Life after the big western trip...

As promised, the picture above shows some of the damage we came home to from our western trip.  The drain coming out of our air conditioning unit, which is located in our attic, had plugged, and the water soon overflowed the pan designed to catch such overflows.  Given the warm and humid days during that stretch of August, a lot of water accumulated in the insulation and soaked the drywall in the ceiling.  To fix this, I reran the drain line with more slope (and to a different drain).  We also lowered the bathroom ceiling a few inches to be able to install a light fixture with a fan that keeps the bathroom from getting too humid following showers.  We also installed new floor tiles (Hope's specialty), a new, taller toilet, a new vanity, sink, medicine cabinet, and mirror.  Below are several pictures from different vantage points:

 

We painted the walls a different color, and all I've really got left to do is touch up the trim in a number of places.  We also ended up using wooden paneling to replace the popcorn textured ceiling, and we're really pretty pleased with the outcome!  It took us about a month, but we're back to fully functional now.

Even though it seemed like all we've done since returning has been work on the house, but we've had time for several other activities, many of them football related.  Of course, tailgating at Boll Weevil Stadium is back, in its ever-so-humble form:

Kenny's been playing with the 7th grade band, which means he gets to play at the 9th grade home football games.  They really seem to be doing well--you can see Kenny with his clarinet in the middle of the picture below:

A couple weekends ago, we had an opportunity to see the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team play Northern Illinois University in Fayetteville (northwestern Arkansas).  Obviously, their tailgating was MUCH larger--the picture below is only a small fraction of the activity:

The 4-H program in Arkansas was hosting a 4-H day at the game, with discounted tickets, so we figured it was a good time for our first Hogs game.  Below, the kids joined some of the other 4-H attendees for a pre-game picture:

We had a good time at the game, even with several nearby obnoxiously loud and intoxicated Northern Illinois fans shouting most of the game.  The Hogs easily beat their opponents, and we really enjoyed the Arkansas marching band during their half time performance.  Below, you can see them marching in the form of an airplane as part of a tribute to the various branches of the military:

I was hoping the score was going to be easier to read on the scoreboard below, but it wasn't...Anyhow, the smiles says it all!

One Saturday we went to the small town Hope works in to join in a "walk through history", where we visited a number of historic buildings and locations in McGehee, Arkansas.  Below, we got to visit this Jewish temple, a rare sight in the Delta of Arkansas:

I've even had a few chances to get out and do some archeology, like visiting a wrecked steamboat along an old channel of the Arkansas River:

All that remains of this boat are crumbling timbers washing out of the bank.  Speaking of archeology, we're soon to depart for the Fayetteville area (again) to attend the Arkansas Archeological Society's annual state meeting.