The rear passenger brake pads on our 08 Dodge Grand Caravan were grinding pretty good. It sounded like we were landing a KC-130 each time we came to a stop sign or light. So I got off work BEFORE NOON on Friday in hopes to just changing out the brake pads. Brakes are pretty much the easiest things to change on a car. If you're a guy and you've done it once on your first car, you can do it on your minivan. So I go to take them off and I realize that the caliper is locked and pressing the inside pad against the rotor. I could not get the brakes off the rotor. I don't have the proper tools a guy should have, just basic ones. I was able get all the nuts and bolts and screws off, but not the rotor. My game plan was to knock the pad out with a hammer and chisel. But a little nub got stuck and no matter how hard I pounded, it only moved so far. I'm not sure what happened, but I resorted to pull it off with the teeth end of the hammer. The next step was to push the caliper piston back in. But I couldn't because my "c" clamp was too small. I had to wait until my in-laws came over and I went to the Home Depot to get a bigger one. When I got back home the dang piston would not go in. My fears had come true. It was locked. So I called around and apparently I am the first person EVER to have problems with this car part. I think they planned on this part to never break, because no one had this part in stock. I have to order it today and they will get it tomorrow. So right now we're car-less and using my dad's car. The whole brake fiasco lasted longer than I expected. Here's what I looked like.
I got a text message last night (that I didn't read until this morning) that my little sister is engaged. She's in college, has a little girl, and we haven't had a good relationship since my parents were divorced almost 10 years ago. Her mom was my step-mom and I was my dad's kid. There's a lot going on, that we're both responsible for. Mine is that I'm focused on my family. I have a sick pregnant wife and four kids that tend to be sick all the time too. I haven't been the big brother to my younger siblings since I met my wife. But I told her I was very happy for her and I can't wait to hear more about this guy.
Saturday, KC hosted a jewelry party. She invited all her friends and some family members to come to our house, spend their money and buy jewelry. Which meant that all the non-essential personnel had to am-scray. MaddSkillz was at his dad's this weekend, so I had the job of taking the three kids (3yrs, 22mos, 9 mos) somewhere. The first choice of hanging with Uncle Evan was knocked down. So, I thought it would be a good idea to take them to the movies. I've taken my oldest daughter to the movies before on a Daddy/Daughter Date, but never Disco or Beautiful. My wife thought I was crazy for doing it, but I didn't have the patience to look for something else to do for three hours. Luckily, Grandpa Robert was kind enough to join us since my mother-in-law was also spending money on jewelry. We went to the dollar movies to see Monsters vs. Aliens. The babies lasted about 30 minutes before they started fussing. I put them in the tandem stroller where I pushed them in the back of the theatre for the remainder of the movie. The movie wasn't long enough, so we went to McDonald's to play in the play area. Disco went through those obstacles like he was a Navy SEAL. We got the message that it was an all clear to go home, packed up the kids and headed back. Here's a picture of me afterwards.
Have a great week my friends.
Eric.
Church on Sunday was great. We started attending Oak Hills Church earlier this summer after getting a little disappointed and disservice with our previous church. I had been going there 6 years and my wife for over 15. The services were held at the AT&T Center. It was a long walk from our car because we got there right when it started. Michael W. Smith lead the worship services. David Robinson welcomed the crowd and Max Lucedo gave great message about "Bigger Than You." With my busy life and juggling everything, one of the things that gets dropped a lot if my relationship with God and making time for him. It's usually given while I'm driving alone to or from work. The mere moments that I'm awake when I lay down at night before I crash, or if I'm not running too late to work. Something was sparked yesterday, something I never thought about. I hope that I can keep the spark going.
I got a text message last night (that I didn't read until this morning) that my little sister is engaged. She's in college, has a little girl, and we haven't had a good relationship since my parents were divorced almost 10 years ago. Her mom was my step-mom and I was my dad's kid. There's a lot going on, that we're both responsible for. Mine is that I'm focused on my family. I have a sick pregnant wife and four kids that tend to be sick all the time too. I haven't been the big brother to my younger siblings since I met my wife. But I told her I was very happy for her and I can't wait to hear more about this guy.
Saturday, KC hosted a jewelry party. She invited all her friends and some family members to come to our house, spend their money and buy jewelry. Which meant that all the non-essential personnel had to am-scray. MaddSkillz was at his dad's this weekend, so I had the job of taking the three kids (3yrs, 22mos, 9 mos) somewhere. The first choice of hanging with Uncle Evan was knocked down. So, I thought it would be a good idea to take them to the movies. I've taken my oldest daughter to the movies before on a Daddy/Daughter Date, but never Disco or Beautiful. My wife thought I was crazy for doing it, but I didn't have the patience to look for something else to do for three hours. Luckily, Grandpa Robert was kind enough to join us since my mother-in-law was also spending money on jewelry. We went to the dollar movies to see Monsters vs. Aliens. The babies lasted about 30 minutes before they started fussing. I put them in the tandem stroller where I pushed them in the back of the theatre for the remainder of the movie. The movie wasn't long enough, so we went to McDonald's to play in the play area. Disco went through those obstacles like he was a Navy SEAL. We got the message that it was an all clear to go home, packed up the kids and headed back. Here's a picture of me afterwards.
Have a great week my friends.
Eric.
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