30. Yea.

In celebration (or mourning) of my last day as a twenty-something, the family took me out to Norman. We ate some pretty good Mexican food at Ted’s and watched “Day and Knight.” Then the next day I turned 30. There are no pictures. That’s probably for the best.

Father's Day Weekend

This father’s day Steve and Sally invited us over for lunch. It was Steve's first father's day. We had a nice meal and visited with family. Then Steve and I snuck out to the pasture to try out some new explosives he had been wanting to experiment with. It was actually quite a bit of fun, blowing some up.

For pictures, check out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51387&id=1605636710&l=f96f8134ac

And there’s a video of us blowing stuff up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVfuoFLLh34

Patio is almost there!

Patio_13June2010
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

My patio is finally done (well, mostly)! This has been quite a little process. It started in early-May when I tore off my sorry excuse for a deck. I built it almost five years ago out of left-over fence panels. It was intended to be temporary until I built my real deck, but as these things often are, temporary turned into semi-permanent. I had thought I was going to build a new deck, but decided to go with a patio with concrete slab instead. Funny thing: When I tore out the tile in my kitchen and dining room, I took up some panels in the deck and discarded all that tile under the deck. I presumed it wouldn’t matter because when I built the new deck I could just go over it. But with the slab, I had to move all that tile. It was in hundreds and hundreds of pieces. It was much fun.

Then it rained for a while, so it pushed back my concrete. And then it rained some more. And some more. Finally it had been dry for a couple of weeks but I still hadn’t heard from my concrete guy. So I called him, only to find out he had “forgot about me.” But a few days later he was out there and I got concrete laid. Thank goodness. By the end of May I had the slab poured and cured and got my furniture assembled and on the patio. All that’s missing was everything else. I was lucky to have a “do-it-all” guy around who had just finished repainting my house, and he agreed to help me with the patio as well. By mid-June we were pretty much finished. I added a little “side-deck” on the side of the patio and raised up my fence a little for privacy. I still have two things yet to complete: laying tile and a little bit of landscaping around the patio. I can’t wait until it’s completely done! But it’s been nice so far. I love hanging out there, lounging in the chaise, surfing the web or eating dinner.

If you want to check out the patio, head over to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157624553525094/

Welcome Mr. Grant (Starting to catch up on my blog!)

Baby Grant Experience. Bruce Grant Holt born Wed 5-26, 2:07 am, 7 lbs 14 oz, 21" long, Purcell, Okla. Brad and baby Grant (I'm thinking about stealing him a little bit here.)
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Bad Blogger! Bad, bad blogger! So, I have been MIA for a while but I am going to attempt to catch up a little this evening. Let’s flash back to almost two months ago… when Bruce Grant Holt joined us. Here’s a little play-by-play.

Tues. May 25
AM: Sally is at Purcell MH and labor is induced.
6:00 PM: Mom and I decided to head over to Purcell as things were progressing along. We hoped there would be time to eat before the big event. Ha, ha. Ha ha ha. Ha.
8:00 PM: Got through eating, everything still going well, ETA 9-10 PM.
10:00 PM: Pushing has commenced (my apologizes to Sally if she doesn’t care for these details on my blog. LOL) I start taking a deep interest at these green dots on the floor and follow them around the hospital.
11:30 PM: Still no baby. They decide to do a c-section, but there is another mother in the same situation and she is in more distress, so she gets to go first. But everything is still okay with mom and baby. They tell us how odd this is that there is even another mom giving birth in the small hospital at the same time, even more so that they need to do two c-sections at the same time. Goody.

