St Louis

OK. First of all, obviously we've had an Extreme Makeover - Blog Edition. We're going with an "elegant-modern" look inspired by our most recent photo shoot of the girls (photos of the shoot will be coming in a later post).

Because we've neglected the blog over the busy summer months. We are going to catch up, starting with our anniversary trip to St Louis:

The Arch

 

St Louis Union Station (where we stayed)

Tammy at the Zoo

Again, Tammy at the Zoo

Joe at the Zoo

Again, Joe at the Zoo

At the Base of the Arch

Tammy in the Tiny Cylindrical Arch-Elevator

The Shadow of the Arch

Us at the Top

Tammy with a 1/2" thick piece of stainless steel between her and 600 feet of nothing

Why St Louis? Well, why not St Louis. It's the gateway to the West. The arch is very romantic, and St Louis Union Station is gorgeous. It really had nothing to do with the fact that we got the the hotel, food, and half the airfare paid for because we coupled our anniversary adventure with a business trip.

How to build a backyard - Part 3: Hiatus

Step 1: Put all tools away (because there's a chance of rain for the next three weeks straight--not to mention the hurricanes.)
Step 2: Dam up dirt piles so they stop spilling into the sidewalk.
Step 3: Turn wheelbarrow over so it doesn't become a cess pool of mosquito larvae.
Step 4: Wait....and wait....and wait. Wait 'til your husband is back into the swing of grad school, wait 'til you're used to waking up at 6:00 am so that Amy can catch the bus at 6:30 am, wait 'til all the school orientations are over, wait 'til all this adoption mess is final, wait 'til Tammy, Sara, and Claire's birthday parties are over, 'til formal family portraits are taken, 'til Sara is sealed to us for time and all eternity, 'til Sara is blessed, and FINALLY, wait 'til after General Conference is over before getting back to work on the most important project for the house. Maybe the weather will be nicer and you can work for longer than 15 minutes before almost passing out and being forced back inside for water breaks to recuperate from the humidity--maybe.

How to Build a Backyard Part 2: The Wall

Yes, it's time to check in on our major backyard renovation. We have completed the demolition work and are now building the wall for the lower level. The walls are being built out of treated wood timbers, rebar and a gravel foundation. The wall is supported by perpendicular "deadmen" that tie the wall into the earth behind it.

For anyone thinking that the Hood's must be expert wall builders, check back with this wall in a couple of years and see if it's still standing. The only thing we're going on is some how-to websites and common sense. We'll see how it works out.

How to Build a Backyard Part 1: Excavation

This is the first in a new blog series about our major backyard rebuild. We decided that whether we sell the house now, or live in it for while longer, we need to make the backyard usable. Our backyard has been a useless slope since we moved in. The plan is to terrace it with retaining walls and make three level areas, with a patio on the lower level. Our plan is also to do it for a $1,000 instead of $10,000.

The Plan:
The first step to this process is moving several tons of dirt. This is very brutal work. It's a good thing we waited until the hottest part of the year to do it (heavy sarcasm).

The Excavation:

We will keep you posted on the progress.

How to Replace an Alternator in a 2002 Kia Sedona

This is Joseph, and I'm hijacking the blog today to perform a public service. Usually when I do car work, I google for instructions and get complete details on how to do the work. This saves me from extra work, injury, and death. However, when the alternator went bad in the Kia, I could find no online help for a 2002 Kia Sedona. I have learned the hard way how to replace this alternator, and I'm passing this knowledge along to all.

And for all you female readers of this blog: I know this is not the type of post you are used to on this blog, but just think--you could have bragging rights with your husband (i.e. "I know how to replace an alternator in a 2002 Kia Sedona and you don't, so there!").

Step by step instructions:

1) Are you sure the alternator's bad!?!? Replacing an alternator in this vehicle is NOT an easy task and is not recommended for men with high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant, or may become pregnant. Side effects include nausea, insomnia, and very dirty fingernails. If you experience that it takes you longer than 4 hours to remove this alternator, call your mechanic immediately.

To make sure the alternator needs to be replaced, google "how to test an alternator" and invest in a good multimeter if you don't have one.


2) Remove battery terminal connections and wait at least 30 min for the airbags to be disabled.

3) Remove the air filter intake (large black plastic thing on top of the radiator that connects to the air filter housing).



4) Remove support beam above radiator (6 x 14mm screws and 4 x 12mm screws).



5) Remove radiator hoses connected to the pipe that runs along the front of the engine block. There are two, one on the left that connects to the radiator, and one on the right the connects to the thermostat housing on the side of the block).



