A New Baby Girl!!!

(No, don't worry, it's not us)

There is a brand new baby cousin!!! Her name is...

Ella Jane Ball

Born at 7:56am, April 27th, 2007

7 lbs 9 oz and 20 1/2 inches long

According to proud papa Brian, she has blueish eyes and light brown hair. She is also quite an angel and mostly sleeps. Mama Tarra is resting and recovering and both should be released from the hospital in a few days. Pictures will follow shortly...

Or, check this link: http://www.communitymemorial.com/baby_gallery/baby.cfm?b=924

Extreme Fauna

Today, the hawk returned to finish off his meal. I got a few really good shots of him, the last one of him flying/dragging away the squirrel. He landed about 10 feet away from me while I was planting hostas. A very impressive creature...

In other news, Todd bought a chainsaw. He HAD to try it out tonight (see the picture). One down, about fifty to go (we have a LOT of trees that need to be taken down!) Hopefully, I won't be doing a post tomorrow about how a tree "fell" on our neighbor's house...

Flora and fauna...

Today's topic is nature in Georgia. Specifically, the local flora and fauna. First up is our flora of the week. It is none other than ... poison ivy. We have lots of it infesting our yard in lieu of grass. We decided that we didn't want that so we embarked on a mission to get rid of it. We wore nice, thick gloves. We sort of protected our skin by wearing longish shirts/pants (or, mainly short sleeve shirts and shorts because it was hot and we were too smart for poison ivy to get us!!!) We started yanking and pulling out what seemed like jungle vines of poison ivy. It was even growing underneath some of our 40 bags of lawn refuse (we can only put out 8 bags a week, so we have quite the stockpile!) We did this for many days. I bagged it after pulling. Todd yanked it and threw it on top of our ever growing piles of yard waste (the piles yet to be bagged, that is) in the thought that "it'll dry out and be dead" (and therefore no longer a threat). As we read in the paper today, "dead" poison ivy can still give you the rash up to 5 years later from contact with it. In our case, it didn't take 5 years (more like 3 days). It's not bad, but not exactly fun. We are thinking of bagging some up and mailing it to the sellers...

Next up is the local fauna. We have lots of squirrels. We may have some in the attic (or used to). They are a bit of a menace here (one neighbor admitted to causing many to have "unfortunate deadly mishaps" when they started eating the siding of his house!) But, we have a secret weapon...the hawk. Yes, as in a bird-of-prey hawk. It is usually perched up in the surrounding trees, occasionally swooping down to attack things (mainly animals). It also likes to attack the next-door neighbor's birds when they bring them out for fresh air on their front porch. It basically rams into the cage, knocks itself a little silly, and then flies off (because it only sees the pretty, tasty, bright yellow birds...not the cage). I got a picture of it in our tree today. It was in our tree today because it was enjoying a feast of dead squirrel on our steps. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of that. But, it's one less squirrel to raid our bird feeder.

Tomorrow I go get my Georgia drivers license. Hopefully, the poison ivy won't show up too much in my picture...

Wet Basement, Part 2

As promised, here are a few pictures of the catastrophe. Plus, we just had to get photographic evidence of the hideousness we've been discovering in the upstairs bathroom. We thought it was bad when we started tearing out what was there...until we saw what had been there BEFORE that! It's the stuff of nightmares.

We have hot water again thanks to Home Depot ... and a lot of money. There were, of course, code improvements that needed to be done. But, now we have a selling feature for the house, right??? I'm sure we'll have more fun discoveries to make in the next few months. Hopefully, they won't all require pest control/plumbers/medical intervention/etc.

The Wet Basement: Part 1

So, I was outside doing landscaping. We have a lot of landscaping to do. A lot. I was finally making progress. Todd was making progress in ripping apart the bathroom. I think all this back-breaking work is partly therapeutic so we don't go find the sellers and kill them. The kids were not destroying ...much. So, it was really a good day. Until we went in the basement...

Todd matter-of-factly calls up to me: "Uhh, Kelly, the water heater just exploded."

As it turns out, a water heater installed in 1991 has a very high probability of rusting out right around March 31st, 2007. The previous owners (described as "not well liked", "the pool smokers", "not nice people", and "trailer trash") told us it was 9 years old. Wow, they didn't tell us the truth about another thing! It would explain why the water was sort of orange-y sometimes (we thought it was just Georgia water!)

SO, we are without hot water until tomorrow when the nice folks at Home Depot will deliver our brand new water heater and install it for a whole lot of money. Taking cold showers...really, really not a fun thing (especially when you've been landscaping or demolishing things and seriously have to take one!)

