I didn't get much accomplished yesterday other than painting a few interior trim pieces on my Jeep that I hadn't done yet.  I really need to build a rack to hold our full doors when they are off the vehicles.  Right now, mine are sitting in our living room and the half doors are upstairs in a bedroom. I think we need a 4th garage for storage space.

Well, that three day weekend went by way too fast.  I'm longing for the day that I don't have to give up my day by having to go to work.  I don't mind the getting up early but I'm at the point where I just want to do the things I want to do.  16 months to go.

We spent two of the three days in St. Louis having barbecues with our families.  Both days were very enjoyable and there should be more like that.  The food was great at both events so I stuffed myself completely.  We enjoyed the visiting we got to do and all of the laughs that came with the stories and teasing.

Yesterday, after a quick breakfast, I put the door handle inserts on Jodi's Jeep and then stripped mine down.  After the top went down, I took the doors off to make putting the Bartact rear seat covers on a bit easier.  I hadn't gotten around to that yet.  Jodi helped me and we got that done in about 30 minutes.  You have to unbolt a seatbelt and then we had it twisted and installed improperly so that took a bit of time to figure out where we went wrong.  The Spyderwebshade went back on after that and then it was time for a ride.  We drove downtown, had some lunch outside on the sidewalk at a restaurant since it was a really nice day and then we drove around some more.

After returning home, I added a mount to my Vector Dock to hold my Iphone while in transit.  I'll next mount the GPS and GoPro and I'll probably add one for the Ipad too.

We went out again later in the evening and had a real nice 30 mile drive around the country side.  later at home, I ordered my rock lights to take advantage of the Memorial Day sale.  I wound up getting the 8 light Max Pro package.  I thought it was going to be just $50 off but I got 15% off too for the Memorial Day sale so the whole kit was just $223 and shipping was free too.  My guess is that I will have to wait a little bit for them to build it so I'm not expecting them to be shipped for awhile.  Now I just need to find a deal on the trail doors but I'm not very confident on that as AOR told me he doesn't sell them because there isn't enough margin on them for him.

AOR wanted some pics of Jodi's hood so I took some good ones prior to leaving for STL since I had it all cleaned up.  I sent them to him yesterday and he was really pleased with them.  Maybe you'll see her Jeep featured on their website soon.  Here are those pics and some I took yesterday of mine.

Who doesn't need a Jeep bumper in their living room?  Jodi's bumper she picked out is here and so are the fender flares.  I didn't bother to unpackage them as they will be going to the powdercoater and it will be easiest just to transport them in the shipping box.  I may try to install the bumper on Monday.

I've been waiting over two months for my $100 4WheelParts gift card to arrive.  I decided to give them a call yesterday and was informed that they are still processing them and it will likely be another 3-4 weeks.  What a joke that is.

We took some pics of Jayson not too long ago.  This is one of our favorites.  He is really growing up fast.

I didn't get much accomplished yesterday after work except for giving my Jeep a bath and cleaning up the interior.  Gotta love mud.  I am liking the foam cannon and pressure washer though as it makes washing a vehicle much easier.

Jodi's bumper and fenders are scheduled to arrive today and my Ram mounts will finally arrive on Friday.  Lesson learned on that one, don't order direct from Ram as they are sloooooowwwwwww.  We are going to order the vented Poison Spyder inner fenders for Jodi and have them powdercoated with some red accents.  Once we get all the powdercoating done, they will go for installation.  That will pretty much complete Jodi's Jeep I think unless she decides on something else.  For me on the other hand, I keep thinking about going to all Steer Smarts parts in the front end, Synergy ball joints, trussing the front axle and going to RCV's.  I'm also considering selling the half doors and just doing a trail door.

I'd like to get back out to Kansas Rocks on June 10th for another adventure and then on July 22nd, they are having their summer Offroading 101 course that I will be signing up for.  It's classroom and time out on the trails and should be a great learning experience.

