Weekend recap

Hey kids ,
Daddy here. Friday night, Jake finally got to spend the night at Rudy's house. So, Mom and is he went to bed and cuddled while Alex and I stayed up and watched some TV.

Saturday morning, Mom wakes me up and tells me that the toilet is backed up. "Which one?" I asked. "All of them." she said. Great. It had to be a problem with our septic system. Long story short, I had to locate the overflow valve in our septic tank and open it to see if it was clogged. It was.

It was totally full of water and poop and TP. I didn't know how bad the clog was, so I rolled up my sleeve and stuck my arm down that pipe, while Mom screamed. I'll tell you guys something, when you've been elbow deep in poop and disgusting grossness, you realize, sometimes you've got to do some pretty awful things but it all washes off in the end. While I was trying to get to the bottom of the toilet clogging issue, it came time for Mom and Iz to go to the ballet recital.

 I called the guy at Big Valley septic and he was near the area so he decided to come by and take a look at it. He helped me get it unclogged and everything started flowing normal. He noticed my Muse Trucking sweatshirt and asked me if I knew Frank. I told him, "Yes I record with him at the radio station and he's a heck of a nice guy." He smiled and said, "He's my brother-in-law!" I asked him how much I owed him for his trouble and he said nothing. So I'm not sure if that sweatshirt got me out of it or he's just a heck of a nice guy but I do know the next time we have septic trouble I'll be calling that guy. I took a shower and washed my hands 17 times and made my way to the ballet recital 45 minutes late. I didn't miss Izzy's part, thank goodness. But, at intermission Jake called me and told me he and Rudy needed a ride out to Igo to the basketball game so I had to leave before her part. So, I take Jake and Rudy out to Igo for the basketball game while Mom, after watching Izzy's ballet recital with Grandma headed home to get Alex to take him to the final night of Madrigal. After the basketball tournament, which the boys won by the way, they hoisted the tournament trophy, took a couple pictures and we headed home. When we got home, I dropped off Jake and headed out to the Reagans for their Christmas party. Mom and Iz went back for Izzy's 2nd show of the ballet recital, and Jake got to stay home and play Destiny.  The Reagans, the Larson's and us had a great visit, as always.

At one point Mack asked me when Mom and Izzy would be there and I took a guess and set the timer on my phone. When Mom arrived and was still saying her Hello's, my timer went off, pretty good guess, old man.  Alex ended up getting a ride to the cast party and home from Mr. Lawrence. He got home about half past midnight. I had waited up for him, and as soon as I saw that he was home safe, went straight to bed.
Sunday morning, we went to church like we always do and when we got home, Alex and I got up on the roof and clean the gutters out. Not quite as nasty as sticking my arm down a poop tube, but still pretty nasty. As much as I'd love to say every weekend we get to kick back and relax that is simply not reality. We have chores to do. The chores are done now and the house is in good shape. One more week of school for you guys and then it's two weeks off for Christmas. I love you guys,

Daddy

Thanksgiving 2016

Hey kids ,
Daddy here. Thanksgiving is upon us alteady and this year, we decided to have it at our house. All said and done, we were expecting 17 people!! The events of the long weekend got started on Wednesday. Alex was off all week, but Jake, Izzy, Mom and I had school and work Monday and Tuesday. So, when Wednesday finally got here, we cleaned up the house and got everything set for the big day.
Thursday morning, as per MansClan tradition, we headed out to the Turkey Trot. It's been a few years since we all went, and this year Mom had to bow out in order to get ready for the big day. So the 4 of us went and had a blast.

Remember, Last Trash? Lol . When we got home, we showered and got dressed up and began welcoming our guests. Grammie and Papa were the first to show and Papa brought this Jalapeño beer that was awesome! We had so much food prior to actually eating, I was afraid I'd be full when it was time to eat! I had a very nice visit with Russell and his sister, Andrea. As the night went on, we finally ate, had a nice prayer, and eventually everyone started leaving. Izzy and Violet went to watch TV.

After everyone left, we crashed, having successfully completed our first major holiday gathering at our own house! I love you guys,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. Another fun weekend around the MansClan abode. It started off Friday night. I had a remote so I got home a little early. Izzy spent the night at the Reagan's and Rudy had to cancel plans to see Dr Strange with Jake, so I hurried home, grabbed Jake and we went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was very fun and we had a great time just us boys.
Saturday morning, I had another remote, but before the remote, we had to get cracking on the benches for the table. At 10:50 or so, I headed to the mall for a rain soaked remote. When I got home, we finished the benches!!

Yep, this project is coming together nicely. Tomorrow, we will sand, stain and seal them. For tonight, it's Papa Murphy's and relaxing.

Sunday morning we got donuts from the place around the corner.

Then, we hit our regular 9 am Mass time and came home to get finished with the benches. Mom was working on that while I took Al to train again at the radio station. He's learning how to run the 49er games for our sports station. When I got home, Izzy and I went for a quick walk/bike ride down to the end of the street. I love spending time with you so much Iz. It was great just the two of us.