I'll post a few pictures of Matthew playing in the disaster (yes, he thought it was quite a blast- like a pool in the basement!)

Jeremy, we have a few more projects to add to our list now...

Living out of Boxes...

So, we are all moved in. Well, all our stuff is here and in various stages of being put away (which means there is #*&% all over the place!!!) I have added a few pictures of our moving truck on the hill unloading - our movers Chuck and Charlie were fantastic and did a great job with everything! I suspect they were sore the next day (we were and we didn't do 1/100th the work they did!)
I also had to post a picture of our NEW PETS! Yes, plural. But, we didn't buy them. They came with the house. We apparently live in a place that is quite the haven for BLACK WIDOW SPIDERS. They were outside, and (so far) we haven't spotted anything inside. We (and by "we", that means "Todd") collected a few in a plastic bottle to show the girls what they look like and how to not go near them no matter what. As Todd put it, "Hey, come and look at this...it's a science project!" At least it wasn't a bee...

We still have lots of stuff to do and will post more later. Hope all is well with everyone :)

P.S.

HI BRIANA - we got a postcard today for you and will be sending it soon!!! Say hi to everyone :)

So, what does "broom clean" REALLY mean???

Apparently, for the people we bought the house from, it means "leave it as if you were fleeing a natural disaster after not having cleaned for the better part of a decade". In the first 36 hours since taking ownership, we have changed all the locks, wiped down every room, disinfected every bathroom (and made plans to demolish and redo each), had the carpets professionally cleaned, cleaned out the oven and stove (and had to strongly resist the urge to take a sledgehammer to the range hood...it was that nasty), cleaned out and painted the laundry room (after patching holes and cleaning out the layer of dust and muck that was under where their washer and dryer used to be), took possesion of our NEW washer and dryer (and thanked God that they didn't leave theirs!), picked up and installed our new refrigerator (again, so glad they didn't leave theirs), painted one of the 5 bedrooms, painted half of another, and scoured the master bath shower which we can now allow the children to use without worry. Ohh, and we're going to redo the whole kitchen (JEREMY - WE NEED YOUR HELP - SEROUSLY, CALL US!!!) - it's dated, but also sort of falling apart. They didn't seem to think it relevant to tell us that a few of the cabinet doors were broken (as in, you pull on the handle and half the door comes off). Matthew thought it was pretty cool once he realized we weren't mad at him for breaking it. And, as if to emphasize that point, he is actually running around with half a cabinet door right now with Todd chasing him saying, "Give me that!"....

But, this house does have great potential and is structurally sound with some really neat features. The school the kids go to is really good, we are pretty close to any store we need to go to, there's an Olympic length indoor pool a short drive away, and the church is only about 1/2 mile away. So, although we will be doing a lot of work for awhile, it will still all turn out good.

Our housing shipment gets here in 2 more days, and we are surviving the camping out. Since the kitchen is now clean, we can cook again (with our one pot and pan!) Note to self: Next time, bring more than one pot and one pan, and maybe a slow cooker, and some utensils, and hot pads!

We'll have some pictures when we get the housing shipment....

Hi Briana, Claire, Jake, Ella, Julia, and like everyone - this is Allison - I miss you!
Hi Meridian - this is Julia - it was nice to talk to you yesterday! Have a great week and say hi to Mrs. Bourgeois!
Hi Sam and Molly - this is Amanda - hi guys! How are you doing? I'm doing fine. Call me when you can :)
Hi Daniel - this is Matthew - I still keep asking mom, "Daniel?" every time I see another little boy running around. I just can't figure out where you went!!!

Have a great week everyone :)

Next Stop....Marietta!!!

Hi Briana!! Allison said to say hello and that she hopes you are feeling better. Every little boy Matthew sees he is now calling Daniel...I think he misses his buddy!

Happy birthday Claire! We hope your party was a blast!

Having succesfully fled "The Dorf" (I can hear you laughing Beth and Joy!), we are now temporarily residing in military lodging on Dobbins AFB. Actually, it's pretty nice. The girls checked out their school today and are loving it. It was empty, there was no homework, and they got to go the playground (what's not to like!) We also did a quick drive-by of our new house. I have to add that we live on a hill that could double as a ski slope if they did ever get enough snow here. Funny how those pictures the realtors use don't quite show those sorts of things. Todd knew about it, and it's really only the street. But, anyone afraid of heights might need to take a sedative before heading to our house. We are set to settle on this house Friday and move in that night (and camp out for 4-5 days). That is the plan. We have our stuff all together, so the sellers just have to move out. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks again to everyone who helped us out! We really really really appreciate it! We'll add some pictures soon.

On the move...

