget. Needless to say we bought it. It is very nice. I love it.

I am still working at the phone company. WOW how things change. I have had three bosses since I have come to technical support, it has been an experience that is for sure. 2010 has been an interesting year for me. I have struggled with a few things this year. Things that I have no control over and things from my past that have really come back to haunt me this year. The haunting just makes me angry and there is really no resolve to them from my perspective. Between that and being frustrated to no end about the things at work that I had no control over, I took up smoking cigars for a short time. I have since quit, knowing it is better for me that I do not smoke them. They did not solve any problems either.... I can not say I did not enjoy them though. I have also taken up web design again. I really enjoy making web pages but I am no freak designer. I usually get a template from the web and customize it to fit the need. I would like to take some classes for web design or graphic design but just not in the cards right now. Well, that is enough for now. I have written enough to bore anyone to tears. TA TA

An overdue update

2009-11-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

Amazing how the year has flown by. It has been an interesting to say the least. Wow how the time flies.

We bought a new dog, Maggie, and after much debate we agreed to find Maggie a new home. Our kids are growing up so fast. Emma started First Grade this year and Eli went to preschool/daycare. I hate the idea that one of my kids are in daycare. However, Tina really likes her job and enjoys the interaction outside of the house... I can't say that I blame her. This all has been a huge adjustment for the Waltz Family.

All in all it has been a good year, we have a great church family and some great new friends. We are so blessed.

A new member of the Waltz Family

2009-01-15T05:45:00.000-08:00

Since the loss of our sweet but hyper Dott, we have added a new member to our family. Meet Maggie a 7 1/2 week old Airedale Terrier. We missed Dott so bad that we had to get a new pup. Maggie is a sweet heart, she is very smart and not to hyper yet. I am afraid she might be a chewer but we will curb that with lots of doggie toys.

A little treasure hunting!

2008-07-17T20:12:00.001-07:00

Geocaching.....Have you ever been?

Emma and I on our first caching, "Treasure Hunting" trip. We had a great time. We place the coin below here in this cache. The coins are called geo coins and they have a tracking number associated with them and this particular coin has been over 8,000 miles since it was put in it's first cache.

This was the first coin that I found. It was found at the cache called "Laugh out Loud". This is the coin that got it all started for me.

This is the second coin that I found. Emma and I was out on our first hunt together and we found this coin in one of the parks and moved it to the Travel Bug Hotel in Franklin Indiana.

My Dad and I out on our first major caching trip together. I am telling you guys this is addictive.

This is one of my finds in Atterbury while caching with my Dad!

If anyone is interested in Geo Caching there is a whole bunch of informtation on the web or at www.geocaching.com.

Camping at Potato Creek State Park 6/2008

2008-06-26T03:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from a recent camping trip to Potato Creek State Park. John and Susan were there too. We had a real good time.

Emma and Paige help Papa carry firewood.

Eli is all boy, if the girls can do it so can he!

Emma getting in on the firewood packing!

All the kids.

Leaving the house. Folks this is redneck. We got some funny looks leaving the house with the bikes on top of the car. It was great and brought back a load of memories.

Paige and Eli running along the fence when we went to Gentry's baseball game.

Miss. Paige, isn't she a cuttie.

Emma and Paige enjoy a good ole Smore's.

OH YEA! Nothing beats burnt marshmallow, chocolate and gram crackers.

Recent Photos!

2008-06-03T20:43:00.001-07:00

Flowers in the Yard

Eli splashing in a mud puddle at the Blackburn home!

Emma Grace making a silly face. She loves to be silly and make people laugh!

Eli is really geting tall, Here he is hamming it up for the camera!

NEW Room PICS

2008-03-12T06:59:00.001-07:00

This is the New Tankless Hot Water Heater, minus the cover. It works GREAT!

This is our new bedroom suit. The first time we have ever bought new bedroom furniture.

Dresser

The shower and vanity. We really like the dark wood.

We are really happy to have the room done.

It was a ton of work but it was worth it all.

Just a Few Pictures

2007-12-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

Work is going well on the room but I thought I would put a few pictures of the family on here.

