Not a lot has happened since I last posted.  Well, sort of.  We had our pool area resurfaced and painted.  It was cracking and generally looked like junk.  It looks 10X better.  As always, we had an issue while getting this done.  There was a small leak in a seam where the hot tub waterfalls into the pool and the surface was wet, therefore the crew couldn't retexture that spot.  My parents helped me add this marine epoxy called PC-11.  You can add it underwater or on wet or dry surfaces.  It's amazing stuff and it worked!  Anything on a pool costs at least $1,000 to repair and this was fixed for about $6.  Not bad.  Here's the result:

This weekend is the 3rd Annual Marble Falls Adult Soap Box Derby.   Last year, my entry named Haulin' Bass, won the Art Award.  The car was pretty poor, but I spent very little time on the engineering portion and way too much on the art portion.

Haulin' Bass

Well, Haulin' Bass was cool but it was a bad car.  I was the first race and I lost control and wrecked.  It was a good way to kick off the races, but it was a bust for my race car.  This year, I decided to start with a go cart frame so I wouldn't have to mess with designing steering spindles, axles, etc, etc.  I also have a proper seat instead of a piece of plywood.....  I bought an old go cart for CHEAP and disassembled it.  I gave the motor away and stripped, primed, and repainted the frame.  Also, I took off the old live axle and made a fixed axle out of some huge 5/8 bolts and nylon lock nuts.  It works...so far. :)

I had a rolling chassis with a homemade brake as of last week.  My parents came to town and gave me some baby relief while Mom was at work so I could get the car finished.  We made a lot of progress by the time they left, but I still have a ways to go as far as decorating it.  

Saturday, for my birthday, Cristina and I went to a Cottage Renovation Seminar put on by Brad Kittel, owner and head guru at Tiny Texas Houses and Pure Salvage Living Center.   We are thinking of buying some rent homes in Burnet and Marble Falls to try to diversify our investments and give me a job.  I don't want to call it "flipping houses", because that's become such a TV term, but there are a lot of post-war homes in Burnet County that could use some love and there is a market for them.  I think a lot of our generation, as well as the older ones, are unsatisfied with cookie-cutter homes made out of wood from Chile that is soaked in pesticides, insulation that is soaked with flame retardants, vinyl windows that outgas, and fixtures made in China...parts that are all part of planned obsolescence.  Basically, throwaway homes.  My plan is to restore a home(or many), rent it out until the market is right or until I can't stand dealing with it, and sell it to someone who appreciates it.  Maybe also make some money by owner-financing the sale and getting a guaranteed return, as opposed to gambling in a stock market that rises and falls like the temperature.  

Here's Brad.  Cristina thinks that this is what I will look like in 20 years.  He builds and restores "old" homes using old hardwoods from salvage projects.  We really liked what he had to say about construction, politics, human nature, bureaucracies, and life.  He's a neat guy who not only marches to the beat of a different drum, but he probably made the drum himself out of an old board and a goatskin he found on the side of the road.  He really got us thinking about our next house and what we want to do with it.  We have some pretty big and radical ideas!!!

We were gone for about 13 hours Saturday, which is the longest I have EVER been away from Chris.  Cristina has gone as long without seeing him, but only due to work.  I missed him so much, but it was easier knowing that he was with his grandparents, Ace and Skeeter.  They had a big ol' time playing together, as evidenced by these videos.  

Thanks to cousins Kamri and Kayla for the cute shortalls and polo!!

I'm making Cristina use the pool more, not only because she had to have it, but because I have had to do sooooo much work on it.  I'm sure pools are fun on the user end, but there is some poor schmuck that is stuck dealing with the realities of it all.  That poor schmuck is me.  Actually, that poor schmuck was me for a summer in high school, for two years in college, and for the 2.25 years we've lived here.  If it were up to me, the pool would be drained, filled with dirt, and we'd have a nice vegetable garden.  There is a free lake down the street that we can swim in when it is hot!

The pool feels amazing and the days are HOT.  These are the 3 months that I actually look at the pool and smile rather than grit my teeth and come back inside and search the internet for dynamite to raze it.  :)

Mom got the boy a life vest and a cute little sun proof bodysuit that protects his pink skin without having to slather him with sunscreen, thus making him glow white and purple!!!!  

He also has his floating baby pontoon boat, which is starting to fit him better.  He rides low in it, so we made a booster seat for him with a pool noodle.  It's a prototype, we are making adjustments as needed.

That's all we have today, I'll post more pics of Ace, Skeeter, and Christopher tonight!