We have about two more weeks before things get crazy again for us business wise.  I have booked three new sessions in the last two days and we are looking at another record year if things keep going the way they are.

Here is the video from Kansas Rocks this past weekend.  First time using my GoPro's while wheeling so will probably make some small changes the next time.  Overall, the video was decent I think.

Jodi's new hood is installed.  The washer nozzles didn;t seem to want to fit the holes in the hood so I have to look into that further.  We also need to paint the mesh in the vent holes but it looks good and will look even better when completed.

On Saturday morning, Jodi and I rolled out of bed at 5am to get ready for our off roading adventure.  We were scheduled to meet up with a new friend to drive together to meet up with a larger group of Jeeps headed to the park.  The weather forecast was looking good for later in the morning but with mist and light rain still in the area, we decided to leave the doors on and the top up for the ride over.

We met our friend at Quiktrip, grabbed some donuts and headed down the highway to Louisburg.  When we made it there, we found about 12 Jeeps at a local Burger King and we rolled with them most of the way to the park.  We chose to stop for gas at the last chance to get some so we had a pretty full tank before going in.  We only used about 1/8 tank while in the park but we didn't know what to expect so it was best to be well prepared.

Once at the park, I purchased an annual pass since I believe we will go more than 3 times this year.  They check your cooler to insure you are not bringing any alcohol in, which I think is a good idea.  We pulled in to a staging area and I aired down the tires.  We walked over to the pavilion as there was an "opening ceremony" for the new section.  The mayor and other city and county people there to dedicate the opening of the 160 acre addition to the park, bringing it to 380 total acres with plans for further expansion.

After the ceremony, it was time to hit the trails.  I mounted the GoPro's and we followed our friend Jim out onto the first trail.  Another guy he knew joined us as we decided to stick to the intermediate trails for the day.  They would prove even more challenging due to all of the rain we had the last few days.

We weren't on the trail more than a few minutes and the guy behind us got his front differential high centered on a rock.  Another group came up behind us and the lead Jeep was able to pull him off and get us going again.  Some of the trails run narrow between trees and making a sharper turn is more difficult for the 4 doors versus the two doors.  A few times during the day, I had to make a three point turns.

It was definitely a soupy day but I think it made it more challenging than what it would have been.  Sliding off rocks or down slopes was the main concern as we navigated the trails.  Traction was definitely tougher than on a dry day.  About 30 minutes in, we found our self in an off camber situation and the top of the soft top resting against a tree. I slowly creeped down off the rock we were on and got out of that situation.  Trees are definitley the biggest opportunity for damage at the park.  Our most precarious situation of the day was on a long steep climb that I would have made if I would have took a better line for traction.  It was really muddy and as we reached the top, we slid to the right side of the trail, stopping just shy of a tree.  The tree was probably 1/8" from Jodi's door.  This is where I would learn to use the winch to pull us away from the tree while finishing the climb.  It worked perfectly and we had no damage as a result.

We made our way back to the entrance after a couple hours on the trail and had some lunch.  We then decided to head back out for another adventure before heading home for the day.  This time, we went to a different section of the park that would lead into the new expansion.  They still have some work to do in this area, including marking trails and mapping it but mainly it just needs some traffic on it. I was lead on this excursion and we were a little unsure as to what to expect as much of the new section is black trails (difficult),  I led us into the creek and it was probably my favorite section of the day.  It had some tight areas with rocky sections and of course, water.  We wound up coming up on another group of about 5 Jeeps and we followed them for the balance of that trail.  There was a short, muddy, steep climb out of the creek that was a little challenging but we navigated that without much issue and then we drove on out of that section and back to the staging area to call it a day.  Before airing up, Jim and I put our Jeeps on the RTI ramps to check out our flex.  I think mine did pretty well.

The park is about an hour and 45 minutes from our house so we had a relaxing ride home.  Once home, I wanted to get as much much off as possible so I got out the pressure washer and got rid of the majority of it.  I still have some cleanup of the interior to do and it needs a good bath but we survived our first excusrion at Kansas Rocks and are looking forward to our next trip.  We didn't get many action shots but I did edit a bunch of video yesterday from the Go Pros that I will post here tomorrow.

