My wife and daughter were on rake and removal. Little man had the shovel and wheelbarrow and did a great job going down the curb. I fired up the lawn mower and made a mess with a combo of its mulching ability, bagging capability and general ease of spitting leaves into the woods. Then I doubled over the entire yard – essentially mowing the week before Christmas.

It was still pretty wet. Leaves were packed and stuck. The yard was a mess, but we made an impact. It at least looks like we care now. It’s really only three months (probably less) until we need to start thinking about maintaining outside again. I hope we can get on top of it. That’s the one place I feel like we’ve let things go since we moved it. We started off strong that first spring/summer and then just petered out. It really needs some attention. I’d like to get some curb appeal going.

When I was a kid, I lived in the same house from a few months before my 4th birthday until I moved in December of the year I turned 18. That was 20 years ago this month. I lived in that house for 179 months – just shy of 15 full years.

In the 20 years since I moved out of my parents house I’ve moved 17 times if you count the short stays at hotels when we’d make big moves. If you ignore those month-long stays and just count it as part of the moving experience then I’ve moved 13 times. Of those moves two were short stints back to the parents for a total of 3 months. Those moves take place over 6 different cities/areas.

We bought this house three years ago and as of this month, it’s the longest I’ve lived at one address since leaving home as a kid. In April, the Dayton area will serve as the area I’ve spent the most time since then.

I guess for us this area has slowly become home. Both my wife and I were born and raised in western PA. Different areas, but still western PA. My daughter still identifies with western PA to a small degree. She was born there, although I doubt she remembers it as we moved when she was about a year and a half old. But we returned in 2003 and stayed until we headed out here in 2006. She’s 14 now, but she was 8 when we moved here. She was a third grader starting at her third school in 4 years. My son however, pretty much knows this area as home. He was born in Jacksonville, FL. We left there before he was two months old. When we came to Dayton he was just 4. He’s 10 now. It’s all he knows. The only school he’s ever gone to is the one he’s at now.

It probably seems crazy to move around that much, but I don’t think it was bad. It’s easy to get complacent and jumping around as much as we did for so long kept it exciting. We generally followed the opportunity first and foremost. Now that the kids are older, the focus has shifted more towards stability. When you’re the ages of my kids, moving would suck balls. However, I do think all the moving when they’re younger is good. They see a lot of things, meet a lot of different people – generally learn to be adaptable.

We don’t really have a hard, concrete plan looking ahead. The general goal is to try to stay here until the kids are adults…which means 8 more years for the youngest to hit 18. Realistically 9 for him to finish school. After that, who knows? Suddenly, we’re not quite as tied down any more. Possibilities are endless…except for Florida. Florida is the worst. We’ve gone twice and couldn’t wait to escape both times.

At any rate, it’s weird to think I’ve spent more time in this house than anywhere else I’ve lived since that house I spent my childhood in. Even if we do stay here another 9, that puts us up to 12. I wonder if I’ll ever live at one address as long as I lived with my family in that house as a kid?

For the record, 80′s hair band White Lion had Vito power.

We’re busy right now with the annual halloween/birthday party for my daughter. My son usually has a friend over too and they run around the yard and the woods trying to scare the older kids. Last year was a ‘generic’ halloween theme – standard scary stuff – titled “Lucky 13″ for her 13th Birthday. This year it’s a research lab accident/mad scientist/shit has gone bad theme. We did invitations that we’re all official sounding – as if you we’re privvy to inside info. Very subtlely at the bottom in small font we put: www.researchfacility14.com password:number14

The kids seem to dig it. We’re in the process of setting the garage and deck up and getting it all into theme. Hopefully, I get some photos or video or something. The bad news is that the Camaro doesn’t get to sleep in the garage for the next 4 nights.

I’m also semi-simultaneously working on this year’s DVD set for the football team. Last year’s was such a hit that I think I’ve become the guy who does this for the team. Recording the games is cool and I know the coaches use it as a tool, so I’m contributing in my own special way. The parents and boys love the DVD’s. The entire season’s games are on there along with highlights, music videos and more candid stuff. It’s my job to make 10 year old boys look like rock stars. Amazing how some decent football plays edited in sync to some pump-up music can achieve this to great effect. I have less than three weeks to deliever a finished product to everyone at the end-of-season party. The weird thing is that I actually feel some pressure to up the ante, so to speak. You kinda have to outdo the last one, right?