We got home and you asked me if I'd play princesses with you. Of course I'll play princesses with you! You chose Barbie as your Queen and I chose Merida. We set up our girls and got them all dressed up and looking good.

After the princesses, we decided to play memory. You won the first round and I think you would have won the second, but I started gettin sleepy and you very sweetly said I could rest and so I did.  Mom had to apply the poly every 2 hours on the benches, but eventually, we got em all done!

Man, those look good! We have a total of 17 people coming for Thanksgiving this year and I think it all may work out ok. I cant wait to see what this short week reveals for our holiday plans and such. I love you guys,

Daddy

Halloween 2016

Hey kids,
Daddy here. It's Halloween time again, and for the first time is quite a few years, we are not going to the Fig's neighborhood. We have our own awesome neighborhood to trick or treat in. Before the night, (which was Monday this year, ugh) there was the Fall Festival at school. Mom, Jake and Iz all dressed up and went to the Festival and Alex and I stayed home.

When it was time for Trick or Treating, despite the fact that it was raining pretty hard, Mom, Jake, Iz and I headed out.

We saw some cool costumes and met some nice people. A couple houses had their garages decorated up like haunted houses. We got to one and there was a G rated side and a PG side. Izzy was scared to go to the PG, so her and I went thru the G rated and when we got done, she said, "Really Dad? That was it?" So, we went through the PG side and she was sufficiently scared, lol. We knew the Lemos' live around the area, but were not sure where exactly their house was. We decided to hit 1 more place and head home, since we were all getting pretty wet. I went back to get the van and wouldn't you know it, they found the Lemos' house! With our bags full of candy, we headed home to dry and have a bit of candy before bed. When we opened the garage door, Jake found a friend.

Tomorrow is Tuesday and the week continues for the MansClan. I love you guys,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. Friday, Jake and Iz were out of school, so when it was lunchtime, I headed home and we hit a surprise lumch spot, THE SNACK SHACK!! We have been waiting months to go there and it was totally worth it! Jake and I both got the Pastrami sandwich and Izzy got Tuna. We had a great time.

This weekend a new Marvel movie came out, so the boys and I made our way to see it first thing Saturday morning. It was Dr Strange and it was totally awesome!!  Kinda wierd and mystical, but we really like it. After the movie, I had to get home and finish the table that Mom and I have been workin on. After a good ammount of work, Mom and I headed out for a date night at Cattlemen's. I say it a lot, but I sure love hanging out with Mom. She is my best friend and favorite person in the world to be with and a chance to have a great steak and a quiet date night is invaluable.

We ad a great time and ever got to watch someof the UFC fight!

Sunday, we went to 11 o'clock Mass because Jake had a confirmation meeting afterwards. While Mom and Jake were at that meeting, Izzy and I took Alex to his job!!! Yep, the boy has a job at the radio station, and Sunday, Nov 13th was his first day of work. I can't believe that you've grown up this fast, Al. Anyway, while Al was working I went back and got the rest of the fam and we headed home to finish the table. I'm pleased to say we got it done!!

I think it looks great. I can't wait to see how good it looks when we get it all stained and sealed. Back to work tomorrow, but only 1 more week till mini vacation hits. I love you guys,

Daddy

A crash in the night

Hey kids,
Daddy here. Last night, Mom was awoken to a terrible sound in the middle of the night. She sat up, wondering what it was and a minute or so later, Jake came in to tell us that the bed had collapsed!!

What!? I had no idea that could even happen. Luckily, everyone was okay. In fact, Alex even slept through the whole ordeal! Mom actually had to go in there and physically shake him to wake him up to tell him that the bed had collapsed. So you guys slept on the couch that night and we ordered new beds. This time, we decided to get full over full so you guys would have room to grow into the beds. They seem to be working out pretty great so far.


There's never a dull moment around Casa de Mansfield. I'm glad you guys were both okay. I love you,

Daddy

Birthday Weekend

Hey kids ,
Daddy here . This weekend was a big ol round of birthday's . On Saturday morning , we headed out and dropped you guys off in Chico at the Clickner's . Mom and I them headed to Sara and Dean's house for Sara's birthday. We had some corned beef, played some liars dice and had a great time. We got up the next morning and watched a little football and eventually made our way to Chico room rendezvous with you guys for Lily's birthday party. We had some cake and some more laughs but couldn't stay long because we had to head to Julas house for Violets birthday party!

Boy, isn't Alex having a great time, lol. While the little kids were running around and getting their faces painted and such, Papa and I were drinking beer and watching the 49ers get killed, ugh. After the party goers all left, we had our family celebration with pizza presents. We eventually said our goodbyes and headed for home. We got home and crashed. What a great, albeit, long weekend. I love you guys,

Daddy