Yesterday we took care of some business related things and went and visited JD and Megan to see their new place.  Their apartment is pretty big and I know that is one of the things that attracted them to it.  It's in a pretty good area, almost right next to the animal hospital Jodi once worked at.  It has a really nice, big balcony that can be accessed from three different sets of sliding doors.  Jayson has his own big bedroom and the complex has a weight room, dog park and pool that I'm sure they will enjoy using.  

Jodi's hood got painted on Saturday and the guy sent us a video of it in the paint booth.  It looked great.  I will still need to get the vent screens to the powder coater but the hood is getting installed this afternoon.  She also had me order a front bumper for her and it will be here Wednesday.  

Jodi and I both took our Jeeps to Jeep Night yesterday.  There were about 16 or so Jeeps there and we sat outside on the patio of the bar and grill and conversed with several in attendance.  Apparently guns are popular in this crowd too so we talked a bit about conceal carry weapons too.  We spent a couple hours there but as the lightning and strong storms approached, we decided to get home as there was ping pong ball sized hail being reported just across the state line.

It was about an hour after we got home when the strong storms really hit.  The tornado warning went off and the winds were really howling, at least 50mph.  The rain was blowing sideways and it was coming down hard.  It lasted for about 5-10 minutes before started to calm down.  The dogs were pretty worked up with all of the lightning and the siren going off.  Things settled down and we were able to all get to sleep.  When I headed out to work this morning, the neighbor directly across the court from us had a large limb from their tree split off and laying in the front yard. I didn't see any visible damage on our property but will need to look closer today when I get home.

Tomorrow we head to Kansas Rocks and it will be bright and early.  We are meeting up with another Jeeper at 6:30am and driving about 45 minutes to meet up with a large group who will convoy to the park.  We should get there about 8:30 and plan on wheeling most of the day.  It should be a fun time and I have two GoPro's to record some of the action.

I got an email from 4wd.com that they were having a big sale on Posion Spyder Crusher flares.  It was buy the front pair and get the rear set for free.  So it was $595 with free shipping for all 4 flares.  The catch is that they are already powdercoated tan.  My guess is that they can be media blasted or you may be able to powdercoat right over the tan.  Jodi wants them for her Jeep so I went ahead and purchased them and we will go from there.  Link to the deal: https://www.4wd.com/p/poison-spyder-tan-powder-coat-crusher-fender-flares/prod1240002

Jayson had his first real injury this past weekend.  He was riding in a wagon at the zoo and apparently fell out of it, hitting his head on the pavement, which opened a gash in the back of his head.  It required a couple staples to close up.  He had no concussive symptoms so it's just one of those kid things that happen from time to time.

It has been super windy here for weeks.  It's a good thing we don't have a bunch of girls scheduled for sessions right now as we would have some serious issues with hair.  It's not very fun to drive in the Jeep either as they aren't the most aerodynamic vehicles.  Today we are suppose to have gusts to 40mph.  I don't recall a period of time like this where it's been windy for so long.

We recently had our carpets and living room upholstery cleaned and the guy who did it should be charging way more than he does.  Our carpets look great again, almost new.  He said they must have put really good carpet in our home because they don't show any wear and if we told him that the carpet was two years old he would believe it.  I've rented the carpet machine from Home Depot a few times over the 11 years we've been there and although I thought it did an OK job, it doesn't compare to what this guy did.  He was really thorough and didn't rush which I'm sure helped.  He did our entire home plus all of the stairs for $180.  He then came back this past Monday and did our sofa, loveseat, oversized chair an ottoman and two more side chairs for $120.  The sides and skirts were looking a bit grungy from Gia rubbing her face all over them, as that is how she scratches her face when it itches, and they look new again.  This guy will get my business any time I need it.