Then it’s Thanksgiving…and holiday shopping and X-mas and New Year’s and stuff.

Soon the wind whipped into a frenzy and trees bent impossibly far. We heard a craaack and had a huge hunk fall beside the house, about 15 or 20 feet away from where we sttod at the mouth of the garage. I lamented about having to clean it up tomorrow and wondered which tree it actually came from. The storm was impressive, lots of distant, rumbling thunder that lasted for quite a while. The rain rolled in and got more and more intense and the refreshing cool air filled the garage.

It was everything awesome about a summer storm. Satisfied, we closed the garage and came back in. Soon the AT&T service went out – no TV or internet. We had drumsticks. It came on about 10 or 15 minutes later. The thunder continued rumbling the house.

Just after 10pm the doorbell rang. I honestly expected it to be someone telling us one of our trees fell on something or someone or somewhere. It was one of our neighbors letting us know their big tree had fallen and was now blocking the street. A police car was parked next to the tree with his lights on. Apparently our little cul-de-sac was a public hazard at this point. They let us know that while all the proper people had been notified and the city would eventually be out to remove the tree, that there were lots of calls because of the storm and on the priority list, 6 houses on a cul-de-sac ranked pretty low and there was a good chance it’s still be there in the morning and nobody would be getting to work – which is a problem for everyone except for me and the old people that live beside us.

It was the largest tree on the left of this photo from a previous post:

It must’ve snapped off very near ground level because even in the dark, I can see the big bushy top of that tree is lying in the neighbor’s driveway on the right side of the photo – effectively creating a tree barricade on our little street. It’s going on 1am as I type this and the cop is still sitting out the with his lights on. I guess it’s a precaution. Don’t want anyone to whip into the cul-de-sac and smack right into the tree.

So here’s to hoping they don’t get to it and we get a freebie day around here tomorrow.

The old lights were brass (we’re still trying to de-brass-ify the house), old, tarnished, cheap and – even though they measured 18 inches tall – too small for the front of the house:

The new lights are not brass, old, tarnished nor cheap and they measure almost 30 inches tall – a much better fit for the house and the direction we’re going with things:

But now, with brass accents and trim, the front door doesn’t match…

Here’s where I should point out that since we got the new car, the old car has been sitting out and the new car goes in the garage. Not sure why we’re not putting both in (still issues with getting comfortable with the fit, I suppose), but when we take the new car, the old car gets parked along the curb right at the end of the driveway by the mailbox. Everytime we return home and turn into the cul-de-sac, I get that quick startled rush of “Who is parked at the house?” because nothing really changes on our little street and it stands out like a sore thumb. It’s happened every single time I make the turn up our cul-de-sac since we’ve been putting the car there.

So tonight I turn in and have that moment when I spot the old car up at the end of the street near our driveway, but also notice another car at the opposite corner of our lot, closest to the turn in to the cul-de-sac. This really caught my attention because at 11pm, cars parked in front of the house are certainly out of place. But it was pretty far down – almost to the next house’s driveway. I chalked it up to company at their place parking there which is not unheard of, but is rare and super rare late at night. Needless to say, the car caught my attention and I looked at it as we approached and passed. It was empty. Which is what sort of solidified my initial guess of neighbor company.

So I continue past our house into the ‘circle’ of the cul-de-sac. Our driveway connects to the circle so essentially pulling into our driveway is like making a u-turn. Come up the street towards the circle at the “6 o’clock” position, hook a hard left and hit the driveway at the “8 o’clock” position. Our mailbox is just to the left of the driveway (when you’re facing it). It’s one of those birck column mailboxes with the actual mailbox built in. The old car gets pulled just past it. Kind of what would be the “7 o’clock” position, if you will. Make sense? Got the visual?

Anyway, I continue past our house into the circle, hit the garage opener, hook the hard left and as hit the driveway and get right next to the mailbox this girl in a black hoodie pops up and starts walking away. She was kneeling behind our mailbox/car. I’m like, “Whoa! What the fuck!?” My wife hadn’t noticed and I’m going, “There’s someone hiding there!” She’s all, “What!?”