Wed. May 26
12:30 AM: Still not in surgery. Facebook followers give up and go to bed, except Nora who is in Germany where it is morning.
1:00 AM: I awake from my attempted nap in my truck. It was somewhat successful. I eventually found a position that involved my feet hanging out the window. Shortly after the other mom’s baby is delivered. We momentarily consider just stealing that one.
1:30-ish AM: Sally is taken into surgery. We are told it shouldn’t take long, so clearly it will be like 5 AM.
2:10 AM: Baby Grant is finally born! 7 lbs. 14 oz.
2:30 AM: We get to see him for the first time. He has like 30 pictures taken of him in 30 seconds. Steve comes out shortly after and is really proud and tired.
3:00 AM: We get to go back and see Grant and Sally. We get to hold Grant and take a few pictures with the new little guy.
3:30 AM: Left the hospital and headed to Asher.
4:30 AM: Back home at Asher and instantly to sleep.

This was my first “birth” experience and it was truly amazing! For pictures of Grant on his first day and since then, check out this set on Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157624141183926/

Oh, Wal-Mart… how you annoy thee.

Went to Walmart today to get some things for work. Usually, the day is slightly less annoying than the evening. Today, not so much. So... here we go... Top 10 Things That Annoyed me at Walmart Today:

1. Orphaned shopping carts in the parking lot

2. Shopping carts returned to the corral in a haphazard manner rather than in two, nicely organized lines

3. People parking in places that aren’t parking spaces

4. People trying so very hard to find the closest possible parking spot on the warmest day of the year

5. Almost as many people using electric carts as those not (maybe they all need them, I don’t know, but I doubt it)

6. One person blocking one side of the isle, another one blocking the other while eating an apple pie. I stand there for two minutes and give her a dirty look. She states she needs something where the other person is. And, apparently, doesn’t know how to walk backwards.

7. “Walmart People” (Oh, you know.)

8. Walmart employee answering a question using the fewest possible words and without making eye contact or moving in any way (although the second person I asked happily walked me to the item—my hat off to you)

9. Not enough checkers. Too many self-serve lanes.

10. “Please place your item inside the bagging area. Please place your item inside the bagging area. Please wait for assistance.” The item is in the stupid* bagging area, you stupid* machine! You want me to throw it in again? How ‘bout I purchase a hammer and place it in the bagging area after I finish beating your stupid* speaker into oblivion? Not so demanding now, are you?

*Not the words I wanted to use.

Winter Blog Catch-up!

FebSnow_11Feb2010 048
Originally uploaded by brad_holt

Woah. Major blog black-out, huh? Facebook has kept me so busy I forgot about my little blog here. Today, I catch up! Here's what I've been up to this winter, "check it out over at Flickr" style.

11 Feb 2010: I captured the 50th snow of the winter at, appropriately enough, Wintersmith Park. It was probably the prettiest snow I have ever seen. Flickr Set >>>

06 Feb 2010: Ice Storm Aftermath - Asher. The ice tore up the trees and power lines pretty good. I photographed a little of it and help with the cleanup. CHAINSAW! (Multiplicity fans, anyone?) Flickr Set >>>

30 Jan 2010: Winter Storm 2010! The first storm of the new year came early and came big. A few photos, but I didn't venture out much. Flickr Set >>>

31 Dec 2009: Happy New Years! I go to some of the calmest New Years parties on the planet, but we had fun. And, the little dog, too. Flickr Set >>>

25 Dec 2009: Christmas / Is this blizzard going to kill us? Major blizzard time fun (and the closure of I-35) kept some of our guests away, but we made the best of it and had a pretty good Christmas. Flickr Set (Christmas) >>> Flickr Set (the snow) >>>

29 Nov 2009: Steve's 27th Birthday at Ted's in Norman. Flickr Set >>>

That's it! I'm all caught up.

Another Broken Bow Trip?

It had been 11 years since we had been to Broken Bow and this was our second trip of the year. But, for a few different reasons, the trip earlier this year was a partial-bust, so we decided to make an impromptu "make-up" family trip to Broken Bow / Hochatown. We relaxed in a great cabin, visited Broken Bow Lake and the park and ate a couple of good meals at the local steakhouse. The weather cooperated this time and turned out to be a pretty nice and relaxing weekend.

Photos over at Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad_holt/sets/72157622819603646/