My Cousin Amy, on Abundant Curiosity, has posted a wonderful writeup about our Great, Great, etc. Grandparents Anastasia and Nicolas Feidt.  She posted several pictures that I have seen before.  However, I have included one that I got from my Grandma that she did not post.  I am not sure who the couple standing is.  Enjoy!

Hanna

July 4, 1998 - August 20, 2007

After 9 wonderful years, my dog Hanna has passed away.  She has been struggling with cancer for 6 months.  She was doing very well, and then she got an infection in her leg.  We took her to the vet, and he tried his best but there was nothing that we could do for her.  After one of the hardest decisions that we have ever had, we put her down on Monday, August 20.  Our entire family went to the vet and visited her one last time.  We said our goodbyes and thanked her for being a part of our family.  It was very emotional and somehow peaceful at the same time.

It has very hard to talk about her in the last month.  It has very lonely and we really miss her.  Here are some the pictures showing how Hanna has always been a part of our family.  She was the best dog.  She was always patient and tolerant.  She took all of the abuse that our children could dish out--evident by the gray hair in her face.  Yet, always return her love to us.  She rarely barked but was always very vigilant, protecting her family.

After my son took an interest in riding, my daughter did not want to be left out.

She wasn't quite as fast, but she learned it pretty quick.  After a few spills, our neighbor suggested learning to ride a slight grassy slope behind her house.

After a few runs, she had the confidence to hit the street again the next day.

What I find amazing is how different my two kids are.  My son learned to ride his bike 2 1/2 years (by age) before his older sister.  But in contrast, my daughter was dressing herself (multiple times per day) a few years before my son did.  To prove my point, my daughter's first comment when she got her tricycle was that it matched her red dress.  Watch the video.

Saturday, my 4 year old son decided he wanted to take the training wheels off of his bike.  He has always been interested in riding bikes.  He picks it up quickly. 

He was confident.

We started out with some success:

And few spills...

But he mastered it very quickly.

It is definitely one of most special moments as a dad.

My dog Hanna celebrates her 9th birthday today.  This is a big deal...considering.  Back in February, she started to limp pretty bad, favoring her front left leg.  The doctors diagnosed her with bone cancer.  They said that they could amputate but not sure if that would extend her life.  They gave her 6 weeks to live or so.  It has been 4 1/2 months.   She has good days and bad days.  But we are having more good right now.

Madison went to her first day of 1st Grade today.  She said that kids got tired in the afternoon...it's a long day.

Well, my parents are currently visiting my sister in California.  They are trying to attend several show tapings.  Tonight, they will be on the Tonight Show.  Good chance they I would be embarassed if Jay Leno talks to them. 

While setting my DVR, I noticed that Snoop Dogg is on.  I really doubt if my parents know who they are.

Last night, I had a wonderful time attending my third Father-Daughter dance.  It is always very special time.  It was held at the school that my daughter attended pre-school last year.  Her current school does not have one.  I think my wife will organize one next year.

Interestingly enough, it was renamed from "Father-Daughter Dance" to the "Sweet Heart Dance"…an obvious turn towards to politically correctness.  However, I didn't see any Mother-Son couples.

This year, they added some balloon hung from the rafters of the gym that were to be set free during the last dance.  However, a malfunction (broken strings) reduced the dramatic effect.  They had to get some ladders out and swing at them with a broom or something in order to set them free.  I immediately thought of the "balloon malfunction" during the Democratic Convention:

Don Fischer, DNC Convention Manager:

"Go balloons, go balloons! Go balloons! I don't see anything happening. Go balloons! Go balloons! Go balloons! Standby confetti. Keep coming, balloons. More balloons. Bring it- balloons, balloons, balloons! We want balloons, tons of them. Bring them down. Let them all come. No confetti. No confetti yet. No confetti. All right, go balloons, go balloons. We need more balloons. All balloons! All balloons! Keep going! Come on, guys, lets move it. J*sus! We need more balloons. I want all balloons to go, g*dd*mmit. Go confetti. Go confetti. More confetti. I want more balloons. What's happening to the balloons? We need more balloons. We need all of them coming down. Go balloons- balloons? What's happening balloons? There's not enough coming down! All balloons, what the hell! There's nothing falling! What the f*** are you guys doing up there? We want more balloons coming down, more balloons. More balloons. More balloons."

My son's 3rd birthday was a few days ago.  My wife thought a train table would be a good gift.  She did a lot of research and found a one at Pottery Barn that she liked:

It was pretty expensive.  I can't remember exactly how much it was…I think it was around $250-$300 (plus shipping).

I looked around on the internet and found another design:

It was reasonably priced…but I thought it was the father's duty to build it. 

Below is my version.  It is very close the Pottery Barn version.  I spent about $100 in materials.  My wife bought the play mat that is on it in the picture for about $15.  The magic dimensions of all the train tables is 48" X 32".  The top is made out of MDF (Medium Density Fiber).  I highly recommend that for any table…it is very smooth and has high strength to thickness ratio.  I bought some 4" X 1" pine and nailed it around.  I added a little more height to this element.  My reason is simple:  containment.

For the legs, I just bought Parson legs from Lowe's and screwed them on. 

Very simple and sturdy.  It hard to see in the picture, but I did create the 2 drawers.  These are just a simple box of 12" X 1" pine with MDF for the bottom.  Add a few casters and it's already to go. 

Finally, I just stained it.  The whole project took about 4 hours to do.

Download: Train Table.one

My wife just got "published'' in this week's Everyday Cheapskate newsletter.

FREE MAGAZINE. I get an excellent magazine called Creative Ideas. It is free from Lowe's Home Improvement center. It has tons of ideas on how to conquer do-it-yourself projects to beautify your home. They also have a woodworking magazine that has plans to make furniture and storage pieces. Both are free; you just need to sign up on their Web site or you can pick them up at the store. -- Roxanne Y., via e-mail.