Daisy Girl Scout

Brianna is our latest official Scout.  She completed all the requirements to become a Daisy Girl Scout.  We are so proud of her!  Belinda is one of the co-leaders and they held a very nice awards ceremony for the girls. 

Dining Room Furniture Fix Up

Light colored seat cushions on dining room chairs just don't work.  We (the kids) pretty much trashed ours.  Rather than try to have them steam cleaned, we decided to just re-cover them with something that works a little better with our dining rooms color scheme.  Belinda bought some material at a very reasonable price a couple of weeks ago.  We finally got around to completing the project.  I think the before and after pictures speak for themselves.  We even had enough material left to re-cover the piano bench seat - not sure it matches the room but it looks better than what it was.

Lacrosse Spring Warm Up Camp

Diego is playing Lacrosse for the first time this spring.  He attended a warm up camp yesterday - and did a fantastic job.  I was very impressed with how well he handled the stick and adapted to this new sport.  He even scored 3 goals during a scrimmage at the end of the day.  Diego is a good athlete - but hasn't seemed to gravitate to one particular sport - maybe this is the one?

MLK Day at the lake

We all had MLK day off.  It was very nice here - nearly 60 degrees and sunny.  We decided to go out to Lake Lanier and hike/have a picnic.  Beautiful day.

Diego has earned the Highest Award in Cub Scouts

I took Diego to his Cub Scout meeting tonight at the local Fire Station to complete the Readyman Pin.  this particular pin is designed to teach the boys first aid, "knowledge" of CPR, and other life saving skills.  Diego actually volunteered to play the part of victim as the EMT's pretended he had just fallen out of a tree (something that wouldn't actually surprise me if it happens one day).

I am very proud of Diego.  The Cub Scout program begins when boys are in the first grade as "Tiger Cubs" they then advance along the path until they are in the 5th grade as Webelo II Cubs.  They transfer to Boy Scouts after they turn 11, graduate 5th grade, or earn the "Arrow of Light" award, which is the highest award you can earn as a Cub Scout.  I am very proud as Diego has now achieved all of the requirements to receive this prestigious award.  He will officially cross over to Boy Scouts next month.

Cub Scouts - Roller Skating

Antonio's Cub Scout den went to the local skate rink Sunday afternoon for open Skate.  It's changed a bunch from when I was a kid.  Lots of neon lights replace the disco ball, and the kids use fancy in-line skates.  Well, there was one old dude rocking a pair of old school skates tearing it up.  Reminded me of going to the Wigwam Skating rink in North Terre Haute as a kid.  Good times.

MONSTER JAM - Georgia Dome!!!

Thanks to Ford's partnership with Monster Jam, I received 6 complimentary tickets to their first ever live broadcasted show at the Georgia Dome this past Saturday night.  I took our 4 kids and a neighbor's son Jacob (Belinda cancelled last minute to do some much needed shopping and Jacob was the lucky kid standing in my kitchen so he got the nod).

We had passes to the "pre race pit party".  I thought we were going to be special - yeah, us and 10,000 other people who bought a $15 ticket.  MAN was it crowded.

In all, the kids were very well behaved, I didn't loose anyone in the mass of humanity walking to the parking lot, and the show was once again fantastic.  Hat's off to Monster Jam - really good night of family entertainment.

Finished Product

OK - the brisket was good.  Not great, but good.  The kids loved it - probably because I set the table real nice and let them drink orange juice out of wine glasses again.  It was just a little on the dry side in the middle, and didn't have the deep smoke ring (the red ring you see on a well smoked product) that I was hoping for.  But alas - I know what I did wrong.  I cut corners on the marinade recipe to start with.  Also, right in the middle of the cooking, when you are supposed to mop the meat every hour, we took off for 2.5 hours to a Cub Scout event.  The recipe called for hickory or cherry wood, and I used the only thing I had, mesquite and I actually didn't have enough so the thick smoke only lasted for the first 90 minutes of cooking.  We'll do better next time.

Sunday's Feast - Smoked Brisket

Smoker recipe # 4 - Braggin Right's Brisket.  Belinda surprised me tonight by picking up a brisket while at the store.  I just finished preparing the mop that will be used for marinade and making the rub.  6 hours in the marinade, then dry, apply the dry rub, fire up the smoker to 300 - I am going to use Hickory, the recipie calls for cherry but I don't have any of that.  The book says Hickory will do.  Then smoke 3 hours, then make another batch of mop and apply hourly for another 6 or until 165 degrees.  Then remove, wrap in aluminum foil, and place back in the smoker until it reaches 195 degrees internal temp which should be another hour.  Should be ready by dinner time if I can get my butt out of bed early enough -it's 2AM as I am typing this. 

Snow Days

The kids wish came true.  North Georgia got an inch of snow and enough ice on the roads to close school for a day.  They had a great time enjoying it.  Marco has never seen snow so he was pretty fascinated with it.  The kids had a great time sledding with the neighbors.

New Years Day Motorcycle Ride to Lake Lanier

I took off mid-afternoon for a motorcycle ride on New Years day.  Went over to western Gwinnett County area, then over to Lake Lanier and rode the western bank - Buford Dam Road.  Stopped at a couple of parks and took a few pictures.  It was a cold day, but my foul weather gear took care of me. 

Lake Lanier is a beautiful Corps of Engineers built lake that provides water for the City of Atlanta, South Georgia, and even Northern Florida.  I am not sure how any acres it is, but it's huge.  I was surpised to see a few boats out on the Lake - it was a pretty cold day - low 40's - and it's been below freezing at night.  I guess people in this area don't winterize boats since it doesn't stay cold for very long.  I winterized my RV, but then again, I do't plan on using it for a couple more months.

I am really enjoying my KLR.  It's been a really good bike for the kind of riding I do.  I have been a little concerned this week about the temps - the engine doesn't seem to want to stay at operating temperature while riding at speed.  This is a common concern with the bike - most people who ride in cold weather do the "Thermo Bob" modification, which simply replaces the factory thermostat with an aftermarket one that works more effectively.  Anyway,  I have been very pleased with my cold weather gear.  I have no problem riding in temps between 30 and 50 and being perfectly comfortable.  I haven't tried riding in anything colder than that.  Maybe today - it's mid-20's right now.

"Blue Moon" New Years Eve Party at the Johnston's

We hosted a party at our house on New Years Eve - we had 7 families over for a fun get together. 
The "boys" went over to a neighbors with a babysitter and Marco and the "girls" stayed at or house.  They were all so cute running around in a pack wearing their PJ's.

Food and drink were plentiful.  We had a variety of beers for sampling - my favorite beer name "Arrogant Bastard Ale"....Wayne reported that it was pretty good.  There were also martini's, red wine, and champagne being enjoyed. 

The highlight of the evening was playing a fun dice game called left center right. You can pick it up at any party store. It's a pretty simple game that brings lots of laughs and trash talking.

The "Blue Moon" was finally present once the clouds cleared about 11PM.

It was a really fun night.  We are so blessed to have found a great neighborhood and to have made good  friends so quickly.  We love our new Georgia home!!!   

Everyone crowded around the TV waiting for the ball to drop in the Big Apple.

3rd Hike of the week

On Wednesday, we took a drive over to Red Top Mountain State Park over in Cartersville, GA on Lake Allatoona.  We took a hike around the lake, checked out the lodge, then got a little wet when the rain started.  The kids had a good time with their walking sticks, throwing pine cones, and running through the "scrub".