I pulled into the garage and she jumps out of the car hitting the ‘lock’ button for the old car on her keychain making the lights flash and horn beep repeatedly as if throwing virtual punches of some kind. Next thing I hear is, “What the fuck are you doing near my car!? Get the fuck away from my car!” (my wife is so badass)

I hear a raspy female voice going, “I know! I know! I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I mean you no harm.” I hesitated a moment as I got out of the car. The kids were still in the back. I had a moment of pause, not sure whether to go out around the garage with my wife and confront the girl or to stay with the kids or what.

The girl went on, “I got into a fight with my grandmother and she called the cops.” She gave her address, which if I remember correctly, was for a house on the other side of the woods behind the house on the main road behind us. (but I’m not entirely sure if I filled in that blank correctly or not, in the confusion no one was taking notes).

She kept talking, “I climbed over the fence and I’m waiting for my ride.” Now that’s interesting because there is an old, rusty wire fence along the top back park of our property that kind of turns to barbed wire and disappears. Barely a fence, really.

While this is happening, I told the kids to get out of the car and got them inside then walked out to my wife.

At the same time, my wife with her cell phone in hand starts dialing 911. The girls goes, “Oh there it is now” and beelines for the car parked at the other end of the yard. My wife tells the 911 people someone was messing around our house but they’re leaving. She hangs up. The girl gets in the passenger side of the car and it takes off and makes a left out of the cul-de-sac.

We’re both like, “What the fuck was that?” She goes over to the car and looks for a minute then unlocks it and I say, “Go try to find them” and she’s like, “Yeah!” and off she goes.

I go back into the garage and grab a flashlight and start looking around. Shining the light into the woods, I noticed I left the shed open when doing some yardwork earlier. I hear a little movement, but nothing that couldn’t have been a critter or something. Still I wasn’t going back in there by myself to lock it up. I pulled out my cell and called my wife who had circled a few of the streets around us, but saw nothing. She was just coming back. I had her high-beam the woods where the shed sits and I went back and locked it up.

She pulled into the driveway and we grabbed flashlights and circled all around the house and yard, but saw nothing and nothing looking particularly out of the ordinary. Satisfied that whoever was there was all gone, we realized we left the kids in the house alone, closed up the garage and came in and looked around the house just to be sure.

I have to admit it was a little unnerving and pretty fucking weird. It doesn’t sound like much, but the 10 minutes of that confused rush was really crazy.

We settled down and tried piecing the weirdness together.

We all agreed the girl was in a black hoodie and my daughter said dressed all in black. My wife saw her the most and said her hair was either blond or very light brown and she had light eyes and was scared shitless at being conforonted and was shaking. He tone of voice sounded as much to me from the garage. She would have put her in her mid-20′s age wise which suprised me because from the rapsy quality of the voice, I’d have said grizzled 40-something. But I didn’t see her well. I would have called her blond from what I did see.

As for that car, I’d put the percentage at 90% to 95% that it was empty when we pulled up the road. I’m pretty damn sure someone wasn’t reclined or ducking. We both agreed that it was a small black (dark colored?) Toyota car – based solely on the emblem on the car. Neither of us thought quickly enough to get the plate number…and that pisses me off the most.

What scares me the most is that if the car was empty (and like I said 90% to 95% sure it was) and the girl got in the passenger side when it took off, who else was there and where were they as we pulled in and confronted the girl?

If I’m remembering the address she gave correctly, the fight-and-left story sort of adds up right until she hides behind our mailbox/car as we pull up our street. Why would she be hiding from cars if she was waiting for a ride? The psoition she was in would have been a perfect hiding place for anybody coming up the cul-de-sac with the sole exception of us coming home. And why would she leave a main road, cut through the small woods and wait for a ride on a small, side cul-de-sac? And why didn’t she see the car that was supposedly her ride sitting there before we pulled up? The car was clearly parked and turned off and empty when we pulled in. Why would her ‘ride’ be empty waiting for her?

I dunno. Something doesn’t add up. I generally don’t get wigged by much, but the whole thing felt “off” to us. So her I sit at 2:30am putting these thoughts down so I don’t lose them and sharing the story. I did turn all the outdoor lights on and closed up the windows and turned the air conditioner on. Don’t know why. If anything the moment you confront someone suspicious and they bail, is probably the time there’s the least chance that someone is nosing around outside.