A little More

2007-11-22T05:29:00.000-08:00

If anyone is watching here is a little update. It is slow going but it's going. I have installed the door to the new room and framed the walls for the closet and the bathroom and wired them. I still have some plumbing and wiring to do in the bathroom after I get the shower and utility closet framed in. Here are a few pictures anyway.

New door minus trim!

This is the bathroom and closet.

The is a rough idea of the shower and utility closet layout.

Shot of the windows.

This is Emma's drawing of Hanna Montana. Emma says she is her biggest fan.

Miss Emma turned 5 this year!

2007-11-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from Emma's birthday party. Eli had a great time at the park as well.

And then there was Siding!

2007-11-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got the siding on and Jason Smith came over and put the fascia on the gutter boards and the eves. Gutters will be installed on Monday. After that the work on the inside will start. I am about to start running the electrical and the plumbing as well. This is GREAT!

PROGRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Some Progress

2007-09-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well today, I finally did some work on the room addition. I cut out the O.S.B and put in one of the windows. On Sunday afternoon I cut out part of the existing overhang that needs to be taken out before I can put the drywall up on the ceiling. I do not have a picture but there is some progress. We also bought the siding and I am very eager to get it put on before the fall rain starts.

Turtles in the hospital.

2007-08-28T05:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.scaquarium.org/seaturtle/rescue.aspx

Vacation is over!!!

2007-08-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great vacation in South Carolina. We really did not want to leave and would have liked to stay another week but of course you have to come back to reality at some point. Here are a few more pictures from our trip. We spent a day at the South Carolina Aquarium and took a tour of the Turtle Rescue Hospital. We had a really good time. Emma loved the turtles.

Day two at Isle of Palms Beach.

2007-08-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

We spent another morning at the beach and built a sand castle and enjoyed the ocean again. here are a few pictures from today. Don't laugh at the big guy! He just tagged along we could not get rid of him. :)

Vacation to South Carolina!

2007-08-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well, vacation has been a blast. We left late Sunday night and arrived at Joe and Jen's house around 10 am on Monday. After a fantastic tour of Newspring Church we found a motel and crashed for a while and then met with Joe, Jen and Melea for dinner. We had a great time.

On Tuesday morning we made the trip down to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and checked into our motel. We stayed at the Hilton Homewood Suites, folks this place was nice. I highly recommend this chain. Tuesday night we just went to the pool and played around a little and then went to the store and got a few things to stock the fridge and crashed.

Wednesday we ventured to the IOP (Isle of Palms) to play on the beach and go for a swim. Emma was more than ready to get to the beach and go swimming. Here are a few shots of the beach and Eli Playing. The pictures are limited because we took a waterproof camera so we would not trash our good one. Here are a few pictures of the motel and the beach.

The Family

2007-08-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

Since I have not been able to work on our room addition, I thought I would add some more pictures of the family. Enjoy!

Here is Mr. Mitchell having a good time first thing in the morning. He is one happy boy.......unless his sister takes something from him. NOT Emma!

Emma got to play with Melea after July 4th Holiday. Emma has been talking about going to South Carolina to see Melea again.

The Boss! My wonderful and loving wife!!

Me being a dork so Emma could take my picture. Nothing out of the norm.

Dad is tired and the kids are glad that I am home.

Nothing Major!

2007-06-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

Hello to anyone that may be checking in. I have not had much time to do any more work to the new addition. We have has several things come up in the last month that has prohibited us from doing much more than what you see in the pictures below. I have managed to get the bird boxes built on the overhangs and the nailers up for the soffit. I hope to get back at it in the next few days. We are trying to find some siding that will match what is on the rest of the house and that is proving to be difficult. The house is 11 years old and the siding has faded quite a bit and not to mention it is not the "Normal" 4" Dutch lap siding, it is 4.5" Dutch lap and it is generally a special order item and cost twice as much. Never fails! Well, that is all I have for now. When I do get some more work done I will post some pictures. For now here are some pictures of the Kids.

Roof Is On!!!

2007-05-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Crew started at 8:30 am and were done by 12:45pm. That was one fast roofing crew.

Ready for the roofers!!

2007-05-17T20:42:00.001-07:00

Well, we are ready for the roofers to start on Monday. I finally got the decking on, it took two days but it's finally done. The material was delivered today and the crew is to start on Monday. I am ready to take a break now and let someone else do the work. Keep in touch.....

