Pre-sabbatical lunch

Soft shell crab po boy at Kona Grill.

Solar savings

We just got our first bill where we've had the solar panels for the entire month. Compared to last year, we saved $149 this month.

Indoor Soccer

We signed up both kids for indoor soccer at the Y this summer. Cole was in the 3 to 4 year old division while Lauren was in the 5 to 6 year old division.


Here's one of the few times that Lauren is actually practicing before the match. It was hit or miss if she would actually want to practice or play.


Another action shot of Lauren.


I think this was the kid's favorite part of soccer. Snack time!


The kids are learning good sportsmanship.


Lauren loved that she got a trophy.


It's important to know which direction to kick the ball...


...even at all levels.

Solar System

We finally got our solar panels up and running. We have a 6.24kw system that should offset around 40% of our energy usage. The system consists of 26 Centrosolar 240W panels. 20 of the panels are on the front of the house while another 6 are on the south side. Since we are on SRP's time of use program, the best financial return is when you have the panels facing Southwest. Since the panels are facing 2 different orientations, we installed an Aurora Power One 6000 that could handle 2 independent strings.


Here you can see the other 6 panels on the south roof.


This is the roof mounting system. You can see how the mounts attach to the roof and then go under the tile so you don't need to cut holes in the tile. Here you can also see the jacket that will allow the wires to go into the attic.


Here you can see all the roof tiles put back in place with only the mounts showing.


Now the rails are attached.


Here's the inverter mounted inside the garage.


Here are the solar meter and the utility disconnect in case anyone needs to disconnect the panels from the grid.


Finally here's our daily energy output for the last few weeks. We've been averaging around 34kWH a day. We typically consume about 100 to 140 kWH a day.

New Sunglasses

These glasses are so much more fashionable.

First day of Kindergarten

Deja Vu

Second day in a row I had to resort to the car.

Nap time

Cole wouldn't nap in the hotel room so we had to resort to desperate measures.