Trentadue's Tidbits: July 2008

For the past several weeks... actually 4 weeks, 3 days, 5 hours and 16 minutes.... I have been without a dishwasher. In a previous post, I was actually enjoying the time doing dishes by hand... however, I have come to realize that we did not spend hundreds of dollars in order to use it as a fancy double-decker drainer! And after we have had technicians look at it, parts ordered, etc., no one seems to know what's wrong with it! So here we are a month later, and we're still waiting on parts... and I'm tired of doing dishes by hand... blame it on my achin' prego back... but I'm done doing things the old-fashioned way!

So after 1 1/2 hours on the phone with the manufacturer of said dishwasher (LG Brand), I have come to realize that LG is a difficult company to work with... LG parts are not easy to come by... so I'm sending this post out to the masses... or at least the few people who actually read this blog... as a WARNING... if you are contemplating buying any LG product, BUYER BEWARE!!! Don't be fooled by their sleek appearance and lower prices... stick to the companies that have been around FOREVER! According to the repair man, they hardly ever get calls on Maytag or Whirlpool appliances!... so I'm sticking with them from now on!

As for our dishwasher, we may get a replacement, and there's a slight chance they will offer us a refund. If that's the case, I'm taking the $$$ and running for the nearest Whirlpool dealer and never looking back!!!

We just spend 2 Glorious Weeks with my parents visiting from Alaska! We were too busy playing and catching up to blog... so here's the highlights from the past couple weeks! Brace yourself, this is a long post!

Grandpa and Grandma come for a visit

Josh wrote this sign all by himself... since they were driving in from Chicago, Josh wanted to make sure they knew where our house was... hence, "This is our house!"
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"4th of July"
Our neighborhood does a little parade every year, and this was the first time we've participated! We tagged along with some friends (thanks Gary and Heather), and I have to say, Mom and Dad (aka George and Martha Washington) completed the theme perfectly! It was a little toasty in the wig and velvet dress... but their suffering was not in vain... THEY LOOKED GREAT!!! Also notice, the Statue of Liberty, Abe Lincoln, Betsy Ross, and secret serviceman outside the President's car (aka Mike's caddy)!

Mike drove his car with the "President" inside... and check out Gary Payne... one of our good friends... doesn't he look official as a secret serviceman?
Mike was just a tad embarrassed by my "get-up"... I say I look lovely in my feather boa and Uncle Sam's hat!
look closely for a glimpse at the President's "thumbs-up"!

The only purchased item from their costumes was George's wig (previously known as a "female blonde wig")... Check out George's axe... Dad fashioned it out of cardboard and tin foil... look even more closely for a sprig of cherries positioned on the end of the blade! And is it just a little odd that even the shoes came from the Trentadue wardrobe? I guess we're Colonials at heart!
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Trip to the grocery store
Is Caleb deprived because he has never been in those CAR CARTS at the store? He was soooooo excited, I felt bad... he just kept saying, "I get to ride in the car, I get to ride in the car!" After awhile, even Josh wanted to get in... while me and Mom were shopping, Dad kept them entertained by going on little "journeys" to try and find us! It's a "Grandpa" thing for sure!
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Visit to Meadow Farm/Crump Park
We went on a little tour of the main house and got a glimpse into how they lived... Caleb and Josh were fascinated with the idea of a "chamber pot". And Caleb even wanted to try it out, since he's going in the "pot" now!
Caleb giving Grandma a ride on the mini-tram.
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Bowling Night
Our plans of mini-golf were dashed away by the Tornado Watch ... so we went bowling instead! We played 2 games...
Mike won the first game with 181
Grandpa - 120
Grandma - 106 (first time she's broke 100!)
Josh - 68 (first time he's ever been bowling!)
Caleb - 64 (first time he's been bowling too!)

The second game, everyone was a little pooped... sore wrists and backs... so here are the scores the best I can remember...
Mike - 145
Grandpa- 115
Grandma - 117
Josh - 84
Caleb - 78
KaLisi??? - sat on the side and watched... bowling not so good on my prego back!
Caleb used the rack for part of the time... but after watching everyone, he wanted to do it like everybody else! So he would push that 10 lb. ball as hard as he could... and then wait ever so patiently as it would creep down the lane. there were times we thought that it would stop moving all together... but it made it to the pins every time! Then he would come back and give everybody High-5's!
Dad
Mike
Mom gets a spare!
Josh's form looks a little awkward... but he got the job done!
Josh's STRIKE!
He couldn't have been more happy!

And that's all the pictures we got, because there was a professional bowler in the house so apparently my flash was "hazardous to his bowling" (according to the manager)! But who cares about the guy smoking like a chimney 2 lanes down... which is actually "hazardous to our health"! Oh well... don't get me started! It was a fun night... and afterwards we went out for ice cream at Maggie Moos! Fun fun fun!
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Trip to Monticello (Home of Thomas Jefferson... 3rd President of the U.S.)
None of us could remember which president he was... but I am proud to say that I won the bet...

Josh and Caleb did pretty well ... although we had to ditch the Plantation Tour after about 15 minutes because the guide was a little long-winded for a 6 and 2 year old. We went on ahead and read the plaques along the way. I think we learned just as much, and everyone was much happier!
Funny joke for the day...it goes something like this...
Mom: "Oh look, a Sugar Maple!" (she was reading a sign posted on a tree)
Dad: "Hey sweety pie!" (he misunderstood and thought they were exchanging romantic nicknames!)

A few hours later as we were boarding the shuttle...

Dad: "Hey there, White Ash!" (he was reading yet another sign labeling the type of tree!)
Mom: (turns around and glares) "Hey, that's not fair... I called you Sugar Maple!"

Seriously, we laughed about this for awhile! So check them out... "White Ash and Sugar Maple walking down path!"

Caleb's first time riding a bus. Caleb's exact words... "Mom, take a picture of me riding the bus!"

Visiting Thomas Jefferson's gravesite.

Caleb and Josh trying their hand at "quill-writing". We all tried it, and it's harder then it looks!

After we got back to Richmond, we went to Olive Garden for dinner... So overall, a fun day!!!
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Mini-Golfing at Windy Hill Sports Complex

Scores for Game 1:
Grandma - 56
Grandpa - 60
Josh - 64
KaLisi and Caleb -44 (although I had to scratch 3 holes due to a potty break... for Caleb, not me!)

Scores for Game 2:
Josh - 51 (Josh got 3 Holes-In-One)
Mike - 53
Grandpa - 55
KaLisi - 61 (doesn't really help much, when it took me 12 times to make hole 4... seriously, it was tricky!)
Grandma - 64 (Hole 9 was Grandma's undoing!)
Caleb - 979 (towards the end, he was pretty tired... and would kick the rocks and throw his club and yell "I missed!"... he didn't pick that up from me!)

This is the enfamous "Hole 4" that drove everyone crazy! I scored a "12" on this lovely little thing... but when I tried it again, I got a hole in one... But I couldn't talk anyone into a "mulligan!" Go figure!!!

Well, there you have it... 2 weeks worth of fun in the longest post in the world! Congrats to making it to the end of this!