We have a sales session tomorrow and then Thursday night is Jeep Night at a local bar and grill for the Northland group.  We've been attending the group get togethers as much as possible and it's fun meeting new people.  Some of them will be heading to Kansas Rocks with us on Saturday.

I just bought a second GoPro so I can have multiple camera angles when out on the trails.  I found a great deal on the one I just purchased.  Not only is it $150 off the normal price, you also get the touch screen back and a dual battery charger with an extra battery.  It will be here Friday.  I might mount one under the front bumper and aim it at the suspension for a bit.
  
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1078001REG/gopro_chdhx_401_hero4_black_edition_adventure.html

What a great weekend we had watching JD graduate college.  We learned upon arriving and getting our program that he was graduating Magna Cum Laude.  It was a very proud moment for Jodi and I.  Afterward, we went to lunch at Outback Steakhouse to celebrate.

I'm looking forward to our off roading adventure this coming Saturday.  Yesterday evening, I got out my set of deflators and dialed them all in to 14psi.  I'll be loading the rest of the gear up this week so we are ready to roll out early on Saturday.  We have arranged for a meetup of those from our area to convoy over to the park by meeting at a nearby Quiktrip at 7:30am.  That should put us at the park at 9am.

I ordered a dash mounting system from Vectror Offroad that will let me mount all of my electronic accessories (GPS, phone, Ipad, radar detector, etc..)  It uses Ram mounts to secure the devices and it looks like the best choice available for mounting multiple devices.  I hope my orders arrive by Friday.
Jodi's hood came on Friday and the painter is suppose to call me on Wednesday to arrange for the paint work.  I'm hoping he can get to it this coming weekend.

The foam cannon and power washer work really well.  I got it all running yesterday just before dark and gave my Jeep a bath.  I didn't get to detail it after so this weekend I will probably do it again.  After all, washing the vehicle is now a fun exercise.

Jodi's hood arrives today and hopefully it arrives damage free.  It is suppose to be on a pallet.  Shipping companies aren't the best at being gentle so we shall see how it arrives.  I spoke with the painter yesterday and it looks like it will be at least next weekend before he can get to it, my doors and grille.  Looks like it is doors off going to Kansas Rocks next weekend.

JD graduates college tomorrow morning. Jodi's mom and stepdad as well as Kyle are coming in this evening so they can attend.  

Things went better this time at 4 Wheel Parts and I'm now re-geared to 4.88's.  There is a significant performance improvement as it really gets up and goes now.  The 4.10 gearing was by no means terrible but with the 37's, this gearing will be better for both street and trail.  On the highway, I don't think I'll be running at 85 mph much anymore because at 75mph, I'm turning about 2700 rpm in 6th gear.  I think 80mph will probably be top running speed and that will probably be at about 3000rpm.

We ran over to Stomper and had Jodi's tire carrier installed.  I really like the Teraflex setup and it opens and closes really easy.  They checked her lift kit for torque and to ensure everything was where they wanted it.  After that, they pulled mine in and wound up making a couple adjustments on the front end. We talked a little about beefing up the ball joints and a truss for the front axle which I expect to be a project best suited for this winter.  If the axle is getting dropped, I want to take advantage of that opportunity to do some powder coating of some front end parts at the same time and might even go to RCV's while we are at it.

I learned that Jodi's hood did in fact ship out on Monday and will arrive on Friday.  Hopefully the painter can get going on the hood, my half doors and grille next weekend.  It would be nice to get the half doors back on my Jeep in time for our Kansas Rocks adventure on the 20th.  

I was able to get my photo shoot in yesterday after two reschedules due to rain.  That is likely our last paid shoot until June when we start a record number of shoots for that month.  I'm hopeful that we actually sell it out and really get things rolling for the rest of the year.  My goal is to shoot 100 seniors this year.  That will be extremely tough to do but that is the goal.  We have averaged 73 over the last two years.  

