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Squeaky’s nickname started out as Sweetie Pie. I started calling her Squeaky Pie at one point and soon dropped the Pie. Now she responds to Squeaky or Squeaks. Not only is she the youngest of the three, she is the most adorable. She carries her doll baby with her everywhere. She still can’t use complete sentences, but she communicates pretty well by screaming, crying, or laughing.

Squeaky has a contagious smile. She gets a really big smile after she is told to stop doing something. Stop walking on the table: big smile. Don’t mess with the stuff on the shelves: big smile. Get out of the cupboards: big smile. She also has fun being chased around the house. I’ll catch her, throw her on the couch, and tickle her to make her pay for all her deviousness.

She loves to climb (just like her brothers). She’s already climbing the chain-link fence, trees, and the playset. She’s an outdoorsy girl and she’s not afraid of dirt under her fingernails or on her face. Sometimes she lets her brothers dump dirt on her head. Squeaky is still a girl. She wears her turquoise ring daily. She loves her clothes and her shoes. She likes me telling her she is pretty and she is (gets it from her Mom). I Love my little Squeaky! (Mess with her and you will surely die).

I’m thankful to God for life. I don’t deserve it, but he gave me life. He also gives me all that is necessary to sustain life. He gives me food, water, and shelter. In addition he has given me what I enjoy most in life—family. I have a perfect Wife and three funny kidos. I enjoy God’s creation. The outdoors and living in the middle-of-nowhere are a huge blessing. God also allows me to enjoy things I can, technically, live without—Apple, music, and basketball. Most of all, God has given me eternal life through Jesus Christ. This life is incredible, and I’m thankful for it, I can barely imagine what life is going to be like when I see Christ face to face.

Cannonball earned his nickname because he is solid. This kid is tough. You have to be tough when you’re a younger brother and he definitely holds his own. Even before crawling I would swing him by his legs from the floor to the couch. He would laugh like crazy. Cannonball loves to eat. About five hundred times a day he says, “I’m hungry!” and “I’m still hungry!” Everything he eats turns to muscle. He is quite proud of his muscles and he sometimes pulls up his shirt while proudly pushing out his belly.

Cannonball is not made up of brute strength alone. He is very thoughtful. He asks questions all the time. He will raise one eyebrow with a curious look and say, “Did God make the moon?”, or “When I’m a man can I have three Oreos?”. He will help his younger sister and he will copy his older brother. He plans on having “five kids” when he is “a man.”

Cannonball has a cute smile. He loves to be tickled. He has fun simply hanging out with Mom and Dad. Like all kids he needs quality time. His favorite game is “Slap the Deck.” He enjoys the game even while loosing and he gets a kick out of cheating.

It is a blast watching Cannonball grow up and it is a great experience helping him develop. Sometimes he’ll come out of nowhere, sit on my lap, and assuredly say, “Dad, I’m your Cannonball!” I smile back, hug him, and say, “Yup. You’ll always be my Cannonball.”

Firstborn is of course my Firstborn. He has all the qualities and idiosyncrasies of a first child. He has to be right. He tells his younger siblings how the world works and, in his mind, he is the ultimate authority when it comes to truth. Sometimes the lad will clench his fists and grit his teeth when he can’t deal with being in the wrong. He is Obsessive Compulsive about everything (except cleaning his room). The food on his plate has to be divided into neat sections. If he messes up on a drawing he will scribble all over it and start over. I did the same thing as a kid except I had to cover my artistic work in black. I can sympathize with the kid.

Fristborn can also be sensitive. One time he found a toy we threw away. He wept in sackcloth and ashes because he didn’t want the toy to “go into the fire.” This toy destruction hypothesis was formed when he watched Woody and Friend’s near incineration in Toy Story 3. That reminds me, Firstborn has an incredible memory. Anything he watches, hears, or experiences he can remember. It makes parenting a challenge when you frequently hear, “Dad, you said we can have Oreos today”. He is thoughtful. When we’re outside he will take his sister by the hand and help her avoid cacti while he “looks for snakes.” Sometimes he will help me stack fire wood or take out the trash. Firstborn is a fun boy. He enjoys running, climbing, jumping, hiking, and pushing his younger bro on the trampoline.