Finally!!!!! Ready for Decking!!!!

2007-05-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

If anyone ever tells you that framing a roof is a piece of cake......tell them they are crazy. Crazy that is if you do not do it on a regular basis. I have never spent so much time trying to figure out an angle that I did this weekend trying to get the valley rafters cut. Well, after some sweat and frustration I got them done. The fly rafters and the gutter boards are up and ready to be wrapped with aluminum. We decided to have the gutter boards and fly rafter with aluminum since we can not buy the same trim that was used on our house 11 years ago. Thanks to a good friend Jason Smith and his business Orberson Guttering, Jason has said he would help me with the aluminum work. Well, here are a few pictures of where we are now.

Trusses are Set!

2007-05-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well this past weekend I got the trusses set and the rest of the OSB on the walls. I can see the end of the tunnel now. I have several more things to do before I can get the roofers on site. I seem to be working myself in circles and the odds and ends are killing me. At any rate I am getting it done little by little. Here are a few pictures with of the progress of the past few days.

Ready For Trusses!

2007-05-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

Last night (4-30-07) I wrapped up the loose ends that needed to be done before the trusses can be set. The trusses will be delivered today 5-1-07, I hope to get them set this week so we can get the roof on. I also got some of the OSB installed to firm up the walls a bit more. The room is starting to take shape and it's very exciting. Fun Fun Stuff!

First Stage of Drywall

2007-04-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

This is the part that I am not good at. Drywall is an art and I am not an artist. At any rate I am going to do what I can and hope for the best. I think I can get it to look acceptable.......Maybe!

Snag

2007-04-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

I ran into a snag today 4-24. I am about ready to set trusses and went to purchase them and thought they would have them in stock............WRONG!!!!!! They will not be in until May 2nd. I am a bit frustrated that I did not do my homework. Oh well the next project is to get the drywall done where I pulled the window out.

Day 4!

2007-04-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Day 4....... I finished the last wall and corrected the header on the south window. The framing of the exterior walls are done and I am going to proceed with getting the osb installed on the exterior of the room. I hope the weather is going to cooperate with me for the next few days. The weather man is calling for rain the next few days and I am hoping the weather will hold off. Here are a few pictures of where we are now.

Day Three!

2007-04-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Day three was quite a day. I did the demo job on the window to get ready for the door to the new bedroom. Finally at about 7:00pm I thought I was ready to set the door. Boy was I wrong....With the helpful eye of my wonderful bride, she pointed out that I was trying to install the door on top of the seal plate. Not a good idea unless you plan to put down some 2 inch shag carpet. Not gonna happen here. I hope to get the door installed on Monday and then move on to getting the last wall put up. End Day Three!

No Progress!

2007-04-20T05:09:00.000-07:00

Well, there was not progress last night 4-19-07. I had some other things to do. I start vacation this weekend and I plan to get most of the work done next week.... if all goes well.

Framing Day 2!

2007-04-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

Well, the second day of framing went Great! I got the last 10 feet of the first wall done plus the 20 foot wall section. I have one wall to do and it will be a tough one, I have an existing window to take out and then I can frame the last wall and tie it to the existing structure. This is a ton of fun.

Easter Pictures

2007-04-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is Emma and Eli at church on Easter Sunday. These are the best Kids in the world. I am a little partial since they are mine.

After the first evening of framing!

2007-04-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

I finally got started with the framing of our new bedroom/bath. I was not sure how much I would get done. I started as soon as I got home and ate Dinner. With Daylight savings it is surprising how much daylight you have in the evening. I got the first wall section up and that lit the fire that I needed to get the rest of the framing done. Progress is Great!

Room construction

2007-04-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

This blog will be the ramblings of a guy trying to build a new master bedroom and bath.

On April 17th, 2007 we started framing our new room. At the end of the first evening I managed to pull the trim off the house and open the soffit to attach the new wall. I have framed a 7 foot section and hope to finish the framing of the exterior walls by 4-22-07. I am on vacation the week of April 23rd and I hope to set the trusses and get the decking on. Once the shell is done we are going to save more money to finish the inside.