Bugs Palace!

Couple more weeks down. Shannon is moving slower and getting bigger. I think we’re both getting impatient now 🙂 Shannons Uncle Mark was in last week, and was kind enough to take us on a shopping trip for baby stuff. Thanks Mark and Judy!  

Last weekend, Shannon, Donna, Grant and I went to London for a truck show. This is the second time i’ve attended this show, and sadly, it was about half the size. That will happen when you have crazy amounts of rain the the first night of the show. 

Wednesday, my moms entire family met up with us at the Manderin in Hamilton to celebrate my moms 50th Birthday party. It was a lot of fun, and we had 100% turn out. After the Manderin, we all headed back to Mom and Dads place for coffee and chit chat. While there, everyone made their predictions about when the baby will arrive. Only time will tell who was right 🙂 

Onto my beetle update. This one started good, but as the last couple weeks went on, and it went down.  I put the new steering box in, new coupler, and torqued down all the bolts in the front suspension.  Everything felt great. So, I put the fuel tank back in, fueld it up a bit, and took it for a drive. I was able to drive at 50mph and it actually felt solid, and smooth. Success! Almost. I pulled over to double check my suspension, just to make sure everything was ‘good-n’-tight’, and the car had a couple little backfires. Surpised me, but not really. The car has never ran great, and leaks oil like crazy. So, I got back in the car, and headed back home. I thought I was driving with covering gunfire. Pop, pop, bang bang, bang, all the way home.  The car was parked, until this past thursday evening. Kevin came over, and we decided both carbs I have are essentially shot and need replacing or at least rebuilding. At which point, I made the decision, NOT to put a fresh carb on this lump of an engine. So while on a phone call with Dion, Kev let him know that he would have an engine to rebuild over the winter. Hopefully he can work his magic and make it run as good as the car looks.

Even though my beetle is basically being put into hibernation for the winter (yes, I will be finishing the interior, door windows, and engine over the winter), there will be at least one VanDalen driving around in a bug 🙂 My youngest sister, Katie got her G2 this week, and also is the proud owner of a 2002 VW Beetle. Sure, its not aircooled, but its in awesome condition, only 55,000 on it, and is a really cool greeny-white colour. Congrats Katie!

Who knows, maybe the next update will have baby pictures in it 😉

Stay tuned..

Today marks week 34 of Shannons pregnancy, and it looks like it may be marked with good news. We had a regular checkup with the doctor this morning, and it looks as though the baby may have finally flipped into the right position, and is no longer breach. Won’t know for sure until we see the specialist (September 4th), but with any luck, she will simply confirm what our family doctor told us today.

Been crazy busy working 2 jobs lately, but I was finally able to spend a few nights on the bug. Kevin came over a week or so ago, and we tightenned, tested, and finally called it quits. Dead steering box. So, last Friday I went to Niagara Falls and purchased a new box from the Bug Shop. Saturday Am, I installed it. Unfortunatly, while installing I realized the coupler (piece which hold the steering box to the steering column) was also worn beyond its life. So, Dad was nice enough to pick a new one up for me, and I installed it one night last week. Now, Im left with one sleeve that just won’t tighten enough, but at least I can see exactly where the slack is, and I have some solutions to fix it. Hopefully by the end of this weekend, I will have it all together. I am fairly confident this will finally solve the wobbly steering play.

Once the steering is sorted out, I go back to Paul to have my seat mounts adjusted, then install my carpetting, door panels, and shes pretty much road worthy. Only other things I need to do this year, will be to have Dion lower the rear end for me, and hopefully have Johns Bug Shop adjust my door windows. Yes, I have finally given up and will be callin in the pros to finish them.

Been a while since the last update. Holy shit has life ever gotten in the way. As the topic indicates, baby is coming in about two months. Due date is still September 28th. Shannon and I have been slowly getting things ready. Her Grandmother bought us a crib, and her Dad/Cathy bought us the matching dresser. They are beautiful and look great in our slime line green baby room.  Also, my Mom/Dad/Donna/Katie/Grant sent us to pick up our stroller and car seat the other night. I promptly assembled it and took Chewie for a walk around the kitchen.  We also went shopping for overnight stuff to take to the hospital, and finished pre-natal classes in Caledonia. We learned some interesting stuff, and feel a bit better prepared to have this little bugger invade our lives. Special thanks to everyone for the wonderful gifts. Babies aren’t cheap and we appreciate the help you have all given us. LOVE YOU GUYS!

Two weekends ago was Fisherville Funday. We had an great time at the Wilsons celebrating Grandma and Grants birthdays. As if that wasn’t reason enough to celebrate, Grant finally got up the courage (after several months of waiting for the right moment), to propose to Donna. She said yes. Congratulations guys, Shannon and I couldn’t be happier for you.  You two are great together, and Grant makes an excellent addition to the family.

Last weekend was the Drinkwater family reunion. It was a lot of fun getting together with extended family members who we haven’t seen in years.  The following day, everyone came to my parents place for a BBQ. Another fantastic day of family fun. It looks like the bocce set that Grant and I picked up was a success. Several games were played through out the day. Brett brought his guitar, and he and I played a little bit. I think I need some more practice before we do that again. To say he is a bit better then me, would be a gross understatement.  Time to upgrade my 30mins a day to an hour or two 🙂

Summer hours have finally started. Fridays are my only real day off this year. I took Monday and Tuesday for holidays all of July and August, but silly me offered to work 12hr shifts at ALNC both days. With the baby coming, we can use all the extra cash we can get. As busy as it has been there, I can actually say i’ve enjoyed the change of pace from my normal job.  

As if all that stuff wasn’t enough for a jam packed month, I haven’t even updated you about the beetle! The car came back from Cayuga, with the headlights mounted, underside painted, and running board mounted. Looks awesome. Kev came over the next day and we went crazy on it. Pretty much finished the wiring, and made it look fairly good as well. Still needs some tidying, but that may wait till over the winter. Gas tank went in, seat went in, and the new ignition went in. Much to the shock of both Kevin and I, when the key turned, the fuel pump sucked fuel, and the car actually started. The first time! It idled like shit, but a quick and dirty tune of the carb left the car running somewhat smoothly.  Needless to say, it wasn’t long until we put the hood on the car, jumped in, and drove it around the block. What a rush. Loud, slow, rough, and horribly loose steering, but it drove on its own! I couldn’t have been happier. Thanks for all the help Kev. I couldnt have done it without you!  Hopefully I can get you over again soon, so we can sort out this steering issue, and tie up some other loose ends. Once thats done, interior, lower the rear, and shes done for the year.

Until next time, Autobots, transform and roll out!

 Pics will be posted soon. Need to upload them. I will edit this post when they are ready