We are officially packing out! And, today we have a snowstorm. Good thing it's today and not tomorrow (when the moving truck loads everything!) The movers said they'd be here if it snowed...

Settlement is Friday morning. Everything looks good so far, so keep your fingers crossed...

Todd and I both will still have our cell phones if anyone needs to reach us. We'll be in hotels for about 10 days, and then into the new house after settlement the following Friday. Once we get all hooked up, I'll do another post. Wish us luck :)

Moving...not so much a funfest!

Well, our house is under contract. Here's some advice: Don't try to sell your home in a buyer's market. It's too painful to say more now, but we're are thankful to have a contract! Now, the other 4 immediate neighbors in our court can put their houses on the market one by one...that seems to be the plan (we were the first-lucky us!)

We go to settlement next Friday, so keep your fingers crossed that nothing blows up or falls on the house (or, on the buyers, because we need them too!) We also made an offer on a house in Georgia. Other than some kind of critter living in the attic (thankfully, NOT bats!) and some minor fixes we will ask the current owners to attend to, everything with buying that house looks to be on track. The girls start their new school on March 12th and we close on the "new" house on the 16th. It's 24 years new, but it'll be new to us. Amanda seems to think that she can use the 5th bedroom as her own personal extra space...good luck with that, right?

Any suggestions for what kind of dog we should get??? We will have a yard, we're not moving, we basically have no excuses left!

** New Pictures **

Hitting, kicking, screaming, things were thrown and there were tears...it was PICTURE DAY for the Linskey quartet!

Matthew, after seeing the train prop, refused to do anything but sit on the train. So, guess what? The train is in the picture. No big deal. What you don't see is the 10+ pictures of Matthew taking swings at his sisters to get them off HIS train. We managed to get at least one picture where they all looked in the same direction...

The girls also cooperated for a millisecond to get a picture of the three of them without one of them squeezing another one's eyeballs out (they took "big hug" a bit too literally). Matthew was too busy at that point with the rocket ship he found (that one had wheels that WORKED!)

Enjoy the pictures :)

The Big THREE

Another milestone was reached in the Linskey household (and, it didn't involve bodily functions)... the littlest Linskey has turned 3!!!

Matthew's morning started with a Happy Birthday serenade from his older sisters. His response... 'Arghhhhhh....euoowwwwww....mama.....go away!!!" As his sisters put it, "Maybe he's tone deaf?" Yeah, that's it.

After taking Amanda and Julia to school, we returned home for a leisurely breakfast of...chocolate cake. Yes, that's right. Fearing that the cake would be frozen in the garage refrigerator due to our frigid weather** (and, as it turned out, it was partially frozen), mom put the birthday cake on the counter. Apparently going for a new record for most stupid things done in one morning, mom lifted the cover off the cake to show Matthew and Allison. When Matthew was asked what he wanted to eat ("Toast? Waffles? Cereal?"), his only response was a very loud and adamant, "CAKE!" So, caving to the will of a newly minted three year old, mom sliced a small piece and served up the cake. At this point, Matthew demonstrated his maturity by thinking not only of himself but also of his sister. He did this by pointing at Allison, sitting next to him at the table, and again saying, "CAKE!" Allison was deeply moved by the gesture (and in shock when mom actually complied!)

The real party began at night. We opened presents and had dinner (yes, in that order...mom gave up on any sane decisions for the day after the chocolate cake for breakfast!) Dinner (shockingly) was barely touched. But, the presents were a HUGE hit. Julia was worried that Matthew might be disappointed to not recieve "High School Musical", which she claims he REALLY wanted. But, he recovered from that diappointment quickly when he opened a gift full of candy and a "Narita Express" train & track set from our Japanese friends (thank you to the Usui family!) He played with that for about two hours. He also got some more train set parts to go with his Christmas train set, some nice cards, and some money (Allison estimated that he got, "at least $4000"). The toys are all set up in his room, and I think Matthew fell asleep staring at them with a huge grin on his face. OR, he was thinking about how much chocolate cake and copies of "High School Musical" he could buy with his $4000...

Thanks for a happy third birthday :)

**Note: Yes, it's not REALLY frigid here compared to Wisconsin, but we live in Southern Maryland and they think anything below 40F can practically kill you.

First snowfall of the year!!!

Yes, it actually took this long for us to have the first snowfall in Maryland! The kids were all outside playing in it and plan to go back out tomorrow. Matthew decided to mimic his sisters and try and catch snowflakes on his tongue. And, he stayed outside the longest by 20 minutes (either because he was tough, or because he finally could play with the shovel without the girls taking it from him).

Hey, buy our house!