This will cause antifreeze to spill all over your driveway. Ideally you should put something down to catch it, but if you didn't, this would be a great time for those disease-ridden stray cats to come around looking for a snack.



6) Now remove the pipe that these hoses were connected to (2 x 12mm screws). You will now get a visual of the alternator, which is a good thing considering you have to replace it.


7) Remove both fans attached to the radiator. This is the hard part. There at least 4 screws holding each one down, one on top, one on the bottom, and two on the side. The side screws are very difficult to get to. You will need one or more of the following to get them loose:

• Extremely small and agile fingers
• Psychokinetic abilities that allow you to move things with your mind that you cannot possibly reach with your hands
• The proper tool (flexible ratchet extension)

After you remove the fans, you will have created a path to move the alternator across the front of the engine block and out.

8) Loosen (or remove) the serpentine belt by loosening the manual adjustment pulley. This is the pulley with the 12mm nut on the side and underneath. If you do not know how to loosen a manual adjustment pulley, you are dumb. (google it if you need to know how to do it)

9) Remove the black support bar the connects the alternator to the engine block. (2 x 12mm screws)

At this point, your kids (who should be asleep by now) will be crying at you through their bedroom window because it's so unfair that they have to go to sleep while Daddy gets to play outside and have fun.

10) Ignore them. You have work to do. Remove the three bolts on the left side of the alternator. Two of them will not come all the way out because of lack of space, but they will come out far enough to remove the alternator.

You will now have to install a light because it has taken you longer to do this than you thought could ever be possible and it is 10:00 at night.

11) Disconnect the hot connection to the alternator (11mm bolt) and the wire harness for the voltage regulator and ground connections.

12) Remove the alternator.

13) Buy a new alternator. This will cost more than you will want to pay. Mortgage your house, sell one (or more) of your kidneys, or embezzle funds from work as necessary.

14) Attach the new alternator and put the car back together better than you found it.

15) When it comes time for you to put those stupid fans back in, do what you should have done before--get your wife who has small and agile hands to do it for you. 16) When you are completly done, sit back and admire your work:

You will probably have at least two screws left over:

They probably don't go on anything important. If you do not have any screws left over, then:

• You are an amazing mechanic and should probably do this for a living.
• You dropped most of the screws into the engine in tiny crevices where they will never be recovered.
• You're just reading this blog for fun and haven't actually replaced the alternator in your personal 2002 Kia Sedona.

17) Disinfect and bandage wounds.

18) Sleep for the 2 hours you have left before you have to wake up and go to work.

All done.

Grade Report Fall 2007

Digressing from the top ten for a while, Joseph would like to post his grade report for this last semester. He would also like to point out that he got these grades while working full time, raising a family, adopting a child, and obeying Tammy's every whim for the past 4 months. Furthermore, he would also like to point out that he is a 4.0 grad student. Booyah.



Tammy would like to point out that if her every whim had been obeyed, than the playroom shelves would be built, the front bathroom toilet would not be ringing, the fan in the car would be working, the backyard would be finished, the dishwasher would not be leaking, and the heat pump would be pumping heat.
Booyah.

Date Night

Nothing says date night like a Glock.

Caleb and Katie (Hood[3]) took us to the firing range Friday night for date night. Caleb brought his gun, and we rented one at the range. It was Tammy's first time shooting something more than a BB gun. For Joseph, being the man of men that he is, it was not his first time, it was his second. Shown above is the result of a little friendly competition between Tammy and Joseph. Tammy's shots have circles and Joesph's shots have x's (hard to see from picture).

We shot at 7 yds, and it was a tie. Afterwords, we all went to California Dreaming. Nana and Pops (Hood[0]) watched all the kids, half of which slept the whole time.

Reserved Assigned Parking

The humble working man has always striven to find new ways to stick it to the man. This resourceful recumbent cyclist has found a way to park in the big boss's parking spot--audaciously attaching his preposterous vehicle to the ominous "Reserved Assigned Parking" sign.

We just got new cell phones. Who knew they were making phones with built in cameras? Anyway, expect more 1.5Mpixel pictures on the blog (instead of the normal 6.0Mpixel ones). It's easy to just pull the cell phone out for random things we see as we're oot and aboot--like Grandpa's bike parked at his work place - the TOC (Transmission Operations Center)

Name That Baby

One of these photos was taken years ago. The other was taken yesterday. Let's play Name That Baby. In fact, let's play:

• Name That Baby
• Name That Year
• Name That Location
• Name What's on that Baby's Face.

The winner will receive nothing. GOOD LUCK!