Free Corn

So I was outside working on the swing set stuff yesterday (which is coming along nicely) and was interrupted by my neighbor's father. He came up and asked if we like corn and if he could give us a bag. I said sure and thank you! A little bit later when my neighbor came out we were chatting out by the trailer his dad was towing (that's where the corn came from). They asked if we wanted more and that whatever we didn't take was going to the horses. I asked if we could give him anything for it and he promptly declined.

I went inside to ask Heather if she wanted to process a bunch of corn and if she did, to come out and help me get some. We stacked many ears of corn into our wheelbarrow to the point where it was heaping and then went inside to call Mom & Dad and Nate & Kirsta. We all got together in the afternoon for a couple of hours and went through the process - shucking, soaking, blanching, cutting, and bagging. At the end of it all we wound up with close to 60 bags of corn with about 3 cups in each. Quite the haul and best of all it was free!

Important Poll

POLL: Which swing set would your kids prefer?

It's about time I make good on my Mother's Day promise to my mom. We're ready to buy materials and build a swing set for her back yard. We want to include a slide, a rock wall (my kids' request), and space for 3 swings off the main beam. We plan to have at least 1 regular swing, a horse swing, and a tire swing. We could easily exchange a trapeze, infant swing, or another glider, etc. in any of the swing locations. For that matter, we could always add on to the swing set in the future (swings off both sides)

I'm looking for your thoughts on the following basic designs:

Option #1 - custom design similar to what you see in this picture.
Cost = about $1000 and time to measure, cut, drill, assemble, etc.
The first design features a 4' x 6' deck with an open area underneath. Under the playset is open (about 4 1/2 ft clearance), leaving extra area for running, adding a round tire swing, or a picnic bench. We might come up with other ideas for underneath. I'm thinking about getting rid of the rope ladder. The down side is definitely the custom nature of the project. We have to measure and cut most boards.

Option #2 - a box kit
Cost = about $1400 for the kit and materials
This second design costs a little more. It features a multi-level deck (4ft and 5ft) and has more of a playhouse feel. The area underneath the decks is a little smaller and confined due to the posts - the kit suggests a sand box. The advantage here is the speed to get it set up. But it costs more.

In the end, we're putting up a swing set - very soon. Please let me know if you have any strong preferences on the design. I'd like to start on the project this week if possible.

Also - particularly to my siblings - if you'd like to contribute to the cost knowing that your kids will also enjoy, we'd appreciate anything you'd like to throw our way. Please let us know if you'd like to pitch in.

Late Night with Friends

While Caleb was in Germany the kids asked if they could have a "late night." I figured why not so we went ahead with it. The girls picked a movie to watch with their friends downstairs while Bryant picked a movie to watch with his best bud, Dave, up in his room. All together we had about 11 children, counting my three that participated. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be and the kids had a blast!!! Anyway, here are some of the favorite pictures.

Old Dresser

After years of sitting in mom and dad's garage, and after months of sitting in pieces in my garage, I can finally say that this project is complete. All the boys in the family (except maybe Scott?) took a turn with this dresser. Now Bryant gets his turn.

The dresser was in bad shape when I picked it up. Worse shape as I disassembled the entire thing. A mess in my garage after sanding. I wound up replacing the bottoms of all the drawers, the panel on the door, the shelf inside the door, and some pieces in the back as well. I wish I had taken a before and after picture...

Caleb's trip to Germany

As most of you might already know, I had a business trip that took me to Germany for this past week. I found out that I would be going two weeks before the meetings and, of course, my passport was expired. Omniture paid to have my passport renewed (express renewed) and I was ready to head out. We found out that the meetings were going to be on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I and my three colleagues decided to leave a couple days early to (1) get adjusted to the time change for our meetings and (2) take in some sites.

We left for Germany on Saturday morning, July 25, connected in Atlanta just in time to catch the flight to Frankfurt. We arrived in Frankfurt about 8am on Sunday morning (with an 8 hour time shift). We picked up our rental car and promptly headed out onto the Autobahn headed to Nuremberg - about a 2 hour drive. I got up to 180 km/hr which is about 110 mph. That was fun.

Nuremberg - Sunday, July 26
When we got to Nuremberg we found out that we could not check in at our hotel until after 3pm, so we decided to walk around downtown to stay awake - a very important thing. Had we gone to sleep we would have had more trouble adjusting to the time change.