We're officially trying to sell our house! Pray for us, make small offerings to whatever you worship, send us your lucky whatever, and keep your fingers crossed that this doesn't turn into a 6-month bachelor vacation for Todd :)

(Although, I don't think you'd hear Todd complain too much about that possibility!)

Here's a link to look at where we've been living for 3 1/2 years (more pictures to come)...

http://sandyorbits.lnfre.com/Falcon/WebUi/PropertyDetailsPage.aspx?MLSNumber=CH6281231&CompanyId=2

And for my next trick...

Routinely climb on the counter .... done!
Climb onto sink and raid medicine cabinet...done!
Climb onto bunk bed and spin ceiling fan...done!

Hmmm....I've never seen anyone climb to the top of the closet. Let's try that!

Trains are fun...

Matthew really likes his train. He has fallen asleep playing with it. He has fallen asleep with the train cars in his hands. He runs over any Pollys or Barbies that somehow find their way on to the track (he even has sound effects of the impact). Yep, he's a boy!

Santa Claus Came To Town!

ANARCHY! It was simply anarchy Monday morning in the Linskey household. After attempting to go to bed at 5:30pm Sunday night (immediately after getting back from church), the girls reluctantly were forced to eat dinner ("Mom made us!") and spent the majority of the evening planning an extravagant spread for Santa. There were carrots for the reindeer, cookies, milk, pumpkin bars, and some leftover noodles. Mmmmm....

Santa was tracked on the NORAD site, and when it looked like he might be in New York, they all scrambled upstairs and proceeded to talk and stay awake for about 2 hours. Finally, around 10pm, it seemed all were asleep.

At around 7am, witnesses several miles away reported hearing what they described as either "wet cats in dryers" or "opera singers being smacked with fish". It was the girls, squealing with shock and joy. Matthew came downstairs and was mostly confused...until he saw a train set. It was just like the one at church school. The one he has to be literally dragged away from each and every Sunday. If he breaks free anywhere in church school, that is where he goes. He has now been playing with it for close to 5 hours. He has not eaten or done anything else. He refused a chocolate doughnut so he could keep playing. He liked the other toys he got, but that is by far his number one toy of all time (thanks Cathy!!!) It also helps that many cars he also received fit on the track.

The girls were overjoyed with the cascade of new toys, books,and clothes that they received. Clothes are currently being laundered, toys are being played with, and several books and craft items are coming with us to the hotel for our Atlanta trip.

Kelly uttered the statement every father wants to hear when his daughter opens her present: "Awesome! Now I can get new shower doors! Ohh, and some mulch too! This is the best!!!" We never said she was normal....

Todd enjoyed getting everything he knew he was getting. And, he has been really taking quite an interest in all of Matthew's toys. At first, he said he was "setting it all up for Matthew". But, I swear I heard him making "vrmmmmmm" and "choo-choo" sounds. Hmm.....

We are very lucky to have a wonderful family. We want to say thanks to everyone who thought of us and wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Here is the "before" picture of the avalanche of presents. Kelly's present (singular) consists of the the unwrapped hot pads and dish towels to the left. Does it count as a present if she bought it herself? Todd has a lovely unwrapped couch desk that he's already used for 3 weeks (Kelly, not being able to keep a secret, opened it for him about one week after wrapping it). He also (gasp!) has an actual wrapped present. But, he already knows what's in it because Allison cannot (if her life depended on it) keep a secret at all. In our defense, it's some kind of genetic abnormality. Allison has told everyone what they are getting, in great detail. When she couldn't quite remember, she'd ask mom to "remind her what we got". Mom fell for it once. She then started to make stuff up so that nobody would really know what they are getting (Example: "Julia, we got you a new garden hose. Amanda, we got you a weed wacker. We got dad '12 Dancing Princesses Sudoku.'") It's a good thing the 5-year old memory is fairly fleeting...

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!

Guess what happened at recess mom!

So, today Amanda comes out of school as she usually does, happy and ready to talk. The first words out of her mouth are usually about how her day went. So, she starts with, "Mom, you'll never guess what happened at recess today! It was so bad!" So, I (jokingly) said, "A random drive-by egging?" And, she answers, "NO, it was way worse!" So, I said, "Ok, what happened."

I must admit that I was not prepared for the following response.

