Our crazy weekend

I don't have many weekdays off, so when I have a day off, we usually leave town.  Friday we went down to the Santa Cruz area with all the camping stuff.  Heidi had contacted several places about availability and whether or not we could show up without a reservation.

Well, to make a long story short, there was no availability in three of the places we selected.  We made the most of it, though.

We hung out at Sunset Beach in Watsonville for a few hours.  The water was chilly but the kids enjoyed it.

Kids digging holes.  Timeless entertainment.

Then I got real bad allergies and I already had a headache.  Heidi got a migraine, so we decided to just go home.  There was a grand piano I wanted to check out in Santa Cruz, so we made arrangements to view it on our way home.  I had to pull over so Heidi could throw up and then I checked out the piano.

I drove until the bottom of Vasco road and then needed Heidi to drive because I was too exhausted.  The next morning, I took Tyler to baseball.  He got a hit and played well even though the last game was better since he made two outs and scored a run.

Victor invited us out on his boat, and I was pretty stoked about that, because a bad day on the boat beats a good day at work.  We put in at Orwood and headed to Ski beach.

This is at ski beach.  After we dropped off Heidi and Caira, we went back out to run the tube.  The kids got in the tube but the boat wouldn't start.  There wasn't enough juice in either battery.  We flagged down the huge jet boat with the supercharged 427 and he gave us a Matco jump pack, which was a paperback book-sized lithium battery.  The boat started and we went back to camp to allow time for the batteries to recharge.

Well, after a few minutes, the engine died and both batteries were dead again.  We jump started it from a different boat and I noticed the voltage gauge wasn't working.  I told Victor that the alternator must be bad.  We packed up camp and headed back to the marina, but the engine cut out and we were stranded about five miles from it.

We let the kids play in the tube and I swam a little bit while we waited for the tow boat.  It was still a fun time even though Victor was pretty upset.  I told him about the "adventures" we had had while boating.  You know, the time the boat caught on fire and burned down, or the time the van's radiator fan lost a blade, which severed some belts and punctured the radiator.  Dad had to replace those components in the parking lot of a Utah K-mart.

Or there was the time on the way home from Lake Powell that the Suburban's idler pulley failed and the Suburban overheated.  Or the time we were trailering the boat to Flathead Lake in Montana and the bearing buddy flew off.  We had to remove one of the wheels, chain up the axle, and drive into Missoula on three wheels.

Victor was not prepared for the commitment of a boat and I thought, "That's why you see so many nice boats for sale on craigslist.  People underestimate the money commitment and want to get out of it entirely."

Finally we got towed in for $682, and we drove back home.  I helped Victor with the alternator removal and as we took off the electrical connectors, I saw that one of them was completely corroded.  I said, "That has to be the problem.  We can test it."  I fetched my custom-built alligator leads, hooked up the alternator again, connected the hose to the water inlet, put my battery charger on 110 amp, and started the engine.  It fired up, the gauge read 13.8 volts, and my theory was proven correct.  Victor was relieved but still upset at having spent so much money on the boat's second voyage.  For me, it was just routine maintenance, but I'm also used to having things fail.  Heidi commented that the boating crowd was pretty chill and willing to help.  I said, "The seasoned boaters are willing to help because they've been in distress at some point.  What goes around comes around."

Victor went to purchase a new connector and Heidi and I went to stake conference.

This morning, the boat was gone, and I am pretty sure it's gonna work.

Now I thought you would like to see some pictures of our home.

This is our family room, as seen from the kitchen.  

The living room, as seen from the front door.  

Kira's room

Master bedroom.  

 Kids' playroom

Boys room.

People have wondered where we got our furniture.  Well, every single piece of furniture in this home is second-hand and I'm proud of it.  Most is from craigslist.  The sectional couch, flat screen TV, wall artwork and media console in the kids room is from Heidi's sister, Heather.  Even the lamps and end tables were from craigslist.  Heidi has picked up most of the stuff and we've been all over the bay area, from Redwood City to San Francisco, Berkeley to Montclair, Tiburon to San Ramon.

Sadly, Brentwood doesn't have much good stuff on craigslist.  Maybe it's the socio-economics.  Maybe it's because it's a younger community.  But we're happy to drive 100 miles to save $1000.  The kitchen table, in fact, was two hours of my time to drive to Union City and back, but it saved us about $1300.  There are several reasons we get everything on craigslist:
1.  High quality stuff is a fraction of the price.
2.  Keeps stuff out of the landfill
3.  Things are already used, so there are signs of usage.  Then, when the kids mark things up, it's not so stressful.
4.  Once you're done, you just repost it on craigslist.  I have sold over 200 items on craigslist.

We are excited about our home.  I'm moving the chandelier from the living room to the kitchen.  I cut a hole in the ceiling and still have to string some cable, then attach the joist-spanner.  I'm a little over 1/3 done.