I’m so proud that Firstborn loves to hear Bible Stories. Every night he asks to read a Bible Story. He asks questions as we read and he brings up the stories throughout the day. I’m praying the Firstborn will learn to put God first in his life. I LOVE my little Firstborn!

I’m an average, hard-working guy living in the sticks. I don’t make much money, but I saved up a year and a half for a top-of-the-line professional Husqvarna chainsaw—the 576XP Autotune.

I will rate the Husqvarna PRODUCT and the SERVICE.

The rest of my family and friends were die-hard fans of another brand. I fell for the Autotune marketing hype and spent my cash on the saw and Husqvarna gear  (28in bar, a 32in bar, 3 extra chains, chaps, Pro Forest Woodsman Hi-Viz Helmet, engine oil, bar & chain oil, and a snazzy sharpening tool). Sure, I looked like a walking commercial for Husqvarna, but I had one of the most powerful saws on the planet!

The first time I showed my brother-in-law (who cuts a ton) the chainsaw wouldn’t start. I sent it back to the dealer twice. The third time the dealer said to take it to my local Husqvarna shop. I did. The service tech said I was starting the saw correctly. He checked my oil mix. I never store saws with fuel. I always clean them after use. He concluded that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I kept taking the saw back. They finally put on a high altitude kit, but the Autotune still would not work like a professional saw should.  The saw would run for 45 minutes, then it would sputter out or not start at all. It would often take a minimum of 20 pulls to start. I thought it just needed break-in time, but it still would not work consistently. I told the dealer that it was a lemon, but they refused to give me a replacement. So I kept taking it back. I sent videos to the company proving that I know how to correctly start a chainsaw and mix chainsaw fuel. I showed the service tech that the problem is with the saw, not me. The service technician told me that Autotune does not work in our area because the climate changes rapidly. It can be pouring rain in the morning and it can be as dry as a bone in the afternoon. He said the Autotune can’t make adjustments that quickly. He said he doesn’t sell the Autotune in his store. Great.

The saw is barely a year and a half old. It has spent most of it’s life in a repair shop or sitting in my garage unused. My 17 year old (other brand) saw has been used and abused, but it started every time. It didn’t have the power I needed, but at least I could count on it to start.

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HUSQVARNA PRODUCT RATING – 0

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This is where it gets good…I took the saw to the repair shop one last time. I dropped it off without fuel, bar oil, and in a clean condition. I also had the oil flow screw held in place by some glue. I asked the service tech if he could fix the saw (because he was a new guy) and he said yes. After a month of waiting and no calls from the “authorized” repair center, I gave them a call. They said I could pick up the saw. When I arrived the saw looked like it had been used. There was fuel and bar oil in the saw. The oil screw was in a different spot. The service tech said no one touched it and I would have to take it to another repair place (3 hours away).

I asked for a receipt showing when I dropped the saw off, the work performed, and when I picked the saw up. He refused. He gave me a blank ticket stub. I asked to speak with the manager. The manager showed up (who also happened to be the owner) and I explained the situation. I will call him Ralph (I’ll conceal his name and store because I’m not that mean). He said no work was performed. He also refused to give me a receipt. I asked him, “I just need something showing how long the saw was in your care. You can even write down that no work was performed if you don’t want to mention that the saw was returned with fuel and bar oil.” If you know me, you know that I keep documentation on everything. It all gets scanned into my computer. I still have a ticket stub from the last time I dropped of the saw at Ralph’s store.

I never raised my voice and I asked for a receipt or ticket stub (like they used to give me). Ralph began to get agitated. When I asked Ralph if we could work something out in his office or outside away from the contractor desk he blew up. He threatened to write me up for trespassing. Now, I’m a teacher. You can’t threaten me with being written up. It. Just. Doesn’t. Work. There were plenty of witnesses and they can tell you that I was polite and professional. He told me to get off his property. I said I would leave when I receive something showing that the chainsaw was in his care. He would not even let me ask any other questions. I was trying to ask him if I could return the next day and we could have a sit down meeting. He kept threatening me. He said he was going to call the cops. I said, “Maybe the officers will help us resolve this. Please call.” I let him throw his fit. Then I asked him again for some type of documentation that he had the saw. He grabbed the saw off the counter, walked outside, slammed it on the ground, and came back inside. When I walked outside to get the saw he slammed the doors shut and locked it. Later I left a voicemail, with my information, once again requesting basic documentation. I have not heard back from him yet.