"There were these two guys, and one was driving a truck down the road next to the playground, and the other guy was in the back of it. The guy driving the truck started honking and so everyone looked at the truck. And, the guy in the back PULLED DOWN HIS PANTS AND EVEN HIS UNDERWEAR TOO AND SHOWED US ALL HIS BUTT!!! And, he was SPANKING HIS BUTT with his middle fingers." So, here I am wondering what the appropriate parental response to this is. In my case, a stuttering "Huh?!?!?!" was all I could put together. Shortly after, I did say that what they did was illegal (indecent exposure?), offensive, and was actually called "mooning". Luckily, she didn't ask for a reason why. She said it was two young white guys, "probably teenagers". I asked how she knew, and she answered, "Well, the one guy's butt was sure white!" She quickly added, "Euwwwww!!!" after that. I think I would have too.

The school has contacted the county sheriff and, due to the fact that there were 120+ witnesses that will probably talk about this for the rest of the year, they have a fairly good description of the vehicle, driver, and the passenger's butt. They expect to eventually find the culprits.

According to Amanda, "The boys all laughed and thought it was funny, but the girls just were totally grossed out by it. It was just....Euwww. Trust me....Euwwww!"

One Month until Christmas...

It's that time of year again! So, in case there are any technical difficulties at the post office, here is our official Christmas Letter for 2006. Enjoy :)


Happy Holidays! We hope 2006 was a great year for you. We managed to visit family and friends, probably did too many extra-curricular activities, and balanced the usual school and work in between. For the second consecutive year, we didn’t move, have a baby, or travel the world. We did, however, continue to slay bats with tennis rackets and run over deer with our van. But, just to screw up your address book again, we recently learned that we’re moving to Atlanta, Georgia! Todd will be the OIC (Officer In Charge) of a C-12 squadron at NAS Atlanta. Since the powers-that-be tried (three times) to get Todd to take orders to New Orleans (“Really, what are the odds of another hurricane hitting here so soon!”), we are considering this a great opportunity. Plus, it’s a good job for Todd (which is Navy speak for “You’d be an idiot to turn this down”). Kelly is still “at home” with the kids (three in school, one to go!) The kids are all healthy, happy, and far too energetic. As is our tradition (and because we don’t do much that doesn’t involve them) we will share a little about them…

Amanda – age 9, 4th grader, future dog trainer/cat trainer/pet store keeper and seller/possible veterinarian (if there’s not too much blood) would love for Santa (who she says “is a real guy, but is helped out by mom and dad”) to bring her prehistoric fish, carnivorous plants, a golden lab puppy, a puppy mood ring, a one way ticket to Quebec to eat flat pancakes, and a one-way ticket to Atlanta. Lessons learned this year include, “The Easter Bunny is really pink instead of plain; Santa uses some kind of magic to deliver presents; don’t bite snakes; don’t attack a bear when you’re younger than it; don’t trust people with axes in their bags; don’t bring your principal a poisonous snake or komodo dragon; and don’t inhale smoke from burning poison ivy.”

Julia – age 7, 2nd grader, future volunteer vet/police officer/or professional bowler, would love for Santa to bring her a Golden Retriever puppy named “Fudge”, an iPod, a microscope and telescope, $2, Monster House, and The Wild. She has expressed a desire to write a book entitled “Things You Can’t Do When Someone Else is in the Bathroom.” We’ll keep you posted on that. She learned this year that, “Falling on your face can sometimes knock your teeth out; you can get a burn from flaming toilet paper; don’t fight with your teacher; snakes can swim, but not if the go the wrong way and get attacked by fish; you can eat carrots RIGHT OUT OF THE GROUND!; and don’t keep begging your mom for something you want or she’ll have a meltdown.”

Allison – age 5, Kindergarten princess, future lifeguard, has politely requested that Santa bring her a piano, 12 Dancing Princesses Book, a real dress of Ariel, a Dalmatian puppy with a hole in the present and food so he doesn’t die, a trip to Japan, a pet fish, and an Ariel kitchen. This year, so far, she has learned, “About Christmas, Rainbows, and hearts; Don’t eat a snake or a deer if they are still alive. Also, don’t eat bombs, yellow shirts with buttons, or money.”

Matthew – age 2 1/2, future singer/fish trainer/magician/mountain climber, still really desperately wants more boys around. For Christmas (according to his sisters) he’d like, “A builder thing, his very own pet duck named ‘Brian’, a pretend hammer, air fresheners for his pants, a mini pogo stick, and a marker that only writes on paper and nothing else.” This year, he learned to never let sister Allison near him with a pair of scissors; pointing and grunting (sadly) is no longer effective communication; ladders are notrequired to (for example) climb on bunk beds and spin ceiling fans; tractors are the best things ever invented; and, it’s fun to take your
pants off and run around (especially outside, where all the neighbors will see).

Our home is always open to anyone wanting to visit us. Have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Todd, Kelly, Amanda, Julia, Allison, and Matthew