I've been doing some more work on our website as we tell people about our Kansas City Senior Portrait studio.  We've changed up some images and some of the message.  Cleaning the site design up was a focus as well and I think we've been successful at doing so.  

My Jeep is suppose to be ready for pickup at Noon today so we will be heading over to get it and then taking Jodi's Jeep to get the Teraflex tire carrier installed prior to coming home.  We still haven't seen tracking info for her hood which is starting to cause some frustration as we were told it would ship Monday.  

In the category of "Things don't always go as planned", I didn't get to run my pressure washer and foam cannon this weekend as I didn't have an adapter I need.  So I had to order one and am now waiting on it to arrive.  So instead of washing and detailing the Jeeps, we spent Sunday planting new flowers in our planters.

Yesterday was the first day I felt decent after coming down with a head cold that had me pretty much sidelined for 2 days.  I think it was more the medicine than anything because I just kept wanting to close my eyes.  I had some sinus pressure that was a bit uncomfortable too but I'm glad it is finally behind me.

We are taking my Jeep in for a re-gear tomorrow morning and then after picking it up on Wednesday, we will be heading to another shop to have both Jeeps looked over for torque on the lift kits and Jodi's tire carrier is going to get installed.  We still haven't received notice that her hood has shipped so we are not sure when to expect it at this point.

JD graduates this Saturday and we are looking forward to having some out of town guests with us over the weekend.

Finally, some great weather is upon us.  We have a lot to do around the house and the better weather will allow us to get some of that done.  2 yards of mulch needs to go down and the windows need a good cleaning too.  I also want to hook up the new pressure washer and foam cannon and give the vehicles a good cleaning.

Jodi and I signed up for a Jeep Cruise on June 10th.  It's part of Pets for Vets, which trains service dogs for veterans.  They are expecting about 100 Jeeps to participate and we are taking both of ours.  The cruise ends at Bass Pro Shops in Independence where food, drinks and other activities will take place.

 

Our main focus the last couple days has been to finish up our 76 page studio magazine.  It's a lot of work for a couple people who don't have design experience.  Jodi has done a great job of learning Adobe InDesign, which is the layout program used by industry professionals.  She is also much better at staying on task than I am when it comes to time consuming projects.  We started sending it out late last night to some of our new inquiries and we are hopeful that it is well received.

I finally have made a new appointment to get the Jeep re-geared.  It goes in next Tuesday and I'll have it back the next day.  I told them they better lock up my gears so they don't disappear before then.  The last I heard, Jodi's new hood is suppose to ship today.  As soon as it arrives, we can schedule the painter.  I will also need to take the hood vents to the powdercoater.

My new pressure washer arrives today.  I bought it specifically to use with the foam cannon, which I will likely get to use for the first time this weekend.  I bought some cleaning products from thechemicalguys.com which including some tire shine, towels, pet hair removal brush and applicators.  They are the same people I got the foam cannon and foam soap from but I ordered that off of Amazon with my Prime membership.  They have a lot of videos on Youtube about cleaning cars and detailing them.

If I had a truck already, I would buy a trailer to haul my Jeep to off road events.  It's the best thing to do so you can wheel with confidence knowing you can get it back home in the event of breakage.  I see a lot of trailering going on here in the forums and they often come in handy from what I'm seeing.

Well, that weekend went by way too fast.  A six day week begins for me as I swapped Saturdays with a co-worker so I could attend JD's college graduation on the 13th.  His plan is to continue to pursue his Master's degree while working at the casino, which he seems to really enjoy.  Not to mention it pays a lot better than delivering pizzas and it's less wear and tear on his car.

I went out yesterday to the garage and played with my new grille one more time to see if I could get it to work.  I moved a wire out of the way and was able to work it down into the narrow gap between the bumper and was able to get it on.  I guess now I'll have it painted with my half doors sometime this month.  Jodi's new hood should ship this week so it shouldn't be too long before everything is done.  We are planning a trip to Kansas Rocks on the 20th so maybe I'll have the half doors back on by then.