Nuremberg is pretty quiet on a Sunday - mostly tourists that are out walking around. Most shops are closed, but the museums and historic sites were open. Downtown "medieval" Nuremberg is surrounded by a huge city wall and is host to the Kaiserburg Castle. The city was a major hub of trade in the 15th and 16th centuries. In Nazi Germany, Nuremberg was also a central point for Nazi rallies, various points of Nazi symbolism, and the site of the first war crimes trails.

This is the market square. The crowd is gathered to hear the bells on the Frauenkirch (the name of the church in the square). I caught the tail end of the bells and the highlight - the figures that appear - in the video below.








This building is built out over the river that runs through town. It is part of one of the earliest hospitals of its time being built in the 1300's.



I thought Nate would get a kick out of these street performers.



This is the largest of the cathedrals that we saw. We went inside several of them and they were all impressive. This particular cathedral was severely damaged when Nuremberg was bombed during World War II. from what I saw in pictures it appeared that the roof was entirely collapsed and parts of the walls were blown out. They have done a great job in the restoration work.



We made our way up to the Kaiserburg castle grounds...



... where we got this impressive view of the city of Nuremberg.



It's amazing to me how big some of these buildings were. All with really thick walls and narrow windows. I think I would have had a hard time living in a castle.






One of my favorite places to visit was the Albrecht Dürer house. Dürer was an artist/printmaker/theorist in the 1500's. We got a tour of the house and saw some of his print making machines (replicas) in action. It was also pretty impressive to learn how they made paints/inks in that time - it took longer to make them than to use them...






We ended our tour of the city by going to the outskirts of town to the rally grounds that were created by the Nazis. Here are a couple of pictures of the Kongresshalle and the Dutzendteich (lake area). We went to a museum that was inside the Kongresshalle which gave an interesting history of the grounds and the Nazi party through the war years. I found the presentation quite fascinating - it was primarily pictures with captions. We got an English translation via headset so we could understand everything. The exhibit talked about events leading up to the war from the German perspective, all the way through to the trials held at Nuremberg.




Rothenberg ob der Tauber - Monday, July 27
The next morning we grabbed some fantastic German pastries at a cafe and then went on our way to a town called Rothenberg ob der Tauber. This is a snapshot of the German countryside that we went through.



Rothenberg o.d.T. is a quintessential German town. It has tons of old architecture, city walls, towers, cathedrals, and lots more to see.



Me on the city wall. (click picture to see the panorama)






Another section of the city wall. See the wooden pegs that hold this together?




One interesting thing that we found was the Sneeballen pastry. It's a pastry dough that's wrapped up into a ball and then deep fried. They put toppings on the outside. It reminded me a little of a funnel cake of sorts.



Moat anyone?



One of the coolest things we found in the gift shops were these nativity sets. The rising heat from burning candles spins the fan on the top. This spinning also makes the wise men and shepherd go around. I picked this one out because it has the look of old German houses/stables. We now have a nativity scene to add to our Christmas decorations.



We spent most of the day in Rothenberg - had a delicious German lunch of salad, cheese, potatoes, various sausages, schnitzel, bratwurst and sauerkraut. Fun place to visit and I was glad that it was recommended.

We left for Heidelberg which is where we stayed for our client meetings for the rest of the week. We worked really hard and but had some really nice meals and evening company. The meetings were pretty funny - all in English, but with accents from Germany, England, France, Russia, and America.

We stayed at a 5-star hotel in downtown Heidelberg. This particular hotel was family owned for about 140 years. Good sized rooms and all the amenities (that we didn't have time to enjoy).

Heidelberg - Wednesday, July 29
After our meetings were over on Wednesday we were itching to go see some of the town before we left. There was a huge castle up on the hill.



Unlike the other castles we'd seen, this one was a bit of a hike to get to - 314 steps plus some additional inclined roads to get there.




The view at the top was worth the effort. We spent a couple hours walking the grounds and I remembered that I could get some nice panoramic shots.






This was my favorite view of the city. You have to click the picture to get the full effect.



We left early on Thursday morning to leave from Frankfurt again. The flights were long and brutal on the bum, but I made it home safe and sound. It was a great trip and I hope you all get the chance to experience a part Europe in your lifetime if you haven't already.