Apparently the two prior service techs who were authorized to repair Husqvarna saws quit their jobs at Ralph’s store and moved to a competitor’s chainsaw store (one that I did not know about). Ralph’s store was no longer authorized to perform repairs. Now it makes sense why he didn’t want anything in writing.

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HUSQVARNA SERVICE RATING – 0

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At this point I don’t care if Husqvarna does the right thing and gives me a working product. In all honesty I’ve given up on them. I will be happy to move on with my life regardless of what happens. At the very least they can give me two things:

(1) A written apology that they delivered me a lemon—the 576XP Autotune

(2) A face-to-face apology from the store owner (representing Husqvarna without being authorized to make repairs) who acted unprofessionally and refused to give me a receipt showing that the chainsaw was in his care for a month

That is all I want. I’m not going to go on an internet tirade or even spread my story chainsaw forums. I’ve spent enough time on 576XP Autotune already. I’m done with Husqvarna. I will keep the saw on my shelf as a $1000+ reminder. When I need a lawn tractor, a leaf blower, pressure washer, or another saw I will look at the 576XP on the shelf and be reminded to stay far away from Husqvarna.

I almost have enough saved up for another professional saw. After this I will go back to the family brand.

I took the lads camping last week. We had a blast being in nature, hanging out together, making spears, and fending off creepy camp neighbors.

We set up camp. These guys are awesome! They love tent camping because they always get to help with the tent. I think they would easily go to bed every night if we let them live in a tent.

We made some delicious Ramen noodles with superb chicken flavoring.

We chowed down. After that we visited some friends at Grand View Camp. It was entertaining watching the boys crack up at the skits. Visiting youth camp is still really tough. It is our second summer away from it all. It is really tough when the boys remind me that we used to live at “camp” in the summer. They still remember it all. Hopefully, we can be involved in a similar ministry in the future when our kids are a bit older. Anyway…

We arrived at our home in the woods. We couldn’t build a fire because of the restrictions, but we still found things to do. The boys slept well that night while I stayed up listening to our creepy neighbor walking in the forest. We were the only two campers there and he didn’t have any camping gear set up. He finally left at 3am. I started packing up and made the boys hot chocolate. We all had a great time and I’m looking forward to a few more camping trips this summer.

This semester has been a whirlwind. I can’t believe it’s almost over! As usual, I’m starting to miss the Seniors. As usual, I feel like I’m not going to get everything done before the end. And, as usual, I’m brewing ideas for next year. In the process of preparing I’ve done a little reflecting. Here are some lessons I learned from Year Two:

• Students can perform at high levels. You have to push them to perform better than their best. 
• Students are fun. Every class this year was incredible! They all make me laugh and I hope they come back next year.
• Students are talented. Show off their work and they will win you accolades.
• I work with amazing teachers. So many of them stick with it year after year and receive no recognition. I just want to give a shout out to all the veteran teachers I’ve copied.
• Teaching is frequently quashed by the amount of required paperwork from the State and District.
• Administrators are powerful. Chuck Norris is more powerful than administrators.
• We are loosing high culture. Students have no clue about Michael Landon, Lorne Green, Lake Wobegon, Fred Mertz, or The Real Richard Simmons.
• I agree with Steve Jobs—PowerPoint is overrated.
• Boring creeps in. You have to constantly try new things and avoid paperwork at all cost.
• Apparently I mispronounce Kid Cudi (as in “cooties”) on a daily basis.
• I STILL love working with people that completely disagree with me.
• Students are tired of new teachers and new administrators every year. They want to keep the “old” ones. Hopefully our new teachers will fall in love with the students at Sanders and become old teachers at Sanders.
• Students will love AIMS if you hype it up. Make things fun and students will learn.
• I’m so glad the world will be ending and we won’t have to mess with AIMS next year.
• My Graphic Design Promo video shows very little classroom work. I need to update it for next year. 
• The enemy that nearly killed Chuck Norris—PAPERWORK!

So that is it. My second year of teaching Graphic Design. If you want a glimpse of what we do in Graphic Design be sure to check out the Promo Video [below]. Contact me for the video password.