First Fish

We all went Ice Fishing for the first time today. Neil had some coworkers invite us up to Schofield Lake to fish through the two foot ice that is up there.... Can I just say, it was SOO COLD! I thought I prepared enough with the four shirts and three pants...but that was not enough! Now keep in mind, I grew up in a family that were not our doors people. We moved and traveled so much, that there was no time for the hunting, fishing, hiking...you get the idea. So, this was my first time fishing EVER!! Why did the first time have to be on top of an iced over lake? Not my idea of fun.

Anyway, Paige was miserable the entire time but Jacob was a sport. It took him a while to understand that fish just do not appear on the hook, that it takes time and patience. We are proud to say that Jacob caught his FIRST FISH, actually he caught three! He was so excited. It was fun to see the joy in his eyes.

After the first two were gutted, he was protective of the third and did not want it to be hurt. I think he thought the thing was still alive. He was also worried about the fish’s friends that he was leaving behind...that’s my boy!! Always animal conscious. Jacob was a trooper and is ready for his next trip...I do not think that will be until spring!!

T-Pain Ft. Flo Rida - Low

Fergie-Clumsy(Cool Video)-LYRICS

So, I have something to admit...my five year old loves these songs!! Should I be concerned that he likes hip hop or rap? Is that what you call it? I am so out of touch I do not even know? He asks me to turn these songs on whenever we are in the car, like I have them on CD or something. Fortunetly, I think he likes the beat and the corus the best...but why can he not stay liking the wiggles "Fruit Salad" or "Hot Potato" song? Oh, these kids are growing up faster and faster I swear!!

BIG BROTHER 9

I am soo excited for the new season of Big Brother!! I have been a dedicated fan in the seasons past. With all the new twists this season.... I hope it does not go ronchie.

Apartment Update!!

It has really been a long and frustrating week. We have spent almost every waking moment down at that apartment working to get it ready to rent. Neil also decided it would be best to take two days off of work to get things moving. Of course, things NEVER go according to plan, but I am very VERY glad to say that despite a few minor set backs…we are DONE!!!! The painting and patch work took two days longer then expected. Of course, the holes were more extensive then we originally thought. It seems that whenever we turned around there was another one that showed up. We also had to replace almost all the doors, because they came with holes too. We got carpet installed on Thursday and doors, sinks, and lights installed on Friday. I also decided that I was not going to break my back cleaning that nasty horrid place myself, so I called a sweet lady we have used before to come and clean. I think she was confused as to why there were remains of a charcoal fire in the stove, and potatoes that had sprouted and were growing in the cabinets.

We went down there Sat. morning to do the light finish work and to get a contract signed!! Yes, I also have a tenant. They moved in on Sat. so I am officially done with the place.

It is hard to look at the benefits of things when you are sitting in the middle of a trial like this. You ask yourself why the Lord has put this trial in your lives. What have we done to deserve this? For us, a trial like this could be financially devastating. We are still new in this Landlord business. Although, we have had apartments for about 7 years, as many of you know they are not quick money makers. It takes years to get to a good cash flow status. When we have an apartment go vacant, especially when we have one that leaves us with huge repair work, it can be disastrous. We can look back and see the blessings that have come from this. This lady was not a tenant we would have chosen. She lived there when we bought the place and we knew that it would be bad when she moved out. We were not expecting this bad, but at least she is out. Now, we are just waiting for the next tenant to call us with a bomb to drop.

I was not able to take a lot of pictures. It seems that there was always some one somewhere or some mess that still needed to be cleaned up...but I will get more posted.

SOME PEOPLE!!!

Why do these things always happen to me? You are going along in your life...everything is running smooth (or so you think) and then WHAM...you get a reality check smacking you on the side of your head!! To make matters worse it is because you have complete stupid idiots in your life that do these things to you!!

This is what I am talking about. Neil got the day off last Friday to do some improvements around our house. He was having a friend come and help him put some really nice wooden caps along the sides of our stairs...I will post pictures later. Anyway, we wake up to a text message from a tenant in one of our duplexes. Keep in mind it was the first of Feb. and I was expecting to be getting a rent check from this lady any day... I knew it was bad when I hear Neil cussing from the other room as he is reading the message. She says, and I will summarize...

"Neil, sorry for the short notice, but we got a job transfer out of state and we left four days ago. You have our deposit, so you can use that for the cleaning. Whatever is left, please send me the difference."

We immediately go into overdrive mode and get the kids ready, throw clothes on ourselves and head over to the apartment to see just how bad it looks. The whole time I am freaking out, because now I am without rent for the month and I am going to have to scramble to get someone in there!!

To put it very very VERY lightly...this apartment was in the worst state I have ever had any apartment left!! I can not believe the disgust and filth that was around there. This tenant had lived there for over two years and had NEVER CLEANED A DAY IN HER LIFE!!! The place should have been condemned. Not only was the apartment completely nasty and dirty, it had so much extensive damage it was going to take forever to get it to rentable status. I had HUGE holes in almost every wall. Holes in every door. Food caked to the ceiling. Blinds falling off the windows. A two car carport stacked 6 feet high of garbage, old furniture, clothes, and dog *@#!. The place STUNK so bad I could not breathe. All of this caused me to have a temporary breakdown. I have never cried over an apartment before. I was so upset, Neil had to yell at me to get me refocused.

Granted Neil and I are not one to sit still to long, so within minutes I had our contractor on the phone and our carpet guy scheduled. Things are not done yet...we have spent the last three days down there cleaning and hauling 8 truck loads FULL to the dump. But, I am very excited to say that it is getting painted as we speak and carpet is going in tomorrow. I think I may even have a tenant lined up. All in less then four days!!

I have posted some pictures...trust me; these do not even do the apartment its proper justice. Just pretend you are sitting in a pile of garbage as you look at these pictures!!