I jokingly told my wife I think it was adisgruntled Meijer employee because earlier today I filled out one of those survey things they print on the bottom of receipts and ripped them a new one because they’ve fallen so hard. You have to add you name and address on those before you submit them. Clearly it was a disgruntled deli employee with a grudge.

I think I’ll stay up extra late tonight, just to be safe.

Point #1: The house was built in 1995.

Point #2: Can’t believe two things built 18 years apart are compatible. I guess not much has changed in the world of garage door opener technology.

Point #3: I have a weird habit of noticing the manufacture date of things.

She says she’s going to double her count again next year and walk away with four. She’s predicting to get both the Language Arts and Oustanding Academic Achievement awards again, but plans to add the President’s Award for Educational Excellence and the Superior Academic Achievement Award. Last year only 13 kids got the Superior Award. This year it was 16. She’s 2/3rds of the way there.

Also, speaking of honors, I honorably and completely mangled the lawn mower blade today. There was a stump in the yard that jumped out of nowhere and right into my path in such a way that I hit it with great force and with complete contact. I thought I killed the lawn mower…or a small puppy. Was easy enough to go to Lowe’s and score a new one, slap it on and finish the yard, so I’ll consider it life experience.

Hit it so hard that it tore the stump out completely. So much for paying someone to bring a stump grinder out. These blades are $16 each. I could probably mangle a few and clear the yard of stumps myself on the cheap. Hmmmm.

Here’s an updated history of our bills since moving into the house:

May 2009 – 62.62
Aug 2009 – 64.49
Nov 2009 – 64.69
Feb 2010 – 68.79
May 2010 – 69.86
Aug 2010 – 69.36
Nov 2010 – 74.58
Feb 2011 – 75.51
May 2011 – 78.15

In two years the price of garbage removal has gone up 25%. Unbelieveable.

Looking ahead to try to find some breaks, AccuWeather has this for the next 15 days

26th – Thunderstorms
27th – Thunderstorms
28th – Mostly Cloudy (but chilly with a high of 55)
29th – Mostly Sunny (63)
30th – Partly Cloudy (73)
1st – Partly Cloudy (67)
2nd – Rain
3rd – Cloudy (58)
4th – Showers
5th – Rain
6th – Rain
7th – Rain
8th – Rain
9th – Rain

What the fuck? Hopefully a forecast that far out doesn’t hold up because I need this to dry up…we’re actually getting moss all around the yard. I can’t see me having to wait until mid-May to get out and really start getting the lawn together.

The wife had to work, so we decided to be a little unorthodox this year. We figured we’d give the kids Easter baskets (and the over-gifting gifts we’ve become guilty of) in the afternoon. This was interesting because my son is alarmingly late in figuring out the fantasy characters of our youth (Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus) are not real. I don’t want to have to physically say, “Look…” so between today’s weirdness and a few well placed comments I think the light bulb is starting to click…a little…maybe.

Speaking of being unorthodox and bucking tradition, this year we’ve made a semi-conscious effort to do untraditional meals on traditional meal days. Most people do pork on New Year’s. This year we did Sushi. Easter dinner usually means ham. Today we did rack of lamb. Turned out fucking terrific. We did garlic and rosemary frenched rack of lamb and I fucking crushed it. Seared them perfectly. We also tried two other new-to-us recipes and paired that lamb with French Onions (I’m becoming a worcestershire sauce fiend) and simple scalloped potatoes that may have been among the best potatoes we’ve ever made…hell, among the best we’ve ever had. Some simple green bean casserole and garlic/cheese rolls rounded out things. We also took the 20-some odd egges we colored and turned them into 4 different flavors of deviled eggs. Who knew you could get so creative with a simple deviled egg? Awesome fucking dinner.

We overgifted the kids again considering it was Easter. We always do. My son scored a basketball hoop and new ball and some lego shit. My daughter got a new phone and a bunch of jewelry and accessories.

On the plus side, we now look like every douchey house on every douchey cul-de-sac with a douchey hoop in the douchey driveway standing there all douchily.

Now that I talked about them, I think I want some of those deviled eggs…