I’ve been working on finishing our basement. I’m not what I’d consider a true handyman, things like plumbing and structural integrity scare me, but I can get along fine enough with small fixes and expanding spaces.

Last fall I spent a good amount of time finishing my basement office / man cave and I thoroughly enjoyed it when I didn’t expect I would. There’s something about creating something with raw building supplies and power tools that makes me feel less like a shriveled, useless programming weakling.

Kaden and Adrie are shaping up to be quite the entertaining pair as they continue to define their relationship. It’s hard to believe how quickly they both are growing up and into their personalities.

I don’t deal well with death. I try to ignore it, like food between someones teeth that I’m talking to. The topic makes me uncomfortable, unsure how to discuss it, unsure how to describe it.

My uncle died this week. He was always a friendly person – quick to laugh, quicker to joke. My cousins huddled quickly here in Ohio to spend his last days by his side. As sad as the situation is, I hope I get that opportunity for closure with my family somewhere down the road.

As introverted as I think I am, i can always count on a funeral to sink me a bit deeper into that hole; I’m essentially the worst bereavement conversationalist ever.

Sena thinks I’m broken when it comes to grief management. I think I’m just really terrible at it. I feel bad for not knowing how to express my sadness at the whole situation, I just don’t want to offend you or the memory of yours. I’ll just hang out over here by the photo montage next to the guestbook.

Celebrate life, our shitty luck, our lucky shit.

Rest in peace, Gary.

So I was one of those people who got the iPad on launch day. Overall, I’m extremely impressed with my purchase.

The WordPress app is beautifully executed without any glaring issues. I love that I can now prepare my blog posts while away from the computer, sitting on my patio or while lying in bed, and them review and publish any time I want. Of course it doesn’t mean that I’ll write more, but that’s a whole different issue.

I love that my Apple bluetooth keyboard syncs flawlessly so I can type quicker and more efficiently, even if I am getting better at using the onscreen keyboard.

Kaden and I broke out the John Deere for the first time this season. Buying a riding mower was definitely the best investment I made last year.

A long time has past since my last update but life continues on. Adrie is growing up so quickly and the rest of the kids are following suit. Kaden is now three and still a handful, especially now that he is talking more and more. Alize is ten now, she has her own personality and style and cellphone. Keylie is getting older but doesn’t seem to be getting any bigger, she’s still my little girl.

Time moves on, things change and stay the same.

Happy Spring everyone.